Chapter 41 - 41: Father Made You Suffer_l

Translator: 549690339

Wei Qingwan strained for a long time, but was only able to open the bow a small amount. The arrow she had placed on the bow fell to the ground due to her trembling hands.

Wei Yichen picked up the fallen arrow for Wei Qingwan as he comforted her, “Don’t rush, Wanwan. Archery is difficult, and father’s bows are all quite hard, so it’s normal that you can’t open them. Your first time trying looks very similar to eldest brother’s first time.”

“I’ll try again.” Wei Qingwan once again drew the bow.

This time, she used even more strength, and then let out a light gasp. The bow and arrow in her hand fell to the ground again.

“Wanwan, what’s wrong?” Wei Yichen hurriedly checked Wei Qingwan’s hands.

Wei Mingting, who was initially instructing Ruoruo, came to Wei Qingwan’s side after he heard noise. He examined her condition and his eyes also revealed deep concern.

“I’m alright, it’s me who is useless. I couldn’t draw the bow, and my hand got scratched by the bowstring,” Wei Qingwan reproached herself. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Wei Yichen opened Wei Qingwan’s hand and saw a deep red mark left by the bowstring on the finger she used to pull the string. Although the skin wasn’t broken, the red mark stood out vividly against Wei Qingwan’s fair, delicate skin.

Wei Mingting’s brows furrowed, then he said to Wei Yichen, “Yichen, go get some medicine to apply on Wanwan’s hand.”

“Alright, I’ll go now.” Wei Yichen hurriedly left to find the ointment.

Mrs. Yun and Wei Yilin also rushed over.

Seeing Wei Qingwan’s injury made them both very concerned and anxious.

“Wanwan, let me see! How did you get yourself into this condition? Stop practicing archery, your hands aren’t made for this,” Mrs. Yun quickly said. “Yes, sister, can we do something else?” Wei Yilin suggested.

“I’m sorry… It’s my fault…” Wei Qingwan lowered her head, feeling ashamed.

“What are you talking about? What does this have to do with competency? Archery simply isn’t something a girl should do,” Mrs. Yun said.

“Don’t worry, sister. When I master horse riding and archery, I’ll protect you!” Wei Yilin pounded his chest and declared.

Wei Qingwan’s eyes reddened, “Thank you, Yilin.”

She immediately turned to Wei Mingting and Mrs. Yun and said, “I’m sorry, father and mother. I’m alright, please don’t worry. I’ve been undutiful.”

“It’s normal for parents to worry about their children. Where does the notion of being undutiful even come from?” Mrs. Yun said.

Wei Mingting nodded in agreement with his wife’s words.

“Alright, stop crying. Come and rest in the carriage with me,” Mrs. Yun said as she took Wei Qingwan away.

Wei Yilin followed behind them, like a little bodyguard.

When Wei Qingwan left, Wei Mingting returned to Ruoruo’s side.

Suddenly, he had a thought and looked at Ruoruo’s right hand.

He noticed that the fingers she used to draw the bow also had fresh red marks on them.

What’s more, because Ruoruo shot many more arrows than Qingwan did, her hand had more, more noticeable red marks.

“Ruoruo, stop practicing for now,” Wei Mingting immediately halted her.

After Ruoruo put down her bow, Wei Mingting asked, “You’ve got many red marks on your hand, why didn’t you tell me?”

Ruoruo glanced at her own hand, and calmly answered, “It hasn’t broken the skin, it’s not a real injury.”

From her perspective, such minor injuries were nothing at all.

Her words made Wei Mingting frown, deep in thought.

To him, injuries of this level weren’t much, but it was different for a girl. His daughters were gently cared for and raised, so they naturally couldn’t compare to him. He had always thought that frail girls like Wanwan were how girls should normally be.

Wei Mingting silently pondered for a while, then said, “Ruoruo, I’ve made you suffer.”

Ruoruo looked at Wei Mingting, then quickly averted her eyes and focused on a distant target.

For a fleeting moment, she wanted to tell Wei Mingting that she didn’t find life in the countryside difficult at all. Over there, she had family, friends, and her own life.

But she held her tongue, because those words were ones that the Wei Family didn’t like to hear.

In their eyes, taking her back, making her a young lady of the official family, and treating her with care was the best option for her.

To change the topic, Ruoruo asked Wei Mingting, “Are all bows so hard to draw? Isn’t there a lighter one that can be used by one hand, like a crossbow?”

“There are indeed some that don’t require much strength to use, like the crossbow. It won’t hurt the hand. Do you want to try, Ruoruo?” Wei Mingting asked.

Ruoruo shook her head, “No need. I was just curious why soldiers these days use bows more than crossbows.”

“Because the speed of using a crossbow is slow. In the same amount of time, a proficient archer could shoot three arrows, while a crossbowman can only shoot one. During a war, the intensity of firepower is very important,” Wei Mingting answered.

“I see,” Ruoruo murmured thoughtfully.

Seeing that Ruoruo was interested in archery, in order to explain it more effectively, Wei Mingting had a servant fetch a crossbow.

Wei Mingting handed the crossbow to Ruoruo, “Look, Ruoruo, this crossbow can load one arrow at a time. After it’s fired, loading the second one can be time – consuming.”

Ruoruo accepted it, shot an arrow towards the target, then loaded the second one under Wei Mingting’s guidance. It was indeed slower.

For a novice like her, the time it took to load a crossbow was similar to the time spent shooting an arrow with a bow. However, for someone as experienced in battle as Wei Mingting, retrieving and shooting arrows with a bow was much faster compared to loading a crossbow.

Ruoruo held the crossbow in her hand, deep in thought.

“What are you thinking about, Ruoruo?” Wei Mingting was curious about his daughter’s thoughts.

“I was thinking, it would be amazing if this crossbow could load many arrows at once,” Ruoruo casually said as she played with and observed the crossbow in her hands.

“Your thoughts are quite interesting,” Wei Mingting commented, then looked up at the sky, “It’s getting late, we should prepare to return home.”

Seeing that it was getting late, Wei Mingting ended the day’s activities and led his wife and child back home.

Their journey back was peaceful, and the group safely returned to the Wei Residence.

Upon entering the gate, Wei Mingting specifically told Ruoruo before they parted, “Today was your first time riding and shooting arrows, you will inevitably feel discomfort tomorrow. Rest early after you return.”

“Alright.”

Not long after Ruoruo returned to Tingsong Garden, she received a medicinal bath packet delivered by Cuiping.

Wei Mingting had told Mrs. Yun, who then instructed Cuiping to bring it.

Wei Mingting had kept a variety of medicines at home due to his experiences in battle; this medicine bath packet was usually used by him.

Ruoruo opened the medicinal bath packet and examined it carefully. She sniffed it and concluded that it was a formula for relaxing the muscles and promoting blood circulation.

Although the formula had some shortcomings, it was useful.

Originally, Ruoruo planned to prepare her own medicinal bath, but as Wei Mingting had it sent over, she didn’t bother and used the one provided.

That night, Ruoruo had a hot bath with the medicinal packet to relieve and relax herself.

Ruoruo anticipated that she would feel sore and tired when she woke up the next day.. However, when the next day actually arrived, not only did she feel sore and tired, but she also felt pain in some unexpected places!