The Lonely City Closed

Chapter 44

The princess stood up. The boy nimbly jumped ashore, tied the boat up, and then reached out to help the princess.

Almost simultaneously, I also extended my hand to the princess.

She hesitated for a moment, then finally chose to let me help her.

After the princess disembarked, I bowed to the young man and said, "Thank you, Young Master Cao."

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with the Eunuch) A Divine Song Fisherman's Pride 33. Swallow Shoots

Chapter word count: 4259 Update time: 08-08-21 16:13

33. Swallow Shooting

I didn't ask her about the details of meeting Cao Ping, and she didn't tell me either. On the way back to Yifeng Pavilion, we walked silently, one after the other, so close to each other yet so far apart. Before entering the pavilion, we didn't exchange a single word.

I could easily imagine the impression Cao Ping's song would leave on her, so I wasn't surprised at all when I heard her plead with the Emperor to allow her to go to the Southern Imperial Garden to watch the Liao envoys shoot arrows.

Every year on New Year's Day, Liao envoys would arrive at the capital, pay their respects, and then visit the Xiangguo Temple the following day to burn incense. On the third day, they would go to the Yujin Garden in the Southern Imperial Garden for archery practice. The court would select skilled archers to accompany them, and a banquet would be held there. Because the Cao family, the princess's clan, was originally a military family, and its members were all skilled in riding and archery, the accompanying archers were often chosen from the Cao family. In recent years, this task had been repeatedly assigned to Cao Yi or his cousin Cao Xie. Cao Ping was getting older and had always been skilled in riding and archery, so he would eventually become the accompanying archer. The princess's invitation to the Southern Imperial Garden this time must have been because Cao Ping had told her that he would accompany his father on the third day of the new year.

The emperor, unable to resist her earnest pleas, reluctantly agreed, but ordered her to watch from the pavilion next to the archery range and not to appear inside or outside the archery range, so as not to be seen by outsiders.

Yujin Garden is located outside Nanxun Gate. It was built during the Later Zhou Dynasty and was later renovated by the emperors of the current dynasty. Today, it is a grand garden. In addition to the archery range that is 500 zhang long and 300 zhang wide, there are also thousands of pavilions and hundreds of terraces in the garden. There is a waterside, lush trees, and fragrant flowers along the paths. There is also an "elephant shed" where dozens of elephants and various rare birds and animals are kept. Therefore, the princess often went there to admire them.

On the day of the archery competition, the princess went to Yujin Garden early in the morning and climbed to the pavilion next to the archery range, sitting behind the curtain to wait. Soon, the Liao envoy and the Song officials accompanying the archers entered the archery range one after another. Leading the accompanying archers was Cao Yi, followed by a young man wearing a blue turban, a narrow white robe with blue trim, a belt, and black boots. Upon seeing him, the princess moved closer to the beaded curtain—that was Cao Ping.

The Liao envoy wore a golden crown with a long, pointed brim shaped like a large lotus leaf, and a narrow purple robe with golden tassels. Cao Yi, on the other hand, wore a turban, a narrow-sleeved robe, silk shoes, and a silver belt. His fair and handsome face, coupled with his gentle and indifferent gaze, gave his archery attire an air of scholarly elegance.

A short while later, two rows of eunuchs led the way, followed by Zhao Zongshi, the head of the thirteenth militia. As the host sent by the current emperor, he ascended the high platform at the archery range to observe the battle. The envoy and Cao Yi each led their troops to pay homage to the platform, and then bowed to each other. The thirteenth militia then ordered an eunuch to announce the emperor's decree, bestowing bows, arrows, and imperial wine. The Liao ambassador stood on his left foot, knelt on his right, and bowed with both hands on his right shoulder in thanks. The officials of both countries drank the imperial wine together, and ceremonial music began. More than ten members of the Song Dynasty's archery corps, dressed in purple robes and turbans, lined up in front of the archery range. After the ceremony, they stood guard on both sides, waiting for the envoy to fire his arrows.

