The Little Consort's
Eps. 40: The Eagle is mine!
As a precious woman who was not much looked up to by a husband whose standing was a king, there were not many demands that Li Anlan could give the stone man. Li Anlan only wanted modern items that included her beloved climbing tools and mobile phone back, as well as wanted to live a quiet life without distractions. But, since he was already entwined in various situations with the man, it seemed like it would be difficult to break away.
Previously, Li Anlan had been determined to create his own system and purpose in this world. Perhaps, being near Long Ji Man would be the goal of his life. Who knows, that way he can get something valuable that he never got in modern life. But, Li Anlan was not completely confident either.
The game of life inside the palace was too complex and bizarre, too runny and too convoluted. It would have been better if he had never appeared to the public but remained on good terms with Long Ji Man. That is, the scope of his life will run only between Xingyue Palace and Hongwu Palace which is connected by Houchi Lake. Such a simple scope would not attract people much attention.
These few days, Li Anlan went back and forth and went from and to Xingyue Palace to Hongwu Palace to play around. Li Anlan was training himself in his archery skills. The bow from Long Ji Man, if not used, will be moldy and weathered.
Xingyue Palace did not have a spacious courtyard to play archery. Instead, Hongwu Palace had a private archery field. That was why, he deliberately used the Hongwu Palace archery field. No one can ban it. Those who were familiar with Li Anlan, always let the woman in and had fun according to her own heart.
Just like he did today. At the archery field, Li Anlan gathered several female servants and eunuchs who served in Hongwu Palace to be targeted. They were dressed in thick makeup by Li Anlan until their faces looked completely different from their real faces. Li Anlan spent a box of lip-splitting, a box of powder, and ten small eyebrow pencil bars to apply makeup to the eunuchs and servants. They were also marked with white cloth vests on their backs. The vest contained inscriptions with their respective names and numbers indicating their value.
Li Anlan then ordered them to split up, but they could not get out of the field. The woman was playing a hunting game. There are ten blunt arrows whose ends are tied with a round cloth, then given red dye until when it hits something, the circle will leave a mark. Anyone who has been exposed, will automatically fall and get out of the game. Who can survive to the end will be the winner and if not hit by Li Anlan's arrow, it will be rewarded.
The originally quiet archery field became crowded by the sound of the footsteps of the servants and eunuchs who ran to and fro, hiding and escaping from Li Anlan's round arrowhead. Some of them were hiding under trees, behind target boards, even hiding behind where Li Anlan was standing.
The woman began to pull the bowstring, then directed her arrows towards those who were in the fog. One by one his arrows were darting. Some were targeted, some missed and even hit the royal guards standing around the square.
“Sial! My hands are slippery and slipping!”
Li Anlan scolded his own hand which could not be consistent in dividing the force.
“If you can't cooperate, I won't take care of you anymore!”
Li Anlan continued his archery activity. This time, he concentrated more. His mind was centered on the target he was going to aim at. Dan, got! A eunuch on his back with the number eight down! From where he stood, Li Anlan shouted, “You, fall! Out of the game!”
Two hours have passed. Ten female servants and five eunuchs were declared dead and lost the game. The rest were rewarded with three silver taels per person. Tired of the game, Li Anlan started another game. This time, he used an arrow with real iron eyes. It seems like it will be a little more challenging.
The servants and eunuchs who won in the game were then asked to prepare a number of apples and fruits. They were asked to throw the apple into the air one by one as Li Anlan gave instructions. At that time, Li Anlan would slide his arrows to shoot the apples.
One by one, the apples floated in the air. One by one, Li Anlan's arrows, no, the booty arrows from Long Ji Man shot across the apples. Li Anlan cheered in satisfaction. The apples then fell to the ground, some of which befell the servant who threw them.
In the distance, from the back porch of Hongwu Palace that was directly connected to the archery field, Long Ji Man stood with Xiao Biqi, looking straight at the archery field. Occasionally Long Ji Man shook his head, astonished by Li Anlan's wild behavior.
