Chu Wang Fei

by Ning er

  “Ehm… certainly! But, a dart costs ten liang of silver.” The shopkeeper did not expect someone to raise this kind of question. But at the weak and delicate looks of all the xiaojie below, the shopkeeper knew that they wanted to obtain the prizes but did not have the ability, and thus would not spend money to buy darts. Why not loosen the rules and let gongzi from famous families who liked to show off be a hero? He would earn some money at the same time.

  After all, the prizes had all been bought at high costs. That single jade hairpin already cost him 200 liang of silver. But if he did not put in an investment, how could he gain the people's attention?

  “Since that's the case, I shall try it out.” As expected, after Su Qian Yue whispered a few words to Su Cheng Yan, he immediately went to the front. The male servant behind him immediately took out ten liang of silver and handed the money over to an attendant. Su Cheng Yang picked a small dart from the tray; he narrowed his eyes at the top of the pole and made throwing motions with the dart for a while before he threw the dart with great force from his wrist. But the dart fell short without even hitting the lowest prize, causing some of the xiaojie observing below to panic and run from the pole in fear of being hit by a dart.

  “That's too bad!” This time, Yuan Dong, who was beside Yun Qian Meng, suddenly spoke words of pity.

  But Yun Qian Meng only smiled indifferently. That pole was too high and the targets were too unstable, perhaps it would not be easy even for people who had martial arts foundations. Evidently, the organizer had already thought of this and displayed all the good prizes without worry.

  Moreover, at ten liang of silver each, it was really too excessive. It was a wonder if there would be someone who could push down the drive of this restaurant.

  “Yuan Dong, don't you know some kung fu? Why don't you try it out?” Suddenly, the clear and distinct voice of Ying Xia sounded, and her face looked like she wanted to stir something up. For people who were unfamiliar with them, it seemed like she wanted to try it out herself.

  Yun Qian Meng turned to look at Yuan Dong. The three of them accompanied her today and were not able to have fun yet, so she smiled and said, “Try it!”

  But Yuan Dong's face became embarrassingly red, then she replied shyly, “Thanks to xiaojie, but nubi will not try it.”

  But after she spoke, her eyes filled with desire stared back at the pole.

  Yun Qian Meng lowered her eyes and thought carefully. She lifted a hand to pat Yuan Dong on the shoulder and said warmly, “I'll pay for it, so you go on and play.”

  While she was speaking, Yun Qian Meng directed a look at Mu Chun, who immediately walked to the front. She took out ten liang of silver and handed it over to the attendant. Ying Xia pushed Yuan Dong to the very front, and picked a dart for her. She and Mu Chun then stood beside Yuan Dong, discussing which prize was better.

  Yun Qian Meng saw the excited looks of the three, so she also smiled and pointed at the silver ingot of ten liang hanging from the lowest part of the pole and said, “We are not too greedy, just target that ingot.”

  Yuan Dong immediately nodded after hearing that. Her right hand held the dart gestured in the air for a while. Then she threw her dart with force...

  Dong!

  The dart had shot the swaying ingot in the air precisely. Everyone was suddenly dumbstruck. They did not expect this seemingly weak yatou to have such good skills; she had even exceeded the handsome gongzi a while ago.

  “Yay! Yuan Dong got a prize!” Mu Chun and Ying Xia suddenly jumped out of happiness. Yuan Dong's face also showed a smile for she had not let her xiaojie down.

  The shopkeeper on the second floor did not expect a yatou to shoot that ten liang prize. His eyes suddenly showed some hints of distress. With everyone in shock, he did not hurry in commanding the servant to take down the prize.

  Yun Qian Meng saw that he had the intention of repudiating the debt and said, “Shopkeeper, why are you not yet retrieving the prize? You certainly won't think of repudiating your debt with so many people watching, will you?”

  After Yun Qian Meng's words, even the gongzi inside the restaurant followed her lead and shouted, “Get it! Get it!”

  The shopkeeper saw that he really could not be in arrears, and somewhat angrily waved at the attendant to take the ingot down that was to be given to Yuan Dong.

  “Xiaojie!” When Yuan Dong got the ingot, she handed it over with both hands to Yun Qian Meng.

  Yun Qian Meng lifted a hand, but only lightly closed Yuan Dong's palms. “This is what you've won! As for the two of you, you are also rewarded with ten liang of silver each. Go buy anything you like.”

