CH 16

"What does Cheng An mean by this?"

"I just heard young master talking about gentlemen with Kangning Junzhu, so I just said what I have heard," Rong Xia turned around and bowed to Ban Hua, "The gentleman should not be worried, be afraid, or be deceived. I am only one of the people, just a layman among all living beings, I shouldn't be praised by Ban Junjun."            Rong Xia, who is highly acclaimed and even admired by his majesty himself, said that he has not yet achieved to be called a gentleman, but Hui-Wangfu heir, who once disrespected his elders, claimed to be a gentleman. This was truly ironic.

Hearing Cheng An taunt Jiang Yuchen so badly she chuckled. Turning her head she was met with angry eyes of Kangning. She rolled her eyes when she saw this.         Rong-Xia did not intend to keep talking nonsense with Jiang Yuchen. After seeing Jiang Yuchen's face black and blue, he turned to look at Ban-Hua and said: "Ban JunJun, Kangning Junzhu, Please come this way. "

"Sorry to trouble Cheng An" Kanging suppressed the anger in her heart and reluctantly smiled at Rong-Xia.

Rong Xiao gave her a slight nod.         Wang De glanced at the Junzhu Kangning. Her character was really different from Junjun Ban. If Cheng An had treated Junjun Ban's brother with this attitude, with Junjun's hot temper she would have definitely exploded. How could Junzhu Kangning still smile?

This young girl's mind is so calculating, how could she live after she gets married?

Seeing them come, Emperor Yun Qing did not ask what happened, but waved to Rong Xia and Ban sister and brother, "You, young people are just here to have fun, come and see, who will win among these archers? "

As for Kang Ning and Jiang Yuchen who came here together, it seemed as if they were forgotten by this old man, He didn't even look at them! 

His Majesty was already hot-headed and even more cautious with them, so the Wang Hui family had always kept their heads bowed in front of him. Ban Hua even suspected that if it hadn't been written in the Emperor's will to let His Majesty take good care of his younger brother, he would have killed this family long ago. 

"Your Majesty, I am not knowledgeable about this," Ban Hua looked at the archers in neatly uniformed knight clothing and shook her head. "Isn't your majesty just embarrassing me?"          Yun Qing liked her straightforward character very much, directly expressing herself without much thought.

"Just pick one."He said kindly.       As they were speaking, a eunuch came over with a tray with ranking lotteries in it. It contained the names of the warriors.

Ban Hua took a look and picked out a person's name tag.      "You selected so quickly?" Emperor Yun Qing looked at Ban Hua in surprise, didn't she say that she didn't know who to choose?

"His name is the most auspicious. I thought it must be right to choose him." Ban Hua smiled and showed the name tag to Emperor Yun Qing. She then threw the name tag into a jade bottle not far from her.

"Gao Wangsheng..."(1) Emperor Yun Qing abruptly laughed, the name was tacky, but it was indeed auspicious.     "Count An, Young Master Heng, you two also bet on one." Emperor Yun Qing in a great mood, waved his hand, letting Ban Heng and Rong Xia pick it.

"Your majesty, you know me. I can't really use my brain" Saying this, Ban Heng also chose Gao Wangsheng's name tag and threw it into the jade bottle."

"I believe in Junjun Ban's insight." Rong Xia smiled, directly picked up Gao Wangsheng's name tag, and put it in.    Emperor Yun Qing was very satisfied with Rong-Xia. He knew who he likes and who he dislikes. Although he was wise in words and deeds, he is never arrogant and will only make people feel pleasant. Thinking that those in the court were not necessarily capable, but their voice was louder than his arguing about the size of a sesame mung bean(super small matters), he wished that all the courtiers could be like Rong Xia.

Ban Hua turned to look at Rong Xia, Rong Xia had also turned to look at her, she smiled warmly at him when their eyes met.

"You are Gao Wangsheng?" Emperor Yun Qing looked at the archer standing in front of himself. This man was short and skinny and even looked very tiny in front of him. He didn't look like a god who could walk through Yang in a hundred steps (2). But he did defeat others to become the final winner.

