TL: Hua
After Pei Jintang came out of the toilet, he ran into Zong An. The other party lost the game and looked depressed, so he couldn’t help but comfort him.
“Brother Hanzhang, am I useless?”
Zong An’s eyes were red as expected, and Pei Jintang thought: He is really a boy made of water! Then he skillfully comforted him as he did many times before: “It’s not your fault because he didn’t spend much time on horseback riding.”
Pei Jintang thought that since he had no talent and was unwilling to make up for his shortcomings with hard work, it was normal for him to fall behind others. For example, in painting, he had no talent and was unwilling to learn and practice more, so he could not compare with Xiting, who had been practicing secretly in his courtyard for who knows how long.
But these words would sound like ridicule and reprimand to Zong An, who pursed his lips and asked him nervously, “Do you look down on me?”
Pei Jintang said, “Ah?”
He didn’t quite understand Zong An’s mind, but the young man was always thoughtful and sensitive, so he encouraged him again, “I don’t look down on you, nor do I ridicule you. I’m just telling the truth. We are all human beings, and it’s impossible for us to be proficient in everything. Just like you are not good at horse riding, but when it comes to musical instruments, Prince Ning and Young Marquis Shangguan are not as good as you.”
Zong An finally smiled a little and said embarrassedly, “Brother Hanzhang, you are too kind. I don’t deserve it. By the way, can you wait for me for a while and then go back together so that we can talk on the way?”
Pei Jintang agreed, but he didn’t expect to see the sign that said “Pei Xiting” on the betting board after returning.
“It’s over.” Pei Jintang hesitated, “It’s really hard to guess the top three. In the past, I always bet on Fourth Young Master Zhao[mfn]Different Zhao from Qu Zhao.[/mfn] of Duke Wen’s mansion to be in the bottom three, and I won nine out of ten times. Now there’s one more person; I don’t know who to choose.”
The contestants entering the forest only have one horse, a bow with thirty arrows, and at most one more weapon for self-defense. Because there are no large beasts, contestants are not allowed to bring tools such as nets and torches, nor are they allowed to have animals such as hunting dogs and lynxes. Simply put, it’s all in good fun, a test of riding, shooting, eyesight, and stamina.
Although Pei Xiting claimed to be able to ride and shoot, Pei Jintang had never seen it before, so he really couldn’t tell how good he was.
Pei Xiting didn’t mind Pei Jintang’s doubt and told him his own plan, “You bet yours, and then go with me. If it doesn’t work, help me. This way I won’t lose face and you won’t lose money.”
“Of course I have to go with you; otherwise, how can I feel at ease? As for cheating, I would like to, but I really can’t help you.” This was Pei Xiting’s first time participating, so Pei Jintang patiently explained to him, “Everyone who participates in hunting will have a special person to accompany, supervise, and record the number of prey. Look at your quiver again.”
He took one of the arrows from Pei Xiting’s quiver and pointed to the shaft. “See this engraving? You’re number eleven. The prey shot and the arrows on the prey will be collected and inspected by another person to reconcile the accounts.”
“It’s quite formal,” Pei Xiting said. “Then what if that accompanying person is bribed by the contestants?”
Pei Jintang said no, “The accompanying supervisor is not an ordinary guard, but a ceremonial guard of the Imperial Guards, who are specially dispatched at various banquets. Today, the accompaniment is not only to record and supervise but also to protect the safety of the contestants. After all, the mountains and forests are not like the inner rooms, so we must be prepared for any eventuality.”
“So that’s the case.” Pei Xiting remembered something and asked, “Shangguan Jie seems to be from the Imperial Guards. Is he some kind of deputy commander?”
Pei Jintang chose to turn a blind eye to Pei Xiting’s practice of calling the young marquis by his name and said, “The young marquis is the deputy commander of the left military guard and has no control over the ceremonial guards.”
Pei Jintang finally bet on the fourth young master Zhao, who had a great chance of winning, and then led Pei Xiting to the entrance of the forest, queuing at the end of one of the teams. He is a talkative person, and his mouth never stops chattering. Pei Xiting plays the role of a listener, only occasionally responding.
Suddenly, someone bumped into him from behind. Pei Xiting steadied himself and turned around to see a young man in a star-blue brocade robe.
“I bumped into someone!” The young man took a half step back, pushed down the person he was playing with, and then bowed and apologized to Pei Xiting with embarrassment.
“It’s okay.” Pei Xiting glanced at the two and turned back.
Pei Jintang saw the two people playing and joking and went to another faster queue to line up. “Hey,” he said, “Do you know them?”
“How can I recognize everyone in such a big city like Yejing?” When the gap in front of them widened, Pei Xiting gently pushed Pei Jintang and said casually, “Those are two girls.”
