Chapter 102: Consecutive Victories, Offer the Golden Arrow [Thank You All for Your Support

But Xu Zaijing was faster,

at home he could dodge ambush arrows!

Zhijian

Xu Zaijing sharply stepped back, leapt slightly, and evaded Yelu Ying’s tackle aimed at his leg, then swiftly seized the back of Yelu Ying’s clothing with both hands.

Xu Zaijing did not use great force, merely applied slight pressure, combined with his own weight, and pulled Yelu Ying down.

Thud.

Yelu Ying crashed to the ground, then Xu Zaijing lunged forward and pinned him fully beneath him,

Yelu Ying became a fallen chicken.

Yelu Ying tried to rise and fight again, struggling fiercely for a moment,

then suddenly he froze—he seemed to have touched something, and his face flushed crimson in an instant.

Yelu Ying was a prodigy of the Northern Liao, unmatched in wrestling talent; since stepping onto the wrestling ground, he had never been so utterly dominated,

since he began wrestling, he had always been the one putting others in this crushing position—not the one crushed.

Seeing Yelu Ying’s face, Yan Huijiong would surely say, “Hey, isn’t that a cooked crab?”

Yet Xu Zaijing remained utterly still, feeling nothing unusual.

“I lost.”

Yelu Ying whispered, ashamed.

Xu Zaijing released his grip.

Yelu Ying, face flushed red—whether from exhaustion or shame—stepped out of the circle.

The crowd, unable to see where their bodies had touched, knew nothing of what had happened.

Behind Empress Rong, Rong Feiyan’s beautiful eyes sparkled; seeing Xu Zaijing win, she jumped up happily, her hairpins and ornaments jingling.

“Fifth Brother Xu! Well done!” Zhang Wu niang also leapt up, glanced at her mother, saw that Madam Zhang was not glaring at her, and then directly blew a raspberry at the Northern Liao youth.

“Show off all you want! Hmph!”

The Emperor dismissed the New Year’s morning court session,

and walked with the Zhou nobility and the envoys from Bai Gao and Northern Liao (men) toward the Empress’s palace,

delighted at the submission and goodwill shown by the two nations.

During the court session, the Emperor had already received reports about events in the Empress’s quarters, but he did not yet know how the match had turned out.

As they neared the hall, they heard the cheers from within.

The group, led by the Emperor, filed in one after another.

The Emperor halted the eunuch’s announcement, bypassed the onlookers, and arrived at the Empress’s raised seat.

He saw that Xu Zaijing’s opponent was a youth from Bai Gao; calling him a youth might not be accurate—he looked somewhat aged.

The Empress saw the Emperor and said:

“Your Majesty.”

Zhao Fang: “Father.”

“No matter. Don’t disturb them. Huh, this Jing-ge’s opponent is tall and sturdy—is he really under fourteen?”

The Emperor remarked.

He glanced at Zhao Fang, saw his son turning back to watch the match intently, and whispered:

“This young brave lad’s ceremonial praise does have some merit.”

The Empress said:

“Yes, it’s indeed livelier than before! Look, even imperial clan youths are placing bets on the outcome—though the last one lost badly. This one is a Bai Gao youth; he even defeated Yelu Sun, the Northern Liao royal.”

The Emperor stroked his beard: “Win or lose, it’s just play. On this festival, all city folk may gamble and frolic—let them enjoy themselves.”

In the open space of the arena,

both youths were experts and had seen each other’s past victories and strength, so they carefully sought each other’s openings.

After circling for a moment,

Xu Zaijing suddenly dropped low, lunged forward, seized one of the youth’s legs, and overturned him with brute, unreasoning force.

Thud.

The sturdy youth crashed to the ground with a dull thump.

The youth remained dazed.

Several members of the Yelu family exchanged glances—wasn’t that exactly Yelu Ying’s move just now?

At the moment he was thrown down, many in the hall forgot decorum and shouted out.

Rong Xian jumped up beside Yelu Ying, shouting: “Hit him! Look! Now that’s real skill!”

Yelu Ying had lost his earlier composure; he stole a glance at Xu Zaijing, then turned to Yelu Sun: “Remember him.”

The Emperor clapped his hands, celebrating the victory.

Only then did the crowd, absorbed in the wrestling, notice the Emperor had already taken his seat.

Order instantly returned.