  The three showed joy in their faces and immediately bowed and thanked Yun Qian Meng. But they did not leave her and instead, protected her even closer.

  “I didn't expect the yatou of Yun xiaojie to be this strong. It seems like the upbringing of Yun xiangfu was rather advocating of power and strength.” Suddenly, Su Qian Yue and Su Cheng Yan walked over together. Su Qian Yue pinched a handkerchief in her hand as she approached, her eyes glaring maliciously at Yun Qian Meng while she laughed lowly.

  The people nearby heard Su Qian Yue's address to Yun Qian Meng and casted sidelong glances. Suddenly, sounds of whispers and murmurs were heard with everyone curiously staring at Yun Qian Meng. They did not expect that the yatou who was in the limelight a while ago was actually a servant of Yun xiangfu. Presumably this was the xiaojie of Yun xiang, though they could not distinguish who among the remaining three was the xiaojie of Yun xiangfu.

  Mu Chun and the other two were all indignant at Su Qian Yue's attempts at humiliating their xiaojie in public. Only Yun Qian Meng's expression did not change as her cold eyes moved from Su Qian Yue to Su Cheng Yan. “Su xiaojie, Su gongzi, long time no see. Why don't I see Su xiaojie's personal servant today? Oh, I forgot, the yatou of Su xiaojie was punished long ago because of having secret affairs with someone! No wonder Su gongzi accompanied Su xiaojie out today, perhaps you're worried that this kind of thing might happen again. You have a deep relationship between siblings. How admirable.”

  Yun Qian Meng's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but was clear enough for the surrounding people to hear. Because she intentionally slowed her words, and pronounced each distinctly, even the audience from the other restaurants and teahouses around were able to clearly hear all her words. Suddenly, the tides have turned on Su Qian Yue and Su Cheng Yan who originally wanted to take this opportunity to shame Yun Qian Meng. They had not expected to be conversely sneered at.

  Murmuring suddenly rose from all around, as the beautiful and delicate face of Su Qian Yue blushed red. She looked very tender and charming, but the viciousness in her eyes ruined the beautiful picture.

  “Yun Qian Meng, what else do you have except for that glib tongue? You're already a woman who was cast off from you're broken engagement with Chen wang. What face do you have left to show?” Su Qian Yue was so furious that she stepped forward, her eyes emitted fire as they stared at Yun Qian Meng closely while she had shouted with extreme anger.

  Yun Qian Meng, on the other hand, replied to her with a smile as bright as the stars, but with a lowered her voice, “Su daren has been rather proud of himself recently. It seems like Su xiaojie is also in love with someone now. However, Chen wangye is able and efficient. How could he marry a young lady that can't even teach good moral conduct to her yatou? Wouldn't he be afraid of green clouds covering the skies of Chen wangfu in the future?“

  Yun Qian Meng laughed softly, but the now enraged Su Qian Yue's face was all red, her hands tightened on her handkerchief, her eyes looked like she wished that she could just swallow Yun Qian Meng.

  “Yun Qian Meng, aren't you afraid that you won't be able to get married if you are being this cunning?” Since the time Yun Qian Meng had caused Su Qian Yue to fall into the water, Su Cheng Yan had developed a strong hatred not only for Yun Qian Meng but the whole of xiangfu as well.

  Now that he was an observer to Yun Qian Meng
bullying his sister, he naturally needed to speak in support of his sister.

  Yun Qian Meng looked at Su Cheng Yan puzzled. She felt that it was a waste for him to have a good appearance given his vile character of only attacking women's marriage reputations.

  Mu Chun and the other two saw Yun Qian Meng dealing with Su Qian Yue with ease, and noticed that Yun Qian Meng was currently enjoying making fun of the two, so their anger abated. They were now only curious of how their xiaojie would fight back next.

  Yun Qian Meng shrugged mischievously, then raised her eyes that were as bright as grapes. Looking into Su Cheng Yan's eyes that were now intoxicated from his success, she softly said, “Su gongzi should think more about your own marriage. The skill shown by Su gongzi a while ago really lost face for all men. You weren't even able to beat my yatou. Who among these young ladies would want to marry someone like Su gongzi who does not have any manliness?”

