A crown princess who doesn't do infrastructure construction isn't a good doctor.

The following morning, Kong Qi did not appear. After giving a brief explanation, the literary gathering continued under the organization of the three Kong brothers.

"My father doesn't want to hold anyone accountable for the damage to the guqin, but he's still trying to find a way to repair it. If any of you have any information about top-quality ice silkworm silk, I will definitely reward you handsomely."

After that, perhaps to liven up the atmosphere, they held a demonstration of archery and charioteering, two of the Six Arts, combining them to directly compare their archery skills while moving on horseback.

"You usually love these two things the most, so you'd better make us proud later."

"But I've never been in a relationship before, so this won't work, it's unreliable."

"What about you?"

"I've never tried it before, but it should be quite interesting. I can learn how to do it today."

Most people practice archery and horsemanship separately. Although the combined art of archery and horsemanship looks impressive, it is also risky. Therefore, many scholars now choose to practice the safer method.

They led the group to the mountain outside the academy, where they built many corridors and pavilions. Below, there was a space large enough for many people to ride horses, with the trees serving as natural obstacles, increasing the difficulty.

"Targets have been randomly set up below. Participants can shoot arrows whenever they see a target while riding their horses. Each round is limited to 15 minutes. At that time, we will gather below. Each person's arrow fletching is dyed a different color. After the time is up, we will bring the target here to calculate the score."

After saying that, Kong Wen reminded everyone: "Our competition is based on safety. Please remember not to hurt anyone during the competition."

"clear."

Some people still had reservations, while others were eager to try. After registering, they all went down together.

The corridor and pavilion where everyone was sitting offered a panoramic view of the area below, and those who hadn't yet participated gathered at the edge to watch.

At Zhiyuan Academy, Xia Yuanzhou patted his chest confidently and then went down. Besides him, two other people at Zhiyuan wanted to participate, but they would have to wait until the next round.

At first, the people below were not in a hurry and first familiarized themselves with the randomly assigned horses.

Hongde built a small horse farm on the mountain in Cixi. The horses lived in the mountains all day and were a little wild. However, for safety reasons, the horses brought here were all of a relatively docile temperament.

Xia Yuanzhou didn't rush to mount the horse. He first gently stroked the horse in front of him and said to it, "Horse, I'll be on your back soon. Please cooperate with me. I'll personally find some good fodder for you afterwards."

The horse breeder, who was leading the horse, smiled and said, "It's very intelligent; it will believe what you tell it."

“That’s great! I really will find some hay for him. I saw a lot of grass suitable for feeding horses when we came over.”

The horse breeder nodded and said, "Sure, you can come find me later."

Xia Yuanzhou smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll have to trouble you."

Ke Zuo sat on the railing with his legs crossed, looking down.

"He's pretty arrogant."

Gu Huaiyuan didn't know what "She Niu" meant, so he asked, "What is She Niu?"

Ke Zuo turned to look at Gu Huaiyuan, knowing that he would be learning from Xu Chi in the future, so he patiently replied, "It means he is very good at socializing and talking to others."

Gu Huaiyuan nodded.

"I see. Yuanzhou is indeed very good at socializing and speaks flexibly. He can get along with many people."

Upon hearing this, Ke Zuo seemed to realize something and looked at Gu Huaiyuan again, saying, "Then aren't you as good at socializing as he is?"

Gu Huaiyuan was somewhat surprised. He considered himself to be someone who rarely made mistakes in dealing with people and to be careful with his words. Generally, no one would say that he was not good at socializing, but in reality, he did not like socializing. He was usually quite quiet unless necessary.

"Why do you say that?"

“Complementary, you two fit that principle quite well.”

In an instant, Ke Zuo's impression of Gu Huaiyuan and Xia Yuanzhou improved a lot, not for any other reason than that he felt that the two of them were quite similar to himself and Xu Chi.

"Complementary?"

Gu Huaiyuan murmured those two words softly. After refusing for a while, he agreed with Ke Zuo's statement in his heart. He and Xia Yuanzhou were indeed very complementary in many ways, whether it was their strengths or their personalities. That's why the two hit it off at first sight and became close friends for so long.

Thinking this to himself, Gu Huaiyuan suddenly felt as if something was missing, but he couldn't figure it out in a short time.

While watching the competition below and discussing it, two quarters of an hour passed quickly, and the people below returned still feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

"The horses at Hongde Academy are really good. Just now, as I was riding through the woods, I felt like a chivalrous hero roaming the martial world!"

Xia Yuanzhou didn't care about the results at all. He started sharing his feelings as soon as he came on stage, and the people behind him nodded in agreement, which made the people who hadn't gone on stage yet very excited.

A short while later, people responsible for carrying the archery targets came over one after another. After some counting, Xia Yuanzhou even won third place in their group.

"It seems I have quite a talent for mounted archery."

Xia Yuanzhou smiled contentedly.

Due to limited resources, students at Zhiyuan Academy had to rent equipment to learn the most expensive of the Six Arts, which meant they had fewer opportunities to practice.

The few people from Zhiyuan Academy who understood this best praised it happily, which boosted the confidence of those who were about to go on stage. They had been somewhat timid before, but did not want to miss this opportunity.

"It's just third place, what's there to be proud of?"

Just as everyone was enjoying themselves, they heard such a discordant remark, and everyone's eyes turned in the direction from which the voice came.

The speaker was from Sheng Lin's academy, the one ranked second. Seeing so many people looking at him, he panicked for a moment, but then, thinking of Sheng Lin behind him, he raised his chin again.

"What? Am I wrong? It's just third place. There's nothing to be proud of. Scholars should be humble and not get complacent. What kind of talk is it to be so proud and arrogant after achieving a little success?"

"What's it to you? It's none of your business how we behave!"

Xia Yuanzhou wasn't angry, but he still retorted. The man sounded like he was about to cause trouble, but he was pulled back by the person next to him with a frown, and then reluctantly fell silent.

Seeing this, Xia Yuanzhou breathed a sigh of relief. He still didn't want to cause trouble. If a real dispute occurred, their academy would definitely be at a disadvantage given its status.

Gu Huaiyuan patted Xia Yuanzhou on the shoulder.

"It's alright, they probably don't want anything to happen here either."

The others also gathered around Xia Yuanzhou.

"Yeah, even if something happens, we'll face it together. I refuse to believe that someone who's already acted rudely can turn things upside down."

Looking at his group of close-knit fellow students, Xia Yuanzhou smiled.