8 Collision
◎Lu Jing seemed to have thought of something, nodding to her and saying, “Go ahead and try.”◎
The sun slanted westward, its afterglow painting the ground.
Lu Jing had just returned to his residence from the palace. The Hebei battlefield had been cleared, and the victory report had been delivered to the imperial study. Today, his father had discussed with him the matter of rewarding the troops, and a preliminary list of commendations for the officers and soldiers had been drafted.
Having dined in the palace, Lu Jing now finally had some leisure.
Sun Jing, who had remained at Prince Zhao’s residence, took advantage of the prince’s return to report several important matters that had occurred in the residence that day. Official Wei Fan had also delivered urgent documents to the prince’s study, awaiting his review in the evening.
Lu Jing instructed that the Zhen Ding Prince’s mansion in the capital be tidied up, then asked, “Is there anything else?”
Sun Jing replied truthfully, “Your Highness, Official Gu sent someone this afternoon to inquire whether he could bring people to inspect the area around the flower garden.”
Official Gu had recently received the emperor’s decree to participate in the renovation of Prince Zhao’s residence, so this request was only natural.
“Where is he now?”
Sun Jing said, “Official Gu returned to his residence a quarter-hour after leaving his post.”
Official Gu handled matters with great discretion, first seeking the prince’s opinion. Observing Official Gu’s conduct, it seemed quite different from three years ago.
“Granted,” Lu Jing replied succinctly.
Sun Jing accepted the instruction, as there was indeed no reason for the prince to refuse.
…
The days passed uneventfully. Gu Ningxi was busy with the expansion and renovation of Prince Zhao’s residence, and no news came from the Eastern Palace.
With the weather clear and pleasant, she wanted to finalize the blueprints in her hands as soon as possible, to avoid delays until the sweltering heat of June, when construction would be inconvenient. The Vice Minister had also specifically instructed that she could spend more time on duty at Prince Zhao’s residence and did not need to return to the Ministry of Works on a fixed schedule.
In truth, she could first ask Prince Zhao for his opinion, but she needed to have suitable alternatives prepared in advance. Otherwise, if the prince inquired and she knew nothing, it would only waste his time.
After inspecting the flower garden over the past two days, Gu Ningxi had already formed a general plan in her mind.
The garden of Prince Zhao’s residence remained as she remembered it. With spring in full bloom, the plants were lush and vibrant with greenery.
The flower garden of Prince Zhao’s residence was already the largest among the mansions of the various princes, and this expansion would nearly double its size. Gu Ningxi looked around, recalling that during banquets at Prince Zhao’s residence, the open space in front of the pavilion was often used for pitch-pot games.
Prince Zhao’s skill at pitch-pot was astonishingly accurate. At the time, some joked that with Prince Zhao present, they could only compete for second place. However, Prince Huai, in his youth, had a habit of competing with his fifth brother. Whenever there were palace banquets or elegant gatherings, he would seize every opportunity to challenge him to a contest, though he never won a single time.
No one wanted to encounter Prince Zhao in a pitch-pot game, except for the young Gu Ningxi.
During crowded banquets, pitch-pot could be played in teams of two or more. Gu Ningxi would always pair up with Prince Zhao, and he never refused. Her pitch-pot skills were decent, and with Prince Zhao’s advantage, as long as she steadily landed a few arrows, she could easily win various prizes, such as jade pendants or gold and silver ingots. To this day, she still kept quite a few of them in a box in her study.
Once, during the emperor’s birthday celebration, the palace prepared particularly generous prizes. She and Prince Zhao each received a newly minted gold ingot and went before the emperor to express their gratitude.
Back then, youthful and spirited, she had always loved to play and revel in the excitement.
Gu Ningxi carefully saved the gold ingot for a while and, together with the monthly allowance she had saved earlier, exchanged it for a pair of exceptionally fine jadeite bracelets for her mother.
