"You can do it yourself?" Xiao Zhenting looked at Sun Jinyao with a smile, his eyes showing a hint of sarcasm and contempt. "Are you sure?"
Seeing this expression, Sun Jinyao secretly clenched his fists.
"Let the Second Prince take it away."
As the sound of horse hooves approached, an old but strong voice was heard. Everyone turned around and saw Master Sun getting off the horse and walking towards them.
"Dad..." Sun Jinyao took a few steps forward and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.
But Grand Tutor Sun ignored him and bowed to Xiao Zhenting, saying, "Second Prince, my son doesn't know the rules, so don't take it to heart. You can carry the tiger away. The Emperor and the Empress are still shooting arrows outside the enclosure, so it's just the right time to go there."
"Master Sun is still very thoughtful."
Xiao Zhenting made a gesture, and his men, right under Sun Jinyao's nose, snatched away the credit that did not belong to him.
The scene in front of him made Sun Jinyao's eyes flash with a sharp light. He took a few steps forward, but was stopped by Master Sun without a word.
Xiao Zhenting rode past Sun Jinyao on his horse, snorted, and said in a low voice: "You want to rob me? Who do you think you are?"
This sentence completely angered Sun Jinyao.
Sun Jinyao clenched his fists with a gloomy face. Before he could get angry, Xiao Zhenting spurred his horse and rode away.
Watching the arrogant figure gradually disappear from his sight, Sun Jinyao couldn't help but roar to vent his anger.
He recalled that over the years, his father had constantly praised Xiao Zhenting in front of him, and even asked him to unconditionally tolerate and follow Xiao Zhenting.
However, his actions did not earn him any respect. Whenever he did something wrong, his father would severely educate and punish him when he got home, which made his mother sad.
Sun Jinyao didn't understand why he had to do this, but for his mother's sake, he had to swallow his anger and beg for mercy from Xiao Zhenting.
Sun Jinyao didn't want this.
He had his own pride and ambition, and he wanted to prove his strength by passing the imperial examination.
"Have you had enough?" Grand Tutor Sun was very dissatisfied with his son's misbehavior and scolded him in a low voice, "If you have, go back."
Sun Jinyao finally exploded.
"Am I kidding? Do you know how much effort I put into beating this tiger? I almost lost my life."
Sun Jinyao tore open his clothes, his chest was covered in blood, from being scratched by the tiger.
Grand Tutor Sun was stunned for a moment, a trace of heartache flashed in his eyes, and his tone finally softened. "I know you are very capable. However, this achievement is very important to the Second Prince. You..."
"Why don't you ask me why I took such a big risk to kill the tiger? And why do you think that this achievement is not important to me?"
Such a contradiction made Master Sun even more dissatisfied with Sun Jinyao, and his brows were furrowed.
"Why do you want merit? You are my son, your family has no worries about food and clothing, and you have already achieved the fifth rank at a young age. What is there to be dissatisfied with?"
Sun Jinyao's eyes were red as he looked at his father's eyes, which changed from anger to sadness, and from sadness to despair.
Finally, he unclenched his fists, walked past his father without saying a word, and left with a look of disappointment.
"If you really want something, I'll tell the Second Prince and give you some compensation..."
Sun Jinyao was not moved by Grand Tutor Sun's words. He was so angry that he threw his sleeves and cursed, "What an unfilial and rebellious son."
After saying that, he took the others to chase Sun Jinyao.
The surroundings gradually became quiet, and Shangguan Wanning and Zheng Zhixing walked out from the bushes not far away.
"It turns out that the Second Prince is so shameless that he actually took advantage of his status to steal the credit for other people's achievements." Zheng Zhixing shook his head repeatedly, "No wonder you don't like him, cousin. Sun Jinyao is really pitiful..."
Shangguan Wanning smiled without saying anything, as if she saw a good opportunity to bring down Xiao Zhenting.
"Cousin, do we still want to go around? The tiger is gone, so we can kill a deer and roast some venison tonight."
Shangguan Wanning's mood improved and she nodded in agreement.
"Okay, let's have a competition to see whose archery skills are more accurate. But you have to promise me one thing."
Zheng Zhixing was eager to try with his bow and arrow on his back, and no longer took Shangguan Wanning's words to heart.
"Tell me about it."
"Don't tell anyone what you just saw."
"Why?" Zheng Zhixing didn't understand and looked at Shangguan Wanning in confusion, "Cousin, you don't want to protect the Second Prince, do you? This person has a bad character, you can't marry him."
"Don't worry, I won't like him. I do this for another reason, and you will know it later."
Shangguan Wanning knew Xiao Zhenting's true face better than anyone else, and she would never be deceived by his sweet words in this life.
"I was originally thinking of going to the emperor to appeal for Sun Jinyao's innocence. Since you said so, I'll listen to you."
After all, Zheng Zhixing was still young and didn't think things were that complicated. He agreed and quickly put the matter behind him.
The two of them kept joking and playing, and Zheng Zhixing actually shot a deer. They returned to the original place in the evening.
At this time, the sun was setting in the west, the sky was filled with morning glow, and a bonfire was lit in the huge open paddock. The emperor, the empress and several concubines were drinking and chatting happily. The royal chefs were also busy cooking various prey, and plates of fresh barbecue were brought to the table.
At this time, everyone was not very vigilant. Shangguan Wanning walked through the crowd and finally found Mu Jingrui.
She walked over and deliberately bumped into Mu Jingrui, and the handkerchief in her hand fell to the ground.
Mu Jingrui picked it up and handed it over. Shangguan Wanning took it and left immediately. When passing by Mu Jingrui, she winked towards the darkness.
Mu Jingrui nodded in understanding.
Shangguan Wanning waited in a secluded place for a while, and Mu Jingrui came over quietly.
"What do you want from me?"
"There is something I need you and His Royal Highness to cooperate with. If you succeed, you may gain something unexpected."
Shangguan Wanning recounted in detail what she had seen today.
Mu Jingrui secretly calculated the time, it should be after Xiao Zhenting's failed assassination attempt on Xiao Yujue.
"What are you going to do?"
Shangguan Wanning smiled slyly, stood on tiptoe and whispered something into Mu Jingrui's ear.
Mu Jingrui frowned, seeming a little hesitant.
"Can you do it?"
"It won't hurt to give it a try."
Mu Jingrui pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go discuss this with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The Emperor will reward you based on your merits after the banquet, so this is the best time."
"Um."
The two men reached an agreement and walked out of the darkness one after the other, heading towards the center of the carnival in the paddock.
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