CHAPTER 532: CHAPTER 285: COMPETING WITH YITU_2

The Eighth Prince noticed that Yitu was looking at Zhao Yao with hostility, and couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.

"You..."

Zhao Yao interrupted the Eighth Prince and, reassuringly, smiled at him: "Eighth Brother, it’s okay. Even if I lose, it’s not shameful; after all, I’m just a kid, and that Yitu is an adult." At this point, his smile turned mischievous, "No matter if Yitu wins against me or loses to me, it doesn’t look good for him."

Hearing Zhao Yao say this, the Eighth Prince understood Zhao Yao’s intentions.

"You really are..."

"A little genius." Zhao Yao said with a grin to the Eighth Prince, "Eighth Brother, am I smart?"

The Eighth Prince smiled helplessly and indulgently, "Very smart."

"Eighth Brother, in archery, I’m sure I can beat that Yitu." Although they had only competed once, Zhao Yao could see Yitu’s level, "If it’s wrestling, I definitely can’t beat him."

Seeing Zhao Yao’s confident expression, the Eighth Prince didn’t have the heart to discourage him and encouraged him, "Since you’re so confident, Eighth Brother believes in you."

"Eighth Brother, you’re right to believe in me." With those words, Zhao Yao lowered his head and continued eating his favorite beef.

The Emperor, seated in the high chair, was drinking wine while observing the ministers below.

Sun Kui saw the Emperor’s wine cup was empty and quickly refilled it.

"Your Majesty, is it really okay for the Tenth Highness to compete with the Xiongnu?"

The Emperor lifted his wine cup, glancing sideways at the worried Sun Kui: "What do you think could happen?"

Sun Kui glanced at Yitu, who was devouring meat, then at Zhao Yao, who was sipping soup.

"Your Majesty, the Tenth Highness is still a child." That Yitu is tall and robust; how could such a slim and delicate Tenth Prince be his match?

"That’s Little Ten’s advantage." The Emperor was not at all worried about Zhao Yao and said with a smile, "Little Ten will not lose."

Seeing the Emperor’s confidence in the Tenth Prince, Sun Kui didn’t dare say more.

Half an hour later, the luncheon ended, and the competition between the two nations was next.

The Emperor named Zhao Yao to compete with Yitu first.

Yitu proposed to compete in shooting birds in flight, but there were no birds flying over the Imperial Palace at the moment.

Zhao Yao had anticipated that the Xiongnu would propose a bird-shooting contest, so he had already warned the birds not to approach the palace today.

Seeing no birds, they had to compete in target shooting.

By this time, several targets had been set up in the martial arts arena.

The Crown Prince, Prince Dai, Prince Jing, and the Eighth Prince all came to Zhao Yao’s side, patting his shoulder to encourage him.

"Tenth Brother, if you win, Big Brother will reward you with gold, okay?" The Crown Prince had heard from the Eighth Prince that Zhao Yao loved gold.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yao’s eyes lit up.

"Crown Prince, do you mean it?"

Seeing Zhao Yao’s excited and expectant expression, the Crown Prince smiled warmly: "I mean it."

Seeing the Crown Prince preparing to reward Zhao Yao, Prince Dai couldn’t fall behind. Besides, he wasn’t a stingy person.

"Tenth Brother, if you win, Second Brother will reward you with a fine bow."

Zhao Yao’s eyes sparkled: "Second Brother, do you mean it?"

Prince Dai smiled: "On the condition that you beat the Xiongnu."

Zhao Yao patted his small chest and said: "I’m sure I can win."

Prince Jing, also being an elder brother, wouldn’t remain idle. If Zhao Yao won, he would also give him gold.

There’s no need to mention the Eighth Prince.

Before the official competition, the Emperor summoned Zhao Yao.

"You brat, this match was your idea. If you lose, watch out for your butt."

Zhao Yao instinctively covered his butt, staring at the Emperor. Puffing his cheeks, he said: "I won’t lose."

