After My System Went Bankrupt, I Found My Happy Ending with the General - Chapter 16

There were quite a few military officers having fun at the archery range. When they saw Liang Jue arrive, they put down their bows and arrows one after another to greet him.

These officers had come to the range for an archery competition after the hunt. Having worked up a sweat, several of them were disheveled, and the group was rather boisterous. Luo Chuchen cautiously shrank behind Liang Jue, feeling a bit intimidated.

Liang Jue waved his hand, signaling them to carry on with their activities. He then took Luo Chuchen aside to pick up some bows and arrows, choosing the spot at the very edge.

The bows here were the most ordinary kind. Liang Jue tested the draw weight before handing one to Luo Chuchen. “Not heavy. Give it a try.”

Luo Chuchen was half-skeptical. He took the bow and weighed it in his hand it really wasn’t very heavy.

Next came drawing the bow.

He gripped the bow handle with one hand and tried pulling the bowstring with the other,

“…”

Luo Chuchen released the bowstring, looked up expressionlessly at Liang Jue, and said, “And you call this ‘not heavy’?”

Liang Jue chuckled, picked up another bow himself, and demonstrated how to draw it. “You’re using your strength wrong. Place your thumb here, and your other finger here.”

Liang Jue explained the key points of the movement in detail. Luo Chuchen mimicked the actions and, to his surprise, managed to draw the bow fully without much effort.

Luo Chuchen let out a small cheer and repeatedly drew the bow several times, quite pleased with his progress.

After watching for a while, Liang Jue poured cold water on his enthusiasm. “Being able to draw the bow doesn’t necessarily mean you can shoot an arrow.”

Snapped back to reality, Luo Chuchen glared at Liang Jue indignantly and said, “Of course I know that.”

With that, he picked up an arrow, notched it on his bow, and tilted his head slightly. “See, this arrow of mine definitely won’t go far.”

Despite his words, Luo Chuchen secretly exerted a great deal of force and cunningly adjusted the arrowhead to aim higher.

Whoosh

Thud.

Luo Chuchen: “…”

Watching the arrow that had landed just inside the fence, he stubbornly maintained his composure and said, “See, I told you.”

Liang Jue burst into laughter.

Luo Chuchen’s face burned with embarrassment and a touch of anger at Liang Jue’s laughter. Grinding his molars, he walked over and stepped on Liang Jue’s foot. “Stop laughing!”

Liang Jue obediently suppressed his laughter, though a smile still lingered at the corners of his lips and eyes. He looked down at Luo Chuchen and admitted his fault, “Alright, my mistake.”

Luo Chuchen snorted and lifted his foot. “It’s my first time drawing a bow and shooting an arrow. Just being able to shoot it out is pretty good already.”

“Right, right, but that’s not how you shoot an arrow.” Liang Jue smiled, fetched a few more wooden arrows, and patiently taught Luo Chuchen how to adjust his posture.

“Draw it all the way back, keep your left hand steady, aim, release”

The arrow in Liang Jue’s hand shot out like a beam of light, its flight almost invisible.

A soldier stationed at the edge of the range called out the score loudly, “Ten rings!”

“Wow.” Luo Chuchen stared blankly at the seemingly distant target, then turned back to look at the longbow in Liang Jue’s hand, which appeared no different from his own.

Liang Jue, however, had already calmly set down the longbow. He raised an eyebrow at Luo Chuchen and said, “Want to give it a try?”

Luo Chuchen snapped out of his daze and hurriedly assumed the posture Liang Jue had just taught him, straightening his body and preparing to exert force.

Just then, Liang Jue leaned in, casting a shadow over half of Luo Chuchen’s side.

“You’ve already forgotten what I just taught you,” Liang Jue sighed.

Luo Chuchen instantly tensed up, swallowing hard. N-no way, are we going to have close contact again?

He froze in place, not daring to move a muscle. After a moment, he realized that Liang Jue was only using two fingers to gently lift his arm slightly.

