Chapter 250 The Sky is Blue

Murong Yu had already seized ten thousand taels of gold and had people locked up and tortured for several days.

Wan Liang Jin's body, which could never be kept wealthy, could not last more than a few days.

Before his death, Wan Liangjin said that he was only keeping the treasury on the orders of He Tingfang. As for whether this treasury had any connection with Prince Gong, he really didn't know.

Murong Yu felt that Wan Liang Jin probably really didn't know, but his suspicions towards He Tingfang and Murong Xun deepened.

If Wan Liang Jin knew more secrets behind the incident, He Tingfang would have killed him long ago. Perhaps the reason Wan Liang Jin was able to live two more days was precisely because he didn't know the full story.

"Yes, my royal brother." Murong Xun could only bow his head and say yes.

He also had no idea what Murong Yu was thinking.

He never understood his brother's temper and thoughts.

The emperor's brother was sometimes happy and sometimes angry, sometimes lenient and sometimes strict. He always felt uneasy when standing in front of the emperor's brother.

After they went to the East Palace to see the prince, Murong Yu and Murong Xun left first and talked outside.

Murong Ming accompanied Murong Zhen in the bedroom.

The bedroom was large and filled with the smell of medicine.

Murong Ming was not used to the smell of medicine. He was often beaten and scolded, and his martial arts skills were not good, but he seldom got sick.

Murong Zhen half leaned on the bed and asked with some boredom:

"A Ming, what have you been doing outside the palace these days? How is the martial arts school?"

Murong Ming: "The martial arts academy is not fun, and I've been locked up in the mansion recently."

Murong Zhen raised the corner of his mouth: "You got into trouble again?"

Murong Ming said "hmm", not wanting to talk about his embarrassing story.

As he got older, he could feel that although the prince had a good relationship with him and always asked him to play together, every time he made a mistake, the prince seemed to be extra happy.

Murong Ming then asked, "The Crown Prince is ill. Will that Imperial Tutor Zhang still come to the Eastern Palace? Will the Crown Prince go on the spring hunt?"

Murong Zhen's face turned pale, and he did not directly answer Murong Ming's question:

"My grandmother and father told me to rest well, saying that I am the crown prince and my health is the most important thing."

Murong Ming scratched his head:

"I also want to fall into the water and get sick, so I don't have to suffer."

Murong Ming felt that although being sick was uncomfortable, it was a good excuse not to study or practice martial arts.

After hearing what Murong Ming said, Murong Zhen's face turned even paler, and a trace of guilt flashed in his eyes.

He turned his back and lay down:

"I need to rest now, Ming, you can go now."

…

The magpies were chirping in the trees.

It was another noisy spring day in the martial arts hall.

Su Zhizhi's face was filled with joy, and she wished she could grow wings like a little magpie.

She's been studying hard these past few days and has passed the test! Now she can go to the royal hunting grounds!

Yuan Caiwei also passed the assessment.

The two little girls hugged each other excitedly.

Yuan Caiwei said, "Fortunately, when I went back on my day off, my father and brothers read me military books, and I memorized them very quickly."

Su Zhizhi also said: "My father also taught me."

Yuan Caiwei was surprised: "Isn't your father a businessman? How can he teach you this?"

Su Zhizhi raised her head: "My dad is very smart and knows everything."

The day after Su Zhizhi hanged her head from the beam at night, Hao Ren, with bruises on his eyes, took Su Zhizhi to review the contents of the entire book.

When Hao Ren recited a few paragraphs and explained their meaning, Su Zhizhi looked up with admiration in her eyes.

Hao Ren taught Su Zhizhi for a whole day, and finally went to rest with a smile under his daughter's admiring gaze.

Yuan Caiwei took out a piece of paper with a list of animals on it:

"Look, Zhizhi, I've written down all the animals I want to hunt."

Su Zhizhi also took out a list: "I wrote it down too! I have a lot of things I want to hunt, and I'm afraid I'll forget."

The two exchanged glances.

Su Zhizhi saw Yuan Caiwei's paper with the following words written on it:

[Four hares, one red fox, one pheasant...]

Yuan Caiwei saw that Su Zhizhi's list listed:

[Wild boars, tigers, leopards, black bears...]

Yuan Caiwei opened her mouth in shock:

"Zhizhi, you're really bold in imagining so many ferocious beasts."

Su Zhizhi: "When we were in Liangmin Village, we would hunt these. There were so many of us, so we had to hunt big beasts to have enough to eat."

Yuan Caiwei had already imagined a scene in her mind of a group of villagers fighting wits and courage with jackals, tigers and leopards:

"Your village must be very impressive when it comes to hunting."

Then she said with regret:

"But I heard that the royal hunting grounds don't have so many large and ferocious beasts because they're afraid of hurting the clan members. Even if there are, they're only in specific areas, so we might not be able to go there."

Su Zhizhi's face showed obvious disappointment.