“Ah?” Pei Jintang turned back to ask as he walked forward, “How can you tell?”
Pei Xiting wondered, “I can tell at a glance. And didn’t you see that she used her right hand to salute?”
Pei Jintang really didn’t notice. “That’s strange. Girls are also allowed to participate. Why do they have to dress up as men?”
Pei Xiting was not interested and said, “Maybe it’s more convenient to dress up as men.”
“Then why did they draw their eyebrows so thick like a mustache? How can the guards verify their identities? Do they have to remove their makeup on the spot?”
“Then you go queue up behind them.”
“I just asked casually!”
“Oh.”
Soon it was their turn. The guards checked their identity documents, horses, bows and arrows, and personal weapons and let them go after confirming that there were no problems.
A group of people stood behind the red silk, ready to set off.
“Hey,” Pei Jintang suddenly said, “Why are you wearing gloves?”
Pei Xiting slowly and methodically put on his black gloves and then the thumb ring made for archery, saying, “My hands are precious.”
“That’s right. Your hands are for painting, so you have to protect them well.” Pei Jintang said, and then realized belatedly that this kid had guessed in advance that he would touch bows and arrows today?
Pei Xiting ignored Pei Jintang’s puzzled look and suddenly looked up at the mountain in front of him, feeling that someone was staring at him.
“Pei Xiting has a lot of bets placed on him.” In the pavilion, Yu Shaoyun took the newly acquired flying paper and counted, “There are a total of 523 bets for the bottom three, and Pei Xiting alone has 380 bets, which is unexpectedly surpassing even Fourth Young Master Zhao.”
Empress Qu said, in between eating melon seeds, “Everyone is paying attention to this child.”
“After all, this person was selected as a painter, and it was his first time to participate in hunting. He is also the painter sought out by Qu-shaoqing.” Yu Shaoyun said.
Empress Qu was surprised and said, “Zhao’er has high standards. Is this child of the Pei family very good at painting?”
Yu Shaoyun said, “Qu-shaoqing asked someone to move the painting to the colorful tent and said he would take it back to the palace.”
“That means he likes it a lot.” Empress Qu said, “Send someone to ask if it’s convenient to bring the painting up. It doesn’t matter if it’s not; I will go to see it personally.”
Yu Shaoyun nodded and pointed two guards to go down.
Three drumbeats echoed across the grounds, signaling the start of the hunt. Dozens of horses rushed into the forest, and the empress was also excited. She walked to the railing with a melon seed plate, where she could overlook half of the hunting ground.
Horses galloping, tree branches trembling, and arrows whistling.
A startled bird was pierced across the chest and fell to the ground, picked up by Pei Jintang’s accompanying guards.
Pei Xiting rode his horse past Pei Jintang, releasing the reins with his right hand and quickly drawing three arrows. He drew his bow and aimed it towards the side ahead. The arrows were like a startled string breaking through the wind, and with a dull sound, a fleeing elk fell forward.
He is currently lacking in strength, and the elk is not small in size, so he can only spend a few more arrows.
“You got it!” Pei Jintang cheered from behind.
Pei Xiting didn’t look back but just shook his hand that pulled the string, which is still trembling.
A gust of wind suddenly came, and the hair on Pei Xiting’s neck stood straight up. Before his brain reacted, his body had already leaned backward. An arrow flew over from above and suddenly nailed into the tree trunk in the distance!
Pei Xiting straightened up, held the reins, pulled the horse back, and turned his head to look at the person running out of the woods. Cold sweat was still breaking out on the back of his neck.
Pei Jintang rode up to Pei Xiting’s side and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he was fine. Then he looked at the visitor and said, “What are you doing!”
“I’m sorry.” The visitor pulled the reins. “I’m not good at riding and shooting. I must have scared you.”
“This isn’t about just being frightened. If my third brother hadn’t dodged in time, the arrow would have shot through his neck!” Pei Jintang angrily rebuked, “Don’t come in if you’re not good at riding and shooting; you’ve almost harmed someone! One sentence about not being good at riding and shooting, and you’re done?!”
The man said innocently, “No one stipulates that people who are not good at riding and shooting cannot enter, right? Besides, isn’t he fine?”
“It will be too late if something happens!” Pei Jintang said coldly.
“I was careless today,” the man looked at Pei Xiting and said with a smile, “Third Young Master Pei, when we get out, I will treat you to a meal as an apology. Please be generous and don’t take it out on me. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
If you’re not reading this translation at knoxt.space, it’s stolen content!!!
Consider supporting me on Ko-fi if you like what I’m doing. Thank you for reading! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)
If you notice any mistake or error, comment or contact me on discord –> huarricane
