Chapter 143 Testing the True Heart

Everywhere you look, the mountains and forests are covered with colorful autumn colors, which makes it a good time for hunting.

Chu Ran bent slightly, walked out of the golden-top soft tent, took a long breath, and then looked around.

On the vast hunting ground, flags were flying everywhere, several tents were rising from the ground, and the emperor's tent stood in the center.

A lot of people gathered in the hunting grounds. Some were talking in groups of three or three, some were sitting cross-legged on the ground packing their bows and arrows for later use, and more people were resting on the spot.

Chu Ran walked through the crowd, and anyone who saw him on the road would respectfully call him Eunuch Chu.

Not long ago, Chu Ran was still unknown, but in just a few days, almost everyone in the court and the country knew Chu Ran.

However, no one knew Chu Ran's origins. All they knew was that Chu Ran was recommended to the palace by Li Dingning. Once he entered the palace, he was highly valued by His Majesty, and even the Dongchang, which the people called the emperor's minions and eyes and ears, was put in charge of him.

Because of this, Chu Ran's origins became increasingly shrouded in mystery in everyone's mind. No one dared to approach Chu Ran brazenly, and even spoke politely to him.

"Mysterious Chu Ran" walked through the crowd calmly. Suddenly he turned his head and looked back. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he quickly quickened his pace and trotted down the steep slope in front of him.

At the bottom of the slope, Li Dingning was hugging his knees with his hands, his head buried deep in his knees. His back looked languid, lonely and pitiful.

"Your Highness." Chu Ran slid down the slope and called out from behind Li Dingning. Li Dingning did not respond, so Chu Ran sat down on the grass next to Li Dingning and called out again, "Fifth Highness."

Li Dingning still kept his arms around his knees, and reluctantly turned his head to reveal one eye. "What are you doing?"

"Your Highness, why are you staying here alone?"

Li Dingning did not answer, but buried his head again.

Chu Ran thought for a moment and asked, "Didn't Your Highness say that he wanted to hear the story between me and His Majesty? I have time now, do you want to listen?"

"Not in the mood."

"Why?"

The wind from the wilderness blew past the two of them. Li Dingning remained silent for a long time. Finally, he spoke in a muffled voice, "Xiao Linzi, do you think the princess doesn't like me at all?"

"Why do you say that?"

"If you like me, why don't you let Fourth Brother arrange a marriage for me?"

Chu Ran thought for a moment and said, "It's actually very easy to prove whether the princess likes you or not."

"Really?" Li Dingning turned his head towards Chu Ran again with no energy, "Do you have any idea?"

Chu Ran moved closer and put his mouth close to Li Dingning's ear.

Li Dingning immediately perked up. He straightened up, his pupils shining. "That's a good idea! Hehehe, Xiao Linzi, you're really smart."

But soon, Li Dingning stopped laughing. He was like a wilted leaf. "But what if she doesn't react at all? Ahhhh——!"

Li Dingning covered his head with his hands, as if he couldn't stand this result, and shouted repeatedly: "Forget it, forget it, forget it! If she doesn't react, ahhhh——!"

Chu Ran looked at Li Dingning speechlessly. He felt that Li Dingning really looked like a woodchuck.

Finally, Li Dingning stopped shouting and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, you must accept the reality."

Li Dingning covered his head and started screaming again.

Chu Ran couldn't stand it anymore, so he stood up and left.

As soon as he climbed up from the bottom of the slope, he saw Li Fu, dressed in a powerful outfit, walking out of the tent. His bright yellow arrow sleeves and golden armbands tightly bound his lean and powerful arms. He was wearing a pair of deerskin boots and was lowering his head to adjust his armbands.

Chu Ran's heart was filled with excitement when he saw this.

How come his emperor boyfriend is so handsome?

Suddenly, Li Fu raised his head and looked at Chu Ran who was a dozen steps away.

Chu Ran blushed slightly and walked towards Li Fu.

