Chapter 69: Everyone Cheats Together
“Third round of the imperial grand competition: retainer of Prince Zheng’s residence, Hongwen Pavilion Associate Gan Xin.”
Even the eunuch reading the name plaque sounded a little stuttery.
Gan Xin, Gan Thirteen, was certainly rather famous in Shangjing, but for Prince Zheng to send him to compete in hunting against others was a little hard to understand. How old was Gan Xin? He was only as tall as someone else’s waist…
And everyone knew Young Master Gan Thirteen was Duke Gan’s legitimate grandson. For him to stand on Prince Zheng’s side so openly also seemed somewhat inappropriate.
As expected, gazes turned in unison toward Duke Gan. Even Shang Wangshu was a little surprised and said, “Duke Gan, aren’t you afraid of ruining your reputation in your later years?”
Gan Xun’s beard trembled, and his face darkened a little. To be honest, with the current situation still unclear, he had not planned to take sides. Even if he did not take sides, the Gan residence would not decline too quickly, no matter how unfavored it became.
But what was going on with this grandson of his? He was directly representing Prince Zheng’s residence as a retainer in battle. And Prince Zheng actually dared to send such a half-grown child into the fight. This was a struggle for the Crown Prince position.
It was far too childish. He truly had not expected such a move and was caught completely off guard.
Shang Wangshu, who was seated near Gan Xun, had likely not seen Duke Gan suffer a setback in a long while, and teased him one sentence after another.
An expert should sit steadily like one fishing from a high platform. For Duke Gan to enter the game this early, he was afraid the old man would not benefit from it.
Gan Xun had no time to bother with Shang Wangshu’s teasing. He did not even pay attention to the King’s slightly displeased expression and hurriedly called someone over. “Quickly go and catch the young master. Lock him inside the residence and don’t let him leave.”
But that person soon returned with his men. “My lord, we can’t get in. Prince Zheng has people guarding the place very tightly. We can’t get close to those carriages at all, much less approach the young master.”
Gan Xun sucked in a breath of cold air. In that case, Prince Zheng had clearly planned this in advance. He had privately forced his hand. Otherwise, how could the defense be so strict at this moment that he could not even send a message to his own grandson?
Shang Wangshu and Gan Xun sat close to each other and saw everything. He could not help laughing a little. “Old Gan, who are you putting on this act for? Since you’ve already done it, why act so falsely? It doesn’t seem like your usual style.”
Gan Xun: “…”
Now he could not explain himself even if he had a mouth. Shang Wangshu had him by the throat, and he did not even know how to refute him. Say that he knew nothing about it? If he had not agreed to such an important matter, how could Gan Xin be standing there so openly?
“Duke Gan is placing bets, isn’t he? One hand on each person?”
Gan Xun snorted through his nose. No. He had to go there himself. Judging from this situation, if he did not go personally, Prince Zheng really would use him like a blade.
However, the official presiding over the competition spoke. “Retainers, please enter the imperial hunting grounds.”
The imperial hunting grounds were right beside them, so they did not need to move far. No wonder today’s contest had been arranged at this location.
Gan Xun could only watch helplessly as Gan Xin walked toward the hunting grounds with his brows curved in a smile.
Gan Xin even raised his head, cupped his little fists toward the group of divine archers beside him, and said, “You don’t need to take my status into account. When the time comes, let’s each rely on our own skill, so no one loses and then looks for excuses.”
After saying that, his little face tilted high, his eyes practically level with the sky.
Hehe. He was this young, and he was already fighting others as a retainer.
Chen Bai’s head hurt. This little fool.
At this moment, from Prince Zhuo’s group, someone suddenly called out, “Wait.”
Then he pointed at the Old English Sheepdog Gan Xin was holding by the leash. “It was said that this is a contest between retainers. No one said exotic beasts could be brought into the field.”
For Prince Zheng to send a half-grown child like Gan Xin into the contest was already baffling. Even if Prince Zheng’s residence lacked divine archers, it still should not have been Gan Xin’s turn.
They could not understand it, yet Gan Xin looked far too confident.
So from the very beginning, Prince Zhuo’s people locked their eyes on the dog Gan Xin was holding. Gan Xin’s exotic beast also had quite a reputation. Rumor in the markets said it could ward off evil, suppress baleful forces, seek fortune, and avoid disaster. It was wondrous beyond words.
