Chu Xiuqi didn't trust Di Lanmo from the bottom of his heart. He just thought she was boasting.
But thinking that Di Lanmo was just a young girl and she had said so, it wouldn't be good for him to turn her down. So he simply handed the carved bow to her and said, "Then have a try."
Di Lanmo could tell at a glance that Chu Xiuqi didn't trust her. She wasn't annoyed though. She took the bow and arrow and said, "Today I'll let you see what it means to shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces away!"
Seeing her like this, Chu Xiuqi didn't have the heart to dampen her enthusiasm. He could only pretend to be interested and said, "Really? Then show me quickly."
Hearing this, Di Lanmo couldn't help rolling her eyes at Chu Xiuqi. Look at his attitude when he spoke. Could he be any more perfunctory?
Chu Xiuqi received her look but didn't refute. He was really just pretending, and he didn't even want to bother to pretend to be more sincere.
Di Lanmo saw what was on Chu Xiuqi's mind and pouted. Facts speak louder than words. She nocked an arrow, drew the bow, and shot it in one smooth motion, with ease.
"Wow!" This time, Chu Xiuqi's shock was not feigned. The arrow he had not been optimistic about actually penetrated the branch of a tree a hundred paces away and stuck into the trunk.
Not to mention the accuracy, just the strength was beyond his reach. Moreover, Di Lanmo had said in advance that she was going to shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces away, and this was exactly it.
Although it wasn't a willow leaf, passing through a thumb - thick trunk was no less impressive.
Although he wasn't good at archery, his eyesight was sharp.
With this skill of Di Lanmo's, she was really no worse than the archery instructors in the palace.
Looking at Di Lanmo's raised little head, Chu Xiuqi couldn't help exclaiming, "How did you do it?"
"What's so difficult about it?" Di Lanmo looked proud, completely forgetting how badly she had been beaten by her master when she was learning archery.
Chu Xiuqi naturally didn't know about her early experiences. He just looked at her with star - filled eyes and said, "Teach me!"
"Come here." Di Lanmo handed the carved bow to Chu Xiuqi.
When Chu Xiuqi got into position, she adjusted his posture and said, "Sink your shoulders, drop your elbows. Line up your eyes, the arrow tip, and your target. Keep your target steady and don't waver. Shoot!"
At Di Lanmo's command, Chu Xiuqi's arrow shot out and hit right next to Di Lanmo's arrow.
His eyes lit up. "Did I shoot this?"
Di Lanmo nodded at him in satisfaction. "See? I told you your master was just a phony."
It was hard for Chu Xiuqi to admit that his instructor, who was the number - one expert in the inner palace, was a phony. But he had practiced under his master for so long without any improvement and had been laughed at countless times.
Di Lanmo had only taught him once, said a few words, and adjusted a few postures, and he had already hit the target.
Actually, there was still a bit of deviation. His original target was to knock down Di Lanmo's arrow, but it hit next to hers. Looking at the two parallel arrows, Chu Xiuqi suddenly thought that this was also quite nice.
"Try a few more times." Di Lanmo encouraged him to keep going.
Chu Xiuqi also suspected that he might have just got lucky. Although he had never been lucky before and often missed the target, there was always a one - in - a - million chance.
Filled with great doubt about himself, he shot the remaining eight arrows according to the method Di Lanmo had taught him. Looking at the nine arrows circling around Di Lanmo's arrow like stars around the moon, Chu Xiuqi finally confirmed that he had really learned how to shoot!
When he looked at Di Lanmo, there was inevitably a bit of admiration and amazement in his eyes. "I didn't expect you, this ugly girl, to be so amazing!"
Di Lanmo thought to herself, "You really don't have to add the 'ugly girl' part."
Chu Xiuqi looked at Di Lanmo and said, "You're going out of the palace, right?"
Damn it! Di Lanmo cursed in her heart. "Yes!" She had actually forgotten such an important thing.
Chu Xiuqi's interest suddenly perked up. "Then I'll go out of the palace with you. I haven't seen my uncle for quite a while."
"Ah?" Di Lanmo asked in confusion, "Aren't the princes who haven't been given their own mansions not allowed to go out of the palace at will?"
As far as she knew, princes who hadn't been given their own mansions were confined to the palace unless they received special permission...
Well! Just as she thought of this, she saw Chu Xiuqi take out a token and wave it in front of her.
So he had received special permission.
"Then let's go." Since he said he was going to see his uncle, she, as his aunt, couldn't very well stop him.
On the way, Chu Xiuqi pestered Di Lanmo. "What else can you do besides archery?"
Di Lanmo wasn't really a person who liked to show off. But facing Chu Xiuqi's big, expectant and adoring eyes that were blinking, she couldn't help blurting out, "I can do a lot. Well, do you want to learn?"
Chu Xiuqi nodded repeatedly. "Yes!" After seeing her archery skills, Chu Xiuqi had no doubt about what she meant by "I can do a lot".
"Have you seen a crossbow?" Di Lanmo thought that this little boy, although he had been a weakling, had never given up even after being laughed at so much, which meant he really liked archery. And people who liked archery should also like crossbows.
Chu Xiuqi shook his head. He had heard of it, but this thing was a secret of the military machine factory. It was said to be extremely lethal and difficult to make. Only the Xuanjia Army in the court was equipped with crossbows.
Di Lanmo casually said, "I'll give you one later."
Chu Zhiyan was sitting upright on the bed with the quilt slanting on his legs. He was flipping through a book boredly. From time to time, he would look up at the sky. He called Chu Shisan over and asked, "Has the princess not come back yet?"
Chu Shisan shook his head. "Not yet."
Chu Zhiyan couldn't help thinking, "She won't be bullied by the empress, will she?" After learning that the poison he had been poisoned with was the emperor's doing, he was more vigilant against the empress.
Chu Shisan couldn't help curling his lips. Given the princess's nature, it would be good if she didn't bully others. How could she be bullied?
It was even doubtful whether the empress could defeat the princess.
Chu Zhiyan was still worried, but thinking that he was pretending to be ill and it wasn't appropriate for him to enter the palace, he had to hold back. He regretted even more that he had let her enter the palace.
Just then, Qiao Yan came in to report. "My lord, the princess is back. She's already at the mansion gate. The third prince is with her."
Before his voice faded, the book in Chu Zhiyan's hand flew into Chu Shisan's hands. When he looked up again, he saw that Chu Zhiyan was already lying upright on the bed. He coughed a few times in a suppressed manner. Then, feeling that something was missing, he reached up to mess up his hair.
Chu Shisan and Qiao Yan looked at Chu Zhiyan speechlessly. Finally, Chu Shisan couldn't help asking, "My lord, how's the princess's medical skill?"
"Excellent!" She was much better than those imperial physicians in the palace who boasted about their medical skills. She really lived up to his expectations!
Chu Shisan didn't ask anymore. He pulled Qiao Yan out and nudged Qiao Yan's arm. "Do you think the princess has such excellent medical skills, but why didn't she notice that our lord is pretending to be ill?"