Chapter 82

Chapter 82: "Don't Stop, Keep Fighting!" "If you keep following me, I'll have you thrown down the mountain!" Gan Qiongying drove Song Ci away, and this time Song Ci did not persist, quickly disappearing from her sight. Just then, amidst the clamor, an announcement rang out: Princess Hui'an the Great had arrived. Her heart, which had just settled, leaped into her throat again. Gan Qiongying turned and saw Princess Hui'an's sedan chair. She glanced from the sedan chair to the scene before her, and her heart sank with dread. The fight in the arena was still ongoing, and Princess Hui'an's sedan chair was drawing closer step by step. Because the crowd outside had formed multiple layers, Princess Hui'an had to disembark early. Gan Qiongying looked into the distance and saw Aunt Wumei and another aunt supporting Princess Hui'an, who was swaying unsteadily and clearly in poor condition. The words Gan Qiongying had spoken during the banquet had evidently dealt a heavy blow to Princess Hui'an. She had not fully recovered, and even with two people supporting her, walking was still a struggle. Clearly, she had forced herself to come and mediate. Princess Hui'an moved toward the arena, with attendants ahead constantly clearing a path through the crowd. But there were too many people, and they had lost all reason. Suddenly being pushed aside caused people to shove and trample one another. A brazier atop a fire stand over a person's height was knocked over by the crowd. The brazier crashed down, scattering countless sparks, landing just a few steps away from Princess Hui'an. She even felt a wave of heat and smelled the kerosene from the brazier. The maids and attendants beside her were startled, and Princess Hui'an let out a sharp cry, her legs giving way as she collapsed to the ground. Gan Qiongying immediately pushed through the crowd and rushed over. Fortunately, the brazier had landed upside down, trapping most of the flames and preventing anyone from being injured. But kerosene continued to spill from the edges of the brazier, burning as it spread across the ground. Princess Hui'an was badly shaken. When she was helped up, she swayed unsteadily, breathing rapidly, her vision darkening in waves. A sudden gust of wind blew past. Princess Hui'an looked at the flickering flames on the ground, closed her eyes, and fainted once more. "Aunt!" Seeing Princess Hui'an's deathly pale face, Gan Qiongying quickly called for several maids to help her into the sedan chair. Aunt Wumei immediately sent someone to fetch Imperial Physician Wu, instructing him to wait in the courtyard ahead. Gan Qiongying followed Princess Hui'an's sedan chair for a few steps before suddenly halting. She turned back to look at the still clamoring, frenzied crowd, her eyes now burning with anger. She turned and strode quickly toward the arena. Seeing that the two men still had not stopped fighting, her fury erupted like the overturned brazier, blazing fiercely. The group of young noblemen, clearly caught up in the madness, continued their revelry, seemingly delighting in the chaos. Not a single one of them cared about Princess Hui'an, who had come and fainted moments before. Gan Qiongying herself did not realize how terrifying her expression had become at that moment. The plot had already diverged drastically from the scene described in the book. Gan Qiongying did not realize that, due to her interference, the plot had completely derailed at this point. Originally, Zhongli Zhengzhen and the Regent could have been easily dissuaded by the women they loved. But now, the two had completely lost control, refusing to heed even a single word of persuasion. The attendant's earlier announcement had been loud and repeated several times, impossible for anyone on the field to miss. Yet, the two of them continued to fight recklessly, while the noble youths acted as if they were deaf. These people were like a group of marionettes whose strings had been cut, or NPCs programmed with chaotic instructions. Gan Qiongying scanned her surroundings and locked onto a bow and arrows not far away. She strode over with fierce determination, grabbed the bow, and tore a strip of cloth from the hem of her robe. Wrapping the slender cloth around an arrowhead, she headed straight for the spilled lamp oil, lit the arrow, and drew the bowstring taut. Gan Qiongying aimed at the two still fighting in the field and released an arrow. It struck the Regent directly in the leg, drawing everyone's attention to Gan Qiongying outside the arena. Zhongli Zhengzhen watched as the Regent staggered a few steps. Just as he was about to turn to look, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his waist—he too had been hit by an arrow. The Regent realized this was no ordinary arrow but one soaked in lamp oil. He immediately tried to pull it out, but his robes were already stained with oil. Flames quickly licked up from his calf to his clothing, and he frantically patted at them. Meanwhile, Zhongli Zhengzhen clutched his stomach and stumbled back several steps. The arrow in him was clearly deeper, and he nearly lost his balance. After struggling for a moment, he fell to his knees. The lamp oil ignited the fabric rapidly, and with the night's gentle breeze fanning the flames, the fire spread swiftly, as if trying to consume them both! The fight was forcibly interrupted by these two arrows. They immediately dropped their daggers, slapping at the flames on their bodies and even scooping up dirt from the ground to extinguish the fire. Soon, guards rushed forward with various tools to help put out the flames on the two men. The overturned brazier had caused the lamp oil to spread over a larger area. Gan Qiongying stood before the flickering firelight, her figure silhouetted against the leaping flames. Her face was filled with rage, her knuckles white with tension, and her eyes seemed to burn with the same intensity as the fire. The crowd stared in shock, too stunned to speak. Even the guards had not reacted in time. While it might be one thing for the Prince of Jinchuan, how could anyone dare to shoot so blatantly at the Regent? Wasn't this tantamount to "regicide"? The sheer shock of it all left no one stepping forward to stop Gan Qiongying from firing arrows into the field. Gan Qiongying drew the bowstring taut again, releasing arrow after arrow, each one aimed directly at the two men in the arena. Forced to extinguish the flames while dodging Gan Qiongying's relentless arrows, they ended up scurrying and crawling around the field just like Wen Xueling, eventually taking refuge behind the big black bear. Each arrow she fired encircled the two men, trapping them within a ring of arrows. Remarkably, Gan Qiongying herself had never learned archery, but the original Princess Duanrong was skilled in both horseback riding and archery, even excelling in games typically dominated by men. So, at this moment, Gan Qiongying's body seemed to be taken over by another person, much like how she had fallen in love with radish cake the first time she tasted it, despite never having eaten it before. Two souls in one body, transcending time and space, merged in their shared fury—every arrow found its mark. Firing one arrow at a time no longer felt satisfying enough. Gan Qiongying grabbed four arrows at once, holding them between her fingers, lit their tips, and drew the bowstring taut. This time, she did not release them immediately but aimed directly at the crowd in the field. The two men in the arena dared not move away from the big black bear, their expressions now utterly shaken. The Regent clutched his wound, glaring furiously at Gan Qiongying, while Zhongli Zhengzhen, struck in the kidney and gravely injured, groaned as he pressed his injury. Everyone in the arena had stopped to stare at Gan Qiongying. Their earlier frenzy seemed to have vanished, as if reason had been restored to them all. Because the four flaming arrows in Gan Qiongying’s hands were no longer aimed at the two men in the arena, but at the crowd of noble sons. Gan Qiongying finally spoke. “Don’t stop now, keep fighting!” “Weren’t you so eager to fight?” The four fully drawn flaming arrows were ready to fly. Gan Qiongying swept them across the crowd, unsure whom she was targeting. Her voice burned hotter than the flames in the brazier: “And all of you, shout! Why have you gone silent? Get rowdy again!” Damn it all.