Chapter 29: Saving each other. The southern suburbs are vast and open, not only a perfect place...

The southern suburbs have vast skies and vast land, making it not only an excellent hunting spot, but even if you don't come here to hunt, you will feel relaxed and happy just by looking at the world.

Xiu Yu likes riding horses, but as for hunting, sorry, she is used to abiding by the "Code of Wildlife Protection" that has been passed down for hundreds of years. She really has no interest in it and feels that it is somewhat inappropriate.

However, who made her live in the Qing Dynasty now?

Looking at the bow and arrow in her hand and the ring that Xuanye had forcibly put on her thumb, Xiu Yu was helpless but had to follow the emperor.

Xuanye, who called himself the "Emperor on Horseback," truly loved riding and archery from the bottom of his heart. He felt a sense of exhilaration riding a horse across the heavens and earth, and a thrill when he struck his target with his bow and arrow. No matter how many troubles he faced in the court or the harem, it seemed as if everything vanished into thin air the moment he mounted his horse.

Xiu Yu looked at Xuanye's tall and straight back as he rode on his horse and couldn't help but smile.

Xiao Tao handed the water bag to Xiu Yu and asked with a smile, "Are you 'satisfied' just by watching the Emperor draw his bow and shoot arrows?"

Xiu Yu took the water bag, glanced at Xiao Tao with a smile, and said, "I've been learning horseback riding and archery since I was young, so I'm very familiar with the workings of the hunting grounds. Look how excited he is. I should let him take all the prey that should have been mine."

Xiao Tao squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, urged the horse closer to Xiu Yu, and said in a low voice: "Master, are you right about the emperor..."

"What is it?" Xiu Yu raised her eyebrows slightly, "Don't let your imagination run wild, it's not like that." She tilted her head slightly and rolled her eyes, but her cherry lips were slightly curved.

Xiao Tao suppressed a laugh and said, "Our master can be quite shy sometimes, both shy and stubborn. Even in front of the people she trusts the most, she rarely opens up. Well, you're the master and I'm the servant. How can a servant force the master to answer questions, right?"

Xiu Yu increasingly felt that after three hundred years, the relationship between her and her master had become closer, and her disciple had become more and more "audacious"!

"If you talk nonsense again, be careful of me..." Xiu Yu clenched his right hand into a small fist and gestured in front of Xiao Tao.

Xiao Tao was certainly not afraid at all, but he pretended to be very scared and waved his hands, saying, "Master, please forgive me. I won't dare to do it again."

Xiu Yu hummed with a smile, then saw Xuanye turning around and waving at her, holding a hare. She simply gave Xuanye a thumbs-up, but lowered her voice and said to Xiao Tao, "Don't you think the emperor is a bit like a child on the hunting ground?"

"Ah?" Xiao Tao really didn't expect Xiu Yu to ask her such a question. After years of struggling in the deep palace, she had already developed the ability to 'not say a word that shouldn't be said, and not touch anything that shouldn't be touched'. However, the person asking the question was her master. In front of her master, how could she, as an apprentice, reveal her palace secrets? However, she couldn't go along with her master's wishes too much, so she had to reply: "Master, there are some things that you can say, but I really can't say. It would be too bold to say 'yes'."

Xiu Yu naturally understood Xiao Tao's 'caution'. Seeing Xuan Ye already riding his horse towards him, he said, "You're right. I was indeed a bit rash in asking just now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xuanye arrived beside Xiuyu and said with a smile, "I didn't bring you to the southern suburbs just to watch the fun. I've seen your horsemanship, but I haven't seen your archery skills yet. So, are you planning to keep some tricks up your sleeve for me, Princess Yu?"

Xiu Yu rode beside Xuan Ye, going deeper into the dense forest. She replied, "Yu'er grew up on horseback, and my father taught me how to shoot the bow. To be honest with you, Your Majesty, I have some accuracy."

"Then show it to me." Xuanye's eyes were filled with excitement. "I want to know how many abilities you still have and how many secrets you have hidden in your heart."

"Well, okay." Xiu Yu held the bow in her left hand and the arrow in her right hand. Just as she put the arrow on the bow, she heard some noise from Xuanye's side. Her brows suddenly frowned, and she turned sideways and shot an arrow. But it was a big guy in the dense forest. Even though her hands were very accurate, she couldn't kill the big guy with one arrow.

Xuanye was also very alert. He threw away the long arrow in his right hand, took out a bird gun from his waist, aimed at the big guy and fired a shot. Fortunately, he escaped danger.

Xiu Yu let out a long sigh, still covered in cold sweat. Naturally, guards came forward and surrounded Xuanye and Xiu Yu, fearing any further accidents.

"There's never been a bear here before. It's really strange." Xuanye dismounted, walked to Xiuyu, put his arm around her waist, and lifted her off the horse: "Were you scared just now?"

Xiu Yu's face looked a little bad indeed, but it was not because she was frightened by seeing the black bear. She was just worried that the emperor beside her would be hurt.

