The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool – Chapter 11

Even if Sheng’er pokes a hole in the sky, there’s no need to be afraid¹

“You dare to scare me?” Seeing Qu Sheng holding the small bow and arrow with no guards nearby, Cheng Mianrong’s courage swelled. The humiliating memory of being frightened by her brother with an arrow months ago suddenly surfaced in her mind. She gave up on kicking Zhao Jiayu and turned towards Qu Sheng instead.

Watching Cheng Mianrong approach with a hostile expression, Qu Sheng immediately released the arrow. Although she had practiced for two months, she was still young. Coupled with Cheng Mianrong’s ferocious appearance, her body swayed for a moment, causing her to lose her aim. The arrow struck Cheng Mianrong’s shoulder.

Struck by the arrow, the pain made Cheng Mianrong’s flowery countenance lose its color². She stared in horror at the blood flowing from her shoulder. Even so, Qu Sheng did not let her guard down, because she saw Cheng Mianrong clutching the arrowhead and preparing to rush at her.

A flicker of terror showed on Qu Sheng’s small face, but in the next moment, Cheng Mianrong’s ankle was grabbed by someone.

Zhao Jiayu had been in so much pain just now that she had nearly fainted. Hearing Cheng Mianrong’s words and looking up to see Qu Sheng’s small figure backing away, she immediately crawled over and hugged Cheng Mianrong’s leg.

Although Cheng Mianrong’s shoulder was injured, it was only a scratch; the arrow was mostly caught in her clothes. Enduring the pain, she wanted to drag Qu Sheng over and give her a beating, but she never expected to be tripped up by Zhao Jiayu, causing her to fall directly to the ground. And Qu Sheng did not let such a good opportunity go to waste, immediately shooting another arrow into Cheng Mianrong’s body.

“Murder! Murder!”

Just as Cheng Mianrong’s two guards were beaten so badly they couldn’t get up, her cries for help came from inside the room. The other guard rushed to the doorway to check, only to find Cheng Mianrong with two arrows in her, lying on the ground, apparently having fainted.

Seeing this, the two sons born of a concubine from the Lin family ran out in a panic. By the time the Lin family’s guards and servants rushed into the courtyard, Zhao Jiayu was holding Qu Sheng, comforting her and telling her not to be afraid.

“Don’t be afraid. Remember, I’m the one who killed her. It has nothing to do with you.” Zhao Jiayu couldn’t be bothered with the pain on her body at this moment. If she hadn’t gotten into a conflict with Cheng Mianrong, Qu Sheng wouldn’t have shot an arrow at her to protect her. Therefore, it was only right that she bear this responsibility.

Hearing this, Qu Sheng looked at Zhao Jiayu’s somewhat frantic eyes and felt the body she was touching tremble.

“Miss.” Feng Qi came in from outside. After seeing that Qu Sheng was safe and sound, he looked at Cheng Mianrong on the ground. The position of the arrowheads was not fatal. He reached out to check her breathing and said, “Still alive.”

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Cheng Mianrong was injured and carried to a room for treatment; she had yet to wake up. With such an incident occurring in the Prime Minister’s Manor, it naturally had to be investigated thoroughly. Zhao Jiayu took all the responsibility, but the arrows were Qu Sheng’s.

The three families gathered at the Prime Minister’s Manor. Qu Sheng’s two uncles and three older brothers were all present; only Qu Jinian was still in the palace and couldn’t get out.

The families of State Uncle Cheng and the Zhao family had also arrived. Although Zhao Jiayu had already taken the blame, the Cheng family simply didn’t believe it. They had long heard that Qu Sheng carried that bow and arrow with her every time she went to school, and they also heard from the manor’s guards that it was Qu Sheng holding the bow at the time. Thus, the Cheng family aimed their spearhead at Qu Sheng, clamoring to go to the Son of Heaven to seek justice.

“Meimei, tell Gege. Did you shoot the arrows?” Qu Ming crouched down to be level with Qu Sheng and asked her in a gentle voice.

It wasn’t that Qu Sheng wouldn’t admit it was her, but the Cheng family had been relentlessly aggressive, and Zhao Jiayu insisted that she had shot the arrows. No one had even asked her a question while she stood here, and besides, she couldn’t just speak carelessly.

Hearing Qu Ming’s words, Qu Sheng didn’t answer. Seeing this, the State Uncle and his wife said angrily, “She’s so young, what does she know if you ask her?” The implication was that you couldn’t get anything out of a fool.

“Madam Cheng also knows that Sheng-meimei is young, so that naturally proves she didn’t shoot the arrows. I, Zhao Jiayu, one person does the deed, one person bears the consequences³. Whether you want to kill me or slice me, I’ll leave it to your esteemed convenience⁴.” Zhao Jiayu had seen the Cheng family’s true colors before. She also knew her own father couldn’t protect her, so she might as well be frank and fearless in the face of death.