Mother was very fond of this pair of bracelets, initially reluctant to wear them. In the Gu family’s inner household, two wives stood side by side: Madam Shen, born into a marquis’ household with a generous dowry and in charge of household affairs, while Mother had only the common allowances. The servants privately enjoyed gossiping and comparing. Mother, always gentle by nature, would only feel guilty upon hearing such talk, believing her own background made her inferior in front of her elder sister and younger brother.
But Gu Ningxi never thought there was anything to it; she wanted to add a dowry for Mother, to give her more confidence.
The day Mother received the bracelets, the surprise and comfort in her eyes, Gu Ningxi still remembers to this day.
The memories were beautiful, and Gu Ningxi unconsciously wore a slight smile at the corner of her lips.
She found a rock by the lake to sit on and rest for a while. Looking across the lake, the willow trees on the opposite shore seemed to have grown taller again. Willow branches swayed in the wind, rippling with a canopy of green.
She remembered the willow-shooting contests of the past, where no one on galloping horseback could surpass Prince Zhao.
The pond water gently rippled as Gu Ningxi rested her chin on her hand. To expand this place would require more careful thought.
Green leaves lightly fell onto the lake surface, stirring small ripples.
After pondering for a long time, Gu Ningxi stood up. She had originally intended to visit the training ground, but upon arriving outside, she heard the sounds of archery practice inside. She briefly inquired with the attendants outside and learned that several generals were competing inside.
Gu Ningxi planned to return another day, but after taking only a few steps back, she unexpectedly encountered Prince Zhao on the path.
She hurriedly paid her respects: “Your Highness, may you have boundless blessings.”
“Rise.”
Lu Jing was naturally heading to the training ground, as over a dozen new bows had been delivered from the northern frontier that day. He had been occupied with meetings in the afternoon, so he let his friends choose for themselves.
Gu Ningxi pondered whether she should explain—she had no intention of spying for the Eastern Palace here. But she feared that speaking up might only make it seem more suspicious.
Lu Jing, however, knew her original purpose and simply said, “Go take a look.”
“Yes, thank you, Your Highness.”
With Prince Zhao’s invitation, Gu Ningxi steeled herself and followed him inside.
Fortunately, those present were not complete strangers. Minister Wei Fan needed no introduction; Gu Ningxi had some interactions with him in the capital. Marquis Wu’an Xie Qian was currently the talk of the capital. Another was Zhenyuan, the heir of the Prince of Zhending, who had recently returned to the capital with his troops—also Prince Zhao’s maternal cousin. When he had come to the capital years ago to be enfeoffed as heir, Gu Ningxi had met him a few times. Among the three major generals under Prince Zhao’s Black Armor Army, aside from these two, there was also Qin Yu, heir of the Duke of Qi, who remained stationed on the battlefield.
After exchanging greetings, regarding her unexpected presence, aside from Minister Wei, the other two exchanged glances.
News of the Prince of Zhending’s heir returning to the capital had not yet spread in the city; it was likely he would formally present himself at court three days later.
The fine bows here were all captured by him from the battlefield, refined to extract their essence compared to the bows used in the Great Jin army.
A row of targets stood over a hundred paces away, with several arrows already embedded in the central bullseye.
Xie Qian had just switched to a new bow, adjusting the bowstring, a look of satisfaction in his eyes.
Gu Ningxi glanced over; this bow was likely made of high-quality mulberry wood, truly exceptional, with beautiful wood grain patterns.
Lu Jing had little interest in testing bows today, merely observing from the center.
Gu Ningxi stood silently beside him for a while, searching for a suitable opportunity to leave.
She was carefully considering her words when Marquis Wu’an on the field already nocked two arrows onto his bow. After a brief aim, the pair of arrows shot through the air with a whistling sound, embedding themselves directly into the bullseye of the farthest target.
Everyone present was accustomed to such sights—it was merely a routine practice session, nothing particularly worthy of extra applause.
Gu Ningxi, however, stared at the target for quite some time, inwardly admiring the feat.
