Bianliang receives more rainfall in summer than other areas.

Mu Jin had been in Bianliang for almost a month. She had originally planned to take some time to go out and see the prosperity of Bianliang, but unfortunately, Bianliang had been shrouded in rain for more than half of the month, which made her plans to go out fall through.

The hot weather, coupled with the rain, always makes the muddy conditions unpleasant to behold, but thankfully the weather cleared up today.

The room was filled with ice cubes, which emitted a cool sensation that instantly made people feel refreshed.

Today is June 15th, the annual summer hunting festival of the royal family of the Southern Shu Kingdom.

Early in the morning, Qing'er helped Mu Jin with her washing and dressing: "Miss, do you know what the hunting expedition in the Southern Shu Kingdom is called Xia Miao?"

Mu Jin picked up a hairpin from the dressing table and played with it casually. She smiled and said, "Judging from your mysterious look, did you find out something from the princess's residence?"

Qing'er said with a haughty expression, "Miss, don't ask about this yet. Tell me quickly, do you know the meaning of Xia Miao?"

Actually, Su Yi had told Mu Jin why this hunt was called Xia Miao, but when Mu Jin saw Qing'er's expectant look and said she didn't know, she found it a bit funny and shook her head as if she didn't know.

"It's rare for a servant to know something that Miss doesn't." Qing'er's eyes lit up when she saw that Mu Jin didn't know, and she said happily, "This Xia Miao, I've inquired about it with Uncle Kun. Would Miss like to hear why this hunt in the Southern Shu Kingdom is called Xia Miao?"

Mu Jin nodded and said to Qing'er, "Tell me about it."

Qing'er immediately explained to Mu Jinpu, "The meaning of 'Xia Miao' in the Southern Shu Kingdom has two aspects. Firstly, the Southern Shu Kingdom has specific sayings and rituals regarding hunting in the four seasons."

"Spring hunting is called 'sou,' summer hunting is called 'miao,' autumn hunting is called 'xian,' and winter hunting is called 'shou.' Among them, 'summer xian' refers to the royal hunting activities carried out in summer."

"This was not only a form of royal entertainment and military training, but also a major national event held during the agricultural off-season."

Secondly, summer seedlings can also refer to rice seedlings in summer. In the Southern Shu Kingdom, the summer seedling period is an important stage for the growth and development of crops, which requires careful management and care from farmers.

"In addition, there are many wild animals that come out to eat crops in the summer in the Southern Shu Kingdom. So from the previous emperor of the Southern Shu Kingdom to the current Emperor Gaozong, they may not hunt in the other three seasons, but they must hold hunting activities in the summer."

After Qing'er finished speaking, she looked at Mu Jin with a smug expression, waiting for Mu Jin's praise.

Mu Jin nodded and said, "Our Qing'er has really grown up. You managed to find out about such a big event in the Southern Shu Kingdom. Not bad, not bad. Keep up the good work next time."

Upon hearing this, Qing'er happily said to Mu Jin, "Thank you for the compliment, Miss."

After Qing'er finished washing and dressing Mu Jin, she saw Su Yi walk in from outside, dressed neatly.

Because they were going hunting today, Su Yi wore a dark purple riding outfit that was easy to use for hunting.

With a round neck and narrow sleeves, a belt around the waist, and boots embroidered with dark cloud patterns, the entire riding outfit was tailored perfectly to Su Yi's build, making him look like a dashing and aristocratic young master from afar.

As a woman, Mu Jin did not need to ride or shoot, so she did not need to wear riding clothes. Because of the hot weather, Qing'er specially found a cool, high-waisted gauze dress for Mu Jin, with a thin gauze overlay. Her beautiful figure was faintly visible under the gauze, so charming that people could not take their eyes off her.

Thinking that Mu Jin would appear at the hunting grounds in this gauze dress today, and that her beauty would surely be seen by other men, Su Yi couldn't help but frown.

