Chapter 299 Hunting

The autumn weather is crisp and the sky is clear. Under the blue sky and white clouds, a green lake is like a piece of emerald inlaid between high mountains. Verdant pines and cypresses, red maple forests, golden unknown leaves, and purple flowers that bloom proudly without fear of frost and dew are like a Western oil painting, with bright and colorful colors, which is breathtaking. This is the scenery that Meimei saw after she and others climbed over the mountain. While admiring it, Mrs. Changle Hou pointed to a gap across the lake and said, "Over there is a large forest that is rarely visited by people, where black bears, wolves, insects, tigers and leopards live!"

Meimei curled her lips and said, "These men are so disloyal. They brought us here and refused to take us into the forest. They just formed a team and ran away!"

The wife of Marquis Changle said with a smile, "I was afraid that I would lose you again like I did last year. Marquis Weiyuan looked so distraught that my husband was scared. He said that he had never seen Marquis Weiyuan panic before. It was me who lost you. If I can't find you, I will be enemies with you. I didn't expect that we would become relatives later! How is it? My cousin didn't disappoint you, did she? She got pregnant not long after the marriage. It's great!"

Meimei nodded repeatedly: "Jingyun is a good sister-in-law, very capable, she will be able to help me once she marries in."

"That's right, the family is big and prosperous, she is the eldest daughter, she has been learning since she was young!"

Madam Changlehou turned around to look at the group of people on the rugged mountain road below the ridge. Concubine Shu and Sude were supported and carried by the palace maids and eunuchs. Under the protection of the guards, they climbed up at a snail's pace with resentment. She couldn't help but frowned and said:

"My husband and I have followed the emperor hunting before, but we have never seen him bring concubines with him. The emperor is very competitive, and he always wants to be the first, whether he is hunting in a group or alone. He moves fast and doesn't like to be dragged down. This time, he brought Concubine Shu with him. It seems that he really loves her and can't bear to be apart for a day... It's hard for us women. We could have gone out to shoot and catch some fat rabbits and pheasants, but we came all the way here, but now we can only accompany the imperial concubine to travel around. If I had known this, I wouldn't have come!"

Meimei also said sullenly: "Yeah, if I had known she was coming, I wouldn't have come!"

Lin Runan climbed up the hill and ran over. Sitting on the large bluestone beside them, she panted slightly and said, "You two are so quick. You didn't even wait for the queen and the princess. Do you want to be scolded?"

Meimei snorted and laughed: "I can walk up by myself, and I'm lucky enough to have kept the guards here to protect them from slipping down the mountain. What else do you want? Go ahead and scold me if you want!"

Lin Runan smiled and said, "There are more than a dozen ladies from outside the court who are coming out to hunt this time, and most of them have hunting experience. We left more than 40 guards behind, and a part of the imperial guards will be guarding at the foot of the ridge. We can divide ourselves into two groups. One group will be led by the wife of the Marquis of Changle, and they will hunt wild rabbits and pheasants in the nearby low mountains and shallow forests. The Concubine Shu and Su De are weak, so they can just play by the lake!"

"Really? Who said that?"

"Of course it's true. That's what the Emperor's chief steward Ji said!"

Lin Runan said, "Ask who's willing to go hunting in the forest. You two can go with the ten guards, okay? The rest who are afraid of being too tired to go can stay and accompany the queen and the princess. I'll stay and be the leader of their team!"

Meimei was originally overjoyed, but was startled when she heard this: "You? Why? Don't you want to go into the mountains to hunt?"

Lin Runan glanced at her and said, "I do, but I am the princess, so I have to accompany the concubine and the princess, right? Otherwise, you stay. I will go."

"Oh, forget it. I'll go rabbit hunting with Madam Changle Hou. You...just be a good and virtuous princess!"

Without waiting for Concubine Shu and Su De to come up, the ladies sitting nearby responded one after another when they heard the call from Lady Changle. For a moment, they all wanted to follow. After much persuasion from Lin Runan, five or six ladies were finally willing to stay and accompany Concubine Shu and the princess.

When the afterglow of the setting sun illuminated the sky as bright as fire, Meimei and Changle Hou returned victoriously with the women's hunting team. The main task of the ten guards was to follow and protect the ladies of the imperial family. They were not allowed to shoot the prey. When they went down the mountain, they carried the trophies of all sizes, with remarkable results. Among them was a wild boar weighing over 100 pounds, which was shot with the help of the guards.

The men also returned to the camp at the same time, led by the emperor. They were all in high spirits and high spirits, and it seemed that they had reaped a great harvest. Sure enough, behind the team, the guards were carrying prey and sending it back continuously.

There were countless tigers and leopards shot dead, wild goats, wild deer, hares and pheasants. Meimei ran to greet Xu Junying, who smiled and held her hand, whispering:

"I'm sorry! I decided not to bring the women with me because I was afraid of any accidents..."

Meimei smiled and said, "We also went to the ridge and caught a lot of prey. The first dish for dinner will be the ones we women caught!"

"That's amazing. What did you catch?"

"Well... we caught a pheasant!"

Meimei was sorry, her shooting skills were terrible and she didn't hit anything. She could only help the wife of Changle Hou to pick up prey. When she was shooting a wild boar, she was stopped by several guards behind her. However, the pheasant that looked like a chicken was indeed caught by her with the help of the wife of Changle Hou.

Xu Junying guessed what was going on when he saw her lower her head. He laughed and waved to Baoju, who had a fiery red fox on his shoulder. Xu Junying said, "I caught it. I'm giving it to you!"

Meimei was pleasantly surprised. She reached out and stroked the fur that was as soft as satin and as bright as fire without a trace of impurities. She smiled and said, "Thank you, husband. I like it very much!"

