Jiang Jinzhao suddenly chuckled, "We should be thankful Songyi is a girl." He pointed at the figure riding back through the woods, "Otherwise, the position of the Young Master of the Black Tiger Cavalry would have to be taken by someone else."
Jiang Yihuan was choked and speechless, stiffening his neck to retort, "Li Tingzhen and Yu Huanshen, this pair of enemies, can't even accept you, but they are full of praise for Songyi. If she were a man, the top spot on the Jindu Talent List would have been taken by someone else long ago."
Jiang Jinzhao shook off the whip and wrapped it around his wrist: "She is better than any man in the world."
Jiang Yihuan nearly bit his tongue. His eldest brother had always looked down on everyone; even the renowned talent Jiang Yuyao had only ever commented lightly, "She's too feminine." If word of such praise were to spread, it would surely shock the entire city's intellectuals.
Su Sheng ordered the guards to drag the elk over, and everyone gathered in a semicircle. Bai Linxi squatted and poked the elk's antlers. "These antlers are like branches, just like the fairy deer mounts in picture books."
"A normal sika deer can still run two miles after being shot by an arrow," Yu Huanshen said, using his folding fan to push back the deer's eyelids. "The county lady's skull-piercing skills are beyond the reach of even the sharpshooters in the army."
Jiang Songyi's fingers tightened around the reins. In her previous life, trapped in a square courtyard, she had never imagined riding a horse or drawing a bow. Bai Linxi patted the deer's back and shouted, "If you were a man, you would definitely earn a title!"
Xin Yidao was lost in thought, tracing the indentations on the arrow shaft. The girl's bow-drawing posture was identical to his—a slight slump in her left shoulder, her pinky unconsciously curled as she gripped the string with three fingers on her right hand. He hadn't touched a bow and arrow in public since the fire three years ago. Thinking of the assassins who frequently frequented the villa, His Royal Highness rubbed his brow.
Those assassins were like flies that couldn't be driven away, impossible to kill or shake off. Last month, they'd even resorted to the treachery of setting fire to the granary, nearly destroying the double-ear rice he'd been cultivating for five years. Furious, he had his guards hang him from the beams of the house and splash water in his face three times a day to wake him up.
"Return the item to its rightful owner," Xin Yidao handed over the cleaned pink-feathered arrow. As Jiang Songyi took the arrow, the gilded wristband that had slipped from his sleeve made him squint—it was clearly a piece of clothing worn by the Eastern Palace's secret guards.
Su Sheng was directing the guards to carry the deer: "According to the rules, it should be presented to the emperor, and the reward will be yours." Seeing Jiang Songyi nod, he turned and instructed: "Remember to report that this is an auspicious sign hunted by the Jiaqing County Lord."
Deep in the enclosure, startled birds flew wildly, and no major prey was sighted for the rest of the hunt. Jiang Yihuan, trailing behind the team, shot down two turtledoves, leaving three bamboo arrows remaining in his quiver. He stared at the snow-covered figure of the rider ahead, and suddenly remembered Jiang Yuyao, struggling to even draw the bowstring during last year's autumn hunt.
"Brother just said that Song Yi is a man of both military and literary talents." He rode his horse closer to Jiang Jinzhao, "Could it be that she learned those military strategies from the Crown Prince in her previous life?"
Jiang Jinzhao suddenly reined in his horse. A gray rabbit, darting out of the woods, was startled and spun in circles. As he drew back his arrow, he whispered, "She was trapped in a deep house for twenty years in her previous life. Where do you think she learned these skills?"
Jiang Yihuan's hand trembled, and the arrow pierced the tree trunk at an angle. Twenty years in the deep house. What kind of life would that be? He looked at the girl chatting and laughing with Bai Linxi in the distance, and suddenly felt that the red cloak was dazzling.
Suddenly, clear bird calls were heard in the woods, and everyone looked up.
I saw a colorful stream of light passing through the shadows of the trees. The tail feathers were half a meter long and shone with a golden green luster in the sunlight.
"This bird is even more fancy than the glass parrot raised by Ye Zhe!" Su Sheng opened his mouth and almost dropped his bow and arrow.
Yu Huanshen was so excited that he swayed on his horse: "Phoenix roosts in the wutong tree! This is the auspicious omen of 'Phoenix roosts in the wutong tree'!" He sang at the top of his voice on the spot, "A west wind blows up from Mount Li, suddenly auspicious clouds appear, and a divine bird spreads its wings from the sky."
Jiang Songyi stared at the treetops in a daze. That wasn't a phoenix, it was clearly the golden pheasant raised by the Crown Prince's master. In her previous life, back in her Taibai Mountain villa, Xinyi Dao would scatter a handful of golden corn kernels, and these large, flamboyant birds would flutter their wings to grab the food. Once, she'd secretly roasted two, and her master had grabbed her ears and scolded her for half an hour, saying, "You're a bird that's going to spend the rest of your life in jail."
"What divine bird? It's a pheasant!" Jiang Yihan suddenly shot an arrow, startling the golden pheasant so much that it dropped a few tail feathers. Yu Huanshen was so angry that he threw his folding fan: "How dare you, you brat!"
Jiang Yihuan spurred his horse in pursuit. Having just lost to Jiang Songyi, the elk was determined to redeem itself this time. Seeing this, Su Sheng also spurred his horse after them, sending two plumes of dust billowing through the forest.
"Po Jun! Capture him alive!" The roar of the Fourth Prince, Xinyi Zigu, came from the fork in the road. He was followed by a group of silver-armored guards, and they were squeezed in the narrow road with the Second Prince's troops.
The Second Prince, Xin Yiwei, scoffed, "Fourth Brother, what you said is illogical. Your name isn't engraved on the auspicious sign." He deliberately used his whip to lift the curtain of the Fourth Prince's carriage. "You brought your concubines with you to hunt. No wonder you couldn't catch the phoenix."
Jiang Yuyao, her face pale, huddled in the corner of the carriage. She had been riding with the Fourth Prince, but Duke Liang had lectured her, forcing her to ride alone. Listening to the Second Prince's taunts, she dug her nails into her palms—Jiang Songyi must be laughing at her!
"Your Highness." She looked at the Fourth Prince with tears in her eyes. But the man irritably shook her hand away: "Aren't you busy?"
A golden pheasant suddenly swooped down towards Jiang Songyi's head. Jiang Jinzhao quickly drew his bow, only to see his sister shake her head: "This bird." Before she could finish her words, two golden arrows flew through the air, shot simultaneously by the Fourth and Second Princes.
"Stop!" Xinyi Daoyi's voice suddenly boomed. A golden pheasant took the opportunity to dive into the bushes, its colorful tail feathers caught in the branches and fluttering around. The prince slowly came over on his chestnut horse, clutching a handful of golden corn kernels.
Jiang Songyi's shoulders trembled from stifling laughter. In his previous life, his master had teased the birds like this, and the golden pheasants would fight over food. Sure enough, a fluttering sound came from the bushes, and seven or eight equally large, flamboyant birds rushed out to fight for the food, completely destroying the "auspicious" aura.
The Second Prince froze in place, bow raised. The Fourth Prince's golden arrow snapped in two. Jiang Yuyao's handkerchief was nearly shredded—how could Jiang Songyi always find a benefactor to rescue her?
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