"Yeah, although the Marquis of Dingyuan is formidable, he may not necessarily be a match for His Majesty," Feng Jingxuan picked up the conversation and said indifferently.
Hearing Feng Jingxuan's words, Feng Jingye couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
Everyone present, not to mention himself, was well aware of his true capabilities.
As the crown prince, with a mother like Empress Chu, Feng Jingye had received teachings since childhood that far surpassed those of his brothers. However, even so, his military and political talents still paled in comparison to those of his third, fourth, and fifth brothers.
Sometimes, he couldn't help but sigh that perhaps all of his mother's talents had been inherited by his eldest brother, leaving nothing for him.
Unfortunately, the heavens envied the talented, and his eldest brother passed away too early.
Empress Chu and the Chu family had no choice but to pin all their hopes on Feng Jingye.
However, he had failed to live up to their expectations.
Over the years, despite his daily efforts to learn how to please the emperor, how to be a worthy crown prince, and how to achieve great feats, he had achieved nothing and had always been overshadowed by Feng Jingxuan.
Thinking of this, Feng Jingye raised his eyes and looked into the distance. The torches that had been re-lit brightened the backyard, allowing him to clearly see the arrow that Feng Linyuan had shot, firmly embedded in the bullseye.
His hand hidden in his sleeve clenched tightly into a fist.
He remembered the bet that Zhuo Lingxiao had mentioned earlier, and his face began to turn pale.
The loser would have a cross drawn on their face.
He was the esteemed crown prince! How could he possibly accept such humiliation?
His face darkened, and the anger in his heart was almost uncontrollable. He desperately wanted to roar at Feng Jingxuan, "You just want to see me make a fool of myself!"
"Second brother? Second brother?" Feng Jingxuan looked at Feng Jingye, who had remained silent, with concern and asked, "What's wrong with you? Could it be that after seeing the marquis's arrow and recalling the bet the young master mentioned earlier, you're not feeling well and suddenly can't participate in the competition?"
Hearing these seemingly concerned but actually sarcastic words, Feng Jingye's face turned ashen.
He looked up and saw that after Feng Linche, who was sitting at the head, heard these words, his expression immediately turned unpleasant. He couldn't help but shiver.
The men of the Great Zhou Empire had always been willing to die in battle rather than surrender without a fight.
As the crown prince of the Great Zhou Empire and an example to the people, if he were to back down at this moment, all his efforts to portray himself as a worthy heir in front of Feng Linche would be in vain.
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath, and his face regained its calm.
"Thank you for your concern, third brother. I'm fine," Feng Jingye said, forcing a smile. "I was just deeply impressed by the marquis's archery skills. If the late marquis could see you like this today, he would surely be very pleased."
Feng Linyuan replied with a smile, "Your Highness is too kind."
"Unlike me, I've been busy handling state affairs recently and have neglected my training. I'm afraid I won't be able to shoot an arrow like the marquis's and will only make a fool of myself," Feng Jingye said, laughing self-deprecatingly. Although his face was filled with shame, he appeared both magnanimous and forthright.
Without a doubt, he was bound to lose today.
All he could do was try his best to avoid a complete humiliation.
Seeing Feng Jingye like this, Feng Linyuan frowned slightly.
He naturally understood the meaning behind Feng Jingye's words.
They were now allies, and their relationship was no longer as tense as before. Feng Jingye was therefore more sincere when speaking to him.
If nothing went wrong, Lan Xun should have already led Feng Jingye's troops to Zhongyun Mountain, where Feng Jingxuan secretly raised his troops.
His wife had gone to great lengths, all in the hopes of disrupting the political situation and keeping Feng Linche occupied, leaving him with no time to target the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence.
A husband should always follow his wife's lead. Feng Linyuan naturally adhered to Bai Zheng's plan without hesitation.
In the future, he would surely need Feng Jingye's help to deal with Feng Jingxuan. Considering his hard work, it wouldn't hurt to give him a helping hand today.
At the very least, he shouldn't let Feng Jingye suffer a crushing defeat.
Thinking of this, Feng Linyuan nodded slightly at Feng Jingye.
Feng Jingye had no idea how capable Feng Linyuan was. All he knew was that he was about to make a complete fool of himself.
He took a deep breath and walked heavily towards the divine arm crossbow.
Taking the goose-feather arrow from the servant of the Third Prince's Mansion, Feng Jingye secretly encouraged himself. After adjusting his stance, he stepped firmly on the ground with his feet, his toes pointed, and tried his best to stabilize his body.
Holding the crossbow with one hand and the bowstring with the other, he took another long breath before exerting force with his waist and hands, releasing all his pent-up energy.
The bowstring slowly moved and bent bit by bit.
"Second brother is truly incredibly strong," Feng Jingxuan sneered sarcastically.
Due to the excessive exertion, Feng Jingye's face contorted almost beyond recognition, and his whole body trembled violently.
Everyone was closely watching the situation of the divine arm crossbow, and no one noticed that at this moment, Feng Linyuan's eyes were dark and mysterious, and he somehow had a few small stones in his hand, gently turning them.
The bow was pulled into a crescent shape, and finally, Feng Jingye exhausted all his strength. Without even bothering to aim, the arrow in his hand flew out.
He closed his eyes in despair.
As the bowstring was pulled, the arrow gained momentum and sliced through the air.
At the same time, Feng Linyuan threw the small stones one after another.
The people present pricked up their ears. They weren't sure if they had heard wrong or were having an illusion, but this time, Feng Jingye's arrow actually made a louder whistling sound than Feng Linyuan's earlier shot.
Several torches around were extinguished with a rustling sound, and the scene suddenly became much darker.
Everyone's vision became extremely poor, and they could only see in the dim distance that the arrow Feng Jingye had shot broke through the shackles of the air and advanced at a speed that was neither too fast nor too slow.
"This direction... I'm afraid it won't hit the target," Chen Jianzhi squinted his eyes hard, trying to identify the direction the arrow was flying.
Even a sneer appeared on the corner of Feng Jingxuan's lips.
If the arrow couldn't even reach the target, Feng Jingye, the crown prince, would surely lose all his face!
But miraculously, the arrow seemed to be alive, as if it had a pair of eyes that could distinguish directions. It adjusted its direction unconsciously as it advanced.
Chen Jianzhi, who had just said that the arrow wouldn't hit the target, widened his eyes again, and his words suddenly stopped.
They saw that Feng Jingye's arrow had actually hit the bullseye accurately!
"Your Highness the Crown Prince has hit the bullseye!"
The emotionless voice of the green-clothed servant rang out again, and the scene once again fell into a deathly silence.
Feng Jingye, who had been closing his eyes tightly and couldn't bear to look at the result, suddenly opened his eyes.