Chapter 73: The Grand Banquet at the Hua Family (6)
The queue moved quickly, and before long, it was Du Gu Mingzhu’s turn. She was quite skilled—throwing darts from ten feet away, she hit three out of five. Overjoyed, she jumped up and down and went to collect a coin, admiring it eagerly.
It was then Du Gu Mingyue’s turn. She also stood ten feet away and threw the darts. She raised her delicate wrists like snow lotus stems and threw the darts with graceful precision toward the golden pot, her movements serene and captivating.
Li Qing’an stood behind her, arms crossed, enjoying the beauty of her posture. However, Du Gu Mingyue’s throwing skills were not good—she missed all three attempts. Frustrated, she took out a fourth dart. Mingzhu urged her anxiously, “Sis, aim carefully.”
A dart flew from her hand and hit the left edge of the golden pot with a “thud,” bouncing back to the ground. Disappointed murmurs filled the air. Even Prince Guangping, Li Chu, noticed her. Du Gu Mingyue took up the last dart and took a deep breath. At that moment, Prince Guangping whispered, “Shift it a bit to the right.”
“No! Shift it another inch to the left,” Li Qing’an corrected her.
Logically, since her previous darts had hit the left side of the pot, she should have shifted slightly to the right. After hesitating, she did so, but this time the dart missed the pot entirely and landed on the ground to the left.
Disappointed, Mingyue glanced at Li Qing’an, who shrugged. His sharp eyes had already noticed Du Gu Mingzhu’s habitual habit—her index finger would curl slightly at the moment of throwing, causing the dart to go in the opposite direction.
“Try again!”
Li Qing’an picked up a dart and handed it to Du Gu Mingyue, saying to the eunuch, “Let her give it a try; it won’t count.”
The eunuch smiled and raised the red flag. Du Gu Mingyue raised the dart once more. This time, Prince Guangping remained silent.
“Remember, shift it only an inch to the left—everything else stays the same.”
Du Gu Mingyue bit her lip. This time, she followed Li Qing’an’s advice. The dart shifted slightly to the left and flew out, hitting the bottom of the pot with a “thud.” Applause erupted around her, and her face turned red.
“How did you know?”
Li Qing’an smiled gently. “Your throwing posture is beautiful, so I watched closely. Your finger always curls slightly when you throw, which changes the direction.”
“Is that so? I never noticed it myself.”
Dugu Mingyue’s mood improved. She smiled and said, “Then I’ll go queue up to shoot again.”
“Sis, wait a moment. Let’s see how Qing’an does it,” Mingzhu grabbed her sister’s arm.
At that moment, an eunuch came over holding five arrows and said with a smile, “General, this seems to be your forte. How far away do you plan to shoot?”
Li Qing’an took the arrows and said, “May I try shooting one first?”
“Sure!”
After feeling the arrows, Li Qing’an stood three zhang away and casually shot one at the golden pot. With a ‘thud,’ the arrow traced a parabolic path and landed precisely inside the pot. Mingzhu exclaimed in amazement, “You’re really amazing!”
“It’s nothing,” Li Qing’an replied with a smile. As the best archer in Anxi, such shooting was child’s play for him. In Anxi, he was already a top expert in this art.
“I’m starting now!”
Li Qing’an shot the five arrows in quick succession. A series of crisp sounds filled the air as all five arrows landed inside the bottle. Everyone was astonished—they had never seen anyone score fifteen points so easily.
Dugu Mingzhu was so happy she clapped her hands. She rushed to claim the highest prize: a green-feathered hairpin worth fifty guan. Of course, it went to her.
“I’ll shoot again too.”
Li Chu was genuinelynot convinced. Li Qing’an had managed to hit all five arrows with just one attempt, while Li Chu, who had been playing since childhood, had only managed to do so twice from three zhang away.
Li Chu picked up an arrow and stood three zhang away. Everyone gathered on both sides, eyes filled with interest. What started as a game had turned into a duel between the two.
