Approaching noon, more than ten riders galloped from west to east, hoofbeats like sudden rain blanketing the long street.
Han Qian, Feng Yi, Kong Xirong, and Li Chong, together with Guard Battalion Deputy Commander and Adjutant Qian Wenxun, residence steward Guan Bao, and others came out from the residence to welcome them. They saw a procession of carriages and horses approaching from the palace gates. The lead riders shouted loudly, cracking their whips with sharp snaps in mid-air, driving unrelated people from the long street.
Soon a lavishly decorated carriage, under the escort of Guo Rong, Chen De, and others, arrived before the residence and stopped.
Gauze curtains obscured the carriage. As Han Qian followed Qian Wenxun, Guan Bao, and others forward to pay respects, he saw a full-figured, tall, quite beautiful female official lift the curtain from inside the carriage and extend her hand to lead the young man behind her down from the carriage.
Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s complexion was somewhat pale. He kept his hands behind his back, biting his lip, not allowing the female palace official to lead him down. Instead, he stood rigidly before the carriage, examining the crowd guarding the courtyard gate of the residence, seemingly uncertain how to deal with this large group of people who were nominally his subordinates, quite timid.
Han Qian stood to the side, seeing Feng Yi could barely suppress a yawn, knowing that Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s display of timidity had disappointed him somewhat.
“Vice Minister of Finance Feng Wenlan’s son Feng Yi, Junior Supervisor of the Secretariat Han Daoxun’s son Han Qian, Deputy Commander of the Left Divine Strategy Army and Loyal Martial General Kong Zhou’s son Kong Xirong, Earl Xinchang Li Pu’s son Li Chong—from now on they will all be Your Lordship’s reading companions and attendants. Your Lordship should treat these four well and grow close to them…” Guo Rong dismounted, cleared his somewhat shrill throat, and introduced Han Qian and the others to Third Prince Yang Yuanpu.
Kong Xirong always followed Feng Yi’s lead. Since Feng Yi stood there without moving, he did not move either.
Han Qian also remained impassive. At this moment, he saw that female official secretly extend her hand and push Third Prince Yang Yuanpu, seemingly urging him to say something. But in that instant, Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s expression became even more rigid, as if he had been licked by a venomous snake.
Seeing this scene, Han Qian recalled Feng Yi saying earlier that besides Guard Battalion Commander Chen De, everyone around Yang Yuanpu was assigned by Anning Palace. It seemed this was indeed true.
The atmosphere of the greeting before the residence gates grew somewhat cold.
Guard Battalion Commander Chen De was tall, upright, and powerfully built, quite imposing in bearing. But since he was distantly related to Consort Wang, yet was merely a minor battalion commander at this time, either he had been heavily suppressed by Anning Palace, or as Feng Yi had just said, this person was not to be relied upon.
Seeing that Han Qian and the others were not enthusiastic enough toward Third Prince Yang Yuanpu, Chen De raised his eyebrows and said to Third Prince Yang Yuanpu:
“Your Highness has not yet seen your own residence, have you? The weather outside is hot. Your Highness should first enter the residence to rest. Whatever matters there are, it won’t be too late to instruct us after entering the residence…”
The crowd surrounded Third Prince Yang Yuanpu as they entered the residence.
Only now were Han Qian and the others permitted to follow into the inner residence.
There were even more palace attendants and palace maids waiting in the inner residence, and the space was larger. The layered courtyards numbered more than ten, but they still seemed crude, far inferior to Wanhong Tower’s winding paths and enchanting scenery.
To the north of the Linjiang Marquis’s Residence was a spacious garden that appeared somewhat desolate, about eleven or twelve acres, not much smaller than the Linjiang Marquis’s Residence itself.
The garden was enclosed by wooden palisade walls. From the ruins inside the garden, Han Qian could tell this had previously been a small-scale military camp.
The garden served as the daily training ground for the residence’s Guard Battalion. The Guard Battalion’s quarters, stables, and other buildings were constructed at the garden’s northeastern corner, with passageways leading to various parts of the residence so that in case of emergency, armed soldiers could reinforce any corner at the fastest speed.