The more Prince Zhuo looked at the Old English Sheepdog’s yin-yang face, the more he felt something was wrong, which was why he made this demand.
Gan Xin’s mouth immediately turned down. “You didn’t say dogs weren’t allowed at the start. Now you’re changing the rules?”
But no matter what he said, the Old English Sheepdog was still not allowed inside with him.
Gan Xin handed the dog to Chen Bai, then hopped into the hunting grounds.
Chen Bai found it amusing too. They were indeed playing a small trick, but the problem was not with this Old English Sheepdog.
Although the Old English Sheepdog was also a herding dog, the one Gan Xin raised always played with the rabbits on the mountain beside the academy. When it saw rabbits, it would not treat them as prey at all. It would probably run up and roll around in the grass with them. Expecting it to catch prey was probably thinking too much.
Chen Bai lifted the carriage curtain slightly and said to Qi Zheng outside, “Begin.”
Qi Zheng nodded and had people open a path through the crowd of spectators.
At this moment, Chen Bai’s carriage left the field and headed toward a teahouse nearby.
Many people probably saw a carriage on Qi Zheng’s side leave, but they did not pay much attention. People had urgent needs, didn’t they? As long as no one was sent into the hunting grounds, it could not possibly change anything inside.
But they were truly mistaken. Did not entering really mean one could not change the situation inside?
Before long, from a private room on the teahouse, a drone flew out.
Chen Bai had analyzed this hunting contest very clearly.
The imperial hunting grounds had not raised much prey for many years. This was to set an example for the struggling people of the realm. If people could barely afford to eat, how could there be energy to raise prey for amusement?
So most of the prey in the hunting grounds were rabbits bought from Qi Zheng’s territory.
These rabbits had one trait. They were… not afraid of people.
In other words, this so-called hunt was not really a contest of who had better archery. Instead, it was… a contest of who could find more prey.
Chen Bai’s lips curved upward. Once the essence of the contest was clear, things became much easier.
Inside the hunting grounds, Gan Xin was carefully sneaking along. The bow in his hand could only be pulled halfway with his strength.
Whether it was good luck or something else, he actually did find a rabbit eating grass.
He grinned and drew the bow. “Whoosh.”
The arrow drifted lightly down beside the rabbit. The rabbit merely tilted its head, then continued nibbling grass. It probably treated it as a branch that had fallen from above.
Gan Xin scratched his head awkwardly. His archery grades in class were usually just so-so.
And unfortunately, a divine archer nearby happened to see it. The archer opened his mouth and was stunned speechless for a long time.
He had thought that since Prince Zheng sent Gan Xin into battle, perhaps the boy had some extraordinary natural talent. Though he had already strongly denied that possibility in his heart, because Gan Xin’s little arms and legs really did not look like they had anything remarkable about them.
The archer reached out, nocked an arrow. “Whoosh.”
The rabbit was pinned straight to the ground.
“Haha, Young Master, then I won’t be polite.”
Gan Xin’s face reddened a little after his prey was snatched. “I… I let you have that one.”
Then he turned and walked away. Goodness, how embarrassing.
They had only just entered the field, so people had not yet spread out much.
Gan Xin covered his flushed face and ran away.
The divine archers around him shook their heads. The road Gan Xin ran along was the main path. What prey would like to stay beside a main path? Aside from archery, they were also skilled at finding prey.
They smiled and scattered as well. They were competitors now, after all. Time was tight, and if they could win, their masters had promised them generous rewards.
Gan Xin ran for a while, found a hidden place, kicked his little legs out, and simply sat down under a tree.
Then he secretly observed his surroundings. Only then did he raise his arm and bury his whole head inside his wide sleeve. “Master, master, I’m hidden. What should I do now?”
Master said the student watch could not be exposed. If he hid inside his sleeve to talk, surely no one could see.
When Chen Bai received Gan Xin’s message, the corners of his mouth lifted. He said, “Open the radar the way I taught you. I’ll use the drone to mark the locations of the prey I find. You just go to the nearest location and catch it.”
Why had Chen Bai chosen Gan Xin to fight?
Because Gan Xin was familiar with the radar system.
Back when Gan Xin had been kidnapped in Lu, Chen Bai had saved him using the radar system. As a result, before returning the student watch, this child had nearly played the radar system to death.
