Chapter 51: Bending the Bow

When the wedding procession arrived at the Liu family's gate, the sky was already bright. Many people were already waiting at the gate. Zhang Xiaohua led the horse to the front of the crowd and stopped. After Zhang Xiaolong dismounted, Zhang Xiaohua handed the reins to the Liu family member who came over.

Everyone greeted Zhang Xiaolong with clasped hands, "Congratulations, groom." Zhang Xiaolong happily returned their greetings. Then, everyone made way for him. Zhang Xiaohua looked up and saw a wooden rack by the gate, with a bow placed on it. This was a local custom; the first thing the groom had to do was shoot three arrows into the sky at the bride's gate, symbolizing the driving away of all evil spirits. He had seen this at other weddings, but now, although Zhang Xiaolong's arm had healed, he still had trouble with farm work. How could he possibly draw the bow and shoot the arrows?

It seemed that this task could only be done by the best man, Zhang Xiaohua. However, Zhang Xiaohua was only twelve or thirteen years old, and it was a bit much to ask him to draw the bow. Everyone looked at each other in doubt. Zhang Xiaolong thought for a moment and stepped forward to take the bow. Zhang Xiaohua panicked and quickly rushed forward to hold his brother, saying, "Brother, your arm has just healed. How can you draw this thing? If you get hurt again, all our efforts will be in vain. Let me do it."

Zhang Xiaolong smiled and said, "It's fine. It's just about drawing the bow and shooting the arrows. I still have the strength for that. You're still young; how could you have the strength to draw the bow?"

Zhang Xiaohua also smiled and said, "Brother, you underestimate me. I can plow the fields myself. How could I not have the strength? Let me try. If I can't do it, you can come later. We won't lose face, right?"

Zhang Xiaolong thought it over and agreed. After all, the best man was there to assist the groom. If Zhang Xiaohua couldn't do it, he would have to step in. He guessed that Mr. Liu knew about his arm and had placed a soft bow on the rack, which wouldn't require much strength to draw.

Zhang Xiaohua walked to the rack, took down the large bow, which felt quite heavy in his hands. He had never drawn a bow before and assumed all bows were heavy, so he didn't pay much attention. He then picked up an arrow without a tip from the rack, placed it on the bow, and turned to ask Zhang Xiaolong, "Brother, where should I shoot?"

Zhang Xiaolong pointed to the sky outside the village and said, "Over there."

Zhang Xiaohua agreed and, mimicking what he had seen others do, took a horse stance. He then aimed at the sky and tried to draw the bowstring. However, the bowstring was very tight. Zhang Xiaohua managed to draw it about two-thirds full but couldn't pull it further. He blushed, thinking he should just release the arrow, but since it was his first time drawing a bow and he had seen others draw it to a full moon, he thought he needed to draw it completely. He took a deep breath, exerted all his strength, and indeed felt a surge of strength from his arms. He shouted and the bow was drawn to a full moon. He looked at the morning sky with confidence and released the bowstring. The arrow flew out like a meteor. Watching the arrow fly away, Zhang Xiaohua felt a sense of joy.

He repeated the process for the remaining two arrows, shooting them far into the distance. After the three arrows were shot, Zhang Xiaohua felt his arms were sore and couldn't lift them to put the bow back on the rack. Everyone applauded and praised Zhang Xiaohua's strength, but Zhang Xiaolong noticed something was wrong. He quickly walked to Zhang Xiaohua, took the bow, and tried to put it back on the rack. However, the bow was unexpectedly heavy, and he had to use more strength to catch it. Zhang Xiaolong was surprised by the weight of the soft bow. However, the crowd had already gathered around, so he quickly put the bow back on the rack and was led into the Liu family's courtyard, leaving the bow alone on the rack.

At the same time, Zhang the Hunter, who lived at the north end of Baoli Gou, was preparing to go hunting. He walked into the room where his bows and arrows were stored and came out in a hurry, asking his wife, "Wife, where is the bow that was on the rack?"

His wife, puzzled, said, "Which bow? How should I know? I never go into that room."

Zhang the Hunter was anxious and said, "The five-stone bow that has been passed down through our family. It was on the top of the right rack. I saw it two days ago, but it's gone today. Did we get robbed yesterday?"

His wife, who was preparing breakfast, suddenly remembered something and rushed out, saying, "I remember now. Yesterday, Mr. Liu sent someone to borrow a soft bow for his son-in-law, who might have trouble drawing it. I was busy packing for the children, so I let the person take it. I remember you said there was a bow you made for fun on the top rack, so I told him to take it."

Zhang the Hunter asked, "Did you see the person take it?"

His wife, ashamed, said, "He told me, but it was just something you made for fun. I didn't bother to look and let him take it."

