“Su Sha and Jin Xiu have long since established a friendly alliance. How can you speak of disadvantage?” Feng Qishan’s words were practically squeezed through his teeth. “I advise you to consider this carefully. It might be your only chance.”
“Father!” Feng Suige called out anxiously. Almost simultaneously, Yi Xiao had already flatly refused, “Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty.” She glanced at the visibly distressed Feng Suige and continued slowly, “Regarding the disadvantage, it was indeed a slip of my tongue. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. In truth, a large part of my archery skills comes from natural talent. In terms of technique, I’m not much different from ordinary people. I’m afraid I would be a disappointment to Su Sha’s elite troops. There are no shortcuts in martial arts; one simply improves through diligence.”
“‘Improves through diligence,’ you say?” Feng Qishan sneered. “Are you implying that your renowned reputation as a divine archer is nothing but exaggerated hearsay?”
Yi Xiao hesitated for a moment before answering clearly, “That’s correct!”
“So that’s how it is,” Feng Qishan suddenly smiled. “Actually, for this martial arts competition, I wanted to select a few trustworthy instructors for Su Sha’s elite forces from among the winners, especially for the archery division. I had considered you, being widely acknowledged as Jin Xiu’s top archer and Suige’s consort, to offer you this opportunity. But now, it seems I may have been hasty in my judgment.” Feng Qishan closed his eyes briefly in contemplation before continuing slowly, “However, I still believe you are a rare talent… How about this? I want you to participate in the archery contest. If you can place in the top three, I’ll entrust you with Su Sha’s archery forces. If you fall short, I’ll have no choice but to select from among the top three.” His last words were tinged with regret.
Yi Xiao looked at Feng Qishan with confusion, while Feng Suige furrowed his brow. As he was about to inquire further, Feng Qishan waved his hand, “I have memorials to review. You may leave now.”
“Hey,” Yi Xiao suddenly called out to Feng Suige as they slowly walked away. “I feel like he has some ulterior motive. What do you think it could be?”
Feng Suige slowed his pace to wait for her, responding casually, “Father always has his reasons for his words and actions. Until the situation becomes clearer, I can’t be certain of what he’s thinking.”
Yi Xiao quickened her steps to walk alongside him. “I’m not entirely sure either. I just felt that his wanting to see me couldn’t be for anything good. But this time, it seemed too easy, so I’m uneasy.” Looking up, she saw Feng Suige giving her an ambiguous smile and blurted out, “What’s with that face? Don’t you think he’s been deliberately scheming against me all along? Or do you think there’s something wrong with what I’m saying?”
“You,” Feng Suige chuckled softly, “are like a hedgehog. I didn’t say anything, yet you’ve gone on about this and that.” Yi Xiao pursed her lips, not responding. They walked in silence for a while before Feng Suige suddenly said, “However, if you could always speak your mind as you just did, I would have less to worry about.”
Seeing Yi Xiao pretend not to hear, Feng Suige sighed. “Father mentioned wanting to select a trustworthy archery instructor. If you don’t make it to the top three, I guess he’ll use his old trick—” He turned to Yi Xiao with a wink. “Can you guess what it is?”
Yi Xiao frowned. “I can’t guess.”
“It seems Marquis Chengxin, Ye Duanfang, is among those who have arrived,” Feng Suige laughed. “His divine archery skills are renowned in Su Sha, unlike some who only have an undeserved reputation.” By now, they had reached the end of the corridor. Feng Suige quickly descended the long steps toward the waiting carriage below. Yi Xiao followed, persistently asking, “What does this have to do with him?”
Feng Suige merely smiled mysteriously, offering no further explanation.
Yi Xiao listlessly crouched in the flower bed, using a hairpin to dig at the soil. It had been several days since Feng Suige left a message for her to practice archery more, and he hadn’t been seen since. After the medicinal soup incident, the rear palace had become a high-security area of the entire prince’s mansion, with sentries posted everywhere, both openly and covertly. The number of servants allowed to move freely in the rear palace had also dwindled significantly.
The bowl of medicinal soup from last time, upon examination by the royal physician, was found to contain graphite and mercury, confirming it as a common contraceptive potion. However, the physician said that while it wouldn’t cause immediate harm, taking it multiple times could potentially lead to permanent infertility. This news had enraged Feng Suige to the point where he nearly rushed into the palace to confront Jing Fei. But a single sentence from Qin Yu had calmed him down: “Let her think she’s succeeded, and she’ll try the same method again. If she learns this attempt failed, she’ll surely switch to other means to harm the Consort, which would be impossible to guard against…”
It seemed returning to Jin Xiu was no longer an option. The only choice was to fight to the bitter end.
After several days of quiet reflection, the only thing Yi Xiao couldn’t understand was how Feng Suige’s feelings for her had developed. Why had he so inexplicably declared his love for her?
Everything had happened so suddenly, making it feel unreal and illusory to her. Feng Suige’s feelings seemed to grow at an alarming rate, progressing so rapidly that it left her dizzy and unable to calmly discern their authenticity. It was as if her eyes were playing tricks on her as if she had misunderstood everything, and so—but undeniably, when he faced her alone, that naturally overflowing, burning affection constantly seared every inch of her being.
Yi Xiao had always known that Feng Suige’s appearance was extremely attractive, so she deliberately ignored his looks. She tried to convince herself that apart from the hugely advantageous condition of being born into the imperial family, he was just someone with modest achievements in both civil and military affairs, who occasionally showed her great thoughtfulness, and who could paint well… Besides these minor virtues, there wasn’t anything else about Feng Suige worth her admiration.
But perhaps from the moment he pushed her into Xia Jingshi’s arms, from his habitual mischievous smiles, from his unreserved doting, from the blatant love in his eyes, from his serious declaration that he would give her everything—everything had quietly changed. Feng Suige had imperceptibly seeped into her life without her noticing.
The realization seemed to come a bit late, yet not too late.
When she saw his joyful expression, she would smile. When she saw his playful pout, she would indulge him. When she saw the hurt in his eyes, her heart would ache. That night when he leaned towards her, she had almost closed her eyes—if he had said those words a moment later, she certainly would have.
So she didn’t want to admit her feelings for him, because it was a reality she simply couldn’t accept. She felt she should deeply hate him, hate everything about him, hate him for disrupting her peaceful life, for having such a profound impact on her!!!
She hated anything that affected her.
Just as she hated Xia Jingshi, the man she had once loved so deeply, a man whose heart was as hard as his name suggested.