Wuma Jun did not want to offend either side and chose to stay neutral . Feng Jin, on the other hand, was furious .
Zheng Langjun took a kiwi from the food table .
Xu Ke's eyes widened in surprise . He had not expected things to turn out this way .
Feng Jin's gentle expression turned cold . "There are women here . If you misfire your arrow, wouldn't you agitate their families?"
"Rites, music, archery, charioteering, reading and writing, and arithmetic are the six arts a nobleman should know . Principles, morals, regulations, and serving the country are the essentials of a nobleman . Every Langjun here had to learn all this from a young age . You think I could not even control a small bow?"
He smiled . He was not old, but he had a sinister smile .
Feng Jin thought back to Jiang Pengji's deduction about this Langjun, and he could not help but admire her grasp of Zheng Langjun's character .
He took a deep breath and coaxed his expression back to its usual gentleness . He said, "Langjun, have you forgotten that this is Lanting's page boy? He belongs to the Lius . How could you overstep your boundary by punishing his servant? This is ungentlemanly . Please think thrice . "
Liu Lanting could kill a whole den of bandits; how would a benevolent family fare?
Feng Jin was not just protecting Xu Ke . He was also trying to prevent any fights from happening . He did not understand why anyone would choose this particular time to offend Liu Lanting . Didn't they know that her father was the exam officer that year? One word from him would decide the fate of future scholars .
Zheng Langjun gave a cold hmph . "If something happens to this lowly servant, I'll buy eight or ten servants for Liu Lanting . Take out the bow and arrows… Anyway, Liu Lanting comes from a strict, literary family, so they would not demand anything for the sake of one lowly servant…"
Xu Ke had looked indignant, but now his hands trembled with rage .
This group of parasites only knew how to enjoy all of life's privileges without doing a stroke of work… They were still young, yet they were ruthless .
"The limit is 50 steps . Get him to stand properly . Remember not to tremble, or I might miss . " Zheng Langjun sounded immensely pleased .
There were several guards protecting the assembly, and a white cloth covered the exterior to shield it against the wind and also to stop outsiders from snooping .
Wei Jingxian wondered what was happening next door, so she summoned a maid to check on things . Then she found out what was happening .
Wan Xiu'er was sitting next to her, and she frowned . She asked, "Shouldn't today be about poetry and works? Why has it turned out like this?"
A noble girl who was unaware of the truth gave a low laugh . She said, "I heard that Zheng Langjun has been interested in Jingxian for a while now . He's probably jealous . "
Wei Jingxian normally would have glared at whoever was creating such a ruckus . However, her mind was currently wandering, and it took a few pushes from Wan Xiu'er to regain herself .
"Even if he is jealous, he still shouldn't publicly humiliate someone," Wan Xiu'er said, bluntly expressing her displeasure .
He should have left the page boy alone after he had lost to him in poetry . Instead, he had flown into a rage and was now using the page boy as an outlet to vent his anger . It was such a disgrace .
Wan Xiu'er summoned her maid over and quietly ordered her to get Liu Lanting to settle it .
Wei Jingxian shot Wan Xiu'er a look of relief . This assembly felt strange, and Wan Xiu'er could not help but frown .
On the other side of the assembly, Jiang Pengji was still walking her horse .
"Eh?"
"What's wrong now?" Jiang Pengji lifted her eyes . This little brat still wants to ride? Her wooden clogs were wearing down from the stones beneath their feet .
"Brother Lanting, someone is running over and waving at me," Shangguan Wan said with doubt in her voice .
"Wave?" Jiang Pengji frowned . Displeasure flashed through her before she said, "Let me see . "
Jiang Pengji summoned some energy and lightly leaped onto the horse's back . Shangguan Wan gave a startled cry .
"Hold the reins," Jiang Pengji said as the white horse suddenly raised its hooves and ran . The moment the horse stopped perfectly in front of the maid, she asked, "What's wrong?"
The maid bowed in greeting . She said, "My mistress sent me to tell Langjun to hurry back . "
"Without rhyme or reason… Who knows what happened…" Jiang Pengji mumbled .
Shangguan Wan let out a cry and then pointed at the empty spot in the assembly . She said, "Brother Lanting, there! Why does the archery target… look like a person?"
Archery target? Person?
Jiang Pengji frowned and looked where Shangguan Wan was pointing .
Shangguan Wan's back was turned, so she did not see the ominous expression on Jiang Pengji's face .
"Brother Lanting?" she asked when she did not hear a response .
After a good while, Jiang Pengji said, "Shangguan Wan, do you want to try archery?" Her voice was soft and held a hint of devilishness .
Jiang Pengji smirked, and anger flashed in her eyes . So they've decided to come knocking?
Without waiting for a reply, Jiang Pengji removed the bow and an arrow from the horse's back .
"Hold on to the reins!" she said, tightening her legs around the horse's belly .
The horse reared up and galloped towards the pavilion as Jiang Pengji calmly drew the arrow . The bow was pulled so tautly that the ends nearly touched each other .
The bow needed one stone of draw weight; only a few adult men would have been capable of drawing it . One stone was the equivalent to around fifty kilograms, so it was impossible for a twelve-year-old to be able to use the bow .
Back at the assembly, Xu Ke swallowed his anger and placed the kiwi on his head .
He took 50 steps away from Zheng Langjun, who was still smiling .
Zheng Langjun took a bow and arrow from his servant . He considered the weight of the bow and realized with delight that it was his usual training bow . To fully draw it, he would only need around half a stone of draw weight .
When Feng Jin noticed that Zheng Langjun was aiming at Xu Ke's heart, he was furious . He stepped forward and grabbed the hand holding the arrow . At that moment, an arrow sliced through the air, and its shockwave stung Feng Jin's cheeks .
It came at lightning speed and shot off Zheng Langjun's hair accessory, causing his hair to fall loosely around him .
A loud thud sounded .
Half of the arrow was embedded in a pear tree, and the other half trembled for a good while before it stopped .
"Who gave you permission to touch my servant!"