Zhang the Hunter immediately scolded her, "You foolish woman! You didn't even check what they borrowed. They took our family heirloom, and you didn't even bother to look. Besides, Mr. Liu has always been good to us. All the children in our village are taught by him. He must have a reason for borrowing the soft bow. Now you've given him a bow that no one has been able to draw for ten years. You've embarrassed him. Wait until I get back to see how I'll deal with you."

Saying this, Zhang the Hunter rushed out. By the time he reached the Liu family's gate, Zhang Xiaolong and the others had already entered the courtyard. The bow on the rack was his family's heirloom, and it was clear that no one had been able to draw it, so it was left there, losing face. He saw someone peeking out from the Liu family's gate and said, "Liu San, tell Mr. Liu that I'm taking the bow back."

The person inside responded, "Sure, I'll tell him."

Zhang the Hunter quickly took the bow, hugged it like a treasure, and hurried away, fearing that someone would stop him and scold him for bringing a bow no one could draw. He didn't notice that the three arrows without tips, which should have been on the rack, were nowhere to be found.

At this time, Zhang Xiaolong, accompanied by Zhang Xiaohua, had reached the door of Liu Qian's room. According to local custom, the groom had to answer the bride's questions to get her to open the door. The questions were usually proposed by the bridesmaids, not the bride herself, who wouldn't want to make things difficult for her future husband. Zhang Xiaolong was now facing this challenge. Mr. Liu was a man of literature, and most of the people in the courtyard were scholars, none of whom were skilled in martial arts. Otherwise, Zhang Xiaohua's three impressive arrows wouldn't have gone unnoticed. Although Mr. Liu had told his friends and students that his son-in-law was a farmer and shouldn't be too hard on him, some of the guests were still unhappy that he was marrying someone outside their circle. A few troublemakers were thinking of ways to make things difficult for Zhang Xiaolong through the bride's questions. Liu Yuanyuan, Liu Qian's bridesmaid, was always ready for a challenge and proposed the first question: to ask Zhang Xiaolong to write a few characters to show his calligraphy.

When this question was asked, Liu Qian, inside the room, glared at Liu Yuanyuan and asked, "Whose idea was this? Why didn't you tell me?"

Liu Yuanyuan said in a sweet voice, "Sister, it was just a suggestion from the crowd outside. It's fine to embarrass your husband a bit. It will also encourage him to practice calligraphy in the future, don't you think?"

Liu Qian sighed inwardly. What could she say? The question was already out. Could she take it back? She worried that Zhang Xiaolong might blame her in the future.

Mr. Liu, in the hall, also looked displeased. This was clearly a way to embarrass his son-in-law. However, weddings were all about fun, and no one could be blamed for the mischief. He decided to see how Zhang Xiaolong would handle it. If he couldn't, he could just write something random, as he was a farmer anyway.

Zhang Xiaolong and his brother also looked uneasy. Zhang Xiaolong sighed and stepped forward, ready to write something random. At this moment, Zhang Xiaohua once again held his brother's arm and said, "Calm down, brother. Let me try."

"Can you do it?" Zhang Xiaolong was doubtful.

Zhang Xiaohua patted his hand and said, "If I can't, you can come later."

Zhang Xiaohua walked forward and said to the crowd, "Everyone, as usual, my brother's arm is still healing, so I'll write the characters for him."

He then walked to the prepared ink, brush, and paper, thought for a moment, and suddenly had an idea. He looked up and said, "Everyone, let's not use the brush and ink today."

Everyone was curious, "What will you use?"

Zhang Xiaohua asked, "Is there a mop available? I'll write a few large characters with the mop today."

"A mop? How can you write with that?" someone asked, puzzled. Meanwhile, someone had already brought a mop. Zhang Xiaohua found a basin, poured the ink into it, and dipped the mop in the ink. He held the mop with both hands, thought for a moment, and then, with a flourish, wrote two large characters on the stone floor of Mr. Liu's courtyard: "Piaomiao" (ethereal).

These two characters were written in an ancient and elegant style, full of grace and charm. Zhang Xiaohua's fluid and confident writing left the onlookers stunned. Mr. Liu, hearing the commotion outside, came out of the hall. When he saw the characters on the stone floor, he was speechless, deeply appreciating the beauty of the characters.

The characters "Piaomiao" were from the token Zhang Xiaohua had asked someone to identify. He had practiced writing them many times in his mind. He couldn't write other characters, such as his own name, but these two were deeply etched in his memory. Naturally, he could write them effortlessly. Of course, with his level of education, writing with a brush would have been ridiculed, but using a mop allowed him to bypass the usual standards of calligraphy.