After being thoroughly violated, he ran away with the enemy emperor's child.

Three days later, the horse archery competition will be held.

Chu Junci woke up early in the morning and was dressed and had his hair tied up by a young eunuch.

Standing in the hall, he squinted and closed his eyes for a short rest.

"His Majesty……"

Suddenly, the little eunuch hesitated and glanced at him cautiously.

"What is it?"

He opened his eyes, paused in his speech, and just then saw...

The robe that fit perfectly last year is now somewhat "overburdened." Chu Junci pursed her lips: "...Change to that light blue one, the one with bamboo leaves embroidered on the cuffs and hem."

"Yes."

The young eunuch nodded, hung the ill-fitting outer robe back on the hanger, and then brought a light blue robe for Chu Junci to wear.

The young eunuch hung the jade pendant, a symbol of his status, on his belt and took a few steps back: "Your Majesty, that's enough."

"Um."

As Chu Junci stepped out of Qianhe Palace, he saw Chu Li, who was biting into a candied hawthorn, his red dress fluttering in the wind.

"elder brother!"

Chu Li saw him too, quickly stuffed the candied hawthorn into her mouth, and ran towards him: "Let me help you, brother."

"Okay." Chu Junci did not refuse.

Ever since A-Li found out about him..., his biggest fear every day has been that he would fall. In addition, he often urges him to rest more and not to tire himself out.

Chu Junci couldn't persuade him otherwise, so he had no choice but to let him go.

The two had only taken a few steps when Chu Li suddenly stopped, seemingly somewhat annoyed.

"elder brother……"

"Um?"

"I'll have someone prepare a veil for my brother, so he can cover up a bit..."

Unlike Zhao State, Yong State has a pleasant climate with spring-like weather all year round. In addition, the weather is getting hotter, so Chu Junci is dressed a little lightly.

"..." Chu Junci remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

Helped into the carriage, Chu Junci lifted the curtain. Yuan Jin and Lin Chen were guarding outside. He said, "Let's go."

"Yes."

The carriage headed out of the city. It was still early, and there weren't many pedestrians on the street. With the Imperial Guards clearing the way, the group traveled quite smoothly.

They successfully left the city, and the carriage traveled along the official road. Inside the carriage, Chu Li handed Chu Junci a peach blossom cake: "Brother, this was bought by A Jin while queuing outside the palace. It's super delicious!"

There is a newly opened pastry shop outside the palace. Since its opening, its delicious pastries have been praised by everyone and it is always packed with people.

After listening to Chu Li's introduction, Chu Junci took the bottle and took a bite. "Not bad."

"hey-hey."

Chu Li also took a few bites, then lifted the car curtain, "Ah Jin, Lin Chen, here."

He tossed a piece to each of them, who caught it and chuckled, "Thank you, A-Li/Thank you, Your Highness."

After swallowing the pastry, Lin Chen leaned closer to Yuan Jin and asked in a low voice, "General Yuan, where did you buy these pastries?"

"My wife loves sweets, so I plan to bring her some when I return to Beijing."

"It's that newly opened pastry shop in the west of the city."

Yuan Jin replied, while teasingly adding, "Lord Lin and his wife are truly a loving couple."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen blushed slightly, then sighed softly as if remembering something, "I only regret that I can't spend more time with her."

Those who work as bodyguards shouldn't be settling down, but...

He and his wife met when they were young, and she was all alone and destitute; he simply couldn't bear to part with her.

Yuan Jin patted his shoulder: "Your wife will understand."

"Um."

As they were speaking, someone rode out from the city gate.

With the peach blossom cakes he had just bought tucked into his arms, he rode very fast and soon disappeared from the guards' sight.

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped on a flat area in the eastern suburbs.

Chu Li stretched and picked up a few veils from the side. "I'll put them on my brother."

"I have one too."

"Ah Jin and Lin Chen should wear them too!"

My brother is too thin. Even the slightest change is very noticeable. Chu Li doesn't want people to talk about him, even if they don't know anything about it.

"I'll do whatever A-Li says."

Chu Junci wasn't stupid; he naturally understood what A Li meant. Although he had an excuse to get away with it, since A Li was worried about him, he let him be.

After putting on the veils, Chu Li lifted the carriage curtain and handed the remaining two to Yuan Jin and Lin Chen: "You two put them on too."

"Yes."

Lin Chen had no objections. Yuan Jin took the mitten and blinked, "A-Li, do I have to wear it during the match later?"

"Take it off during the game, you idiot."

"oh."

The idiot Yuan Jin smiled, put the veil on his head, and the group walked towards the central stands.

This competition consists of three events, with a progressive ranking system. The first round has fifty participants, the second round has twenty participants, and the third round has three participants, who will be the top three in each event.

