The clingy concubine ran away, and the sickly prince lost control.

Luo Qingyan sighed and facepalmed. Did the ceremonial officer have to report it like this? If the third-ranked scholar missed the shot, he would be ridiculed even more. She really felt like she had ruined the other person's life.

The arrow is on the bowstring.

Shen Nanxun drew his bow and aimed.

Luo Qingyan stared intently, hoping to hit the bullseye, which was the peacock eye that flickered between light and shadow.

"It's okay for you to blink; it won't affect Shen Nanxun's performance," Pei Shiyuan said coldly, glancing at Luo Qingyan.

If you miss your shot, let's see if you can still laugh when you see Shen Nanxun.

Luo Qingyan was a little angry, but she had been holding back. Pei Shiyuan even mocked her, so she had to say something: "Your Highness, it's not right for us to use the gifts they gave us and then make things difficult for them."

"I'm not making things difficult. If you're not as skilled as others, you have to accept it." Pei Shiyuan raised his chin and stared at Shen Nanxun.

Luo Qingyan turned her face away. She couldn't reason with Pei Shiyuan and only made him angry. She could only wish Shen Nanxun good luck.

As the arrow left the bowstring, Luo Qingyan was startled; the arrow had deviated slightly!

That's it, not only will you miss the bullseye, you might even miss the target altogether.

I dare not imagine how loud the boos will be later; people will say that the third-ranked scholar is all show and no substance.

As Luo Qingyan was thinking, she saw the arrow seem to change its trajectory midway, heading straight for the bullseye.

"it is good."

Suddenly, a huge cheer erupted from the crowd, followed by enthusiastic applause: "Truly deserving of the title of Third Scholar!"

Luo Qingyan clapped and cheered, and Xiao Xingzi jumped up with joy. He had shot first, but he was a little short of the bullseye. Senior Shen was still the best.

No one noticed how dark Pei Shiyuan's face was.

Luo Qingyan was fed up with not being able to ascertain others' true abilities because of Pei Shiyuan's feelings, and bluntly stated:

"Your Highness, Shen Nanxun is quite capable."

"Not so good," Pei Shiyuan said coldly, his tone disdainful.

Luo Qingyan was surprised, but managed a smile: "Young Master, isn't hitting the bullseye pretty good?"

"Yes." Pei Shiyuan looked up and stared straight ahead, not wanting to pay any attention to Luo Qingyan, who seemed so naive.

After everyone had finished competing, only a very few students who were close to the bullseye received cheers.

Luo Qingyan looked helplessly at the dejected students beside her, as if she had to bear part of the responsibility. She did not see Pei Shiyuan exchanging glances with the teacher. She nodded, turned around, and found Pei Shiyuan sitting in a wheelchair with three arrows already nocked on his bow.

"Your Highness."

Before Luo Qingyan could finish speaking, three arrows flew swiftly from the bowstring and simultaneously pierced the bullseye.

"Oh!" Luo Qingyan's mouth formed a circle in surprise, and her eyes slowly turned to Pei Shiyuan. You are the best. I was right. He just wanted to compete with Shen Nanxun.

Do you care about her that much? Then have a baby now!

Although she thought Pei Shiyuan's suggestion to wait until the crisis was over made sense, she still wanted to have children as soon as possible.

"Did you see that? Shen Nanxun had an arrow that hit the bullseye, but it fell down because he didn't control the force well." Pei Shiyuan looked at Luo Qingyan with the same kind of naive look she had never seen before.

"Your Highness is right, you are the best."

Exclamations erupted from the crowd: "Who? Who shot that?"

They never imagined it was Pei Shiyuan, who was in a wheelchair.

The cheers reached a climax.

Amidst the clamor of voices, Luo Qingyan leaned close to Pei Shiyuan's ear: "Your Highness, I want to have a baby tonight."

Pei Shiyuan's ears turned red, and he leaned back, knowing that it would be difficult to change Luo Qingyan's mind. He kept bringing it up, but didn't that also show that she didn't think much of Shen Nanxun?

Thinking of this, Pei Shiyuan curled his lips and a smile flashed in his eyes.

Luo Qingyan thought Pei Shiyuan had agreed, and raised her eyebrows and winked at him in response.

