The Hostage Girl - Chapter 83

Chapter 83

After this casual banter, the scholar who had nearly fallen off his horse also stepped forward to express his gratitude. Although he was wrapped in a cotton quilt, a fall could still easily result in injury, so the scholar naturally thanked Dou Siwu profusely.

Although Luo’an Academy was newly established, it had already garnered significant attention due to the reputation of Master Mufeng. Dou Siwu’s initial success also invigorated the fellow students participating in the literary gathering.

They all looked forward to Jiang Xiurun and Xu Ying achieving great results in the archery competition.

When Jiang Xiurun and her group emerged, some maids intentionally or unintentionally whispered something to Dou Siwu as they passed by, discreetly pointing to the seats.

This was a way for noble ladies to convey messages and extend invitations. Since writing letters was inconvenient and chance encounters could easily lead to gossip, this direct method of passing verbal messages was much more straightforward.

The Wei style was indeed bold! Seeing the maids passing by Dou Siwu in twos and threes, the young men surrounding him were filled with envy.

Thinking about the scene of a date, where a man and a woman would meet at a corner of a pavilion or under a wall, “loving but not seeing, scratching their heads in hesitation,” and then shyly meeting, expressing their love, inevitably leading to kisses and caresses, a moment of joy, and then reluctantly parting, it was truly interesting and thrilling.

As Qian’er walked forward with her young mistress, she deliberately bumped into Dou Siwu with her shoulder, causing him to stagger. She then turned her head and silently mouthed, “Less soup, use it sparingly!”

This only angered Dou Siwu, who wanted to chase after her but was held back by his classmates, who dragged him off to drink.

Since Jiang Xiurun was to participate in the archery competition the next day, no one pulled her to drink.

However, Xu Ying silently followed her.

Jiang Xiurun suggested that he join his classmates for a drink, but Xu Ying said he was too young and not accustomed to the taste of alcohol.

Xu Ying indeed looked younger than his actual age. Since he didn’t like drinking, Jiang Xiurun naturally didn’t press the matter.

After walking a few steps, someone approached Jiang Xiurun and respectfully said, “The Crown Prince of Liang requests a meeting with Young Master Jiang.”

Jiang Xiurun thought there was nothing to discuss with Liu Pei and was about to turn away when she heard Liu Pei’s voice: “Young Master Jiang, please stay. It’s been a long time since we last met, and I have missed you dearly!”

Jiang Xiurun slowly turned to look at Liu Pei. Although the arrow wound had healed, it had drained his vitality. The once handsome young man now had a slightly pale, sickly appearance, but he wore a friendly smile.

With many people coming and going, Jiang Xiurun wasn’t afraid that Liu Pei intended to harm her. She raised her eyebrows and asked, “What does Young Master Liu want?”

Liu Pei actually clasped his hands in a salute: “I have wronged you before, and now I can finally personally apologize.”

Jiang Xiurun didn’t want to give him a friendly face and coldly said, “I wonder which wrongdoing you are apologizing for?”

Liu Pei smiled bitterly: “I underestimated you before and should not have offended you so greatly. Please be magnanimous, Young Master Jiang.”

What he didn’t say was that he had underestimated the importance of this princess of Bo in Feng Liwu’s heart.

Because of their previous close relationship, he thought he knew Feng Liwu well and never expected that the rigid and boring Crown Prince would have such a strong desire for revenge, personally deploying assassins to nearly take his life with an arrow.

After surviving the arrow wound, he thought of using Jiang Xiurun’s secret of disguising as a man to threaten her into spying on Feng Liwu for him.

But this bold princess didn’t follow the usual script. Not only did she betray the spies he had arranged in Luo’an City, but she also went to Feng Liwu and revealed her true identity, thwarting Liu Pei’s plans.

Liu Pei was always a graceful chess player. Since he had made a wrong move, he accepted the loss. This woman, who had deeply deceived Feng Liwu but still managed to earn his leniency, truly had something extraordinary about her.

Liu Pei was flexible. Since he wanted to rebuild relations with Qi, he had to flatter this cherished person of Feng Liwu.

Seeing that Liu Pei didn’t intend to expose her identity as the princess of Bo, Jiang Xiurun toned down her aggressive demeanor. Now that Liang wanted to make peace with Qi, national interests came first.

It wasn’t uncommon for two countries that were at each other’s throats yesterday to become brothers today.

So she didn’t want to gain any verbal advantage over Liu Pei. She just clasped her hands in return, accepted his apology, and turned to leave.

Liu Pei watched Jiang Xiurun’s retreating figure, a slight smile on his lips.

How did Feng Liwu manage to handle such a fierce girl?

Then his gaze shifted to the young man beside Jiang Xiurun. After watching for a while, he smiled and left.

The arrow Feng Liwu had given him as a gift, he had gladly accepted. It still sat on his desk.

A gentleman’s revenge is never too late. When he returned the favor, it would surely hurt Feng Liwu deeply.

