To be honest, Jing Zhe really loves small animals.

However, at this moment, he really didn't want to accept the call.

Why bestow rewards on just a few small animals?

Are you kidding me?

If word gets out, won't people laugh their heads off?

Seeing Jing Zhe standing there in a daze, Su Mochen kicked him when Emperor An wasn't paying attention and muttered under his breath, "Hurry up and take it! Still so greedy, how could your reward be anything less?"

Upon hearing this, Jing Zhe finally smiled broadly.

"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty! Thank you, Prince Mo Chen!"

Su Mochen snorted twice, his expression somewhat smug.

"Okay, let's go then!"

So, Sui Shouren had someone bring over the carriages. Emperor An and Su Mochen rode in one, and Jing Zhe rode in his own, and they walked outside.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the hunting grounds, Hanhan stood there motionless, like a pillar.

Su Mochen hadn't seen Hanhan for a long time, so he excitedly stretched his hand out the window to wave to him. Hanhan wanted to wave and smile back, but when he saw the imposing Emperor An inside through the window, he immediately wilted.

Standing there, it looks more like a pillar.

Emperor An almost laughed, just then Jing Zhe got out of the carriage and walked over.

"You little rascal, you're quite different from me!"

Jing Zhe gave an awkward smile and remained silent.

Emperor An gave him a few more instructions, reminding him to attend court the next day, and then left.

"Young Master!"

Having been a bandit for a living, Hanhan was so frightened by the imposing imperial guards that he froze, afraid they would capture him.

I breathed a sigh of relief after they had gone far away.

"What are you afraid of? How shameful!"

Hanhan scratched his head. "These people are all government officials; they look a bit scary..."

"Young Master, I'll be an official tomorrow too. Are you scared?"

Hanhan thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"I'm not afraid."

"Then don't be afraid of them."

Jing Zhe kicked him, "From now on, I'm going to be a respectable official, so stop calling me 'Young Master.' People will think we're some bandits from some mountain stronghold! How am I supposed to get along in officialdom after that?"

"Yes, young chieftain..."

"You still call yourself Young Master?"

"Yes, young chieftain..."

"Damn it..."

"Wait a minute, something's not right, young chieftain..."

"We really are bandits from Mangshan..."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Jing Zhe kicked Hanhan, having already lost faith in not letting him call him Young Master.

"You're the one who talks the most!"

Then they got into the car, with Hanhan following closely behind.

...

Why did you come here?

Jing Zhe asked.

“I was at home, but then General Jinghong went back and said you were still here and he didn’t know when you would be able to come out, so he asked me to come and greet you.”

Hanhan then added, "General Jinghong and Zhu Sheren went back together, and then they went to the Prime Minister's residence together. They also asked me to tell you that they should go there when they get back. Tonight, Prime Minister Zhu is hosting a banquet at his residence to entertain the young chieftain!"

"Did they both go back together? Was there anything unusual?"

He shook his head sheepishly, "They're fine, chatting and laughing, nothing seems amiss..."

Hearing this, Jing Zhe felt it was amazing. It seemed that his appearance might have cleared up the misunderstanding between the two and reconciled the sisters, which was what he, as the younger brother, most wanted to see.

However, his older sisters in the family didn't seem to get along very well from a young age, and they often had conflicts, which seemed to all revolve around who was closer to him...

"Young Master, shall we go directly to the Prime Minister's residence?"

"Okay, that's fine."

Jing Zhe glanced at the game in the car and said with a smile, "When I went there last time, Prime Minister Zhu wasn't at his residence, and the gifts were thrown away. Today, I happen to have these game pieces. Although they're a bit light, they'll do as a small gift. I'm too lazy to go buy any more."

Not long after he finished speaking, he thought of Wang Yingqiu again.

The elder sister is in pain, and the garden owner cannot forget that either.

You have to treat everyone fairly, otherwise how will you gain their respect... woman?

"Silly girl, have my second and fifth sisters told me when I should go to the Prime Minister's residence?"

Hanhan thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "General Jinghong doesn't know when you'll come out. He also said that His Majesty hasn't been to the royal hunting grounds for a long time, so he might keep you hunting with him. It probably won't be early, maybe until the afternoon at the latest. Just tell me to wait."

Upon hearing this, Jing Zhe was overjoyed.

"In that case, we don't need to rush back. We can go over in the afternoon and have dinner there!"

"oh."

After answering, Hanhan asked curiously, "Young Chieftain, are we not going to the Prime Minister's residence, but going straight home?"

Hanhan has only stayed at the Jing family's house for two days, but he now feels the same sense of belonging to the Jing family as he does to Mangshan.

"No going back, we're going to Wuxian Garden!"

Jing Zhe laughed, but then immediately added, "By the way, when we get to the Prime Minister's residence this afternoon, if my two older sisters ask, just say that I spent too long hunting these wild game with His Majesty and only just came out. Don't let it slip, or you'll be in big trouble!"

He nodded sheepishly, then tilted his head back and asked sheepishly, "Young Master, I'm just a rough man, you don't need to make me look bad..."

"..."

...

Emperor An gave him a total of four pheasants and four rabbits, all of which were very fat. As an animal lover who couldn't live without them, Jing Zhe immediately liked them very much.

He kept two of each in the car, and the rest were for Wang Yingqiu. Firstly, so she could try them, and secondly, since even an old hen is nutritious, this wild pheasant should be even more so.

It has to be said, chicken is a good thing.

Women are a man's refueling station. He has been sparring with Wang Yingqiu these past few days. He has jujube pills to protect his body, and Wang Yingqiu is also his source of nourishment. So it is not unreasonable to get an old hen for her to replenish her energy.

The car stopped outside the gate of Wuxian Garden, and Jing Zhe got out.

Upon getting off the car, Jing Zhe was surprised to find that the gate of Wuxian Garden was slightly ajar.

You should know that when he first came, the door was open, but that was because the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering had just ended and the disciples in the garden were cleaning up. After that, when he came during the day, the door was always closed. Because he recognized the place, the disciples in the garden opened the door for him.

It's almost noon today, the cleaning must have been finished long ago, so why is the door still open at this hour?

With doubts in his mind, Jing Zhe came to the door, but instead of rushing in, he looked inside through the slanted crack.

In the main hall of Wuxian Garden, Wang Yingqiu, dressed in a light pink silk pleated dress, stood with her back to him, her expression unreadable.

A young man stood opposite her.

He wore a crescent-colored cotton robe embroidered with ornate patterns in blue silk, with a matching gold spiderweb belt around his waist. His black hair was tied up and secured with a crown inlaid with gilded jade. His slender body stood ramrod straight.

Because they were quite far apart, he couldn't see the man's exact appearance, but certain qualities he exuded made him feel threatened!

A love rival!

Jing Zhe frowned, thinking to himself.

————