CHAPTER 306: CHAPTER 293: YOU LOST

Sun Hu really doesn’t understand. If he could come second every time, he’d be laughing in his sleep.

The first round between Yu Xiaolian and Ma Xiyue was proposed by Ma Xiyue, who decisively chose arrow throwing.

Yu Xiaolian’s mouth twitched; sure enough, what she dreaded came to pass.

Once the double-eared pot was set up, Dean Ying handed twelve arrows to Ma Xiyue, who was to throw first.

Arrow throwing was one of Ma Xiyue’s favorite games when she had nothing to do at home, so she was almost always right on target. Consequently, Ma Xiyue was extremely confident about this match.

And indeed, Ma Xiyue missed only one out of the twelve arrows, successfully hitting eleven.

"Wow, eleven hits! My bet of a hundred taels on Miss Ma was spot on!"

"A hundred taels on what?" Some people were still unaware of the bet.

"Fourth Master Zhao’s betting arrangement, five-to-one odds, I wagered on Miss Ma to win."

"This is news to me; is it too late to place a bet now?"

"It’s too late; they stopped taking bets this morning."

"Oh, what a shame, five-to-one odds, I missed out on earning five hundred taels!" the person lamented.

Dean Ying announced, "Each hit earns two points, a double-eared hit earns four. Ma Xiyue hit eleven times, including one double-eared hit, totaling twenty-four points."

Ma Xiyue threw her arrows with precision and looked provocatively at Yu Xiaolian, "Yu Xueguan, it’s your turn!"

Yu Xiaolian remained unfazed, "Out of respect for Miss Ma’s tender age, I’ll let you win this round."

Ma Xiyue sneered, "Don’t make it sound so nice; you just can’t win."

Yu Xiaolian sighed, "I wanted to let you have this one. Since you insist, I won’t hold back."

Ma Xiyue smugly said, "I ask the gracious Teacher Yu to show no mercy."

Yu Xiaolian took the twelve arrows handed to her by Dean Ying, maintaining a calm facade while feeling deeply nervous inside.

She wasn’t hoping to win now; she just didn’t want to lose too miserably.

Luckily, she had been practicing these past few days, and hitting eight out of ten wasn’t a problem.

Yu Xiaolian held an arrow and was about to throw when Su Jingchen walked over, "Come over here, this angle is easier to hit from."

Yu Xiaolian felt as though she had found her pillar of support and happily ran over.

Su Jingchen arranged her stance, then picked up an arrow and held it a third of the way from the tip, "Hold it here, focus on the pot’s mouth, not the arrow.

Stay focused, you can do it."

Yu Xiaolian smiled, "When did you get back?"

She had gone looking for Su Jingchen when she left this morning and he clearly wasn’t home then.

"I’ll tell you later, let’s win this round first."

Yu Xiaolian whispered, "Honestly... I’m not that confident!"

Su Jingchen laughed, "Just do your best!"

Once Su Jingchen stepped back, Yu Xiaolian followed his instructions and began throwing the arrows with complete concentration.

One, two...

"Wow... all in!" Feng Suyue exclaimed in surprise.

When Yu Xiaolian hit ten consecutive arrows, her arm began to ache, causing the eleventh arrow to veer off course and hang on the edge of the pot, about to fall.

"Wow... it’s a leaning arrow, ten points. Yu Xueguan has won," Feng Suyue clapped happily.

Yu Xiaolian looked at Dean Ying in confusion; she didn’t understand arrow throwing at all. Since crossing over, this was her first encounter with it. Did that precarious arrow count as a score?

Dean Ying noticed Yu Xiaolian’s confusion and grinned at her, "You’ve won."

Yu Xiaolian still had one arrow left. Hearing she had already won, she thought it was pointless to throw the last one, so she tossed it nonchalantly.

Clang!

"Wow... hit it from the back, Teacher Yu is incredible.

She managed to hit it with her back turned.

Hitting it from the back is worth ten points, Teacher Yu won beautifully!"

The crowd erupted with praise, and Yu Xiaolian felt a sly joy; oh my god, she really was someone favored by the heavens. She had thrown the last arrow carelessly!

But could Yu Xiaolian admit that the last arrow was a blind shot, like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead rat?

No, she couldn’t!

Call her a genius!

Yu Xiaolian glanced at Ma Xiyue, who looked pale and incredulous, and said cheekily, "I told you I’d let you win a round, but you wouldn’t take it, look at how things turned out..."

Ma Xiyue regretted it bitterly now.

It’s over, the second round will be decided by Yu Xiaolian, and she will definitely choose a math problem.

She couldn’t do math!

If she lost two rounds in a row, the third round wouldn’t need to be played. Ma Xiyue was getting anxious.

"Everyone knows Yu Xueguan is a math genius. I expect, Yu Xueguan, that you won’t set a math problem to challenge a humble girl who knows nothing of math?"

Oh my, she set herself up.

Even if I don’t choose a math problem, you’re no match for me.

Yu Xiaolian rubbed her hands; even though it was the first day of the lunar tenth month, it was still a bit chilly.

"I am both an academic officer and a teacher, naturally I can’t bully the young.

How about this, for the second round we play a little game?"

As Yu Xiaolian spoke, she took a jade ring off Dean Ying’s hand, "If you can guess which hand has the ring, left or right, you win today, how about that?"

This was too tempting for Ma Xiyue, who was sure to lose. She nodded quickly, afraid Yu Xiaolian would change her mind.

"Watch closely... I’m about to start!" Yu Xiaolian slowly displayed the jade ring.

She switched it from her left hand to her right, then from her right hand to her left.

Once Yu Xiaolian had finished shuffling, she clasped her hands together and then opened her fists,

slowly spreading them apart.

"Guess!" Yu Xiaolian said.

"Left hand!" Ma Xiyue said confidently, without hesitation.

Yu Xiaolian raised an eyebrow, "Sure?"

"Sure!" Ma Xiyue was very certain, because when Yu Xiaolian spread her hands, the jade ring accidentally peeked out of the left hand, it was clear as day.

Yu Xiaolian smirked, "I’ll give you one last chance to change your mind, are you sure you don’t want to?"

Ma Xiyue snorted, "Teacher Yu can’t possibly be afraid to show her hands, right?"

Yu Xiaolian clicked her tongue twice and slowly opened her left hand.

It was empty, nothing was there.

Ma Xiyue was utterly shocked, it couldn’t be. She had clearly seen Yu Xiaolian’s left hand bulging, unable to conceal the jade ring, how could it not be there?

Yu Xiaolian was pleased with Ma Xiyue’s expression.

In fact, even if Ma Xiyue had guessed the right hand, it wouldn’t have been there. The jade ring had been slipped into the space the moment her hands parted.

Yu Xiaolian shifted the jade ring from the space into her right hand, showed it to everyone, and returned it to Dean Ying.

Then she leisurely looked at Ma Xiyue, "I gave you one more chance, you didn’t take it; don’t blame me for that.

Miss Ma, you lost!"

Ma Xiyue staggered back as if unable to bear the blow, barely managing to steady herself.

County Magistrate Ma noticed this and quickly stood up, "It’s just a little game, how can it count as a literary competition question?

For a proper literary competition, both parties should recite poetry and respond in kind."