"And what happens after the competition?" Chu Wan persisted, grabbing the Empress Dowager's sleeve and shaking it. "Grandmother, will the winner really become my brother's princess?"
"Alright, alright, Wanwan, don't cry. Your brother is a prince of our Qi Kingdom, not an object. There's no reason for others to compete and choose him," the Empress Dowager said. "Let him choose for himself when the time comes."
The Empress Dowager's kick was so good that Wushuang almost burst out laughing. She turned her face slightly to hide it, but unexpectedly met the Fifth Prince Chu Yun standing behind the crowd. She was startled by his clenched teeth.
Now that the agreement was made, Fuya and Wushuang each went to make their own preparations.
Fuya returned to her tent and had just taken the riding clothes handed to her by a maid when the curtain was lifted.
"Brother, what brings you here?"
Gesang fiddled with a small, glittering silver object in his hand: "Look what this is."
Fuya took a look and found that it was a hand-held mirror for women, only the size of a palm, with a lotus flower carved on the back, and the craftsmanship was exquisite.
"A gift for me?" She liked it at first sight and couldn't put it down.
"The head guard just gave it to me." Gesang lay down on the sheepskin rug on the ground. "He said he saw someone acting suspiciously in the grove, and after following him, he found that the person was using this mirror to reflect light onto the stands. After some torture, the person confessed that he was a eunuch serving the Fifth Prince."
"The Fifth Prince?" Fuya suddenly realized. "Brother, he definitely wasn't reflecting light onto the stands. He was reflecting light onto the Seventh Prince, Chu Xu, to dazzle him so he couldn't see the target and would lose the competition. No wonder his last arrow inexplicably missed the target. It's really boring that the brothers are so scheming against each other."
Gesang laughed loudly, "As expected of my sister, you hit the nail on the head. What's even more commendable is that you didn't think much of Chu Yun before you knew about this. You have the ability to judge people. This way, I can worry less about you and not be afraid that you will be deceived by that cunning rascal from Qi Kingdom."
Fuya proudly raised her chin, her beautiful eyes darting around, and suddenly an idea came to her: "Brother, have the head guard send someone to take this mirror to the grove and wait where that eunuch was before."
"Are you planning to copy the Fifth Prince's scheme?" Gesang sat up cross-legged. "You value that Chu Yao that much? What's so good about him? I think he's just mediocre, and his status isn't high enough. The Seventh Prince is a better match for you."
“Who said he’s unremarkable?” Fuya completely ignored the topic of Chu Xu and only defended Chu Yao, “He is someone the emperor trusts more than the princes.”
"So what? Even if you trust him, he's not your uncle's son, and he'll never be the crown prince," Gesang scoffed. "Don't forget what our purpose is here. Choosing you a husband is just the first step; there's more to come..."
Fuya interrupted him impatiently: "I don't care, I just like him. I'll either not marry him at all, or I'll marry the most outstanding man."
My younger sister has been willful since she was little, and once she gets stubborn, nothing can pull her back. Gesang could only give in helplessly: "Okay, okay, I'll go and arrange it right away, and I'll make sure you're satisfied."
With the help of the Silver Mirror artifact, the result was predictable. No matter how good Wushuang's riding skills were or how accurate his pitch-pot was, he still inexplicably lost, just like Chu Xu.
As the victor, Fuya didn't give Wushuang another glance. She rode her horse to the front of the stands, jumped down, and then easily jumped back onto the platform, standing proudly and arrogantly in front of Chu Yao.
"Chu Yao, you didn't understand me before, so you only chose her, and I don't blame you at all. This also shows that you are a man of integrity and keeps your promises. But now the situation is different. As you just saw, in terms of appearance, background, and riding and archery skills, I am superior to her in every way. Shouldn't you change your mind and choose me?"
"Heh..." Chu Yao laughed, "Your Highness, there's a saying, 'There are always people better than you, and mountains beyond mountains.' If I were to break off my engagement with my fiancée of many years just because you're so outstanding, wouldn't you become a divorced wife when I meet an even more outstanding woman in the future?"
"What do you mean by all this pedantry?" Fuya said unhappily.
Chu Yao stood up and sighed: "What I mean is, no matter who wins or loses, my future queen can only be Jun Wushuang."
Chapter 96 | Table of Contents
Chapter Ninety-Six:
Fuya, being a young woman and usually quite uninhibited, was inevitably embarrassed by these words. Her face flushed red and then turned pale, and she was speechless for a moment. <strong>Read the latest chapters in full at qiushu.cc</strong>
The Empress Dowager was old and soft-hearted. Seeing her like this, she quickly pulled her over and coaxed her, "Alright, alright. When a young lady chooses a husband, she should choose one who cares about her. Look how hard the Fifth Prince worked for the competition. He will cherish the wife he won in the future."
Fuya was completely unimpressed, curling her lip and saying, "His character is bad. The winner of that match should have been Seventh Cousin."
"What do you mean?" Emperor Deqing asked, puzzled.
"Gesang's guards caught the eunuch who helped Chu Yun cheat in the grove." Fuya, in a fit of anger, recklessly exposed the Fifth Prince's secret.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Deqing raised an eyebrow and glanced at Chu Yun, but did not offer any opinion. Instead, he said to Fuya, "In that case, how about making the seventh prince your consort?"
Fuya frowned and shook her head: "I don't want to. Regardless of whether he was framed or not, he lost in front of everyone. I don't want a loser to be a prince consort."
No this will do, no that will do; Emperor Deqing was completely exasperated by his niece's antics.
The grand contest to select a prince consort ended in disappointment with no result.
Fuya's rejection by Chu Yao became a laughing stock among the accompanying nobles, but out of respect for the emperor, no one dared to bring it up openly, only whispering about it in secret.
Wushuang usually didn't care much about winning or losing, but this time she was extremely unwilling to accept defeat. If it were just a matter of being less skilled, that would be one thing, but every time it was her turn to throw arrows into the pot, white light would shoot out from the grove of trees. Considering what happened when the two princes were shooting arrows earlier, even the most foolish person would know that someone was secretly sabotaging her.
However, Chu Yao's declaration made her the actual winner, leaving her with no grounds to expose Fuya's unscrupulous methods in order to win the competition.
Wushuang returned to her tent in a sullen mood, not in the mood to participate in the evening bonfire party, and went to bed early.
I didn't sleep very well, and I had one dream after another. Later, I even dreamed that Chu Yao accepted the olive branch that Fu Ya offered him and agreed to break up with her.
Enraged, Wushuang rode Yunmo up to the stands and punched him.
Chu Yao was in so much pain that he kept screaming "Ouch, ouch!"
Wushuang laughed heartily, eventually waking himself up from the laughter.
The tent was completely dark, with only a sliver of light filtering through the gap in the curtain.
By the light, Wushuang could vaguely see a tall figure standing by the bed.
She was startled and sat up abruptly, only to hear the man slowly ask, "What sweet dream were you having that made you laugh so happily?"
Judging from the voice, it was Chu Yao.
I beat you up really badly, but of course I can't tell you!
Wushuang's heart, which had been in her throat, returned to her stomach for less than a second before she suddenly realized something was wrong.
During the northern tour, whenever it was necessary to stay in a tent, for safety reasons, the three daughters of the Jun family would stay in one tent so that they could take care of each other.