He hadn't thought there was anything wrong with the style of the clothes from the Southern Shu Kingdom before, but now that Mu Jin was wearing them, he felt that the clothing from the Southern Shu Kingdom was very inappropriate. Wasn't this just inviting wolves to their side?

Seeing Su Yi frowning, Mu Jin asked with some confusion, "What's wrong? Doesn't it look good?"

Su Yi said, "It's windy in the hunting grounds, and you'll catch a chill. It's better to wear a cloak."

Mu Jin asked doubtfully, "Are you sure? Can the weather in June really be so hot that people die? Besides, isn't Bianliang always like spring all year round? How can you say it's cold?"

Su Yi was about to say a few more words to persuade Mu Jin when he saw Mu Jin roll her eyes at him and walk past him.

Su Yi shook his head helplessly and quickly followed Mu Jin.

When the two arrived outside, they saw that Uncle Kun had prepared everything, including all the guards, maids, and utensils.

Surrounding Mu Jin's carriage were several female guards who had accompanied her to the Lin residence last time. They were once again disguised as Mu Jin's personal maids to protect her safety.

Despite the meticulous arrangements, Mu Jin felt a vague unease. She had a feeling that something was about to happen at the hunting grounds.

Seeing Mu Jin's appearance, Su Yi found it somewhat amusing. She walked over to Mu Jin and spoke to her.

"Scared? You don't have to go."

Mu Jin asked, "Is something really wrong?"

In truth, Mu Jin's status was awkward. She was neither the Princess Consort of Su Yi nor a female relative of an official in the Southern Shu Kingdom. Although everyone knew that Su Yi had brought back a fiancée from the Eastern Yue Kingdom, they were not yet married. Therefore, whether Mu Jin went to the Xia Miao hunting trip or not was actually irrelevant.

Mu Jin had been so bored in the Southern Shu Kingdom this month that she felt unwell. This hunting trip would allow her to experience the charm of hunting in the Southern Shu Kingdom, which was much better than her being cooped up in the princess's residence.

Su Yi's lips curled into a smile: "Even if there is, with me here, A-Jin has nothing to worry about. But if A-Jin is afraid~"

Mu Jin glanced at Su Yi, and before he could finish speaking, she climbed into the carriage on her own.

The Shushan Hunting Grounds are located north of Bianliang, only half a day's journey from Bianliang.

Because it was a royal event, those who participated in the Xia Miao Hunting, apart from the emperor, were all members of the royal family, nobles, and officials of the third rank or above.

The entourage departed from Bianliang, with the imperial court also dispatching a large number of imperial guards and physicians to accompany the emperor.

Aside from the emperor and his female relatives, every man in the entourage rode ahead on horseback, appearing carefree and happy.

Su Yi had always been a free-spirited and unrestrained man in the Southern Shu Kingdom for many years, but this time he refused to ride a horse and insisted on riding in the same carriage with Mu Jin.

The women's carriage was small to begin with, and inside there were low couches, small tables, and ice buckets for cooling off. Mu Jin sat alone inside, which felt quite spacious, but when Su Yi squeezed in, it became rather crowded.

Su Yi leaned back on the couch, looking lazy and listless, completely unlike his usual noble and arrogant prince persona.

Mu Jin looked at Su Yi with disdain and said, "You're a grown man, huddled in this woman's carriage, have you no shame?"

Su Yi chuckled and said to Mu Jin, "As long as I have face in front of you, Jin, why should I give face to other outsiders?"

Mu Jin frowned: "But you're crowding me here? I see the carriages of the women of the Lin family are quite large, why don't you go and sit down?"

"I'm not going. That woman from the Lin family has been coveting my good looks for years. If I go there, she'll devour me alive. It's safer for me to stay by Ajin's side."

Mu Jin glared at Su Yi. She was already used to Su Yi's shamelessness, so she didn't bother to pay any more attention to him and instead picked up a small book to read by herself.

Having succeeded, Su Yi, seeing that Mu Jin no longer wanted to chase him away, curled up the corners of his mouth and nestled on the soft couch, pretending to doze off.