Li Chu calmed himself down, focusing intently on the mouth of the pot to recall his best feeling. He slowly tilted his body, raised the arrow, with his wrist trembling slightly.
‘Whoosh!’ The arrow was shot. It bounced off the side of the bottle but still landed inside. With the first arrow hitting its target, Li Chu gradually steadied himself and became more natural in his shots. He also hit all five arrows. Applause erupted around him.
Li Chu let out a long sigh of relief and glanced at Li Qing’an. Fifteen points—he could do it too.
Li Qing’an smiled faintly. He took the five arrows as well, but this time he stood five zhang away.
……
The side room was silent. Everyone stared in disbelief at the golden bottle. From five zhang away, Li Qing’an shot all five arrows into the bottle one after another, flawlessly. To their knowledge, no one had ever done such a thing before.
Li Chu lowered his head in disappointment. Fifty zhang away, he had never succeeded before. Du Gu Mingyue looked at him, then at Li Qing’an. She bit her lip lightly but didn’t move.
Cui Yiyun stepped beside Li Chu and whispered, “Your Highness, he’s a soldier; archery is naturally his strength. Besides, Your Highness is already very good.”
“Very good! Archery is indeed a soldier’s innate talent.”
An officer strode over and glanced at Li Qing’an before bowing with a smile. “I am Si Ming, the military historian of Fanyang. I’d like to compete with Ling Shan Blood Arrow.”
“Si Ming!” Li Qing’an’s eyes lit up. So the middle-aged officer before him was the famous Si Ming.
“General Si, I’ve long heard of you!” Li Qing’an bowed and smiled. “I wonder how you’d like to compete with me?”
Si Ming stared at Li Qing’an intently, then narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, “It’s simple. We’ll also throw gold pots, but from fifty zhang away, using twenty arrows. The one who throws the most wins. What do you say, General Li?”
Li Qing’an smiled. “Alright! I’ll compete with you.”
……
The news that Li Qing’an from Anxi would compete with Si Ming from Fanyang in throwing gold pots from fifty zhang away quickly spread throughout the hall. Throwing gold pots from fifty zhang away was indeed astonishing, but the real draw was the competition between Anxi’s best archer and the world’s greatest archer.
Yang Huahua, going along with public opinion, immediately moved the competition area to the center of the hall. The musicians and dancers were driven out, but they didn’t leave; instead, they crowded at the entrance to watch. Not only them—people drinking in the side halls also came to join in the excitement. Some unofficial spokespersons prepared their remarks, observing every detail, ready to recount this spectacular event in the taverns of Chang’an the next day.
Fifty zhang is roughly equivalent to 26 meters today. Throwing an arrow into a narrow bottle from 26 meters away is extremely difficult, but for archery masters like Li Qing’an and Si Ming, it’s not that hard. The real challenge lies in throwing all twenty arrows into the bottle—this is not only a test of archery skills but also a severe test of one’s perseverance and resilience.
The competition method was somewhat similar to modern shooting: two identical tall bottles were set up, and the two competitors stood on a horizontal line fifty zhang away, throwing arrows simultaneously within a set time. After scoring after each arrow, they threw another. This made the competition even more intense and stressful.
“Marshal An, how about we place a bet?” Gao Lishi asked with a smile.
An Lushan bowed and smiled. “If Mr. Gao is interested, I’ll accompany him. I’ll bet a thousand guan on Si Ming.”
“I’ll also bet a thousand guan on General Shi,” said Prince Qing, Li Cong, with a smile.
“Very well! Then I’ll bet two thousand guan on Li Qing’an.”
Gao Lishi smiled and turned to ask Li Linfu and Yang Huahua, “Are you two interested?”
Yang Huahua giggled and said, “Oh! My birthday party has turned into a gambling house. Well, I’ll join in the fun too—I’ll bet a thousand guan on Li Qing’an.”
“What about the Prime Minister?” Gao Lishi’s gaze fell on Li Linfu.