Chapter 141: I Want to Compete With You! [Many Thanks for Everyone's Support! Bowing Again!]

Under the plum tree in the courtyard of Shou'an Hall.

"Hit! Hit!"

Hearing Rulan cheered outside the hall of Shou'an Hall, causing her little maid, Magpie, to laugh along with her.

After tilting her head to watch for a few moments, Minglan quickened her steps to the arrow-throwing pot, retrieved the arrow that had hit the target, and took the opportunity to weigh its heft.

She glanced at Gu Gu Tingye, her eyes showing a hint of unwillingness to yield and some surprise at his arrow-throwing skill, then looked again at Sheng Changfeng, who had just claimed he wanted to spar with Gu Gu Tingye in the art of arrow-throwing.

The proud little rooster Sheng Changfeng had just experienced a journey of eagerness to try, surprise, shock, stupor, and finally, loss of fighting spirit.

Meanwhile, Minglan had endured an anxious and distressing spectator experience, thinking: too high, too low, use more force, you won't hit it, your technique is truly terrible.

Gu Gu Tingye looked somewhat surprised at Hearing Rulan, who was cheering for him, then turned to glance at Xu Xu Zaijing beside him; Xu Xu Zaijing and Gu Gu Tingye exchanged a smile, after which Gu Gu Tingye looked again at Gu Gu Tingyi, signaling him to also show some spirit and offer Sheng Changfeng some encouragement.

But Gu Gu Tingyi merely pursed her lips, making no gesture, her meaning clear in her eyes: with such technique, whether one encourages him or not makes little difference.

Moreover, she had noticed the way Sheng Changfeng looked at her earlier, and she did not like it.

Mo Lan's expression was somewhat unpleasant; she watched her own brother, Sheng Changfeng, with anxiety in her eyes, then turned her head and happened to catch Gu Gu Tingyi's expression, instantly feeling a loss of face, yet unable to leave directly.

Having lost his fighting spirit, Sheng Changfeng lowered his hand, lacking the courage to throw again.

At this moment,

This group of children saw Mama Liu, Wei Wei Shuyi, Sister Sister Xiaodie, and one other person entering through the courtyard gate, and they all cast their gazes over.

After entering the courtyard, Wei Wei Shuyi swept her gaze around, and upon seeing male guests, she hastily lowered her eyes to the ground.

As she walked toward Shou'an Hall, Wei Wei Shuyi's gaze passed over Minglan; seeing the arrow-throwing dart in Minglan's hand, she raised her eyes slightly, casting a faint look at Minglan; sensing her mother's intent, Minglan reluctantly placed the arrow back into the quiver.

As Mama Liu and the other three passed by, seeing the few people playing, they paused briefly at a short distance, bowed respectfully, and then continued walking toward the house.

Seeing Seeing Qingcao spotted Sister Sister Xiaodie and, with a face full of gratitude, squatted down to bow.

After Xu Xu Zaijing nodded slightly, he used a glance to stop Gu Gu Tingye and his sister, who wanted to step forward; although Gu Gu Tingye was a few months older than Xu Xu Zaijing in age, sometimes Gu Gu Tingye could not help but obey Xu Xu Zaijing's words or follow his eye signals.

The reason might be that he had once been subdued by Xu Xu Zaijing's martial prowess.

Gu Gu Tingyi, however, looked surprised and said to Gu Gu Tingye, "Pei Erge, this Lady Wei is so beautiful! But—"

Gu Gu Tingye nodded, realized his mistake, and then glared at Gu Gu Tingyi; discussing the beauty of another man's concubine with one's own brother! Gu Gu Tingyi was shamed by the glare.

Xu Xu Zaijing turned his head back, continuing to pay attention to the arrow-throwing affair taking place here.

Just now,

although he truly had not rudely stared fixedly at Lady Wei, his eyesight was simply too good...

Low-hanging, blooming plum blossoms between,

even an inadvertent glance had allowed him to see clearly that Wei Wei Shuyi's jet-black hair was combed with extreme neatness, yet adorned with almost no ornaments;

her eyebrows and eyes were cast downward, her demeanor proper and composed, yet within her gaze lay an utterly clear, calm stillness that kept people at a distance, with only a slight ripple appearing in her eyes when she had looked at Minglan just now.

