“Who do you think will win?”
In an inconspicuous corner, Ning Feizhi habitually reached into his robe for his fan. When his hand met empty air, he clicked his tongue, then shot an annoyed glance toward Mu Wan on the field.
Gu Jiao’s eyes curved with a smile as she lowered her voice. “How can the light of fireflies compete with the brilliance of the moon?”
No matter how stunningly talented Wei Jinyu was, he was still just an outstanding son of a noble family.
Mu Wan, on the other hand, had been tempered in blade-light and bloodshed.
The rules of the match were simple enough. Targets were set at the four corners of the paddock. Each rider would circle the field once on horseback; the one with the shortest time and the most bullseyes would win.
To ensure accuracy, one couldn’t simply pursue speed alone. The paddock itself wasn’t large—unless one was extremely confident in their archery, no one would dare to release an arrow without hesitation as they flashed past a target.
Wei Jinyu’s earlier performance had been dazzling, but he had clearly slowed down deliberately when drawing his bow.
When Mu Wan watched that display, her gaze had remained calm and unruffled—proof enough that she had seen far better than this.
Now only two riders and two horses remained in the paddock. Wei Jinyu’s mount had a glossy black mane and tail; even from afar, it was clearly no ordinary horse.
Mu Wan, meanwhile, had borrowed a horse from who knew where. She cupped her hands toward Wei Jinyu in greeting.
Today, she wasn’t wearing her usual fitted riding attire. Instead, she had on a light ink-colored spring robe that lent her an unexpectedly refined air—like a jade-branched tree standing alone, possessed of a unique grace. Strangely enough, it made the already eye-catching Wei Jinyu seem rather ordinary by comparison.
Low murmurs rose from the crowd.
“So this is General Mu? So young?”
“Forged on the battlefield, after all. Compared to her… Young Master Wei still lacks something.”
Someone couldn’t hold back. “They haven’t even started yet. To me, this Mu Wan looks too delicate—hard to imagine how she commands respect in the army.”
Gu Jiao listened as if absentmindedly, then tugged at Ning Feizhi, who was about to snap back. “It’s starting.”
Wei Jinyu had already leaned close to his horse’s back. The black horse pawed impatiently at the ground, lifting its hind legs. The moment the hourglass tipped, Wei Jinyu cracked his whip and shot forward.
This time, there was none of the showmanship from earlier—only urgency. When he drew his bow, he didn’t rein in his speed at all, instead releasing the arrow just before reaching the target. The arrow flew straight and true, striking the bullseye.
The second arrow followed the same pattern. In the blink of an eye, he had already passed half the course.
Amid a chorus of admiration, Mu Wan stood calmly to the side, hands clasped behind her back, watching Wei Jinyu’s performance without the slightest hint of impatience.
Ning Feizhi, however, was getting anxious. “He’s faster than before, isn’t he?”
Gu Jiao didn’t answer. She focused on the field, a faintly thoughtful look in her eyes.
The third target lay directly ahead. Gu Jiao noticed the fine sheen of sweat forming on Wei Jinyu’s brow.
The black horse was now fully engaged, letting out a high, piercing neigh as dust billowed behind it. Wei Jinyu’s third arrow, however, was dragged leftward by the ever-increasing speed of the horse.
He had no time to hesitate. In the blink of an eye, the final target was already before him. Wei Jinyu realized the problem and tugged at the reins, trying to slow down—but by then, the horse was no longer fully under his control. It slowed for a split second, then surged forward again.
The final arrow missed.
“He shouldn’t have panicked,” Gu Jiao sighed softly, shaking her head.
The previous arrow had veered off slightly, but it hadn’t been a serious mistake. This complete miss at the end, though—that was truly a pity.
Wei Jinyu hauled the horse to a stop, his face pale. His hand clenched tightly around the reins before suddenly loosening.
The black horse seemed aware of its fault, lowering its head and pawing the ground cautiously.
“Young Master Wei, in mounted archery one must not rush,” Mu Wan said from the side, offering her advice tactfully. “You were too eager.”
“General Mu hasn’t even entered the field yet,” Wei Jinyu replied coolly, the faint smile on his face already gone. Unable to restrain himself, he let out a low, mocking remark as he dismounted. Then he lifted his gaze to meet Mu Wan’s. “General Mu, please.”
Wei Jinyu didn’t appreciate her goodwill, but Mu Wan didn’t take offense. From afar, she glanced toward Gu Jiao and Ning Feizhi and smiled slightly, then swung neatly onto her horse. With a light tug on the reins, the white horse turned in place and obediently walked to the spot Wei Jinyu had just vacated.
“Ning Feizhi, want to place a bet?” Gu Jiao asked.
