The hunting grounds were located on the outskirts of the Imperial Palace, as such it was quite a far distance to get there. Lin Feilu was beginning to regret agreeing to Xi Xingjiang’s earlier suggestion halfway through the journey.
It was so cold, her face was starting to hurtfrom the icy wind burns. She no longer wanted to go, but Xi Xingjiang refused to relent and dragged her all the way to the hunting grounds.
Although Lin Feilu exercised regularly, how could she compare to a martial arts practitioner? Soon, she ran out of breath. She was panting in huge gulps of cold air and gasping exasperatedly, when suddenly she choked up and was painfully coughing in tears.
Only then did Xi Xingjiang frantically let go of her hands. He squatted in front of her and pulled his sleeves clumsily to wipe her tears, “If you don’t want to go, don’t go then, no need to cry over this!”
Lin Fei was angry at him, “Who is crying! I just choked!”
Xi Xingjiang bursted out in laughter. He continued to squat in front of her as he teased, “Call me ‘Brother Xingjiang’, then I’ll carry you on my back.”
Lin Feilu refused to play along and ignored him. She re-fastened her little cloak and strided forward in broad strokes with her stubby little legs.
The high walls that marked the hunting grounds were in sight now. In this weather and this time, the princes who often practiced horseback riding and archery would not be here. Apart from a few palace guards, the hunting grounds seemed to be empty. With Xi Xingjiang present, the guards certainly would not stop him, but they curiously sized up the little girl whose eyes were peeking out from her cloak.
As soon as the two of them entered the seemingly empty hunting grounds, a galloping sound of a horse was heard. Soon, it was followed by a sharp arrow that pierced the air and punctured the target board behind Lin Feilu.
The young archer was not expecting anyone to suddenly appear. He was shocked, but he had already loosened his bow, and it was too late to redirect the arrow, so he could only scream, “Move!”
At that very moment, she could hear Xi Xingjiang say, “Don’t be afraid! You are short!”
Lin Feilu: “???”
Then the arrow swept over her head and pierced the target board.
She was really frightened. After all, she had never experienced such a thing. When she slowly turned her head around, she saw Xi Xingjiang beside her with a very confident grin.
He said: “See, told you, you’re short.”
♠️♠️♠️♠️
Since Xi Xingjiang was still in the mood to tease her, he must have been very confident that the arrow would never have struck her.
The young archer was sitting on horseback, and the target board was quite tall. Considering his Little Bean’s height, unless the archer was a blind man shooting arrows on the ground, it was impossible for the arrow to be directed at her. In fact, it was safer for her to not move.
Lin Feilu was tempted to drop kick and bust his kneecaps just to knock some sense into his tactless personality.
Just as she was still glaring at him, the young archer cued a halt and the horse neighed. It raised its front hoofs and came to a stop. He jumped down from his horse and walked towards them hurriedly. He anxiously asked, “Are you hurt?”
Lin Feilu turned to look at the young boy.
He looked about the same age and height as Xi Xingjiang. He was fitted in dark red riding robes with a patterned neckline, and a jade belt hung fastened around his waist. He was dressed neatly and elegantly. The quiver on his back was inlaid with gold edges. Even the lustrous black bow he held was gleaming despite the overcast gloomy winter skies. One look was enough to tell these were not the belongings of an ordinary person.
Lin Feilu already had a hunch as to who this young boy could be just as Xi Xingjiang spoke and confirmed her thoughts.
He cupped his hand and bowed before him, “Your Royal Highness.” He smiled and continued, “No one was hurt. In fact, it was quite far off.”
Sure enough, this young boy was her third imperial brother, the empress’s son — Crown Prince Lin Qing.