Rebirth of Fa Wei Lan : Volume 2

Chapter 33: Underestimate

At Wang Mansion, I was making tea for grandmother, mother, and Li Xia when a servant suddenly rushed in. We were surprised when the servant told us the crown prince is there. As soon as we all went to our feet, a man in gold and silver strode in with a smile on his face. I never saw the crown prince before but knew it was him by his aura and regal stature.

"Princess Fa Wei Lan"

I was startled when he called for me.

"Yes, your highness" I replied, keeping my head bowed.

"Royal father has asked if you'll come play in the palace"

"Huh?" I was confused and lifted my head to see his teasing smiles.

"There is a competition that father wants you to take a part of. Since you are familiar with horse riding and archery, he asked that you join"

I blinked several times, trying to understand what was going on.

"Come, we don't have much time" The crown prince chuckled. "Everyone is waiting"

Just like that, Li Xia helped me changed into appropriate attire before I went to get Yun. I requested if I could ride my own horse and the crown prince answered with a smile.

"If that is what you prefer princess"

"Be careful child" Grandmother said as she stood at the Wang Mansion gate. "Remember the rules of the palace"

"Yes grandmother" I replied with a soft bow.

"You all do not need to worry" The crown prince gave warm smile. "Princess Wei Lan, ready?"

While I followed behind him, I wondered what had happened. I know Wang Feng was currently attending the royal banquet to welcome the neighboring country Ruichai. Did something happened to Feng? The sudden thought made me feel uneasy.

Before we entered the outdoor banquet, the crown prince handed me a bow and bag of arrows. He had explained to me that the neighboring princess want to compete with me in archery. I had been confused to the vague explaining. When I saw the large group of people surrounding the large open field, the uneasy feeling intensified.

I scanned the crowd, searching for Feng. When I saw him, he had a scary angry expression. He didn't look upset with me - more like he was unhappy with the situation. I wondered what had happened to make Feng so angry. Did he not want me here?

"This is the princess who can ride a horse and do archery?"

I was startled when a tall, gorgeous woman appeared in front of me. She was looking at me from head to toe.

"Aren't you too small?"

I couldn't respond since I was, indeed, a lot smaller than her.

"Don't underestimate the princess" The emperor spoke out with smile. "Not only is she this country first rank princess, she held the champion title in archery in the North and South Province for the last 7 years"

The foreign princess looked at me with surprise.

"Young princess, do you still want to compete?" The emperor teased.

I was startled when the woman eyes flash, changing into like a lioness. I realized in that moment that the gorgeous woman was the foreign princess of Ruichai. Before I could respond and give her a proper greeting; she went to her horse. Utterly lost, I looked back the emperor who I saw giving me a wink. When the princess shouted at me to hurry up so that we could begin, I felt more confused. Why was she angry? With a soft sigh, I felt as if I'm being pulling into a game I'm not even fully aware of.

The rules to the competition seem to be the same as the Spring competition. Since I've done it for 7 years, I felt relieved by the familiarity. Setting the set of arrows behind my back and the bow over my shoulders, I patted Yun's neck and lavished him with attention. When he didn't let me pet him, I laughed. Ever since I married Wang Feng, I barely have time to spend with Yun. The intelligent horse was upset that I have been neglecting him.

"Are you really upset with me Yun?" I gently stroke his neck. "You're not going to throw me off, are you?"

He snorted at my question - like I was silly. He would never throw me off.

"So you're going to help me?"

When he snorted again, I giggled and hugged him.

"Your horse" The princess suddenly came up beside me again. "Is he blind?"

She was shocked when she saw Yun' glazed white eyes.

"How can you ride such a horse?" The princess said angrily. "Do you think you can win with a handicapped horse? Do you look down on me?"

"Princess" I said gently. "Yun has been with Wei Lan since she was a child. Wei Lan assure you, Yun is not a handicapped horse nor does she dare look down on anyone"

She scoffed and pulled her horse rein. Seeing her leave, I sighed tiredly while continuing to pat at Yun's neck.

"Let's go Yun..."