Golden Age Legitimate Fei Chapter 78: Victory or Defeat: Decided by an Arrow (1)

A bustling crowd gathered around an empty space in the imperial garden. A little far away from that place stood some maids and eunuchs who had some time to spare. They stole a glance at this fun incident which was seldom seen in the imperial palace. Mo Jing Qi and the empress brought with them consorts and those ministers and ladies who were there for the royal banquet to witness the competition between Princess Ding and Princess Ling Yun. The imperial garden boiled with unprecedented noise. There were too many people so except the emperor, the empress, consorts and several prestigious royals, others could only stand there. But clearly nobody cared about that and each one stared at the two who stood in the middle with excitement. Everybody was curious about how they were going to compete since Princess Ding didn't ask for a target for archery.

Noble Consort Liu sat beside the emperor with a cold face. Her indifferent eyes went past Ye Li and became more curious.

Mo Jing Qi lowered his head and looked at his beloved consort. He smiled slightly and said: "What are you looking at, my love? It seems that you like Princess Ding a lot."

Noble Consort Liu frowned and said coldly: "Your Majesty, you must be joking. I'm just a little curious."

A meaningful smile appeared on Mo Jing Qi's face: "Not many people could interest you. However, I'm afraid that Princess Ding doesn't stand a chance."

Noble Consort Liu raised her eyebrows while her face was cold as usual.

A burning darkness passed Mo Jing Qi's eyes, he continued: "Princess Ling Yun is the beloved daughter of the emperor of Xi Ling. She has been studying both polite letters and martial arts since she was young. In Xi Ling, she's more famous for her archery than her sword skills."

"What do you have to gain if Princess Ding loses, Your Majesty?" Noble Consort Liu said with indifference.

Mo Jing Qi smiled without speaking. He looked towards Mo Xiu Yao who was sitting quietly not far away and his eyes turned gloomy.

"Your Highness..." By Mo Xiu Yao's side, Qing Shuang's eyes was fixed anxiously on Ye Li who was preparing. Qing Shuang had been by Ye Li's side for many years and she knew better than anyone else that Ye Li hadn't learned much about how to shoot an arrow. At most, she would play with the third son of Xu Family when she was in Xu Manor, but that was no comparison with Princess Ling Yun's archery skills which she had been working hard on since she was little.

Mo Xiu Yao said slightly: "Just keep calm and wait."

Lei Teng Feng couldn't help frowning seeing how calm Mo Xiu Yao was. What if Princess Ding really had a master card? Howver, it wouldn't be a good thing for Xi Ling whether Princess Ling Yun won or lost. Lei Teng Feng cursed secretly. Was his uncle so old as to choose to send Ling Yun to Dong Chu? Even a princess with the least favor in the palace of Xi Ling knew better than she did. "Prince Ding, Ling Yun is to blame for this. I've heard that Princess Ding is the most talented woman in the capital but she doesn't know martial arts. This is a little unfair to the princess."

Mo Xiu Yao smiled slightly and said: "Since it's Ah Li's choice, it doesn't matter whether it's fair or not, does it?"

"However, if the princess..." Was Mo Xiu Yao sure that Princess Ding could win or did he not care about the dignity of Prince Ding's Manor at all?

"If Ah Li loses, I'll kneel down before Princess Ling Yun with her." Mo Xiu Yao said a little indifferently.

Hearing that, Lei Teng Feng was more than shocked that he could barely conceal his loss of self-control. Turning towards the quiet and elegant woman who wore the same color as Prince Ding and stood in the middle, his hand tightened around the wine cup unconsciously, his eyes deep and a frown appeared between his dashing straight eyebrows.

In the middle of the field, Ye Li and Princess Ling Yun checked their arrows and bows separately. Princess Ling Yun checked her bow and arrow with agile movements. Just with a look one could easily see that she was familiar with archery. On the contrary, Ye Li looked at the bow and arrow in her hands slowly, trying this part and then touching that part, which made those who were standing around worried for her. Princess Ding's slender body, slow and unfamiliar move put people into doubt about whether she could draw the bow, let alone shooting an arrow.

"Well, how do we play?" Princess Ling Yun, who was well prepared, said to Ye Li with her chin lifted.

Ye Li soon put down her arrow and bow. She raised her head and smiled to Princess Ling Yun: "One person one arrow. Let that arrow decides who wins."

"Whatever." Princess Ling Yun held the bow and arrow: "Well, where to shoot? Through a willow leaf at a hundred paces or a flying bird?"

The crowd was more surprised hearing what Princess Ling Yun had said and learned more about the archery skills of this princess. This princess was certainly a master of archery since she could say shooting arrows through a willow leaf at a hundred paces with such confidence. Hua Tian Xiang tugged at her own sleeve tightly behind Lady Hua, and broke out into a cold sweat for Ye Li.

Ye Li drew her bow unhurriedly and said with indifference: "Bow and arrow are weapons. They are not for leaves or birds. So... let's play a game of shooting people!" After she had said that, she raised the bow and aimed the arrow at Princess Ling Yun.

What?!

Everybody was shocked seeing that the woman in the middle of the field pointing her arrow at Princess Ling Yun with a standard yet absolutely unfamiliar posture.

"Are you... Are you mad? You must be joking!" Princess Ling Yun exclaimed outright. They were standing less than 50 steps away from each other. Since Ling Yun was extremely skilled at archery, she could tell from Ye Li's posture that though Ye Li wasn't familiar with archery, she had definitely learned how to shoot it. In such a small distance, both she and Ye Li had a great chance of aiming directly at their targets. So Ye Li wasn't going to compete with her in archery, instead, she wanted to compete courage with her.

Ye Li smiled slightly: "Both sword and arrow are weapons. Weapons are lethal. Since we are in a game, we couldn't hurt others, so I want to ask you to shoot me and I'll shoot back. However, it's our own responsibility whether we are hurt or dead."

"No..." She didn't want to become one of the emperor's consorts for the peace between the two countries. She just wanted to marry Prince Ding and become Princess Ding. But she didn't want to feel an arrow through her body either.

"Princess Ding, isn't this too much? If anything happens..." Lei Teng Feng stood up to stop them.

Ye Li turned to him and smiled: "Didn't you hear me? it's our own responsibility whether we are hurt or dead. Besides, His Majesty has agreed to this competition between Princess Ling Yun and me. Do you want me to break my promise in front of His Majesty, Her Majesty, civil and military officials of Great Chu? How could Prince Ding's Manor hold its place in the capital after that?"

Lei Teng Feng complained secretly that she didn't say from the beginning that she was going to gamble on her life.

"Of course, if Princess Ling Yun is afraid, she could admit defeat any time." At last, Ye Li added.

This undoubtedly left Princess Ling Yun no leeway. She couldn't admit defeat to Ye Li in front all those people.

Carried by her anger and pride, she blurted out: "I won't. I'm in!"

"Well, let's start the game then." Ye Li nodded with satisfaction and a smile while Princess Ling Yun didn't dare to look her into the eyes out of nowhere and turned away from her in a hurry.

Chapter end