“Your Majesty.”

“Holy One.”

“We pay homage to the Emperor of Zhou.”

“Good, good, good—rarely so lively. What’s next?”

“Your Majesty, it’s archery.”

“Go ahead!”

Archery could not be practiced while the Emperor was present—what if someone turned his arrow toward him?

So Xu Zaijing and the others went outside, where eunuchs had already set up the targets.

Xu Zaijing naturally chose the hardest bow from the drawing team.

Outside the hall, sixteen youths first tested their bows,

then the competition began.

The rule: shoot one arrow, eliminate the two with the worst scores, then step back five paces, shoot again, and again eliminate the two worst.

Archery was dangerous; no one was allowed to crowd close, only eunuchs ran back and forth reporting who had been eliminated.

“Report: Zhou, Rong’s second son, Rong Xian—out.”

“Report: Zhou, Ninth Prince of Yong—out.”

“Report: Northern Liao, Yelu Sun—out.”

“Report: Bai Gao, Li Taotie—out.”

“Report: Zhou, Gu’s second son, Gu Tingye—out.”

“Report: Bai Gao, Li Chimeng—out.”

Outside the hall, only two youths remained drawing their bows; Yelu Ying’s arms were already sore.

“Report: Both tied! Step back five more paces!”

At this point, the two stood before the hall’s entrance; through the left doorframe, the Emperor could see the two youths’ silhouettes.

For the final shot, Yelu Ying’s arm could no longer steady itself—he shot wide of the target.

Yet Xu Zaijing remained calm, accepting the golden-feathered arrow handed to him by a golden-armored guard, its shaft lacquered gold.

Xu Zaijing tilted his head and smiled kindly at Yelu Ying—his eyes held no arrogance or triumph, only quiet calm as he stared at Yelu Ying,

then

Xu Zaijing kept his gaze fixed on Yelu Ying, not the target.

Nocked the arrow,

drew the bow,

exhaled,

released the string,

“Swoosh!”

Outside the hall, Yelu Ying and the golden-armored guards alike involuntarily turned to the target.

“Bullseye!”

“Zhou!!!!!!”

“Victory!!!!”

At the hall’s entrance, the eunuch shouted with overflowing emotion, his voice hoarse.

“Excellent!!!”

Yelu Ying’s eyes filled with astonishment, then he lowered his head.

The crowd erupted in cheers; the Emperor clapped happily.

“Good, good, good! Every participating youth shall be rewarded! Hahaha, excellent, excellent.”

Xu Zaijing watched the eunuch hurry toward the target; the eunuch strained with both hands to pull out the arrow, but could not budge it.

A nearby golden-armored guard came over, strained with both hands, and finally pulled it free, handing it to the eunuch.

The eunuch hurried back and, at the entrance, presented the golden-feathered arrow to Xu Zaijing.

Inside the hall, everyone quickly adjusted their attire and regained their composure.

Xu Zaijing walked back into the hall, respectfully holding the arrow with both hands.

As they passed before the Northern Liao youths, the youths all bowed with hands over their chests, lowering their heads.

The young nobles of the Zhang and Zheng families of the Duke of Ying watched him with delight.

Zheng Xiao arrived too late; he didn’t even catch a whiff of it.

The sons of the civil officials also felt a great sense of pride from this affair.

Poetic inspiration swirled in their minds.

Xu Zaijing stopped on the steps before the dragon throne.

The eunuch beside the Emperor was about to step forward, but the Emperor waved him back.

The Emperor said, “Fang, will you go?”

“Yes, thank you, Father.”

Zhao Fang stepped forward to stand before Xu Zaijing, who bowed low and said, “Your Highness.”

Zhao Fang could not call him brother.

He nodded, took the feathered arrow from Xu Zaijing’s hand, and returned happily to the Empress’s arms.

The two guest characters inside,

Taotie Chimera, took the top name on the list.

Zhiyue appeared behind them.

The author’s bowl has no oil; readers support Xie Qianchou.

Two hundred moon tickets reward ten thousand; the keyboard smolders, whoosh whoosh whoosh.

【Cough, cough, I posted the wrong chapter the first time; the second time I posted it in the free section. Indeed, my mind is not sharp.】

Readers and book friends with reading lists, please recommend this book. (`) Sending you a heart.

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(End of Chapter)