Bab 63: The black bow
It was years ago, not long after Hu Ye forced Qing Guang to be his teacher, the school held an annual competition for the archery class. The winner of the competition will be crowned as Hawk and had the privilege to use the practice ground anytime he wanted. Qing Guang had held the title Hawk for three years in a row.
This year, if she managed to win again, she would crowned the title Golden Hawk and given a considerable price money.
From the side, Hu Ye watched the competitors, most of them are way older than she was. Hu Ye looked over and stare at her expression. She was calm, like the facts that one of her opponent this year wasn't a graduate who was the previous Golden Hawk.
The previous Golden Hawk came forward, he released three arrows at once. Yet, because of the sudden gust of wind, all of them but one hit the bullseye.
Hu Ye couldn't help but frown, if there were no gust, that guy would surely win. He wondered if QIng Guang also thought that way, he stared at her expression.
Cold, sharp eyes looked down, thinking, concentrating.
"Was she like that from the start? So she didn't saw that graduate performance?" Hu Ye peered. "Even though the last arrow didn't hit the X ring, he still got ten points."
Qing Guang's name was called. She got up and stood before at the designed area. Hu Ye still stared at her figure, he wondered why, but for some reason he lonely when he stared at her back. By then, he overheard someone said.
"Did you really do it?" One of the student broke a cold sweat, he tugged his friend's sleeve.
"Of course, the strings on her black bow will break and hurt her arm once she released the arrow." His friend smirked. "That arrogant underclassmen, if not because of her, I would have been the Golden Hawk by now. She defeated me with that bow three years ago. Hmph, just see, that same black bow will be the reason you couldn't pull the string for the rest of your life!"
Hu Ye's eyes widened. "They sabotaged her bow?" He looked back to QIng Guang, she already pulled the bow and was about to release the arrow. He gasped without thinking. "Watch out!"
But he was too late, just before they were another strong gust of wind, Qing Guang released the arrow. With a snap, her black string broke and wounded her hand. Blood seeping out from the wound, it was a bloody sight that made all of the participant gasped.
However, the three arrows she released hit the X ring.
The gust of wind made her hair wave when he turned her back, glancing coldly at the student who sabotaged her bow.
Her figure now was breathtaking. Hu Ye gapped, he couldn't take his eyes away from her until she looked back at him, seemingly confused as to why he suddenly became panicked.
The competition ended.
Even though her hand was bleeding, she managed to prevent it from having serious injury and only bandaged it a bit.
She just received her prize and was about to go home but was halted by Hu Ye. "First Qing Young Miss…" He was obviously blocking her way yet she didn't care, she coldly dissed him.
Hu Ye clicked his tongue and blocked her way again, again, she slipped through and passed by him.
Hu Ye gritted his teeth, she vexed him. "You knew your bow was sabotaged did you?"
Qing Guang halted her step and looked at Hu Ye from the corner of ice cold eyes. "What of it?"
"Don't you realize you could've lost of your hand back then? Why did you still pull the string?"
"I pull the string to win."
"You pull the string to suicide." He lashed.
She stared deeply into his unfathomable eyes, she smirked. "I win to survive, o pampered Young Master of Hu."
Hu Ye frowned. "Was your life that hard that you bet your hand on it?"
"Better lose a hand than lose a life." She shifted her eyes.
"..." Hu Ye knew that the left prime minister didn't love his first daughter, but to think that it was to this extend, he wondered what kind of life this ice princess had been living. He stared at her tired pale face.
Her life was hard, but she managed to keep her grade
She managed to be the Golden Hawk.
She managed to amaze him.
This was the first time the genius Young Master of Hu, felt so inferior than someone else.
"Then, if there is nothing else." She turned her back.
"Guang!" He shouted.
"..." She halted her step. "What did you just called me?"
"Guang, please let me call you that from now on." He felt like he could be closer to her if he called her that.
She raised an eyebrow. "No, are you crazy?"
"Please, please let me call you that from now on." He insisted.