Third Prince Yang Yuanpu was in low spirits. After everyone accompanied him through a hasty meal and chatted for a while with nothing to do, he wanted to go to the rear garden to observe the Guard Battalion soldiers training.
Although Emperor Tianyou encouraged imperial clan members and princes to diligently practice archery and horsemanship, the Third Prince had been raised since childhood within the palace confines and had no opportunity to handle bows and blades.
Arriving at the rear garden and seeing the guards practicing archery there with impressive form, Yang Yuanpu’s eyes showed interested light for the first time. Yet he asked Guo Rong with considerable timidity: “Lord Guo, can this marquis also shoot arrows?”
“General Chen was personally appointed by His Majesty to be Your Highness’s archery and horsemanship instructor. Whether Your Highness can shoot arrows, you must ask General Chen about that.” Guo Rong treated the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s cautious behavior before him as if it were invisible, pushing such matters to Guard Battalion Commander Chen De.
“Both His Majesty and the Consort have instructed that Your Highness’s establishment of residence is precisely for learning archery and horsemanship. His Majesty will also test Your Highness from time to time on how your archery and horsemanship practice is progressing. Not only can Your Highness shoot arrows today, in the future you must also endure hardship and not disappoint His Majesty.” Chen De was prepared. He immediately had someone prepare an exquisitely crafted hunting bow, reset the archery target, and had Third Prince Yang Yuanpu try shooting.
Perhaps after over an hour of contact, with Han Qian and the others showing quite restrained displays of proper humility and caution, Third Prince Yang Yuanpu regained some confidence. He took the hunting bow Chen De had prepared for him, tested the draw twice, and asked Han Qian and the others: “Can you all shoot arrows?”
“Of course we’ve all learned.” Feng Yi said rather proudly.
“Then you shoot for me to see first.” Yang Yuanpu said, first handing the hunting bow in his hands to the tall and powerfully built Kong Xirong.
Among the four of them—Han Qian and the others—Kong Xirong was built most solidly and was also the son of great general Kong Zhou. Yang Yuanpu wanted to see his archery skills first.
Kong Xirong took the hunting bow, drew it twice, and said disdainfully: “This bow is too soft. Get me a yellow poplar longbow, and I’ll shoot for Your Highness to see.”
Chen De’s brows furrowed slightly, but he still signaled his subordinates to remove the yellow poplar longbow from their backs and hand it to Kong Xirong.
This special military yellow poplar longbow required one hundred fifty pounds of force to draw fully.
All one hundred twenty soldiers of the residence Guard Battalion were equipped with such bows, showing that for protecting the prince’s personal safety, no one dared tamper with the selection of guards.
Kong Xirong’s strength was enormous. The yellow poplar longbow used by the guards was just right for him. Taking out three arrows, he walked to one hundred twenty paces from the target and shot three arrows in succession, all hitting the target to demonstrate his exceptional archery. He then handed the yellow poplar longbow to Han Qian: “Will you shoot with this bow?”
Han Qian smiled bitterly and said to Yang Yuanpu: “I don’t dare compare archery with Kong Xirong. Your Highness, lend me your bow.”
Han Qian could now barely draw the yellow poplar longbow, but if he barely drew the bowstring full, how could there be any accuracy to speak of?
A longbow’s range was directly related to the force of drawing the string fully. Only a one-hundred-fifty-pound bow could shoot objects one hundred twenty or thirty paces away.
The hunting bow Han Qian took from Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s hands was merely a soft bow of forty or fifty pounds of force. He walked to fifty paces away and shot three arrows in succession.
Although all three arrows hit around the bullseye, his archery was still far inferior to Kong Xirong, who could hit the target at one hundred twenty paces with a strong bow.
Feng Yi was dissolute and unrestrained, mainly because he disliked studying and had a capricious temperament, but he was not unfamiliar with horseback riding and archery either. In this age when martial culture flourished greatly, suburban excursions and hunting were among the most common recreational activities for sons of aristocratic families.
Feng Yi picked up the hunting bow and at fifty paces away, all three arrows hit the bullseye. His archery looked considerably better than Han Qian’s.
