Seeing that there was no hesitation at all in Leng Changxi, Sima Ray couldn’t help but sneer. He still got tricked. Leng Changxi was too powerful in the government these days. For people whom he couldn’t make use of, Sima Ray’s principle was to rather ruin them than giving them to the others.
When the two arrows were shot, those with sharp eyes could see that they didn’t go side by side. One of them was slightly in the front, seemingly lighter; while the other one was slightly behind, seemingly heavier, but equally powerful. Soon, the one behind caught up with the one in front and pierced it through. It accurately divided the arrow in the front into two. Plop, the two arrows turned into three and punctured into the bullseye
In the summer breeze, the three arrows firmly slammed in the bullseye seemed to have the same perseverance, courageous but slightly lonely temperament as Leng Changxi, as well as the fragrance of the grass.
“Nice!” Sima Xiu stood up from the dragon chair with excitement, taking the lead to applaud Leng Changxi. Hence, all of the officials followed. Even Qin Yunuan nearly stood up as well. But she held herself back eventually, with joy on her face beyond words.
While Qin Yuzhao boldly clapped desperately, shouting out all the words that Qin Yunuan wanted to say, “It’s amazing! This big brother is amazing! He’s the most amazing in the world!”
Receiving the enthusiastic approval like the tides, Leng Changxi simply put down the long bow in his hand calmly. The first glance he took was towards Qin Yunuan’s direction. His simple, warm and tender smile seemed to be reporting to Qin Yunuan that he didn’t care what others think of him. The only thing he cared was her attitude towards him.
It was the first time that Qin Yunuan smiled so cheerfully. She was even showing her white teeth. He was always the best, and this time, he represented Qi to prove the North Di’s wrong.
“Sorry,” Leng Changxi stepped forward and nodded towards Wanyan Su, “The prince of North Di, you lost.”
Wanyan Su also heartily praised him, “I feel honored losing to you.” Turning two arrows into three. Without enough strength and precision, coupled with years of experience and calm judgment, it was absolutely impossible for ordinary people to do that.
Sima Ray also catered and said, “General Leng has really got some skills.”
Leng Changxi turned sideways slightly, and his bat-shaped mask happened to form a strange arc, staring at Sima Ray coldly, as if it could eat people’s souls and read people’s minds. “Thank you, Prince Ray.”
Thank you for changing the arrow in the arrow box. The hardness of the arrows was different so that one arrow could pierce through the other so easily.
Empress Chen was looking gentle, “What a young hero. Emperor, what do you think?”
“He needs to be rewarded naturally!” Sima Xiu’s mood was as relieved as a waterfall, “General Leng, just tell me what you want for the reward.”
Letting someone ask for the reward directly. What a great honor.
Leng Changxi didn’t look as surprised as the others. He arched his hands and said, “I don’t really have anything indeed.” This was the truth. He could naturally get what he wanted, whether it was an object or a person.
“No,” Sima Xiu said decisively, “in this case, I’ll grant you a request. From now on, if General Leng has anything you want, as long as the request is reasonable, and I can afford it, I will definitely satisfy it for you.”
Sima Xiu’s words were determined, but Empress Chen’s face flared. If the Emperor gave him lands or jewelries, or raised his positions; even if the Emperor announced him a lord for the shot, she could have accepted it. She feared the most about this situation. First, it was equivalent to giving Leng Changxi a great authority. Second, this showed that the Emperor’s trust in General Leng had reached an extremely high level.
No other Emperors would dare granting such a gift to their officials.
It seemed that she could no longer get her hands on Leng Changxi anymore.
Looking at Empress Chen and Sima Ray’s thoughtful looks, Leng Changxi didn’t refuse the Emperor. He arched his hands and said, “Thank you, Emperor.”
“Oh, so he is General Leng who is known as the Qi’s God of War,” Suddenly, a cute and bright female voice with a strong North Di accent sounded, “He is indeed amazing, just like our Khan.”
The one who was speaking was the princess of North Di who came a long way from North Di to Qi for the political marriage. Normally, the ladies of Qi were not allowed to show up casually before they get married. However, the North Di was more open minded. They even had a male-leaving marriage custom a few years back, from which some of the habits were left behind. It was nothing for them to have an unmarried princess following the army for hunting.
The women of North Di had low social status and no surname. The North Di princess was named Saichun. She was tall and slender, and her facial profile was quite characteristic of the North Di people. Her eye sockets were deep, with bright eyes like gems. Her nose bridge was high and her mouth was small. She was an exquisite beauty. At this moment, she was seating on Qin Yunuan’s side where the ladies sat, next to an imperial concubine.
