Chapter 46 Chapter 46 I can only blame him for not fighting as a husband...
The servants released the captive animals, and as Mrs. Xie gave instructions, four fast horses rushed out like arrows.
With the sound of horse hooves and billowing dust, the figures of the four people and their horses disappeared into the mountains and forests and soon disappeared without a trace.
Chen Qiutang smiled and gave the maid a look. The maid brought the basket to the table and opened it. Inside was a set of tags.
"They're hunting on horseback, and we're sitting so far away, we can't even see them. What's the point of just sitting there?"
With a clatter, the cards scattered across the table. Chen Qiutang rubbed his hands together and said happily, "Since sitting here is boring, why don't we play some cards to kill time?"
Everyone was speechless.
Mrs. Xie waved her hand: "You guys have fun, I'll let it go."
Yun Wu opened her mouth: "..."
In fact, she didn't really want to play.
Aunt Cui had already sat down, rubbing her hands. "I was just wondering how to pass the time. Qiutang, you're really smart."
"I know my Second Master's abilities in today's competition. Based on his abilities, he's definitely not going to win the prize." Chen Qiutang gave Aunt Cui a look. "Even if he lost in the competition, I'll win it back for my Second Master somewhere else."
Aunt Cui replied cheerfully, "Indeed."
Meng Qingtong also sat down at the table, smiling gently as she began to shuffle the cards. "It's hard to say who the winner is."
Yun Wu: “…”
Since Mrs. Xie didn't come, she would have to sit in the fourth seat at the table.
Yun Wu looked worried: It seems that the only losers today are the couple.
Yun Wu wasn't good at playing cards. Even after understanding the rules, he'd still stumble. He'd spend a long time looking at a card before he could fully grasp it. He'd hear the other players at the table shout, "Win!"
After a few rounds, she lost all the money in her purse.
Yun Wu emptied her empty purse and looked at her second sister-in-law with a bit of pity: "I..."
Chen Qiutang waved his hand and said, "It's okay, I'll just pay it off for now. Ah Xiang, get a pen and write this down: Third Young Mistress owes me one or two taels of silver."
The maid next to her was keeping track of the accounts.
Yun Wu: “…”
"Awu, don't worry. Playing cards depends on skill and luck. I think you have good luck." Meng Qingtong comforted.
Yun Wu nodded obediently and thought to herself: Sister-in-law was very ruthless when she won the money from her just now.
She continued to draw cards, looking absentmindedly at the mountains and forests in the distance, praying that the competition would end quickly and Xie Yi would come back soon.
Otherwise, she would lose all their wealth...
…
The forest was vast, and the four men scattered in four directions as they chased the fleeing prey.
Xie Yi rode his horse through the mountains and forests, moving forward all the way. He didn't know how long it had passed, but his bag was already filled with the prey he had hunted.
His luck was neither too good nor too bad. Thanks to his decent archery skills, all the prey he found went into his pocket.
Not knowing what the other three had gained, Xie Yi counted his own achievements and felt that he was not sure enough to win.
Therefore, in the following time, he deliberately looked for some large prey. Fortunately, he soon found a wild deer.
This wasn't an animal raised in the manor and released for hunting; it was a wild deer from this forest. If he could hunt it, he would surely win the prize. Xie Yi quietly pulled a feathered arrow from his quiver, his eyes determined to get it.
Just as he was drawing his bow, there was a rustling sound in the grass and trees nearby. Soon, Lord Xie also came out of the woods with a bow, and the father and son met head-on.
The arrows in both of their hands were pointing directly at the wild deer.
The father and son looked at each other and looked behind each other, where their bags were full of prey.
Looking at the deer that was quietly eating grass not far away, neither the father nor the son put down their bows and arrows. They looked at each other, their eyes full of desire to win.
Xie Yi slowly revealed a half-hearted smile: "Dad, I was here first."
Lord Xie: "I'll get there first and watch you coming from the east."
Xie Yi: "Big brother and second brother don't know, but you know that I will definitely hit the target with this arrow."
Lord Xie said calmly, "I also taught you archery."
Xie Yi: “…”
Xie Yi looked at him with a fake smile: "Xie Fei was the first to provoke me, you can't let me lose to him, right?"
Lord Xie glanced at him and said, "It doesn't matter. I will win." The two men held their bows and arrows, in a stalemate.
Whoever strikes first will get their prey, but no matter who it is, they all want to be the first to strike.
The two men held their bows firmly in their hands, observing the wild deer grazing not far away, while keeping an eye on each other out of the corner of their eyes.
Suddenly, Lord Xie's expression changed, and he pointed his arrow behind him: "Fei'er?!"
What stupid thing did that stupid second brother do again?!
Xie Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he was about to turn his head. As soon as he turned his head slightly, he realized something was wrong. His grip loosened, and the arrow in his hand flew out.
But it was still too late.
The black tail of the arrow, representing Lord Xie, had already sunk into the prey. The deer neighed and fell to the ground. Xie Yi's arrow had only hit its hind leg.
Lord Xie rode his horse over and picked up his prey.
Xie Yi put away his bow in disbelief: "Dad, are you cheating?!"
"All's fair in war." Lord Xie's dignified face revealed a hint of a determined smile. "Although your second brother is not good at everything, there are no ferocious beasts in his own paddock, so he wouldn't be so useless."
Xie Yi frowned, put away his bow and said nothing.
It was a despicable thing to say, but it was also due to his negligence.
The hunting ground is like a battlefield. Everyone who meets is an opponent, and you cannot blame the other party for cheating.