After returning from the martial arts competition, Jiang Xiurun finally gave in to Xu Ying’s persistent pleas and taught him archery in the backyard of the inn.

Xu Ying was a clever child. Although he couldn’t handle a large bow like Jiang Xiurun, he quickly got the hang of using her smaller bow.

After hitting three arrows in a row, Xu Ying’s cheeks flushed with excitement, and he looked at Jiang Xiurun as if seeking praise.

Jiang Xiurun, however, glanced at the sundial and said she was used to resting in the afternoon, so she left him to practice alone.

As she passed by him, the young man sniffed carefully and asked, “Senior, what kind of perfume do you use? It smells so good.”

Jiang Xiurun was about to say she never used perfume, it was just the smell of soap, when she suddenly felt this conversation was familiar. She had had a similar exchange with Feng Liwu before.

Thinking of Feng Liwu, she realized why Xu Ying had seemed familiar from the first moment she saw him. If you ignored Xu Ying’s complexion and physique, his features bore some resemblance to Feng Liwu.

This eerie similarity made Jiang Xiurun’s imagination run wild. If it weren’t for the age difference, making it impossible for Feng Liwu to have such an old illegitimate child, she might have thought Xu Ying was the Crown Prince’s long-lost son.

Seeing Jiang Xiurun lost in thought, Xu Ying asked, “Senior, is something wrong? I’d be happy to help.”

Jiang Xiurun snapped out of it and said, “It’s nothing. I’m just worried about not performing well at the literary gathering and embarrassing our teacher.”

Xu Ying smiled, “Senior, your archery skills are exceptional. You’re sure to win first place. There’s no need to worry.”

After Xu Ying left, Jiang Xiurun returned to her room. As Qian’er helped her wash her face and soak her feet, she continued to think about Xu Ying. She felt something was off but couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Staring at her slightly red feet in the warm water, Jiang Xiurun suddenly shivered. She often chatted with cooks and guards, hearing many rumors and secrets, including those about Feng Liwu’s younger brother, Feng Wu. There were rumors that Feng Wu had died of a sudden illness while under house arrest, with some saying Feng Liwu had eliminated a potential threat to his throne, while others claimed Feng Wu had faked his death and escaped from Luo’an.

For a moment, Jiang Xiurun wondered if Xu Ying could be the supposedly dead Feng Wu, but considering Xu Ying’s youthful appearance, clearly that of a young boy, the age difference was too great to make sense. After all, Feng Wu was only three months younger than Feng Liwu and couldn’t possibly look so young.

Realizing she was letting her imagination run wild, Jiang Xiurun chuckled at herself and decided to rest, preparing for the next day’s archery competition.

The next day, Jiang Xiurun and her opponents were led to a small lake. Hundreds of wooden stakes had been planted in the lake, connected by thin, narrow planks. Some stakes had targets on them, stretching from near to far into the depths of the lake.

Archers had to step onto the stakes, walk along the planks to the competition area, and shoot ten arrows. The winner would proceed along the planks and stakes to the next round.

The archery competition was divided into four rounds, with each round’s targets fifty steps farther than the last. The planks connecting the stakes also became narrower with each round, with the final round’s planks barely wide enough for one foot.

Since the archery competition’s format was always innovative, the participating students hadn’t expected this year’s challenge to test their composure and focus so much.

As Jiang Xiurun stepped onto the stakes, her heart pounded. She wondered who had come up with such a tricky idea.

Fortunately, she was light and agile, and the thin planks only bounced slightly under her weight. Some archers, strong and robust, caused the planks to sink deeply and creak as if they might break at any moment.

People kept falling off the planks, with splashes and laughter echoing from the stands, making the scene even livelier than the horse race the day before.

After steadying herself, Jiang Xiurun recalled Master Mufeng’s sigh the previous day. It wasn’t that the organizers of the literary gathering wanted to make things difficult for the students.

It was just that even prestigious academies sometimes lacked funds for repairs and expansions.

The Mochi Literary Gathering was not only a test of the students’ courage and a way to broaden their horizons but also a means for the academies to raise funds for repairs and expansions.

Only if the noble patrons enjoyed the spectacle would they be willing to donate generously, right?

At the time, Jiang Xiurun had thought, why didn’t the teacher just say they needed money? As a student, she would have gladly contributed to help.

Master Mufeng, however, shook his head, saying Luo’an Academy wasn’t short on funds. He had told her this only to encourage her to perform well in the competition, as many other academies were struggling and needed help.

With this in mind, Jiang Xiurun raised her bow and shot at two red silk flowers hanging from a beam. The flowers unfurled into fluttering silk banners, inscribed with the words “Mochi Washes the Inkstone, Literary Gathering of Heroes.”

Dressed in male attire, she looked dashing, with a silver crown, bright eyes, and a slender waist. Standing on the wooden stake, she appeared like a celestial being descended to earth.

The graceful young man’s impressive shot captivated the noble ladies in the stands, who blushed and whispered among themselves.

“Where is this student from? He’s so dashing and handsome!”