Now I really have to marry the princess.

Chapter 46 Li 2's Eight Clever Ideas

As the sun set, the others returned from the Imperial Horse Park.

Jiang Cheng and another captain also reported back to Xu Shiji.

With Xu Shiji's military order, the first day of martial arts practice at the Wude Hall came to a close.

Changsun Chong glanced coldly at Yang Zhengdao, who was still practicing archery, then stepped forward to Xu Shiji, feigning a finger injury, and bowed to take his leave.

Xu Shiji waved his hand impatiently, allowing him to leave.

"Adao, come back!" Li Hui called out to Yang Zhengdao from afar.

"You can go back now, I'll practice a little longer!" Yang Zhengdao exhaled and continued to draw his bow and nock an arrow.

At this moment, Cheng Chubi, Yuchi Baoqi, and Shi Renji also passed by Yang Zhengdao. Seeing that he was still persisting, they first looked surprised, and then their eyes became serious.

They bowed to Yang Zhengdao one by one in farewell, their eyes no longer showing any disdain.

"Well... you know, that's enough." Li Hui frantically winked at Yang Zhengdao.

Yang Zhengdao smiled and shook his head.

He glanced at Xu Shiji not far away out of the corner of his eye, knowing that Xu Shiji was waiting for him and Changsun Chong.

Although the military order was for him to practice archery with Changsun Chong until the evening drum sounded, it was clear that Xu Shiji would go easy on him as long as he made up some excuse to resign.

After all, the six of them who got in through connections weren't really aiming for selection as guards in the palace.

But Yang Zhengdao always had a feeling that his archery skills were approaching a certain critical point.

Seeing Yang Zhengdao start practicing again, Li Hui looked disappointed and exclaimed, "A-Dao, you've changed."

It's like the despair of a mediocre student waking up to find their equally mediocre friend has suddenly become a top student.

Yang Zhengdao ignored him, and couldn't stop talking about the people of Pingkangfang. Even if he left now, he couldn't travel the same way as Li Hui.

as predicted.

After sighing for a while, Li Hui suddenly smiled and said, "When I entered the palace this morning, I forgot to ask you about the Southern Music. Ru Meng told me everything. What are your plans?"

Yang Zhengdao knew that if he talked to this guy about Pingkangfang, it would never end. He needed to set aside some time to plan the hot spring bathhouse in detail.

He could only offer the excuse, "I haven't thought about it yet."

"I understand! Don't worry!" Li Hui patted Yang Zhengdao on the shoulder and then left.

Yang Zhengdao smiled wryly, knowing that this fellow had surely misinterpreted his meaning again.

Seeing that Yang Zhengdao had no intention of resigning, Xu Shiji turned and left.

Soon, only Yang Zhengdao remained in the vast open space in front of the Wude Hall.

Despite the soreness in his arms, Yang Zhengdao continued practicing over and over again.

The force applied to the bow became increasingly steady, while the force transmitted from the bow arm became increasingly weak.

After silently shooting out all the arrows in the quiver, he went over to retrieve them and continued practicing, again and again, in a never-ending cycle.

The blisters on my fingers had already burst, and the wounds, soaked in sweat, were burning with pain.

Suddenly, a line of information popped into his mind, and Yang Zhengdao was overjoyed.

[You have practiced archery 1000 times, meeting the requirements for advancing to the next level in basic archery.]

[Master of archery, advancement completion 1/10]

Encouraged, Yang Zhengdao continued to draw his bow.

Despite the continued soreness in his arm and the unbearable burning pain in his fingertips, he gradually found the feeling he had when watching videos of people fixing horse hooves in his later years.

Nocking the bow, drawing the string, and releasing the arrow—he was like an emotionless robot.

I feel very calm and relaxed.

As dusk settled, a faint crescent moon appeared on the willow branches.

Just then, a voice rang out behind him, startling Yang Zhengdao.

"Haste makes waste!"

Yang Zhengdao turned around and saw that the person who came was Li Er.

Yang Zhengdao immediately sheathed his bow, bowed, and clasped his hands in greeting: "Your subject Zhengdao greets Your Majesty."

