Transmigrated Female Official

165 acquiesced

If the Empress wanted to witness this magnificent feat of lifting the tripod, she would have granted her request immediately; why burden her with the problem? Therefore, Chu Qingluo concluded that the Empress certainly didn't want to see Prince Zhi Xun lift the tripod.

Moreover, if Prince Zhi Jun were to actually lift the cauldron, regardless of whether he possessed immense strength or was incapable of lifting it... I fear he might take the opportunity to invite Ji Qi Ran to also perform a cauldron-lifting demonstration!

But who has such a peculiar taste as to want to watch a pretty boy lift a cauldron?!

Chu Qinglu couldn't help but shout in her heart, she had absolutely no interest in this talent show.

Chu Qingluo first gasped, then calmly said, "Of course we have a cauldron weighing a thousand catties. However, this cauldron can ward off evil spirits, so it would be best if Prince Zhijun did not lift it lightly."

There was no other way; in this emergency, she could only make things up.

"In the Ji Kingdom, is there a saying that the Thousand Gold Cauldron can ward off evil spirits?" Zhi Jun asked in surprise.

"Of course." Chu Qingluo continued to lie through her teeth with righteous indignation: "The pagoda suppresses rivers and mountains... the precious cauldron suppresses demons and evil spirits!"

As everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, only the Empress laughed loudly: "Prince Zhijun, do you think Minister Chu would deceive you? I just overlooked this function of the Thousand Gold Cauldron."

Seeing the Empress say this, everyone pretended to understand and nodded repeatedly.

Seeing this, Zhi Jun stepped forward and explained, "That's not what I meant at all. I just regret that I can't use the cauldron to spar with the Seventh Prince."

“If you want to have a friendly spar, that’s easy.” Ji Qiran, who had been keeping a straight face, suddenly spoke up: “It is said that the Yuezhi Kingdom is skilled in archery and horsemanship. How about we have a friendly spar? What does Prince Zhijun think?”

Zhi Jun glanced around the Yongle Hall and asked, "How shall we spar?"

Ji Qiran picked up a peach from the fruit plate in front of him, stood up and said, "Have someone toss this peach up, and we'll both shoot arrows. Whoever hits the peach wins. How about it?"

He had barely finished speaking when Zhi Jun readily agreed, "Okay!"

At this moment, Ji Qili, who had been drinking alone to himself, suddenly stood up and said, "Let me throw the peaches for you."

"..." While everyone was still in shock, it was the Eighth Princess who reacted first. She said, "Fifth Brother, don't joke around, this is too dangerous."

"I'm not joking."

Ji Qili walked over and took the peach from Ji Qiran's hand, chuckling as he said, "I believe both Seventh Brother and Prince Zhijun are skilled archers; they certainly won't accidentally injure me." He then quickly walked towards the entrance of the main hall, stopping about ten meters away from Ji Qiran and Zhijun, saying, "This is fine; any further and we'll be outside the hall."

Ji Qiran watched the Empress calmly, awaiting her decree.

The Empress gestured for Chonghuan to dismiss the attendants near the palace gate, and then ordered someone to bring two identical bows and arrows. Only then did she say, "You may begin."

Ji Qiran and Zhi Jun took the bow and arrow, exchanged a glance, and then nodded to Ji Qili in the distance.

Ji Qili was now standing sideways, his right arm outstretched. Having received the signal from the two, he suddenly tossed the peach high into the air…

Holding their breath and concentrating, Ji Qiran and Zhi Jun simultaneously raised their bows and released their arrows!

In an instant, two arrows flew through the hall and pierced the peaches almost simultaneously!

Brilliant! When both archers are accurate, if either one's arrow is even a fraction of a second slower, Peach will be deflected by the first arrow, and the slower arrow will miss completely. Just now, both of their archery skills were both accurate and fast.

"Excellent archery!" The Empress was the first to applaud and praise.

Zhi Jun was also surprised by Ji Qiran's hand speed, and exclaimed, "That was so satisfying! How about we increase the difficulty a bit, what does the Seventh Prince think?"

Ji Qiran raised an eyebrow and said, "Please, Prince Zhijun."

Zhi Jun walked to the fruit plate, looked around, and finally picked a plum, saying, "Let's use this one."

Chu Qinglu stared at the plum in Zhi Jun's hand and thought to herself, "Isn't this target a bit too small?"

But Ji Qiran remained calm and said, "Okay."

Zhi Jun handed the plums to Ji Qili, then turned back to prepare.

Ji Qili held the plum, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. Just like before, he stretched his arm out horizontally.

Once Zhi Jun and Ji Qiran indicated they were ready, Ji Qili suddenly twisted his wrist and loosened his fingers... and the plum fell vertically to the ground.

This sudden change caught Ji Qiran and Zhi Jun off guard. They quickly lowered their bows and fired two arrows.

This time, Ji Qiran's arrow seemed to have grazed the plum, while Zhi Jun's arrow didn't even touch the edge of the plum.

The attendants went and picked up the peaches and plums, and presented them to the Empress.

The peach had been pierced by both men's arrows, so it was undoubtedly a draw. As for the plum, one side was scratched, which confirmed that Ji Qiran's arrow had indeed hit the plum.

At this moment, Zhi Jun's face had turned ashen, and it was clear that he had not yet recovered from his mistake.

Ji Qili stepped forward and said, "Prince Zhijun, it's all my fault for changing the direction of the plums without permission. I hope Your Highness will not blame me."

Ji Qili's original intention was to make Ji Qiran and Zhi Jun miss their targets, so he could embarrass them. Unfortunately, Ji Qiran's arrow still grazed the target.

"...No, the Fifth Prince did the right thing. This will test our reactions even more." Zhi Jun did not lose his temper because of his mistake. Instead, he turned around and bowed to Ji Qiran, saying, "Zhi Jun lost."

Ji Qiran nodded slightly and said, "You flatter me."

"Excellent!" the Empress exclaimed with a smile. "Prince Zhi Jun truly possesses extraordinary bearing; he is truly admirable!"

Seeing that Zhi Jun had lost the contest, Fu Sang picked up two wine cups and went straight to Ji Qi Ran, saying, "Seventh Prince's archery skills are superb. Fu Sang and my brother are very impressed. Let's drink to that first." After saying that, he drank the wine in one gulp and handed the other cup to him.

Ji Qiran didn't say much, took the wine, and drank it down. "Thank you."

Watching Ji Qiran and the Fusang princess drinking together, Chu Qingluo suddenly found the scene before her quite pleasing to the eye.

The prince and the princess... they're such a perfect match!

But why does she still feel a little sour?

Chu Qingluo looked down at the plum in her hand and thought that it must be the sour plum that caused the problem!

At the subsequent banquet, the Empress had the Sixth Princess perform an impromptu sword dance. Fusang and Zhijun were very supportive, praising her repeatedly and enthusiastically asking the Sixth Princess to dance again.

This made the Eighth Princess, who could only watch from the sidelines, even more uneasy!

The people from Yuezhi Kingdom didn't come the year before last, nor the year before last, but they came precisely when she had finally conceived after so much hardship! Now, her slightly protruding belly prevented her from dancing gracefully. Not only could she not perform for her distinguished foreign guests, but she also had to watch helplessly as her sixth sister's anything but elegant sword dance stole the show!

She can't sit still and wait for death!