Robe blanche - Chapitre 115
Indeed, who would willingly come to the horse farm on their own? There's no other way; to understand the habits of the variegated grass, I have to conduct more experiments. I can't use my own hair, and no one else will lend me theirs, so I have to use these horses as my experimental subjects.
To conceal my actions, I diligently followed the soldiers who looked after the horses, learning how to feed them hay, add water, and brush their backs... I learned each step meticulously. Then, when no one was watching, I would smear the squeezed hay juice on the horse's tail, observe the color changes over different periods, rinse it with water, and note down any differences.
After secretly working on this for a few days, I didn't go with Zinuo and the others when they went out of town to relax. I only told Zinuo to remember to bring back this kind of grass for me. Lin Zhao laughed at me for being obsessed. Little did he know the fun I found in my experiments.
I gradually discovered that the color changed significantly depending on how long the dye adhered to the hair; shorter time resulted in a more yellow color, while longer time led to a more reddish color. Great! Even without other colored dyes, controlling the dyeing time allows me to achieve different colors – it really saves on materials!
Many horses in the stable have fallen victim to my cruelty, each with a strand of mane bearing a different shade of color. I dare not do it on just a few horses, as that would be too obvious and immediately noticeable. By doing it on each horse in this way, even if someone sees it, they won't pay much attention and will simply assume that their coats are not of pure color.
Seeing that the experiment had yielded results, I stopped going to the horse farm; after all, I didn't really like it there. Little did I know that my momentary prank would soon help me uncover a major secret that almost cost me my life—but that's a story for another time.
Before the end of the year, the imperial decree finally came down, requiring the Iron Army to reclaim all the cities belonging to the Youjing Dynasty before the ground thaws next spring, to take care of the people in the cities as much as possible, and if it is really impossible to protect those people, then attacking the city is the best option, and the imperial court will arrange for people from other places to be relocated later.
He truly prioritized his territory. Although I had already guessed it, such an order was still chilling. Of course, the official order only covered the first half; the latter part was intended for the generals. They couldn't let the morale of the hundred thousand soldiers be dampened before the siege even began. The truth would only be revealed on the day of the siege.
Dai Chongyan was indeed adept at winning over the hearts of his troops. Since those cities couldn't be recaptured anytime soon, he generously left the garrison troops behind on New Year's Eve, while the rest of the soldiers celebrated the New Year's Eve in the city. Because there were so many people, preparations began during the day, and for the same reason, the food couldn't be very elaborate, except for more fish, meat, and wine, allowing the soldiers to have some meat and break the alcohol ban.
At the banquet that evening, it was discovered that General Dai Chongyan was quite the entertainer. When everyone was feeling rather full, he proposed several enticing competitive events, such as shooting and wrestling, and even set up attractive prizes of three, six, and nine levels, which aroused great enthusiasm among the crowd. In an instant, everyone was eager to try.
The most exciting part was the arena battles, which were divided into several weapon groups, such as sword group and iron spear group, so that each weapon had its own strengths. Using the same weapon would be fairer, and it would test everyone's skills. Later, an unarmed group was added, because some people were not good at using weapons but were good at hand-to-hand combat, which was also taken into consideration.
Such a grand event is rare, and the atmosphere is wonderful; we're all eager to participate, especially since they didn't say we couldn't. Seeing Zinuo's excited expression, I knew he also wanted to test his swordsmanship. Defeating Lin Zhao that day had made him quite happy for a while.
With Shen Haoyu's permission, I eagerly ran off to sign up for archery, while Zinuo unsurprisingly signed up for swordsmanship. Lin Zhao, having lost to Zinuo in swordsmanship, wisely refrained from participating and opted for the unarmed combat group instead. Looking back at the others, I realized that only the three of us couldn't resist and had run off; the rest were all obediently staying by Shen Haoyu's side. I felt a little embarrassed, but then I saw Song Zhixuan secretly give me a "V" sign, which put my mind at ease, and I smiled as I headed towards the makeshift competition area.
Seeing Cui Lang there, my heart sank. His skills were already phenomenal; wasn't this blatantly preventing others from winning the award? I couldn't help but glance at him with some displeasure, only to be caught red-handed. "And what's the matter this time?" Cui Lang asked with a smile.