But it was getting late, and the agreed time for the competition was almost over. It was too late to look for new prey. And finding a prey that could rival the deer was even more difficult.
He is bound to lose.
…
The sun is shining brightly.
The card tables in the viewing area have been changed several times.
Perhaps seeing Yun Wu's losses so badly, Madam Xie replaced her midway through the game, dominating the table. Soon, Chen Qiutang, who had been beaming with joy, became disheartened, and her winnings were gradually lost.
Yun Wu was oblivious to the changing circumstances at the poker table, only gazing towards the forest. When she saw the first figure appear in the distance, she immediately stood up.
"The person is back!"
The women who were playing cards also stopped one after another to calculate their profits.
The first one to come back was the eldest son Xie Chong.
"Why am I here so early?" He threw his prey on the ground. "I wasn't very lucky today. I only caught these few."
Meng Qingtong handed him a cup of tea and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Are you tired?"
"Not tired." Xie Chong smiled and said, "I sit a lot on weekdays, so it's a good time to stretch my muscles."
The second person to come back was Erlangjun Xie Fei.
He lived up to everyone's expectations. With neither skills nor luck, Chen Qiutang opened his bag and only took out a sparrow.
Aunt Cui was surprised: "My son, you are so capable that you can even shoot down a bird?"
"Hmm." Xie Fei slapped her thigh. "I didn't kill it, I caught it. This forest is so big, I went in for a long time and didn't encounter a single living thing, so I set a trap. It's not a terrible loss."
Chen Qiutang: “…”
Yun Wu quietly straightened her back.
Her husband can even hunt rabbits!
The last ones to come back were Lord Xie and Xie Yi.
The two of them had returned together, and when they arrived, everyone's attention was drawn to the wild deer. Compared to the wild deer, other small prey such as chickens and rabbits were immediately overshadowed and not worth mentioning.
Everyone gathered around the wild deer and exclaimed, "He's worthy of being called Dad!"
"Besides this deer, there are so many more?! Dad, you are so lucky!"
"After so many years, the Duke's prestige remains as strong as ever."
"This hot spring villa has changed hands a lot, and finally returned to my mother's hands."
Everyone gathered around the wild deer and talked about it. Madam Xie and Aunt Cui were even more smiling, as if they were proud of it.
Yun Wu stood back and glanced at the deer in curiosity, then went to look for Xie Yi. With the prominent Xie Gongye around, the winner was already decided, and no one cared about Xie Yi's whereabouts.
Yun Wu searched around and found him sitting alone in a corner, his bow and arrows discarded. His horse was grazing nearby, and his bag of prey was heavy and stagnant, emitting a strong smell of blood.
Yun Wu gestured for a while and couldn't help but be surprised.
These preys are more than those of the eldest and third sons. If it weren't for Mr. Xie's miraculous skill in shooting a deer, maybe Xie Yizhen would have won the prize of the hot spring villa.
Yun Wu's heart was pounding and her cheeks flushed slightly with pride.
She sat down next to Xie Yi. Xie Yi turned his head to look at her, then silently turned his back and plucked the grass leaves on the ground.
"What's wrong?" Yun Wu leaned against his back. "You've hunted so many prey, you look so impressive. Why aren't you happy?"
Xie Yi said self-deprecatingly, "Impressive? I'm afraid you think I'm ridiculous."
Yun Wu was puzzled: "Why would I laugh at you?"
Xie Yi's jaw tightened.
Before setting off, he boasted that he would make her the center of attention, regarding victory as a foregone conclusion. But looking back, he realized he was extremely arrogant.
Knowing that his father and eldest brother both possessed extraordinary archery skills, he still acted self-righteously, becoming complacent even before achieving success, and then letting his guard down at the last moment. Thinking back, Xie Yi felt ashamed and embarrassed to see her.
This is not the first time he has made such a mistake.
In his previous life, he had lost his life because of his carelessness, and now he made the same mistake again.
He even called Xie Fei stupid, but at least Xie Fei knew her own limitations and never made things difficult for herself. The real fool was him.
He thinks he is quite capable, but is ignorant of his own limitations. How ridiculous!
Yun Wu leaned on his shoulder and said comfortingly, "Are you angry that you didn't win? This hot spring villa is nice, but it's so far from the capital, and I don't like coming here. Even if I didn't win, I didn't lose anything."
Xie Yi said gloomily, "How can that be the same? I can soak in the tub at home, why do I need to go to the hot spring?"
Yun Wu: “…”
Okay. Yun Wu asked herself, and she did feel differently.
Yun Wu added, "The villa belongs to my mother. We can come anytime we want."
“…That’s not yours either.”
His voice was too low for Yun Wu to hear clearly. "What?"
Xie Yi remained silent and depressed.
Why does his wife have less than others?
It was all his fault that he, as a husband, was not good enough and didn't get more good things for her.
There were many more emotions that were difficult to express, swelling in his chest, making him feel suffocated and unable to vent.
Yun Wu thought she knew him well, but now she couldn't figure out what he was thinking. After a few words of comfort, she had no choice but to turn her gaze to the horse beside her.
"Can you still teach me how to ride a horse today?" she asked. "You taught me last time, but I still can't learn it."
Xie Yi: "Do you want to learn?"
Yun Wu said sincerely, "You said you would give me a horse. If I haven't learned how to ride by the time the horse arrives, wouldn't that be a shame?"
Xie Yi stood up and brushed off the grass debris on his body: "Let's go."
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