Chapter 104 Sudden Change "Madam Xue, I'm so sorry."...
The bright autumn sun slanted through the layers of green and yellow leaves, making each leaf shine. The sound of galloping hooves echoed through the forest, startling a few birds into flight.
As the leaves rustled down, two long arrows, each shooting from the left and right, hurtled towards a white fox that was darting swiftly through the forest.
"Zheng—!"
A heavy, sharp thud rang out as two sharp arrows clashed together, neither giving way to the other, amidst the falling yellow leaves.
The white fox took the opportunity to escape, but before it had run a few meters, another long arrow shot over like a thunderbolt.
With a "pfft".
The arrow grazed the white fox's fur and embedded itself in the grass in front of it. Startled, the white fox collapsed weakly to the ground, curling up into a ball and trembling.
"You flatter me."
Xue Rongyue lazily spurred her horse closer and smiled at the reluctant Princess Chang Le.
Princess Chang Le dismounted with Xue Rongyue, stamping her foot in anger: "If you hadn't knocked my arrow away, I could have hit it with my first shot!"
Bending down to pick up the trembling white fox, Xue Rongyue, upon hearing this, decided not to indulge her anymore and scoffed, "I'd rather say it was you who shot down my first arrow."
This white fox was truly beautiful, its fur was snow-white and shiny, and the tiny creature was nestled in Xue Rongyue's arms, making soft whimpering sounds.
Princess Chang Le had long wanted to keep a fox by her side, and she was determined to hunt one herself during this autumn hunt. Her eyes lit up when she saw the white fox today, but unfortunately, she encountered Xue Rongyue, who was also hunting, and was slightly outmatched.
Now, watching Xue Rongyue hold that obedient and beautiful white fox in her arms, her eyes reddened with jealousy.
Xue Rongyue picked up the white fox and mounted her horse.
The arrow grazed the white fox's fur, leaving a short, bloody gash. Xue Rongyue was about to carry the fox back to bandage it when a casual glance caused her to gasp in shock: "...Hey! No way, you're not going to cry, are you?"
"I didn't!"
Princess Chang Le stomped her foot angrily, then wiped away her tears, mounted her horse, and prepared to leave. She didn't forget to raise her chin and say, "It's just a fox. As if I've never seen one before. I don't care!"
"That's fine then." Xue Rongyue spurred her horse toward the edge of the forest. "I thought you were going to throw a tantrum again."
Upon hearing this, the Princess of Changle was immediately overwhelmed with painful memories of the past—
Both being noble ladies raised in Chang'an, they were equally unruly and often clashed, with Princess Chang Le almost always ending in a crushing defeat, except for one instance.
Perhaps because she was young at the time, or perhaps because she was furious, Princess Chang Le suddenly went mad after completely breaking down. She grabbed Xue Rongyue's leg and started biting and nibbling at it, while also howling, laughing, and rolling around on the ground, trying to scare Xue Rongyue to death.
Xue Rongyue was indeed quite frightened. Not only that, but the Empress and Princess Yu'an, who had rushed over to divide the battle, were also startled by the Princess's antics. They thought she was possessed and were almost taken away for exorcism.
"Do you know how much water infused with talisman paper was forced down my throat by my parents after that incident?!"
Princess Chang Le felt inexplicably indignant when she mentioned this incident. She had been so angry with Xue Rongyue that she had completely lost her mind and wanted to pretend to be possessed by a ghost to scare Xue Rongyue to death. However, in the end, she only made herself suffer.
Her elders obtained talismans from various temples and Taoist monasteries, which has caused her to subconsciously feel like vomiting whenever she sees yellow paper, making her extremely afraid of it.
Xue Rongyue let out a series of undisguised laughs without any restraint.
Princess Chang Le was even more furious and spurred her horse to catch up: "I really hated you when I was a child!"
"oh."
"I hate you now!"
"oh."
"I said I hate you, and this is your reaction?!"