Zhen Yuan had also tried several bows by now. The group was used to sparring with each other in the military, so there was little novelty left in their exchanges.
Xie Qian put away his bow and, noticing the Lord Gu from the Eastern Palace standing beside His Highness, felt a hint of testing and intimidation. “Would Lord Gu care to give it a try?” he asked, offering the bow and arrows to Gu Ningxi.
Archery was one of the Six Arts of the Gentleman. As a member of the Marquis Xuanping household, Gu Ningxi had naturally practiced it in her youth.
She hesitated, instinctively glancing at Prince Zhao.
Lu Jing, seemingly lost in thought, nodded to her. “Go ahead and try.”
“…Yes.”
Just as Xie Qian was about to hand over the bow, Lu Jing instructed someone to fetch the lightest bow available.
Gu Ningxi took it, adjusting the bowstring with a practiced air, though she could barely draw it.
Wei Fan and Zhen Yuan both turned their gazes toward her, curious about Lord Gu’s archery skills.
Resigned, Gu Ningxi stepped onto the field. As a civil official, competing in archery with these men was asking too much of herself.
So, she logically chose the nearest target, even hesitating whether she could ask someone to move it closer.
Guiltily, she glanced back at Prince Zhao but decided against it. If she moved it closer and still missed, she would have even fewer excuses.
Lu Jing was watching her too, his expression noticeably more attentive than when he had observed the others shooting.
Gu Ningxi took an arrow, drew the bowstring, and aimed toward the bullseye.
After triple-checking her aim, she released. The arrow flew out but was soon nudged off course by the gentle spring breeze.
The bow was undoubtedly of fine quality, yet after three consecutive shots, only the second arrow barely grazed the target. The other two flew freely into the distance.
Gu Ningxi stared at the empty target and couldn’t help but smile faintly as she lowered her head.
She returned the bow to a nearby attendant and, when she rejoined Prince Zhao, avoided meeting his eyes.
Though she couldn’t compare to those who had been on the battlefield, it was still somewhat embarrassing.
Xie Qian coughed twice. Under normal circumstances, he would have mocked anyone else, especially someone from the Eastern Palace. Yet, looking at Lord Gu under the sunlight, he momentarily felt as if he had bullied someone.
In the end, he only tactfully suggested, “Lord Gu, perhaps you could find a more skilled tutor to practice with?”
To be fair, his words were already quite polite.
An abrupt silence fell over the field, broken only by the sound of the wind.
Lu Jing said calmly, “Enough. Once you’ve chosen your bows, go attend to your duties.” He turned to Gu Ningxi. “Let’s go.”
“Oh.” Gu Ningxi nodded and quickly followed.
After respectfully seeing His Highness off, Xie Qian recalled Prince Zhao’s expression earlier and sensed something amiss.
He remarked, “Why do I feel like His Highness seemed somewhat displeased?”
Zhen Yuan thought the same, and both turned to Wei Fan.
Wei Fan smiled. “You just suggested that Lord Gu find a more skilled tutor?”
“Yes, what of it?”
Rarely one to keep others in suspense, Wei Fan replied, “If I recall correctly—” his tone was actually quite certain, “Lord Gu’s archery skills were taught by His Highness himself, hand in hand.”
The bow in Xie Qian’s hand nearly slipped to the ground. He moved his lips, uttering softly, “…Oh?”
His eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked at Minister Wei, who nodded at him with certainty, then turned to gaze at the arrow target that remained completely unscathed.
“Please find a more skilled instructor and practice further.”
The words echoed in the wind. Xie Qian remained silent for a long time, and in his voiceless thoughts, he pondered:
Minister Gu’s archery skills posed no threat to His Highness on the battlefield, but if word spread, it could tarnish Prince Zhao’s reputation throughout the entire realm.
【Author’s Note】
Chapter comments are now open—come join the fun! Leave a comment for a small red envelope, mwah!
Xiao Lu: Embarrassing, truly embarrassing.
“This article poses no threat to me in academia, but it would ruin my reputation in the education sector.”