"His Majesty, yes it is this one."   "Young Miss Ban, you have a good eye. So many people have picked him." Emperor Yun Qing pointed his finger at Rong Xiao and Ban Heng, and continued, "It can be seen that you all have good insights. " 

"Thank you, your Majesty, for the praise, "Ban Heng flashed a bright smile," It is already middle of the year but your Majesty is still the first one to praise me."

Yun Qing Emperor was amused by Ban Heng, he had heard of how stupid his cousin was. But although he was dull, he was not ridiculous, so as long as he didn't cause a major incident, he kept one eye closed, pretending to know nothing.      Ban Heng's words not only amused Emperor Yun Qing, but even the Empress and several princesses laughed.

In the eyes of others, Ban Heng was deliberately teasing Emperor Yunqing, but Ban Hua knew in her heart that her brother was sincerely grateful to his Majesty.

The shooting range was lively, but the camp was a bit deserted. Li Xiaoru sat on the bed in a daze holding the quilt and did not even notice when Shi Feixian walked in.    "Xiaoru," Shi Feixian stretched out her hand and shook it in front of Li Xiaoru's face, "I just heard the maid say that you fainted. What's wrong?" 

Li Xiaoru wanted to recount what had happened just now, but when she thought of Ban-Hua, who was not easy to get along with, she swallowed the words back. Shaking her head, she said: "I'm fine, just a little bit dizzy. "     Shi Feixian glanced at her face, and then smiled: "Then you have to be more careful, don't ride the horse later."     Listening to Shi Feixian's careful advice, Li Xiaoru felt a little guilty. So she spoke."By the way, just now, Junzhu Kangning and Ban Hua had a dispute, and Cheng An went over to dissolve the fight." 

"Why did Cheng An take care of this?" The smile on Shi Feixian's face went a little stiff. As she gently covered Li Xiaoru with a quilt, she responded "Lie down for a while, next to me. The guards around me hunted two pheasants, I have sent someone to stew one, I will bring it to you later."

"How troublesome you..."

"How can I trouble you?"

Note:-

1.高旺盛 (gāo wàng shēng)高    pinyin- gāo Meaning- high;tall   旺盛 pinyin-WàngshèngMeaning-strong,vigorous. So, the name is auspicious as it means high and strong.

2. A hundred steps to wear Yang, a Chinese idiom, pinyin is bi bù chuān yáng, which means to shoot the leaves of a willow at a distance of one hundred steps. Shows the arrow or marksmanship is very clever.Source- google 

"What does Cheng An mean by this?"

"I just heard young master talking about gentlemen with Kangning Junzhu, so I just said what I have heard," Rong Xia turned around and bowed to Ban Hua, "The gentleman should not be worried, be afraid, or be deceived. I am only one of the people, just a layman among all living beings, I shouldn't be praised by Ban Junjun."            Rong Xia, who is highly acclaimed and even admired by his majesty himself, said that he has not yet achieved to be called a gentleman, but Hui-Wangfu heir, who once disrespected his elders, claimed to be a gentleman. This was truly ironic.

Hearing Cheng An taunt Jiang Yuchen so badly she chuckled. Turning her head she was met with angry eyes of Kangning. She rolled her eyes when she saw this.         Rong-Xia did not intend to keep talking nonsense with Jiang Yuchen. After seeing Jiang Yuchen's face black and blue, he turned to look at Ban-Hua and said: "Ban JunJun, Kangning Junzhu, Please come this way. "

"Sorry to trouble Cheng An" Kanging suppressed the anger in her heart and reluctantly smiled at Rong-Xia.

Rong Xiao gave her a slight nod.         Wang De glanced at the Junzhu Kangning. Her character was really different from Junjun Ban. If Cheng An had treated Junjun Ban's brother with this attitude, with Junjun's hot temper she would have definitely exploded. How could Junzhu Kangning still smile?

This young girl's mind is so calculating, how could she live after she gets married?

Seeing them come, Emperor Yun Qing did not ask what happened, but waved to Rong Xia and Ban sister and brother, "You, young people are just here to have fun, come and see, who will win among these archers? "

As for Kang Ning and Jiang Yuchen who came here together, it seemed as if they were forgotten by this old man, He didn't even look at them! 