“On what?” Ning Feizhi replied absently, eyes fixed on the field.
“I bet Mu Wan wins,” Gu Jiao said lightly, resting both hands on the railing.
……
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Ning Feizhi snapped back irritably.
Gu Jiao was about to tease him further when Mu Wan had already spurred her horse into motion.
“Why isn’t she playing it safe?” Ning Feizhi frowned at the white horse charging forward at full speed. Wei Jinyu’s earlier mistake had come from being too hasty—yet Mu Wan was even faster than him.
“Perhaps because what tripped Wei Jinyu up is, to her, merely a sign of insufficient ability.”
Gu Jiao had no doubt that Mu Wan was acting recklessly. When it came to patience and restraint, there was likely no one present who could match her.
On horseback, the youth’s robes fluttered wildly in the wind, her tied hair rising and falling with the motion. She held the bow in one hand; with the other, she casually reached back. Almost in an instant, the horse swept past the target—on the target, two arrows crossed and quivered.
“Exactly the same spot as Wei Jinyu’s,” Gu Jiao said, raising her brows at Ning Feizhi with a hint of smug pride.
“When this person gets serious, she’s actually pretty reliable,” Ning Feizhi muttered under his breath.
Mu Wan continued galloping forward, never once looking back to check where her arrow had landed. Her eyes were bright and clear, a bold smile fixed at the corner of her lips.
Even Gu Jiao couldn’t help sighing inwardly. At this moment, there was almost no trace left of Mu Wan’s usual lazy, gentle demeanor.
Only now did Gu Jiao truly realize that the little girl whose hair she used to grab had long since grown into a general capable of standing on her own.
Just as Gu Jiao was lost in thought, Mu Wan suddenly yanked the reins to the left. At the same time, she dipped her waist and leaned sharply to the right, nearly falling backward.
“Careful!” Ning Feizhi cried out in alarm.
Amid the startled uproar, Mu Wan twisted her body, borrowing momentum to spring upright once more. Before the crowd’s eyes—wide with shock or confusion—she drew her bow again.
“Something’s wrong,” Gu Jiao murmured. Although the arrow still struck the bullseye, her gaze remained fixed on Mu Wan, her voice dropping after a moment.
Mu Wan was clearly a left-handed archer, yet just now she had switched to her right hand, using her left to nock the arrow.
The distance was too great for Gu Jiao to see Mu Wan clearly, but she did catch the fleeting smile that curved—and was swiftly suppressed—at the corner of Wei Jinyu’s lips.
“Just now, someone tried to ambush her… someone from the Wei family?”
As Gu Jiao voiced her suspicion in a low tone, Ning Feizhi froze for a moment, then sprang to his feet in fury—only to be pulled back down by Gu Jiao, who had anticipated it and grabbed him in time.
“Don’t rush. Let’s wait for Mu Wan to come back first.” Even if they were going to challenge the Wei family, they needed sufficient reason.
As the two argued, a sudden burst of applause erupted around them.
Gu Jiao and Ning Feizhi both looked up at the same time. Mu Wan had already returned to the starting point. On the last two targets, two arrows had appeared dead center.
The outcome was decided.
Mu Wan swung down from her horse with easy grace, removed the curved bow from her back, and hung it over the white horse’s side. She gently patted the horse as if in thanks before stepping forward.
The surrounding whispers fell silent. Several people gathered around her, smiling as they offered congratulations.
“I’ve long heard of General Mu’s great reputation. Seeing you today, it truly lives up to the name.”
Mu Wan returned their greetings one by one with cupped hands, then subtly made a hand gesture toward Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao immediately understood. Ignoring Ning Feizhi’s resistance, she tugged him away from the crowd.
Not long after, Mu Wan found them. As she approached, she smiled first at Ning Feizhi. “I did not fail my mission.”
The moment they met, Ning Feizhi’s gaze dropped to her slightly stiff right wrist.
“What happened to your hand?”
Mu Wan shook her sleeve down to cover it. “It’s nothing. I was just a little careless.”
But who was Ning Feizhi? How could he be fooled by just a few casual words?
Gu Jiao had already reached the same conclusion.
Under their insistence, Mu Wan finally admitted that someone had blended into the crowd and, having predicted her position, thrown a stone.
The person hadn’t actually meant to target her directly. They only intended to startle the horse with the stone and make her lose.
The instant the stone flew toward her, she had almost immediately sensed it. She had planned to shift aside from the horse and catch the stone with her hand, but in that split second she misjudged the distance and accidentally injured herself.
“Fortunately, it didn’t affect the match. Otherwise, that would have been rather embarrassing.”
“You—” Gu Jiao opened her mouth but couldn’t bring herself to say anything.
