Archery—it was archery!

Horseback archery was originally a skill that Great Liang noble men were required to master. For women, because archery demanded high standards, noble ladies generally learned pitch-pot instead.

Unfortunately, in recent years the extravagant atmosphere in Great Liang’s capital had grown increasingly heavy, and fewer and fewer people learned archery, especially noble ladies—very few were proficient in it.

How unlucky to draw archery of all things!

The Great Liang noble ladies looked worriedly toward the straight-postured young lady in the field.

Third Miss Li was so short—she probably couldn’t even draw a bow, could she? This was truly worrisome.

What made it worse was that they had agreed from the start that one person would compete in three consecutive rounds, so they couldn’t even find someone to substitute.

The Princess of Xijiang was likewise momentarily stunned upon learning that the drawn topic was archery.

In today’s competition, the first round had already featured pitch-pot, so she thought there absolutely wouldn’t be another archery topic.

Princess Mu was truly honest—when she said topics like music, chess, calligraphy, painting, pitch-pot, and archery could all be contested, this princess consort had actually put the “archery” lot into the draw.

She had naturally learned horseback archery, but not as well as her cousin Princess Yingna.

Princess of Xijiang subconsciously cast her gaze toward Princess Yingna of Xijiang outside the field.

This was already the decisive round, concerning Xijiang’s honor—she couldn’t afford to lose. But if she changed people, what reason could she give?

Princess of Xijiang’s palms grew slightly sweaty.

At this moment, Qiao Zhao spoke: “Does Your Highness need to change contestants?”

The Princess of Xijiang was startled, looking at the young lady who was two inches shorter than herself.

The young lady was delicate and petite, like a fragile orchid—beautiful but unable to withstand wind and rain.

Could such a little girl know archery? She probably didn’t even have the strength to draw a bow, right?

Princess of Xijiang suddenly gained confidence, her face recovering its composed smile: “Does Miss Li need to change contestants?”

Qiao Zhao smiled slightly: “Although archery is not my forte, we agreed earlier that one person must compete in three consecutive rounds. A hundred gold pieces cannot compare to keeping one’s word—how could I break faith with Your Highness?”

Princess of Xijiang opened her mouth, rendered speechless by Qiao Zhao’s words.

“Of course, if Your Highness needs to change contestants, I have no objection.” Qiao Zhao wore a frank and generous smile on her face, though a cunning glint flashed in her eyes.

She had caught the subtle changes in Princess of Xijiang’s expression just now and understood that archery was likely not the princess’s strength. Since that was the case, she naturally wanted to use words to pressure the Princess of Xijiang into not changing contestants.

In pitch-pot, Xijiang had an expert like Princess Yingna, so they were presumably not weak in archery either. If Princess Yingna were substituted in, even if she withdrew and chose again from among the Great Liang noble ladies, who knew whether anyone could match Princess Yingna?

“No need to change—let’s compete between just the two of us!” Princess of Xijiang said with tightly pressed lips.

This wretched girl had already said that a hundred gold pieces couldn’t compare to keeping one’s word. If she asked to change contestants, she would become someone who broke faith, completely losing face for the Princess of Xijiang.

“Then let’s begin.”

The East Garden had already received the news.

“Eh, the final round is archery?” Prince Mu showed slight surprise.

Everyone shook their heads: “Horseback archery has never been women’s forte. What’s the point of competing in archery?”

Chi Can sneered inwardly upon hearing this: You embroidered pillows still have the nerve to mock Third Miss Li. Setting aside how good Third Miss Li’s archery might be, she’s someone who has killed people with arrows.

Tingyuan had once told him that no matter how superb one’s martial arts, having killed versus never having killed were completely different—a difference only those who had experienced it could understand.

“This round is still between my royal sister and Marquis Guanjun’s fiancée?” Prince Gong of Xijiang asked with feigned calm, though his heart began to feel uneasy.

His royal sister’s archery was quite good among women, but still far inferior to his cousin Princess Yingna. If Yingna competed in this round, they would have complete confidence.

Prince Mu nodded with a smile: “Correct, it’s still Princess and Miss Li competing. A hundred gold pieces cannot compare to keeping one’s word—naturally, they cannot change what was previously agreed upon.”

When he heard these words from his consort, he couldn’t help but cheer for Miss Li.

Setting aside how the final round would turn out, just for that little girl’s cleverness, she deserved his praise.

Prince Mu cast his gaze toward Shao Mingyuan.

This realm belonged to their Jiang family, and the finest things in the world should belong to their Jiang family—women included.

In the future, everything Marquis Guanjun had taken, he would make him spit back out!

“Women competing in archery is indeed interesting. Your Highness, might I go observe?” Prince Gong of Xijiang finally couldn’t resist making this request.

Ever since learning that his royal sister had lost two consecutive rounds to Marquis Guanjun’s fiancée, he had very much wanted to see for himself.

That Miss Li, who resembled the dancing girl in his residence so closely, what exceptional qualities did she possess?

Shao Mingyuan slammed his wine cup heavily on the table and stood up, laughing: “Since Your Highness is curious about archery, why don’t we men of both countries compete as well?”

Though he was willing to watch Zhaozhao shine brilliantly, having a group of grown men as spectators was unpleasant.

When he felt unpleasant, he wanted to teach people lessons. Hmm, beating up Xijiang people definitely wouldn’t be as satisfying as beating up Tartars, but it was better than nothing.

Prince Gong of Xijiang was dumbfounded upon hearing this.

Their East Garden had just held a competition as well, comparing martial arts skills.

For this visit to Great Liang, his royal brother had specifically had him bring Xijiang’s greatest warrior to test Marquis Guanjun’s depth. Who knew their greatest warrior would be thrown out of the arena with one hand by Marquis Guanjun—they simply didn’t bother competing in subsequent sword and spear techniques.

The gap was too large—why seek such humiliation!

“This—” Under Shao Mingyuan’s burning gaze, Prince Gong of Xijiang coughed lightly, “We just competed in martial arts. This time, why not make it scholarly instead?”

Emboldened by wine, both sides’ competitive spirits were aroused as they called out: “What does Your Highness want to compete in?”

Prince Gong of Xijiang smiled: “Let’s play chess.”

At the West Garden, everything needed for the archery competition was ready.

Two targets were placed dozens of steps away. Princess of Xijiang gripped her longbow and asked Qiao Zhao: “How does Miss Li want to compete?”

“Your Highness should set the rules.”

Since Princess of Xijiang had already grown fearful, she would certainly seek rules favorable to herself from the regulations, and such rules would be equally favorable to her as well.

“Women are naturally not as strong as men, so competing in distance would be meaningless. Let’s compete in accuracy instead. We’ll each shoot ten arrows. Missed shots don’t count for points. From bullseye to edge, we’ll divide into four sections—hitting the outer ring scores one point, the middle ring scores three points, the inner ring scores six points, and hitting the bullseye scores ten points. How does Miss Li find this?”

“Excellent. Please shoot the first arrow, Your Highness.”

The Princess of Xijiang didn’t decline. She quietly adjusted her breathing, drew her bow, and nocked an arrow. The arrow shot out like a meteor and hit the bullseye dead center.

The entire venue immediately erupted in amazement.

When “archery” was drawn, the Princess of Xijiang seemed less confident than before, making them think she wasn’t skilled at archery. Who would have thought her first arrow would hit the bullseye!

“First arrow, Your Highness scores ten points.”

Princess of Xijiang lowered her bow and said with a beaming smile: “Miss Li, your turn.”