His Majesty was already hot-headed and even more cautious with them, so the Wang Hui family had always kept their heads bowed in front of him. Ban Hua even suspected that if it hadn't been written in the Emperor's will to let His Majesty take good care of his younger brother, he would have killed this family long ago. 

"Your Majesty, I am not knowledgeable about this," Ban Hua looked at the archers in neatly uniformed knight clothing and shook her head. "Isn't your majesty just embarrassing me?"          Yun Qing liked her straightforward character very much, directly expressing herself without much thought.

"Just pick one."He said kindly.       As they were speaking, a eunuch came over with a tray with ranking lotteries in it. It contained the names of the warriors.

Ban Hua took a look and picked out a person's name tag.      "You selected so quickly?" Emperor Yun Qing looked at Ban Hua in surprise, didn't she say that she didn't know who to choose?

"His name is the most auspicious. I thought it must be right to choose him." Ban Hua smiled and showed the name tag to Emperor Yun Qing. She then threw the name tag into a jade bottle not far from her.

"Gao Wangsheng..."(1) Emperor Yun Qing abruptly laughed, the name was tacky, but it was indeed auspicious.     "Count An, Young Master Heng, you two also bet on one." Emperor Yun Qing in a great mood, waved his hand, letting Ban Heng and Rong Xia pick it.

"Your majesty, you know me. I can't really use my brain" Saying this, Ban Heng also chose Gao Wangsheng's name tag and threw it into the jade bottle."

"I believe in Junjun Ban's insight." Rong Xia smiled, directly picked up Gao Wangsheng's name tag, and put it in.    Emperor Yun Qing was very satisfied with Rong-Xia. He knew who he likes and who he dislikes. Although he was wise in words and deeds, he is never arrogant and will only make people feel pleasant. Thinking that those in the court were not necessarily capable, but their voice was louder than his arguing about the size of a sesame mung bean(super small matters), he wished that all the courtiers could be like Rong Xia.

Ban Hua turned to look at Rong Xia, Rong Xia had also turned to look at her, she smiled warmly at him when their eyes met.

This feeling that she did not even believe herself, but there was someone else who believed in her more than she did, was truly wonderful.

Kangning watched as Rong Xia smiled softly at Ban Hua, her heart felt as if a knife had cut through, but her face did not dare to be dissatisfied. 

Even if the emperor regarded their brothers and sisters as nothing, she could not interrupt, she could only stand aside maintaining a smiling face.

"Sister," Jiang Yuchen walked to her with guilt in his expression, "I made you feel wronged."

Kangning shook her head, biting her lips without speaking. What kind of grievance has she faced, at least she eats well and dresses well. Her brother had been wandering outside all these years, and don't know how much he suffered.

At this moment, there was a sudden burst of applause and cheers from the arena. Kangning, looked towards the arena after the sound of the bell from the shooting range was heard. 

"The archery competition is over, the winner is Gao Wengshang!"

"You are Gao Wangsheng?" Emperor Yun Qing looked at the archer standing in front of himself. This man was short and skinny and even looked very tiny in front of him. He didn't look like a god who could walk through Yang in a hundred steps (2). But he did defeat others to become the final winner.

"His Majesty, yes it is this one."   "Young Miss Ban, you have a good eye. So many people have picked him." Emperor Yun Qing pointed his finger at Rong Xiao and Ban Heng, and continued, "It can be seen that you all have good insights. " 

"Thank you, your Majesty, for the praise, "Ban Heng flashed a bright smile," It is already middle of the year but your Majesty is still the first one to praise me."

Yun Qing Emperor was amused by Ban Heng, he had heard of how stupid his cousin was. But although he was dull, he was not ridiculous, so as long as he didn't cause a major incident, he kept one eye closed, pretending to know nothing.      Ban Heng's words not only amused Emperor Yun Qing, but even the Empress and several princesses laughed.

In the eyes of others, Ban Heng was deliberately teasing Emperor Yunqing, but Ban Hua knew in her heart that her brother was sincerely grateful to his Majesty.