"Then what do you want me to say?" Xue Rongyue asked, puzzled. But when she met the reddened eyes of the Princess of Changle, she seemed to suddenly realize something and said regretfully, "I'm sorry, the person I hate the most is not you."
"..." The Princess of Changle was furious: "Xue Rongyue, you bastard!"
Xue Rongyue happily replied, "Thank you for your praise. I will continue to work hard."
Princess Chang Le: ""
Princess Chang Le was so angry that she pointed at Xue Rongyue's back and couldn't say a word for a long time. The servants beside her also stepped forward to comfort her.
After handing the injured white fox over to a veterinarian for treatment, Xue Rongyue turned and left.
The veterinarian was newly appointed. Chang'an was full of high-ranking officials and nobles. He did not recognize Xue Rongyue, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask, "May I ask which nobleman's tent you sent to after you were cured?"
Xue Rongyue pointed at the angry Princess Chang Le and said, "Just hand it over to Princess Chang Le."
The veterinarian bowed his head in response.
Princess Chang Le was stunned. The words she wanted to say stuck in her throat, unable to come out or come down. After a long while, she managed to squeeze out, "...You don't want it anymore?"
Xue Rongyue casually said, "Here you go."
Princess Chang Le asked in disbelief, "Why? Why wouldn't they be so kind?"
“Because it’s easy for me to hunt a fox, but for you, that’s another story.” Xue Rongyue looked at Princess Chang Le with pity. “I’m also afraid you’ll throw another tantrum.”
"..." After realizing what had happened, Princess Chang Le angrily retorted, "Don't you dare insult me! Those things happened when I was a child, and you're still bringing them up!"
Xue Rongyue asked impatiently, "So, do you want it or not?"
“”
After what Princess Chang Le thought was a long struggle, but in reality only a moment, she cleared her throat and lowered her head: "...I want it."
She clutched her dress, her face flushed, and looked down at her toes, uttering a barely audible whisper: "Thank you..."
"One hundred taels of silver." Xue Rongyue stretched out her hand without any hesitation.
"What?! You actually want money?!" Princess Chang Le was momentarily speechless, unsure whether to be shocked or furious. "One hundred taels of silver? You might as well rob us!"
"Cash on delivery, it's the same everywhere. Surely not, does the Princess of Chang Le want to take it for free?" Xue Rongyue said. "Or does the Princess of Chang Le not even have a hundred taels of silver?"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Upon hearing this, Princess Chang Le immediately beckoned to her personal maid to fetch one hundred taels of silver and hand it over. "Does the dignified Princess Yong'an have to resort to such means to obtain silver?"
She had intended to mock Xue Rongyue, but to her surprise, Xue Rongyue nodded upon hearing this: "There's nothing we can do; our family has suffered a sudden misfortune."
"You..." Princess Chang Le stared blankly at Xue Rongyue, not expecting her to say that, and managed to read the words "forced smile" from Xue Rongyue's calm face.
For some reason, she felt inexplicably annoyed, so she simply took the money pouch from the maid's hand, and without even looking at it, stuffed it all into Xue Rongyue's hands: "It's just material possessions, why are you doing this?"
After she finished speaking, Princess Chang Le belatedly realized that not a single maid had accompanied Xue Rongyue today, and she immediately became angry: "It's truly a case of the monkeys scattering when the tree falls! You used to treat that maid so well, and now that you're down on your luck, she's run away? We'll do it another day..."
After a pause, Princess Chang Le continued awkwardly, "Tomorrow I will send you two obedient ones."
With a slight raise of her eyebrows, Xue Rongyue smiled upon hearing this, offering no rebuttal. She lazily waved her hand and then spurred her horse away.
Princess Chang Le watched with a complicated expression as Xue Rongyue's figure gradually disappeared into the autumn sun.
"...This is truly worrying."
The personal maid couldn't help but chuckle, which immediately angered Princess Chang Le: "What are you laughing at!"
The maid wasn't afraid of her at all, and snorted, "I was laughing at this fox, not at you, madam. Why are you rushing to identify me?"
