Bai Yi refused to believe in bad luck. He picked up the final cup remaining on the desk and downed it in a single gulp. It was bitter.
Why? Why on earth was it bitter!
That day, Bai Yi, Xiao Shiyun, and Guo Fu all suffered from stomach issues three times. Weakly supporting himself against the desk as he returned, Xiao Shiyun frowned and questioned, “What exactly did you add to it?”
“I only put black tea inside.”
“You, why didn’t you put green tea?” Xiao Shiyun clutched his stomach and sat down on a chair.
“I see that you are truly idle, insisting on making some kind of milk tea. I really want to have you dragged out and beaten up. Where is Guo Fu!”
Clutching his stomach as well, Bai Yi said, “Guo Fu hasn’t returned yet. Furthermore, how was I supposed to know? It wasn’t as if I deliberately wanted to harm you, this won’t do, I have to go first.”
“Get lost,” Xiao Shiyun waved his hand. “Disappear from my sight immediately. And regarding your flowers, I don’t even want to say anything. Take them out and throw them away.”
Bai Yi had no time to argue with him. Feeling aggrieved, he took the flowers from the desk and walked rapidly out of the main hall. Damn it, he had completely trapped himself in this high-level round.
The fourth time, Bai Yi returned clutching his stomach, appearing even weaker than Xiao Shiyun. There was no longer any sign of Xiao Shiyun inside the main hall, but fortunately, Guo Fu had returned.
“Manager Guo Fu, where is Xiao Shiyun?”
Guo Fu was currently busy organizing the documents the Emperor needed to use. “His Majesty has been somewhat busy recently. The northwest region is slightly unsettled.”
Bai Yi instantly grew tense. “It won’t result in a war, right? What happened in the northwest?”
“It is nothing serious, the issue isn’t large.” Guo Fu could not reveal anything further. He had stayed by the Emperor’s side for over ten years and had witnessed all sorts of matters, big and small. The situation this time was not that severe.
Bai Yi stopped meddling around blindly. Since there was no major issue, he would continue planning how to pursue Xiao Shiyun.
Failing at making milk tea and failing at gifting flowers, should he go out to play with Xiao Shiyun one more time? Oh, right, another move was to show warmth and concern, accompanying Xiao Shiyun while he handled political affairs.
He waited and waited until Xiao Shiyun finally returned. Bai Yi immediately carried the freshly brewed tea over, and the moment Xiao Shiyun sat down, he began to knead his shoulders and pound his back like a sycophant.
“The Emperor must be tired after a long day. This servant will give you a massage. While Your Majesty handles political affairs, how about this servant accompanies you?”
How considerate he was. Bai Yi moved himself to tears. Back in the day when his grandmother made dumplings, he had never even offered to help her wrap them.
Xiao Shiyun, who had just sat down, stood right back up. “No need, it is time for me to sleep.”
Watching his retreating figure, Bai Yi couldn’t help but feel disappointed. The companionship-style strategy of showing warmth and concern had failed.
Aside from Xiao Shiyun teaching him how to write characters, which had been quite successful, since he was idle anyway, he might as well let Xiao Shiyun teach him something else.
Coincidentally, he could foster some affection while being taught. What he wanted to learn wasn’t writing characters at all, but archery!
These past two days, Bai Yi used soft and hard tactics to plead with Xiao Shiyun to teach him, and Xiao Shiyun finally relented. Bringing Bai Yi to the place where he usually practiced martial arts, he said, “I can teach you, but you may not necessarily persist.”
Bai Yi hurriedly agreed and swore, “I promise I can persist.”
The martial arts field was located in the back garden, with a separate platform constructed there. Peach trees, maple trees, and bamboo were planted around it, and the maple leaves were turning slightly yellow.
As expected of the royal family, even the environment for practicing martial arts was this elegant.
Xiao Shiyun stuffed the bow and arrow into Bai Yi’s hands, pointing at the distant target. “Practice with this for two days before changing targets. Since I found something for you to do, stop researching those harmful things. I am busy to death every day and have no time to keep an eye on you.”
“Alright, alright. I promise I will rarely disturb you normally.”
Xiao Shiyun’s face darkened. “Do you disturb me any less? My mind must be broken to waste my leisure time teaching you.”
He was like a craftsman painting a pillar, while Bai Yi was like a lump of rotten mud that couldn’t be smeared onto the wall yet still had to be coated.
