The Little Consort's
Eps. 28: Archery

"Hey you, little bodyguard, is it true Your Majesty did that?"

Wang Tianshi glared at Li Anlan's question. The mention of the 'little bodyguard' that was used to call himself of course made Wang Tianshi a little annoyed. He, a personal bodyguard of King Dongling who for many years served, and became a great man, was instead considered a small bodyguard by his king's concubine. His self-esteem seems to drop dramatically.

"I'm not a little bodyguard!"

Li Anlan stared lazily at the king's personal bodyguards. Living here for several months made Li Anlan slightly understand the habits of the men in this palace. Their prestige was high, their pride was also high. Status and standing become the main points to be honorable.

Long Ji Man and Wang Tianshi. Long Ji Man, a king, could not say thank you when helped by people, nor did he apologize when making mistakes and wanted to win himself, feeling himself the most right. This is the kind of person who is usually selfish.

Wang Tianshi, has a position as the king's personal bodyguard. His job was to control the safety of the king. In Li Anlan's eyes, Wang Tianshi was the same as the other bodyguards, who were both in charge of maintaining security.

He asked the bodyguard out of curiosity. When he finished cleaning Long Ji Man's office, he heard from the servants here that Long Ji Man cut half the salary of the Minister of Economy for a year because he was negligent. Li Anlan also heard that the pay cut would be used to build the parlour. So, in order to ascertain the truth, Li Anlan immediately looked for Wang Tianshi to ask, because that man had always followed Long Ji Man everywhere, including to the court.

In the courtyard of Hongwu Palace that was three times larger than the courtyard of Xingyue Palace, Li Anlan continued to urge Wang Tianshi to answer his question. He was not satisfied if he only heard vague news.

"Country, women should not interfere."

Li Anlan screeched. Already he expected, this little bodyguard would not let him know what Long Ji Man was doing in court. Women, in this age, do not have the power to participate in government affairs. A woman can only be a wife and mother as well as a household and family organizer. For state affairs, women cannot mix it up. Just knowing is natural, but trying to interfere is considered brash.

"Sad.. In my world, that man and woman are sitting equally!"

"Your world?"

Li Anlan nodded without intending to explain all the details. The woman got up, then walked away leaving the courtyard of Hongwu Palace. His destination was now the main room of the king's residence. Li Anlan wanted to know if there was anything he could use to drive away his boredom while waiting for the 'master' to come.

Li Anlan acted as if the palace was her own home. He boldly opened the drawers, lifted the jars, shifted the tables and chairs, and wiggled the painting that was stuck on the wall. All objects in this room absolutely cannot be used to drive away boredom and tiredness.

Until a while later, the net caught a familiar object located inside another tube-shaped object. Not far from it, there are also other objects with sharp and sparkling edges.

The arrow!

Li Anlan cheered! How happy he was to find a bow complete with arrows in this palace. Without a second thought, the woman immediately picked it up, taking it out to try.

It's been a long time since he's played with that thing. In the modern world, when Li Anlan has free time, he always took the time to learn various sports, one of which is archery. One of his friends was a proud archery athlete of the country, so Li Anlan always asked him to teach him. Li Anlan's stubborn and unyielding nature allowed him to easily master archery techniques in a short time.

"Little bodyguard, can you show me the way to the archery field?" li Anlan asked Wang Tianshi. The king's bodyguard was surprised to see the object in the king's concubine's hand.

"What are you doing with that bow?"

"Of course play! Hurry up, show me the way!"

Wang Tianshi patted his own eel. He wondered what other mess Li Anlan would create. The bow in Li Anlan's hand was Long Ji Man's favorite bow. The bow had been around since Long Ji Man was still the crown prince. If not at war, Long Ji Man sometimes used it for hunting.

With great force, he led Li Anlan to the very back of Hongwu Palace. There is a large open field there. At the very end of the field there are five shooting boards commonly used as targets in archery.

Unexpectedly, the king's palace had a private archery field! Just incredible! Li Anlan was getting excited.

"No, Concubine An, you don't fuck around!"

"Stay there!"

Wang Tianshi refused. He did not want to be the target of Li Anlan's arrow. If it is wrong to aim, its life can float. Moreover, those arrows were extremely sharp. It must be very painful if it penetrates the skin and flesh.

"Ckk... Is this how you're afraid?"

"You can't be careless!"

Li Anlan was back. He said the king's bodyguard, but told to be a try-and-fear object. Supposedly, as the one who carried out the task of maintaining the safety of the king, Wang Tianshi was obliged to dare to die. If one day Long Ji Man was in danger, would Wang Tianshi be using Long Ji Man's body as his shield?

"Stand there or I'll shoot you right here?"

In the end, Wang Tianshi remained obedient to Li Anlan's orders. The man was standing in front of the shooting board with an apple over his head.

Li Anlan pulled his bow. His right hand pulled the bowstring slowly and the tail of the arrow backward. His eyes were straight, focusing on the object he was about to shoot. Li Anlan arranged his strength. He focused his concentration on creating the perfect shot.

Within a matter of ten seconds, the arrow was detached from its bow. Li Anlan laughed as Wang Tianshi closed his eyes as Li Anlan removed the rope and arrow tail. The arrow shot out quickly, straight towards Wang Tianshi's head.

Ceb.....

"I succeeded!"

Li Anlan shouted while jumping up and down. The moment Wang Tianshi opened his eyes, he immediately crouched down to calm down. On top of his head, the arrow stuck firmly on an apple Li Anlan had thrown. Wang Tianshi's heart was as if it was about to jump out of his chest.

Really on target!

Li Anlan returned to pick up another arrow. This time, he pointed the arrow into the air. When it was released, the arrow shot out quickly. Its sharp end slashed the wings of a bird that happened to fly by. The innocent bird immediately fell in the middle of the field.

When Li Anlan approached the poor bird, she saw something strange tied to the bird's feet. Li Anlan immediately took him. Apparently, it was a small piece of paper. He opened the scroll, but it was empty.

"Who's so free to do this?"

Li Anlan was about to throw away the paper, but then he smelled a distinctive fragrant smell from the blank paper. This paper was no ordinary paper, there must be something strange hidden. Li Anlan used her nose to find out what scent accompanied this paper.

"Apple vinegar!"

Seeing the king's concubine monologuing, Wang Tianshi grew even more astonished. He stared pusher at the bird whose fate was very unfortunate because it was hit by an incision from Li Anlan's arrowhead. Fortunately, his fate was nothing like the fate of the bird.

Li Anlan decided to keep it and handed it to Long Ji Man if the man had already returned. Li Anlan then told Wang Tianshi to bring the bird to Tao Zhun to be treated, who knew his life could still be helped.

After Wang Tianshi died, Li Anlan resumed his archery session. I don't know how many tens of arrows he managed to squeeze. The woman had only left after an afternoon.

...***...