Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

"Bring it here." Just when Ji Anni was in trouble, she suddenly heard Princess Tianning on the archery platform give an order.

Not only did she issue this order, Princess Tianning also stretched out her hand to Ji Anni, indicating that Ji Anni should hand over something. But Ji Anni didn't understand what Princess Tianning meant at all. She just stared at Princess Tianning on the archery platform and asked stupidly, "What do you want to bring over?"

"What else could it be? An arrow." Princess Tianning glared at Ji Anni unhappily.

"Arrow..." Ji Anni looked down at the imperial arrow in her hand and thought: Could it be that... Princess Tianning wants to shoot my own arrow as well?

"What are you still standing there for? Hand over the arrows to me." Princess Tianning stomped her feet on the archery platform.

"Oh...oh..." Ji Anni finally reacted and hurriedly picked up the arrow.

Tian Ning must have been dissatisfied because he missed the target with the previous arrow, so he wanted to shoot his own arrow as well.

This is good. Ji Anni doesn't have to show up in public and doesn't have to worry about being suspected by the emperor.

Unexpectedly, just as Ji Anni held up the arrow, she heard a voice behind her: "Princess, wait a minute."

Without looking back, one can tell by the voice that it is Prime Minister An's.

Ji Anni couldn't help but think to herself, what kind of daughter is like her father. Concubine An was mean and harsh, but how come even her father, the prime minister, was so troublesome and difficult to serve?

"Princess." Prime Minister An said at the bottom of the archery platform, "Please forgive me for speaking frankly. Just now, Princess and I agreed that each of us would shoot one arrow. Why do you want to shoot the last arrow on behalf of Concubine Zhao?"

Tian Ning glared at Prime Minister An in the audience and said, "I can shoot as many arrows as I want, what's it to you? Besides, we agreed that we would win if one of the three arrows hits the bull's eye, and we didn't shoot more than that, so why are you complaining?"

Ji Anni was also afraid that Prime Minister An would do something bad, so she hurriedly said, "Prime Minister, please let the princess shoot. Zhao Ji doesn't know how to shoot, so even if she gets on the archery platform, she will only make a fool of herself."

"Did you hear that? Why don't you step back?" Princess Tianning didn't want to bother with Prime Minister An anymore. She put an arrow on the string and aimed at the target in the distance again.

Just as the last arrow was about to be shot, Prime Minister An said, "Princess, this is your last chance. If this arrow can't hit the bull's eye, you will never have the chance to participate in the hunting competition again. Princess, do you know the importance of this arrow? If you miss, even Concubine Kang will not be able to participate in the hunting competition in the future..."

Princess Tianning's hand holding the bow was originally steady, but after hearing Prime Minister An's words, it began to tremble slightly.

Ji Anni secretly cried out that it was not good, thinking that this old fox surnamed An actually used psychological tactics on Princess Tianning. He knew that Princess Tianning was a child, and as long as she was slightly provoked or pressured, she would become extremely nervous, so he deliberately said those words to stimulate Princess Tianning. In this way, even if Tianning had the skill to hit the bull's eye, she would not have the calmness to hit the bull's eye.

"Princess……"

Seeing that Prime Minister An wanted to say more, Ji Anni hurriedly interrupted him and said, "Prime Minister, you see the princess is a little nervous now, how about I use the ancestral method of my hometown to help her relieve her nervousness?"

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister An turned his attention to Ji Anni, obviously not understanding what Ji Anni was up to.

Before he had time to react, Ji Anni had already climbed onto the archery platform.

"What are you doing?" Princess Tianning glared at Ji Anni.

But Ji Anni ignored her and just tore a piece of cloth and tied it to the arrowhead of the last arrow.

"What are you doing?" Princess Tianning began to tear off the cloth that Ji Anni had tied to the arrowhead.

Before she could tear it off, Ji Anni grabbed her wrist and said, "Princess, this is Zhaoji's ancestral way of praying for blessings. If you shoot this arrow with the cloth, it is guaranteed to hit the bull's eye."

Although she thought Ji Anni's words were a little unbelievable, seeing Ji Anni's serious expression, Princess Tianning couldn't help but believe it a little and asked in a low voice: "Is this true?"

"Of course it's true. I wouldn't dare to lie to anyone else but you, Princess." Ji Anni winked at Princess Tianning.

Tian Ning looked at the arrow tied with cloth in her hand, thinking that it was just a piece of cloth anyway, so she could just treat it as a talisman, and said readily, "Okay, I'll trust you this time."

After saying this, without waiting for others to react, Princess Tianning faced the target again and drew the bow.

This time, Princess Tianning's hands stopped shaking. I don't know if she calmed down by herself, or if Ji Anni's "peace charm" really worked. Tianning pulled the bow steadily, and then with a swish, the last arrow flew out of the string.

Everyone's eyes followed the trail left by the arrow in the air.

Ji Anni held her breath, not even daring to breathe. This was the first time she was so nervous, even more nervous than when she was shooting arrows. The Kang brothers and sisters beside her also frowned, their eyes closely following the last arrow that broke through the air.

Victory or defeat depends on this one move!

A moment later, the sound of an arrow hitting the target was heard from fifty meters away. Ji Anni's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down. Although she didn't know whether Princess Tianning's arrow had hit the bull's eye, she already had an excuse in her heart not to lose.

***

Tianning's arrow was very close to the center of the target, and it was impossible to see clearly whether it hit the target or not from a distance of fifty meters.

Only when the guard responsible for observing the results fifty meters away raises his hand can you know the final answer.

After a moment's wait, the guard fifty meters away actually made an action as if the arrow had missed the bull's eye.

"Haha." Prime Minister An immediately laughed and said, "Princess, I admit defeat."

"Hmph." Tian Ning walked down the archery platform in a depressed mood, his face longer than a cucumber. He glared at Prime Minister An, then glared at Ji Anni, as if complaining that the "amulet" that Ji Anni tied on her was useless.

But Ji Anni smiled, walked forward, and said to Prime Minister An: "Prime Minister, did you see clearly? The piece of cloth that Zhao Ji just tied was red."

Prime Minister An sneered, "So what if it's red?"

Ji Anni said, "I heard that this archery ceremony is a good omen. The target represents the prey, and the red heart in the center of the target represents the prey's blood. If you shoot the red heart with an arrow, it means that the prey has been hit and will bleed. Although we didn't hit the original red heart on the target, we shot a bright red streak on the target, and that bright red streak is the red cloth tied to the arrowhead."

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister An's face became a little serious, and he showed a look of interest yet a little contempt.

Ji Anni continued, "Prime Minister An... the red heart that has been drawn on it is not the only thing that can represent the blood of the prey. Isn't the red cloth that we just shot at the target also a symbol of the blood of the prey? Since the purpose of this archery ceremony is just to get a good omen, as long as the target can see blood, why should the Prime Minister be so fussy?"