I deliberately sighed: "I originally wanted to win a prize, but since Master is here, I'll give up on that idea."
Cui Lang chuckled, "I'm just here as a judge." Only then did he realize that many generals had been assigned to different venues as judges, which was quite reminiscent of the ancient Olympic Games.
He glanced around and asked, "I wonder if I can use my own bow?"
“No requirements,” Cui Lang said, shaking his head.
I immediately beamed with joy. Didn't this increase my chances of winning? I quickly said with a smile, "Master, put my name a little later in the list. I need to go back and get my own bow." Without waiting for Cui Lang's reply, I dashed home to get the silver bow that Shen Tingxuan had given me.
When I returned to the competition field with my bow, the competitions were already in full swing everywhere. I didn't even have time to check on Zi Nuo's progress before rushing to the archery range and asking Cui Lang when it would be my turn. Cui Lang told me that there were four more people before it was my turn, so I stood on the sidelines and watched those agile warriors on the battlefield shoot arrows with deadly accuracy.
This army is truly full of talented people. Seeing that each of them has accurate archery skills and unique abilities, he couldn't help but frown, realizing that his own archery skills were nothing special.
Seeing my expression, Cui Lang smiled knowingly: "Don't worry too much. They have been training in the army for several years, while you have only been learning for a few months. Of course, you can't compare like that. Just look at how well you shot last time. Your opponent is not someone else, but your past."
Cui Lang rarely speaks so much at once, but today, under these circumstances, he spoke so much to me. This thoughtfulness and care couldn't help but move me. Besides, what he said makes sense. Why should I compare myself to others who started at the same point but have different goals? Compared to when I couldn't even hit the target, I've really made a lot of progress now.
Thinking about it this way, I felt calmer.
It was my turn. Cui Lang smiled at me. I held my breath, nocked the arrow, slowly drew back the bow, aimed at the bullseye a hundred meters away, released my fingers, and the arrow flew out. A soft "thud" was heard, and the arrow had hit the bullseye steadily. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn't practiced this distance for very long.
After shooting the remaining four arrows in a standard manner, three of them pierced the tail and overlapped, while the other two were firmly embedded on the side, all in the very center of the bullseye. The result was not very good, but it was already the limit of his ability. He had not even mastered shooting one arrow at a time, let alone shooting two or three arrows at the same time like they did.
What comforts me is that such archery skills would definitely win a championship in the Olympics. But then I feel a pang of regret. If I had known I had this level of skill, why didn't I join the archery team? Maybe I wouldn't have died so young, and maybe China would have another female champion named Yin Qingqiu in Olympic history! But I haven't seen anyone with such archery skills in modern times. Perhaps it's because my body is now equipped with martial arts techniques. I feel slightly confused again.
The competition here was relatively simple. Each person who signed up had five arrows, and there were no special rules. The competition was over quickly, and when the results were tallied, I actually ranked ninth. To entertain the public, the prizes were distributed quite widely, with the top ten in each event receiving prizes. I came in second to last, barely managing to win a prize.
After everyone left, we watched the other competitions. Some events had fewer participants and finished much earlier than ours. The most popular event was the ring challenge, and there were still two groups that hadn't started yet. However, Lin Zhao and Zinuo had already passed all the events they signed up for, so we weren't really interested in watching anymore.
Back with Shen Haoyu, I asked Zinuo and Lin Zhao how their grades were. Zinuo held up three fingers, and I was confused: "Is it 'OK' or 'three'?"
"Three." Zi Nuo answered decisively. Then he saw Lin Zhao hold up a hand and say with a somewhat depressed expression, "If I had known this would happen, I would have gone to the sword competition. Maybe I could have gotten fourth place."
I immediately made a face, afraid that someone would ask me about my grades. I quietly hid behind Shen Haoyu, but then I heard Shen Haoyu say calmly, "What about Huai'en? How did he do?" Dozens of eyes turned to me, and I had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Ninth." I had told myself not to compare myself to others, and I was secretly happy when I heard that I was ninth, but now I still felt very embarrassed in front of these people.
