Chapter 10: The Chirping Of The Young Phoenix Can Be Heard Clearly.

The crowd waited for a short period of time, until Gu Miao, who was dressed in his military armor, came with his son Gu Heyan. When the Emperor saw that Gu Miao was wearing armor, he exempted the father from the kneeling ceremony.

When Mu Zhiming’s gaze fell on Gu Heyan, he saw that Gu Heyan was wearing a light and elegant green robe, with a creamy white belt. With such plain clothing, the red agate jade pendant hanging from his waist looked particularly eye-catching.

At that moment, a thought came to Mu Zhiming: ‘After he saved me when I fell into the water, I ended up sick in bed, so I couldn’t properly thank Gu Heyan for saving my life. Now, the wild boar the Emperor bestowed to me as a reward, also happened to be hunted by Gu Heyan. In a situation like this, it would be wrong not to pay him a visit to thank him after the Spring Hunt Sacrifice.’

“General Gu, how has your health been lately?” The Emperor had always been kind to virtuous and talented people, always making sure to exchange conventional greetings.

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. Chen1 is in good health.” Gu Miao clasped his fist and saluted.

The Emperor then looked at Gu Heyan, who was standing behind Gu Miao, and said: “The son of the Gu family has an extraordinarily imposing appearance. He has the heroic demeanor General Gu had in his youth. Child, did you hunt this wild boar?”

“Replying to His Majesty, that is correct.” Gu Heyan replied calmly, neither humble nor arrogant.

“How old are you?” The Emperor asked with a smile.

“My hair has been tied up in a bun2 a year ago. I’m already sixteen.” Gu Heyan replied.

The Emperor applauded with emotion: “This wild boar was killed with an arrow through the eye. You’re only 16 years old and already have such excellent bow skills? Someone, bring my jade qilin and rhinoceros horn carved bow! I3 want to test him!”

Mu Zhiming lowered his head and held back a burst of laughter.

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‘Whether it’s literature or martial arts, no one can escape being tested by His Majesty.’

A eunuch quickly fetched the Emperor’s precious bow and presented it to Gu Heyan, who took it with both hands. After testing the bow’s string, Gu Heyan tried it out.

The Emperor asked him with great interest: “Forget the birds flying in the sky, which object do you believe you can seize with an arrow?”

Without hesitation, Gu Heyan replied: “A copper coin.”

As soon as the words were said, there was an uproar.

“A copper coin? Don’t talk big, your father is here. If you lose face, he will lose face as well.” The Emperor half-joked, but also reminded Gu Heyan of that fact.

“I’m sure.” Gu Heyan’s tone was firm.

“Alright, good, good.” The Emperor laughed and ordered the eunuch to fetch three copper coins. However, since the Emperor was afraid that Gu Heyan, in his youth, was being too impetuous, he whispered to the eunuch to bring bigger copper coins.

The eunuch brought three copper coins about two fingers wide, with a square hole in the middle. At that, Gu Heyan tested one of the copper coins. Although the arrow head from this precious bow set was somewhat small, with enough force, it could barely pass through the square hole of the copper coin. Gu Heyan nodded at the eunuch, who took a few steps back and vigorously threw the copper coins to the sky.

Immediately after, Gu Heyan stretched the bow like a full moon and three arrows whistled straight into the sky. Before anyone could see it, two arrows pierced the trunk of a tree not far away, while the third arrow stuck on the ground.

A clever eunuch hurried to go forward and take back the three arrows to present them to the Emperor. At that moment, everyone could see that the three arrows had accurately pierced through the square hole in the middle of the three copper coins. Amazed, the crowd cheered.

In his previous life, Mu Zhiming had often heard that Gu Heyan’s archery skills were at the highest level, to the point where he could shoot with great precision. However, now that Mu Zhiming had seen it with his own eyes, admiration filled his chest. Like everyone else, he couldn’t help but stare at the high-spirited young lad.

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When Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan’s eyes collided, they were stunned.

Mu Zhiming never expected that Gu Heyan would look at him at this moment, but Mu Zhiming hurried to smile at Gu Heyan, looking at him with friendly eyes. Unexpectedly, Gu Heyan frowned and hurriedly withdrew his gaze.

Of course, Mu Zhiming failed to notice the nervousness evident within Gu Heyan’s eyes. Feeling embarrassed and confused at the same time, the young son of the Duke of Yan doubted the attractiveness of his appearance for the first time in his life.

“What great archery skill!” The Emperor laughed and praised Gu Heyan incessantly. Then, he looked back and forth between Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan. “My Imperial Court is so lucky! The younger generation is so full of talents, I can hear the chirping of the young Phoenix so clearly4! When they become old enough to strengthen the culture, as well as establish the strength of the military, we will be able to secure a hundred years of peace and prosperity for the whole Country!”

