The person who came here was dressed in white clothes, shaking a folding fan in his hand. He was dressed in a romantic style and smelled of dark plum blossoms. Who else could he be if he wasn't the Grand Tutor's son Gu Dongliu?
After greeting the queen, Gu Dongliu learned about the current situation. When he heard that Ye Qingran had surpassed the five-time marksman Ling Shaoyang and ranked first in the re-examination, he was shocked!
"No, no, I have to join in such a big fuss!" Gu Dongliu shook his folding fan and held it in a romantic mood.
Originally, he didn't plan to participate in the archery competition because the results were almost the same every year.
However, this year, it seems to be very different!
Gu Dongliu's eyes flashed with excitement.
Ye Huanhuan looked at Gu Dongliu and didn't take it to heart. Last year, Gu Dongliu ranked fourth behind her in the archery competition.
"Dongliu, you can challenge my sister Ye Qingran, she is this year's dark horse, beyond everyone's expectations!"
Ye Huanhuan smiled softly, with a small calculation in mind.
Although Gu Dongliu's archery ability is not extraordinary, it is not impossible to defeat Ye Qingran if he performs exceptionally.
If Gu Dongliu can defeat Ye Qingran, she can reap the benefits!
Gu Dongliu's eyes lit up, he looked at Ye Qingran and said with a smile: "Miss Ye is so secretive! I admire you so much!"
"Mr. Gu, do you want to challenge me?"
Hearing this, Gu Dongliu shook his head slightly and waved his hands: "Miss Ye is the first place. If I challenge you, isn't this asking for death? I decided to challenge the third place. By the way, who is the third place?"
The expression on Ye Huanhuan's face was frozen.
Gu Dongliu, what are you doing?
Challenge her to what?
Do you really think she is a soft persimmon?
Ye Qingran glanced at Queen Gu, but said quietly: "Master Gu, please think carefully. If you fail in the challenge, you will kneel down and kowtow to apologize to everyone. Queen, is this the case, right?"
Queen Gu paused while drinking tea.
How could she not hear that Ye Qingran was trying to treat others in their own way?
Gu Dongliu is her mother-in-law, and even more so her nephew. If he loses and kneels down to apologize to everyone on the spot, where will she put the honor of being the empress?
However, she couldn't refute Ye Qingran's words, otherwise she would be accused of being a queen of a country with double standards.
"Dongliu, forget it if you missed it. Isn't it just an archery competition? You can participate again next year."
Gu Dongliu was unmoved, and smiled and bowed to the queen: "Auntie, can't you trust me? Although I was only fourth last year, I can make further progress this year!"
"Nonsense!" Queen Gu glared at Gu Dongliu with a firm attitude.
The smile on Gu Dongliu's face faded slightly, and the folding fan in his hand shook less frequently.
"Don't worry, aunt, my nephew will definitely get good results today!" Gu Dongliu seemed not to understand what Queen Gu meant. He bowed and ordered someone to fetch his bow and headed towards the archery range.
Actually, he insisted on doing it!
Although Empress Gu was dissatisfied, she couldn't persuade her any more.
Ye Huanhuan looked at Gu Dongliu, who had already set up a bow and shot an arrow, with his heart in his throat.
She prayed silently in her heart that Gu Dongliu's grades must not be better than hers!
…
Three arrows were shot, all with ten rings, and even two bullseyes!
Ye Huanhuan swallowed, feeling shocked.
When did Gu Dongliu's accuracy become so good?
She clearly remembered that in last year's retest, none of his single arrows hit the bull's-eye.
She couldn't understand, so she silently told herself that Gu Dongliu's multi-arrow shooting was worse than hers, and his moving target was not as good as hers! However, as time went by, Ye Huanhuan's expression gradually became desperate, because Gu Dongliu's results in the remaining two items
Surprisingly better than her!
In the end, Gu Dongliu's results were slightly better than Ye Huanhuan's!
Everyone was silent. They looked at Gu Dongliu, then at Ye Huanhuan, and were as silent as a cicada for a while.
Gu Dongliu's smile was as light as the clear breeze and bright moon.
Ye Huanhuan's face was as pale as a vegetable at this moment.
Everyone was sighing.
Who would have thought that Ye Huanhuan, who was given high hopes and threatened to win the top spot, would fail miserably. Not only did she fail to win the top spot, her results were even worse than last year, falling out of the top three!
"Miss Ye, how are my grades?"
Gu Dongliu put away his bow and arrows and asked Ye Qingran with a smile.
"Young Master Gu, he never misses a beat, his strength is extraordinary and admirable!"
"Hahaha~" Gu Dongliu laughed happily.
He looked at Ye Huanhuan and said in a loud voice: "Second Miss Ye, I'm sorry, I'm slightly better than you!"
"Dongliu, you are so powerful that I am convinced that you lost."
Ye Huan's laughter was uglier than crying.
Gu Dongliu naturally did not miss the unwillingness in her eyes.
But, so what?
Ye Huanhuan doesn't really think that she could be ranked ahead of him in previous years. Is it really because she is stronger than him?
Not to mention that he can defeat Ling Shaoyang, at least, his strength is not inferior to that of the prince!
If she, Ye Huanhuan, were not the future crown princess, there would be no way she would be ranked among the top three!
He had endured it for many years because his father often said that the prince's reputation should always be taken into consideration when outside the country. The prince is like a bright moon, and he is a star. The radiance can never defeat the prince of the country.
So for so many years, he pretended to be a playboy. The real reason was just to temper his sharp edge!
During this period of time, he witnessed with his own eyes Ye Qingran's divorce of the crown prince on Xuanwu Street, and the great success of the reception banquet... How soul-stirring was that? He suddenly felt that the past twenty years had been in a state of confusion and he had lived too passively!
He also realized that he, Gu Dongliu, was never anyone's vassal, he was just himself!
For the rest of his life, he Gu Dongliu will no longer be afraid of hands and feet, but only wants to live according to his heart!
The results of the retest have come out, with Ye Qingran first, Ling Shaoyang second, and Gu Dongliu third.
There is no objection to the results of the others. As for the three of them, they still need to shoot birds to determine the final ranking.
"It's not fun to shoot birds every year."
Gu Dongliu shook his head, showing no interest, but his eyes suddenly lit up when he saw Ye Qingran.
"How about we change the game? Miss Ye, do you have any good suggestions?"
"In that case, how about playing a game of piercing the Yang with a hundred steps?"
Ye Qingran thought for a moment, pointed to a willow tree not far away and said softly.
"shoot with great precision?"
Gu Dongliu's eyes lit up and he immediately showed confusion.
"How to play this?"
"A hundred steps away, shoot down the marked willow leaves one by one!"
Gu Dongliu followed the willow tree pointed by Ye Qingran. He saw drooping willow branches dancing irregularly with the breeze. Moreover, the willow leaves were long and narrow, let alone shooting.
Many people a hundred steps away can't even see clearly!
"What? This is too difficult!"
Gu Dongliu couldn't help but cry.
Ling Shaoyang's eyes also flashed slightly.
This was the first time he had heard of the method of piercing the Yang with a hundred steps, and it was indeed full of difficulties.