With the drone searching for prey from high above like a patrol, a bird’s-eye view was far better than having one’s vision blocked by countless branches and leaves.
Gan Xin quickly opened the radar. Sure enough, around his own red dot, several more red dots appeared, and the number was still increasing.
Gan Xin’s mouth nearly split from smiling. He stood up. “Time to pick up rabbits.”
Outside the field, everyone craned their necks, staring at the entrance of the hunting grounds.
Hunting was not so easy. Inside the forest, it was like searching for a needle in the sea.
After some time, someone finally came out. Since only the retainers had entered and no attendants were allowed, once they hunted some prey, they had to come out once. Otherwise, they could not carry it.
The one who came out was the archer from Prince Zhuo’s residence. He had one rabbit hanging from each shoulder and one in each hand, four in total.
“Hiss. It’s only been so long, and he’s already hunted four. Amazing, amazing.”
That divine archer was also prepared to receive the crowd’s cheers. Although the hunt was not over yet, and the contest was about who hunted the most within the set time, he was certainly the first to bring prey out.
But the cheers that had just started suddenly stopped. It even became strangely quiet.
What was going on?
He looked at the gazes of the surrounding spectators. They seemed to be looking behind him.
He turned around in confusion, then froze completely.
Behind him, in the forest, a half-grown child swinging his little feet was walking out. In his hand, he held a vine, and hanging from that vine were five rabbits, bouncing along as he hopped out.
“Gan… Gan Xin?”
How was this possible? He had even hunted one more rabbit than him.
Gan Xin’s archery was so bad, and he did not know how to find prey, either. But the fact was, he had hunted one more.
Gan Xin swung his feet. “Eh? You also hunted four? Congratulations, congratulations.”
The people outside had already gone mad.
“How is that possible?”
“Gan Xin’s archery is actually good enough to surpass a divine archer? That has to be fake.”
The scale of the scene was simply like boiling water.
The divine archer’s expression turned a little ugly. He threw the rabbits to the people in charge of counting, turned around, and left. He had to go hunt more prey.
As for Gan Xin, he hugged the water handed to him by the person Qi Zheng had arranged and gulped it down. There were also the little dried fish Chen Bai had bought, which he stuffed into his mouth. “I’ll just eat a little, just a little, then go back into the forest.”
Gan Xin had originally been a little worried, but when he saw that he had the most prey, he relaxed somewhat. After stuffing a few mouthfuls of dried fish into his mouth, he also turned and ran back into the hunting grounds.
Looking at that little figure running back into the forest, everyone was stunned. Why was this happening? Good luck?
After this, every so often, Gan Xin would bring out some prey, shattering everyone’s theory that it was just luck.
Divine archers from other residences also came out with prey, but the gap grew larger and larger.
As for Gan Xin… every time he came out, he was laughing so hard he went “gagaga.” They could hear his demonic laughter before they even saw him.
“Sorry, sorry, I really couldn’t hold it in. My tummy hurts from laughing.”
Could he not laugh? Especially when he saw the stunned looks on those divine archers’ faces, he just could not help laughing.
Inside the carriages behind Qi Zheng, the group of students’ mouths were raised high.
“Gan Xin is way too smug.”
“He really gained face this time.”
Only the last time, Gan Xin came out crying. He had quite a bit of mud on him, and there was only one rabbit left on the vine in his hand.
“Fell… fell into a pit. The rabbits all ran away. Boohoo.”
“Serves you right for showing off. Serves you right for not watching where you were going.”
Everyone looked at Gan Xin, who was crying with a wronged little face, then looked at all the prey he had brought out. Shouldn’t the ones crying be everyone else?
Chen Bai had also returned, because the allotted time for the hunt was almost up. There was not much point in entering the hunting grounds again.
Gan Xin hugged his Old English Sheepdog with tearful eyes. He knew he could not leave his dog for even a moment. Otherwise, he would be unlucky. Just now, his foot had stepped into empty air, and with a splash, he had fallen straight in. It hurt so much.
The result of this hunt, to be honest, exceeded everyone’s expectations.
A half-grown child had actually defeated so many divine archers in a hunt.
Prince Zhuo’s expression was clearly not good. A round that should have been a sure win had somehow been lost just like that. He asked irritably, “What exactly happened inside the hunting grounds?”
That divine archer did not know how to answer, because he really had observed Gan Xin. But precisely because he had observed him, he had no idea how to answer.
