NOTE: SONG LIN FENG is not LIAN FENG. Song Lin Feng is Song Luo’s brother. Please do not mix up the two. Their names are very similar.
GUI MEI‘s master is the 3rd Prince. CHI MEI is the Crown Prince’s horse. (Just stating in case you get confused)
A month had gone by, and the yearly Imperial equestrian compet.i.tion was fast approaching.
Lin Shan went to practice daily. Although Wu Ying continued to ignore her, at least he didn’t bother flinging her off anymore. Perhaps horses were just like humans. After doing something numerous times, they would also become numb to it. Not to mention, Lin Shan was shameless, she was not going to stop until she reaches the Yellow River.
Under Lian Feng’s guidance, Lin Shan’s horrid riding skills had improved substantially. However, Lin Shan was not satisfied. Her goal was to become the ultimate first place winner. But based on her current level, she was definitely not going to win. Hence, she was trying to come up with another tactic.
By the way, this equestrian compet.i.tion was not an individual compet.i.tion. It was actually team based. There were four teams in total. The Heaven team was led by the Crown Prince Du Hao; his team consisted of other Princes. The Earth team was led by the Third Prince Du Jing; his team consisted of Princes and the sons of some of the royal uncles. The last two teams were the Imperial officials teams. The leader of the Mystical team was Liu Qin Yun, the son of the Imperial tutor. Lastly, the Golden team that Lin Shan was part of was under Song Lin Feng, her brother.
Logically, based on the skills of Song Lin Feng, coming out as the winner shouldn’t be difficult. However, Song Lin Feng was a very cautious man. He’d rather give up the first place than to offend anyone of authority. Thus, Lin Shan could only rely on herself.
Lin Shan quickly examined each leader in her mind. First, Liu Qin Yun. Sources have told her that he had spent his childhood with the Crown Prince and was super loyal to him. Therefore, he definitely wouldn’t try to come out ahead of Du Hao. He could be eliminated as a threat.
Next, Du Jing. In Lin Shan’s opinion, Du Jing would probably only be a threat if the reward was a beautiful woman. She didn’t think Du Jing would be interested in any gold, silver or precious stones. Therefore, she removed him as a threat.
So basically, her only threat was Du Hao.
The thought of Du Hao infuriated Lin Shan. Even if she couldn’t get the prize, she was not going to let him get it! For a n.o.bleman to get revenge, ten years is not too long. For a woman to get revenge, she will show you tomorrow*!
Therefore, the day before the compet.i.tion, Lin Shan used the excuse of practicing to enter the stable and secretly mixed some “condiments” into Chi Mei’s pasture.
This “condiment” was something Lin Shan specifically bought from the black market. Apparently, it was a horse stimulant and a tiny dosage could cause a horse to be excited during a compet.i.tion. The acceleration will make it very difficult for the rider to control the horse, which in turn will make shooting nearly impossible.
Lin Shan’s plan should be flawless, since the horse would only be acting crazy during the compet.i.tion. No one would be able to tell it was her doings.
But Lin Shan had underestimated an opponent. That person was Du Jing. He may seem like he had no intention of winning the prize, but his goal was definitely to come out first. In fact, he wanted to destroy his opponents so badly that he a.s.signed Gui Mei to drug the horses.
And the drug he gave Gui Mei was the same one that Lin Shan used.
Remember, the horses could only handle a small dosage of the drug. If a lot is used, then the horses will clearly be aggravated. Since Lin Shan and Gui Mei both drugged the Heaven team, a disaster has occurred.
That night, all of the horses from the Heaven team, including Du Hao’s beloved Chi Mei, were crazy high. The entire night, they were neighing nonstop. By the morning, all eight horses were exhausted and could no longer move.
Everyone was stunned; especially the cunning Du Jing. Du Jing harshly shrieked at Gui Mei, and poor Gui Mei couldn’t figure out what went wrong.
This incident spread to the Emperor’s ear, and he was enraged.
What the h.e.l.l? This compet.i.tion only occurs once a year. It cannot be delayed or cancelled! Obviously someone had tried to scheme something to affect the results. How dare they? The Emperor angrily announced the dismissal of all the horse keepers and declared he was going to investigate thoroughly on what has happened. In addition, the compet.i.tion was still going to take place. However, no horses will be used.
So the equestrian compet.i.tion was now an archery compet.i.tion.
Lin Shan totally regretted her actions…if only she hadn’t put so much “condiments”. Now, Du Hao still had the advantage. As for her….Lin Shan took out her slingshot. Why couldn’t it be a slingshot compet.i.tion instead? T___T
However, the sudden switch of the compet.i.tion was very unattractive to many of the partic.i.p.ants. The challenge had decreased tremendously and they lost all of their initial enthusiasm. What was the point of competing?
The Emperor was frustrated. Originally, the purpose of this compet.i.tion was to excavate talent! He wanted to nurture a capable individual as well as create a national compet.i.tion for the youngsters. Now, everyone lacked the fire to partic.i.p.ate. How could he not be upset?
Therefore, the Emperor had a discussion with his officials and decided to add something on top of the archery compet.i.tion. He included a treasure hunt component. Whoever that was able to find the three East China Sea Night Pearls that will be hidden will be the winner of the compet.i.tion. A grand prize will be rewarded to the winner.
Once this Imperial edict was announced, there was a big commotion.
Lin Shan was nearly hysterical. Woah!!! This is what you call a compet.i.tion! Who cares about horse riding or archery shooting!?! So typical. Treasure hunt is the way to go! Plus, it could release her potential!! Lin Shan was very thrilled as she listened to her brother’s arrangements.
“Yang Master and Li General, you guys will be responsible for this part. Mo brother… you will be responsible for this. As well, Chen brother, you will be responsible for this…” Song Lin Feng a.s.signed tasks to everyone, and lastly his eyes landed on Lin Shan.
Lin Shan was smiling like a fool as she happily waited for her a.s.signment.
“You.” Song Lin Feng pointed at his troublesome sister, “are going to be with me.”
What?!?! Lin Shan was horrified. Big brother. What do you mean? Don’t tell me you want me to be a backup and stay to “guard”. No! I want to be a forward! Lin Shan rejected but Song Lin Feng refused to let her out of his sight.
Lin Shan knew she must act on her own. Right before the compet.i.tion started, she secretly hid a map on herself. Later, she was going to find an opportunity to hunt by herself.
However, Song Lin Feng could see right through his sister. Once the compet.i.tion began, everyone went inside the forest, but poor Lin Shan was stopped by her brother who had grabbed her by the neck collar.
“Song Luo, if you dare to give me trouble, I promise you that you will never have any good days in your life.” Song Lin Feng harshly glared and warned her. He was showing a side that others never see.
Lin Shan couldn’t help but sigh for Du Ming Yue’s sake. Oh Princess! You think your ideal man is so perfect? If you know what Song Lin Feng is truly like, would you still keep him in your heart? What a tragic story!? Tragic, I tell you!
Lin Shan shook her head, but Song Lin Feng wouldn’t let go of her collar. She was stuck by his side.
The compet.i.tion started at noon and continued all the way until sunset. Lin Shan couldn’t find an opportunity to slip away at all. When the Sun was finally starting to set, Song Lin Feng said: “Time is almost up. Let’s go.”
h.e.l.lo!? Are you nuts? I came here to look for treasure, not to leisurely stroll around. Even if you’re trying to go easy on your opponents, you shouldn’t be like this!? Lin Shan fumed and mumbled: “I need to pee.”