Chapter 721: Chapter 721: Learned exactly the same, yet not a single hit
It seemed that the Palace Concubines by her side had never really played Touhu, they didn’t even know the rules.
Kong Yinyin felt somewhat sympathetic and patiently explained, "There are two Touhu targets for the convenience of the competition, allowing two people to throw simultaneously, each with eight arrows, and the person who hits the most wins. Alternatively, one person can throw eight arrows, and hitting one means winning a golden melon seed."
Unfortunately, she didn’t hit any, alas...
Just as she finished speaking, a Palace Concubine nearby seemed to hear something astonishing and caught the key point, asking, "Golden melon seeds?"
Kong Yinyin replied, "Yes, Consort De is kind-hearted. The rewards for each activity are quite generous, available on a first-come, first-served basis until they are gone."
The eyes of the Palace Concubine lit up as she confirmed, "Really?"
Kong Yinyin nodded.
The eyes of the Palace Concubine shone even brighter. She looked around and saw a pouch on a rack, and directly asked, "So that is the golden melon seeds, isn’t it?"
Without waiting for a reply, she turned back and asked a eunuch, "Xiao Jizi, can I play this? I can, right? I’ll just stand and throw the arrows with my hand, just a little movement, it won’t hinder anything, will it?"
Lian Hua eagerly looked at Xiao Jizi.
Before leaving, Nanny Qi had specifically instructed her repeatedly about what not to do and what to avoid, and had Xiao Jizi take note of each item, keeping a watch on her. Still not reassured, Nanny Qi had spoken to Xiao Linzi in front of her, saying that he must report everything in detail when they returned before letting her leave.
Regrettably, she had rushed Xiao Qing to dress up to scare people, just to come out earlier.
But perhaps it was because she had been raised too well, or because it had been so long since she last came out, or maybe because many of the Palace Attendants had become unfamiliar faces, as she passed by, many didn’t recognize her; they just bowed their heads and saluted by the roadside, not seeing the expected effect, alas, truly disappointing.
When she first arrived here, she saw the game of Touhu at the very edge of the Qianqiu Hall, where there were the fewest people. Remembering that she hadn’t completed it during the Mid-Autumn Festival, somehow her feet just turned this way and she didn’t even care about scaring people anymore.
After coming over, she watched for a little while only to see this unfamiliar Concubine throwing several arrows without managing to land any, which was hard for her to watch.
Xiao Jizi weighed the situation, looking around. Besides the Young Eunuchs responsible for the game and Kong Yinyin with her servant, there was no one else around, so there shouldn’t be any danger.
So, he said, "Then would the master like to give it a try? But, master, you must be careful. Don’t use too much force, be cautious, otherwise..."
He gestured towards Xiao Linzi, implying this simpleton was watching too, nothing could escape his eyes, and surely Nanny Qi would find out afterward.
Lian Hua instantly smiled broadly, "Yes, that’s right, I’ll be careful."
With that, she walked over and urged the Young Eunuch in charge of the Touhu to hurry up and bring her the arrows, for she wanted to give it a try.
It was then that Kong Yinyin finally saw clearly, beneath the voluminous palace dress, the belly of the Palace Concubine was already bulging.
She widened her eyes, taken aback. Nowadays, in the palace, the only pregnant person, without a second thought, was Beauty Lian!
It was said that Beauty Lian was arrogant and domineering, with deep cunning, and her reputation in unofficial rumors was extremely unsavory.
Her heart began to beat rapidly as she quickly led the Palace Maid beside her to pay respects, her voice trembling, "Greetings, greetings, Consort... I... I was disrespectful just now."
"Eh?" Lian Hua turned her head and saw her toss-pottery teacher giving her a bow. She quickly said, "Please rise, there’s no need for such formality. Right now, the most important thing is to win all those golden melon seeds. Look, they’re so heavy they’re bending the small rack. We need to lighten its load soon."
Kong Yinyin was somewhat astonished and followed the gaze only to see that it was indeed so. Remembering that she hadn’t scored a hit herself, she inevitably began to feel a bit anxious, suppressing the timidity that had just begun to rise.
The young eunuchs in charge of toss pottery all looked at the rack holding the golden melon seeds, believing that the reason made sense since it was indeed too heavy.
After calling everyone to stand up, Lian Hua couldn’t care less about anything else. Xiao Qing and a few others stood beside her, enclosing her in the center, holding her arrows and protecting her on both sides.
She then picked up an arrow, aimed, and casually asked before throwing, "Sister, is this how to do it?"
Kong Yinyin hesitated for a moment, saw Lian Hua’s serious expression, and her timid heart slowly settled back down.
She couldn’t help but step forward and said, "It’s mostly like this, but you should pull your hand back a bit more to exert force. It needs to be stronger, or else it won’t reach—"
Before she could finish, a "whoosh" sound was heard as the arrow flew past the pot and far into the distance.
Kong Yinyin opened her mouth, unable to complete her sentence, "it won’t reach." What she was sharing was her precious experience, but the Beauty Lian in front of her looked so gentle and weak, and she was even pregnant. How could...
Lian Hua regretted, "Oh dear, I used too much strength." Her first attempt was a failure.
She summarized to Kong Yinyin, "I should have let you finish speaking. Let me try again, and check what I am doing wrong."
Saying this, she picked up another arrow and asked Kong Yinyin to instruct her.
Unknowingly, the two taught each other back and forth for a long time, and the eight arrows were quickly used up, none hitting the target. They soon became familiar with each other and introduced their families.
Kong Yinyin was no longer nervous and scared but began to worry for Lian Hua, more anxious than if she had missed the target herself.
"Strange, why aren’t any hitting the target?" Lian Hua scratched her head, puzzled. She had learned the technique exactly, from the posture to the aiming method. If not entirely similar, she had mastered about eighty to ninety percent.
She was somewhat skeptical. Why did she feel that this sister’s experience was not very reliable?
Since she had no experience in toss pottery and didn’t know its intricacies, being taught was a shortcut to winning those golden melon seeds more quickly, so it was always Kong Yinyin telling her how to throw, and she followed accordingly.
Xiao Jizi and a few others also pondered in secret. Why was it so hard? The master had played with a slingshot before, and it was said she was quite good at it, so why was her aim so off in toss pottery? Could it have been an exaggeration?
Kong Yinyin was the most anxious, remembering with a full head of sweat. She thought it indeed was very difficult. Both of them hadn’t hit a single target. It seemed so hard to hit even one.
They started a new round, throwing seven out of eight arrows, none hitting the target. Kong Yinyin became even more anxious as she taught, while Xiao Jizi and the others all went to see if their master looked similar when she learned, eventually finding no fault, she looked identical!
Lian Hua furrowed her brows in thought, seeing that Kong Yinyin was very anxious and couldn’t help but reassure her, "Don’t worry, we have plenty of shichen Chinese time left. Sooner or later, we will win all those golden melon seeds."
The young eunuch guarding the golden melon seeds overheard this and felt speechless. These two masters talked a big game but hadn’t hit a single target, which was upsetting to watch.
Kong Yinyin was utterly dejected and hung her head, "I threw eight rounds at the beginning and didn’t hit any. I guess these golden melon seeds are just not meant for me ..."
"Ah?!" Lian Hua finally realized what was amiss...