Everyone on and below the platform froze into a still tableau.

Cai Lin broke this frozen scene by reaching up to touch his left cheek, where the arrow had just grazed past, revealing a spot of crimson blood.

Everyone was stunned.

Shen Miao had dared to shoot, not stopping the arrow midway, not deliberately missing by a wide margin. She hadn’t hit the fruit directly, but neither had she missed entirely. Instead, she had grazed Cai Lin’s cheek.

Cai Lin shouted, “Shen Miao, what are you doing!” Before his words had even finished, the second arrow came whistling through the air, grazing his right cheek with perfect precision. Cai Lin immediately felt a burning pain on his right cheek. When he touched it, he found a clear trace of blood.

He was nearly driven mad. He stared at Shen Miao in disbelief. Official Cai also wanted to intervene, but with the Prince of Yu sitting in front, he didn’t dare move.

Ren Wanyun immediately stood up. “Has Fifth Sister gone insane? How dare she wound the Cai family’s young master?”

“Your family’s Fifth Miss is truly formidable,” Madam Yi feigned surprise and said, “What ordinary girl would have such courage? Now that she’s wounded the Cai family’s young master, won’t your husbands have a few more unfriendly colleagues in court in the future?”

These words struck Ren Wanyun and Chen Ruoqiu to the heart. They had initially thought that Shen Miao would simply embarrass herself, but who would have expected that not only did she not lose face, she had wounded Cai Lin. If the Cai family harbored grievances against the Shen family because of this, the Cai family followed the path of civil officials, having offended them; how could Shen Gui and Shen Wan fare well? Thinking of this, Ren Wanyun became extremely anxious, wishing she could immediately force Shen Miao to apologize to the Cai family. She was about to call out loudly to stop Shen Miao’s actions when Chen Ruoqiu grabbed her hand.

“Sister, what are you doing?” Ren Wanyun said, displeased, “Are you just going to watch Fifth Sister cause trouble? When the Master asks later, who will bear this responsibility?”

Chen Ruoqiu was nearly in awe of her second sister-in-law. Her background was more noble than Ren Wanyun’s, and she prided herself on coming from a scholarly family. She despised such vulgar actions and naturally looked down on Ren Wanyun’s unrefined thoughts. She said, “Second Sister-in-law is right, but we just heard that even the Prince of Yu has spoken. Otherwise, why do you think Official Cai hasn’t said anything yet, just watching his son get hurt? Even if you speak up, can you make decisions here? It’s better to wait and see. If asked later, we can just say it was children playing.”

“Are we just going to watch and do nothing?” Ren Wanyun knew Chen Ruoqiu was right, but still couldn’t help worrying. “What if Fifth Sister loses restraint and causes a major disaster? The life-and-death agreement is one thing, but the rumors in Jing City are another matter entirely.”

“What is there to fear? Didn’t you see Fifth Sister’s skill just now?” Chen Ruoqiu smiled. “She knows how to use a bow; she’s just deliberately humiliating the Cai boy, taking revenge. But she should know the limits of severity, otherwise it wouldn’t be just a grazed cheek.” Chen Ruoqiu sighed. “The offense has already been given. Since that’s the case, let things take their course. If Fifth Sister truly strikes harshly, I fear she’ll bear the reputation of being vicious and merciless in the future.”

Their conversation fell word for word into the ears of the sisters Shen Qing and Shen Yue. They were still young and didn’t understand the affairs of officialdom, but they caught the last sentence. Shen Yue looked at Shen Miao on the platform in her flowing robes. Today, Shen Miao was calm and collected, stealing the spotlight, which was truly irritating. She thought, if only Shen Miao would kill Cai Lin, then Shen Miao would bear the burden of taking a life. Such a vicious person—who would dare marry her in the future? Who would dare approach her?

These shallow scratches only made her seem formidable, not vicious.

The more Shen Yue thought this way, the more her eyes glinted with something bright. The safety of Cai Lin, who had gone to confront Shen Miao for her sake, had already been cast to the back of her mind. She even hoped Cai Lin would use his life to cement Shen Miao’s evil reputation.

Although people below the platform discussed among themselves, out of respect for the Prince of Yu, none dared to speak out. Even the Cai couple, despite their burning anxiety, could only watch their son stand on the platform as a target.

“Shen Miao, what exactly do you want?” With both cheeks grazed by arrows and his entire face burning with pain, Cai Lin felt not only anger toward Shen Miao but also a trace of fear. He suddenly realized that there was nothing Shen Miao wouldn’t dare to do. She was insane—she dared to do anything!

From a distance, Shen Miao’s voice was a bit unclear, not reaching those below the platform, but it reached Cai Lin’s ears. Her voice was light, as if coming from beyond the clouds, making one not dare to look up.

She said, “To teach you a lesson.”

Shen Miao suddenly raised her voice, “One final arrow remains!”

Everyone in the venue stared intently at that arrow. Cai Lin’s legs nearly gave way; he had to pinch himself hard to keep from collapsing. Because he saw that Shen Miao’s arrow was aimed at his head.

He was terrified—a fear of the Shen family’s recklessness. This fear came surging in, gripping his entire attention at this moment. He wanted desperately to flee the examination platform, but Shen Miao’s arrowhead was aimed at him, as if it could pursue him to the ends of the earth.

“The Shen family’s daughter is too aggressive,” the officials in the men’s section, though admiring Shen Miao’s composure, lamented her current behavior. A woman being too aggressive was not a good thing, they knew. She was now fixated on Cai Lin, clearly retaliating for his earlier provocation. But Cai Lin hadn’t caused her any harm, while Shen Miao had now cut Cai Lin’s face. Although boys weren’t as delicate as girls, and scars weren’t a major concern, having them on the face… was certainly unsightly.

“This is truly worthy of General Shen’s daughter,” some cheered for Shen Miao. “If she only knew how to be bullied without fighting back, General Shen would be furious if he knew.”

“But look now, she’s aiming the arrow at Cai Lin’s head. Is she planning to take Cai Lin’s life? That’s too vicious.”

Cai Lin’s legs kept trembling as he looked at the purple-robed young lady in the distance as if she were a demon. Her features were gentle and beautiful, her eyes clear and even somewhat innocent. But her hands and movements showed not a hint of hesitation.

Shen Miao said softly, “The third arrow.”

Her hand released, and the arrow instantly shot forth, a fierce killing intent aimed directly at Cai Lin’s forehead. It frightened Cai Lin so much that he fell to his knees with a “thud,” crying out in terror, “Help!”

“Lin’er!” Madam Cai and Official Cai both let out a cry of alarm.

Everyone in the venue stood up, craning their necks to see what was happening on the platform.

Cai Lin had collapsed to the ground in perfect health, while the round fruit on the ground had been pierced straight through by the black arrow, penetrating it completely.