  “Yun Qian Meng, I don't allow you to humiliate my brother!” Su Qian Yue suddenly flared up and shouted at Yun Qian Meng who dared to claim that Su Cheng Yan was incompetent.

  Yun Qian Meng's face suddenly changed from the sinister smile to a delicate and pitiful expression. Her eyes were now clouded with tears and were shining from the moisture. Seeing how shocked Yun Qian Meng was from her shout, Su Qian Yue stepped back and almost fell to the ground if not for the help of her yatou from behind. The image of Yun Qian Meng being wronged quickly established itself in the hearts of the people around them. The xiaojie and gongzi all gossiped and criticized the Su siblings for bullying Yun Qian Meng. The two were now unable to speak of their bitterness, resulting in the two of them glaring at Yun Qian Meng more.

  “Why does jiejie need to be so aggressive? My biaoge and biaojie only came over to have a conversation with jiejie, but jiejie unexpectedly spoke to them so maliciously. How would jiejie explain this to father?” At this moment, Yun Ruo Xue, who had arrived earlier but quietly watched the scenes now walked out from the crowd. People only saw her walking over with a smile and speaking calmly.

  Yun Qian Meng only straightened her body and wiped her lips with a silk handkerchief. With a forced smile, she spoke with some grievance in her tone. “Why does meimei say so? Why does meimei choose to help other people after seeing your own sister being humiliated and bullied? But it's also quite understandable. Meimei is cousins with Su gongzi and Su xiaojie, naturally, you will be closer to them than to me who has a different mother from you.”

  Yun Qian Meng had lowered her head out of sadness and her hands were helplessly holding her fan tightly, the sight made her look rather pitiful. Moreover, Yun Qian Meng was, after all, a delicate and pretty young lady. This made the crowd of gongzi feel sorry for her.

  Yun Ruo Xue secretly gnashed her teeth when she saw that Yun Qian Meng used words to point out her identity, so she cannot speak anymore. If the news of a xiaojie of xiangfu not respecting her elder sister were to spread tomorrow, it would surely damage her reputation.

  “If meimei does not have anything to do, then go on and visit other places. There's too much gossip here, don't get xiangfu into trouble.” Yun Qian Meng opened her fan, covered half her lips, and whispered to the ears of Yun Ruo Xue with a calm voice that made one grow cold. Yun Ruo Xue's heart suddenly tightened and her eyes looked at Yun Qian Meng with disbelief, but Yun Qian Meng had already turned away. She stomped her feet ruthlessly, then pulled Su Qian Yue, who still could not get over the matter, away from there.

  A pair of eyes filled with treachery and cruelty appeared in a half-opened window in the third floor of Fu Yuan Lou. They stared at Yun Qian Meng, and the owner of those eyes unexpectedly smiled coldly.

  The farce was quickly forgotten by the crowd through a new round of the dart game. The gongzi were rich so they did not care about spending ten liang of silver. Furthermore, seeing so many beautiful ladies today, one after another, they let their servants hand over the silver to the organizer, in order to show off their skills in front of the beauties.

  Most of them were only fond of drinking wine and enjoying luxurious lives so this kind of work which required strength and skill was really not suitable for them. Each one of them joined the game in high spirits, but ended up going down the stage dejected and depressed. They had only lost face in front of the various ladies and were glaring at the shopkeeper, blaming him for coming up with this wicked idea out of nowhere.

  After half a stick of incense had passed, aside from the ingot that Yuan Dong shot a while ago, nobody was able to hit anything. The interest of the crowd only grew and they all thought that the shopkeeper was worthy of being called a businessman. He really came up with a rather clever plan.

  “That yatou of yours has good martial art skills!” Yun Qian Meng wanted to leave with her yatous already, but as she turned, she was immediately blocked by someone. She raised her head to follow the voice and unexpectedly saw Chu Fei Yang and Chen wang standing together in front of her. Chu Fei Yang was wearing a black coat with dark patterns and the borders embroidered in gold, while Jiang Mu Chen was wearing a royal blue embroidered long coat. The moment the two of them appeared, the group of gongzi were immediately overshadowed; the xiaojie around were all looking at the two of them shyly, their faces were all blushed pink, and they all acted prim and proper.

  “Chennu greets wangye and xiangye.” Yun Qian Meng simultaneously bowed, and then made to bypass the two to leave, but they both blocked her way firmly, unwilling to make any concessions. Yun Qian Meng raised her eyes to glare at them, but only ended up noticing the teasing laughter in the eyes of Chu Fei Yang.

