Chapter 108: Rushing Toward the Head

The field fell into dead silence, only the warm, humid wind blowing over the surface of the Taiye Pond remained.

Everyone stared dumbfounded—this……this……if the Princess Consort of Rui wanted to die, she didn't need to go to such lengths!

At such a distance, hitting that apple was already extremely difficult; hitting a fruit pit would be somewhat hard, no, not just somewhat hard—it's outright impossible!

A slight deviation and the Princess Consort of Rui would die here today.

If the Bei Di Princess killed the Southern Qi Prince Consort of Rui within the Southern Qi palace, the consequences would be unthinkable; it could even spark a war between the two nations.

Although Bei Di is now strong, Southern Qi is an Eastern great power; in the short term they still aren't ready for war, and both sides are probing each other's strength.

At this critical juncture, there absolutely cannot be the slightest mistake.

Princess Yuan Qing's bow-draw was obviously less composed than before; not far away, Gu Jiu Ling tilted her head and smiled at her, that smile especially radiant, revealing two little tiger teeth—how infuriating!

Better to just shoot her dead outright!

Yet when she aimed at Gu Jiu Ling's head, she still felt a few more reservations.

She knew Xiao Yin too well—he holds grudges for a lifetime, and his revenge is beyond what ordinary people can endure.

first release URL http

Moreover, she likes that man; even if she wanted to compete with Gu Jiu Ling, she couldn't shoot her down in public!

But that little fruit pit—she simply couldn't aim true!

She lacked absolute certainty, but this game only has life or death, no second chances.

Gu Jiu Ling calmly watched the not‑far Princess Yuan Qing, who was torn and unable to loose her arrow; her own heart gradually eased—she had won the first step of this psychological battle.

"Hey! You Bei Di ladies aren't supposed to be decisive and swift? Hurry up! The palace banquet will start soon, and I still plan to eat when mealtime comes!"

Princess Yuan Qing drew a deep breath, steadied herself, and raised her bow again; a fine sheen of sweat had already appeared on her forehead.

Her eyes also began to mist from nervousness; had she known this, she'd have preferred to shoot the first arrow herself.

She drew the bow, slowly aiming at Gu Jiu Ling.

At this moment all the ladies were so tense their breathing seemed to congeal, and they didn't notice a group approaching from not far away.

Leading them was the Bei Di prince, Tuo Ba Heng, beside whom he still brought their Bei Di hostage, Tuo Ba Yu; on the other side accompanying them were Xiao Yin and several princes.

As Xiao Yin turned onto the forest path, he saw the scene before him and his scalp nearly exploded.

His own consort stood there with a fruit pit on her head, while the Bei Di princess drew her bow and aimed; his head buzzed, he strode forward—but Gu Jiu Ling called out to stop him.

"Your Highness! Don't come over! We're just playing, your arrival ruins the fun."

"That's right! Prince Rui needn't rush, it's merely a ladies' pastime," Tuo Ba Heng said with a light smile.

Though he looks about thirty, he appears youthful, naturally bearing a touch of suave charm.

Looking at the scene now, he smiled especially smugly.

Xiao Yin's eyes narrowed gradually—damn ladies' pastime, this is practically trying to kill someone!

Gu Jiu Ling truly is a careless fool; if he just stepped away for a moment, she'd stir up a life‑or‑death situation.

Xiao Yin still walked over, but Gu Jiu Ling called out again, shouting at Xiao Yin: "Your Highness, just stand aside and watch! I am who I am—don't you know?"

Xiao Yin's brows knotted tightly; beside him, Xiao Wei laughed loudly: "Ha! These ladies' games are crazier than we old fogeys!"

"Imperial Uncle, since the Imperial Aunt has no objection, your charging in like this would be spoiling the fun—are you saying Southern Qi ladies lack the courage and wit of Bei Di ladies?"

Xiao Yin gave Xiao Wei a dismissive glance; Xiao Wei coughed, unconvinced, and raised an eyebrow.

