“Zhuxin, bring me my riding outfit!”
Shen Lingshu was in high spirits as she packed the small backpack she had asked Zhuxin to sew before their departure. She stuffed items into it one by one: golden wound ointment, hemostatic medicine, water, flatbread, and finally, she also prepared some chili powder for self-defense.
“Master, this little backpack is perfect for these small items—they won’t fall out,” Zhuxin remarked, watching Shen Lingshu change into a horse-face skirt. The upper garment was a long-sleeved apricot-colored top adorned with winding grape patterns, which looked quite lovely.
The lower half was a dark-colored horse-face skirt, paired with her homemade small backpack. A sachet to repel snakes and insects hung from her waist, and a self-defense dagger was strapped to her leg.
“Master, why are you bringing chili powder?” Zhuxin asked curiously, eyeing the packets of chili powder.
“It has its uses!” Shen Lingshu said mysteriously. When she led Zhuxin out of the tent and arrived at Side Consort Fang’s quarters, she saw that both Side Consort Fang and Hai Jiaren had already changed their clothes.
Side Consort Fang wore a bright red riding outfit, while Hai Jiaren was dressed in green…
“…”
Shen Lingshu twitched her lips, glancing at the hairpins on their heads. Were they going for a hunt or a leisurely outing?
“Since Concubine Shen has arrived, let’s head into the mountains for the hunt together.”
Side Consort Fang reminded them, “Let me make this clear: hunting in the mountains is dangerous. If you don’t want to go, speak up now.”
“I want to go. It’s rare to come to a hunting ground, and it wouldn’t be any fun if I didn’t enter the mountains for a hunt,” Hai Jiaren was the first to speak up. She deliberately glanced at Shen Lingshu and added, “If Concubine Shen is afraid, she shouldn’t go.”
“Did I say I wasn’t going?”
Shen Lingshu gave her a meaningful look. Hai Jiaren’s attempt at provocation was rather clumsy.
“If you want to go, then go. It’s nothing special,” Hai Jiaren said, avoiding eye contact, feeling as though Shen Lingshu had seen right through her.
“Leave the maids behind. Follow me with the horses.”
Side Consort Fang spoke up, leading them to the foot of the hunting mountain. After collecting their quivers and mounting their horses, they began heading toward the hunting grounds. This was her first time hunting!
“The south is where the Emperor and the Princes are hunting. Make sure you don’t go the wrong way.”
Side Consort Fang warned, “There are large wild animals over there. Be careful not to end up as prey for the beasts instead!”
“Don’t worry, I definitely won’t go the wrong way.”
Shen Lingshu smiled brightly, but inwardly she cursed. Side Consort Fang truly had ill intentions: she had clearly heard that the north was where the Emperor and the Princes were hunting, yet Side Consort Fang deliberately told her the opposite direction?
…
In the northern hunting grounds, a small spotted deer darted through the forest.
The Emperor took an arrow from the quiver on his back, nocked it, and let it fly. The arrow landed precisely on the deer’s body, startling it into a frantic run.
With a whoosh, another arrow shot through the air, striking the deer in the head. The deer stiffened and collapsed to the ground, twitching.
“Got it.”
The Crown Prince’s triumphant voice rang out as he rode over, dismounted, and smiled at the Emperor. “Father is wise and never misses a shot!”
The Emperor’s stern face showed no expression. He lifted his eyelids slightly and said, “The Crown Prince’s archery has improved considerably.”
“Your son has practiced day and night, and finally lives up to Father’s expectations.”
The Crown Prince wore a pleased expression as he said, “Actually, Father need not trouble yourself with such small game. Your son is willing to share the burden.”
“The Crown Prince is thoughtful in sharing my burdens, which brings me great comfort.”
The Emperor gazed at the distant deer with an arrow in its head, while the Crown Prince’s excited voice reached his ears: “Father, it is my fortune to share your burdens. Today, I will surely hunt the king of deer and offer it to you.”
“I shall await the Crown Prince’s king of deer.”
The Emperor watched the Crown Prince’s youthful and spirited face as he rode away, his back brimming with ambition to hunt the deer king. He asked, “Eunuch Feng, how old is the Crown Prince this year?”
