Chapter 23: On the Eve of the Great Birthday [Thank you all for your support, and thanks for the tips]

In the riding arena, the groom looked at Xu Xu Zaijing, who seemed somewhat troubled, and walked over to say, "Do not be too distressed; your archery technique for shooting at targets is already quite good."

"Master, I want to achieve perfect accuracy even when shooting at those small birds."

The groom shook his head and said, "Your strength is still growing; this bow will eventually be replaced by one requiring greater power. Becoming too accustomed to this bow is not a good thing."

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at his master; in his modern life, he had few opportunities to practice archery at an archery range, and his knowledge of bows and arrows was even inferior to that of ancient archers or bowmakers.

Hearing his master speak thus, he felt much more at ease in his heart.

"You must understand how fast your bow and arrow travel after release, anticipate the prey's movements, and loose another arrow along the path of the prey's leap and flight."

"Yes, Master."

"As for the mechanism you mentioned earlier, I have also completed it; practice more."

Saying this, the groom dragged a target out from the stable, placed it in the distance, and waved to Xu Xu Zaijing.

"Whoosh—"

"Thwack!"

The feathered arrow flew out and pinned itself into the target; the target, bearing the force, toppled backward, and upon falling, triggered the mechanism, launching a straw ball into the air.

"Whoosh—"

Xu Xu Zaijing's arrow missed.

Brother Qingyun nimbly ran over, erected the target, and reset the mechanism.

While Xu Xu Zaijing was practicing archery in the riding arena, Sun Shi was also speaking with her two daughters.

"Xu Pingmei, Xu Anmei, your younger brother is thinking about preparing a birthday gift for Your Majesty; since performing in the palace for Your Majesty will surely require looking splendid, these few days, you two should mimic opera costumes and make a suit of armor for your brother. Would that be acceptable?"

The sisters Xu Xu Pingmei and Xu Xu Anmei exchanged a glance, as if sharing a silent understanding of what was meant; they smiled at each other and replied to their mother, "Yes, Mother."

Xu Xu Zaijing naturally did not know that his own mother was also making preparations for his future performance; he was currently cheering and jumping for joy at having hit the flying straw bundle for the first time.

The small horse beneath him also seemed to sense his emotion and neighed loudly in response.

Time flowed on,

On this day in the imperial palace, the Empress, who was with child, was drinking nourishing soup while reclining on a couch, with her younger brother's wife sitting beside her.

"Your Ladyship, a few days ago, the younger sister of the Xu family of Marquis Marquis Yongyi entrusted her natal family to convey a matter."

The Empress stopped her hand, a smile appearing on her face as she said, "Oh? What is the matter with the Xu family?"

"They say that the Xu family of Marquis Marquis Yongyi has prepared a birthday gift for Your Majesty and has asked our family's young master to cast an expert eye upon it."

"Our Cao family consists entirely of military descendants; what would the Xu family invite us to see? Is it merely an attempt to affect refinement?" the Empress said with considerable self-mockery.

"Your Ladyship, the Xu family has not prepared any poetry; rather, the Xu family's Zhang Zhang Sanlang has prepared an archery performance."

"Ah! What performance has this little rascal prepared?"

"What I am about to say, Your Ladyship, may be hard to believe: this Zhang Zhang Sanlang, from a distance of thirty paces while riding a small horse, loosed fifteen arrows, every single one hitting its mark without fail, leaving your little brother utterly dumbfounded."

"If he was left dumbfounded, then this Zhang Zhang Sanlang is indeed formidable; we too come from a family of martial generals, and for someone of such young age to be able to draw a bow and shoot accurately at thirty paces can indeed be considered an auspicious omen."

After listening, the Empress continued, "Send the imperial physicians to the Xu family; do not let Zhang Zhang Sanlang harm his fundamental health due to these birthday celebration matters—he is still so young. Also, send our family's embroiderers to the Xu family to take a look; we cannot allow young Jing-ge'er to lose face during his performance."

"It is just as Your Ladyship says, caring for others so deeply."

"What birthday gift has our Cao family prepared?"

"We sought out a strange stone in the south; it is said to be extremely auspicious, and several members of our family have viewed it and are all very satisfied."

"That is good."

"Your Ladyship, I hear that those several ladies are also with child?"

The Empress's face showed neither sorrow nor joy; she merely nodded, then, as if suddenly thinking of something, looked at her younger brother's wife: "I thought that girl Princess Pingning was speaking nonsense, yet unexpectedly, this Jing-ge'er truly possesses such great fortune. Initially, we should not have allowed those several to become tainted."