Moreover, Wei Wei Shuyi's complexion was much fairer than that of Mama Liu, the respectable stewardess serving Lady Wang; seemingly due to some habit engraved into her bones, even when bowing slightly, Wei Wei Shuyi's shoulders and back did not hunch; she wore new clothes with her hands folded before her, yet the sleeves of the new garment revealed cuffs of old clothing that were heavily worn.

Mo Lan and Sheng Changfeng nearby exchanged a glance, then looked at Wei Wei Shuyi who had appeared at Shou'an Hall.

Hearing Rulan, who had just been single-mindedly looking at the gifts, showed a puzzled expression and then said directly to Minglan, "Why has your little mother come here? She is a—" Beside them, Sheng Changbai glared at Hearing Rulan, and she did not finish the rest of her sentence.

After the few of them had passed, Gu Gu Tingye handed the arrow to Sheng Changbai; a slight hint of embarrassment appeared on Sheng Changbai's usually expressionless face, as the vast majority of his energy was devoted to reading and practicing calligraphy, so this arrow-throwing...

Hearing Hearing Rulan's words, Gu Gu Tingyi glanced at Wei Wei Shuyi, who had entered Shou'an Hall; her whimsical eyes darted, and looking at Minglan with some hope, she said, "Miss Six, do you know how to throw arrows?"

Minglan glanced at Hearing Rulan, feeling somewhat distressed in her heart, then lowered her head, pinching the hem of her clothes; after pondering for a moment, she nodded her small head heavily and said, "I do!"

Hearing this, Sheng Changbai handed the arrow in his hand to Minglan, saying, "I truly play very little and do not know how to throw arrows. Just play casually; if we lose, count it against me."

Minglan lifted her head joyfully; seeing the encouraging look in Sheng Changbai's eyes, she nodded, then looked at Gu Gu Tingye and said, "I want to compete with you!"

Gu Gu Tingye looked at Xu Xu Zaijing; Xu Xu Zaijing, knowing his strength, then looked at Sheng Changbai, his meaning being that this sister of yours has ambition. He then looked at Gu Gu Tingyi and said, "If you want to compete with me, you must first compete with my sister."

Gu Gu Tingyi gave her own second brother an appreciative nod, then looked at Minglan and said, "That's right! Defeat me, and you can challenge my second brother."

Hearing Rulan did not realize in the slightest that her single sentence had sparked in Minglan the idea of competing in arrow-throwing; she continued, "Don't cry if you lose."

Sheng Changfeng beside them also said, "Sixth Sister, Pei Erge Gu possesses outstanding skill; do not aim too high without considering reality." Mo Lan frowned and lightly remarked, "Do not bring shame upon our family."

Minglan said nothing; she went to the place of the arrow-throwing pot, bowed slightly to Gu Gu Tingyi, and said, "As an elder sister and a guest from afar, you may decide who throws first."

Gu Gu Tingyi smiled faintly and said, "You are younger; you throw first."

Minglan said, "Thank you, elder sister."

Having spoken, Minglan stared at the arrow-throwing pot in the distance,

took aim for a while, and then—

Whoosh!

At the entrance of Shou'an Hall,

Wei Wei Shuyi had not yet entered the main hall when she heard Wang Wang Ruofu's voice coming from within: "Aiyo! True Lord of the Three Pure Ones! Jumping into the water on such a cold day—"

Xu Xu Pingmei was recounting what she had seen by the canal: transport soldiers capturing bandits. Lady Wang and Sheng Hualan were naturally listening with rapt attention, while the Old Lady also wore an expression of interest; hearing Xu Xu Pingmei say that those soldiers waited a while before jumping into the water, she nodded with full approval and said, "The one leading the troops is a person of sound calculation."

At this time, Mama Liu walked in and said, "Old Lady, Great Lady, Lady Wei has arrived."

Lady Wang waved her handkerchief and said, "Quick, let her come in." Mama Liu at the door stepped aside and said, "Little Lady, please."

Wei Wei Shuyi lowered her head and stepped forward slowly; before she could make any move, the Old Lady said, "You are with child; there is no need for excessive rites. Bring a seat."

Hearing these words, Wei Wei Shuyi raised her head, performed a small bow, and said, "Concubine Wei Wei Shuyi thanks the Old Lady for your understanding and for granting a seat; I pay my respects to the Great Lady, the Eldest Miss, and the honored guests!"