The first project is the simplest: the target remains stationary, and participants shoot arrows while riding horses.

The second project added some difficulty, as the target moved randomly while the participants were shooting on horseback;

The third round was the most difficult, as some obstacles were added on top of the moving target.

Therefore, the most people fail at the third stage every year, and many of this year's participants lost at the third stage in previous years.

Chu Junci glanced at the setup on site, then looked into the distance. Three thousand elite soldiers were lying in ambush around the area. If that person dared to show up, he would surely have no chance of escape.

Standing there, Chu Junci's feelings were complicated. He didn't know if that person would appear, just as he didn't know if he wanted him to appear...

"Brother, what's wrong? What are you looking at?"

Chu Li came to his side and looked in the direction he was looking, but saw nothing.

"It's nothing."

Chu Junci shook his head. "A-Li, isn't it almost time?"

"yes."

Chu Li nodded: "I think most people have arrived. Brother, let's go sit over there. Standing is tiring."

"it is good."

Sitting down in the stands, Chu Li took out a peach blossom cake from her sleeve next to him: "Brother, would you like some?"

"Ali, eat it."

"oh oh."

Holding the peach blossom cake in both hands, Chu Li squinted her eyes with pleasure, and after a while asked, "Brother, are you thirsty?"

"I'm not thirsty."

"All right."

Chu Li, biting into a peach blossom cake, suddenly remembered something and leaned close to his ear: "Brother, I had the embroiderer make me new clothes."

"Two styles have been made, along with new shoes and a new hat. Besides these, is there anything else you'd like the embroiderer to make for you, brother?"

"Not at the moment."

"All right."

Chu Li nodded, and after another quarter of an hour, all the participants finally arrived.

People were standing or sitting in the stands, while guards stood watch at the outer perimeter, preventing unauthorized personnel from getting too close.

"All unauthorized persons, step back a few steps." Since the emperor's safety was at stake, they dared not relax their vigilance.

Mo Yan was among those who were stopped; he looked out into the arena and could only see a few small figures.

He had to go inside if he wanted to see Aci.

He bypassed the crowd, glanced around, and slowly stepped forward: "I am a servant of the Xie family. My young master is unable to participate in the competition this year, so he asked me to keep an eye on things for him."

"A servant from the Xie family?" The guard frowned.

"My young master is General Xie Yunzhou, surely you don't recognize him?"

Mo Yan snorted coldly, and at the same time took out a jade pendant: "This is a token given to me by the young master, bestowed by the current emperor. How dare you stop me?"

"this……"

The guard hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside and said, "Go in."

After retrieving the jade pendant, Mo Yan strode into the arena.

He found the jade pendant in a secret room in the Xie residence. He speculated that it was a gift from Aci to Xie Yunzhou for his fourteenth birthday, but…

It's his now.

As he got closer, from a short distance, Mo Yan finally smelled the familiar lotus fragrance.

Even though it's very faint, it still truly exists.

His gaze fell precisely on one person. He swallowed hard and thought to himself: Ah Ci, today we can finally meet.

His Aci sat on a high platform, wearing a veil on his head, with a young boy beside him.

It seems that the person was Chu Li.

Chu Li...A Ci's younger brother, the two have a very good relationship.

Thinking of this, Mo Yan clenched his fist, his mind flashing back to the orders he had given—

[Tie Chu Li up and force Chu Ling to exchange him for snow lotus.]

If Yong Kingdom doesn't have snow lotus, Chu Ling will go find it for Chu Li's sake.

[Send a delegation of envoys to Yong Kingdom to inform Chu Li that if he does not hand over the Snow Lotus within seven days, Zhao Kingdom will declare war.]

"..."

Frowning in frustration, Mo Yan cursed under his breath, thinking: Why did fate have to play such a cruel joke on him?

Not only did he offend Aci, but he also offended his only younger brother!

If Chu Li were to whisper bad things about him in front of A Ci...

Just thinking about it makes Mo Yan anxious to death!

But at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder: What is Aci doing with the veil?

Could it be that he/she is sick? Should he/she be protected from the wind?

But Chu Li also wore one... Behind them, there were two other people dressed the same way.

Unfortunately, Mo Yan had met both of them before. One of them was the leader who had led the team to the hunting grounds of Zhao State, and his surname seemed to be Lin.

The other one... is that pretty boy who shoots arrows.

Unbeknownst to Mo Yan, the news reached the arena the instant the guards let him in.

Upon hearing the report from the guards, Chu Junci also looked in one direction, and this time, he saw a very familiar figure.

He barely moved his lips before instructing the guards, "Have them prepare."