Seeing the fighting spirit in Zhao Yao’s eyes, the Emperor smiled with satisfaction: "If you lose, your little butt’s gonna get it."

Zhao Yao pouted and said: "I’m definitely not losing." After that, he saluted the Emperor and walked to the target, ready to compete.

Yitu didn’t care that Zhao Yao was just an eleven-year-old child. In their Xiongnu culture, eleven was considered an adult, as Xiongnu began hunting at a young age.

Before the competition, Yitu taunted Zhao Yao in broken Central Plains language. His vocabulary was limited, so he could only say simple things like "later I’ll show you," "I’ll make you cry," and "I’ll show you the might of the Xiongnu."

Zhao Yao fearlessly retorted, saying it was Yitu who would cry later and that he would show Yitu the archery skills of the Great Zhou.

As a gesture of hospitality, Zhao Yao let Yitu shoot first, and Yitu didn’t hold back.

Yitu was a warrior from the Xiongnu Grassland; although his archery was not the best, it wasn’t bad. His first arrow hit the bullseye perfectly.

The other Xiongnu who accompanied him to the palace cheered for Yitu.

"Tenth Brother, you can do it!" The Crown Prince encouraged Zhao Yao.

Zhao Yao gave the Crown Prince a smile, then pulled back his bow. The arrow in his hand pierced through the air, flying fiercely towards the target.

With a "ka-cha" sound, Zhao Yao’s arrow hit the tail of Yitu’s arrow, splitting it in two. The arrow that Yitu had shot into the bullseye fell to the ground, while Zhao Yao’s arrow accurately struck the bullseye.

Witnessing this, everyone present was stunned, their faces filled with incredulous expressions.

Yitu stared wide-eyed, unbelievingly watching Zhao Yao.

The Emperor was momentarily speechless in shock, but quickly recovered. He stood up, clapping his hands, and loudly praised: "Well done!"

The ministers of the Great Zhou quickly regained their composure and praised the Tenth Prince’s archery skills.

Yitu also snapped out of it, his expression turning grim, looking at Zhao Yao with a fierce gaze.

Zhao Yao grinned and made a cupped-fist salute towards Yitu: "Thank you for letting me win!"

"You..."

Just as Yitu was about to burst out in anger, Hu Yanping shouted: "Yitu!"

Hearing the warning in Hu Yanping’s voice, Yitu felt a chill in his heart, and half of his anger subsided, though he still gazed at Zhao Yao with fierce eyes.

Zhao Yao crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Yitu: "Do you want to continue?"

Yitu gritted his teeth and said: "Continue, keep going. But this time, you shoot first!"

Zhao Yao knew what Yitu was planning and said indifferently: "Sure, I’ll shoot first." With that, he drew his bow and shot another arrow.

When the arrow hit the bullseye, the arrow’s tail was still quivering with force.

Zhao Yao looked at Yitu with a mischievous grin: "Your turn."

Yitu snorted coldly, then drew his bow, aiming for the arrow Zhao Yao had just shot into the bullseye.

Zhao Yao had anticipated that Yitu would try to imitate him by splitting his arrow, so he had used some force when shooting earlier.

With a thud, Yitu’s arrow fell to the ground while Zhao Yao’s arrow in the bullseye remained unscathed.

Yitu had overestimated his own archery skills. Although his skills weren’t bad, they weren’t precise enough. Although he hit the arrow’s tail, he didn’t hit the middle, failing to split the arrow in half.

Unable to accept his defeat, Yitu angrily threw his bow to the ground.

"Yitu!" Hu Yanping, worried that Yitu might do something reckless out of rage, hurriedly warned him again.

Yitu glanced at Hu Yanping and saw that Left General Tang Wu had a stern expression, looking very displeased, which frightened him into picking up the bow he had just thrown on the ground.

Hu Yanping quickly walked forward, pleading to the Emperor to forgive Yitu’s rude behavior.

The Emperor waved it off, chuckled, and said Yitu certainly had the temper of a warrior. He added that if Yitu couldn’t bear to lose, then perhaps they should stop competing.