Sure enough, Shen Haoyu and Lin Zhao laughed without restraint. Zi Nuo shook her head slightly, and Song Zhixuan smiled faintly without saying a word. I blushed and quickly found an inconspicuous place to stand, casually watching the match on the stage.
Finally, all the competitions were over, and Dai Chongyan began to personally present awards one by one. Some events had fewer than ten participants, yet everyone received an award. Lin Zhao looked sullen again, which made me laugh. How many people were really there for the meager prizes? They were just there for fun. Only Lin Zhao was making a scene.
Zi Nuo received eight taels of silver, Lin Zhao received six taels, and so on, so I can receive two taels. Satisfied, right? It's unexpected wealth, and supposedly it was even privately sponsored by Dai Chongyan.
When I went up to receive the award, Dai Chongyan initially wore the same perfectly appropriate, insincere smile as he did with everyone else. But when he saw the silver bow on my shoulder, his smile froze. I knew my bow was quite good, so I smiled politely at him, turned around and walked back, only to hear Dai Chongyan suddenly say, "Is this bow yours?"
I turned around in surprise: "Of course it's mine." It was a gift from Shen Tingxuan, so it's naturally mine now that he's given it to me. He can't possibly take it back.
"Impossible! How could the Moon-Piercing Bow be yours? And your arrows are so bad!" Dai Chongyan's usually expressionless face was now filled with disbelief, shock, and resentment... Wait, why is he resentful? Did he take a fancy to my bow? And, this bow actually has such a nice name?
"Excuse me, what kind of bow is the Moon-Running Bow?" I wanted to slap my mouth as soon as I said it. The Moon-Running Bow is of course this bow. What I wanted to ask was why this bow has such a name. It sounds a bit like the Moye Sword or something.
Dai Chongyan ignored me. Only when the next person to receive an award came up did I return to my seat, still full of questions. Seeing that I had been on stage for so long, Zinuo asked what had happened, and I explained the situation.
Upon hearing the name "Moon-Crossing Bow," several people's expressions changed. Only then did I realize that the Moon-Crossing Bow was indeed a famous bow. Although it wasn't on the list of the ten most famous bows, it was no less impressive. It was brought to the emperor by the old Marquis of Dingyuan in the north twenty years ago. Its bowstring was made of black dragon sinew (no wonder it was so elastic). It had been kept in the palace and the emperor had never used it. Now it had actually come into my hands. No wonder everyone didn't believe it.
I looked at Shen Haoyu seriously and asked, "You've seen this bow so many times, why didn't you tell me it had such a special history?" I've been carrying it around everywhere, so it's basically ruined. Luckily, no one who loves bows so much has rushed out to take my bow and kill me. I'm so fortunate.
Shen Haoyu rolled his eyes at me: "I wasn't even born when this bow entered the palace. How would I know that this is the Moon-Piercing Bow? I've only heard about it occasionally."
Holding the bow close to my chest, I felt it suddenly gain warmth. Shen Tingxuan is so thoughtful! Knowing I'm practicing archery, he just got me a slightly better bow. This bow is so valuable; I probably won't dare use it in the future, and will only be locked away like those pieces of jewelry. The things he gave me, I can't even use…
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 099
Chapter word count: 4142 Update time: 09-09-04 08:36
On the second day of the twenty-second year of Tianxuan, which was the second day of the first lunar month, Dai Chongyan sent troops to attack Rongzhou again. He did not expect to take Rongzhou in one fell swoop, but he did not want the enemy to be so peaceful and wait for the snow to melt so that a large army could come to their aid. So he harassed them every day or two.
Anyone with eyes to see knows that such days are numbered, and the decisive battle between the two armies will surely take place before the snow melts. At that time, the fate of the people in the city will remain unknown.
That day, Shen Haoyu suddenly came to ask if there were any important items left in the Prince's mansion. Seeing that I didn't quite understand, he explained softly, "We must leave before the decisive battle, or our lives will be in danger." Only then did I remember that Shen Haoyu was just a hostage used by Emperor Youjing to hold back Prince Qing in the army.
"Can't we go back to Prince Qing's mansion after leaving?" I asked in surprise. Even if we were to escape from the Northwest Army, we couldn't even go back to Prince Qing's mansion.