Yuan Caiwei comforted him, "Zhizhi, there aren't any ferocious beasts, but we can catch a lot of rabbits and pheasants. We also have the imperial chef to grill meat for everyone. My dad said that last year the imperial chef killed and grilled the meat for everyone, and it was delicious..."

Qi Fang passed by and heard the conversation between the two, and added:

"If you hunt a lot, you will receive rewards from the emperor. Last year, someone got a fine bow and arrow, as well as a thousand-mile horse."

"A thousand-mile horse? Will there be one this year?" Su Zhizhi became interested again.

Qi Fang: "Perhaps. Dayu buys BMWs from the Western Regions every year."

The Western Regions' BMWs are taller, faster, more precious and rare than the horses from the Central Plains.

Yuan Caiwei: "We can also take home what we hunt. I want to hunt a few rabbits and make them for my mother, grandmother, and aunt."

Su Zhizhi: "Can I take home whatever I hunt?"

Qi Fang: "Yes."

Su Zhizhi asked again: "All of them? What if I can't take it all by myself?"

Qi Fang smiled: "How many can you hunt? Don't worry, if you can't catch them all, I, your brother, will help you."

…

The days of spring hunting arrived with anticipation.

At three quarters past the hour of Mao, the Golden Crow begins to rise, and flags flutter outside the Vermillion Bird Gate.

The imperial guards led the way with spears in hand and followed in armor.

The civil and military officials rode their horses slowly, with a mutton-fat jade wine pot hanging beside the saddle and a long sword at their waist.

Murong Yu's long hair was tied up with a white jade crown inlaid with oriental pearls. He wore black armor and a black satin robe.

He was riding a tall horse, surrounded by a group of people, with an air of looking out over the mountains and rivers with a smile on his face.

Murong Yu liked this kind of moment very much. It was as if he could look down on the world and let those people who were watching from afar know what it meant to be an emperor.

There were several carriages not far behind.

The carriage was moving steadily, and Pei Shu listened to the noisy voices outside from inside the carriage.

Dongyue sat at the side and served, her eyes unable to stop slipping out from the gap in the curtains:

"Your Majesty, we haven't left the palace for many years. It's been more than ten years, and I don't know what has changed outside."

Dongyue's voice was soft, but it was filled with curiosity and excitement that was hard to conceal.

A few willow catkins were blown into the curtain by the wind.

Pei Shu opened her palm and caught the catkins:

"Chang'an City is still Chang'an City. What could have changed? Only the people have changed."

Dong Yue: "Your Majesty, that's different. Houses can also change. I heard that the gambling house in the West Market was burned to ashes a while ago. The eunuchs who usually go out of the palace on business said that it was a huge gambling house."

Pei Shu didn't know about this yet and just smiled faintly.

Chang'an City has been built for hundreds of years, and it is common for houses to collapse and be rebuilt. It is nothing surprising.

What difference does it make if the gambling house is gone?

Pei Shu and Dong Yue just treated this as a casual conversation.

He Tingfang in the team looked towards the West City and felt his heart bleeding.

He knew that the burnt land had been cleared and the foundation for a new house had been laid!

It was not Wan Liang Jin who rebuilt the house, but Hao Ren.

After he confessed in front of the emperor last time, he learned that his ten thousand taels of gold were missing within two days of leaving the palace. Then he heard the news from Heishan Mansion that Heishan Restaurant was going to be built on the site of Xiaoyaofang.

The Heishan Mansion even announced that it would build the Heishan Restaurant into the largest and most luxurious restaurant in Chang'an.

He Tingfang sneered in his heart.

Ten thousand taels of gold disappeared, and Hao Ren got the land.

It turned out that Hao Ren had the emperor's permission to act so recklessly.

He really couldn't move Hao Ren for the time being.

He Tingfang felt cold in his heart, but he did not forget to put on a fake smile on his face.

Some people were smiling fakely, while others were absent-minded.

And among the huge team, there were also people who were genuinely laughing.

The students of the martial arts school followed Zhou Jijiu and Instructor Lin, smiling brightly at the back of the team.

They rode horses from the martial arts school, each carrying a weapon on their back, and the bundles hanging next to the saddles were filled with clothes and food.

There was a large package tied to the side of Su Zhizhi's saddle.

She held the reins with one hand and took out snacks from the package with the other.

Several students shared with each other:

"This is the dried sweet potato that my cook made."

"Then try the apricot blossom cake my mother made..."

"I brought a sugar man..."

"I have a ball of oil..."

Zhou Jijiu turned around and saw the students all with puffed up lips, and scolded:

"I told you not to eat in the team. What a shame!!"

The students shook their heads, hid the snacks in their mouths, and pretended they hadn't eaten them.

Zhou Jijiu: ...

Su Zhizhi had a small piece of malt sugar hidden under her tongue.

Sweet.

The sunshine and wind blew on her face, gentle and comfortable.

Su Zhizhi looked up at the sky.

The sky is so blue today.