Tuo Ba Heng said: "All right! Prince Rui needn't be so tense; just watch the princess's archery!"

Xiao Yin stared fixedly at Princess Yuan Qing, then suddenly snorted coldly: "Princess Yuan Qing, have you decided how to shoot? If not, the next round will be me versus you!"

Princess Yuan Qing's hand trembled slightly; hearing that man's voice again gave her a feeling of having crossed worlds.

She resented that he was saying all this for such a foolish woman.

Her heart ached fiercely; she sucked in a breath and loosed the first arrow, which grazed Gu Jiu Ling's scalp, merely off‑target, so it naturally missed the fruit pit.

"Tsk tsk tsk……when drawing the bow, hold steady—why is even the direction off?" Gu Jiu Ling showed no fear, even teasing with a smile.

The first arrow had already gone awry; Xiao Yin's aura was too overwhelming, making her mind even more scattered.

She loosed a second arrow, then a third—so‑called "one burst of effort, then wane, then exhaustion."

Princess Yuan Qing's mindset had completely collapsed; if Xiao Yin were to shoot this arrow, he'd surely hit the fruit pit atop Gu Jiu Ling's head.

But a god‑level archer like Xiao Yin appears only once a century; her horsemanship can't compare to his, and yet that wretched Gu Jiu Ling had somehow gnawed that huge apple down to just a fruit core—what nonsense is this!

The three arrows Princess Yuan Qing shot all brushed past Gu Jiu Ling's body; this time she acted as if nothing happened, shook her clothes, took the fruit core from her head, and flicked it into the Taiye Pond, sending up a string of splashes.

Although Xiao Yin's face showed no change, the palm hidden in his sleeve was already slick with cold sweat.

Gu Jiu Ling smiled at him, trying to soothe his ruffled husband; Xiao Yin turned his face away, not wanting to look at her—wait till we get back to the Wangfu, see how he deals with her!

Gu Jiu Ling took the apple from Princess Fu Qing and handed it to Princess Yuan Qing, smiling: "Your turn."

Princess Yuan Qing's face had turned as ugly as it could get; she had heard people say Gu Jiu Ling was the unlearned, talentless fool of Shang Jing.

The noble ladies of Shang Jing none looked down on her.

Asking her to shoot arrows was nothing short of a huge joke.

At this moment she really didn't want to be Gu Jiu Ling's target; earlier she'd wanted to use an ordinary target to decide victory, but she hadn't expected Gu Jiu Ling to play for keeps—she never imagined this woman could be so dark, so ruthless!

Seeing Princess Yuan Qing refuse the apple, meaning she didn't want to be the target, Gu Jiu Ling laughed and took the apple back: "Forget it—kneel and admit defeat, and we'll end this game here."

"What did you say?" Princess Yuan Qing stared dead‑eyed at Gu Jiu Ling, her head suddenly hot, she snatched the apple from Gu Jiu Ling's hand and stood before the Taihu Stone.

She thought it over, then took a fierce bite of the apple; suddenly her face flushed red, she spat out the apple from her mouth—it was a tasteless, unripe apple, though it looked decent on the outside, horribly sour, making her want to vomit.

She suppressed the urge to keep biting the apple, placed the bitten one on her head, and coldly swept her gaze over Princess Fu Qing—this apple was taken from her.

Fu Qing lowered her eyes, gazed at her nose, then at her heart, said nothing, utterly docile.

Gu Jiu Ling slowly drew the bow, but it was clearly strenuous—her arms shook, she gritted her teeth and lifted it, aiming not at Princess Yuan Qing's apple on her head, but at Princess Yuan Qing's face.

Those around instantly grew tense—if this really shot Princess Yuan Qing dead, then……

Gu Jiu Ling slowly raised the bow, a flicker of mockery in her eyes, and shot toward Princess Yuan Qing's head.

Ah! A burst of startled cries rose from all around! This time they were really aiming for the head!