Mistakenly Marked the Madly Beautiful Princess - Chapter 11

On the day of the military examination, Ling Yue surprisingly woke up early. After Chuntao helped her freshen up, she took down the spear from the courtyard.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed the wooden shaft had cracked from the cold.

Ling Yue didn’t mind, but as she stepped outside, she saw Ling Fu.

“Father.”

Ling Fu couldn’t help feeling angry as he looked at his daughter. He suspected the Princess Royal was sending a warning, or perhaps Ling Yue had offended her at the palace that day.

The thought darkened his expression further. “Why didn’t you listen to your elder sister?” he scolded.

The day before, Ling Ya had come to persuade her to forfeit the competition and surrender directly.

But Ling Yue had her reasons for refusing, though she couldn’t voice them.

Ling Yue wasn’t angry. In her past life, she had weathered too many storms, and so-called familial bonds seemed insignificant now.

She had once hidden her strength, hoping to live a simple life. That wish had been shattered by Lu Weiying in her past life, and now, in this life, Lu He was forcing her into the spotlight.

Hiding was no longer an option. If that was the case, she would also discard her former cowardice and humility.

Ling Yue raised her head and met the gaze of her nominal father, her demeanor even more imposing than his. “I dare not disobey the Princess Royal’s command. Please step aside, Father.”

This sudden change startled Ling Fu, and anger quickly followed. “How dare you!” he roared. “Speaking to me like this, you have no upbringing!”

Ling Yue remained calm, replying indifferently, “Father is right. I had no one to teach me.”

“You!”

Feeling his authority challenged, Ling Fu raised his hand, ready to teach her a lesson.

“Father, stop!”

Ling Ya rushed over from behind and stood in front of Ling Yue, staring at Ling Fu’s raised arm. “Father, don’t.”

Faced with Ling Ya, Ling Fu’s demeanor shifted entirely. He angrily shook his sleeve and stormed off, leaving this place he seldom visited.

Ling Ya breathed a sigh of relief, then tried to explain to Ling Yue, “Father was just too angry.”

Does anger justify hitting someone?

Ling Yue had been ready to fight back; Ling Ya’s intervention had actually saved Ling Fu.

Ling Ya seemed to realize her words lacked credibility. She took Ling Yue’s hand, her expression sorrowful. “Do you really have to go?”

Ling Ya’s hand was colder than hers, unlike a few days ago.

It seemed her illness had worsened.

Ling Yue withdrew her hand and nodded. “I must go.”

Tears instantly welled up in Ling Ya’s eyes. The Emperor had sought her out and spoken of this matter.

But she couldn’t believe the Princess Royal would harm Ling Yue. The Princess Royal had always seemed so gentle.

The environment here was not as pure as in the mountains, and she no longer knew whom to trust.

Watching her elder sister weep so pitifully, Ling Yue froze.

She was truly afraid of others crying except enemies. The more her enemies cried, the more excited she became.

She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again.

In her past life, she had spent most of her years on the battlefield, surrounded by soldiers. She had never learned how to comfort people.

But she was skilled at calming horses.

A spark of inspiration lit up Ling Yue’s eyes. She reached out with her left hand and patted her elder sister’s shoulder. “Don’t be afraid. Trust me.”

Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, Ling Ya felt she wasn’t acting like an elder sister, disturbing her younger sister’s emotions at such a time.

She forced a smile. “Go. You will return safely.”

Though Ling Ya’s concern felt inexplicable, Ling Yue was warmed by it.

She finally smiled. “Elder sister, wait for me to come back.”

Ling Ya saw her still trying to comfort her and couldn’t hold back her tears. She quickly controlled her emotions, forcing a smile that looked worse than crying. “Go ahead.”

Horses were prepared at the entrance, and beside them stood a vermilion spear.

Ling Yue glanced at the inferior weapon in her hand, then at the one held by the servant.

“Second Miss, the master has prepared a horse and weapon for you.”

There was no sudden concern; Ling Yue understood they were only worried about their reputation.

Ling Yue tightened her grip on the spear and walked over. She first soothed the horse, then swiftly mounted it.

She only took the horse, riding it to the military examination grounds.

“Out of the way, blind fool!”

Urgent hoofbeats accompanied a bold female voice from behind. Ling Yue turned to look and spotted a woman in sapphire-blue attire. Upon closer inspection, it was Wang Lan.

Seeing her battlefield comrade from her past life suddenly appear before her, she instinctively prepared to greet her. But as Wang Lan drew near, Ling Yue noticed the ferocity in her eyes.

Startled, she reined in her horse and swerved aside. Wang Lan galloped past, leaving Ling Yue to watch her retreating figure.

Suddenly, Wang Lan glanced back and flashed a contemptuous smile at Ling Yue before entering the Archery Pavilion.

The scene felt all too familiar, stirring mixed emotions.

Unprovoked by the provocation, Ling Yue shook her head with a light, helpless laugh. “She’s still the same as ever.”

Another set of hoofbeats approached from behind. Ling Yue turned to find the rider heading straight toward her.

Compared to the flamboyant Wang Lan, this one was much more subdued dressed in white with a sword, a smile on her face, giving off a deceptive aura of approachability.

Yet, Ling Yue secretly curled her lip, thinking: Old fox.

The white-clad swordswoman halted beside Ling Yue, her voice soft and gentle, easily winning people over.

“Are you Second Miss Ling? I’m Wen Yuan Yuan, but you can call me Yuan Yuan.”

Ling Yue felt a wave of nostalgia, but she was still glad to see an old acquaintance. These past few days, the constant pressure from the Grand Princess had worn her out, making her forget that she would encounter these two at this military examination.

“Hello, Miss Yuan Yuan.”

Wen Yuan Yuan smiled politely and said, “Yuan Yuan will take her leave first.”

