A sudden gust of wind blew through the forest, whirling dust into everyone's faces. Jiang Yihuan swung his horse around, his black iron wrist guards clanging against the gold ornaments on the saddle. The warhorse's hooves kicked up gravel that splattered on Su Sheng's boots, startling him so much that he fell back and nearly fell off the horse.
Xinyi Zigu watched the farce with a cold eye, the whip in his palm leaving deep marks on the python pattern. His brother, the crown prince, was quite resourceful; with just a few words, he had Su Sheng as his pawn. What a pity.
"When did my cousin become so close to the Crown Prince?" He smiled and pulled the reins, the black jade ring on his finger gleaming in the sunlight. "Is the Saker Falcon I gave you last time still obedient?"
Su Sheng, however, only stared at Jiang Yihuan's receding figure, clapping his hands and laughing. "The military book really didn't deceive me!" He proudly slapped the "Art of War" on his waist. The gold-thread cover had frayed to the edges. "Attack the enemy and they will surely rescue you. It's truly brilliant!"
The prince lowered his eyes, smoothing the bloodstains from his sleeves, as if the clamor around him had nothing to do with him. His pony leisurely nibbled the tender grass, and the silver bells dangling from his necklace tinkled softly in the wind.
Xinyi Zigu suddenly remembered his mother's words. On the night the empress passed away, the eldest princess knelt before the coffin all night. Now that the crown prince had returned to the capital, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for his aunt to repay her old favor.
"Your Highness?" Jiang Yuyao called him in a gentle voice, and Dan Kou's fingertips lightly tapped the maple forest in the distance, "I want that red coral."
The Fourth Prince smiled in agreement, but a cold frost formed in his eyes. If the Crown Prince truly wished to borrow the military's influence... He stroked the poisoned arrows in his quiver when he heard a tiger roar from deep within the forest.
"Cousin, do you know?" He casually put an arrow on the bowstring. "Have there been any bear attacks on people in Mount Li recently?"
Su Sheng was fiddling with the gilded crossbow trigger. Hearing this, he didn't even raise his head and said, "I heard from my father that the hunting grounds were cleared a long time ago." He suddenly fell silent, realizing that he had let slip important military secrets.
Xinyi Zigu's smile deepened. As the iron arrow pierced the air, countless jackdaws were startled, and maple leaves twenty feet away cracked in response. Blood slowly spread across the leaf veins, like a map of the country outlined with a red brush.
"Since I moved out of the palace, my cousin has been visiting the East Palace quite often." He glanced at the Crown Prince, who was feeding candy to his horse, and said coldly, "Do you think Jiang Songyi is more interesting than me?"
Su Sheng's hand trembled, and the candy rolled into the grass. He recalled the Fourth Prince's embarrassing appearance when he fell into the water in public half a month ago, and suddenly felt that this cousin was not as pleasing to the eye as before.
"Your Highness, you're joking." The young man jumped onto his horse, his red gold belt jingling against the wall. "It's just that my mother insisted that I accompany the prince to study." He pulled the reins and turned to leave, but suddenly turned back and added, "Miss Jiang is much better than some drowned rat!"
Xinyi Zigu's expression suddenly changed, and he lashed the tree trunk with his whip. Amidst the swirling leaves, he sneered at Su Sheng's retreating figure. He was just a spoiled dandy, but he really thought the position of Minister of War was secure?
Jiang Yuyao timidly tugged at his sleeve: "Your Highness, please calm down."
"No problem." The Fourth Prince stroked his concubine's hair, his gaze following the figure in white. "It's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." He watched Xin Yidao's back as she rode towards the dense forest, a cruel smile curling the corners of his lips. "Autumn hunting is bound to be full of accidents, don't you think?"
A forest breeze, carrying the stench of blood, blew towards him, and the pony trotted nervously. Xin Yidao's knuckles turned white as she gripped the reins, and she suddenly began coughing violently. Her wide white sleeves drooped at her horse's side, and the Buddhist beads on her wrist suddenly broke, sending the sandalwood beads tumbling into a pile of dead leaves.
Twenty feet away, Jiang Songyi was pressing the blood-stained arrowhead into the dirt. As she rose, a silver bell rang softly, startling away the crows that had been watching from the treetops.
Su Sheng held the reins and said nonchalantly, "My cousin has just married a beautiful wife, how can I bother her? As for Concubine Hao—" He deliberately emphasized the title, "Since she is a wife, she should observe the strict rules between men and women."
Jiang Yuyao dug her fingertips into her palm. In the past, this domineering young marquis always chased after her and showed his affection, but when had he ever used such a distant tone? She leaned against Xinyi Zigu's arms, her eyes flickering with a mixture of grievance and probing. "Yuyao originally thought she and Master Su were close friends, so why should we be so bound by conventional etiquette?"
"Close friends?" Su Sheng sneered, his gold-inlaid horsewhip snapping against his palm. "When did Su become a close friend of Concubine Hao?" Seeing Jiang Yuyao's face turn pale, he added, "In the past, I took care of you more for the sake of cousin Zigu and brother Yihuan. Now you have married someone else's concubine." The unfinished words dissipated in the wind with a shrug.
Xinyi Zigu tightened his arms and pulled the man closer to him: "Cousin, be careful with your words!"
"Am I wrong?" Su Sheng raised an eyebrow and pointed at the carriages behind. "The Queen's carriage is still gathering dust at the end of the procession, and your fourth cousin is parading around with his concubine. Aren't you afraid that the Censorate will report you for favoring your concubine over your wife?"
Jiang Yuyao trembled all over, her pearl-studded armor nearly piercing through her Xinyi Zigu brocade robe. She remembered how Su Sheng had gone out of his way to bring her her favorite golden milk pastry at the palace banquet last month. Now, he was actually speaking up for Yu Chuwei!
"It's not your place to worry about my family affairs." Xinyi Zigu frowned. "But you, aunt, are still not married at the age of twenty-three."
"Gee!" Su Sheng suddenly shoved his horse's horn, sending it neighing and charging forward. Its hooves kicked up a cloud of dust that blanketed Xinyi Zigu's face. The young man's bold voice pierced through the dust: "Jiang Songyi! Didn't we agree to give Jiang a hard time? I know Captain Gu from the Northern Pacification Division. He's only twenty years old and still unmarried!"
"Go!" Jiang Songyi pulled the reins tight, and the Rouge Horse reared up. She turned and winked at Bai Linxi, "Sister Linxi, have you ever heard of Gu Chenzhou? He shot down a wild goose with three arrows during last year's autumn hunting, stealing the limelight from some people!"
Bai Linxi chuckled knowingly, whipping his horsewhip into the air with a crisp sound. "But is it the Lord Gu who captured the Beidi Prince alive?"
"How dare you!" Jiang Yihuan rode his horse across the road, his steed snorting and blocking most of the official road. Veins throbbing in his forehead: "Jiang Songyi, return to the Marquis's carriage right now!"
“Gee!” “Gee!”
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