Not far away, the emperor comforted the concubine who had crawled into his arms and acted like a spoiled child: "My beloved concubine, that was captured by Marquis Weiyuan, so of course he wanted to give it to his wife. We can't just steal it from him, right?"

"No, Your Majesty, I have always wanted fiery red fur. Look at how good the fur is. It is so rare that it is not even seen in the palace! Your Majesty, it is just a matter of a word. Please ask Ji Qing to say it!"

"Not so good. It would have been fine if Meimei hadn't seen it, but now it's in her hands... She will hate me for stealing someone else's love."

"Even if she has ten courages, she won't dare! Your Majesty, I want it!"

"Yes, my love!"

The stunning fiery red fox not only attracted Concubine Shu's hot gaze, but also Su De came out. She walked over directly, put her face on the fox fur, and rubbed it with her eyes closed. Then she raised her head, opened her phoenix eyes and said to Xu Junying in a tender voice:

"Weiyuan Hou is truly amazing. This is a fire fox, a rare sight in a century. You have managed to hunt it!"

Meimei smiled and said, "If you like it, Princess, I'll give it to you!"

Su De was startled, then ecstatic: "Really? Thank you, Madam Weiyuanhou!"

"Meimei! I'm sorry Princess, this fire fox…."

Xu Junying thought Meimei was afraid of Princess Sude, so he wanted to protect her behind him, but Meimei held his hand and pinched it gently, then said with a smile:

"Of course it's real! The princess is a darling of heaven, with fair skin and beautiful face, and she is extremely beautiful. She is worthy of this fire fox fur, and I give it to her sincerely!"

Su De didn't care that Xu Junying and Meimei were holding hands, and he also stretched out his hand and put it on top, saying anxiously:

"The wife of Marquis Weiyuan has always been straightforward, and you can't break your promise!"

Meimei felt uncomfortable watching Sude entangled with Xu Junying's hand, and ordered: "Baoju, send the fire fox to the princess's tent immediately!"

"No, no. No thanks!"

Su De got what he wanted, and with a smile on his face, he waved his hand, and someone came forward to take the fire fox:

"Thank you! The wife of Marquis Weiyuan is indeed different from other women. Su De will remember your kindness!"

Watching Su De leave happily, Xu Junying said anxiously: "Meimei, don't you like it very much? Such a pure-fur fox is really hard to come by. I know that the emperor dotes on Concubine Shu. She was very accommodating to her, and she refused to present it to the emperor today. She intended to bring it back to you, but you gave it to her!"

Meimei looked around, stretched out her index finger to smooth Xu Junying's frown, and said:

"It's just a fox. There are many foxes in our hometown! And I just like it. I don't have to wear it. I always feel itchy with animal fur on my body. What I value is the love my husband has for me. I have already experienced it, and that is enough!"

"Truth?"

Xu Junying curled his lips. He also raised a finger and tapped her forehead lightly: "You are trying to flatter me with your sweet talk again? Tell me, what's your trick?"

Meimei touched the place where he had hit her, and immediately a big hand rubbed her. Meimei smiled and whispered:

"Didn't you see that Concubine Shu is pestering the emperor, pointing fingers, and wishing she could drag the emperor over to snatch the fire fox away? Looking at the emperor's expression, he might really ask for her. Can we not give it to him? You can rely on the emperor's friendship with you and resist not giving it to him, but he must be uncomfortable. I know what kind of person Concubine Shu is. Now the queen is avoiding her, so why should we go against her? It's better to give it to Su De. The last time the imperial farm escaped from danger, it was the Princess of Qi who helped you. No matter how irresponsible the King of Qi was, he still knew how to protect his wife. Su De also protected the King of Qi, but the brother and sister were severely scolded by the emperor. This Concubine Shu should be Su De's way of currying favor with the emperor... Let's give the fire fox to Su De. First, Su De is more qualified than Concubine Shu, so if Concubine Shu wants to be jealous, she can be jealous of Su De. Second, I hope that she can be sincere when we interact with Su De in the future. If she can help Song Jiulang leave the princess's mansion, why not use some tricks!"

Xu Junying hugged her gently: "Meimei, you gave Ruixue to Shan Yong as his wife, Song Jiu, I will find a way!"

"No! You don't understand. You can't be impatient about this kind of thing. Song Jiulang has old and young people at home. His wife and son have been waiting for him for five years. He has long wanted to leave the capital and go home, but Su De likes Song Jiulang very much and is unwilling to let him go easily. This is the tricky part..."

Bai Zhan ran over from a distance and bowed, saying, "Master, Madam, the seats over there have been prepared. Everyone, please take your seats. The Emperor is waiting for the feast to begin!"

Xu Junying raised his eyebrows: "So fast?"

Bai Zhan looked at Mei Mei and said with a chuckle, "The tiger and leopard meat are not ready yet. The emperor said that thanks to the women, we don't have to wait on an empty stomach today."

Meimei pulled Xu Junying and said, "Let's go. I'm hungry! Didn't you go bear hunting? Where's the bear?"

Before Xu Junying could reply, Bai Zhan said, "Madam, black bear meat is not tasty. We shot three black bears today, but they were too fat. We didn't bring any back. But we did bring back bear paws, bear gallbladders, and bear skins!"

"Really? That's great!"

The couple walked in front. Baoju pulled Baizhan hard and glared at him: "You are the only one who talks too much! I have been standing here for a long time without saying a word, and you came and chattered, interrupting me so much. Do you think the young lady likes to talk to you?"

Bai Zhan scratched his head: "I, I was so busy that I fainted!"

"Why are you dizzy? You used to be talkative, but not like this. Now that you've married Cui Si, you've become noisy!"

"What?"

"Didn't you hear it clearly?"

The two of them were fighting. If Meimei looked back at this time, she would be confused and could not figure out why they were fighting. @b

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