Xie Heng gave her a thorough look-over. “Your neck and arms. Slightly thicker.”
Just as Mu Wan’s eyes widened, the gong rang again, interrupting her angry retort. The host announced, “The fifth round of the Lotus Glass Cup competition begins!” The enormous chessboard flipped, and the participants began frantically memorizing the patterns.
Xie Heng’s eyes fell on the chessboard, a faint trace of amusement flickering within them. Yet, he deliberately said, “Be quiet. My memory isn’t the best. If I lose focus, we might end up losing.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He turned, startled, to see Mu Wan quickly retracting the sleeve arrow back into her sleeve.
Acting as if nothing had happened, she focused on the chessboard. “It’s fine. I have a good memory. My lord, you just need to shoot accurately.”
Xie Heng: “…”
‘This girl sure never let anything slide,’ he thought silently.
But Xie Heng did not take Mu Wan’s words seriously. Memorizing random patterns within such a short period of time wasn’t easy. The chessboard also included several confusing decoy patterns designed to disrupt memory. Without specialized training, even someone with an excellent memory might struggle.
On stage, everyone was racing against time. Even the audience below quieted down. Time flew by, and when the memorization period ended, the chessboard flipped, revealing a hundred blank wooden grids.
The ten pairs began taking turns shooting. The first round posed no significant challenge; even those with poor memory could recall a few patterns. But by the second round, one pair had already been eliminated. As the competition continued, eliminations came faster, and only two pairs remained by the end of the fifth round: Xie Heng’s and Li Yichen’s.
Across the chessboard, twenty-three pairs of patterns were still in play.
At the final moment of the showdown, almost everyone stood up, eager to see who would claim the Lotus Glass Cup.
The atmosphere was very tense. However, the pace of shooting didn’t increase. As the rounds progressed, Li Yichen’s memory grew hazier, and he had to think carefully before each shot. Just as he finally decided on a target and raised his bow, he overheard Mu Wan casually say to Xie Heng, “My lord, can you shoot two arrows at once? One arrow for each target? That way, even if Li Tanhua finishes perfectly like us, your superior technique will make us the clear winners.”
Li Yichen’s hands faltered mid-motion. Mu Rou tugged at his sleeve anxiously. “What should we do, Liulang?!”
Distracted, his shot narrowly grazed the edge of the board, nearly missing the target altogether. But neither of them had time to dwell on the close call. They both turned nervously toward Xie Heng.
For some reason, Xie Heng actually drew two arrows and shot them simultaneously.
The crowd erupted into cheers. Even Mu Wan, initially surprised, clapped enthusiastically and joined the chorus. “My lord, you’re amazing!”
She had only meant to distract them, but the mighty Marquis Xie was unexpectedly cooperative!
Xie Heng glanced at her briefly before calmly picking up two more arrows and preparing for the next round.
Under such pressure, Li Yichen grew visibly tense. Mu Rou was nearly panicking. “What should we do? Liulang, should we try shooting two arrows at once too?”
Li Yichen sighed. “Marquis Xie grew up in the military, and he’s one of the best.” As for himself, his archery might be commendable among scholars, but how could it compare to Xie Heng, who had survived countless bloody battles?
Mu Rou’s anxiety deepened. “Then what do we do? There’s no rule that says shooting two arrows guarantees victory, right? We still have a chance, don’t we?”
Li Yichen took a deep breath to reassure her. “Of course. In the end, we must hit all the targets correctly to win.”
Perhaps trying to convince herself as much as him, Mu Rou muttered, “Exactly. You’re the Tanhua scholar. Even Marquis Xie should not have as good a memory as you. Once they make a mistake…”
She clung stubbornly to this hope for a reason—because in her previous life, Li Yichen had indeed won the Lotus Glass Cup. However, as the competition progressed, it became clear that Xie Heng was handling the challenge with far greater ease than Li Yichen. Every dual-arrow shot he made drew thunderous applause, making Li Yichen seem more like a foil.
Under this pressure, coupled with Mu Rou’s increasing agitation, Li Yichen faltered. When only five pairs of patterns remained, his confidence wavered. He successfully shot a lotus flower first but struggled to recall the matching piece. Just then, Mu Wan helpfully chimed in, “Bottom left corner, seventh row, second column.”
Li Yichen froze. Mu Rou turned to glare at her. “Eldest Sister, what are you doing?”
“Helping you, of course.” Mu Wan replied innocently. “I’m sure I’m right. Just shoot and finish quickly so it’s our turn. We all memorized the patterns, anyway. Let’s compete based on skill.”
Li Yichen ignored her, taking a deep breath and continuing to recall the pattern on his own.
Mu Wan turned to Xie Heng, pretending to complain. “Nowadays, people are becoming less and less appreciative of others’ kindness. I’m telling the truth! The lotus is in the seventh row, second column, and the plum blossom is in the third row, seventh column. They’re both pink, but I’m absolutely sure. I remember everything clearly. Don’t you agree, my lord?”
Li Yichen subconsciously avoided the two spots Mu Wan had mentioned. There were initially one hundred square grids, but only ten blanks left now. Even he couldn’t memorize the positions so accurately, let alone her? He was sure Mu Wan was deliberately trying to ruin his concentration.
Xie Heng, however, glanced at her with surprise. Was she guessing, or had she truly remembered? But it was unlikely she could guess two positions correctly…
Unaware of Xie Heng’s puzzlement, Mu Wan continued, “Honestly, if you don’t trust me, you can at least trust Second Sister. Isn’t she supposed to have a photographic memory? Li Tanhua, why don’t you ask her? It’s a two-person competition, so both of you should contribute.”
Mu Rou felt her temples throbbing. Knowing that Li Yichen had smoothly claimed the Lotus Glass Cup in her previous life, she hadn’t bothered to memorize the patterns seriously. Moreover, even if she had tried, she wouldn’t have remembered much.
Yet, Li Yichen now looked at her expectantly.
Meeting his gaze, Mu Rou didn’t want to admit that she had barely remembered anything. After pretending to think hard for a moment, she hesitantly suggested a position. “I think it’s there, but I’m not sure.”
Her intent was for Li Yichen to rely on his own judgment rather than hers. Unexpectedly, Li Yichen said, “Rou’er is smart; you must be right.”
Before she could stop him, Li Yichen shot his arrow. Mu Rou could only hope she had guessed correctly. With only a few spots left, the odds weren’t terrible.
However, when the attendant flipped over the piece, it revealed a green leaf.
They were eliminated.
Li Yichen turned to Mu Rou, who was biting her lip, on the verge of tears. Her Lotus Glass Cup!
Mu Wan let out a long sigh. “I kindly told you, but you didn’t listen. Now there are ten spots left, and my lord has to shoot all of them himself. What if he gets too tired to continue?”
Xie Heng: “…”
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🤣🤣 Mu Wan plays them all, including Xie Heng. Mu Wan and Xie Heng is NOT a power couple bc Mu Wan does not need a partner. Xie Heng is actually more like a shield for her. 🤣🤣