There were ten targets, each painted red with a black tiger's head in profile, its eye the bullseye. The Liao envoy, as was customary, used a crossbow. A Liao man wearing a brocade jacket and a short, footless turban stepped forward first, detonated the crossbow, twirled it, and nocked an arrow. He aimed at the center target first, ensuring it was properly aligned, before handing it to the envoy. The envoy glanced at it briefly, then released the arrow, hitting the bullseye precisely.

The onlookers clapped and cheered, then all turned to look at Cao Yi, waiting for his response.

In this dynasty, archery accompaniment was conducted using bows and arrows. Cao Yi calmly stepped forward, drew his bow, and without pausing, the arrow flashed like lightning, piercing straight into the tiger's eye.

The archery troupe cheered in unison, and the Song people watching were overjoyed, offering their congratulations repeatedly. The war drums pounded and the music blared.

The Liao envoy also clapped his hands in praise, and Cao Yi bowed in thanks, showing no arrogance whatsoever. Then the envoy smiled and said something to him, gesturing to his attendants behind him as if offering some suggestions. The princess, being far away, could not hear their conversation and became very anxious. So she said to me, "Huaiji, go down and listen to what they are saying, then come back and tell me."

I agreed, and instructed Zhang Chengzhao and the maids who accompanied me to take good care of the princess before going downstairs to the archery range.

As they reached the edge of the field, a young man from the Liao Kingdom stepped out from among the envoy's retinue. He was tall and imposing, holding a carved bow, seemingly ready to shoot at a target. The envoy watched Cao Yi, as if waiting for his reply, but Cao Yi hesitated, remaining silent for a moment.

I asked one of the eunuchs observing the situation, and he replied, "The Liao envoy said that the archery competition is always the same every year, with the envoy, his deputy, and the Song accompaniment shooting arrows. For several years, it's always the same few familiar people. Today, let's change it up. I've heard that there are many skilled archers among the young men of the Song Dynasty, so why not have them compete and learn from each other? He chose a member of the Liao royal family named Xiao Qi, who seems to be a master archer. Changing the archer isn't a big deal, but he specifically requested that the thirteenth regiment be chosen to participate..."

The thirteen militia members usually enjoyed reading, and their occasional games were limited to chess and polo; they were not skilled in horsemanship or archery. The Liao envoy had probably heard of this, and his words were likely intended to make things difficult and provoke a confrontation.

Seeing that Cao Yi did not accept the suggestion, the envoy bowed again to the thirteen militiamen on the high platform, repeatedly inviting them to come down and fight. The thirteen militiamen, however, frowned slightly, looking quite displeased, and did not reply. Xiao Qi, waiting impatiently, spoke loudly to his people in Khitan, which made the surrounding Liao people laugh. The Song people looked at each other, all wanting to know what he had said. Finally, a Song interpreter whispered to the crowd, "He said that the thirteen militiamen not only cannot shoot arrows, but they don't even have the courage to reluctantly fight."

Before the words were finished, a man in the Song Dynasty's archery corps spoke a few words in a loud voice, and surprisingly, he was speaking in Khitan. Like everyone else, I was surprised and looked closely, only to find that the speaker was Cao Ping, who was slowly walking into the arena.

The interpreter was overjoyed and quickly translated for everyone: "Young Master Cao said that the Thirteenth Regiment is the host of the Yan Archery Competition today. They are wearing long robes with wide sleeves, which makes it inconvenient for them to shoot arrows. However, his horsemanship and archery skills have been greatly guided by the Thirteenth Regiment, so he can be considered a disciple of the Thirteenth Regiment. Therefore, he would like to volunteer to fight in place of his master."

While the Liao envoy was still hesitating, Cao Ping spoke to him again, and his colleague continued to translate: "He said that Xiao Qi was a member of the Liao royal family, while he himself was the nephew of the Song Empress. It would not be disgraceful for the Liao envoy to accompany him in the archery. If they were to lose the battle, it would not be too late to ask the thirteen militia to change clothes and fight again."

Having said that, the Liao envoy could not refuse and nodded in agreement. Cao Ping stepped forward to greet Xiao Qi and asked him to shoot first, but Xiao Qi said, "Since you know how to ride and shoot, then let's each ride our horses and shoot willows."

