Chapter 19: Unexpectedly, You’ll Let Me Touch You.

It was autumn already, and it had been gloomily raining lately, wetting the field in the equestrian archery garden in the Imperial Palace. This afternoon, the sun finally broke through the clouds, bringing some warmth to the body.

Gu Heyan was waiting alone by the bamboo pavilion in the equestrian archery garden. His hands weren’t still, carefully applying pine wax to the bowstring. All of a sudden, he heard someone calling ‘Shifu!’ in the distance. Gu Heyan already knew that it was Fu Ji’an, so he simply raised his head ready to greet him. However, when he saw the person beside Fu Ji’an, his hands shook violently, making him let go of the bowstring and causing it to brush against his hand, leaving a red welt behind.

“Shifu!” Fu Ji’an shouted again as he trotted over.

Mu Zhiming, on the other hand, walked calmly to the pavilion, and with a big smile, he saluted Gu Heyan: “Gu-xiong, long time no see.”

“Seventh Prince.” Gu Heyan bowed his head, only to salute with a faint voice next: “….Mu-xiong.”

“I heard that the size of the equestrian archery garden in the Imperial Palace is as large as the forests in a mountain. I also heard that the Seventh Prince’s Shifu was a handsome young man, with extraordinary martial arts skills. I couldn’t help, but come here to have a look myself. I wonder, will I disturb Gu-xiong’s martial arts teachings by being here?” Mu Zhiming smiled and exchanged casual pleasantries, casually complimenting Gu Heyan at the same time.

Unexpectedly, Gu Heyan didn’t seem to appreciate Mu Zhiming’s words, replying indifferently instead: “Mm-hmm.”

Mu Zhiming: “….”

Fu Ji’an, who also didn’t expect that Gu Heyan would respond like this, said bluntly: “Shifu, didn’t you hear Mu-gege’s words? How will he disturb us? Of course, if we don’t chat, it won’t affect your teachings.”

At that moment, Gu Heyan came back to his senses all of a sudden, a bit dazed.

Mu Zhiming said somewhat sarcastically: “It is I, who came uninvited. I was abrupt and rude, so I hope Gu-xiong won’t blame me. I’ll take my leave.”

“No!” Gu Heyan said. “It’s not….” He looked a bit annoyed, and after a short silence, he finally said: “I was wrong….I….didn’t know you were coming….”

These words, in Mu Zhiming’s ears, carried a reproachful sentiment, making Mu Zhiming apologize again and again.

“Alright, alright. It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.” Fu Ji’an acted as a mediator. “Shifu, Mu-gege said that he also wanted to learn archery from you. Since this will trouble Shifu, let’s work hard today!”

“Hmm, I’ll go to the armory, to get another set of bow and arrows.” Gu Heyan said, turning around to leave.

“Shifu!” Fu Ji’an stopped him. “Leave these trivial chores to the eunuchs!”

“It’s alright, I’ll be right back.” Gu Heyan said again and hurried out of the bamboo pavilion. As he walked into the distance, Gu Heyan inhaled and exhaled deeply, pondering over the fact that saying a few words wasn’t a bad habit. Only then did his mind settle down.

At the same time, in the pavilion, Mu Zhiming tilted his head and asked Fu Ji’an: “Is he this indifferent when he talks to you?”

Fu Ji’an thought about it and said: “Although Shifu doesn’t talk much, he’s not indifferent in the slightest. Ah, maybe he’s in a bad mood today.”

Mu Zhiming sighed, feeling a sudden burst of sadness in his heart.

Not long after, Gu Heyan came back with the bow and arrows in hand. He didn’t say much, he simply handed the bows and arrows to Mu Zhiming and Fu Ji’an. He then began to teach them how to draw the bow and shoot.

“With justice and uprightness in your inner side and a straight posture, you must push the bow as a priority, holding the bow is a supplement.” Gu Heyan was extremely serious when teaching martial arts, relentlessly pointing out the mistakes Fu Ji’an made here and there. When Gu Heyan saw that Fu Ji’an’s posture wasn’t correct, he came forward and pressed down on Fu Ji’an’s shoulder without mercy, straightening him up.

Under Gu Heyan’s severe guidance, the usually playful Fu Ji’an showed a straight back and didn’t dare to slack.

AD
On the other hand, Mu Zhiming’s bow posture looked quite ridiculous….

In fact, Mu Zhiming learned horse riding and archery when he was a child, but knowing that he was extremely clumsy in such matters, he decided to put his energy elsewhere. Over time, his martial arts were wasted away, and even now he had trouble pulling his bow.

When Fu Ji’an saw this, he laughed: “Mu-gege, you’re so clumsy….ah! It hurts, hurts, it hurts! Shifu, aahhhh! You’ll break my shoulders, be more gentle! I’m pushing up my chest and tucking in my belly!”