The shooting range was lively, but the camp was a bit deserted. Li Xiaoru sat on the bed in a daze holding the quilt and did not even notice when Shi Feixian walked in.    "Xiaoru," Shi Feixian stretched out her hand and shook it in front of Li Xiaoru's face, "I just heard the maid say that you fainted. What's wrong?" 

Li Xiaoru wanted to recount what had happened just now, but when she thought of Ban-Hua, who was not easy to get along with, she swallowed the words back. Shaking her head, she said: "I'm fine, just a little bit dizzy. "     Shi Feixian glanced at her face, and then smiled: "Then you have to be more careful, don't ride the horse later."     Listening to Shi Feixian's careful advice, Li Xiaoru felt a little guilty. So she spoke."By the way, just now, Junzhu Kangning and Ban Hua had a dispute, and Cheng An went over to dissolve the fight." 

"Why did Cheng An take care of this?" The smile on Shi Feixian's face went a little stiff. As she gently covered Li Xiaoru with a quilt, she responded "Lie down for a while, next to me. The guards around me hunted two pheasants, I have sent someone to stew one, I will bring it to you later."

"How troublesome you..."

"How can I trouble you?"

"Although we are not sisters, we are like sisters, If you say anything more I will feel you consider me an outsider ." Shi Feixian said casually, "Even Count Cheng An can persuade two unfamiliar women. But I can't worry about you, a good sister?"     "How can it be the same, Cheng An was probably fulfilling his Majesty's order at that time," Li Xiaoru said looking slightly offended, "If it weren't for his majesty, how could Count Cheng An intervene in the affairs of two women."

"Maybe Cheng Amber saw Ban Hua's beauty, and heroes save the beauty. So, maybe felt like saving her.," Shi Feixian's smile was more intimate, and she joked in a relaxed tone, "As the saying goes, a fair lady, and a gentleman so charming."    "What kind of lady is she?," Li Xiaoru thought of Ban Hua's mouth and swallowed back her other words, and instead turned to only teasing Shi Feixian, "It's only right to call you a lady." Shi Feixian blushing by her words hurried out of the camp.      After the hunting activities of the day ended, Ban Heng accompanied Ban Hua back to her camp: "Sister, why do I feel that Count Cheng An is helping us today?"      Although he didn't read much, he was not stupid. Count Cheng An was obviously pulling a bias.      "Of course he wants to help us," Ban Hua said as she held out three fingers, "I gave him two pheasants and a fat rabbit."      Speaking of this, Ban Hua felt that she was very foresighted. She raised her chin quite contentedly.      Ban Heng thought to himself, this Count was really easy to buy, two pheasants and one hare, and he would be done.      "Ban Shizi, Ban Junjun." Two guards dressed in blue came over, each holding a tray with venison and deer blood on it.

"We are the guards of Count Cheng-An. These things were ordered by Count to send us here. I hope the two will accept it."    Ban-Heng hesitated for a moment, and let the guard standing next to the camp tent pick up the tray. Then he said, "These two people, please thank Cheng An for us."

"Heir speaks too seriously" The two guards saluted and retired. It could be seen that Cheng Amber was well-mannered and well-regulated through the guard's behaviors.  "Sister," Ban Heng pointed to venison, "Is this a reward?"

Venison is much more expensive than rabbit meat and pheasant. Is this what their family earned?  After the two guards returned, they reported the incident including the conversation that happened between Ban sister and brother, which they heard to Rong Xia.

"Because she gave me a prey, they think I will help her?" Rong Xia laughed lightly, the laughter seemed a little meaningful.  He lifted the lid of the soup cup in front of him, a gust of heat rose from the cup, the rich fragrant of a pheasant quickly filling the camp. The pheasant was tender and chewy, not fat or greasy, the soup was delicious, and the meat was also very pleasant.            

Note:-1.高旺盛 (gāo wàng shēng)高    pinyin- gāo Meaning- high;tall   旺盛 pinyin-WàngshèngMeaning-strong,vigorous. So, the name is auspicious as it means high and strong.

2. A hundred steps to wear Yang, a Chinese idiom, pinyin is bi bù chuān yáng, which means to shoot the leaves of a willow at a distance of one hundred steps. Shows the arrow or marksmanship is very clever.Source- google