Ling Yue nodded.

Watching Wen Yuan Yuan’s figure gradually disappear, she couldn’t help but sigh. “I really don’t know how those two ended up together in our past life.”

Her mood sank once more. This military examination did indeed select talents for the court, the three most valiant young generals, two of whom emerged from this very event.

But the battlefield was unpredictable; even the bravest warriors could miscalculate. In the end, she, Ling Yue, was the only one left alive among the three.

In this life, would things change?

With these thoughts weighing on her mind, Ling Yue rode leisurely into the Archery Pavilion.

The Archery Pavilion was a royal training ground for equestrian archery, also used for examinations during the military selection.

As soon as she entered, Ling Yue sensed countless eyes upon her.

She first looked up toward the high platform and spotted the Grand Princess sitting there leisurely. The Grand Princess smiled at her, then formed words with her lips.

Ling Yue deciphered them: Ten thousand taels of silver.

Her hands gripping the reins trembled uncontrollably, and the horse, sensing her unease, grew restless.

Ling Yue steadied herself and turned to meet the other two pairs of eyes, unsurprisingly, Wang Lan and Wen Yuan Yuan.

Wang Lan looked down her nose at her, and from Ling Yue’s angle, all she could see were nostrils. Wen Yuan Yuan, meanwhile, offered her a gentle smile.

A reckless wild boar and a cunning old fox.

Before long, the competition began. Lu He watched from the platform, her entire focus fixed on Ling Yue. She didn’t even hear the emperor’s voice.

The emperor dared not disturb her, watching Ling Yue on the field with some concern.

As Lu He picked up her cup to drink water, she saw Ling Yue leisurely select a three-stone bow. In shock, she spat out the water she had just sipped.

That was the heaviest bow on the scene. In all her years as emperor, she had seen few capable of drawing it though not unheard of, it was certainly rare. Of course, the person beside her was one such exception.

Could it be that Ling Yue didn’t recognize the bow?

A young maid beside her hurriedly produced a handkerchief to wipe the emperor’s mouth. Once cleaned, the emperor picked up her teacup again and took a sip.

Then she watched as Ling Yue below effortlessly drew the three-stone bow. Overwhelmed with excitement, she spat out her tea once more.

By the time the young maid had wiped her mouth clean again, the emperor moved the teacup farther away.

She didn’t dare drink any more tea otherwise, she might be assassinated by her own drink before her elder sister even dealt with her.

She couldn’t resist stealing a glance at her elder sister beside her, only to find her expression unchanged, still wearing the same smile as before.

The emperor’s apprehension deepened.

Cold sweat began to form on her forehead again as she completely overturned her earlier assumptions.

Ling Yue might indeed have some skill, but according to the information she’d received from Ling Ya, even the Ling family might be unaware of this.

How did her elder sister know about it?

The more the emperor thought about it, the more panicked she became. In her mind, Lu He’s level of intimidation rose yet another degree, transforming into an insurmountable mountain.

However, she wasn’t the only one shocked. Though Lu He appeared calm on the surface, inwardly she was astounded, mixed with a wild joy of having stumbled upon a treasure.

In her elated mood, the world seemed much more agreeable to her.

The first two events were both mounted archery, though the rules differed slightly.

At first, Ling Yue wasn’t very proficient, but she quickly regained the feeling from her past life. However, due to a few early mistakes, her score fell behind Wang Lan’s, placing her second.

Ling Yue grew anxious. She was truly afraid of Lu He, she had neither money nor her life to offer.

Fortunately, this martial arts examination was special, with one final event remaining: platform combat.

Wang Lan, who had taken first place, rode over to Ling Yue, still looking down on her with disdain. She sneered, “I thought you were something special, but it turns out the Ling family is just like that. Still, losing to me isn’t something to be ashamed of. Go home and cry about it!”

Wen Yuan Yuan was also nearby. Unable to stand by, she spoke up in admonishment, “Miss Wang, the competition isn’t over yet.”

Wang Lan had no patience for overly refined types, they reminded her of those cunning civil officials at court, every one of them scheming and untrustworthy.

So she lashed out, “Who do you think you are?”

Ling Yue had already calmed down. She wasn’t entirely familiar with the current situation, as in her past life, by the time she and Wang Lan became friends, Wang Lan and Wen Yuan Yuan were already lovers.

The hot-tempered Wang Lan had never spoken harshly to Wen Yuan Yuan back then, nothing like now.

The disconnect between memory and reality was stark.

Ling Yue sighed. Regardless, she still wanted to reunite these two.

She looked up at Wang Lan, not angered by the other’s rudeness, which only made Wang Lan feel as if she’d punched cotton frustrated and ineffective.

Seeing Ling Yue still staring at her, Wang Lan’s anger flared. She grabbed Ling Yue by the collar and demanded, “You have a problem with that?”

The Grand Princess, who had been observing, abruptly stood up. Her gaze fixed intently on the conflict, her expression grim.

Beside her, the emperor silently bowed her head.

Ling Yue forcefully pulled the hand away from her collar, still wearing a smile.

Wang Lan felt an inexplicable surge of panic in her heart.

She scoffed, then urged her horse to distance herself a little further.

Once the commotion settled, Wen Yuanyuan softly remarked, “How rude this person is.”

That sense of dissonance surfaced once again.

Ling Yue couldn’t help but frown. In her past life, these two had often flaunted their affection in front of her, and she had frequently heard Wen Yuanyuan’s baseless praises.

Now, that sickeningly sweet, shy voice from her past life seemed to travel through time and echo in her ears once more.

“Lan Lan is the gentlest person in the world.”

Ling Yue sighed deeply, rubbing her forehead. When she looked up, her eyes met Lu He’s.

The other woman smiled at her and mouthed the words:

“Well done.”

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