I folded my arms and snorted. "I didn't say a word. Some people should know it themselves."
"Humph, scaremongering," Aoting sneered disdainfully.
I said leisurely, "Prince An... Prince Xu..."
"What did you say?!"
Seeing her flustered, I immediately added, "Prince An told me all about your past. If you don't want me to embellish those things and tell them all to Yuchi Cheng, you'd better stop showing up in front of us."
"You!" Aoting's face turned deathly pale. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she regained her composure and said coldly, "How do I know if you're bluffing me?"
I laughed after hearing this and whispered, "One night, with a strong wind and a dark moon, Qingzhu got drunk..." Just as I finished this sentence, there suddenly came footsteps from behind. It was Yuchi Cheng asking, "What are you talking about?"
Aoting immediately looked at me nervously, while I sighed softly. "An interesting story. Do you want to listen?"
Yuchi Cheng was intrigued. "Tell me then."
Seeing this, Aoting immediately said, "I don't want to listen anymore. I have something important to do. I'll leave now."
Seeing this, I said, "Since Aoting is not interested, forget it. I won't talk about it anymore."
Yuchi Cheng immediately said, "It's up to you."
Aoting glared at me resentfully, hoping that I would keep my promise. Then she reluctantly put away her bow and left. I gave her a faint smile, indicating that she didn't need to worry.
It wasn't until she was far away that Yuchi Cheng handed me the cowhide water bag and asked, "What did you say to her?"
"Nothing," I shrugged.
"Then why did she leave?"
"I don't know either..." I pretended to be innocent.
Yuchi Cheng looked at me inquisitively and suddenly said, "Is someone going to be fierce with me again now?"
I looked at him obediently. "Have I ever been fierce?"
"Yes, often!" He nodded. "It seems that you're only the gentlest when Aoting is around us."
Only then did I realize that I was actually a drama queen. So I said, "Why do you think she's so persistent even though you're so mean to her?"
Yuchi Cheng said, "Maybe what you can't get is always the best."
I nodded thoughtfully.
...
After that, Aoting really didn't come to the female archery range again. Every night before going to bed, I would go to the high platform with my maid to listen to Prince An's stories. Besides telling some legends about Beihan, he would also tell some miraculous stories.
I listened to those stories with great interest. Even if I didn't understand and asked, Prince An would answer them one by one.
I thought Prince An was very suitable to be a legend writer because his stories were really interesting, much more interesting than the picture books I secretly read behind my mother's and father's backs.
Such days passed quickly. Before long, we were going to set off for Chimo.
The night before we left, I found Prince An in great distress and told him about Aoting's plan to compete with me in Chimo.
Aoting said that since there must be a competition between us, we might as well have a fair competition. Even if she couldn't win Yuchi Cheng's heart, it would be good to defeat me.
I didn't want to compete with her at all. Wouldn't that be slapping myself in the face?
I thought about the possible events in the Chimo competition. Horse riding... I couldn't compare with her who rode horses every day; archery... I couldn't compare with her who had practiced for many years; hunting... I was afraid that I would be scared when I saw big animals and couldn't bear to kill small ones...
So, I'd better give up!
After hearing my distress, Prince An said, "The hunting in the Chimo tribe is really different from the royal hunting in Beihan. But as long as you pay attention to one thing, Aoting won't be able to compete with you."
"What?"
"That is, all the competitions in Chimo are divided into men's and women's. As long as you dress up as a man, nothing can stop you."
"Is that okay?" I looked at Prince An in surprise. Prince An just smiled lightly. "If you're going with Yuchi Cheng, you'd better dress up as a man. Because Chimo is rich in beautiful women. If you dress up as a woman, you'll be compared by the women there. If you don't want to be mocked by the women's gazes all the way with Yuchi Cheng, you'd better dress up as a man."
"So you mean that Yuchi Cheng will be invited to dance by countless women as soon as he arrives?" I vaguely remembered that in the "Beihan Customs" I had read, it said that in Chimo, women were bold. Whenever there was a large bonfire party, the girls there would invite the men they fancied to dance. If the man agreed, it meant that he was also interested, and the two could consider getting married.
Prince An said that if I dressed up as a woman, I would definitely attract the attention of the women there. So actually what he wanted to say was that Yuchi Cheng was more likely to be promiscuous... Because if no one paid attention to Yuchi Cheng, why would they care whether I beside him was beautiful or ugly...
Prince An coughed a few times and then said, "You can put it that way. But I can guarantee that even if Aoting knows that the women there like to compare, she won't dress up as a man. So as long as your genders are different, you don't have to compete with her."
Well, I was really convinced by Prince An. After all, he circled back to the same point. But his suggestion was really feasible for me. Anyway, I wasn't without experience of dressing up as a man.
"But doesn't Aoting know that the competitions are divided into men's and women's? If she sees me dressing up as a man tomorrow and also dresses up as a man to compete with me, what should I do?"
Prince An said, "Well... Even if that's the case, the two of you women can't compare with those men. Cough, being the last two should count as a loss, right..."
"Okay..." Listening to his analysis, I suddenly felt much calmer. So I bid farewell to him and began to look forward to my journey to Chimo.
The next morning, when I got up, Yuchi Cheng was waiting for me outside the door as promised. For a moment, I felt that this scene was familiar.
After Yuchi Cheng saw my dressing, he tugged at my clothes and squinted. "What's going on?"
I said, "From now on, I'm Yong Ziming. Don't forget to introduce me like this."
"Hmm?" He waited for me to continue. I smiled and tried to put my arm on his shoulder. "Good brother, don't you think it's cooler to ride a horse and shoot arrows in men's clothes?"
After I finished speaking, I took my hand off with a smile and walked forward. Yuchi Cheng couldn't help shaking his head. "I really can't do anything about you."
I looked back and smiled at him. "Hurry up. As the host, how can you let the guest pave the way for you?"
Yuchi Cheng trotted a few steps forward and then led the way...
Outside the palace, the carriages were already ready. My aunt and uncle were both in military uniforms, riding on horses. They looked extremely handsome. The wet nurse was holding their youngest daughter, Yuchi Xue, to see them off. I couldn't help looking around for Yuchi Xu, but I never saw his figure.
Actually, I had always been curious about Yuchi Xu's status in Beihan. Why did my aunt and uncle never take him with them when they went out, and why didn't he participate in any activities? And whenever I asked Prince An about Yuchi Xu, Prince An would just smile without saying a word.