When faced with such ill-intentioned words, Mu Zhiming didn’t care at all. Instead, he said with a big smile: “No one is perfect, and everyone has their defects. Seventh Prince, why don’t we compare our abilities to memorize books?”

Fu Ji’an howled: “No! Let’s not compare!!”

Practicing martial arts was nothing more than practicing martial arts, so it was boring. However, Mu Zhiming was present today, adding a laugh or two to this cool autumn day.

Half an hour after they started practicing martial arts, Fu Ji’an found that Gu Heyan had been circling around him all this time, leaving Mu Zhiming aside. Thus, he said: “Shifu, go and teach Mu-gege. I’ll practice by myself!” Then, he whispered: “I had to bring Mu-gege today, please don’t be angry with him, and don’t ignore him.”

When Gu Heyan heard the words ‘angry’ and ‘ignore’, Gu Heyan seemed to want to defend himself. However, the words that came from his mouth were: “….I understand….”

Gu Heyan turned his head to look at Mu Zhiming, seeing him all on his own, silently practicing archery. Mu Zhiming drew the bowstring, released it, and let the arrow fly, but it landed crookedly on the ground.

Mu Zhiming wasn’t discouraged. Instead, he trotted over with a smile to retrieve the arrow. After taking the arrow, he drew the bow again.

Gu Heyan not only didn’t know what to say to Mu Zhiming, but he also knew that as soon as Mu Zhiming spoke to him, Gu Heyan would fall into a trance. Thus, he didn’t dare to go forward. At that moment, after Fu Ji’an shot another arrow, he turned his head and saw that Gu Heyan was frowning, completely frozen in place. The Seventh Prince rolled his eyes and a sudden idea passed through his mind. Then, he moved forward as quietly as he could and he tried to bump into Gu Heyan, so that he could get close to Mu Zhiming.

However, Fu Ji’an ended up falling to the ground.

”
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After all, Gu Heyan was a martial arts practitioner, and his stance was stable. Fu Ji’an, on the other hand, was too young and weak, so how could he move Gu Heyan? By trying to gain an advantage, he ended up in a worse situation. Just like that, Fu Ji’an fell to the ground. As he covered his buttocks, he cried ‘ouch, ouch!’ out loud.

That sudden incident startled both Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan, who hurried to help Fu Ji’an. Not far away, when the several Palace servants saw this, they rushed over with pale faces. After the servants surrounded Fu Ji’an, they asked incessantly: “Your Highness, are you alright?! Where did you fall?”

Mu Zhiming was calmer than the rest. He simply picked up Fu Ji’an, patted away the grass and soil on his clothes, carefully examining him: “Your palms are hurt, go to the Imperial Physician Palace.”

At this moment, Fu Ji’an’s pain had eased a lot, but he still hadn’t forgotten the original purpose of his mischief. As he covered his buttocks, he said: “Shifu, I’ll go bandage my hands and come back later. Meanwhile, you can teach archery to Mu-gege.”

Gu Heyan nodded: “Alright.”

Thus, Fu Ji’an was surrounded by the Palace servants and taken to the Imperial Physician Palace. After a short while, only Gu Heyan and Mu Zhiming were left behind.

On such a sunny autumn day, only the chirping sound of the wild geese flying to the south1 was heard among the awkward silence. At that moment, Mu Zhiming looked at the bow and arrow in his hand, thinking: ‘Gu Heyan has been ignoring me all this time, but now we’re all alone. If he still ignores me…..it’s going to be pretty awkward.’

As soon as that thought came to Mu Zhiming’s mind, he heard the person beside him say: “Draw your bow, I’ll teach you.”

Mu Zhiming’s brightened with joy. As he hurried to raise his head, Mu Zhiming looked at the target in front of him. This time, he drew the bow more seriously.

Gu Heyan: “Don’t let it go, hold it steady.”

Mu Zhiming tried to settle down, fixing his posture as much as he could, not daring to move a bit until Gu Heyan said so. Gu Heyan glanced at him and said: “Keep your elbows up.”

When Mu Zhiming heard this, he did as he was told, but then, Gu Heyan said: “Go higher, higher, too much, go a little lower. No, it’s too low now. Raise it, wait, that’s too high.”

AD
After a long while of only hearing commands, Mu Zhiming finally raised his elbows to the correct position. As he wondered whether he should shoot the arrow or not, he heard Gu Heyan say: “Spread your feet a little apart. Don’t lean forward. Lift your shoulders.”

Mu Zhiming thought that it was too hard to learn this way, so he discussed: “Gu-xiong, I’m too clumsy to practice martial arts. If it’s too much for you to instruct me with words, can you instruct me with your hands?”

Gu Heyan: “….With my hands?”

“Mm-hmm.” Mu Zhiming nodded. “Just like how you taught the Seventh Prince just now. You can show me what I’m doing wrong, I promise I’ll firmly remember to correct my posture.”

Gu Heyan was silent for a long time until he slowly uttered a couple of words: “….Touch….you?”