“…”

He breathed a sigh of relief and obediently followed the correction of his posture, unsure whether he felt more relieved or disappointed.

After adjusting his posture in a few places, Liang Jue suddenly stopped touching him again and said softly, “Straighten your back a bit more.”

So he really wasn’t going to touch him anymore,

Luo Chuchen felt his ears tingling. Liang Jue’s voice seemed to whisper right beside his ear, sending a shivery, tingling sensation, as if countless ants were crawling over him.

Luo Chuchen couldn’t hold back any longer. Though he didn’t dare to disrupt the carefully adjusted posture, his face slightly flushed as he muttered quietly, “Can you hurry up and just get it over with?”

“Get what over with?” Liang Jue asked, puzzled, taking a step back. “It’s fine now. Remember to use force, but not too much.”

“…”

Luo Chuchen gritted his teeth again, aimed at the distant, barely visible target, and mentally replaced it with Liang Jue. He pulled the bowstring forcefully and released.

The arrow flew out, actually clearing the fence and landing just six or seven meters away from the target.

Liang Jue was the first to clap, saying, “Impressive, impressive.”

“Wh-what are you clapping for!” Luo Chuchen felt nothing but shame and frustration. He raised his hand and lightly slapped the back of Liang Jue’s hand, though the strike was feather-light.

Although his health had improved, his physical stamina hadn’t caught up. After holding the bow for so long and maintaining a fixed posture, his strength had unknowingly drained away.

Liang Jue guessed the reason and didn’t tease him further. Skillfully grabbing Luo Chuchen’s wrist, he coaxed, “Alright, let’s go take a break.”

Luo Chuchen protested, “Break from what?”

Liang Jue replied, “I’m tired. I’ve been hunting, riding, and now shooting arrows here. I’d like to go back for a cup of tea.”

As he spoke, he winked at Luo Chuchen.

“…”

Luo Chuchen was left speechless. Recalling the awkwardness he had felt earlier, he knew he was in the wrong and mumbled, “Fine, let’s go then.”

Liang Jue coaxed him again, “My estate also has an archery range. I’ll take you there another day.”

“I’m not a child.” Luo Chuchen said, but he still happily agreed.

They mounted their horses and returned to the resting camp, leaving the horses at the nearby stable before strolling toward the camp. After playing for so long, Luo Chuchen was utterly exhausted and didn’t feel like saying another word.

When they reached the tent, Shechuan was waiting at the entrance and hurried over to say, “Young Master, Lord Chu has returned and has been waiting inside the tent for a while.”

Liang Jue stopped in his tracks and said politely, “Then I won’t go in either.”

Luo Chuchen was slightly taken aback and turned back. “Huh? Aren’t you coming in for some tea before leaving?”

“No, I only came to accompany you back early so you could rest,” Liang Jue said.

“Oh.” Luo Chuchen was momentarily stunned.

Liang Jue nodded and prepared to turn away.

As Luo Chuchen watched him from behind, he thought, It’s clear that Liang Jue and Chu Yuanzhu have quite the rift between them.

But then, after taking a couple of steps, Liang Jue suddenly stopped, turned back, and asked, “Did you make plans to go out with that young master tomorrow?”

The question came too abruptly. Luo Chuchen took a moment to react, feeling somewhat puzzled as he answered honestly, “No he only mentioned it verbally.”

Liang Jue gave a soft hum and said, “That’s good.”

Luo Chuchen was baffled. What did he mean by “that’s good”?

Liang Jue added, “I can take you out to have fun too.”

Luo Chuchen was thrown off by the sudden shift in topic and nodded hastily in agreement. Liang Jue then turned and left.

Watching Liang Jue’s figure disappear into the distance, Luo Chuchen turned back in confusion. “Shechuan, what did he mean by that?”

Shechuan looked back at Luo Chuchen, thought for a moment, and said, “Perhaps Young Master Jue doesn’t want you to get too close to the heir?”

Luo Chuchen grew even more perplexed. He stroked his chin and pondered for a while. “It does seem that way.”

