At the mention of this, Lian Hua sighed deeply, her worries gnawed at her: "Only four arrows left to complete three rounds, and I’ve only won five golden melon seeds, alas..." The tantalizing sight of meat before her eyes, yet unreachable for her to taste, left Lian Hua in a state of distress.
Beauty Zhao had a sense of the situation now. Earlier, Lian Hua had told Consort De that she had only won five, her face creased with worry just as it was now. The two accounts together made it clear to Beauty Zhao: Lian Hua’s archery skills were quite mediocre.
She offered a few words of comfort, and as soon as Concubine Fang heard them, she too joined in the consoling, forgetting even to cry.
Since coming to her realization, Changzai Zhou intentionally sought to get on good terms with Lian Hua, which was why she accompanied Beauty Zhao over.
After all, once the Noble Consort was overthrown, they would ultimately have to fend for themselves. Changzai Zhou could see clearly that Lian Hua’s future status was not going to be so simple. Furthermore, Lian Hua was not one to initiate conflict unless provoked, unlike the Noble Consort’s malicious nature. Lian Hua willing to reach out to Kong Yinyin, and the way she handled the matter with Cui Laner, leaving room for maneuver—it was plain suicide on Cui Laner’s part—all were clear to Changzai Zhou, who therefore harbored intentions of courting favor.
Knowing that Lian Hua’s archery skills were lacking, she had even thought of letting her win some on purpose when it was time; such naivety was rare for her at the moment.
With an understanding of the situation, Beauty Zhao smoothly suggested they put up some bets and have a game together, winning the approval of Changzai Zhou, with Concubine Fang showing signs of agreement as well. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel·fıre·net
Lian Hua became somewhat interested, curiously asking what the stakes were.
Beauty Zhao smiled and peeled off a white jade bracelet from her wrist, offering it as the wager for the first round. This white jade bracelet had an excellent luster and was quite valuable. Since she wore it often, using it as the stake for their first round was a sign of her sincere intention.
Upon hearing this, Lian Hua thought better of it—it would only get in the way of her archery and winning more golden melon seeds. Thus, she was very cautious and immediately declined.
Beauty Zhao was taken aback, thinking Lian Hua lacked confidence in her skills and therefore wasn’t optimistic about winning. She proposed that since Concubine Fang was very good at archery, they could play in pairs; Concubine Fang and Lian Hua on one team, and she and Changzai Zhou on the other. For fairness, she and Changzai Zhou would let two points slide each round. This was a gesture of substantial sincerity, and at this moment, even Beauty Zhao was being naïve.
But Lian Hua still refused outright, leaving everyone puzzled.
It was the astute Changzai Zhou who remembered Lian Hua’s aspiration to win all the golden melon seeds before Consort De’s departure and brought it up. Sure enough, that was the case, leaving the three of them in a mix of laughter and frustration.
Beauty Zhao said with a smile, "My apologies for not considering my sister’s strategy. However, in this archery game, the winning side not only takes the bet but also wins double the prize. It’s much faster than trying to win alone. Do you not know this, sister?"
Lian Hua’s face showed surprise: "This is my first time playing. Eh, what do you mean, it works like that?" She didn’t know. If she had known, she could have won all the golden melon seeds earlier by cheating with Kong Yinyin.
Kong Yinyin, feeling guilty, bowed her head - she had forgotten to mention that rule...
Beauty Zhao and Changzai Zhou exchanged a smile and began patiently explaining the rules.
In each archery round, there are eight arrows. If one person plays, hitting one arrow only rewards a single golden melon seed. But in a competitive round, the winning side of each round has their golden melon seeds doubled; hitting one arrow awards two golden melon seeds. Thus, in one round, it’s possible to win up to sixteen golden melon seeds, on top of taking the losing side’s stake. The losing side, on the other hand, gets nothing.
Lian Hua looked at Concubine Fang Pin, who nodded slightly to confirm the rule.
Lian Hua suddenly realized, feeling a continuous sense of pity. She should have played against Kong Yinyin earlier, and by now she would have won at least ten golden melon seeds. Even if she shared half with Kong Yinyin, it would be better than her current situation.
Seeing her understanding, Beauty Zhao seized the moment, "Why not this way? Sister could offer more stakes. All I wish is for my sister to enjoy herself, how about it?" Immediately, she took off a strand of garnet beads.
Changzai Zhou also echoed, indicating his willingness to add more to the stakes, and directly removed a pair of gold inlaid gugal wood bracelets from his wrist.
Lian Hua hesitated slightly, seeing the two of them so determined to play with her, steadfast in their refusal to leave. She found it somewhat strange. After all, they were not close, and the previous interactions hadn’t been pleasant, leaving her wondering why they were so insistent.
Could it be that they had their eyes on her possessions? Were they looking to win away her golden melon seeds?
That simply wouldn’t do, absolutely not. Each piece of jewelry she wore was personally selected by the Emperor for her; how could she possibly let someone win them away? As for the golden melon seeds, she was determined to have them. In short, she couldn’t part with anything!
Lian Hua intended to refuse, but golden melon seeds could be won by anyone. She could only refuse to play, but she couldn’t stop Beauty Zhao and Changzai Zhou from playing the bottle game.
She became worried. Then, seeing Concubine Fang Pin’s eager expression and finding herself in a difficult position, she suddenly thought: If she won everything, wouldn’t that solve it all? With that thought, her spirits lifted.
While that was her thought, Lian Hua modestly said, "How could I do that? It wouldn’t be fair to you two sisters..." But let’s make it clear first.
Beauty Zhao and Changzai Zhou, initially seeing her still hesitant, were almost ready to give up. Now that she seemed to relent, they rejoiced in unison and reassured her, saying that for her first time, this was indeed fair play.
At this point, the two of them hadn’t anticipated that the person playing for the ’first time’ could have almost left them with nothing. If Changzai Zhou hadn’t sensed something amiss, they might even have lost their dresses.
Ever since she was young, Lian Hua was told she could not study, not write, and even her needlework was rather poor, but as far as playing games was concerned, she was a natural. This drove her mother to despair.
Not only was she adept at fishing in rivers, grabbing bird eggs from trees, and excelling at fighting, but she was also proficient at games requiring accuracy such as shooting marbles and slinging, with an exceptional touch. When playing games with others as a child, she was an unbeatable force as long as she was interested, with countless victories. Even now, she could make seasoned players like Xiao Jizi toss aside their helmets and armor in chess after a period of practice, only losing to the ’monster’ Emperor.
For a small competition like the bottle game, she naturally had no fear; she only felt it delayed her from earning silver.
Listening to the two of them take turns persuading her, with Concubine Fang Pin also softly comforting her and saying that she was not bad at the bottle game, that they wouldn’t disdain her and would lead her to victory, Lian Hua humbly demurred a few more times, stating it was just her first time and asked everyone to be patient with her embarrassing performance. Her words made the three of them quite satisfied.
However, the Young Eunuch in charge of the bottle game and golden melon seeds was utterly baffled. If his memory served him right, Lian Hua had thrown three rounds of twenty arrows to win five golden melon seeds. That hit rate sounded low, but that was only because she missed the earlier shots, and the last five arrows all hit the target, each one accurately striking the heart of the bottle, not even wavering at the mouth of the bottle.
As those responsible for the bottle game, they were best at identifying who was an expert. Seeing Lian Hua play, they knew immediately she was a master among masters. However, they all held a favorable impression of her, so how could they possibly reveal it? They simply hung their heads as if they had heard nothing.