As soon as Su Xuening opened the door, she saw Xuan Yuanzhan waiting in the courtyard.
Under the crabapple tree, he stood tall and straight in a white outfit, looking elegant and capable. He showed no signs of injury, and even his complexion looked much better than yesterday.
Xuanyuan Zhan stared in disbelief until Su Xuening walked up to him and waved her hand, asking, "What's wrong? Do I look ugly?"
Xuan Yuanzhan then came to his senses and looked at Su Xuening with burning eyes: "Very beautiful!"
His burning gaze seemed to scald her heart, making her blush and dare not look up at him.
Seeing the red trim on his clothes, Su Xuening suddenly realized something and looked down at the white trim on her own clothes, her face flushing even more.
Her dress was predominantly red, with white trim on the collar, hem, and cuffs, while his was predominantly white with red trim all over. They looked quite well-matched, similar to the clothes in their wardrobes.
"It's getting late, let's go." Su Xuening felt her face burning hot, but thankfully she was wearing a veil, so he probably couldn't see her embarrassment.
Little did she know that Xuan Yuanzhan had seen through all her expressions and emotions. She walked ahead, completely unaware that behind her, his eyes and brows were brimming with barely suppressed laughter.
The two arrived at Ningxiang Garden together and greeted Madam Bai: "Mother."
Bai Shi was also dressed in a simple dress and had her hair in a simple bun. When she saw the two of them coming over, she smiled and took Su Xuening's hand, looking at her fiery red riding outfit with great emotion: "Ning'er looks so good in this riding outfit. It has the same style as mine back then. I don't know how many young masters in the capital were captivated by me when I rode my horse against the wind in this outfit at the hunting grounds."
As Bai spoke, she appeared to be reminiscing, which immediately made Su Xuening extremely embarrassed.
Hearing Bai's words, Xuan Yuanzhan suddenly regretted letting Su Xuening wear this riding outfit, but seeing her wearing a veil, he felt much more at ease.
"Ahem~" Xuan Yuanzhan coughed, subtly reminding Bai Shi not to corrupt his wife.
Seeing her son's sudden enlightenment, Madam Bai was quite gratified. Noticing that his complexion was much better than yesterday, she asked with concern, "Is your injury any better?"
"Mm," Xuan Yuanzhan responded softly.
Bai was pleased, and then looked at Su Xuening with affection: "Thank you for taking care of this rascal, Ning'er."
Su Xuening felt a little ashamed. She didn't seem to have taken good care of him. After changing his dressing yesterday, she actually fell asleep in his arms.
"Let's go, there's still a big show to be performed today!" Madam Bai hadn't forgotten the important matter at hand.
The three of them split into two carriages and headed to the West Mountain hunting grounds.
At the Yong'an Marquis's residence.
Su Renyi was also going to the hunting competition today. Because he was worried about the assassin's body all night, he didn't sleep well at all. Naturally, he had no interest in finding women. He lay there in a daze all night, barely closing his eyes.
Early in the morning, Su Renyi got up and changed his clothes.
After changing into a more fitted outfit, Su Renyi suddenly realized that his jade pendant was missing.
"Have you seen my jade pendant?" Su Renyi asked Ding Shan.
"No." Ding Shan was usually in charge of taking care of Su Renyi's daily life and knew that the jade pendant was a gift from the Emperor and that the Marquis wore it almost every day.
Ding Shan thought for a moment and said, "I don't think I saw the Marquis wearing it yesterday. Could it be that the Marquis dropped it at Aunt Chen's place in the courtyard the day before yesterday?"
Su Renyi also remembered that he had taken off the jade pendant and placed it by his pillow that night. Then, the guard came to report early in the morning, and he hurriedly put on his clothes and went out, as if he had indeed not taken the jade pendant: "Go to Chen's place quickly and get my jade pendant. I still need to go to the West Mountain hunting grounds in a while!"
Now that he has been stripped of his official rank and no longer needs to attend official duties or court sessions, he is finally given a chance to showcase his abilities, so he will definitely attend this hunting competition.
Back when he was in the village, he made a living by hunting. Later, he went to the battlefield with Su Renzhong and his archery skills were also quite good, so hunting was one of his strengths, and he had to participate!
Upon receiving the order, Ding Shan immediately went to Aunt Chen's courtyard.
Ding Shan went to Aunt Chen's place, but Aunt Chen searched for a long time in the house without finding Su Renyi's jade pendant.
When Ding Shan couldn't find Aunt Chen, he immediately returned to report to Su Renyi.
Su Renyi hurriedly went to the courtyard himself: "How could I not find it? I put it by the bed!"
Su Renyi rushed into the room to look for it himself, only to find that Aunt Chen had turned the whole bed upside down, with the bedding all over the place, and was just short of flipping the bed over!
"I really can't find it. I've searched everywhere." Aunt Chen also remembered the jade pendant; the Marquis wore it every day, so how could it be missing?
Su Renyi also searched the room carefully. He even had Ding Shan lift up the bed, but still couldn't find it.
"Could it be that the Marquis has misremembered and left it somewhere else?" Aunt Chen asked cautiously.
"My lord, it's getting late," Ding Shan reminded him from outside.
Su Renyi frowned and glanced at the sun outside: "Keep looking. I have other matters to attend to today. We'll talk when I get back."
Su Renyi was in a hurry to go to the West Mountain hunting grounds, so the search for the jade pendant was temporarily put on hold.
Su Renyi and Ding Shan hurriedly headed to the Xishan hunting grounds, much like last year.
When Su Renyi arrived, he happened to run into Emperor Xuanyuan Peng's entourage. Because Consort Su was under house arrest, Emperor Xuanyuan Peng did not bring any concubines with him this time, only his three sons.
When the ministers saw that Emperor Xuanyuan Peng's entourage had arrived, they all stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, we respectfully welcome you! Long live the Emperor!"
Xuanyuan Peng was helped down from the imperial carriage by Zong Jiu. Looking at the kneeling ministers, he said, "This is not the palace. You need not stand on ceremony."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Everyone stood up and, as was their habit, stood on either side.
This hunting festival was attended not only by military generals, but also by all the civil officials who were supposed to be there.
Although it's called a hunting competition, it's mainly a contest between the three princes. Of course, there are also scions of noble families with outstanding martial arts skills. If they can stand out in the hunting competition, they will catch the emperor's eye, and it will be much easier for them to take the military examination or find a job.
Therefore, the twice-yearly hunting festival attracts a large number of participants.
Xuanyuan Peng's eyes darkened when he saw that Xuanyuan Zhan was not among the crowd.
He had originally planned to have Zhan'er participate in the hunting competition as well, but he never expected to be assassinated!
He wondered how Zhan'er's injuries were. He would have to go to the Holy King's Mansion to see him after the hunting competition ended.
Xuan Yuanzhan's absence disappointed not only Xuan Yuanpeng, but also Xuan Yuanyu, who lost interest in hunting due to not seeing Su Xuening.
Just as the father and son were feeling disappointed, the carriage from the Holy King's Mansion arrived.
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