Now that I'm here, I'll make the best of it. Aside from life and death, nothing matters... These words kept repeating in my mind as I selected a horse in the stables. Finally, I chose a dragon horse and reached the exit of the hunting grounds.
Duan Sheng was already riding on a mighty chestnut horse. Seeing me approach, he raised his lip and said, "It's getting late, so let's keep it simple. Whoever gets the first prey will end it. What do you think, Miss Mu?"
I nodded. At least there was no danger of a confrontation. Inwardly, I hoped she'd hunt one right away. That way, I wouldn't even need a horse. I could just prepare some decent, flattering words to applaud her.
I took a deep breath as I had done before and jumped onto the horse. However, I didn't expect that this dragon horse, which looked docile, would suddenly raise its front hooves, raise its head and neigh before I could sit firmly. I didn't hold the reins firmly and was thrown to the ground.
She was stunned for a moment, then curled her lips and looked at Princess Rushuang who was pursing her lips and looking worried on the podium: "Princess, I think you——"
I got up from the ground and brushed off the grass debris. I interrupted her and smiled at her: "Sorry, my hand slipped and I didn't hold it firmly."
After saying that, I pulled the reins hard and whispered to the dragon horse, "You are Song Huaguo's horse, give me some face!"
It swung its soft white tail indifferently. I gritted my teeth and stepped into the stirrup, holding the reins tightly with both hands. I finally let go of my worry until I was really seated.
Seeing me like this, she raised her eyebrows and said, "Miss Mu, the hunting ground is not your stage troupe. This is a place where you can get hurt."
After all the trouble, I had already given up and calmed down. I smiled at her and said, "Thank you, Princess Shengyang, for the reminder."
After saying that, I raised my whip and flicked it on the ground and galloped away. The servant would observe our situation at all times from the high platform. When he saw who hunted the prey first, he would fire a cannon into the air to remind people that the hunt was over.
I had originally planned to ride a bit further before paddling, waiting for the cannon to fire before heading home. But then I caught sight of a group of people on the platform. Thinking that such a trick would be a disgrace to the Song Hua Kingdom, and that Mantou still had something to fight for, I heaved a sigh of relief and began searching for prey, carefully avoiding any contact with Princess Shengyang.
Saw a little rabbit! First arrow—missed it, scared it away. Saw a pheasant! Second arrow—missed it, and it slipped away...
After trying it over and over again, I suddenly felt that the straw mat target nailed by my brother was the best.
But there seemed to be no movement over there, and the artillery had not yet fired. Something was wrong. The Qixia Kingdom had vast grasslands, and everyone in the country was skilled in riding and shooting, not to mention the renowned Princess Shengyang.
As I was hesitating, a little wild boar suddenly appeared before my eyes, its hips thrashing wildly. It had its back to me and was burrowing into the bushes—what a great opportunity! I sincerely apologized to it in my heart: "I'm so sorry, so sorry. I'll prepare cabbage for you after I die." Just as I was about to draw my bow, I suddenly caught sight of Princess Shengyang, standing diagonally across from me, drawing her bow towards me!
I was stunned to find that there was a sika deer not far from me. I could see its whole body clearly, but Princess Shengyang was separated from it by thick and lush weeds.
I quickly turned the bow and arrow and shot it towards the side of the deer. The vibration of the arrow hitting the ground startled the deer and it ran away. Then another arrow shot next to my arrow and penetrated deep into the ground, with the feathers still trembling slightly.
Before I could even turn around to see who had shot the arrow, Princess Shengyang had already slammed her bow into the bushes. "You used such unworthy tactics—you!"
Yes, if you can’t catch the prey yourself, you go to sabotage others. How immoral!
But I’m not! Just as I was about to explain, I suddenly realized that Princess Shengyang had already dismounted and was pointing her bow at my horse, her eyes like icy blades.
I took a deep breath and subconsciously pulled the reins wildly and turned my head, and the sharp arrow was already flying towards me.
Suddenly, another arrow appeared in the air and hit the shaft of the speeding arrow directly. With a "snap", the arrows were deflected and fell into the grass.
We both turned our heads to look in the direction the arrow came from, and saw a man in a crimson robe on the platform leisurely putting away an exquisite bow and smiling at us.
"Brother, what are you doing!?" Duan Sheng was obviously angry, with fire burning in his eyes.
With all that commotion, we ended the hunt. Duan Xiao and the concubines had already stepped down from the platform. I stood aside, and Duan Sheng rushed directly in front of Duan Xiao. I could feel her face saying, "I'm going to smash your head off..." Okay, it was a little bloody...
"Duan Sheng," Duan Xiao said calmly, "Brother was just helping you."
He glanced at me and said, "The sika deer that Miss Mu scared away for you just now was a pregnant doe."
I also glanced at him in surprise; his eyes were really nice. He curled his lips slightly and turned away, pointing the bow in his hand at Duan Sheng, who was suddenly stunned. "If you really do that, I'll make you cry to death."
Duan Sheng shrank back and then turned towards me, saying awkwardly, "I didn't see it clearly. Thank you."
I suddenly felt incredibly powerful and imposing. Just as I was about to act nonchalant and say something like, "It's just a trivial matter, it's nothing to worry about," Duan Xiao clutched his bow against his chest and said, "I'm impressed by you two. You've been running around for ages and you haven't even managed to catch a single prey."
Wow? Is that Duan Sheng? How about we go up and blast his head off together?
"Who knows what kind of luck this is?" Duan Sheng stamped his feet impatiently: "I walked around for a long time and didn't see any prey!"
"Oh, I see." Duan Xiao pretended to be enlightened and looked at me again: "Miss Mu too?"
I strongly suspected that he was just mocking me because I was lucky and encountered a lot of prey, but I simply didn't catch any.
"Second Prince, I think it would be more appropriate for you to call me 'Mu Jieyu'." I simply changed the subject.
He chuckled softly, "It's just a name. I don't mind Miss Mu calling me Duan Xiao directly."
"After all, based on the number of times we've met—" His peach blossom eyes curved slightly: "We can't be considered strangers anymore."
The concubines standing beside me looked at me with complicated expressions. Princess Ru Shuang came forward and pulled me aside, then shouted to Duan Sheng and Duan Xiao, "In today's hunting, my Songhua Kingdom is not inferior to your Qixia Kingdom. See you again if we are lucky!"
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