Chapter 205 Falling Behind
Xu Junying's voice was very soft, with a hint of pleading. Meimei felt uncomfortable when she heard it. She lowered her head and said, "I know."
Xu Junying smiled again and let go of her hand: "Let's go, let's discuss the arrangements with everyone over there, and then we'll go up the mountain."
The wife of Duke Dingguo felt a little unwell and stayed with the Queen, not joining in the fun. Meimei then remembered that she was originally here to accompany the Queen, and it would be wrong for her to just run around and play whenever she wanted. So she went to talk to the Queen half-truthfully, to the effect of: If the Queen doesn't go up the mountain to sightsee, then I won't go either, and I'll stay at the foot of the mountain to talk to the Queen. Fortunately, the Queen was a very smart woman, and looking at her attire, it was clear what she meant. She smiled and patted her, "Go ahead, go ahead. I don't lack people to accompany me. Who among the palace maids is not more careful than you? Runan also taught her to follow the King of Qi. When you go up the mountain, remember to bring me something fun."
Meimei thanked the Queen and happily left with the Marquis of Changle and the wife of the Marquis of Changxing.
Xu Junying gave her two pieces of equipment: a half-foot long dagger with a black rhinoceros leather scabbard carved with exquisite and complex patterns, and a dazzling emerald inlaid on the hilt. When she pulled out the sword with force, a bright light burst out, almost blinding her eyes; and a lightweight crossbow with a dozen short-tailed feather arrows.
Xu Junying stroked the short sword and said, "This is a trophy, extremely sharp, from Mobei, the sword of the king. We captured it together on the battlefield when the emperor was still the prince. He returned to Beijing to inherit the throne and gave it to me. I dare not let you hold it on weekdays. In order to prevent emergencies, I still let you carry it on your back. You don't have to use it unless it's absolutely necessary... Be careful when drawing the sword, and be sure to pay attention to safety. You also carry this small crossbow on your back. Soldiers usually use it for close-range shooting. Nine out of ten shots hit the target. It is very light and you can lift it. I will teach you and you will be able to do it in a few shots. It doesn't matter if you can't hit the target, just treat it as practice. Next time you have such an opportunity, you may be able to shoot something down."
Meimei listened to his words and secretly complained: "Maybe he can shoot something down? What kind of talk is that? You are looking down on me."
But after she learned how to draw the bow and shoot the arrow, she felt that what others said made sense. This was too difficult. She wanted to shoot at a tree ten steps away, but the arrow flew to the bushes more than twenty steps away and shot away the crown of a flower tree in full bloom. The wife of the Marquis of Changxing laughed so hard that she fell down. The husband of the Marquis of Changle rolled his eyes at her and said, "What's so funny? Your aim is not necessarily better than hers. Try shooting at that flower tree. Can you hit it without skipping words?"
The wife of the Marquis of Changxing wiped away the tears of laughter and said, "It's true that it can't be done. The branch is so thin, and it can be done. The wife of the Marquis of Weiyuan is really amazing."
Meimei raised her chin and said, "Of course I'll shoot a rabbit later and you guys will see."
This was too proud. The two ladies glared at her. Xu Junying quickly tried to smooth things over: "My wife just loves to joke around. She has only just learned how to do this. How can she be that capable? Please forgive me, ladies."
Since they hunted for fun, they also wanted to do it themselves, so they arranged troops to detect the whereabouts of the prey, encircle the area along the mountain range, and drive the prey to the valley behind. The Emperor, the Prince of Qi, the Duke of Dingguo, and the marquises were divided into two groups, entered specific areas, and shot the prey, which became their trophies.
Meimei doesn't care about these things. She only values the process and thinks everything is fresh, interesting and full of fun.
Holding a small crossbow, she really got the hang of shooting here and there along the way. She practiced her aim well and occasionally managed to shoot down a bright red wild fruit from the branch. Xu Junying praised her for it and she blushed and wanted to laugh but held it back. There were too many experts around and they probably thought she was just a child playing games.