“Your Majesty, he is thirty years old,” Eunuch Feng replied with a bow.
The Emperor watched the Crown Prince disappear into the mountain forest and lost his desire to continue hunting. He tossed his bow into Eunuch Feng’s hands. “You may return.”
“Yes.”
Eunuch Feng carefully cradled the bow, his head lowered.
…
“Why are you following me?” Shen Lingshu asked expressionlessly, looking at Hai Jiaren, who had been trailing her all the way.
“Since we are both concubines of the Crown Prince, and there are no acquaintances in these mountains, it would be better for us to travel together and watch out for each other,” Hai Jiaren said with a smile, as if she hadn’t been the one hurling insults a few days earlier.
“Concubine Hai, are you perhaps afraid?” Shen Lingshu raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not afraid at all!”
Hai Jiaren retorted, her neck stiff.
“Then don’t follow me. Otherwise, if we encounter prey, whose will it be?” Shen Lingshu tightened her grip on the reins, urging her horse to pick up speed.
With some prior foundation, Shen Lingshu had made significant progress in riding these past few days under Prince Lin’s guidance.
“Concubine Shen! Shen Lingshu!”
Seeing Shen Lingshu gallop ahead, Hai Jiaren quickly spurred her horse to catch up. Shen Lingshu glanced back, hearing the sound of Hai Jiaren’s pursuit, and frowned slightly. “I need to find a way to shake her off!”
Not far away, a white rabbit was darting through the grass. Shen Lingshu’s eyes lit up. She halted her horse, drew her bow, and nocked an arrow…
Whoosh.
Shen Lingshu’s arrow missed.
“Haha, Concubine Shen, your archery is truly lacking. Watch me,” Hai Jiaren said, following closely behind. With a single shot, the white rabbit instantly turned red.
“Concubine Shen, you should learn from me,” Hai Jiaren declared proudly, lifting her chin.
“The Prince’s residence lacks neither wild rabbits nor affection,” Shen Lingshu retorted with a raised eyebrow, a single sentence deflating Hai Jiaren like a defeated rooster.
Immediately, Hai Jiaren lifted her chin again with pride. “Then let’s see who gets pregnant first! Who becomes the favored concubine first!”
“I will definitely get pregnant before you!”
Hai Jiaren’s eyes shone with determination. Her mother had given birth to three sons and four daughters!
She would surely be like her mother, conceiving at the slightest opportunity!
“Then we shall see?” Shen Lingshu had no patience for such empty boasts. Pregnancy would come sooner or later, but a life-saving favor was not something that could be relied upon at any time!
Taking advantage of Hai Jiaren’s distraction as she went to retrieve the rabbit, Shen Lingshu prepared to ride away.
“Concubine Shen, don’t leave!”
Hai Jiaren hurriedly chased after her, seemingly forgetting she still held an arrow in her hand. She stumbled forward, tripping and falling, and the arrow in her hand pierced the leg of Shen Lingshu’s horse.
“Neigh~”
The injured horse reared up, neighing wildly, and bolted forward in a frenzy.
“Hai Jiaren, you’ve harmed me!”
Amid Shen Lingshu’s startled cry, Hai Jiaren stared at the arrow embedded in the horse’s hindquarters, her face a picture of innocence. “I didn’t mean to! It was an accident!” she shouted.
The wind howled as Shen Lingshu deliberately urged her horse to gallop northward.
…
“Go, see what’s happening up ahead.”
The Emperor, accompanied by his personal guards, roamed freely through the hunting grounds. Spotting something unusual in the distance, he sent someone to investigate.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The guard obeyed and immediately went forward to check. Soon, he returned and reported, “Your Majesty, Prince Heng is injured and is currently having his wounds bandaged.”
“Oh?”
The Emperor spurred his horse forward.
“Father, Father, you must uphold justice for your son!”
Seeing the Emperor approach from afar, Prince Heng scrambled forward, tears and snot streaming down his face. “It was clearly I who spotted the stag king first. Elder Brother was chasing a wild boar, but as soon as he saw the stag king, he went after it instead, leaving me to be gored by the boar!”