Instantly, the entire training ground fell silent!
"Bravo!" someone shouted, and the stunned crowd instantly reacted, their eyes filled with amazement, and cheers rose and fell.
The bullseye is the very center drawn on the target and is closely connected to it. When Dongfang Zhan's three arrows hit the bullseye, the resulting triangular force cut off the bullseye and also firmly nailed it to the very center of another target. The skill in using this force was so ingenious and masterful that few could match it.
Shen Lixue raised her lips in a cold smile. Dongfang Zhan was indeed a formidable opponent who could not be underestimated!
"Impressive, impressive!" Nangong Xiao casually fanned himself, glanced at Dongfang Heng, and thought to himself with schadenfreude that he had met a formidable opponent.
Dongfang Yu'er frowned: "Both of them are so outstanding, who is number one!"
Shen Lixue lowered her eyelids and looked at the emperor. The first place should be decided by him.
Li Youlan's beautiful eyes fell on Dongfang Heng. She felt that his archery skills were superior to Dongfang Zhan's.
Dongfang Heng and Dongfang Zhan had both finished shooting their arrows. Both were clever and skilled archers, each with their own strengths. The old minister, the examiner, looked at the two targets, unsure who to declare the winner, and he asked the emperor with difficulty, "Your Majesty, what do you think..."
The emperor put down his teacup, glanced at the bullseye on the target, and exclaimed, "A draw!"
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Dongfang Heng's archery skills were superb, and Dongfang Zhan's mind was ingenious; it was indeed difficult to determine a winner, and a draw was the fairest judgment.
"Then who will take the position of commander of the Imperial Guard?" The horseback archery competition was not just a simple contest, but a test to determine the commander of the Imperial Guard. The two were tied, and the position of commander was still undecided.
The emperor's gaze darkened, and he said calmly, "When selecting the commander of the Imperial Guard, we must not only consider martial arts and archery skills, but also the ability to command three thousand men!" The Imperial Guard guards the entire palace, and the commander must be a meticulous, brave, and capable individual.
The old minister's eyes lit up; he understood the emperor's meaning. He turned around and shouted, "To the royal hunting grounds!"
Dongfang Heng and Dongfang Zhan's superb skills were breathtaking, and everyone praised them repeatedly. Before they could recover from their shock, the old minister's shouts echoed across most of the training ground. Everyone's eyes lit up. The royal hunting ground! The competition was sure to be even more exciting.
The Royal Hunting Grounds are located in the suburbs of the capital. They are a hunting ground exclusively for the royal family and are heavily guarded all around.
The emperor sat comfortably in a luxurious chair, sipping his tea. Many ministers, as well as some concubines who enjoyed hunting, followed him and sat in VIP chairs, looking at the center of the venue.
"What are the rules for this competition?" Shen Lixue asked softly, looking at Dongfang Heng standing against the wind.
“Each participant will be led by ten Imperial Guards to hunt in the hunting grounds. They will return here two hours later. Whoever hunts the most prey will be the winner!” Nangong Xiao answered with great interest, waving his folding fan. His gaze swept back and forth between Dongfang Zhan and Dongfang Heng. The Crown Prince and the princes were also participating in the hunting competition, but the final winner would definitely be one of the two of them.
"Li Xue, let's go and see!" Seeing that Dongfang Heng, Dongfang Zhan, and the Crown Prince were each leading ten Imperial Guards to enter the forest, Dongfang Yu'er pulled Shen Li Xue up, ignoring Li Youlan beside her, and walked out of the VIP seats.
Shen Lixue grabbed Dongfang Yu'er's arm and said, "They're competing, let's not interfere!"
Dongfang Yu'er waved her hand dismissively: "We're going to supervise the construction, not to cause trouble!"
"Supervisor?" Shen Lixue was taken aback. "Is that so?"
"Of course, hunting must be fair and impartial, and there needs to be a supervisor!" Dongfang Yu'er hurried towards Dongfang Heng, smiling brightly. "The forest is so big, we can just stand aside and watch them hunt, we won't cause any trouble!"
"Wait!" Nangong Xiao snapped his fan shut and hurried after him.
"What are you doing here?" Dongfang Yu'er glared fiercely at Nangong Xiao.
Nangong Xiao turned his head to one side and said proudly, "Hunting!"
"They're having a competition, why are you causing trouble!" Dongfang Yu'er reprimanded Nangong Xiao, raising her chin high.
"The game I hunt is a separate matter; we'll roast the game tonight!" Nangong Xiao snatched a bow and arrow from the guard, stepped past Dongfang Yu'er, and walked into the woods first.
"Nangong Xiao, you stop right there!" Dongfang Yu'er was furious and quickly chased after him into the woods: "You stole the guard's bow and arrows, and Brother Heng will have one less person to help him, which will mean less hunting!"
Shen Lixue shook her head, walked to Dongfang Heng's side, gently took his arm, and smiled warmly on her bright face: "Let's go into the woods!"
"Alright!" Dongfang Heng held Shen Lixue's hand and slowly walked into the woods, with the guards following closely behind, bows and arrows in hand.
The moment she stepped into the woods, Shen Lixue heard Dongfang Zhan's voice: "Go into the woods, let's hunt!"
The trees in the forest were lush and green, their dense foliage blocking out all the sunlight. The ground was covered with intertwined roots and branches, making the path very rugged and uneven.
As Shen Lixue walked through the woods, she heard birds chirping: "Besides us, there's no one else around here!"
Dongfang Heng looked at the clumps of grass and trees in the distance: "The forest is very large, and all the contestants are entering the forest from different directions to hunt their own prey, so they are unlikely to run into each other!"
As they gradually entered the depths of the forest, Dongfang Heng turned around and looked at the ten Imperial Guards: "Two people per group, split up and search for prey!"
"Yes!" the Imperial Guards responded, quickly dispersing and disappearing into the dense forest in an instant.
Shen Lixue looked at the trees, and all she could see were trees and grass: "Dongfang Heng, we've been walking for so long, how come we haven't seen a single animal?"
"Perhaps there are fewer animals in the direction we're heading!" Dongfang Heng said softly, walking slowly forward.
"It's been two hours already, why are you so slow and not in a hurry at all?" He even dismissed the guards. The allotted time was only two hours.
Dongfang Heng smiled mysteriously: "Hunting isn't about having more people, it's about having more people."
Shen Lixue blinked, puzzled, and asked, "Why?" She remembered that when noble young men went hunting, they would ride fast horses, shoot their prey, and then have their guards catch it, or they would use a large net and have their guards help to trap the prey.
Dongfang Heng was all alone and had no time to spare!
"Whoosh!" A white figure suddenly darted from the left. Without even looking, Dongfang Heng threw a sharp arrow at it. The arrow struck the white figure's leg, pinning it firmly to the ground.
The little white figure was covered in fur, with bright red eyes, long ears, and legs that were pinned down. No matter how much it was pulled, it couldn't move an inch. It looked timidly at Dongfang Heng and Shen Lixue, trembling.
"White Rabbit!" Shen Lixue quickly stepped forward, pulled out a sharp arrow, and scooped up the little white rabbit. Its chubby little body and timid little eyes looked exactly like the one Ye Qianlong had given her.
"You like it?" Dongfang Heng stepped forward and saw Shen Lixue holding the white rabbit with obvious affection.
"Mmm!" Shen Lixue nodded, her eyes filled with tenderness. Girls, after all, all love these cute little animals.
"Here you go!" Dongfang Heng tugged at the little white rabbit's ears; this wasn't the one Ye Qianlong had given to Li Xue.