Saichun’s words immediately attracted a lot of attention. She stood up straight and cheerfully, facing Sima Xiu and said heartily, “Emperor of Qi, you Qi actually have such a capable person in archery. I have decided that I’m not going to marry your Grand Prince. I want to marry such a warrior.” Saichun shouted towards Leng Changxi, “Hey, what’s your name?”
Leng Changxi glanced at her coldly, as if he hadn’t meant to answer her. Saichun didn’t really care and she answered herself, “Forget it, the name doesn’t matter. The point is that I like the way he shoots arrows. Emperor of Qi, I’ve decided that I want to marry him.”
Before Sima Xiu, whose face changed slightly, was able to respond, Wanyan Su immediately motioned to the maid next to Saichun to take her down and said softly, “Sis, this is the Emperor of Qi. Don’t talk about marriage so casually. It’s impolite.”
“How am I fooling around?” Saichun couldn’t be relieved, and shouted again, “Didn’t Khan say that I was coming for marriage when I left the grassland? I didn’t want it at first, but now I am willing, how’s that not good?”
The atmosphere was a bit awkward, and Sima Xiu laughed out loud, “The daughters of the grassland are indeed more straightforward and cheerful than our ladies in the Central Plains.”
“The Emperor of Qi, so you’ve agreed?
Sima Xiu sipped his tea and said, “Well, matrimonial matters require long-term consideration.”
“I don’t get it. I like him, then we get together. What else needs to be considered?” Saichun was a straight person.
Leng Changxi looked at Qin Yunuan silently. He had imagined many cases where Qin Yunuan gets jealous. Would she frown? Would she pout? Would she lose her temper? However, at the moment, Qin Yunuan was just smiling faintly, and the time seemed to be frozen. Qin Yunuan’s peaceful and radiant smile once again caught Leng Changxi’s heart.
He knew what she was thinking. That was because she trusted him without doubts, so why should she be jealous anyway?
However, on Saichun’s side….
“Oh, so that’s why the princess haven’t cared about Ruo these days, it turns out that the princess has someone in her heart already.” Imperial Concubine Yun seized the opportunity and spared no effort to secretly help her. She didn’t like the arrangement of the Emperor in the first place. Why should her good son marry an impolite North Di wife? Now that the princess of North Di had said that she wanted to marry Leng Changxi, it was a great opportunity to let Leng Changxi carry the responsibility.
Sima Ruo didn’t speak for the whole time. He remained silent, like a sculpture, as if whether this Princess Saichun would marry him or not had nothing to do with him. No one knew what he was thinking, even Imperial Concubine Yun might not know what her son was thinking now.
Empress Chen sipped her light tea and said, “Haven’t the Queen Mother already begun to worry about General Leng’s marriage?” This sentence was like a double-edged sword. It didn’t only help Sima Xiu to relieve the awkwardness, but also remind Imperial Concubine Yun that her little plan still had to fail.
One of them was an orphan girl who was adopted by the Queen Mother, and was only named the infanta because of the merits of her family. The other one was a favored princess of North Di, with countless opportunities and mild land behind her. Empress Chen clearly knew that avoiding the enemies of getting stronger was equivalent to strengthening herself.
“Indeed,” Sima Ray echoed, “Grandmother has been matchmaking for General Leng and Infanta Shuhua, I’m afraid that Princess Saichun’s request….”
Saichun suddenly turned her head, “Aren’t you Han people particular about concubines? Let her be a concubine then.”
As soon as this sentence came out, Wanyan Su’s eyes had become extremely cold. He even made a mute gesture behind his back, letting the maids directly cover Saichun’s mouth. These maids were all brought by Wanyan Su from North Di, and they received direct orders from him. Hence, they didn’t have much concern.
Although Qin Yunuan still smiled faintly on the surface, it was absolutely impossible to say that she did not care indeed. A group of people were talking about the marriage of the man in her heart in front of her. Her heart was twitching painfully. It was uncomfortable. Her fingertip trembled and she overturned the teacup at hand and the hot tea poured out.
“Third Miss, get up quickly, beware of the hot tea,” Maner shouted loudly.
But Qin Yunuan kept her eyes on Leng Changxi, and their glances met. At that moment, Leng Changxi suddenly stepped forward and talked the first time on this topic, “Princess Saichun is very noble, and Infanta Shuhua is the Queen Mother’s darling, but forgive me that Changxi would not marry either of them.”
“General Leng, what are you talking about?” Empress Chen narrowed her eyes, “Does General Leng really have a cold heart? These two are both rare beauties, is General Leng really not interested at all?”
“Changxi is already interested in someone,” Leng Changxi lifted his firm but cold pupils, “It’s just that Changxi’s heart will only move once in his life, and only for one person in a lifetime. I already have someone in my heart, and there’s no room for anyone else.”