"...He's here."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Chu Li was also among those who noticed Mo Yan's arrival. Through the veil, he sensed a very unpleasant aura! Following the source, he indeed saw an ordinary, ugly man.

Upon hearing his brother say, "He's here," his eyes widened. Mo Yan had actually come?!

"Brother." He suddenly panicked and subconsciously grabbed Chu Junci's arm.

"Don't be afraid."

Chu Junci reassured him, "I'm here."

"Uh-huh."

Time passed second by second, and Mo Yan stood below, glancing at him from time to time.

He wanted to wait for the best opportunity to sneak up beside him, but he was hindered by the many guards standing below the stands.

His idea of ​​getting close without alerting anyone else was practically a pipe dream.

Therefore, he had no choice but to wait.

He was already content to see Aci today.

Even though they were far apart, even though he couldn't even see Aci's face clearly, even though...

Aci didn't know he was him.

He was still very happy.

"Aci".

He murmured silently for a while, then gently called out, "Ah Ling."

As "Ah Ling" fell, fragments flashed through his mind again, and this time, he caught them.

In the Imperial Garden, he followed behind a child: "Chu Ling, my name is Mo Yan."

"Chu Ling, can you please talk to me?"

"Ah Ling, the Regent has agreed to let us be friends."

"I'm leaving Yong Kingdom in three days. Can't we even be friends for three days?"

"..."

More and more fragments flashed through his mind, and Mo Yan's face turned pale, his brows furrowed.

He couldn't help but take a step back, his gaze returning to the high platform.

His lips moved, but he couldn't speak. It turned out...

He and Aci had indeed met before.

He forgot him; he forgot the promise they made to each other.

promise?

What promise?

Mo Yan was taken aback. Why did this sentence unconsciously flash through his mind?

Just as he was trying to find out more, the fragments of his memory quietly slipped away, and he couldn't recall them no matter how hard he tried.

Patting his head, Mo Yan reached into his arms for the peach blossom cake.

Aci likes sweets, and these peach blossom cakes were specially brought back for him when he left the city.

Will Aci like it?

He was lost in thought for a long time. When he came back to his senses, the competition had already started, and his Ah Ci was still sitting on the high platform.

The pretty boy standing behind Aci was nowhere to be seen. After searching around, Mo Yan spotted him on the field.

He still wore his hair in a ponytail and was full of energy.

Does Aci like this?

Mo Yan thought to himself.

The next moment, he saw the pretty boy looking up at the platform, waving his right hand excitedly, his face full of an annoying smile.

Following his gaze, Mo Yan saw Chu Li standing up, who was also waving his right hand, unable to contain his excitement.

"..."

Mo Yan remained silent for a moment, then thought to himself: I see.

The pretty boy turned out to be Chu Li's sweetheart, and the two were in love with each other.

He wondered why Aci would like that pretty boy. Mo Yan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and even found Yuan Jin more pleasing to the eye.

After figuring it out, he no longer found Yuan Jin's smile so irritating, and even began to see it as something he would look at as a junior.

After all, she was Chu Li's sweetheart, and Chu Li was A Ci's beloved younger brother, so they could be considered relatives.

He crossed his arms, his mind racing with thoughts. Time slipped by unnoticed, but he still hadn't found an opportunity to get close to Aci.

Gradually, the game came to an end.

The winner was naturally Yuan Jin, who excitedly approached Chu Li: "A Li, I won!"

"I saw it, Ah Jin, you're amazing!"

Yuan Jin blushed after being praised by Chu Li, "I'm not that amazing."

"You idiot, I told you you're amazing, okay?"

No, no.

Yuan Jin explained, "A Li, that's not what I meant."

"So what do you mean?"

"I...I..."

Yuan Jin's face was scrunched up in worry, while Chu Junci sighed helplessly, "Alright, A Li, stop teasing him."

"oh."

Chu Li snorted and muttered under his breath, "Ah Jin really is an idiot."

As the three were speaking, the other contestants gathered around, saying, "Your Majesty."

They had longed to see His Majesty, and today that dream had finally come true. Even though they were separated by a veil, they were still very excited.

One of them spoke up: "Your Majesty, I have always heard that Your Majesty is skilled in riding and archery, but I have never seen Your Majesty's prowess. I wonder if we could meet today..."

After all, the previous rumors were that "His Majesty would also participate in the horse archery competition," but today, until the end of the competition, they did not see His Majesty participate.

This inevitably left them somewhat disappointed, and now, even at the risk of great disrespect, they couldn't help but ask this question.

"My brother is unwell and cannot..."

Chu Junci interrupted Chu Li, saying, "I am unwell and cannot ride a horse, but... I can still shoot arrows."

"Bring me a bow and arrows."