Xiao Shiyun picked up another bow to demonstrate beside him. Drawing an arrow from the quiver on his back, he slotted the fletching onto the string, hooked the string backward with two fingers, and pressed his web of thumb and index finger against his lower jaw.
His sharp gaze locked onto the red dot in the middle of the target. After waiting for two seconds, he decisively released his hand and shot the arrow.
The arrow pierced through the wind and shot out, hitting the center of the target perfectly, the fletching trembling as it embedded deep into the wood.
Bai Yi was rendered speechless with astonishment. He hadn’t realized that Xiao Shiyun could be this handsome when he was serious.
“Handsome! I couldn’t tell normally, I didn’t expect you to be this cool. Quick, teach me.”
The corners of Xiao Shiyun’s mouth curved upward before being suppressed again. “This is nothing. Archery is actually quite simple. If you practice well, you can also participate in the autumn hunt a few days from now.”
“I think I’ll skip it, I’m not interested.” Bai Yi had watched television dramas before. Generally, in this kind of plot, a couple of people had to die, and there would definitely be assassins lying in ambush.
“A friendly reminder, I suggest that if it can be canceled, try your best to cancel it. There is no guaranteeing that some accident won’t happen again.”
Bai Yi spoke without any filters or taboos. In any case, it was out of good intentions, and Xiao Shiyun couldn’t do anything to him.
On the contrary, there was no expression of anger on Xiao Shiyun’s face, only a trace of amusement. He asked, seemingly casually, “Are you caring about me?”
Bai Yi froze, not knowing how to respond for a moment. On second thought, wasn’t he the one pursuing Xiao Shiyun? He had actually been teased by him in reverse instead.
Thinking this way, Bai Yi recovered some initiative and began his sycophantic, hypocritical performance.
“Yes, Your Majesty. If Your Majesty faces any danger, this minister’s heart will ache as if a gash has been torn open, making it difficult to find peace in sleep or rest day and night.”
Xiao Shiyun suddenly turned a cold face, hanging the bow and arrow up as he stood aside with folded arms to direct, “Less of your smiling, theatrical act before me. Do you remember what I just demonstrated? If the arrow doesn’t pierce into the target, go sweep the floor.”
Bai Yi instantly bared his teeth no longer, recovering a serious expression. “Reporting to the commander, I remember!”
“Then try it once yourself,” Xiao Shiyun said in a tone commanding.
It was finally his turn to take the field. Excitement rippled through Bai Yi as he prepared to try. He picked up the bow and slotted the arrow.
The weight of the bow dragged downward like a plumb weight, and just pulling the string backward wasted a massive amount of his strength.
Bai Yi’s arms trembled uncontrollably, and he exhaled a breath with some difficulty, his hands shaking as if he had Parkinson’s disease.
It clearly looked very effortless when Xiao Shiyun shot the arrow, so why was it like this when it came to him?
Before Bai Yi could even press his web of thumb and index finger against his lower jaw, the arrow flew out crookedly, plunging headfirst into the ground. At the same time, Bai Yi’s arm turned bright red from being snapped by the bowstring.
“Hiss, it hurts!” Rubing his arm where it had been snapped painfully, Bai Yi drew in a sharp breath of cold air. He had been a person afraid of pain since childhood.
Xiao Shiyun subconsciously rubbed Bai Yi’s arm for him, only to naturally withdraw his hand after realizing what he was doing.
“It’s right that it hurts, this is a lesson. I forgot to tell you that what you are using now is a recurve hunting bow. The snap of the string against the arm hurts far more than a regular bow.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier! You just had to wait until I got snapped on the arm before saying it,” Bai Yi accused.
Xiao Shiyun slotted another arrow for Bai Yi, his hand naturally looping around Bai Yi’s waist.
His tall chest pressed tightly against Bai Yi’s back, making them look like a pair of deeply in love partners from afar.
His left hand held Bai Yi’s hand that gripped the bow to adjust the angle of the bow, while his right hand covered Bai Yi’s fingers that hooked the string, drawing the bowstring with accumulated force.
Turning his head, Xiao Shiyun leaned close to Bai Yi’s ear and whispered softly, “Only when it hurts will you remember the lesson.”
The arrow pierced through the wind and clouds, hitting the center of the target perfectly. Even after Xiao Shiyun departed, Bai Yi could still feel the temperature left behind on the back of his hand.