For some reason, in front of him, Shang Ruyi suddenly felt a little stubbornness rising within her, unwilling to admit defeat.
She said, "Why not compete?"
Yu Wenye raised his eyebrows slightly, while Shang Ruyi had already slung the Arrow Tube over her back, grabbed the longbow, and walked out.
A moment of silence suddenly fell upon the military camp.
Although everyone was excited about Huang Gongyi’s superb skill in mounted archery, after all, his competitor was a woman, the Young Madam of Duke Mansion, making this contest fundamentally unfair. Even though she wouldn’t technically lose, winning , what meaning would it have?
At this moment, Huang Gongyi flipped off his horse and shouted loudly at Shang Ruyi, "Young Madam, I, Old Huang, do not take advantage of women either. You don’t have to ride a horse, just stand there, if you can hit the target, it’s your win."
As soon as he said this, there was a burst of laughter among the crowd.
His words were true enough, but with this, not only would Huang Gongyi win, but his opponent had already become a joke.
Shang Ruyi thought for a moment, said nothing, but turned her head to look inside the East Training Ground at the target that was still empty.
After a moment of silence, she reversed her hand and drew an arrow from the Arrow Tube, strung her bow, and aimed it at the target.
This action immediately elicited a chorus of boos from the crowd.
Although everyone knew this contest might not be fair, since she stepped onto the field, people were curious to see her ’skill’, but unexpectedly, she indeed took advantage of this, inevitably leading them to look down upon her.
Upon hearing the boos, Dabo immediately turned his head and gestured to the people behind him, and the soldiers instantly fell silent.
However, the sneering glances and even the atmosphere had already surrounded Shang Ruyi.
Her hand trembled slightly, and sweat trickled down her forehead.
The bow and arrow were not what they used to be when she was young.
In the army, there were no women or children, naturally, there were no bows designed for women and children; this was a bow that only adult men could draw. Shang Ruyi used all her strength, her index finger turned white from exertion, barely managing to draw the bow, but her hand was trembling fiercely, she had no way to aim the arrowhead at the bullseye.
Behind her, Tushere’s face was pale with anxiety.
At this moment, a distant, almost cold voice seemed to sound in Shang Ruyi’s ear — If you don’t want to compete, I’ll tell him.
Although she didn’t look back, she could sense that Yu Wenye was watching coldly.
She absolutely couldn’t let him look down on her!
Although she didn’t know why she had such an obsession, once it arose, the chaos in her mind cleared away, her hand suddenly steadied, Shang Ruyi narrowed her eyes, aimed at the red, glaring bullseye, and suddenly released.
With a sound of a swoosh, the icy arrow flew out.
The bow trembled in her hand, then slumped down as if paralyzed, and Shang Ruyi immediately widened her eyes to look ahead.
The arrow hit the target!
Shang Ruyi rejoiced inwardly, a smile appearing on her face.
But soon, her heart sank again.
The arrow hit the target, proving that her archery skills from more than ten years ago hadn’t gone to waste, but it was still some distance from the bullseye — with just this one arrow, she had already lost!
At this moment, footsteps sounded behind her, someone walked to her side.
"If you don’t want to compete, I’ll tell him."
Again, it was this sentence.
Shang Ruyi turned back, only to see Yu Wenye standing behind her, still with that indifferent demeanor, neither happy nor angry, as if he had just witnessed a contest that meant nothing to him.
Shang Ruyi said, "The competition isn’t over yet."
After saying this, she raised her voice and said, "Bring the horse over!"