Mercenary Princess - Chapter 40
The other birds also discovered the 'unknown danger' under the tree and screamed as they scrambled to escape the tree that threatened their lives.
"Don't run!" Frustrated, Dongfang Yao stomped her feet twice and randomly picked up pebbles from the ground, launching them at the fleeing bird like a barrage of cannonballs.
With her arms crossed and leaning comfortably against a sycamore tree not far away, Rongyue looked at Dongfang Yao, who kept missing his shots, and smiled wryly.
Seeing Dongfang Yao shooting haphazardly and indiscriminately, missing every single shot, the birds perched on higher branches exchanged bewildered glances and suddenly realized their lives were safe! They puffed out their chests arrogantly, as if mocking Dongfang Yao's abysmal archery skills, and stared disdainfully at the fuming Dongfang Yao below, occasionally sticking their fluffy little bottoms up at him, swaying them defiantly.
The birds' provocation ignited Dongfang Yao's anger. "You just wait!" she said angrily, puffing out her cheeks as she scurried closer to Rongyue.
"Wife, look at them! Look at those wretched birds! They dare to laugh at me!" While angrily accusing the birds perched on a tree branch not far ahead, Dongfang Yao gave the smug birds a 'you're doomed' look, and shoved the slingshot into Rongyue's hand: "Wife, you have to avenge me! Shoot those despicable creatures down one by one, don't leave a single one alive! Let's see if they dare to laugh at me again!"
Casually twirling the slingshot in her hand, Rongyue glanced mockingly at Dongfang Yao, whose eyes were filled with a thirst for 'revenge'. She hooked a small branch on the ground with one foot, scooped it up in mid-air, snapped off three thumb-sized sections with three quick snaps, wrapped them up, drew the bow, and with a neat whoosh, the three branches whistled towards three different targets!
To Dongfang Yao's astonishment, the three sparrows, which had just been so arrogant, fell to the ground like kites with broken strings, plummeting straight down from the high branches. After rolling a few times on the ground, they rolled their eyes back and passed away.
"Wow--Wife, you're so amazing! Oh wow!" Like a child who has just received candy, Dongfang Yao shouted excitedly. In his excitement, he lifted Rongyue high and spun her around quickly in the golden light.
Clinging tightly to Dongfang Yao's neck, the still-terrified Rongyue felt her eyes flashing with stars as she spun rapidly. The stars, like those of a child, kept blinking and flashing in front of her, making her dizzy and disoriented!
"Brother Yao... Ah--" Oh God, stop! She can't hold on much longer!
As if in response to Rongyue's scream, Dongfang Yao cheered and spun faster and faster: "Wife, isn't this fun! Oh wow--"
Trembling, Rongyue gripped Dongfang Yao's neck. Under the immense centrifugal force, she tried to hold on tighter, but felt increasingly powerless. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Dongfang Yao staggered, the large hand supporting her waist loosened slightly, and Rongyue, still spinning, whooshed past Dongfang Yao's head, hurtling off in a parabolic arc into the distance…
What terrible things has she done?! Rongyue, who was doing aerial acrobatics, wailed as she watched the trees rushing past, rolling her eyes and speechlessly questioning the heavens...
Dongfang Yao, who was happily spinning around, suddenly felt something was wrong with his hands, which felt surprisingly light. He quickly shook his dizzy head. When he saw that his hands were empty, he realized with horror what had happened—he had spun his wife away!
He looked around frantically, and when he saw Rongyue whizzing through the air, his eyes widened in horror: "Wife—"
Just as she was about to give the lovely earth a close kiss, at the critical moment, a bright yellow figure swept past at lightning speed, scooped up the terrified Rongyue, and after lightly touching the air with its toes a few times, landed steadily on the ground.
"Wife! Wife! You scared me to death, wife!" Dongfang Yao rushed over and snatched the still-shaken Rongyue from Dongfang Lie's arms. He looked Rongyue up and down anxiously, his expression worried: "Wife, are you alright? Did you hurt yourself? Wife, why is your face so pale? Ah, your forehead is so cold and sweaty! Wife, is something hurting? Wife, wait here, I'll go and call the imperial physician right away..."
Rongyue quickly grabbed Dongfang Yao, who was about to leave, and gave him a disgruntled glare: "I'm fine! Pale face? It's because you scared me! Sweating? Cold sweat, you know!"
