The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 266: Calling a deer a horse

"Dong, dong, dong..."

On the military camp’s training ground, the drumbeats grew increasingly faint until they disappeared.

The son of Duke, known as the Young Master, in his white military attire spoke in a calm tone that reverberated across the training field.

At the same time, a group of junior and mid-ranking military officers echoed in chorus,

"Please, General Zhao, demonstrate your martial arts!"

The air tensed for a moment.

In an instant, within the ranks of thousands, countless soldiers’ eyes converged on one point, their gazes filled with an odd excitement.

Zhao Douan faced the scrutiny of numerous eyes with a natural demeanor, the corners of his mouth curving into an almost imperceptible smile.

His eyes fell upon Tang Ping, who was holding an iron bow before him, and with what seemed like genuine surprise, he smiled towards the two beside him,

"Could someone explain what tradition this is?"

Mo Chou’s expression was also far from pleasant.

Her gaze swept over Tang Ping’s shining armor and settled on the Commander of the Divine Machine Camp with a hostile look, speaking slowly,

"Commander Shi, won’t you explain? I am quite curious about this so-called tradition."

Thump!

With a throat as bulky as a small mountain, Shi Meng swallowed hard, clearly sensing the deadly intent in the female chancellor’s eyes:

"I..."

The weather was no longer hot in autumn, yet he suddenly found himself sweating profusely.

There was only one thought in his mind: Trouble!

Originally, Xue Shence had ordered him not to give Zhao Douan any leverage, and upon his return, he had emphatically repeated this.

Even this Young Master had been reminded of it.

Yet, while the high-ranking officers remained obedient, this bunch of junior and mid-ranking military officers had turned defiant.

At this thought, a surge of anger rose in Shi Meng’s heart, and his gaze towards Tang Ping also turned somewhat grim.

Realizing that he had been too lenient with this military scion in the past, leading to a loss of his dignity,

"Tang Ping, who allowed you to speak like this? Men, take him away!"

Commander Shi reprimanded with a stern voice.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

The surrounding high-ranking officers’ expressions changed dramatically, and they were about to take action immediately.

"Wait!"

Zhao Douan interrupted with a raised hand, his smile unwavering as if not showing any anger at all.

Amidst the military, he remained composed and placid,

"Why must General Shi be so angry? I am here at the Divine Mechanism Camp to fulfill my duty as part of the military. Any tradition should not be avoided. Ha, I would like to hear about it myself."

As a Commander, he could barely carry the title of "General."

Embarrassed, Shi Meng had no choice but to explain,

"It is indeed an old rule in the military for a new officer to demonstrate his martial prowess in front of the entire camp to showcase the spirit of a military officer of Great Yu...applying bow, horse, and archery skills...

However, this outdated and trivial practice had been discarded for many years, and it was only an unwritten rule... Master Zhao need not heed it."

Mo Chou’s expression changed. She then remembered there was indeed such a tradition.

But it was so long since anyone had mentioned it.

Therefore, no one expected that this group of officers, who had schemed to embarrass Zhao Douan, would bring up this outdated rule.

Taking everyone by surprise.

"Uh, is that so..."

Zhao Douan nodded, his gaze resting curiously on the white-clad military officer as he smiled,

"Tang Ping... I know you. The Duke is your father?"

At these words, the young officer, clad in silver armor and holding a strong bow, slowly looked up.

His eyes were sharp as he presented himself with the humility befitting a junior officer, yet his presence and demeanor were on par with Zhao Douan’s.

With an evaluating look, it was clear this was his first meeting with the famous Zhao Douan.

His expression was full of pride, and his eyes held a trace of disdain,

"Reporting to Master Zhao, I am Commander Tang Ping; there is no ’son of the Duke’ in the military. If Master Zhao does not wish to perform the martial display, I will withdraw and not impose upon the senior officers."

Every word was cold.

Every sentence was firm.

As Mo Chou had said, the discipline of the Great Yu Army was strict, so even with their targeted intentions, this "Young Master" adhered to the regulations.

At this moment, his retreat was actually an advance, showing a compliant facade.

However, everyone present knew that if Zhao Douan were to truly refuse to uphold the tradition before these thousands of soldiers and ordered these lower-ranking young officers to leave,

within a day, the newly appointed Commander would become the laughingstock of the entire army.

In the military, cowards were never welcome!

After Tang Ping spoke these words and saw Zhao Douan remain silent, he shook his head, with a growing look of disdain in his eyes, and was about to leave.

Thinking to himself that this well-known Mr. Zhao was indeed as incompetent as some officers and soldiers had said.

Indeed, incompetent!

As the son of Duke, Tang Ping was a pure soldier.

He had no interest in the struggles of the court.

Yet still, as a military family of honor, he wasn’t so short-sighted as to look down upon the ways of the civil officers.

In fact, even during Zhao Douan’s most infamous days, Tang Ping had little ill will towards him.

Because... he disdained him!

Yes, with his perspective, even though he was only a Commander for now, he never felt the Empress’s favored minister was worthy of attention.

It was only in recent months, with Zhao Douan’s rise, that this name caught his eye, but just as a passing knowledge.

