Princess of Xijiang’s arrow hitting the bullseye immediately heightened the atmosphere on the scene, with everyone holding their breath in rapt attention as they watched Qiao Zhao’s performance.

Qiao Zhao gripped her longbow, aiming at the target.

In her ears echoed words spoken in the training ground of Marquis Jing’an’s residence by her brother-in-law Shao Xiyuan.

“Second Sister-in-law, since you have nothing to do each day anyway, shall I teach you archery?”

“Second Sister-in-law, your strength is small, so you can’t shoot far. Let’s just practice accuracy. Our Shao family has exceptional archery techniques. If you study well according to my teaching, you’ll be able to pierce a willow leaf at a hundred paces—er, wait, you definitely can’t shoot a hundred paces…”

“Eh, Second Sister-in-law, I’ve discovered that although you struggle learning our Shao family’s martial arts with no talent whatsoever, you do have some talent for archery. I understand now—this must be related to Second Sister-in-law’s quiet temperament. Father once said that to shoot accurately, one must first calm the heart. Only with a calm heart can the hands be steady.”

…

Recalling these memories that seemed to come from long ago, Qiao Zhao couldn’t help but slightly curve her lips upward.

She had lived in that deep residential compound for nearly three years, and after becoming familiar with her brother-in-law Shao Xiyuan, she had practiced archery with him for over two years. It could be said that as long as the distance to the target wasn’t too far, her accuracy was quite good.

Grandfather had once said that having many skills doesn’t burden you, because you never know when a skill you’ve learned might help you or even save your life. So don’t waste heaven-given talents, and don’t fritter away precious time lamenting spring and mourning autumn.

Qiao Zhao held the longbow without moving for a long time, causing unease to begin spreading through the noble ladies’ seating area.

“What’s wrong with Third Miss Li? She’s been standing there holding the bow with no reaction.”

“Oh no, is Third Miss Li suffering from stage fright?”

“Actually… even if Third Miss Li has stage fright, we can’t blame her. How old is she? Having won those two previous rounds so brilliantly is already beyond anyone’s reach.”

“True, but if she loses this round, our Great Liang will lose to Xijiang. Then that annoying Princess of Xijiang will make her sarcastic remarks again.”

“We can only blame our bad luck. Who made the final round draw for archery? If it had been chess or painting, I’m sure Third Miss Li would have defeated that Princess of Xijiang.”

Amid the noble ladies’ whispered discussions, Qiao Zhao moved.

She stared intently at the target dozens of steps away, her heart completely calming down. She could no longer hear any sounds around her, as if she had returned to that familiar training ground.

That training ground was probably the only bright spot in her memories of Marquis Jing’an’s residence.

There she had shed her sweat, and it had also carried the vague hopes she kept buried in her heart.

From her youth to becoming a woman of twenty, she had always been curious about the husband personally chosen for her by her grandfather. That curiosity, accumulating in her heart, had gradually fermented into an indistinct fondness.

That young general was someone grandfather had his eye on. She trusted grandfather’s judgment—how could she not have expectations of him?

Her hand released, the string snapped, and the arrow flew out like a meteor. Many noble ladies were so frightened they closed their eyes, not daring to watch the result.

No sound could be heard around them. Some noble ladies kept their eyes closed while tugging at their neighbors’ sleeves: “Did it hit? Did it hit?”

Soon came the helpless voice of their neighbor: “Don’t pull me—I didn’t dare look either!”

Fortunately, the person responsible for verification quickly announced the result: “Bullseye—Third Miss Li scores ten points.”

Hearing this result, all the Great Liang noble ladies forgot their usual reserved dignity and cheered aloud.

Princess of Xijiang suddenly glanced at Qiao Zhao, but saw her standing quietly with lowered eyes, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Princess of Xijiang frowned.

What was the point of putting on this act of being a transcendent master? She wouldn’t be intimidated!

“Your Highness may shoot the second arrow.”

Princess of Xijiang breathed lightly, adjusted her stance, and shot her second arrow.

Another perfect bullseye!

“Miss Li, your turn.”

But Qiao Zhao was different from the Princess of Xijiang—her expression and posture remained completely unchanged as she drew her bow, nocked an arrow, and shot her second arrow.

“Bullseye—Third Miss Li scores ten points!”

Princess of Xijiang bit her lower lip.

She truly hadn’t expected there to be a woman in this world who not only surpassed her in every way but had no weaknesses whatsoever.

Fortunately, though her archery skills weren’t as supremely masterful as Princess Yingna’s, they were still outstanding among women. Shooting such stationary targets, as long as no accidents occurred, hitting the bullseye with all ten arrows wouldn’t be difficult.

“Bullseye—Your Highness scores ten points!”

…

“Bullseye—Third Miss Li scores ten points!”

The noble ladies watched with dazzled eyes, their hearts dropping and rising, rising and dropping, until they had become somewhat numb.

“Bullseye—Third Miss Li scores ten points!”

For quite a while, the two people standing in the field showed no reaction.

“Why aren’t they continuing to shoot?” a noble lady murmured.

“It seems… it seems they’ve finished…”

“Finished? I kept hearing ten points the whole time.”

“Right, so that means Third Miss Li and Princess of Xijiang are tied?”

The person recording scores announced the result: “Both Your Highness and Miss Li hit the bullseye with all ten arrows, each scoring one hundred points. This round is a draw—”

“Wait.” Qiao Zhao suddenly interrupted.

Seeing everyone look over, Qiao Zhao nodded slightly to Princess Mu: “Your Highness, I would like to request that you send someone to examine the targets. This round should not be a draw.”

As soon as Qiao Zhao said this, everyone present was stunned.

What did Third Miss Li mean by this? They had all watched with wide eyes as both competitors performed—both had achieved ten out of ten hits. How could it not be a draw?

Princess Mu instructed a female official beside her: “Go examine the targets.”

The female official received the order and went to inspect, seeing one arrow embedded in the center of each target. She reported back: “Your Highness, both Your Highness’s and Miss Li’s final arrows hit the bullseye.”

Princess Mu looked toward Qiao Zhao: “Miss Li, this—”

“Your Highness, why not request someone proficient in archery to examine them?”

Princess of Xijiang laughed coldly: “This round was a draw. Why does Miss Li repeatedly request an examination? Could it be that you’re unwilling to accept tying with this princess?”

As the other party was a foreign princess, Qiao Zhao was unwilling to engage in verbal sparring, looking calmly at Princess Mu.

Princess Mu pondered briefly before saying: “Very well, I’ll send someone to the East Garden to request a guest skilled in archery to make the judgment. Since they haven’t witnessed the competition process, their judgment will be fairer. What does Your Highness think?”

Princess of Xijiang smiled lightly and nodded: “Your Highness, please proceed.”

At the East Garden, Prince Mu’s eyes flickered slightly upon receiving the message: “Eh, there’s a dispute over the archery competition at the West Garden? Both the princess and Miss Li hit the bullseye with all ten arrows, yet Miss Li says it’s not a draw?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Her Highness requests that you select someone skilled in archery to make the judgment.”

Shao Mingyuan stood up: “I’ll go take a look.”

Prince Mu smiled: “Marquis, your fiancée is one of the competitors. If you go, it might be difficult to convince everyone. How about this—several of us are quite skilled in archery. Let’s all go take a look together.”

Shao Mingyuan was equally curious about the competition results there and nodded in agreement.

Several men went together, and after examining both targets, they all pointed to one of them: “Whoever shot this target is the winner.”