"no."

But the next moment, Pei Shiyuan poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

Not to be outdone, Luo Qingyan steeled her resolve and said, "Shen Nanxun is excellent."

Instantly, Pei Shiyuan glared at him.

Luo Qingyan chuckled inwardly, "I knew you cared. You still won't agree to consummate the marriage?"

"Back to Kangning Pavilion, I brought you ten more books. You're not allowed to sleep until midnight." Pei Shiyuan rolled his wheelchair around, looking at Luo Qingyan, who seemed to have too much energy.

Oh my god! Luo Qingyan followed dejectedly, but the crowd separated her from Pei Shiyuan, and she bumped into Shen Nanxun.

Luo Qingyan immediately realized what was happening and said apologetically, "Young Master Shen, I'm sorry, that peacock was distracting and made it difficult to hit."

"It's alright." Shen Nanxun said seriously, "Only in this way can we see the level. I still need to practice more. I am far from being as good as Prince Pei. He truly deserves to be called a general who has experienced countless battles."

"Brother Shen's skill is also one in a thousand." Pei Shiyuan returned at some point.

Shen Nanxun cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Your Highness is too kind."

Looking at their expressions, Luo Qingyan noticed that Pei Shiyuan's face was no longer dark, and he seemed to have a lot of affirmation for Shen Nanxun.

Shen Nanxun was no longer as embarrassed as before.

"Come visit Kangning Pavilion when you have time," Pei Shiyuan said.

Luo Qingyan was surprised that Pei Shiyuan would invite people; he was usually so cold that he could practically blast people away.

"Alright, thank you, Your Highness," Shen Nanxun replied generously.

The two seemed not to see Luo Qingyan standing to the side.

Luo Qingyan completely relaxed, took two steps back, and let the two of them talk.

Pei Shiyuan then discussed some official business with Shen Nanxun.

On the carriage ride back, Luo Qingyan was listless, while Pei Shiyuan and Shen Nanxun actually got along well.

She was hoping to make Pei Shiyuan jealous and impulsively consummate their marriage, but that's no longer an option.

The carriage swayed, and Luo Qingyan's eyelids drooped. She suddenly woke up with a start: "Your Highness, can we skip the book tonight?"

"No," Pei Shiyuan said coldly.

If he doesn't read at night, is he just giving Luo Qingyan a chance to torment him?

Luo Qingyan frowned slightly, feeling extremely annoyed. Holding her breath, she pleaded, "Your Highness, I was wrong. I'll do as you say and not have children for now. Could I please skip my studies tonight?"

"No." Pei Shiyuan stared coldly at Luo Qingyan, whose face showed embarrassment.

"Yes, Your Highness." Luo Qingyan smiled through gritted teeth, thinking to herself, "Stubborn. Be careful, I might pretend to be sleepwalking and scare you to death."

Yuan Qing drove at a leisurely pace. Despite his long illness, his archery skills had not diminished at all. He fired three arrows simultaneously, hitting the bullseye steadily. He was truly remarkable.

Why is the entrance to Kangning Pavilion so crowded with people that it's blocking the road and making it difficult for carriages to stop?

Yuan Qing looked from afar and said, "Master, I'll go take a look."

A moment later, Yuan Qing came running back: "Aunt Luo, your mother has fainted at the entrance of Kangning Pavilion."

He squeezed into the crowd, and Sun, who was speaking, suddenly collapsed, startling the crowd into taking a half-step back.

Luo Qingyan didn't even need to think about it. She knew that Madam Sun was probably here to cause trouble for Luo Chengyong because he was frail and sickly for the rest of his life. What could she do? At most, she could utter a few twisted arguments to criticize her, but that wouldn't change anything.

"Young Master, why don't you go back to the Duke's mansion first? I'll go. Yuanqing, turn the corner and escort the Young Master back to the mansion."

Luo Qingyan jumped off the carriage.

She tried her best to minimize the trouble for Pei Shiyuan with matters concerning the Luo family.

"Sister." Luo Haitang ran over, wiping away her tears. Her mother had been unconscious for a long time, and Luo Qingyan hadn't gone to see her yet, so she had to come.