He was Liang Jue’s only childhood friend, and since returning to the capital, he hadn’t seen Liang Jue with any other companions.

That made him uniquely precious!

For some inexplicable reason, Luo Chuchen felt a surge of happiness.

When he returned home, he was inevitably subjected to Chu Yuanzhu’s nagging. After the lecture, Chu Yuanzhu repeatedly emphasized that he shouldn’t spend all his time thinking about going out to have fun. Now that he had finally found a master, he should focus on learning painting diligently.

Chu Yuanzhu then summoned the steward on the spot and instructed him that any invitations from Liang Jue must be reviewed by him first before being passed on to Luo Chuchen.

Luo Chuchen hadn’t expected Chu Yuanzhu to resort to such an outrageous measure. Standing by, he was too stunned to react immediately. Only when Steward Jiang was almost out of sight did he snap out of it and rush to stop him. “Wait Uncle, can we be a little more reasonable here?”

Chu Yuanzhu waved his hand dismissively. “There’s no need to argue about this. You once boasted about how much you wanted to enter the Painting Academy and study art seriously. But as soon as you’re with Liang Jue, you forget everything. Don’t embarrass me and your master by scoring poorly in the selection exam.”

“How could that happen?” Luo Chuchen was dumbfounded by his words.

Chu Yuanzhu raised his eyes, his expression unyielding. “Back at the Marquis’s estate, you always relied on Liang Jue to slack off in your studies. Do you want to repeat the same mistake now?”

Luo Chuchen wanted to argue back, racking his brains for a response, but Chu Yuanzhu had already stood up and was heading back to his room.

“Hey, Uncle!”

He hurried after him but failed to stop him.

Shechuan came over to support him, equally bewildered, and whispered hesitantly, “How about this? Since Young Master Jue is used to climbing our courtyard wall anyway, I can sneak out during tomorrow’s class to deliver a message to him.”

“That might work.”

Luo Chuchen stared at Chu Yuanzhu’s retreating figure, feeling a headache coming on.

But having Liang Jue, a general, climb the wall every now and then, what kind of situation was that?

Surely Chu Yuanzhu couldn’t be that heartless!

The next day, after returning from class, Luo Chuchen decided to try playing the sympathy card.

“Uncle, don’t you think it’s too harsh to forbid me from going out with my friends?” Luo Chuchen said pitifully.

Chu Yuanzhu replied, “Hmm? How is it harsh?”

Luo Chuchen explained, “You know Liang Jue is my only friend in the capital. When I was unwell before, he was the one who kept me company. Now that I’m much better, I haven’t had the chance to make new friends. If you stop me from going out with Liang Jue, it’s like trapping me inside this house!”

His expression was more aggrieved than Dou E’s.

Chu Yuanzhu found it amusing. He took a sip of tea and leisurely waited for Luo Chuchen to finish his performance before saying, “Oh? Is that so? Then why haven’t you made any new friends?”

Luo Chuchen replied with a grievance, “How long have I been in the capital? When would I have had the chance to meet anyone?”

Chu Yuanzhu remarked, “So you’re blaming me for being too busy with work and not taking you out, is that it?”

Luo Chuchen shuddered inwardly.

Who would want to go out with him!

Outwardly, he still played the obedient role: “I understand that Uncle is occupied with official matters.”

Chu Yuanzhu gave a faint, knowing smile. “Wasn’t yesterday’s winter hunt also a great opportunity to make new friends?”

Luo Chuchen thought of the enthusiastic and proactive Prince Rong’s son and hesitated, feeling a bit guilty.

Meanwhile, Chu Yuanzhu pulled a letter from his sleeve and handed it over. “Here, read it yourself.”

Luo Chuchen’s heart trembled as his eyes immediately went to the signature.

Qin Yu.

Chu Yuanzhu sat back comfortably, his smile unwavering. “You made a new friend and kept it from your uncle. Now he’s inviting you out will you go or not?”

Luo Chuchen: “…”