Chapter 30 Chapter 30 The breath hits the face, and the lips follow...

About two minutes after the spring hunt began, Su Shang had already hunted some prey, but the prey he wanted most was nowhere to be seen -

Pheasant.

He rode his horse purposefully into the depths of the forest. Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound in the woods and he immediately drew his bow and arrow!

"Lord Xu?" After Su Shang drew his bow, he discovered that the person making the noise in the woods was actually Xu Qing'an.

Su Shang slowly loosened the bowstring and held the bow at his side.

Xu Qing'an stood in the dense bushes, not riding a horse, holding a pheasant in his hand.

He looked up and smiled back at Su Shang on his horse: "Master Su, what a coincidence that you are here hunting as well."

Su Shang was silent for a moment, then smiled rather awkwardly, "Yes, what a coincidence! Even in such a large hunting ground, I can actually run into Lord Xu."

"Why isn't Master Xu riding a horse?"

Xu Qing'an lifted the prey in his hand and said, "I just hunted a pheasant. The surrounding woods are too dense for riding, so I dismounted and picked it up." He then suddenly apologized, "It's also inconvenient for me to salute Lord Su. I hope Lord Su won't mind."

"That's all right." There was still some distance between the two men. Su Shang dismounted and walked towards him, his words full of admiration. "I thought Lord Xu, who spent years studying in his study, would lack some riding and archery skills. I didn't expect Lord Xu to be so skilled. He could shoot a pheasant just by saying it."

"Lord Su, your compliments are unmerited. The Six Arts of a Gentleman are required of all students in the Great Jin Dynasty, but I have only scratched the surface. I dare not commend you." Xu Qing'an glanced at the prey tied to Su Shang's horse and said, "Hunting is all about quantity. Lord Su is the better judge."

However, it was of no use to those who had no intention of participating in the hunting game.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore." Su Shangyan lowered his eyes and asked with a smile, "Are there a lot of pheasants in this area? I want to catch a few and take them back."

Xu Qing'an said, "Lord Su, I don't know the answer to your question." He looked calm, "This is also my first time at the Royal Hunting Grounds."

"Oh, that's not the right thing to ask." Su Shang apologized with a smile, "Although I used to come here often, the hunting ground is too big, and I haven't been to every place. So let's just walk around and see. If you catch the first pheasant, you'll catch the second one."

Xu Qing'an agreed: "Master Su is right."

Su Shang looked at the man in front of him who was not actively talking to him and said, "Master Xu was the top scholar last year. Actually, we met at the Xingyuan Banquet. It's a pity that I was later sent as an envoy to Western Yan, so I didn't officially meet Master Xu until today."

He bowed and said, "Su Shang, courtesy name Xubai, was born in Chang'an. I've heard of Lord Xu's deeds a long time ago. Could we become friends today?"

"It is an honor for you to be appreciated by Lord Su," Xu Qing'an replied. "Your humble servant, Xu Qing'an, courtesy name Yanrong, is from Yangzhou. I dare not take credit for the achievements Lord Su has spoken of, but I have merely completed the tasks assigned by the court on time."

"Yangzhou in March," Su Shang recited. "Yangzhou is a wonderful place, where everything flourishes, especially opera. No wonder Lord Xu has so many interests."

Xu Qing'an knew he was referring to the story of shadow puppetry he had told the young emperor, so he said calmly, "When I was young, I always found studying boring, so I learned some other things to relieve my boredom. I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Lord Su."

Su Shang nodded. "I used to like those things, but unfortunately I never understood them in depth. I will definitely ask Master Xu for advice when I have time."

Xu Qing'an nodded with a smile.

Su Shang turned and walked towards his mount: "Let's go, let's go hunt some pheasants together."

"Master Su should go." The voice behind him was clear and smiling. "I will not go."

Su Shang turned around: "Why is this?"

Xu Qing'an raised his right hand, facing Su Shang with his palm and casually shook it. "I was injured while testing the horse yesterday, and I accidentally tore the wound again just now, so it's inconvenient for me."

Xu Qingan thought that since the work was done and he had hunted enough pheasants, he would not go.

Su Shang didn't see the wound clearly, but he said regretfully after hearing it: "Yes, the location of the wound will affect both riding and archery. Well, the prey is almost gone, let's go back to camp together."

Xu Qing'an was surprised. He thought that if he didn't go with Su Shang, Su Shang would go by himself. Unexpectedly, Su Shang wanted to go back to the camp with him.

——

After returning to the camp and dismounting, someone came to help them carry the prey.

Su Shang then said to Xu Qing'an, "Master Xu, would you like to go and treat your wound first?"

Xu Qing'an politely declined: "It's okay, but seeing His Majesty and the Queen Mother is more important."

As he spoke, he took out a handkerchief, wiped the wound, and then simply wrapped it.

The whole process was easy and simple, and there was no sign of pain on his face from the wound being touched.

Su Shang frowned upon seeing this.

Will this injury affect bow drawing?

——

The two of them went to the viewing platform together, and the prey was placed in front of them.

The onlookers stretched their necks when they saw this——

It's really strange. Lord Xu just said he wanted to hunt pheasants, and now there are only pheasants in front of him, not a single other animal.

Although Lord Su had not been on the battlefield for several years, he was still very good at riding and shooting. In just half an hour, he hunted nearly ten prey, including various kinds.

Except pheasant.

Shangguan Xu complimented the two of them politely in front of Su Wang, but he acted more intimate with Su Shang, calling him "Xu Bai".

Xu Qing'an listened with his eyes lowered and a smile on his face. Although he didn't say much, he still offered the pheasant he had hunted as agreed.