"But when I saw you..."
"It's okay, it'll be fine in a bit."
Placing his hand on Rongyue's forehead, Dongfang Yao still couldn't believe it: "But my wife, your forehead feels so cold..."
Taking Dongfang Yao's hand from her forehead, Rongyue helplessly shrugged, "Brother Yao, I'm really fine. Please stop asking! Do you really want something to happen to me...?"
"No, no, I don't want anything to happen to you, my wife!" Panicked, Dongfang Yao pulled Rongyue into his arms, his body still trembling with fear. "Wife, I just saw you fly away, it scared me to death! Wife, I...I...Waaah...I was so scared just now..."
"Calm down, calm down, don't cry, I know." Seeing Dongfang Yao, this crybaby, start crying again, Rongyue's head started spinning. She quickly pulled her hand away and gently patted his back to comfort him. What kind of world is this! It's one thing for her, the victim, to have no one to comfort her, but why does she, the unfortunate one, have to comfort the culprit?
Her eyes inadvertently lifted, and with a casual, indifferent glance, she was surprised to find Dongfang Lie standing right beside them! Slapping her forehead, Rongyue belatedly realized that her life had apparently been saved by someone else.
Seemingly sensing the light emanating from Rongyue, Dongfang Lie raised his slingshot, his dazzling peach blossom eyes narrowing suspiciously: "You did this?"
"It's just a kid's toy..."
"Children's toys?" Dongfang Lie chuckled softly, his expression inscrutable. If it were improved and used in military operations, ha, would it still be considered children's toys?
"You seem to be quite adept at using it, huh? Not bad, oh?" Playing with the slingshot in his hand, Dongfang Lie raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways at Rongyue, whose expression changed drastically upon hearing his words.
Did he see it all? Her fingernails dug slightly into her palm, Rongyue felt uneasy, secretly hoping that this cunning emperor hadn't noticed anything amiss.
"There's nothing special about it, just practice makes perfect..."
"Practice makes perfect? Heh, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to play to your level without at least ten or twenty years of experience, cousin." At this point, his eyes narrowed suddenly: "I wonder if you're exceptionally talented, cousin, or if you started playing from the womb?"
Biting her lip to suppress the turmoil in her heart, Rongyue lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow: "Your Majesty's words, this servant does not understand..."
"Don't understand? You..."
"Hey, wife, why are you calling yourself a servant?" Having regained his composure, Dongfang Yao lifted his head from Rongyue's shoulder, blinking his watery eyes in utter confusion. Wait, his elder brother seemed to have once said that everyone except his family had to refer to themselves as servants. But his wife was calling him that now… did that mean she didn't consider him family anymore, but an outsider? Did his wife want to abandon him again?
Noticing Dongfang Yao's tension and unease, Rongyue smiled gently and said, "Brother Yao, you must have misheard. I'm perfectly fine. Why would I refer to myself as a servant?"
"Oh, I must have misheard! I knew it, how could my wife not want me again..." Dongfang Yao muttered to herself, relieved.
Although she didn't know what he was muttering, she had managed to fool him, which made Rongyue breathe a sigh of relief.
"What is this thing called?" Dongfang Lie's sudden question made Rongyue's relaxed nerves tense up again.
"slingshot."
What to write?
"The bow of an arrow..."
"What about the other word?"
Rongyue frowned, looking troubled. Was she supposed to say the character for "bullet" (弹)? Or the character for "cannonball" (炮弹)? If she did, he'd probably think she was playing a trick on him! Or should she say the character for "bow" (弓) with an arrow on the left and a simple "single" (单) on the right? But the characters here were vastly different from Chinese characters; even if she said it, it might not be the correct character!
This is really worrying her. What is she supposed to say?
“The other one is the egg in ‘chicken’!” With a grin, Dongfang Yao took over the conversation, uttering a statement that made Rongyue and Dongfang Lie both turn black with disbelief.
His face was twitching irregularly. Egg bow, egg bow, could it be interpreted as a bow that can lay eggs?
Volume One: Pear Blossom Courtyard Under the Melting Moon, Chapter Forty-Eight: Turmoil
Carefully examining the finely crafted slingshot, Chu Xuyao casually picked up a small porcelain wine cup, placed it on the cowhide, pulled it tight, aimed, and launched! The next second, the wine cup, like a loaded bullet, sped towards the vermilion gate!