After Mama Cui placed down a wider embroidered stool, Wei Wei Shuyi bowed again to thank Mama Cui before sitting upon it; immediately, Wei Wei Shuyi felt Xu Xu Pingmei's gaze; she looked over with a faint smile and discovered that Xu Xu Pingmei's eyes were full of curiosity, admiration, inquiry, and a hint of surprise.

Moreover, Xu Xu Pingmei's gaze seemed as if she recognized her, Wei Wei Shuyi; this made Wei Wei Shuyi feel somewhat puzzled in her heart, and at the same time, this unexpected situation left her somewhat at a loss, unsure whether her actions were right or wrong.

Wei Wei Shuyi slowly lowered her head, not daring to say much.

Seeing the look in Xu Xu Pingmei's eyes, Lady Sheng also felt a slight doubt in her heart but did not speak it aloud; she casually patted Xu Xu Pingmei, rousing her from her astonishment at Wei Wei Shuyi's beauty, and Xu Xu Pingmei said, "Little Lady, the embroidered painting you gave me when I left home to marry, I liked it very much."

Wei Wei Shuyi said nothing; she raised her head and glanced at Lady Wang, who looked at Wei Wei Shuyi in puzzlement:??

After staying silent for a moment and comprehending that Wei Wei Shuyi was seeking permission to speak, she smiled with satisfaction and said, "Just speak; there is no need to look at me."

Only then did Wei Wei Shuyi lower her head and bow, saying, "Replying to the Lady, actually, all this was ordered by the Great Lady. The Great Lady said that the departure of a noble daughter from Hou Fu to marry is a great joy, and the family should send some token of regard to share in Hou Fu's happiness. She also said that my embroidery skills were quite good and specifically instructed me to embroider that 'Plum Blossoms Opening for Five Blessings' piece."

Wang Shi looked at Xu Xu Pingmei, who returned her gaze with eyes full of gratitude, and smiled as she said, "Yes, this Lady Wei is extremely skillful with her hands."

Xu Xu Pingmei smiled and nodded, saying, "What Auntie says is true; this young lady's hands are indeed skillful. Ever since I obtained that embroidered painting, before my younger sister left home to marry, she would often go to see it. After arriving at Hou Fu, even the old embroiderers in the capital praised this needlework technique endlessly, asking where this young lady had learned such a method, as they had not seen it for a long time."

"Replying to Da Da Niangzi, my maternal grandmother's ancestral home was in the Southern Circuit of Guangdong; my ancestors were once summoned to the palace to serve as embroiderers, and I have learned one or two tenths of their skills," Wei Wei Shuyi said respectfully. After she finished, Wang Shi glanced at Mother Liu in surprise; Mother Liu also did not know this, for back then she only knew that Lady Wei's father's generation had been instructors, and no one had ever asked about her grandparents' generation.

Sheng Hualan also looked at Wei Wei Shuyi with some surprise in her eyes.

Xu Xu Pingmei looked at Wei Wei Shuyi, recalling what Wei Wei Yuyi had said in Chuzhou, and thought to herself that the 'one or two tenths' spoken of by this young lady Wei was likely not merely a fraction, but rather the 'one or two tenths' she had realized on her own after inheriting all the skills of her ancestors.

Upon hearing these words, the Old Lady turned to look at her own Housekeeper Fang; sure enough, Housekeeper Fang also glanced at the Old Lady, her eyes containing a hint of seeking instruction. The Old Lady knew that Housekeeper Fang had a fondness for embroidery skills, but previously, the Old Lady had confined herself to her courtyard and refused to accept any items sent by Sheng Hong's concubines, so she had not discovered Wei Wei Shuyi.

At this moment, Wang Shi suddenly thought of something and hurriedly said, "Mother, Pingjie, that Sister Xiaodie is just outside the gate; why not call her in? Just now, the Liu family asked, and most likely..."

"Let her come in," the Old Lady said with a slight nod.

Hearing this, a young maid at the door immediately called out, and Sister Sister Xiaodie walked nervously into Daolezhengtang; after she finished her bows, Mother Liu said, "Miss Sister Xiaodie, say it again."

After a while,

Having listened, the Old Lady said with some emotion, "Cui Ruan, go accompany her to meet the young master of the Zhu family, so that the child may feel at ease."

And also

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(End of Chapter)