The first round followed standard rules: both sides held eight arrows each, taking turns throwing them into the pots facing them respectively. Whoever landed more arrows in the pot would win.
The difference was that in ordinary pitch-pot games, the distance between the thrower and the pot was two and a half arrow lengths, but in this round, at the Xijiang Princess’s suggestion, the distance was changed to three arrow lengths.
“You two may begin.” Princess Mu announced.
The Xijiang Princess smiled: “Since I drew the lot, let Miss Xiao go first this round, and we’ll alternate in the second round.”
Xiao Wanling pressed her lips together, bowed to Xijiang County Princess Yingna, quietly adjusted her breathing, raised her hand, and released the arrow—it landed right in the pot.
“Excellent!” The noble daughters cheered softly, and the ladies from various residences also nodded with smiles.
With the other side having made a good start, the Xijiang County Princess showed no change in expression. She casually threw her arrow, and it landed in the pot with an effortless motion.
Xiao Wanling threw her second arrow and hit the target again.
The Xijiang County Princess didn’t even lift her eyelids, casually flicking her arrow out, and it accurately landed in the pot again.
Soon, both had thrown five arrows, and the atmosphere began to tense.
“Luo Yi, who do you think will win?” Zhu Yán asked Su Luo Yi in a low voice.
Su Luo Yi gently shook her head: “Looking at her demeanor, she’s come prepared. Miss Xiao will likely find it difficult to hold on.”
Although both sides had landed all five throws so far, one was completely focused while the other was nonchalant—it was obvious who was stronger.
“I just hope we don’t lose too embarrassingly in this round,” Su Luo Yi sighed softly.
Zhu Yán’s beautiful eyes were fixed intently on the field: “The last arrow.”
Everyone’s attention was highly concentrated, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Under everyone’s gaze, Xiao Wanling bit her lip, took a deep breath, and threw out her eighth arrow.
The crisp sound of the arrow hitting the pot rang out, and a low exclamation rose from the noble daughters’ seats.
Xiao Wanling let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from her palms.
This was her first time attempting such a distance, but fortunately, all eight throws hit their mark—at least she didn’t disgrace Great Liang.
Indeed, at this moment, whether it was Xiao Wanling on the field or the noble daughters watching the competition, they all had only one thought: they could not disgrace Great Liang.
Among these girls, some got along well while others had never been on good terms, but at this moment, no one thought about these grudges. They all wished they could share some of their luck with Xiao Wanling.
The Xijiang County Princess smiled and casually threw her arrow, and the last arrow landed steadily in the pot.
“It’s a tie. Your Highness, let both our sides raise our cups together.” The Xijiang Princess lifted her wine cup with a smile.
Princess Mu naturally couldn’t let her momentum falter and raised her wine cup: “Please, Princess.”
Everyone present raised their cups and drank them dry.
“Then let’s proceed to the second round of pitch-pot. Let’s increase the difficulty somewhat by writing various techniques like ‘galloping arrow,’ ‘horizontal ear,’ and ‘leaning pole’ on slips of paper. County Princess Yingna and Miss Xiao will each draw once. Adding this first round, that makes three rounds total—perfect for best of three. What does Your Highness think?” the Xijiang Princess asked.
Princess Mu naturally had no objections.
Soon, a maid carried a large-bellied ceramic jar containing paper slips to the center between the two competitors.
“Who will draw first?” Princess Mu asked.
Xiao Wanling made a gesture of invitation: “The County Princess is our guest. Please go first, County Princess.”
The Xijiang County Princess nodded in thanks, reached into the ceramic jar to take out a paper ball, and handed it to a maid.
At Princess Mu’s signal, the maid unfolded the paper ball and parted her vermilion lips to read: “Horizontal ear.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wanling’s heart tensed.
The so-called “horizontal ear,” as the name implied, meant the thrown arrow wouldn’t land in the pot but would rest horizontally across the pot’s ear.
She had naturally practiced this pitch-pot technique, but it wasn’t as easy to hit as an ordinary pitch-pot.
“You may begin. This time, the County Princess goes first.” Princess Mu announced.
The Xijiang County Princess casually picked up an arrow, glanced at the target, and threw the arrow out.
The flying arrow landed steadily across the pot’s ear.
“She hit it.” Low sounds of amazement rose from the noble daughters.
Since the Xijiang County Princess dared to compete, hitting the target wasn’t surprising. What amazed them was her understated manner, as if the increased difficulty did not affect her whatsoever.
“We’re going to lose,” Su Luo Yi sighed softly.
Zhu Yán pressed her lips together: “Why are you boosting others’ morale while dampening our own? Perhaps a miracle will happen.”
Su Luo Yi smiled bitterly: “I’m just speaking the truth. You said it yourself—we have to hope for a miracle. But in real competition, it’s always about strength.”
“Enough, you two, stop chattering. In the next round, who knows which of us will have to go up? If we lose, let’s voluntarily resign as vice presidents.” Lan Xinong said coldly.
She should have practiced pitch-pot intensively earlier. Being outdone by the Xijiang people was truly irritating.
Xu Jinghong remained silent, her calm expression making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.
After Jiang Shiran’s death, only four vice presidents remained in the Fushan Society. Each had their strengths, perfectly covering music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. It was foreseeable that one of the four would compete in the next round.
Hearing Lan Xinong’s words, Zhu Yán suddenly became nervous.
Among the four, she excelled at calligraphy, but her calligraphy wasn’t the best in the Fushan Society!
A figure naturally flashed through Zhu Yán’s mind.
Third Miss Li—her calligraphy had been praised by the master of Shuying Convent.
If they drew “calligraphy” later, what should she do?
She wasn’t afraid of losing, but she was afraid of losing to the Xijiang people. She couldn’t let all of Great Liang’s noble daughters lose face along with her.
“Luo Yi, I think—” Zhu Yán gently squeezed Su Luo Yi’s hand, but didn’t finish her sentence.
Su Luo Yi seemed to guess Zhu Yán’s thoughts and said softly: “Let’s see how it goes.”
In terms of chess skills, when had she ever been the best in Fushan Society? That girl who had quietly played to a draw with her was Fushan Society’s undisputed number one.
“She hit it! We hit it!” While the few were talking, Xiao Wanling had thrown an arrow, and many noble daughters couldn’t help but cheer aloud.
Xiao Wanling stared blankly at the arrow resting across the pot’s ear, her palms completely damp with sweat.
She hit it—she didn’t even know how she had thrown it!
“Miss Xiao is quite good.” The Xijiang County Princess curved her lips in a smile.
Hearing these words, the noble daughters felt quite annoyed.
Using such a condescending tone to praise someone, the Xijiang County Princess thought she had already won.
Well, being angry was useless. By this point in the pitch-pot competition, it was very clear whose skill level was higher.
Being inferior in skill was truly infuriating!
The second round quickly progressed to only the last two arrows remaining. Xiao Wanling’s back was already soaked, and the loose strands of hair had been dampened by sweat and stuck to her pale cheeks, making her look somewhat disheveled.
A clang sounded as the arrow she threw fell to the ground.
Both inside and outside the field fell into dead silence. Everyone stared unblinkingly at the Xijiang County Princess’s hand as she casually threw out her last arrow.
The arrow rested horizontally across the pot’s ear—another hit!
With this, Xiao Wanling didn’t even need to throw her last arrow. Great Liang had already lost the second round.