Li Chong, wanting to maintain accuracy, did not dare draw the yellow poplar longbow too fully. He shot from about one hundred paces, but every arrow hit the center, earning cheers from the watching guards.
Although all one hundred twenty elite guards were said to be skilled at archery, only three to five could accomplish this. Li Chong truly lived up to being a tiger cub from a general’s household.
Li Chong raised his eyebrows. When handing the yellow poplar longbow to the guard beside Chen De, he raised his head to look toward Han Qian, with no small amount of proud showing off.
But Han Qian paid no attention to Li Chong. He noticed that at this moment, Marquis of Linjiang Yang Yuanpu’s eyes revealed envious, excited light, but his fists were clenched tight against the outside of his thighs, as if trying to suppress the envy and excitement in his heart.
Han Qian suddenly thought: Had Marquis of Linjiang Yang Yuanpu known beforehand that Li Chong would come to his side, and was even quite looking forward to Li Chong’s arrival?
Han Qian was startled by his own discovery…
“My archery is far inferior to yours. I’ll have to learn well from you all in the future.”
Third Prince Yang Yuanpu perhaps did not yet know how many secrets his small movements just now had leaked. He took back the hunting bow from Han Qian, seeming to give himself an excuse first.
His body was far from fully grown. Even his speech carried some childishness. His strength was much less than Han Qian’s. He could only stand thirty paces away and draw the hunting bow halfway, also learning from Han Qian and the others to rapidly shoot three arrows. But all three arrows passed by the edges of the target.
From how he held and gripped the bow, one could tell he had not had much opportunity to handle bows and arrows before.
Yang Yuanpu handed the hunting bow to Chen De and said: “General Chen, you teach me to shoot arrows.”
Chen De was appointed by Emperor Tianyou as the Marquis of Linjiang’s archery and horsemanship instructor. Since Han Qian and the others were imperial prince reading companions, naturally they would also learn archery and horsemanship from Chen De.
Feng Yi and Kong Xirong crossed their arms and stood to the side at this moment, seemingly wanting to see whether Chen De had the qualifications. Han Qian intentionally or unintentionally observed the small movements between Li Chong and Marquis of Linjiang Yang Yuanpu…
That Marquis of Linjiang Yang Yuanpu knew beforehand that Li Chong would come to his side—this was something Han Qian had not anticipated.
Did Marquis of Linjiang Yang Yuanpu know of Wanhong Tower’s schemes? Or rather, had people around Marquis of Linjiang Yang Yuanpu directly participated in Wanhong Tower’s schemes and told Yang Yuanpu that he could trust Li Chong?
Han Qian was more inclined to believe the latter.
Marquis of Linjiang Yang Yuanpu was still too young and had grown up confined within the palace from childhood. He could not hide matters in his heart. It was hard to imagine him directly participating in Wanhong Tower’s conspiracy. But if someone else told Marquis of Linjiang Yang Yuanpu that he could trust Li Chong, who would that person be?
The Marquis of Linjiang’s mother, the newly enfeoffed Consort Wang?
After all, having grown up in the complex environment of the palace confines, Marquis of Linjiang Yang Yuanpu was timid and suspicious. Besides Consort Wang, Han Qian could not think of whose words could make Marquis of Linjiang Yang Yuanpu believe without doubt.
At this moment, Chen De held the yellow poplar longbow and stood one hundred paces away to shoot three arrows. Every arrow also hit the bullseye, earning cheers from the guards. It seemed he was not as incompetent as Feng Yi had sneered at.
However, Han Qian’s mind was somewhat distracted at this moment. He truly did not understand how mysterious, how complex, how vast the forces behind Wanhong Tower were, that they had already drawn in both Marquis Xinchang Li Pu and Consort Wang. But thinking carefully, if they had not involved Marquis Xinchang Li Pu and Consort Wang to stir up wind and rain, what confidence would Wanhong Tower have to scheme anything with the Marquis of Linjiang?
Only now did Han Qian realize how reckless it had been for him to barge directly into Wanhong Tower to lay his cards on the table. That he could walk out of Wanhong Tower alive could truly be said to be because his fate was hard.