Li Er was dressed in a crimson robe, with only one eunuch, Cao, by his side.

He offered a helping hand and approached with his hands behind his back.

Yang Zhengdao straightened up, his face instantly lighting up with joy: "Uncle, what brings you here?"

When it comes to building relationships, college students know how to do it; they can easily call someone "uncle" without hesitation.

Li Er's lips twitched. This kid really knew how to take advantage of people's kindness. He had answered his call in the Liangyi Hall last time, and now he was actually climbing the social ladder so naturally.

He could only give a helpless reply, but did not want to respond to Yang Zhengdao's words.

Why did I come here? Of course, I came to teach you a lesson... to encourage you.

When Li Er heard in the Liangyi Hall that Yang Zhengdao, that scoundrel, had actually made Azhi deliver his lunch, an inexplicable rage rose in his heart.

Unfortunately, I had a lot of memorials to deal with today, and I was busy until just now before I finally finished.

I thought I wouldn't have a chance to vent my anger today, but I didn't expect that kid was still here.

Is this kid really that honest? Must he obey Duke Cao's military orders and practice until the evening drum sounds?

Li Er's gaze swept over Yang Zhengdao's slightly trembling arm, then fell on the fingertip that was worn raw and bleeding, and finally looked at the dense arrow marks on the target in the distance.

He could naturally see that Yang Zhengdao had indeed been drawing his bow and shooting arrows the whole time, and his anger immediately subsided by half.

Then he thought of Yang Zhengdao's poem, "I will not return until Loulan is conquered," and he felt troubled... and wanted to test him a little.

Thinking of this, Li Er sighed and laughed, "Your diligence is commendable! Do you really aspire to be like those like Liu Bei's Dingyuan and Dou Qi?"

Yang Zhengdao was about to say, "I am willing to be your servant and your lackey," when he was suddenly startled and broke out in a cold sweat.

Do all emperors have eight hundred schemes in their hearts?

Li Er is digging another pit!

Making a class of superiors and being in Dingyuan is fine, but Dou Xian and Dou Cheqi are absolutely out of the question.

Although Dou Xian had the merits of Shi Le's Yanran, he was a powerful minister who was related to the emperor by marriage and was eventually executed for treason.

Yang Zhengdao immediately bowed deeply, his tone solemn: "I, Zhengdao, have offered my honest advice; I humbly beg Your Majesty's forgiveness!"

Li Er raised an eyebrow, then waved his hand: "Offering advice is no crime."

Yang Zhengdao bowed again and said in a deep voice:

"Ban Dingyuan led only thirty-six men on a solo expedition beyond the Great Wall, which can be described as loyalty and bravery; Dou Chariot and Cavalry, as a relative of the Empress, led the entire nation on a distant expedition, which is not the achievement of one person alone."

"Dou, relying on his merits to the whole country, indulged his personal desires and did not have a good end. He is really not worthy to be ranked alongside Ban Gu."

If you dare to set a trap for me, don't blame me for picking a fight with you.

Yang Zhengdao was secretly pleased, as this would allow him to successfully change the subject and avoid dwelling on the sensitive issue of military power.

Li Er was slightly taken aback. His attempt to test the waters had backfired, and the boy had instead found fault with him and turned the tables on him.

He coughed lightly and had no choice but to accept the advice: "What Zhengdao said is very true."

After saying that, he turned around and added, "Come with me."

Yang Zhengdao dared not delay and quickly bowed in agreement, following closely beside Li Er, half a step behind.

Seeing that Li Er was walking silently without saying a word, Yang Zhengdao felt uneasy and could only stare down at the tips of his boots.

As the evening breeze grew cooler, the willow branches along the palace path swayed gently, and the twilight cast long, sparse shadows of the two figures.

The eunuch Cao followed at a distance, not daring to get any closer.

Li Er was still hesitant.

If Pei Ju really did leave a force in the Western Regions back then, he would really need to bring this kid along on future expeditions to the Western Regions, so that the kid could get what he wanted.

However, this was something that happened twenty years ago, so he decided to wait and see.