Gan Xin had been like a lunatic, walking with his head buried in his sleeve and muttering to himself the whole way. Because of that, he had even crashed into trees several times.
Would anyone believe him if he said that? If word got out that he had called Duke Gan’s legitimate grandson a lunatic, he would be the unlucky one.
After thinking for a while, he said, “That Gan Xin was as if aided by the gods. Wherever he went, it seemed as though prey was already waiting for him up ahead.”
The other princes’ residences were basically asking the same question.
“No one helped him? For example, throwing prey onto the road ahead of him?”
Everyone shook their heads. They could at least be certain of that. If there had been someone else inside the hunting grounds, it would have been impossible for them not to leave even the slightest trace.
Although it was unbelievable, he had won under everyone’s eyes. Though many people felt as if he had cheated, they simply could not produce any evidence.
Gan Xin had already washed his hands, wiped away his tears, and was happily gnawing on little dried fish. Before long, he began letting out that slightly demonic laughter again. This child had gone mad today.
“Third round of the imperial grand competition: Gan Xin wins. Prince Zheng receives one point.”
“Prince Zheng has already won three rounds in a row. Three points in total.”
“This is only the beginning. It’s still early.”
“Just the appetizers.”
The one who was probably the least happy was Duke Gan. Not only had his legitimate grandson fought as Prince Zheng’s retainer, he had even won. How was he supposed to explain this clearly?
Beside him, Shang Wangshu was smiling strangely. “Congratulations, congratulations. I never expected Duke Gan, at your age, to still be so competitive, even wanting to become a minister who follows the dragon and rise another step higher.”
Gan Xun: “…”
He was so angry his nostrils flared and his eyes widened.
However, Shang Wangshu’s voice suddenly stopped short.
“Fourth round of the imperial grand competition: The rivers and mountains of the state value both the livelihood of the people and military affairs. Therefore, after discussion, the topic for the fourth round is: design a weapon that can improve Great Qian’s military strength.”
As expected, the topics were becoming more difficult. If the first three rounds were ordinary competitions, then the later rounds were true tests of one’s ability to govern the state and pacify the realm.
This was precisely when Shang Wangshu had been teasing Gan Xun the hardest.
“Fourth round of the imperial grand competition: retainer of Prince Zheng’s residence, Hongwen Pavilion Associate Shang Jujiu.”
Duke Shang’s brows furrowed. Who?
Had he heard wrong? Or was it someone with the same name?
But when he looked down, he saw a half-grown child leading a little corgi step down from a carriage.
Shang Wangshu: “…”
Even if his old eyes were dim and he could no longer recognize his own grandson, it was impossible for him not to recognize that strange, silly exotic beast his grandson raised.
Gan Xun was also stunned for a moment. Then he stopped being angry and cupped his hands toward Duke Shang. “Same joy, same joy. Duke Shang’s competitive nature is no less than mine.”
He had teased him for so long, and in the end…
Now it was Duke Shang’s turn to have a face black as mud.
Gan Xun added from the side, “Why doesn’t Duke Shang send someone to stop him? At least put on an act. The King is watching.”
Shang Wangshu snorted. If that worked, Gan Xin would never have been able to enter the field earlier.
“Are we being used as blades?”
Sure enough, whether it was among the commoners or in the various princes’ residences, the discussion was extremely lively.
“What is going on? First it was Duke Gan’s legitimate grandson, and now it’s Duke Shang’s legitimate grandson. How did they all become Prince Zheng’s retainers?”
“Who knows what Duke Shang and Duke Gan mean by this?”
The various princes also looked displeased. One Gan Xin could be called an accident, but what was this Shang Jujiu supposed to be?
Someone even frowned and asked Shang Jujiu, “Are you truly a retainer of Prince Zheng’s residence?”
Shang Jujiu directly took out a plaque from his sleeve. “Genuine, no deception.”
On one side of the plaque was the character “Zheng,” and on the other were the characters “Jujiu.” It was precisely the special retainer plaque of Prince Zheng’s residence.
“No matter what, Prince Zheng still has to win the imperial grand competition first.”
“He’s already won three rounds.”
“I think Prince Zheng is pretty good. Do you remember those words, ‘When governance is smooth and the people are united, all under heaven shall be auspicious’? I think they’re talking about him.”
Discussions rose one after another.
