My sister and I exchanged a glance, thinking this was feasible. In the three-country competition’s mechanical arts, contestants demonstrate their ability to dismantle mechanisms with the fastest time winning. Our elder brother, meticulous in cooking, had developed quick knife skills, giving him the dexterity perfect for mechanical arts. He tried to shake his head but was intimidated by our gaze.
I wrote “Xiao Wang” on the roster and handed it to Anjin.
“But—” my elder brother began.
I asked earnestly, “Don’t you want to get married?”
My elder brother nodded. “But—”
“Stop with the ‘buts’! Are you going to watch Miaoyin marry someone else?” my younger sister said, exasperated.
My elder brother’s face reddened with anxiety.
“But—what is mechanical arts?”
We looked at each other for a moment. My elder brother clutched his head: “Maybe hunting or speed walking. I’ll train hard these two months.”
“I have an idea!” my younger sister exclaimed. “We can ask Sitian for help and have the Tang clan’s young master teach elder brother mechanical arts.”
My mind cleared. The Tang clan’s hidden weapons and mechanical arts were renowned across the three countries. Learning from Tang Wei could greatly increase our elder brother’s chances of winning.
With Song Sitian’s introduction, Tang Wei agreed to teach my elder brother. For two months, he studied mechanical diagrams late into the night, rising at dawn to create wooden mechanisms and solve the boxes Tang Wei provided.
As the white poplar seeds of spring in Yanfeng City disappeared, the competition teams from Xiliang and Nanrui prepared to enter Qi’s borders. Both countries sent noble-born representatives: Nanrui sent the Second Princess and the Cavalry General, while Xiliang sent the Emperor who had just married the Seventh Princess.
I wasn’t worried about my elder brother, but Anjin seemed increasingly uneasy as the competition approached.
Several times, I caught him looking at me secretly. When I noticed, he would quickly look away, pretending to read or admire the scenery, like a youth lost in secret love.
However, we were past that innocent age, and he was no longer the naive youth. His gaze reminded me of Yuan Feng crouching by the mouse hole, fearful of being discovered.
