Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Wuma Jun did not want to offend either side and chose to stay neutral. Feng Jin, on the other hand, was furious.
Zheng Langjun took a kiwi from the food table.
Xu Ke’s eyes widened in surprise. He had not expected things to turn out this way.
Feng Jin’s gentle expression turned cold. “There are women here. If you misfire your arrow, wouldn’t you agitate their families?”
“Rites, music, archery, charioteering, reading and writing, and arithmetic are the six arts a nobleman should know. Principles, morals, regulations, and serving the country are the essentials of a nobleman. Every Langjun here had to learn all this from a young age. You think I could not even control a small bow?”
He smiled. He was not old, but he had a sinister smile.
Feng Jin thought back to Jiang Pengji’s deduction about this Langjun, and he could not help but admire her grasp of Zheng Langjun’s character.
He took a deep breath and coaxed his expression back to its usual gentleness. He said, “Langjun, have you forgotten that this is Lanting’s page boy? He belongs to the Lius. How could you overstep your boundary by punishing his servant? This is ungentlemanly. Please think thrice.”
Liu Lanting could kill a whole den of bandits; how would a benevolent family fare?
Feng Jin was not just protecting Xu Ke. He was also trying to prevent any fights from happening. He did not understand why anyone would choose this particular time to offend Liu Lanting. Didn’t they know that her father was the exam officer that year? One word from him would decide the fate of future scholars.
Zheng Langjun gave a cold hmph. “If something happens to this lowly servant, I’ll buy eight or ten servants for Liu Lanting. Take out the bow and arrows... Anyway, Liu Lanting comes from a strict, literary family, so they would not demand anything for the sake of one lowly servant...”
Xu Ke had looked indignant, but now his hands trembled with rage.
This group of parasites only knew how to enjoy all of life’s privileges without doing a stroke of work... They were still young, yet they were ruthless.
“The limit is 50 steps. Get him to stand properly. Remember not to tremble, or I might miss.” Zheng Langjun sounded immensely pleased.
There were several guards protecting the assembly, and a white cloth covered the exterior to shield it against the wind and also to stop outsiders from snooping.
Wei Jingxian wondered what was happening next door, so she summoned a maid to check on things. Then she found out what was happening.
Wan Xiu’er was sitting next to her, and she frowned. She asked, “Shouldn’t today be about poetry and works? Why has it turned out like this?”
A noble girl who was unaware of the truth gave a low laugh. She said, “I heard that Zheng Langjun has been interested in Jingxian for a while now. He’s probably jealous.”
Wei Jingxian normally would have glared at whoever was creating such a ruckus. However, her mind was currently wandering, and it took a few pushes from Wan Xiu’er to regain herself.
“Even if he is jealous, he still shouldn’t publicly humiliate someone,” Wan Xiu’er said, bluntly expressing her displeasure.
He should have left the page boy alone after he had lost to him in poetry. Instead, he had flown into a rage and was now using the page boy as an outlet to vent his anger. It was such a disgrace.
Wan Xiu’er summoned her maid over and quietly ordered her to get Liu Lanting to settle it.
Wei Jingxian shot Wan Xiu’er a look of relief. This assembly felt strange, and Wan Xiu’er could not help but frown.
On the other side of the assembly, Jiang Pengji was still walking her horse.
“Eh?”
“What’s wrong now?” Jiang Pengji lifted her eyes. This little brat still wants to ride? Her wooden clogs were wearing down from the stones beneath their feet.
“Brother Lanting, someone is running over and waving at me,” Shangguan Wan said with doubt in her voice.
“Wave?” Jiang Pengji frowned. Displeasure flashed through her before she said, “Let me see.”
Jiang Pengji summoned some energy and lightly leaped onto the horse’s back. Shangguan Wan gave a startled cry.
“Hold the reins,” Jiang Pengji said as the white horse suddenly raised its hooves and ran. The moment the horse stopped perfectly in front of the maid, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
The maid bowed in greeting. She said, “My mistress sent me to tell Langjun to hurry back.”
“Without rhyme or reason... Who knows what happened...” Jiang Pengji mumbled.
Shangguan Wan let out a cry and then pointed at the empty spot in the assembly. She said, “Brother Lanting, there! Why does the archery target... look like a person?”
Archery target? Person?
Jiang Pengji frowned and looked where Shangguan Wan was pointing.
Shangguan Wan’s back was turned, so she did not see the ominous expression on Jiang Pengji’s face.
“Brother Lanting?” she asked when she did not hear a response.
After a good while, Jiang Pengji said, “Shangguan Wan, do you want to try archery?” Her voice was soft and held a hint of devilishness.
Jiang Pengji smirked, and anger flashed in her eyes. So they’ve decided to come knocking?
Without waiting for a reply, Jiang Pengji removed the bow and an arrow from the horse’s back.
“Hold on to the reins!” she said, tightening her legs around the horse’s belly.
The horse reared up and galloped towards the pavilion as Jiang Pengji calmly drew the arrow. The bow was pulled so tautly that the ends nearly touched each other.
The bow needed one stone of draw weight; only a few adult men would have been capable of drawing it. One stone was the equivalent to around fifty kilograms, so it was impossible for a twelve-year-old to be able to use the bow.
Back at the assembly, Xu Ke swallowed his anger and placed the kiwi on his head.
He took 50 steps away from Zheng Langjun, who was still smiling.
Zheng Langjun took a bow and arrow from his servant. He considered the weight of the bow and realized with delight that it was his usual training bow. To fully draw it, he would only need around half a stone of draw weight.
When Feng Jin noticed that Zheng Langjun was aiming at Xu Ke’s heart, he was furious. He stepped forward and grabbed the hand holding the arrow. At that moment, an arrow sliced through the air, and its shockwave stung Feng Jin’s cheeks.
It came at lightning speed and shot off Zheng Langjun’s hair accessory, causing his hair to fall loosely around him.
A loud thud sounded.
Half of the arrow was embedded in a pear tree, and the other half trembled for a good while before it stopped.
“Who gave you permission to touch my servant!”