Cao Ping had no objection. He turned around and instructed his servants to prepare the venue and bring over his fiery red horse.

The archery team quickly hung two rows of willow branches in the field according to the rules, with silk handkerchiefs tied to the branches for identification, and a small piece of bark was cut off below to make it white, serving as the bullseye.

The winner of the willow-shooting contest is divided into three categories: the best is to shoot a willow branch with a featherless arrow with a horizontal arrowhead while riding a horse, break the branch, catch it with your hand, and then gallop away; the next best is to break the branch but not catch it; if the arrow hits the branch but does not break it, the winner is the same as the one who did not hit the branch and loses.

Cao Ping still invited Xiao Qi to go first. Xiao Qi did not stand on ceremony. After mounting his horse, he drew his bow and aimed. Almost at the same time as releasing the arrow, he spurred his horse and charged forward like lightning. Before the willow branch fell to the ground, he reached out and caught it in his hand, then raised it up to show it to everyone.

The series of actions were completed smoothly and fluidly. It seems that even if Cao Ping could also break the willow branch and catch it, it would only be a draw. Therefore, the Liao people were all happy, while the Song people's expressions were slightly solemn.

Cao Ping led his horse forward, calmly drawing his bow, aiming, releasing the arrow, leaping onto his horse, and finally catching the willow branch steadily in his hand, his movements somewhat similar to Xiao Qi's.

The Song people cheered and congratulated the Cao family. Finally, the Liao envoy came over and said to Cao Yi with a dry laugh, "Young Master Cao, you have excellent skills. This round is won by the Great Song."

Xiao Qi was quite unconvinced and asked loudly in Chinese, "We both caught the broken willow branches, so we can only say it's a draw. How can you say that the Song Dynasty won?"

The envoy turned around and said coldly, "Didn't you see that Young Master Cao used his left hand when he drew his bow?"

Xiao Qi was taken aback, but still refused to admit defeat, muttering, "What if he's different from others and has always been good with his left hand?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Ping smiled slightly and said, "How about I switch to my right hand and shoot again?"

Xiao Qi waved his hand: "Alright, alright, let's have another round. Blindfolded shooting at the target, how about it?"

Shooting arrows at a target while blindfolded is a highly skilled art, something only a master archer can do. Upon hearing this, the Song people all looked at Cao Ping with concern, but he did not back down and readily accepted the challenge: "Alright, then let's compete in this round."

This time, Xiao Qi made thorough preparations. He carefully selected the bow and arrow, walked to the bow-drawing position, and first aimed and tested it. After doing this three times, he had someone blindfold him with a black cloth, slowly drew the bow to its full extent, and shot an arrow, which indeed hit the bullseye.

It seemed that the Liao Kingdom had once again gained the upper hand. Amidst the cheers for Xiao Qi, Cao Ping slowly walked to the bow-drawing position. This matter concerned the honor and disgrace of the Song Dynasty, and the onlookers were naturally on tenterhooks for him, but his expression remained calm, showing no sign of tension.

He stood still, bow in hand, and gestured to his attendant to blindfold him, skipping even the initial aiming test. The Liao people were in an uproar, watching him intently to see how he would perform.

He first slightly raised his chin, letting the breeze caress his face. The ends of the blindfold fluttered behind his head as his hair fell loose. He stood tall and elegant in the spotlight, silent for a long time. As if he could hear a pleasant rhythm in the wind, a smile gradually appeared on his lips.

While onlookers were still watching his smile with confusion, he suddenly raised his hand, drew his bow taut in an instant, and released the arrow with lightning speed.

To everyone's surprise, the arrow flew far from the target and soared high into the sky.

In that split second, everyone probably thought he had made a mistake. But it was only for a moment. Soon, a bird's mournful cry rang out from the sky, and then something fell into the archery range.

The attendants from the arrow-summoning troupe quickly ran over and held the object high—it was a lone goose, a goose pierced through the air by Cao Ping's arrow.