After saying that, he shook his head, looking at his own hands remorsefully as he stepped back to his original position.
Seeing this, everyone looked at each other in dismay, their faces filled with doubt and surprise.
Everyone knew that since Wang Lin was able to serve as the Captain of the Right Thousand Bull Guards and be responsible for Feng Linche's safety, he must be highly capable.
If even he failed, others were even less daring to challenge rashly.
Zhuo Lingxiao couldn't help but jeer, "I didn't expect that the leader of the emperor's personal guards is just so-so. It really makes one can't help but worry about the emperor's safety—"
Feng Linche cast a cold glance at Wang Lin but said nothing.
It was Feng Jingxuan who stepped in to defuse the situation, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Young Master. I just forced some wine on Lord Wang, which made him lose his strength. On a normal day, he could even lift a boulder weighing a thousand jin without any difficulty."
Zhuo Lingxiao thought he was just making things up. Hearing this, he deliberately drawled an "oh" in a sarcastic tone. "Lord Wang, even though you've had too much to drink, you can still prove that I'm not boasting, right?"
Wang Lin bowed with a smile and said, "Your Highness the Young Master is telling the truth. This Divine Arm Bow is truly extraordinary. However, our Great Zhou has no shortage of talented people. Although I'm not very capable, there are still many who can bend this bow."
"Really?" Zhuo Lingxiao smiled nonchalantly, as if to say—keep bragging.
Feng Linche's face darkened again, and he gave his sons a displeased look.
As princes of the Great Zhou, Feng Jingye and Feng Jingxuan should step forward to defend the honor of the men of the Great Zhou at this moment. Otherwise, Feng Linche might even hold a grudge against them.
Feng Jingxuan naturally understood this, so he was the first to step forward and say, "Lord Wang is right. Not to mention others, our Marquis of Dingyuan, my elder brother, and the fifth brother are all extremely skilled in archery!"
"Is the third brother any worse?" Feng Jingye looked at Feng Jingxuan with a smile and said with great interest.
"Didn't Your Highness the Young Master just say that he wanted to have a contest? I, the Crown Prince, am also very interested. How about we brothers, together with the Marquis of Dingyuan, have a competition with Your Highness the Young Master?"
Feng Jingyi, who usually had little presence, was suddenly dragged into this out of the blue. He was a bit reluctant but couldn't refuse, so he had to nod in agreement.
Feng Linyuan didn't say a word, but he knew that now that his body had recovered, he had no excuse to back out.
Moreover, in today's situation, with Zhuo Lingxiao insinuating about the honor of all the men of the Great Zhou, he had to accept the challenge no matter what.
Feng Linche was very pleased to hear this. Looking at Zhuo Yi, he said, "Young people should have more contests. It's been a long time since I last saw these rascals in action. Let's two old men be good witnesses for them!"
"Since it's a contest, there will be winners and losers. It would be more interesting if there were rewards and punishments," Zhuo Lingxiao boldly proposed when he saw that everyone's interest was high again.
Feng Linche's mood had just improved, so he nodded slightly and replied, "Your Highness the Young Master is right. Since it's a contest, there should be rewards and punishments."
Zhuo Yi also nodded and added, "In our Western Liang, if our emperor of Western Liang is the witness, the winner will usually be promised to have one of his wishes fulfilled."
"That's no problem. Then I'll fulfill one wish of the winner at that time," Feng Linche said nonchalantly. "What about the loser?"
"The loser..." Zhuo Yi hesitated, not knowing how to answer. A faint smile flashed across his face.
Zhuo Lingxiao seemed to have thought of something and laughed heartily.
Everyone looked at them in confusion. Then they heard Zhuo Lingxiao say, "The loser, haha... When I was a child, I made bets with my elder brothers. If anyone lost, they had to draw a cross on their face. Don't you think it's interesting? Hahaha..."
Everyone obviously didn't expect Zhuo Lingxiao to say such a thing, and their faces froze for a moment.
In the Great Zhou, only the lowest slaves had characters engraved on their faces.
All those participating in the contest today were of noble status. Using this as a punishment was no different from trampling on the face of the loser on the ground.
Although this was just a game, if a cross were really drawn on the faces of the princes or the Marquis of Dingyuan, it would still be too disgraceful.
Feng Linche coughed lightly, wanting to say something to refuse.
"This punishment method sounds quite novel," Feng Jingxuan suddenly said coolly.
Feng Linche frowned and looked at his third son displeasedly.
But he saw Feng Jingxuan turning his head and looking in the direction of Feng Linyuan.
Feng Linche suddenly thought of something. His mind changed, and the corners of his lips curled slightly.
What Feng Linche didn't know was that Feng Jingxuan was actually looking at Feng Jingye beside Feng Linyuan.
Recently, his second elder brother, relying on his status as the Crown Prince, had become more and more unscrupulous. Especially after the fourth prince, Feng Jingyang, suffered from hysteria, the Zhao family gradually declined, and he himself was forced to betroth to Princess Yunxi.
Every time Feng Jingye saw him, he would mock and ridicule him to the fullest.
Just thinking that because he had married a foreign princess, the world would fall into the hands of Feng Jingye, a mediocre and incompetent man, made Feng Jingxuan's heart ache.
He would never allow such a thing to happen!
He wanted Feng Jingye to lose face and make everyone clearly know that Feng Jingye was nothing but a good-for-nothing. At a critical moment, he would only disgrace the Great Zhou!
Thinking of this, Feng Jingxuan smiled slightly and said loudly to Zhuo Lingxiao, "Since it was proposed by Your Highness the Young Master, you must be willing to accept the result at that time."
Feng Linche didn't know what he was thinking. He gave Feng Linyuan a meaningful look.
He saw that when Feng Linyuan heard that a cross would be drawn on the face of the loser, his hand holding the teacup paused for a moment, and his eyes were dark and unfathomable.
Feng Linche smiled slightly and also replied, "Yes, this bow was given by Your Highness the Young Master, and this punishment method was also proposed by you. Then I will approve it!"
Hearing this, Feng Jingye's face immediately turned ugly.
He knew his own abilities best. Among this group of people, if they really had a fair contest, the one who would lose the most miserably might very well be him!
He really wanted to refuse, but now that even his own father, Feng Linche, had spoken, what was the use of his opposition?
Thinking of this, his face stiffened slightly. He stood up, took a step forward towards Feng Jingxuan, waved his sleeves behind him forcefully, and said coldly with his chin held high, "Since the rewards and punishments have been decided, then third brother, please!"
This meant that he wanted Feng Jingxuan to be the first to go and shoot the arrow.
Normally, in a contest like this, the person who proposed the contest should be the first to take the field.
However, considering Zhuo Lingxiao's special status, he was a foreign guest and a relative of Princess Yunxi, equivalent to Feng Jingxuan's elder brother-in-law.
Naturally, there was no reason to let Zhuo Lingxiao be the first to go.