His real concern began recently when many of his comrades in the military mentioned this person,

revealing many disgraceful incidents about him.

Cruel-hearted and poisonous, the notion that vengeance must be sought isn’t considered a big deal.

Tang Ping never considered himself a paragon of virtue.

However, hearing repeatedly from his peers that Zhao Douan had climbed the ranks by relying on his looks,

With cultivation that barely broke through mortal mediocrity, yet forcibly becoming a Favored Minister through his appearance alone, Tang couldn’t help but feel contempt.

What truly enraged the young officers of the Divine Mechanism Camp was the imperial decree for promotion.

From Sixth-rank, he jumped directly to fourth-rank and was even parachuted into the Divine Mechanism Camp for a position.

This news instantly ignited the anger of the young officers.

Throughout history, anyone who was a fourth-rank military officer had either made great contributions to the army, was proficient in military strategy, or at the very least, was outstanding in martial arts.

How could it not upset people that a mere Initial Grade mortal, with not a single military accomplishment, could crush a host of military officers simply through so-called achievements in capturing rebels and contending with courtiers?

A group of agitated young military officers immediately sought Young Master to express their dissatisfaction.

Tang Ping, coming from a family with a distinguished military heritage, naturally shared their animosity.

This led to today’s challenge before the entire army.

…

At this moment, Tang Ping shook his head and turned, ready to leave, but was suddenly called out.

"As it is tradition, I see no reason not to comply," Zhao Douan said with a smile.

Tang Ping paused midstep, turning with surprise.

He was taken aback that this man of low cultivation, this mere decorative pillow, would actually dare to accept the challenge.

Mo Chou also paused for a moment, frowning, wanting to say something, but held back.

She wanted to remind him that the iron-limbed bows used in the army were nothing like the ordinary wooden bows and were simply not in the same category.

On the battlefield, in the blink of life and death, soldiers use bows that are easy to handle and lightweight.

However, the large bows used for military drills required astonishing strength to draw.

Even if one could draw the bow, due to lack of practice, accuracy would be difficult to control.

Although Zhao Douan had served in the imperial guard previously, he was a guard within the Imperial Palace.

He knew how to shoot, but to say that he was skilled in archery… it wasn’t quite so.

She worried that Zhao Douan, unaccustomed to the iron-limbed bow, would make a fool of himself in public, and that it would be better not to accept the challenge at all.

"Master Zhao, don’t be angered by him…"

Shi Meng tried to dissuade him but was stopped by a look from Zhao Douan.

The next second, Zhao Douan stepped forward, took the iron bow that was nearly as tall as a man from Tang Ping’s hand, with only one hand.

As soon as he grasped it, his wrist subtly sank—such was its weight.

Unable to hold the bow… Tang Ping shook his head, stepped back a few paces, and signaled to someone behind him.

Immediately, young officers who followed him ran out, setting up targets at intervals of fifty, one hundred, one hundred and fifty, and two hundred paces away.

"Please proceed, General."

The Young Master in a white robe and silver helmet took several steps back and gestured invitingly, raising his voice,

"Let’s cheer for the General!"

"Boom, boom, boom…"

Instantly, low drumbeats sounded again.

In a blink, the atmosphere on the drill ground became solemn, and thousands of soldiers’ eyes blazed.

Zhao Douan just smiled, still looking composed, casually pulling a polished iron arrow with pure white fletching from the quiver.

He bent the bow and set the arrow.

"Creak—"

A low, sharp noise echoed as the bow was drawn into a half-circle—a normal level for a mortal martial artist.

"Whoosh."

Zhao Douan released the arrow, and with powerful momentum, the arrow left a trail behind.

Yet it traced a high arc before the watching crowd and grazed the edge of the hundred-step target, sticking straight into the ground.

"Thud," it sank halfway, and the fletching gently trembled.

He missed the target.

At this moment, the drumming ceased abruptly, and the intense atmosphere on the drill ground also froze!

The young officers watching the show were also stunned.

They hadn’t expected this decorative pillow to be so mediocre in archery.

Barely a hundred steps, not to mention hitting the bull’s-eye, he couldn’t even hit the target.

Is this it?

He qualifies to be a fourth-rank Commander?

"Tsk…"

Amid the crowd, there seemed to be a faint sound of laughter.

Mo Chou and Shi Meng’s expressions also changed, not feeling schadenfreude but rather a headache.

Unsure how to conclude this.

Tang Ping was also stunned for a moment, his gaze at Zhao Douan unable to hide his disdain, but he did not sneer.

He suddenly felt that all the trouble he had gone through to give this lesson was somewhat superfluous.

Such a mediocre person…

However, amidst all the disdainful, mocking, bewildered, or confused looks of countless people,

Zhao Douan calmly placed down the iron-limbed bow and asked with a smile to those around,

"How was my arrow?"

"Clap… clap clap…"

Amid the silent atmosphere, Hou Renmeng and Qian Kerou clapped their hands in applause, seriously commending,

"Sir, your arrow hit the bull’s-eye, an astounding display of brilliance."