Jiaochu

Chapter 57: Fighting for the King of Flowers at the Hundred Flowers Banquet ([-])
Ye Lingxi ran to the wall to look at the flowers, and then ran to the weapons shelf to look at the red-tasseled gun.

"Brother Yan, do you know these weapons?"

Yan Fei replied honestly: "I'm still not good at practicing swordsmanship." Then he asked, "How is your archery practice going?"

"I can barely see it." Ye Lingjue said sitting on another chair.

"I can hit the target." Ye Lingxi retorted unconvincingly. When she saw the archery target opposite, she immediately expressed her desire to prove her strength. Yan Fei said that there was a bow in the room on the right and asked her to pick a handy one. .

When Yan Fei used the word "pick", Ye Lingxi was already prepared to see dozens or twenty bows. When she pushed the door and walked in, she realized that her idea was still too narrow. There were bows and racks hanging on the wall. There are also bows on the top, light bows, heavy bows, iron bows, wooden bows, bamboo bows... everything.

"It's quite a collection."

Ye Lingjue walked in without knowing when. His eyes stopped for a moment on a crossbow placed alone. He walked over and looked at it, then walked to a wooden bow with purple strings. After looking at it, he walked over again. In front of a lightweight glazed bow, a vivid peach blossom was carved on the bow arm. When he reached out to pick up the bow from the wall, he paused for a moment, and then took it back.

"Try whether it goes smoothly or not."

Ye Lingjue took out a bamboo bow and handed it to Ye Lingxi. She weighed it in her hand and pulled the bow string. It was quite smooth.

After Ye Lingxi came out with the bow and arrows, Yan Fei glanced at the bow in her hand and said the name of the bow, Hanyue, which his third uncle brought back to him when he went to Jiangnan for fun.

According to legend, this bow was made by Xia Gongziyu. Later Xia Dynasty replaced it with Dahui. Gongziyu hid in the mountains. Some people in later generations said that he achieved enlightenment and ascended. This Hanyue Bow was also said to be a divine bow.

When Yanjiang talked about the origin of this bow with great interest, what Yanfei saw was just an ordinary bamboo bow. Apart from its exquisite style, it had no magical powers.

"Brother Yan, is this Hanyue Bow very valuable?"

"It was a gift from someone else." "It didn't cost any money."

While Ye Lingxi was talking to Yan Fei, she was picking up arrows and setting up her bow. Her eyes were focused on the archery target opposite. However, the target was a head taller than her, and she couldn't aim at the target at all.Yan Fei propped up his crutches and was about to go over and adjust the target. Ye Lingxi immediately ran over and held him down. He told him to take a good rest and not move around with a serious face. Under the direct gaze of those big eyes, Yan Fei turned slightly. He hummed and explained how to adjust the height of the target.

Yanfei has been practicing archery since he was three years old. In order to adapt to his ever-changing height, General Yanfei specially asked the craftsmen to make a mechanical target with a piece of living wood embedded in it, which can flexibly adjust the height.

When Ye Lingxi reached out to pull the iron chain behind the wooden pile, her other hand grabbed the iron chain first. She consciously stepped aside and Ye Lingjue pulled the iron chain down, only to hear the gears coming from inside the wooden pile. There was a slight clicking sound of rotation, and then a slightly heavier click, indicating a fixed position of the living wood. Ye Lingjue continued to pull it down for a few seconds. After the fourth click, the bullseye dropped to the appropriate height.

Everything was ready. Ye Lingxi drew his bow again and aimed at the target. He took a deep breath and was focused on nothing else.

"You are not suitable to be a prince-in-law," Ye Lingjue glanced at Yan Fei's right leg resting on the stool and said calmly, "I almost lost a leg now, and I don't know when I will lose my life in the future."

"Whether he is suitable or not is up to His Highness." Yan Fei had a cold face, as if he disliked the other party's nosyness.

Ye Lingjue curled up his lips, and a faint smile flashed across his face, which seemed to be sarcastic, as if he had heard something funny. He didn't say much, and focused on Ye Lingxi to watch her shoot an arrow. There was a swish sound, and he didn't say much. The snow-white arrow feathers drew a straight trajectory in the air and plunged into the target with a clang, without falling off this time.

Although he failed to hit the bull's-eye with one arrow, he was very close to the target. It was only half a ring away, so it was not considered a shame.

Ye Lingxi thought she was pretty good, but as soon as Yanfei opened her mouth, she had the urge to slap someone with her shoe board.

"I'm not strong enough yet, I need to practice more." In order to teach better, Yan Fei asked Ye Lingxi to give him the bow and arrow. While explaining the essentials to Ye Lingxi, he demonstrated the movements himself, and then hit the bull's eye with an arrow with a whoosh.

"Wow, Brother Yan is so awesome." Ye Lingxi's voice without enthusiasm seemed perfunctory and artificial.

Yan Fei panicked, feeling like he had said something wrong or done something wrong. His instinct told him to make amends quickly. However, before he could open his mouth, Ye Lingjue said it was getting late and it was time to go back.

"Second brother, you go back first. I will go back with third brother later."

Ye Lingjue frowned, Ye Lingxi pretended not to notice, turned his back, and concentrated on studying how many white clouds were floating over the eaves.

After the atmosphere was deadlocked for a while, no one took the initiative to calm down the atmosphere.

Ye Lingxi quietly glanced back with her peripheral vision. Seeing Ye Lingjue still staring at her back, she felt really depressed. Even if she stared for another hour, it would be useless.

In this unusually quiet air, only Yan Fei was still turning the pages of the book. The other two were like backdrops, unable to move against each other.

Ye Lingxi raised her head so much that her neck felt a little sore. Just when she was thinking of someone to interrupt her, Xi Niang walked in heroically, holding a bowl of dark medicine in her hand.

"It's time to take medicine."

Xi Niang briefly looked at the backs of Ye Lingjue and Ye Lingxi, without saying a word, she reached out and handed the medicine bowl to Yan Fei, without saying anything about being careful about scalding, and her every move was very clean and neat.

Yan Fei raised his hand and took the medicine bowl without frowning. He raised his head and drank it in one gulp. Before putting down the bowl, Xi Niang took the empty bowl and turned around and left without saying a word.

"Sister Xi Niang, wait for me."

Xi Niang paused for a moment and glanced sideways at Ye Lingxi who was running towards her. Without stopping to wait, Ye Lingxi followed her and left the yard.

After Ye Lingxi left, the air in the yard seemed quieter.

Yan Fei turned his gaze slightly and saw Ye Lingjue sitting down on another chair, flipping through a page of the book with his fingers, and asked casually: "Your Highness, aren't you going back yet?"

Ye Lingjue picked up the tea cup in front of him and scratched it a few times, smelled the tea aroma and said, "Old tea is a bit astringent, so it needs to be cooked with mountain spring water." After saying this, he put the tea cup down again, as if looking at it. Not pleasing to the eye.

Yanfei didn't even bother to be polite, and said frankly: "I don't have any good tea here. If your highness wants to drink it, just go back and drink it."

Ye Lingjue ignored it and opened her fan to block the sunlight that was shining in her face. There were no flowers, plants or trees in the courtyard to block it, making the already bright light even more dazzling.

"There's nothing you can't see in the house, right?" Ye Lingjue said calmly.

"..., no." Yan Fei simply replied with two words and frowned unconsciously. He didn't like outsiders entering his house, and they didn't deal with each other.

(End of this chapter)