CH 100.1

Chapter 100.1 – Hands-on Teaching

The Crown Prince was a man of integrity. After coming to an understanding with Qi Yang, he finally let go of the worries in his heart.

On the other hand, Lu Qipei seemed totally unconcerned about the situation, completely unworried about what the Crown Prince would do to her. In reality, there really was nothing to worry about. Even if Qi Yang didn’t go to the Crown Prince, before he had more evidence, at most he was just on guard against Lu Qipei.

The days continued as usual. The Crown Prince and King Wei became increasingly cautious in the following period of time. Perhaps worried that he would follow in the footsteps of his brothers, King Wei who stood out when King Wu left the capital had now fallen silent.

Coupled with the loss of three princes in a short period of time, the officials in the court also lost their energy. Right now, they were all exhausted and had calmed down.

For a while, there was a rare peace inside and outside the court.

On this day, Lu Qipei was returning to the mansion after work when she heard a burst of laughter as soon as she arrived at the courtyard’s entrance.

There seemed to be many people in the main courtyard today, and within the delicate sounds of women’s laughter, there seemed to be some childish voices mixed in from time to time.

Hearing this, Lu Qipei knew that it was Lu Sheng who came, but what happened to make them laugh so happily?

With this thought in mind, she stepped forward into the courtyard door and saw a group of people gathered in the middle of the courtyard – around seven or eight maids were surrounding Qi Yang and Lu Sheng. Today, Qi Yang was wearing a narrow-sleeved Hufu1, and the maids by her side were holding bows and arrows in their hands.

That’s not all, even the little dumpling Lu Sheng was holding a small bow wrapped in golden thread, pretending to pull the strings!

But obviously, even the small bow was a bit difficult for Lu Sheng, who was only three years old. She was still too young and lacked strength, and no one had ever taught her how to draw a bow and shoot arrows. Right now, she was just imitating the adults and forcefully pulling the bowstring for show.

However, the little dumpling pulling the bow looked very cute, especially when she couldn’t draw it well and she looked over while blushing and with a pitiful face. It looked very heartwarming. The laughter that Lu Qipei heard from outside the courtyard were also due to this.

As Lu Qipei walked towards the courtyard, Lu Sheng immediately saw her, and her pitiful little eyes suddenly lit up. She no longer tried to draw the bow – carrying it with her short legs, she ran towards Lu Qipei.

Over the past few months, Lu Sheng had clearly become closer to Qi Yang since they had more time to be in contact. Usually, when Lu Qipei came back and saw her, at most she would obediently greet her “Uncle”, and she would still be stuck unmoving by Qi Yang’s side. It was rare for her to actively leave Qi Yang and welcome her like today.

Lu Qipei looked at the scene and roughly guessed what was happening. Seeing the little dumpling run towards her, she didn’t say anything, just bending down and picking her up once she got closer. She smiled and asked, “What’s wrong, Ah Sheng? Did you look for me for something?”

The little dumpling held up her bow and arrow, first calling out “Uncle” in a milky voice before thrusting the small bow in her hands into Lu Qipei’s arms, saying, “Uncle, archery, teach Ah Sheng. Her Highness refuses to teach, and even laughs at Ah Sheng.”

Listening to how the little dumpling had learned how to file a complaint, Qi Yang and the maids around her laughed even more heartily.

Lu Qipei also laughed, but she asked, “Why did you think of archery? And Ah Sheng, she’s so small, how can she draw the bowstring? If we let her play with a bow now, are you not afraid that she will get hurt?”

Although she said that, there weren’t much blame in Lu Qipei’s words.

The smile on Qi Yang’s face didn’t change, but she still explained, “I’m watching her. She can’t draw the bow, so she won’t get hurt.” Then, she responded to Lu Qipei’s previous question, “It’s autumn, and the Autumn Hunt is coming soon. I’ve been keeping my bow and arrow in the warehouse for almost a year, I don’t know if I can still draw it. I want to practice before the Autumn Hunt so I won’t lose face from not being able to draw my bow.”

Lu Qipei had been so busy everyday that she forgot what date it was, and she forgot about the Autumn Hunt, a traditional activity in Liang State. The country had only been founded a few decades ago, and the martial spirit formed during the turbulent times had not dissipated yet.

Together with the fact that there were the barbarians eyeing them fiercely in the north, the Autumn Hunt had never stopped during the years the Emperor reigned, and he even attached great importance on it.

When autumn started this year, the Emperor fell ill, so no one in the court mentioned this matter for a while. But based on Qi Yang’s current attitude, this year’s Autumn Hunt would probably not be canceled – at most, it would be held later compared to previous years.

This was also good. For civil officials like them, the Autumn Hunt was mostly for fun.

Lu Qipei raised her eyebrows and looked at Lu Sheng in her arms, then smiled and said, “Your Highness is too anxious. Lu Sheng is only three years old, and she is not even as tall as the small bow you gave her. She can’t go to the Autumn Hunt.”

As soon as that was said, before Qi Yang could say anything, Lu Sheng already wrapped her arms around Lu Qipei’s neck and acted cutely, “No, Uncle, Ah Sheng is going. Her Highness said it’s fun.” After thinking a bit, she said, “Her Highness said that she would catch a rabbit for Ah Sheng.”

She talked and acted so cutely – just who had taught her this? Lu Sheng suddenly kissed Lu Qipei on the cheek, leaving a wet mark behind. The child then blinked and gave Lu Qipei a pretty smile.

It has to be said that refusing Lu Sheng was something really hard to do. But while on her side, Lu Qipei’s expression turned soft, when Qi Yang saw the leftover saliva on the former’s cheeks, her eyebrows couldn’t help but twitch.

She took out a handkerchief and calmly wiped it off for Lu Qipei before saying, “This little one, how could I expect her to go hunting? She just saw me having fun shooting some arrows, so I showed her the small bow.”

As Qi Yang said that, she pointed at the small bow in Lu Qipei’s hand and said, “This bow is mine. When I was five years old, I learned some archery, and Royal Brother especially ordered someone to make it for me. I had some trouble drawing it back then – Ah Sheng is just three years old, so naturally she couldn’t draw it.”

Lu Sheng who was nestled in Lu Qipei’s arm understood Qi Yang’s words in a daze, realizing that she was just being casually dealt with.