"..." Her eyes widened. The look in his eyes, it was those eyes again, that made her feel conflicted about him, those persistent and unyielding eyes of his. This boy, it seemed like he would definitely got anything he wanted just by giving that look at someone. "But no, not twice, brat." Qing Guang whispered.
"Feh, I don't really like my name."
"Why? It is a nice name." He made a questioned look. "It means light, right, don't tell me that you don't like it because it is the exact opposite of your dark and cold personality."
"...You were trying to tell me that I am not nice right?" The corner of her eyes twitched. "But, that's true, one of the reason is because it doesn't suit me, the other reason is because my mother was the one who gave that name, everytime people other than My brother called me that, I got reminded of my deceased mother." She helplessly smiled.
Hu Ye only saw a glimpse of that smile, but he was intrigued. "You can smile too? I thought an ice princess like you could never smile so gently."
"I am human too, brat." She fumed. "I rarely smile because there's rarely anything that made me happy."
"So, if you often encountered happy things, you would smile often?"
"Maybe? Doubt that there will a time where happy things comes often though."
-----
"So, you need to raise the arm like this?" Hu Cheng Se was in a pavilion inside the Lotus courtyard, drawing on a book. The pavilion was surrounded by lantern that illuminate surroundings and made the area looked solemn. Beside her was Qing Guang who explained the details about the Golder Archery Technique.
Hu Cheng Se thought that she should write down the archery technique Qing Guang teached to Hu Ye so she had been with her for almost everyday this week.
"Yes, then pull down the string…" Qing Guang directed Hu Cheng Se about the position she should draw.
"Second Sister, Guang, it is late, you two should rest." Hu Ye came to remind them. Hu Cheng Se didn't realize that the day had long passed already, she bid farewell to Qing Guang.
"Later then, Sister Guang." She called to her sister-in-law. "I will come again tomorrow."
Qing Guang waved back. She and Hu Ye went inside when they could no longer see Hu Cheng Se's shadow. "What did they say?" Qing Guang immediately asked.
"It is fixed, we will go back to the battlefield in spring." Hu Ye sighed. "I am sorry, I thought that I can bring you with me, but with this situation…"
"...It is okay, at least now we now that you will be here when the child is born." She gently smiled.
He smiled back, bringing his face closer to her before planting a small kiss on her lips.
Qing Guang was startled because of the small surprise, while his lips was still on hers, she smiled. Closing her eyes to savor the taste.
He drew back, stared at her and caressed her cheek. "Guang… Our first kiss, it wasn't the one we had on our first night right?" He smirked.
Qing Guang's eyes widened in an instant, a flash of memory when Hu Ye was in coma came to her and she blushed heavily. She gritted her teeth. "You are aware all along?"
"Oh, I am not certain." Hu Ye smiled mischievously. "But since your reaction is like this… No, wait Guang, put the bow down…"
"I… I'm going to kill you for sure!" Qing Guang pulled the string.
-----
"How lively."
"What is it now, Xiao Zi?" Shou gave her another steamed bun.
"Nothing."
Bab 64: Sun in the night sky
In a very dark place unknown to anyone.
A shadowy figure looked up to the moon.
"Leader." Someone with a dark expression came to him. "I found out why the Young Master of the Hu family didn't die despite our succeed attempt."
The one called leader had an eerie aura around him, he didn't look back as he asked with a low tone. "Why?"
"It seems that on the day he woke up, a certain girl was with him. That girl was also by his side when he got the injury. It seems that she was the one who cured him."
"A girl?"
"Yes, Leader. It is also the same girl that repelled our needle attack at the ceremony. We can only use the disappearing power three times to. That girl wasted them all!"
The shadowy figure was not only concerned about the wasted power.
"Someone who can cure our poison, don't tell me she is the gatekeeper?" The shadowy man frowned. "If that is so, we can't let her live."
-----
The day passed one by one until autumn came.
"When will you do it?" Hu Ye was playing Chinese Chess with Qing Bo and asked him this sudden question.
"Do what?"
"Marriage proposal, I mean."
The chess in Qing Bo's hand dropped into the board.