In her previous life, she had gone shooting with her friends a few times, using pistols and rifles, but the results were not ideal, and it was normal for the bullets to fly. Now, she felt that this bow and arrow was better than a rifle, at least it had no recoil. The short-tailed feather arrows that Xu Junying gave her had long been used up. The first time she told Xu Junying about it, he waved behind him and someone naturally sent it to her. So the second and third time, she did not tell Xu Junying, and waved herself, and the sergeants also sent it to her, and she could not help but feel secretly happy.
Meimei had heard from someone before that hunting requires one's own space. She thought that since there were people around her, she would not go anywhere, so she often hid in the bushes or behind trees and searched carefully, hoping to catch a dead mouse. The soldiers were chasing them in a hurry, and from time to time they saw pheasants and rabbits flying and jumping in the grass, which made people jealous. It would be great if they could catch one alive.
Xu Junying, however, seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. While he and others were paying close attention to the movements of the large prey in front, he also remembered to run back and accurately pulled her out from behind a bush. He knew what she was thinking:
"Those pheasants and rabbits jumping around are too agile for you to catch. Let the soldiers at the back catch them. Let's go to the front. Do you want to see the elk? There is a leopard in sight. We want to catch it alive. Come on."
Meimei followed him helplessly: "I just want to catch a rabbit, that's enough"
Xu Junying couldn't help laughing, and looked in the direction of the wife of the Marquis of Changle. Seeing that she didn't pay attention to them, he said:
"Don't worry, you'll catch a rabbit eventually."
After the emperor shot a moose, everyone surrounded and chased the leopard. Xu Junying wanted to follow the emperor and went forward. He could not take care of Meimei, so he entrusted her to the wife of Changle Hou and told Meimei:
"You must follow closely and don't fall behind. There are poisonous insects in the woods and grass, and you can't handle them."
Meimei nodded and agreed: "I understand, I will follow you all"
The wife of Marquis Changle was originally from a family of military generals. Her father and brother were both military officers in the court. She was the laziest one to practice martial arts, and she also learned some boxing and kicking, just to strengthen her body. She knew a little about sword and spear techniques, but she was not proficient in them. This is what she told Meimei. Of course, Meimei did not believe it, thinking that she was too modest. Looking at her skillful archery posture, the arrow flew so fast that the soaring colorful pheasant fell to the ground. Meimei was so comfortable that she prostrated herself on the ground.
Whether it was due to good luck or the encouragement of the wife of the Marquis of Changle, Meimei held her breath, aimed at a motionless hare in the bushes, and shot an arrow at it.
Meimei was stunned and asked Mrs. Changlehou: "Why doesn't it run away?"
The wife of the Marquis of Changle laughed so hard that she fell backwards: "Who knows? Maybe he was frightened silly by the people who drove him away from the mountain."
Meimei ran to catch the gray rabbit whose thigh she had shot. After carefully examining it, she could not see anything wrong with it. She was overjoyed and said, "So I really shot a rabbit?"
The wife of Marquis Changle smiled and said, "It's not surprising. Some prey are timid and can't stand being driven away or scared. Have you heard of rabbits being scared to death? If you shoot this one, you may not even have to waste the arrow. You can just go straight and catch it."
After hearing what she said, Meimei's joy was instantly reduced by half.
Turning a small hill, Lady Changle Hou went to chase a particularly colorful pheasant. Meimei didn't catch up and fell behind. She saw a few low bushes on the left with lush green leaves and unknown white flowers blooming among them. She walked into the bushes, picked a flower and smelled it. She found the fragrance refreshing and liked it very much, so she picked a few, put one on her head, and stuffed the rest into the small purse she carried with her.
After picking the flowers and walking out of the bushes, I still hadn't seen Madam Changle coming back. I couldn't help but get anxious. Could she have fallen behind? Where were the soldiers following behind? Why was there not a single one of them?
It is made by】.
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