Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
It could be that Long Yang’s words had an effect on her, or perhaps Lu Liangwei had gotten the hang of it. Whatever it was, she was soon able to easily shoot the tree trunks although she was still lacking in strength and the arrows did not penetrate deep.
Long Yang stood behind her and said gently, “Those were good shots. Let’s call it a day.”
Lu Liangwei nodded and handed the bow and arrows over to him. She flailed her sore arms a little to ease the pain.
When he saw this, Long Yang asked, “Are your arms very sore?”
Lu Liangwei nodded. “A little.”
She had to keep her arms lifted while shooting the arrows. They were quite sore after the lengthy session.
Long Yang held Lu Liangwei’s arm and massaged them after passing the bow and arrows to Chu Qi. “Does it feel better now?”
Lu Liangwei’s lips pursed into a tight smile. “It’s a little ticklish.”
Long Yang cajoled her. “Just bear with it a little while.”
“Alright.”
…
It was the last night of the Autumn Hunt and a bonfire party was being held on the grassy fields right outside the enclosure.
This had been a long-time tradition of the imperial family of Great Shang.
Everyone would display their spoils, which was a way of bragging about their achievements.
After that, their quarries would be slaughtered and cleaned, then roasted above the fire pit. Dancers would circle the bonfire and perform.
Besides the dancers, the aristocrats’ daughters would also take turns entering the stage to show off their respective talents.
Lu Liangwei sat by Long Yang’s side as she feasted on roasted meat while enjoying the dancing and singing. However, she did not touch any alcohol.
When Long Yang noticed this, it suddenly reminded him of the time they had returned to her natal home where she secretly changed her cup of alcohol into tea when drinking with Wu Hongming. He had always wondered about how well she could hold her liquor.
He raised an eyebrow and casually brought a cup of liquor to her mouth.
Lu Liangwei instinctively opened her mouth and was about to drink the contents when she suddenly sniffed alcohol in it. She quickly shut her mouth and turned to give a puzzled look at His Majesty.
“Have some liquor to clear your throat,” Long Yang said with a smile.
“You can enjoy it yourself. I’ll have some fruit instead.” Lu Liangwei placed her chopsticks down and used a silver toothpick to poke a piece of fruit and popped it into her mouth.
“Weiwei, are you unable to hold your liquor?” Long Yang looked at her and asked in a puzzled manner.
Lu Liangwei gave the question some thought and lowered her voice to reply, “It’s not that I can’t hold my liquor. It’s just that I’ll get into a drunken fit if I drink too much.”
Long Yang asked with interest, “A drunken fit? What do you look like when you get into a drunken fit, Weiwei?”
“I beat people up,” Lu Liangwei replied seriously.
Long Yang burst out laughing. “That would be fine. I’m here with you, after all. I won’t let something like that happen.”
With that, he lifted the cup once again to her lips and tried to get her to drink. “Just have a little.”
Lu Liangwei was suspicious about why Long Yang was insistent on getting her to drink.
Why was His Majesty acting so unreasonably?
She was about to reject him when she saw the Virtuous Consort, who was sitting not far away, suddenly stand up gracefully.
It was only then that Lu Liangwei saw that a zither table had been placed in the middle without her realizing it.
It was time for the Virtuous Consort to perform.
The Virtuous Consort gave a pretty smile as she walked toward the zither table and sat down. Her slender fingers pressed gently onto the zither and she began strumming lightly.
Someone had already performed the zither before this, which was why the talent of the Virtuous Consort did not stand out.
No one paid much attention to her in the beginning, but as the music continued playing, it captured everyone’s attention as they all turned to her.
Even Lu Liangwei was slightly surprised.
The melody was very pleasing to the ear. More importantly, the music was very familiar. It was the same piece of music that His Majesty had played for her before.
She had no idea if this melody was an original piece composed by His Majesty, but when she listened to the Virtuous Consort play it, a weird feeling began to appear within her.
This was complemented by the fact that the Virtuous Consort’s eyes could not stop gazing at Long Yang while she played the zither.
Her eyes were filled with feeling, as if some sort of love was encompassed within it with a thousand words left unsaid.