"I wasn't scared by the bear, I was scared by you!" Xiu Yu glared at Xuanye angrily. The chill on her body faded away and she felt a little warm. She simply took off her helmet and hugged it in her arms: "If I were slower, or if you were slower, the consequences would be so serious and unimaginable!"

Xuanye smiled, patted Xiuyu's cheek, and said, "Since I dared to bring you deep into this dense forest, I am confident that I can protect you and myself." He gestured for the guards to come forward to help Xiuyu hold her helmet. He took Xiuyu's hand and slowly walked out. "But I have to be honest. If it weren't for your sharp ears and quick movements, I'm afraid I really might not have escaped this disaster."

Xiu Yu didn't know what to say, but she felt that Xuanye's hand was a little hot. She stopped, took Xuanye's hand, looked at his palm, frowned and said, "The recoil of your bird gun is too strong."

Xuanye didn't feel any pain in his hand. Curiosity flashed through his eyes again: "You, how many secrets do you have? You even know about recoil?"

Xiu Yu replied calmly, "That's what my father said. To be honest with you, Your Majesty, I'm quite curious about those foreign gadgets, telescopes, cannons, and guns. Since I'm curious, I like to study them."

Xiu Yu's words finally revealed a sense of relief, and Xuanye also relaxed: "In this respect, you and I are very similar. I also like to tinker with those foreign things."

"Then you've never thought about 'modifying' it?" Xiu Yu pointed at the bird gun on Xuanye's waist. "You never know when you might need it, so wouldn't it be nice to modify it to make it more convenient?"

"This thing is not easy to modify." Xuanye took out the bird gun again and placed it in Xiuyu's hand: "Nan Huairen said that some people lost their lives while researching this thing."

"Are you scared?" Xiu Yu raised an eyebrow, weighed the musket in his hand, and said, "Not only is the recoil strong, it's also very heavy. It's not suitable for use."

"You, it's all just talk, but I..."

Xiu Yu raised her head and said, "Since I can dismantle the foreigner's telescope, I can certainly dismantle this thing too." Confidence shone in her eyes. "If I dismantle it, you'll be watching from the side, and I'll be able to restore it like I did that day. When the time comes, we can work together to draw a set of diagrams. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

After hearing Xiu Yu's clear and logical explanation, which seemed to make sense, Xuanye's thoughts began to shift. However, this bird gun was certainly not like a telescope; it was something that could easily take someone's life, so it couldn't be dismantled just like that.

Xiu Yu seemed to see through Xuanye's thoughts and said, "If you are afraid, I can do it myself."

"How can you tell I'm afraid? If you're not afraid, why should I be afraid?" Provoked by Xiu Yu's words, Xuanye suddenly felt heroic: "Tear it down! But we have to wait until this hunt is over and we return to the capital, when it's just you and me."

"Of course." Xiu Yu personally pinned the bird gun back to Xuanye's waist, then took his arm and whispered, "Is this a secret between you and me, right?"

"Yes! You're absolutely right!" Xuanye lowered his head slightly, looking at Xiuyu's face, which was still pretty even though it was covered in sweat and a little dirty, and said with a smile, "How can others know the secret between you and me?"

The one who arrived at the southern suburbs camp before Xuanye and Xiuyu was the black bear that had been shot first with an arrow and then with a gun. The emperor's return from shooting a black bear was met with great joy by the soldiers. Even the usually composed old ancestor couldn't help but come out with Su Moer to see the black bear.

"First an arrow, then a gunshot. It's not necessarily all Xuanye's 'credit.'" Empress Xiaozhuang looked at Su Moer and asked, "What do you think?"

Seeing Xuanye and Xiuyu already galloping towards the camp on their tall horses, Su Moer smiled and said, "Princess, you should ask the Emperor directly."

"Aren't the answers already there?" Empress Xiaozhuang actually knew what was going on already. "Why should I bother talking about this?"

Su Moer said, "Aren't you curious about what our emperor has been through? He has never hunted a bear."

Xiaozhuang looked at her heroic grandson from afar. Her eyesight was still good, and she could tell that her grandson was very happy. She said, "No matter why he hunted such a black bear, as long as he is fine and doesn't want to talk about it, I don't have to ask."

Su Moer smiled and said, "The old saying is absolutely right. People of different generations are closer than others."

Xiaozhuang glanced at Su Moer.

Su Moer immediately said, "I made a mistake."

Although Su Moer is the person closest to Xiaozhuang, Fulin is the Achilles' heel of Xiaozhuang. No matter how close the person is, they cannot touch him or even mention him.

Fortunately, Xuanye had already entered the camp. He dismounted almost at the same time as Xiuyu and brought her to pay his respects to Empress Xiaozhuang. "Ma, did you come out specifically to see the black bear?"

Xiaozhuang was actually in a good mood, and she couldn't let Su Moer's "gaffe" ruin her mood. She smiled and said, "The soldiers are having a great time, and as an old ancestor, I should come out and join in the fun."

Xuanye stood beside Xiaozhuang, held the Royal Mama's arm, and deliberately said, "In fact, today is all thanks to Xiuyu. Otherwise, Mama might not be able to see her grandson."