Li Fu put his hand behind Chu Ran's neck and kneaded it gently twice. Chu Ran subconsciously shrank his neck, but his face turned redder. "The hunt will start soon. Do you want to join in?"

Li Fu was speaking to Chu Ran, and there were no other outsiders around except Dong Quan.

Chu Ran was so overwhelmed by Li Fu's handsome appearance that he barely supported himself to stand up straight and whispered, "No, I can't shoot arrows, and I'm just average at riding a horse."

"I forgot." Li Fu said calmly, "When we return to the palace, I will teach you personally."

Chu Ran wanted to say no, he had no interest in riding a horse and shooting arrows, but he looked up at Li Fu and nodded obediently.

When leaving, Li Fu said to Chu Ran: "When the hunt starts, you just wait here, I will be back soon."

"It's okay." Chu Ran grabbed Li Fu's arm with his backhand, but quickly let it go, fearing that others might see him. "No need to come back so early. Hunt more prey."

"Okay." Li Fu said, "If you are tired, just wait in the tent."

"Um."

The drums sounded three times, and more than a dozen horses rushed out at the same time like lightning.

Chu Ran stared at Li Fu's back, which had already disappeared, and planned to walk around the place for a while. If Li Fu hadn't come back after his walk, he would go back to the tent to rest.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw Li Dingning running towards him from a distance.

"Xiao Linzi." Li Dingning ran out of breath and said intermittently: "I, I changed my mind..."

The two men took a shortcut into the woods. Chu Ran was holding a sack in his hand. The mouth of the sack was tied tightly, and one could clearly see living creatures wriggling underneath the sack.

"Quick, Fifth Prince, come here! Right here!"

Chu Ran called out to Li Dingning. Li Dingning was hiding behind a tree. When he heard Chu Ran calling him, he hesitated for a while before slowly walking towards where Chu Ran was.

"Hurry up!" Chu Ran urged anxiously.

"Do you really want to do this?" Li Dingning stood still and watched Chu Ran open the sack. Li Dingning still tried to struggle, "Okay, then you remember to be gentler, I'm afraid of pain...ah——!"

Chu Ran trembled as he held the frantically struggling little snake in his hand, frowned and whispered, "What are you talking about? I haven't even started yet!"

As a result, when he glanced at the snake, he saw the "true appearance" of the snake. Chu Ran was so scared that his hands trembled and he closed his eyes unconsciously.

"Hurry up, roll up your sleeves and let it take a bite. Hurry up, someone will be here soon."

Li Dingning gritted his teeth in fear, and tremblingly pulled up his wide sleeves, revealing a section of his white and tender forearms. He turned his head away, closed his eyes, and shouted with a fearless attitude: "I'm ready! Let's start!"

Chu Ran pinched the snake's vital point and was too scared to even look at it. He approached Li Dingning tentatively.

“Aaaaaaah!”

The moment the snake bit Li Dingning, Li Dingning screamed so loudly that it almost broke one's eardrums. Chu Ran was startled, and his trembling fingers loosened for a moment, and the little snake slid away and went straight into Chu Ran's sleeve.

“Aaaaaaaa——!”

Chu Ran's face turned purple instantly. He could feel the snake moving down his arm. Chu Ran seemed to be having a mental attack, jumping and shaking crazily on the spot.

Li Dingning hadn't recovered from the shock yet, and when he saw Chu Ran like this, he was stunned. "Xiao Linzi, what's wrong with you? Are you okay?"

“Aaaaaaah——! Snake! The snake is inside me ahhhh——!”

“What?!” Li Dingning also shouted, “Ahhhhh——!”

Suddenly, Chu Ran felt a sharp pain in his calf, like a needle piercing into the flesh, and then Chu Ran saw the little snake sliding down his leg.

"It's out! Xiao Linzi! The snake got out from under your legs!"