At this moment, thunderous drums sounded, finally suppressing the wave of chatter.
Designing a weapon that could improve military strength—this topic was honestly far too difficult.
The people sent by the various residences were basically master craftsmen. As for Qi Zheng’s side, they sent Shang Jujiu, who was holding a little corgi. No matter how one looked at it, it seemed unreliable.
“That Gan Xin’s luck was heaven-defying, but in the end, he entered the hunting grounds, where no one could see what exactly happened. Whether he cheated or not is hard to say. But designing a weapon on the spot? Could Shang Jujiu possibly have that ability?”
“Even if he has some talent, can he compare with master craftsmen?”
This time, the competition was indeed taking place under everyone’s eyes.
Brush, ink, paper, and inkstone had all been prepared. They needed to produce design drawings. The people from the Bureau of Craftsmen were also ready nearby. Once the design drawings came out, they would directly forge the weapons.
“I’m guessing many people will hand in blank papers. Designing a weapon in such a short time is already basically impossible.”
Sure enough, the retainers competing sat in front of their prepared seats, all deep in thought.
Qi Zheng approached Chen Bai’s carriage and asked quietly, “Are you confident?”
Chen Bai smiled. If he had not been completely certain when sending Gan Xin to participate in the hunt because there had been a high chance of unexpected incidents, then when it came to providing a weapon design, he was rather confident.
Others relied on deep thought. He relied on searching with his phone.
Chen Bai replied, “Just wait.”
Qi Zheng: “…”
He shook his head. Chen Zixiu was Mountain Lord. How could such a brilliant and stunning person possibly have no method?
When Chen Bai searched, he really did find quite a few good things. Modern weapons definitely would not do; even with design drawings, they could not be produced.
But there were plenty of advanced weapons from after this era.
Chen Bai successfully locked onto a type of mechanical weapon: the Zhuge repeating crossbow.
This weapon was far too famous in history. Why? Because its power was truly astonishing.
To save time, Chen Bai directly saved the restored design drawing of the Zhuge repeating crossbow he had found and sent it out.
Thankfully, his students all had a strong foundation in sketching. Otherwise, drawing this design would truly not have been easy.
On the field, some master craftsmen had already begun attempting to draw. As expected of experts who had immersed themselves in this field their whole lives.
But Shang Jujiu was actually dawdling and lying on the table asleep. As he slept, his head even slipped into his sleeve. As if to prevent others from disturbing his sleep, he had stuffed something strange into his ears.
“I told you, the young master of the Shang family couldn’t possibly design a proper weapon. He’s still young, after all.”
“But Prince Zheng doesn’t know he’s young? Why still send him onto the field?”
“This…”
“But look, he really is sleeping. Prince Zheng will definitely lose this round.”
The other princes’ sides also revealed smiles. To be honest, Prince Zheng winning three rounds in a row had placed quite a lot of pressure on them.
“At least this time, Prince Zheng has no chance. Truly laughable. He actually sent a student onto the field. Does he really think every student is as monstrous as that master of his…”
Before the words were finished, Shang Jujiu suddenly raised his head and even looked back. “What’s wrong with students? Even if we’re students, we’re students of Cloudtop Academy.”
Shang Jujiu did not say anything else. Instead, he began writing furiously.
“This…”
“Could he really have an idea?”
Who knew how many people frowned. That was impossible.
Prince Zhuo’s side, however, unexpectedly had no reaction. There was even a trace of contempt on his face.
Even the retainer beside him was surprised. “Your Highness, this is…”
“Does Your Highness have absolute confidence in winning? Why?”
Prince Zhuo did indeed have the capital to be arrogant. “There’s no harm in telling you.”
Then he quietly said four words: “The Secret Records of Duke Lu.”
That retainer froze. The Secret Records of Duke Lu was what Lu had exchanged with them in order to purchase Great Qian’s weapons. “Isn’t The Secret Records of Duke Lu in the King’s hands? And how can Your Highness be certain that the contest would be weapon design?”
Before he could finish speaking, Prince Zhuo glared him back into silence.
He would definitely win this round. And from now on, he would win every round. Prince Zheng had already won three rounds, yes, but could he win against someone who knew the questions in advance?
If Chen Bai knew this result, who knew whether he would laugh or cry. Sure enough, heaven was fair. If there was cheating, everyone cheated together.