At the cuff where Mu Wan’s sleeve was tied, the color was slightly darker. Though her expression revealed nothing, a force strong enough to startle a horse could hardly have been light.
The more lightly Mu Wan spoke of it, the more dissatisfied Gu Jiao felt toward the Wei family.
“The source of the stone was well hidden, and stones can be found anywhere in the arena. If we insist on pursuing it, are we really going to start a scene with the Wei family?” Seeing Gu Jiao’s expression grow increasingly serious, Mu Wan softened her voice and instead began to console her.
This was her conclusion after weighing the pros and cons. If it truly had been Wei Jinyu, he would certainly have acted with extreme caution, making it difficult to catch any evidence.
There were many officials present today. The other party’s scheme had already failed, and it had only injured her wrist—nothing too serious for her.
As for Gu Jiao… and Ning Feizhi—their furrowed brows made her almost feel guilty instead.
Gu Jiao knew Mu Wan was right, yet she didn’t want her to swallow this loss for nothing. She was just considering how to retaliate in secret when the anger Ning Feizhi had been suppressing for so long finally erupted.
“Wei Jinyu? More like Wei Rotten-Silk.”
Young Master Ning let out a cold laugh. Before Mu Wan and Gu Jiao could stop him, he flicked his sleeve and strode back into the crowd.
“Is he always this unwilling to listen to advice?” Mu Wan watched him leave in silence for a moment, then turned to Gu Jiao.
“He’s upset on your behalf,” Gu Jiao replied, equally troubled. “Let’s go. If he starts a fight, he won’t care what the occasion is.”
…
Facts proved that when Young Master Ning’s temper flared, no one could hold him back.
After much persuasion, he had seemed calm again—until he saw Wei Jinyu walking toward them. All the earlier words were instantly forgotten.
“General Mu,” Wei Jinyu said, returning to his usual air of detached composure. “Today, Jinyu admits his skills were inferior. If there is a chance in the future, I hope General Mu will not hesitate to offer guidance.”
“Guidance? Who would dare guide Young Master Wei? One might get stabbed in the back without even knowing it,” Ning Feizhi mocked, arms crossed.
Only then did Wei Jinyu seem to notice him, though his smile remained unchanged. “Young Master Ning is here as well?”
As he spoke, he glanced at Gu Jiao, who had changed her attire. “It’s rare to see Brother Ning without a beauty at his side. This young gentleman—”
“Could it be Brother Ning is in the mood for a change of taste?”
The last sentence was spoken very softly. Only those present could hear it clearly. The officials standing farther away assumed he was merely exchanging pleasantries with Ning Feizhi, even smiling as though commenting on the close friendship among the younger generation.
The moment his words fell, Ning Feizhi’s expression changed. He swept his gaze around, grabbed a wine jug, and hurled it.
Wei Jinyu sidestepped effortlessly. His smile remained gentle, but his eyes gleamed with naked disdain.
“What is it? Brother Ning’s reputation as a romantic scholar is known to all. Which pleasure house in the capital has he not visited? Even a preference for male companions would not be surprising.”
“Though I do wonder—if Brother Ning were to visit a boy’s house, would he perhaps be mistaken for one of them?”
The insult needed no elaboration.
Gu Jiao had intended to persuade Ning Feizhi not to lose his composure in public, but upon hearing this, she herself inhaled sharply and lowered her head to look for another wine jug—
Only to have her hand pressed down.
“I heard Young Master Wei intends to participate in this year’s military examination?”
Mu Wan stepped forward to the front, smiling calmly at Wei Jinyu. “Coincidentally, I haven’t practiced in a long time and my hands are itching. Why don’t the two of us exchange a few moves?”
Wei Jinyu’s expression did not change. His gaze dropped meaningfully to Mu Wan’s right hand.
“Blades have no eyes. They are not like mounted archery. If I were to injure General Mu, Jinyu would feel most apologetic.”
The moment he said this, Gu Jiao clearly heard Ning Feizhi grinding his teeth more fiercely.
Wei Jinyu clearly knew Mu Wan had injured her hand—that was why he was so confident.
Gu Jiao had run out of patience. Just as she was considering whether to tear all pretense away and let her father deal with whatever consequences followed, she saw Wei Jinyu suddenly put away his half-smile and look past them with a change of expression.
“Jinyu, do not be rude.” A steady male voice sounded out.
Gu Jiao turned at the voice—and her eyes widened in surprise.
The one who had spoken was Duke Wei.
But what truly startled her were the two people standing beside him.
One wore a snow-blue long robe, half his face concealed by a golden mask that revealed only his eyes and jaw.
And the other…
Was Huai’an.