"That person is so favored, yet their ancestors were merely bricklayers; please, Your Ladyship, set your mind at ease. Since young Jing possesses such great fortune and is from a family friendly to our Cao clan, perhaps we could frequently summon the Eldest Da Niangzi of the Xu family to the palace."

The Empress said nothing.

As the mistress of the rear palace, the Empress's orders were quickly implemented; the imperial physician sent to the Xu family carefully examined Xu Xu Zaijing's body and discovered that Xu Xu Zaijing was in very good health, with no hidden injuries or strain.

The embroiderers sent by the Cao family were kept in the home by Sun Shi; embroiderers from the Imperial Uncle's household were naturally not accessible to ordinary families.

Therefore, Sun Shi kept the sisters Xu Pingmei and Xu Anmei close beside the embroiderers; staying near such masters, they would inevitably learn some skills, especially since the dispatched embroiderers did not withhold their knowledge and occasionally offered guidance on the sisters' embroidery work.

For the Emperor's great birthday, the programs performed on that day were not simply chosen at will; they required screening by the Ministry of Rites within the palace.

On this day, two officials from the Ministry of Rites arrived at Hou Fu to inspect Xu Xu Zaijing's performance.

In the riding arena, Xu Xu Zaijing, dressed in a silver robe and Jin Jia meticulously embroidered by the embroiderers, drew his bow and shot arrows while mounted on his horse; the target in the distance fell at the sound, and one Ministry of Rites official remarked, "The archery technique is not particularly astonishing, but fortunately, this young gentleman is not yet of age, which is commendable."

"Seeing the target fall upon being struck by an arrow is quite satisfying to watch."

As the two spoke, the final target fell, yet an embroidered ball was tossed high into the air.

The two officials displayed expressions of surprise,

and upon seeing the embroidered ball struck by a single arrow from Xu Xu Zaijing, the several officials exchanged glances and nodded in unison.

Before departing Hou Fu, the two officials said to Sun Shi, "Eldest Da Niangzi, please have the young gentleman practice diligently; we shall report this matter forthwith."

"Thank you both."

"Eldest Da Niangzi, there are two small matters:

First, the young gentleman might seek two pheasant tail feathers, have them dyed, and wear them on his cap, which would add a touch of brilliance.

Second, for the feathered arrows the young gentleman uses, perhaps a whistle could be added to the arrow shafts to serve as whistling arrows; the whistling sound upon release would attract even more attention."

"Yes, yes, yes; thank you, my lord, for the reminder; I will certainly have the family prepare them."

"Then we two shall take our leave."

"My lord, go slowly."

By evening, Xu Xu Zaijing was at home, curiously observing the two pheasant tail feathers that the craftsmen had fixed onto the cap.

Their appearance resembled the two feathers worn on the head by the Great Sage Sun when he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace in his previous life.

Meanwhile, in the room beside the stable, Xu Xu Zaijing's master was carving the arrow shafts with a knife under the candlelight.

Three days before the Great Zhou Emperor's grand birthday, the entire Bianjing capital was already immersed in an atmosphere of jubilation.

In these past few days, the favorite pastime of Bianjing's residents was to go to the various city gates to view the birthday gifts for the current Emperor.

Those offering birthday congratulations included not only imperial relatives and officials from various regions,

the vassal states to the east,

the various tribes of the southwest,

the southern maritime kingdoms,

the Li Shi clan of the Bai Gao Kingdom in the northwest,

and the Yelü clan of the Liao Kingdom in the north;

all had sent birthday gifts,

allowing the residents of Bianjing to see many things they could not usually encounter,

such as elephants from the south, massive rhinoceroses, and giant tortoises.

From the west came golden-maned lions and golden-spotted leopards.

From the north arrived enormous tigers, brown giant bears, and white elks, among others.

Every day, within the Yuxian Yuxian Zhengdian restaurants of Bianjing, young attendants would stand at the entrances recounting the marvelous sights and exotic beasts at the various city gates.

Meanwhile, envoys from different nations, dressed in distinct attire, also became a topic of conversation among the people.

Inside the imperial palace of Bianjing, envoys from various nations registered with the Ministry of Rites would be summoned into the palace to meet the current Great Zhou Emperor.

Thanks to Tingfeng Juanyu for the donation of 200.

Thanks to Du You Lian Fanhua Meng for the donation of 100.

Thanks to Lie Quan Xun Shu for the donation of 1500.

Thanks to Hao Nan A Ai for the donation of 600.

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Many thanks!

Bowing again!

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(End of Chapter)