"Checkmate, it seems that I won." Said Hu Ye cheerfully.
Qing Bo's face grew dark, it looks like his in-law is even deeper than himself. "You knew?"
Hu Ye cleaned the chessboard. "She is an adult now, but not once have been proposed to."
"A quick-witted, extraordinary, and beautiful girl like my Second Sister, only you is cunning enough to pull the strings and prevent any man from getting close."
"..." Qing Bo kept silent. He indeed did just that.
"You are already a right prime minister, don't you think it is time to get her?"
"Not yet, I'm not done yet."
Hu Ye helplessly smiled, he firmly patted his brother-in-law's right shoulder, Hu Ye is a man with a wive and a kid, he knew Qing Bo's feeling well.
"Brother, although she is a bit clueless and slow about these things. She is not an idiot. She is not really the unapproachable type either, many want her. You should take the opportunity, or you might lose your chance, like I almost lost mine with your Little Sister."
Hu Ye went out of the study room. Qing Bo just stood there, looking at his departing figure.
Qing Bo took out a piece of cloth from his sleeve. He opened the cloth. It revealed a beautiful, unique, and extremely uncommon golden orange fish shaped hairpin. The hairpin fish model was orange koi, and there were golden lotus flowers that surrounding the fish.
He touched his forehead with his right hand's palm and looked down at the hairpin in his left hand. "Fish Stick, I…"
-----
"The following will be the people that will go to the memorial palace this winter." The eunuch announced. "Hu Quan Li, Hu Ye, Hu Xiang Yi, Hua Tian Mi, Hu Bai, Hu Cheng Se, Hu Zi, and Qing Guang."
Hu Ye frowned, he looked to the side and saw Qing Guang's confused face. Every year, the palace sent some official to the memorial palace far from Jin Ye. There used to be a great war near that palace and that saddens the people of Jin's heart. The officials were sent there as a condolence for the fallen soldier that died at that time.
Usually, the palace only sent people from one bloodline, let's just say from Hu Quan Li's bloodline, that means even if Qing Guang was Hu Ye's wife, she was not obliged to come, Hu Ye wondered why the Emperor used the edict to send her too. Moreover, they also wanted his baby to travel so far away.
"That is the end of the edict."
"Long live the Emperor." They said while kneeling
Winter came and it was on the day before their departure.
Hu Bai was restless because her daughter, suddenly had a very high fever, she wondered if she should ask permission not to go to the palace.
"Don't worry, the doctor said it is a normal fever and will stop after a few days." Zhi Yu caressed his wife's head, soothing her.
"Mother." Shao Yao was having a bad dream, she kept calling her mother.
"Yes, I am here, my daughter."
"Mom, don't go." Shao Yao said in an extremely sad voice. Zhi Yu didn't want to let Hu Bai go in their daughter's condition.
"Mom will come back, daddy will stay here. You do your best, drink your medicines, and be healthy, okay." Hu Bai caressed Shao Yao's chubby cheek, Zhi Yu said that Shao Yao looked so much like her mother when she was little.
"Mother..." Shao Yao eye became teary.
"It is another beautiful night."
Hu Cheng Se was looking at the sky as snow fell onto her body, she was at the Qing Bo's residence. She just finished helping Guang pack her things and wrote down some pages for her writing.
Guang had long fallen asleep with her baby upstairs. But Hu Cheng Se couldn't fall asleep tonight, she looked at the bright full moon, and thought about many things.
She went around and around in the garden until she finally stopped at she pavilion stairs. She stopped, but it was not because she was sleepy after walking around. It was because she could feel a certain presence of someone familiar nearby. There was a shadow of a tall man standing not that far away from her.
She looked at the tall figure who was also looking at her from the courtyard entrance.
He just came home from doing business and heard that his sister came back, he wanted to check on her. But met an unexpected person instead.
Qing Bo waved his hand and the guards behind him immediately withdrew.
He looked at her, she looked at him, just like that in the middle of a cold quiet night.
Status Power Mingguan
200+ Peringkat
Power 
0 Power
stone 
Komentar Paragraf