After seeing that the Emperor was in such high spirits, the Ministers echoed and praised the youths as well.

Gu Heyan, who was praised by the Emperor like this, didn’t express any contentment. Instead, he returned the precious bow to the Emperor with both hands, without showing any favor or disgrace.

“No, no, no. This precious bow is for you! Such a good bow should belong to a young talent like yourself, so its existence is not wasted.” The Emperor was clearly in a good mood.

Gu Heyan reacted very fast, as he immediately knelt down to thank the Emperor: “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

“Get up, this matter is over. There’s one thing I almost forgot. Son of the Gu family, the wild boar you hunted has been requested by the son of the Duke of Yan. So I ask you, will you be willing to give it to him?” The Emperor smiled.

Gu Heyan was slightly stunned, remaining speechless for a while.

When he saw that Gu Heyan became silent all of a sudden, Mu Zhiming became more and more ashamed. Mu Zhiming started to think: ‘Perhaps Gu Heyan’s indecisiveness is because he originally intended to give the wild boar to someone he likes, and now I’m trying to take away that chance.‘

“I’m willing.” Gu Heyan finally said, as soon as he came back to his senses.

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“Alright.” The Emperor nodded again and again. Then he immediately ordered the servants to seal the wild boar in ice and send it to the Residence of the Duke of Yan.

When the matter came to an end, the Emperor continued to talk and laugh with the Ministers, as well as rewarding them for their achievements.

By the time the sunset melted with a golden light on the horizon, the Sacrifice ceremony of the Spring Hunt was completed and everyone was ready to depart back to the Capital.

—

The Noble Consort had been out the whole day, and as soon as she returned to her tent, she shouted how sore her feet felt. Given that no outsiders were around, she sat cross-legged on the soft mattress, with no decorum, and began to eat melon seeds.

In the tent, Mu Zhiming, who went back with her, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Lizhu, come, come here.” The Noble Consort waved at Mu Zhiming.

Understanding what she wanted, Mu Zhiming walked over and grabbed the palm of her hand. The Noble Consort smiled and shared half of the melon seeds with him. After asking Mu Zhiming to take a seat, the Noble Consort said: “Outside, the servants are still packing up, counting the number of people to prepare the horses and the carriages. Since it will take a while before we can depart back to the Capital, let’s chat to pass away the boredom.”

“I’ll listen to the Noble Consort.” Mu Zhiming said with a smile.

“Oh, that’s right!” The Noble Consort cracked open the melon seeds neatly and continued: “Although your father is proud and arrogant, this time you choose the prey hunted by the son of the Gu family. Not only is the wild boar not a weak beast, but it could also bring a great Imperial reward. You should give a gift back to the General. Ask your father to put away his arrogant literary bad habits and give General Gu a generous gift. Also, tell your father that if General Gu doesn’t accept his gift, he can just say: ‘My sister is in debt to General Gu’s wife, for taking good care of her when she was younger’, that way General Gu won’t be able to deny the gift.”

“Understood.” Mu Zhiming replied obediently. However, only at that moment did he realize that the Noble Consort had a connection with the General’s family. With curiosity, he asked: “Noble Consort, did you know General Gu’s wife?”

“Yes….” At the mention of this, the Noble Consort sighed. As she put down the melon seeds in her hand, she said: “The General’s wife was gentle and virtuous. She was a few years older than me. She used to be my childhood playmate, but unfortunately she….ah….died when giving birth. It has been almost 16 years since she died. When she married General Gu, I was worried about her. After all, she was shy and would rarely talk. I was worried that after marrying the cold-faced king of death, she would suffer. Unexpectedly, General Gu turned out to be quite caring. On the surface, he looks fierce and vicious. But in reality, he was warm and loving, taking care of every little thing she needed. The two would have been a beautiful couple, the kind everyone would be envious of, but it’s a pity that….she….”

When speaking of such a sad situation, the Noble Consort couldn’t help but choke up several times: “The General’s wife left early, and there were many people who advised General Gu to remarry. However, General Gu turned a deaf ear to it. From then on, General Gu raised his son on his own. Ah, how deep his love was for her.”

Mu Zhiming sighed. After seeing that the Noble Consort’s eyes were slightly red when remembering her old friend, he hurried to pour a cup of tea for her. Then, Mu Zhiming also poured a cup of tea for himself and sipped it slowly.

“Right!” The Noble Consort suddenly remembered one more thing. “Today, did you see the Phoenix Nirvana jade pendant the son of General Gu wore around his waist? That’s his mother’s relic.”

“Pfft! Cough, cough, cough!!!” Mu Zhiming choked on a mouthful of tea, coughing to the point of almost fainting.