  “I've always heard that Chu xiang is proficient in both civil and military skills, but had not had the chance to compete on an ordinary day. Why not have a small competition now? What do you think?” Jiang Mu Chen immediately opened his mouth after seeing how Yun Qian Meng kept looking at Chu Fei Yang, but was rather cold to him. That upset him a little..

  Chu Fei Yang's lips curved up in a smile. “Of course! Benxiang has always wanted to see wangye's skills in horsemanship and archery. I can actually feast my eyes today.”

  Hearing the two praising each other, Yun Qian Meng felt extremely impressed. They obviously did not have a good relationship, but there was not even the slightest change to their expressions as they were praising each other. They were indeed important officials of the Imperial Court, and should not be underestimated.

  “Then we need to trouble Yun xiaojie to witness and help benwang and Chu xiang to make a decision.” Unexpectedly, Jiang Mu Chen did not want to leave Yun Qian Meng alone, and opened his mouth to have her be the judge.

  Yun Qian Meng smiled lightly and said, “Today is Qi Qiao Festival. The street is crowded with people. There are many people to bear witness for wangye and Chu xiang. Chennu does not dare to comment on your martial arts so as to avoid bias.”

  After speaking, Yun Qian Meng, along with Mu Chun and the other two, moved to the back and did not say anything else, but Chen wang coldly stared at her before walking to the attendant with Chu Fei Yang. The two paid, then picked a red dart and a white dart respectively. Each tried to find their own angle. Chu Fei Yang smiled and said, “Wangye, why don't we shoot the jade hairpin at the very top? Whoever shoots it first wins.”

  Jiang Mu Chen turned the red dart in his hands as he looked at the tip of the pole which could almost not be seen in the moonlight. He groaned inwardly but arrogantly said, “Let's follow Chu xiang's idea.”

  The people in the crowd all showed astonishment and curiosity at hearing the conversation of the two.

  The bamboo stick was ten meters high. Under the stars, though the jade hairpin was glowing brightly, it was still hard to see very clearly.

  But hearing the the two of them make a bet, it seemed like they were sure they could hit the hairpin. Suddenly, numerous heads appeared from the windows of the surrounding restaurants. Even the young ladies who were had been haggling for goods simultaneously ran over, not only because of the identity and handsome ap
pearance of the two people, but more because they wanted to have a glimpse at their heroic bearing.

  Yun Qian Meng looked at the jade hairpin again, calculating the distance and trajectory in her mind. Yuan Dong's skills were not bad, but Yuan Dong had only shot the lowest prize. The hairpin was at the highest point and the angle of elevation was difficult. Moreover, it even swayed with the wind. She was afraid that it would be really hard to hit regardless of how good Chu Fei Yang and Chen wang were. She hoped that they did not only know how to brag in front of people or they would end up humiliating themselves.

  The two of them raised their heads at the same time, their charming eyes stared and targeted the hairpin. Both their wrists shifted at the same time, and two darts rushed towards the dark sky like an arrow shot from a bow.

  The people in the crowd could only see the two darts flying straight. The red dart had shot to the top of the bamboo stick exactly and the pole suddenly shook violently from the great force, causing the prizes that still hung to sway along.

  Suddenly, the white dart unexpectedly flashed through the red thread that tied the jade hairpin to the pole. They only heard the sound of the red thread ripping, before the jade hairpin fell. The crowd only saw a black shadow flash in front of them, and when they looked more carefully, Chu Fei Yang had already moved to the pole to catch the jade hairpin.

  The crowd raised their heads and looked again. They saw that the white dart was unbelievably cut the red dart in half, and was now firmly stuck to the pole.

  Chapter 86: part 1: To Whom will the Engagement Jade Hairpin be Given to | Chu Wang Fei

  The people present were all struck dumb with awe, then an enthusiastic cheer chorused loudly. They all looked at Chu Fei Yang and Jiang Mu Chen respectfully and admiringly.

  Only the face of Jiang Mu Chen was dark all throughout. As he looked at the white dart that cut his red dart in half, his dark eyes slightly flickered and a trace of annoyance flashed over his eyes. His lips tightly closed repressing the fury that was threatening to burst.