Although it was not a precious item, it was a token of thoughtfulness after all, and with so many people watching, Shangguan Xu and Su Wang accepted them.

The same applies to Su Shang's prey.

After that, the rest of the spring hunting procedures were followed, and the hunting ended only after sunset when the banquet was over and everyone dispersed.

While the excitement of the spring hunt was still going on, the young emperor invited Xu Qing'an into the palace again.

At three o'clock in the night, moonlight streamed in, the only source of light in the dark hall.

The young man placed his hand on the table with his palm facing up. The wound on his palm had not healed and was still faintly bloody, but the snow-white medicine powder sprinkled on it quietly concealed the glaring and abrupt red.

Shangguan Xu concentrated on applying medicine to Xu Qing'an's hand injury.

Xu Qing'an watched silently, feeling her delicate movements, and the corners of his lips curved up unconsciously, but were suppressed in an instant.

Did she treat other foreign ministers like this? She addressed Su Shang so affectionately today, but had she ever done the same for him?

Xu Qingan curled his fingers.

"What are you doing?" Shangguan Xu held him down, his tone filled with dissatisfaction with his random actions.

Xu Qing'an came back to his senses, looked at her, and said with a smile, "The powder was too cold. I couldn't help myself when I sprinkled it on the wound."

Shangguan Xu sarcastically said, "I've already said that you have to apply the medicine yourself to know its severity. Who told you to insist on giving me the medicine? Now you can only endure the pain."

It's funny to say. Shangguan Xu knew that he was injured when he was untying the horse's reins yesterday, but who knew that he didn't take any measures before the spring hunt started. Instead, when he paid his respects after the spring hunt, he wrapped himself in a scarf. The scarf was wrapped roughly and was very conspicuous. When the little emperor saw it, he asked more questions out of curiosity. He just said that it was a recurrence of an old injury and it was inconvenient for him to ride and shoot for a while. Upon hearing this, the little emperor immediately took this as an excuse to let him into the palace to talk about opera, and also said that he would reward him with medicine.

Given the situation and the atmosphere, the more lively it was, the better. After all, it was just children having fun, and the little emperor had been studying hard recently. When others heard about it, they would not object to the emperor's actions.

However, after he took the medicine given by the emperor, he did not deal with it himself, but kept it in his pocket. He waited until late at night and when they were alone together, then he took it out and half-begged and half-cajoled her to apply the medicine to him.

Shangguan Xu was used to his rogue nature and was too lazy to deal with him. He just thought that through gentle touches he could win his heart.

Xu Qing'an refuted her words lightly: "It's okay, it doesn't hurt much, it's just that I wasn't used to it at that moment."

Not only was he a bit of a rogue to her, he also had the habit of finding excuses for himself. Just now, he was clearly disturbed by his mood, but he insisted on blaming it on the medicine powder.

This time he brought not only medicine powder but also gauze.

After applying the medicine, Shangguan Xu helped him wrap the gauze while saying, "By the way, I've already managed to transfer the officers from the Yulin Guard to the Jinwu Guard due to Xue Hong's incident. Thanks to your cooperation in the court, neither side paid much attention to this matter."

He stared at her and said insincerely, "Serving the Queen is my duty."

Shangguan Xu raised her eyes to glance at him. In the moonlight, the smile in her eyes was clear, but with a hint of teasing. It was obvious that she didn't take his words seriously.

She lowered her eyes and said, "You are now in the Ministry of Justice, and you do have a say in some matters. However, although the Ministry of Justice is in charge of laws, if you want to take charge and control the initiative, you still have to enter the Secretariat. Recently, many officials have retired from the court, and this is your opportunity. If you have any ideas, consider them as soon as possible."

Xu Qing'an whispered, "Your Majesty, are you planning something for me?"

Shangguan Xu spoke in a normal tone, "Since Xu Qing has chosen to work for me, I will naturally try to help him in any other areas I can. After all, you and I are in this together, so isn't it a win-win situation?"

"What about Lord Su?" he asked suddenly.

Shangguan Xu's hand suddenly stopped as soon as the knot of the gauze was tied.

She didn't take her hand away, but just looked up and asked, "Which Lord Su?"

He said solemnly, "The man who hunted with me today was Su Xubai, Lord Su."

Shangguan Xu frowned slightly: "What does this have to do with him?"

Xu Qing'an asked, "I see that the Queen seems to be quite friendly with him?"

"We knew each other when we were young and we were about the same age, so we had some friendship."

Shangguan Xu found out that the incident on the night of Shangsi in the seventh year of Xining had nothing to do with Su Shang. Even though she felt alienated from him because of his identity, she did not deny their past friendship.

Seeing that she didn't deny it, Xu Qing'an smiled, his tone unclear as to whether it was warm or cold. "Then has the Majesty ever made any plans for him?"

Shangguan Xu didn't understand what he meant. "What have I planned for him? He's Prime Minister Su's son. With Prime Minister Su around, why should I plan for him? Even if he really has something in mind, there's no need for others to help, right? Your question is really strange."

As she spoke, she was about to take back her hand that was originally on the back of his hand.

However, in just a moment, a hand came after her, and its slender bamboo-like fingers hooked her.

Their hands were clasped together, and she could feel the coolness of his fingertips in her palms, while her fingertips touched the gauze he had warmed.

She just raised her eyes and saw the young man's watery eyes looking at her, then he leaned forward and she could no longer see him.

Their foreheads touched, his uninjured palms covering his eyes, and she heard his moist and slightly humble voice.

"I know Your Majesty doesn't like light when she kisses you, so please allow me to block it for you this time."

The breath hit his face, and his lips followed.