Princess Chang Le slapped her head in exasperation: "Sharp-tongued."
He stormed off, saying this.
After taking only two steps, Princess Chang Le couldn't help but turn back to look at the blurred figure on the horse's back, and slowly sighed.
***
Xue Rongyue sensed something was wrong as soon as she returned to her tent. Some of the lighter items on the ground had been moved.
Her heart skipped a beat, and before she could hurry out to ask the patrolling guards, a red fox suddenly crawled out from under the table.
Xue Rongyue was slightly surprised: "What...?"
The fox, pushing the objects placed on the ground, was completely unaware of the impending danger until Xue Rongyue quietly approached and grabbed it.
The fox was quite large and very strong. It struggled in her arms, but Xue Rongyue held it down and examined it curiously: "Did you sneak in, or were you hunted and brought into the camp by someone else?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than the fox suddenly broke free from Xue Rongyue's grasp and dashed away.
Fearing it would be captured by the patrolling imperial guards, Xue Rongyue quickly followed it out, and saw the fox run towards a figure not far away.
Hearing the noise, the man turned around and picked up the fox: "Didn't I tell you to wait obediently for Madam Xue to come back? Why did you run out again?"
Xue Rongyue chuckled lightly: "So it was the young master who hunted this fox."
The autumn sun shone down like shattered gold, passing through every fallen autumn leaf. The emerald green was gone, and the branches were tinged with a frosty yellow. The bleak autumn wind gradually rose, stirring up layers of withered leaves on the ground.
The sounds of horses' hooves and dogs barking in the distance gradually faded away, and at this moment, it seemed that only the sound of their breathing could be clearly heard.
Qin Jin stroked the fox's fur: "I accompanied His Majesty on a hunt today and found this fox in the forest. I thought you would like it."
Xue Rongyue deliberately said, "I like everything the young master gives me."
Qin Jin lowered his head and chuckled.
Xue Rongyue scoffed, "This time, the young master won't accuse me of sweet talk?"
"This happened so long ago, why is Madam Xue still holding a grudge?"
Xue Rongyue adopted a defiant stance: "Why can't we hold this against him? The young master hasn't even apologized to me yet."
Qin Jin picked up the fox's two front paws and pretended to bow, saying, "I will apologize to Madam Xue right now. I hope Madam Xue will be magnanimous and not hold it against me."
Xue Rongyue smiled and said, "That's more like it."
Just as she was about to step forward, she suddenly heard approaching footsteps behind her. Turning around in surprise, she saw the female official hurriedly stepping forward and saying, "Madam Xue, His Highness summons you."
Xue Rongyue's smile vanished, and her heart skipped a beat.
Xue Rongyue turned her head and looked at Qin Jin again.
Qin Jin's smile faded, and his deep eyes stared intently at her.
"Madam Xue." The female official seemed very anxious and urged her twice.
"I went."
Xue Rongyue looked away, said something in a low voice, and then quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at Qin Jin again.
This was a very ordinary conversation, and the female official did not notice anything unusual as she led the way for Xue Rongyue.
Xue Rongyue could feel Qin Jin's gaze following her from behind, like a shadow, until she stepped into the forest and disappeared.
There were still imperial guards patrolling the outer perimeter of the forest, but once you went further in, you rarely saw anyone. The female official explained, "His Highness hunted a leopard in the forest and would like to invite you, Madam, to go and take a look."
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the female official initially offered words of comfort, but the closer they got to the depths of the forest, the faster her pace quickened. Finally, Xue Rongyue had no choice but to stop and ask, "Where is His Highness? Why is His Highness nowhere to be seen?"
The female official also stopped walking.
At this moment, a complex mix of emotions appeared on her face. She looked at Xue Rongyue with complicated feelings, her voice filled with helplessness and reluctance: "Madam Xue, I'm so sorry..."
The next instant, the person who had been lying on the ground and hidden by layers of leaves suddenly sprang up and struck Xue Rongyue on the back of the neck with a stick!
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Author's note: Goodnight! [Sprinkling flowers]
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