The moment Zhao Jiayu’s words fell, her mother tugged at her. If Qu Sheng were to bear this blame, even if it caused a splash, it wouldn’t result in a loss of life. But if it were Zhao Jiayu, she would certainly have to pay with her life.

The Cheng family paid no mind to Zhao Jiayu’s attempt to take the blame. They insisted it was Qu Sheng, so they could use it to impeach Qu Jinian. Although it was a fight between children, causing such a huge commotion would inevitably affect Qu Jinian’s reputation at court.

Even if they couldn’t bring down Qu Jinian, they could later widely proclaim that not only was Qu Sheng a fool at such a young age, but she was also deranged enough to want to kill someone. In that case, even if His Majesty wanted to bring her into the Eastern Palace⁵ in the future, he would have to consider public opinion.

Once the Cheng family made up their minds, they latched onto Qu Sheng and refused to let go.

The Qu family showed no intention of shirking responsibility. Although Qu Sheng was young, with the guidance of her three older brothers, her archery skills were naturally not poor.

“You won’t escape blame either,” the State Uncle said, glaring at Zhao Jiayu.

Hearing this, the Qu family’s Fourth Uncle looked up at the State Uncle, rubbed his clean-shaven upper lip, and said slowly, “Since State Uncle Cheng insists that it is our Sheng’er’s fault, then let her take a shot.” They could see the force of the arrow shot by Qu Sheng, whether it could pierce a person, and whether she had that kind of accuracy.

Everyone who heard this agreed, and only Lin Xizhao and Zhao Jiayu’s expressions grew tense. Because they knew Qu Sheng could do it.

A target was quickly set up in the hall. Qu Ming led Qu Sheng to a spot a few steps away, crouched down, and had her shoot the bow and arrow at the red bullseye.

“With Second Gege here, even if Sheng’er pokes a hole in the sky, there’s no need to be afraid,” Qu Ming whispered gently into Qu Sheng’s little ear.

“Hmph.” Hearing Qu Ming’s words, the State Uncle’s anger that didn’t just come from one place⁶ flared up even more. He snorted coldly; he’d like to see just how he would bear this responsibility.

Qu Sheng seemed to understand Qu Ming’s words. Her small body stood up straight. She took the bow and arrow from Qu Ming’s hands, nocked the arrow on the string, and the moment she drew the bow, everyone’s gaze converged on her.

As Qu Sheng’s small hand relaxed, the arrow landed steadily on the red bullseye and pierced straight through it.

“Nice!” Qu Ting and Qu Yu, seeing their little sister draw the bow and shoot the arrow, done in one breath⁷ and hitting the bullseye dead on, clapped their hands and cheered in excitement.

“Nice? What’s so nice! You all saw it! At such a young age, she can draw a bow and pierce this bullseye. My poor Mianrong is still so little. How could you be so cruel!” The State Uncle’s wife looked at the handsome but viciously-hearted Qu family boys before her, so angry that she forgot her own status and nearly jumped on her feet⁸.

“Hey, although my little sister possesses extraordinary natural gifts, for the State Uncle’s wife to insist like this that it was my sister who injured Eldest Miss Cheng, I’m afraid that’s a bit inappropriate, isn’t it?” Qu Ting, from the Third Uncle’s branch of the family, retorted with a smile that was only skin deep⁹.

“That’s right. Who says that being able to draw a bow means you must be the one who injured Eldest Miss Cheng? Weren’t the two young masters of the Prime Minister’s household also present at the time?” Qu Yu picked up where Qu Ting left off, refuting even more forcefully.

“You! You people!” The State Uncle’s wife pointed at them and cursed, “Your whole Qu family is deranged! And now you want to climb and bite others¹⁰. Pah!”

Hearing this, Prime Minister Lin looked at his two sons. Neither of them had ever practiced martial arts and were terrified at the time. They were too scared to make a peep no matter what they were asked.

“Master, Madam, the Eldest Miss is awake.” A servant from the Cheng family ran over from another area, forgetting he was in someone else’s courtyard, and hurriedly reported the good news to his master and mistress.

Hearing this, different expressions of joy appeared on everyone’s faces, except for the Qu family, who remained calm, as if it didn’t matter much whether Cheng Mianrong woke up or not.

“Did the Miss say who injured her?” The State Uncle had already been informed of Cheng Mianrong’s injuries. They were on her side and not fatal; she had only fainted from the shock and pain.

“The Miss said it was that foo… it was, it was the Qu family’s young miss.” The servant from the State Uncle’s manor had heard it so often that he had defaulted to thinking of Qu Sheng as a fool and spoke without thinking. But when he looked up, he saw the three young masters of the Qu family all glaring at him and timidly corrected himself.

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The author has something to say:

Qu Sheng: “Look at the worried expression in my wife’s eyes. It makes my heart ache.”

Lin Xizhao: “Stir-fry the vegetables, there’s enough oil.”¹¹

Qu Sheng: “You got it. Wife just needs to lie back and relax.”

Lin Xizhao: “…”

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