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Volume 1: Dragon Trapped in the Shoal, Chapter 67: The Drama of Cutting Willows

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    The Dragon Boat Festival is an important traditional festival in the Ming Dynasty. Both the people and the court would go boating and eat cakes and rice dumplings on this day.  On this day, Zhu Yijun usually took his concubines and children to Xiyuan to watch dragon boat fighting, rowing and other performances.  Before that, as a traditional program, the Willow Cutting Show was an indispensable appetizer.

    The so-called willow shearing was developed from the practice of shooting willows. It was originally a custom of the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. It was originally used by the horse people to practice archery while riding on running horses and shooting willow sticks stuck on the ground with bows and arrows.  After the Ming Dynasty expelled the Meng Yuan Dynasty and restored the Han Dynasty, the original intention of Sheliu was also changed. It was no longer a simple competition, and the name was changed to Shearing Liu and also called Walking Horse.

    Hide the pigeon in a gourd and hang it on a willow tree. After the arrow is shot into the gourd and the gourd hits the ground, the height of the pigeon flying out of the gourd is used as the standard, rather than judging the winner or loser based on the quality of the shooting skills.  The Baimu as the target, shooting off and galloping hand-to-hand are much less difficult than vetoing the outcome.  When everyone hits the gourd, who wins and who loses depends on the pigeon in the gourd, rather than the shooter's shooting skills and riding skills. This is undoubtedly a great chance. Shooting willows is more entertaining than competitive.  It means less.

    However, the willow cutting in the palace can be divided into two categories. One is that the willow cutter directly shoots the willow stick hanging the gourd with an arrow. The comparison is that the willow stick must be shot first, and then the pigeons in the gourd will fly.  The winner is determined by high or low points; the other type is that the willow cutter does not need to shoot the arrow himself, but only needs to select the gourd hanging on the willow branch that he likes. There is also a person with good archery skills who is responsible for shooting the gourd, and only uses the gourd.  The height of the flying pigeon determines the outcome.

    The gameplay of archery is generally selected by the emperor and the concubine children. You can't expect those who are weak to pull the archery one by one.

    "boom!"

    "Jingle Bell¡­¡­"

    "good!¡­¡­"

    "Ah! Look, it's the 'Phoenix Point'! What the Third Prince shot was actually the 'Feng Tou Point'!"

    "That's'Fengtou idea'!"

    ""

    Zhu Yijun is sitting on the large dragon chair in the middle of Ziguang Pavilion in Xiyuan. On the left is Queen Wang and on the right is Concubine Zheng.  When he saw a "crested idea" flying out of the gourd-shaped pigeon cage shot by Zhu Changxun, he raised the corner of his mouth and the smile on his face became a little thicker.

    "Phoenix Point" spread its wings and flew into the air, flying higher and higher, and the sweet sound came from the dove bell hanging around its neck from time to time.  When he finally stopped flying high in the sky, he was already on top of many pigeons hovering in the sky, looking down at the flock of pigeons.

    ¡°Gege, I didn¡¯t expect that what Xun¡¯er shot was the ¡®Fengtou Idea¡¯. I¡¯m so lucky!  Your Majesty, Xun'er is probably going to win the first prize in today's walking hussar race.  "Concubine Zheng couldn't help laughing. The better her son performed, the more face the emperor who favored his son would gain. Of course she, as a mother, would be happier.

    Zhu Yijun smiled and nodded. "Feng Tou Di Zi" is a top-quality pigeon and is famous for flying high.

    "Sister, tell me, is Xun'er lucky? Haha, if I remember correctly, this will fly higher than the 'black dots' shot out of the purple gourd you just picked." Zheng  The imperial concubine turned her head and said with a smile to the queen.

    Queen Wang smiled and nodded: "Yes, you are quite lucky! Xun'er is really good, even the 'Egret White' shot by the emperor was under pressure."

    Then he turned his head and looked at Zhu Yijun, and asked with a smile: "Your Majesty, the one you shot seems to be called 'Egret White', right? I don't know much about pigeons. I heard they all called it that just now."

    Zhu Yijun nodded slightly, and the smile on his face did not change: "The Queen is right, the pigeon I shot is the 'Heron White', which is also a rare and extremely rare pigeon, but Xun'er is luckier.  "

    Queen Wang said "Oh" and turned around, a little disappointed in her heart. The emperor didn't seem to care that the pigeon he shot was overwhelmed by Zhu Changxun's shot.