“Why does the woman continue to be there?”
“Your Highness, Concubine An has been there all day.”
“Play with arrows and those servants?”
Xiao Biqi nodded.
Apparently, Li Anlan's saying that he could shoot the other day was true. That woman can shoot. Even his archery technique was not bad but it was no better than Long Ji Man's ability. After all, it is still the king who is the greatest at anything.
Long Ji Man's eyes squinted as he looked at the falling object being hit by an arrow. A moment later, the look on his face turned irritated. He turned his gaze to Xiao Biqi, then asked,
“Did he use my bow to shoot those apples?”
“Emm.. It seems, so, Your Majesty,” replied Xiao Biqi, hesitating.
Xiao Biqi did not dare to answer. The young eunuch chose to shut his mouth and lowered his head. Long Ji Man sighed tiredly. Really, the price and value of his favorite arrows had dropped very drastically. The arrows had previously only known the skin and flesh of animals as targets, not the sap and aroma of fruits, or the smell of clothes dyes!
Meanwhile, in the middle of the archery field, Li Anlan continuously shot arrows into the air. His hands were a little scuffed and bleeding. But, Li Anlan seemed to have no intention of stopping yet.
Suddenly, a large bird passed by. Without any preparation, Li Anlan instantly slid her arrows. The pointed tip of the arrowhead hit the left wing of the big bird. The bird fell, some of its feathers were dislodged and flew away in the wind. Li Anlan stepped off the small stage where he stood, then rushed over to the large bird that was injured.
“Oh, poor big bird. I really accidentally shot you!”
Li Anlan carried the injured large bird into her lap, like a mother holding her baby. The soft feather of the big bird was rubbed, as if it could ease the pain suffered by the big bird. The eunuchs and servants who saw the incident immediately fled, running in the fog as if there would be a great storm disaster coming and destroying the archery field.
“LI ANNAN! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROWN EAGLE?”
Li Anlan's entire body was frozen when he heard the thunderous screams exceeding the thunderous rumbling behind him. His blood stopped flowing and his lungs stopped relaxing. The alarms of danger signs go off many times.
“Hehehe... Your Highness, your bird is blocking my apple.”.
“Still dare to kink?”
“K-If I said that my hand slipped, would you believe it?”
“Do you think?”
“You won't believe it, huh?”
“If you already know, why still ask?”
Lothawat! Li Anlan even shot the favorite eagle of Long Ji Man. Wait, this isn't his fault. Li Anlan really did not know that the bird belonged to his king. His name is also a bird, fly anywhere and will definitely face any danger. Of course this incident was a disaster. Blame the bird that flies in such a way as not to be careful. If the bird had not flown over the archery field, it would not have been the tone of events like this.
The only path Li Anlan had to take now was to escape. He had to dodge when Long Ji Man was angry. Otherwise, Li Anlan would again lose something valuable to her again.
“Your Majesty, look! Queen Mother is coming!” li Anlan exclaimed as she pointed behind Long Ji Man. The man looked over. The moment he knew there was no one behind there, Li Anlan had already dashed out of the archery field hugging the bow and the few remaining arrows.
“Your Majesty, I will have people call the Tao Zhun shaman to treat your wounded bird!” li Anlan shouted while running.
Damnit. Long Ji Man tricked the little lady. He could have believed in Li Anlan's words. In the end, the arrow still recognized the skin and flesh of the animal as its target, yes, its own master's pet!
“Your Majesty, then what about your eagle?” asked Xiao Biqi.
“How else? Just bury!”
Xiao Biqi called out to several guards, and told them to bury the lifeless bird under a tree in the archery field.
Really, poor bird!
...***...
Wow, pity the bird! Li Anlan is absolutely amazing! Well, for those of you who are curious when Li Anlan will become a "consort" or empress, be patient! Li Anlan had to understand the situation there first and Long Ji Man had to trust Li Anlan completely first. Stay tuned on! See you in the next episode!