Chu Ran looked down and saw the snake's tail disappear into the grass.

Chu Ran took a deep breath, and before he could recover from the shock, he heard Li Dingning shout again: "She's coming! She's coming! Hide quickly!"

As soon as he finished shouting, Chu Ran turned around and saw Li Dingning lying on the ground.

Chu Ran: ...

I got into the role pretty quickly.

Li Dingning opened his eyes and saw that Chu Ran had not left yet, so he winked at him. Chu Ran then dragged his injured leg and quickly hid.

Qin Nianwei was riding a snow-white horse passing by here. From a distance, she saw someone lying on the ground. When she got close, Qin Nianwei jumped off the horse with a bow and arrow.

"Dingning?"

Qin Nianwei threw down her bow and arrow, helped Li Dingning up from the grass, and asked in shock: "What happened to you?"

Li Dingning grabbed Qin Nianwei's arm with his backhand, "Nianwei, Princess, I... I was bitten by a poisonous snake. I should, I should be dying..."

"Venomous snake?" Qin Nianwei stared at Li Dingning's body and asked anxiously, "Where did it bite?"

"Here, here..."

Li Dingning raised his injured arm with great difficulty.

Qin Nianwei grabbed Li Dingning's arm and looked at the bite marks on it. It was indeed caused by a snake bite. Qin Nianwei was anxious and directly picked up Li Dingning and said, "I'll take you to see the imperial physician."

Li Dingning suddenly grabbed Qin Nianwei's long sleeves. He shook his head slowly, looking like he was about to die. "It's too late... I know I'm almost dying... Before I die, I just want to know one thing..."

Qin Nianwei was so anxious that she shouted at Li Dingning, "What nonsense! Go find the imperial physician first!"

"No! No way!" Li Dingning's face flushed. "I just want to know... whether you like... whether you like it..."

"You are still asking this kind of question at this time, Li Dingning, are you mentally ill?"

Li Dingning gasped, "Tell me, tell me! Tell me...I beg you...I just want to know..."

"Like, I like you, I like you!"

"Then are you willing to marry...me?"

"Yes, yes, I do."

Li Dingning leaned in Qin Nianwei's arms with peace of mind, closed his eyes, and said in a low voice with great joy in his heart: "I am willing to marry you too..."

"Li Dingning, hold on! You must hold on!"

Qin Nianwei shouted, jumped onto the horse, restrained Li Dingning in front of her, pulled the rope hard, and flew away along the same path.

"Where is the imperial physician? Where is the imperial physician?"

"Princess, what's wrong?"

The imperial physician ran over with a medicine box. Qin Nianwei saw the nearest tent and ran in directly. "He was bitten by a poisonous snake. Help him detoxify!"

The imperial physician hurriedly followed him into the tent.

Li Dingning was put on the bed. He stared at Qin Nianwei beside the bed with his big eyes, and at the same time reached out to hold Qin Nianwei's hand.

Qin Nianwei quickly stretched out her hand, and Li Dingning immediately held her hand tightly.

"Imperial Physician, how is it?" Qin Nianwei asked.

"Princess, it is true that the Fifth Prince was bitten by a snake, but it was not a poisonous snake. The wound will only be painful and swollen, but it will go away in a few hours. It will not endanger his life. Princess and the Fifth Prince can rest assured."

Qin Nianwei looked at Li Dingning lying on the bed with a dim gaze.

"Ah? It's not a poisonous snake? I was so scared, I thought it was a poisonous snake."

Qin Nianwei still had a look of doubt in her eyes. Li Dingning quickly sat up from the bed, hugged Qin Nianwei's arm, and said coquettishly: "Princess, my legs hurt so much..."

Qin Nianwei's expression relaxed a little. She sat down beside the bed and her eyes gradually became gentle. "It doesn't hurt anymore, right?"

Li Dingning pretended to move closer and said, "It hurts so much, ugh..."

Qin Nianwei: ...