    Concubine Zheng also turned her head, snorting in her heart, a little angry and disdainful of Queen Wang's provocation.  You don't understand the emperor too well. How can the emperor care about being compared to his own son in such a leisurely game?

    Zhu Changxun was very excited and couldn't hide the pride on his face. He secretly praised it in his heart. What Gao Huai said was indeed true. The gourd contained really "Fengtou ideas".

    He rolled his eyes, and said loudly to Zhu Changluo who was sitting next to him with a smile on his face: "Brother, you can choose one too! Every year you only watch and watch. It's rare that you are happy today. My father and mother made an exception this year."  I picked one, and my father just pointed at it casually and shot out a 'Egret White'. I picked and picked, picked and picked, and with good luck, I shot out a 'Crested Pidgeot'." Maybe you  It can really shoot out a 'black jade wing'."

     Zhu Changluo smiled and glanced at Zhu Changxun who was sitting next to him: "Forget it, I have never been as lucky as Third Brother, and I don't have Third Brother's sharp eyesight. You can see clearly that it is a painting from such a long distance.  A gourd with a white crane."

    Zhu Changxun didn't hear Zhu Changluo's slightly sarcastic tone. He was already eleven years old and couldn't think of that much, so he just thought that Zhu Changluo had praised himself.  However, he could still hear Zhu Changluo's evasion, and thought that Zhu Changluo was timid. He was even more proud, and wanted the so-called eldest son of the emperor to make a fool of himself, so that he could highlight his own extraordinaryness.

    "What? Are you afraid, brother? Or do you think the reward set by your father is too bad and you don't like it? How about I ask your father to increase the reward? Ugh! It seems that is not possible. In that case, father  The emperor thought I wanted more rewards." Zhu Changxun's face was full of arrogance, as if victory was within easy reach.

    Zhu Changluo smiled and shook his head. He was too lazy to say anything to Zhu Changxun now. If you are arguing with a child, you are not guilty of it, and you can easily be caught.  What's more, it's obvious that Zhu Changxun will win the championship "again" without exception. Why should he join in the fun and become a green leaf for others?

    "Eh? Brother, are you shaking your head because you really feel that your father's reward is too little?" Zhu Changxun pretended to be surprised, then turned to Concubine Zheng who was sitting at the top and asked in a low voice: "Concubine, I just asked  The eldest brother also picked a gourd, but he didn't agree, so I said it wasn't because he disliked the reward from his father that he was too small. The elder brother smiled and shook his head, what does this mean? The eldest brother disliked that the reward from his father was too small, so he didn't want to.  Or does it mean something else?"

    Zhu Changxun¡¯s voice was just low enough to be heard by Zhu Yijun.

    Concubine Zheng glared at Zhu Changxun and said with some displeasure: "What nonsense are you talking about? How could your elder brother mean that? Maybe he doesn't want to play."

    Zhu Yijun frowned slightly and glanced at Zhu Changluo out of the corner of his eye. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. Everyone is happy. Don't you kid disturb the elegance? Can't you just pick someone to suit the occasion?  Do you really think that the rewards I set are too few?

    "It's rare to be so happy. The 'Heron White' I shot was still in second place. Today I'm going to do it for my own benefit. The rewards for the top three this year will be doubled!" Zhu Yijun announced with a smile.

    Concubine Zheng¡¯s smile became even brighter. It seemed that her son was pretty good too. Although this provocation was too childish, it was rare for the emperor to listen to it.

    Zhu Changluo sighed in his heart, your mother-in-law Zhu Changxun, did I provoke you today?  You cheated and came up with a "phoenix idea", do you really think Zhu Yijun didn't know about it?  Forget it if you cheat, you still have to find me to be your foil!  The most annoying thing is Zhu Yijun. You know clearly that Zhu Changxun is cheating, but the provocation is still so obvious, but you still go along with his wishes!  It's a little too obvious to be doted on!

    ????????????????????????????????????????? Now I am pushed into a dilemma again, don¡¯t choose the gourd, Zhu Yijun has clearly hinted it; if I go to choose now, doesn¡¯t it mean that I really dislike the reward for being too small at first?  This is the second one. The key is that there is a high probability that I will not be able to beat Zhu Changxun. If I become a green leaf, if I lose, those who think I am dissatisfied with the lack of rewards will laugh at my arrogance and ignorance!

    Looking at the divine archer who was waiting not far away, Zhu Changluo shook his head and had no choice but to take a gamble.  .  
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