Chapter 44 The Hunting Ground (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
Seeing his expression, Zhao Chengdong smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Your father and I are old acquaintances, so you don't need to be so reserved."
Fu Mingzi chuckled. "Is it the kind of old acquaintance you've cursed for eight generations? Well, your relationship is quite special."
"Yes, sir," Fu Mingzi replied, bowing respectfully.
Zhao Chengdong still smiled and said, "Why are you being so formal? Given my relationship with your father, you can just call me uncle."
Seeing Zhao Chengdong's amiable demeanor, Fu Mingzi felt even more uncertain, but she still acted very politely and followed Zhao Chengdong's words, calling him "Uncle".
Seeing that he was willing to greet him, Zhao Chengdong's smile deepened: "How is your father's health? I haven't seen him in a long time." He acted as if he were very familiar with the Duke of Jingguo.
Fu Mingzi didn't know what he was planning, so he remained very cautious in his words and actions: "It's the same as before, thank you for your concern, Uncle."
Zhao Chengdong narrowed his eyes: "The Duke is still vigorous in his old age, that's a good thing."
This exclamation seemed to have a deeper meaning, and Fu Mingzi felt uneasy, but she didn't want to think about it too much at this time, so she remained silent.
Zhao Chengdong chatted with Fu Mingzi for a few more bland words before leaving, satisfied.
Watching Zhao Chengdong's retreating figure, Fu Mingzi frowned deeply. What exactly was this person here for?
"Lord Zhao has served the old Duke for many years, and there were rumors that they were at odds. Now it seems that we don't know if it's true or not, but I think that Grand Secretary Zhao must know the old Duke very well," Zhou Xiaoyan suddenly sighed.
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingzi's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly realized something.
But before he could figure it out, Fu Mingsong walked over.
"Fifth Prince." He bowed to Zhou Xiaoyan, "Your Highness, please forgive me, but I have some words to instruct my brother, Your Highness..."
"It's nothing." Zhou Xiaoyan interrupted Fu Mingsong's apology and said gently, "Please make yourself at home, Fu Qing. I was just about to take a stroll around." Without saying anything more, he walked towards the edge of the hunting grounds.
Watching Zhou Xiaoyan's retreating figure, Fu Mingsong pulled Fu Mingzi to a sheltered spot and whispered, "What did you just say to Zhao Chengdong?" Fu Mingsong's expression was very serious.
Seeing Fu Mingsong like this, Fu Mingzi became a little nervous: "He didn't say anything. He just asked how my father's health was, and I said it was the same as before. Then he asked some other trivial questions, which I just brushed off."
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingsong's expression became even more serious, and his brows furrowed tightly.
"What happened?" Fu Mingzi asked anxiously.
"It's nothing." Fu Mingsong seemed to have thought of something, and his brows finally relaxed. "You should talk to Zhao Chengdong less in the future. He's very shrewd. If you're not careful, you'll fall into his trap. You're no match for him."
Fu Mingzi opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only said "I understand".
Seeing that he seemed quite frightened, Fu Mingsong felt a little soft-hearted: "Don't be afraid." Fu Mingsong patted Fu Mingzi's shoulder: "It's nothing serious."
Fu Mingzi really wanted to ask what was going on, but he also knew that he had no chance of getting the truth out of his older brother, and this was not the place to talk.
"I understand." Fu Mingzi nodded.
Fu Mingsong breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that although his younger brother was unreliable, he was a man of his word and would not break his promises.
"I'm leaving now. You stay close to the Fifth Prince and don't cause any trouble," Fu Mingsong hurriedly instructed before turning and leaving.
Watching Fu Mingsong leave, Fu Mingzi slowly walked in his direction, wondering if what Fu Mingsong was worried about was the same thing she was thinking.
When Fu Mingzi finally found Zhou Xiaoyan, the Emperor and the Crown Prince also arrived. Not only the two of them, but the Imperial Concubine also came along, dressed in riding attire, looking dashing and heroic.
Looking at the Consort, whose features had become much more spirited than last night's, Fu Mingzi raised an eyebrow. He had figured out why this woman was favored; her ever-changing temperament was enough to make any man unable to resist her.
After everyone had finished their greetings, the emperor finally announced the start of the spring hunt.
The emperor led the way, accompanied by the crown prince and the imperial concubine, into the hunting grounds. Zhou Xiaoyan and Fu Mingsong followed closely behind, while the other princes and ministers naturally lagged further back.
However, once they entered the hunting grounds, the Crown Prince went to the east, while the Emperor took the Imperial Concubine to the west. Zhou Xiaoyan, on the other hand, didn't seem to have any particular direction in mind. He just wandered around aimlessly with Zhou Xiaoyan and a group of guards.
Seeing his leisurely demeanor, Fu Mingzi couldn't fathom his thoughts, but he wasn't in a hurry. He knew that this man probably had his own plans.
Along the way, they did manage to hunt some small prey such as rabbits and pheasants. This was only because the guards rushed over from all directions and Zhou Xiaoyan hunted them down. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have gotten a single prey.
Finally, one of the guards couldn't stand it any longer and suggested, "Your Highness, I've heard that there are many game animals in the northwest. Why don't we go and take a look?"
Zhou Xiaoyan waved his hand nonchalantly: "No need. I'm not good at riding or archery. I'll just let fate decide how much I hunt. There's no need to force it." With such a detached and indifferent demeanor, people might believe he was about to become a monk.
The guard was speechless, but since the Fifth Prince didn't have this idea, he couldn't force him, so he could only reluctantly go and look for prey in the surrounding area again.
They wandered around for a while, but unexpectedly encountered the Crown Prince. However, the Crown Prince's prey was much more abundant than theirs, and he even had several sika deer.
"Brother." Zhou Xiaoyan bowed to the Crown Prince with a look of surprise and delight: "Your Highness is truly valiant, having hunted so many prey."
The Crown Prince smiled, but not with pride. He glanced at Zhou Xiaoyan's prey and looked worried. "Fifth Brother, this is all we have. I'm afraid we won't be able to explain this to Father." He then waved to the people following behind him. "Take two deer to the Fifth Prince."
After saying that, he looked at Zhou Xiaoyan and said, "Fifth Brother, don't think these two deer are too few. I was just afraid that if I gave too many, Father would be suspicious. Two deer are enough to satisfy Father."
Zhou Xiaoyan was filled with gratitude: "Brother, what are you saying? I am so grateful that you can help me..." His voice choked with emotion.
Watching the two brothers acting so affectionately from behind, Fu Mingzi couldn't help but think to himself, "These two brothers are such drama queens!"
After dealing with the Crown Prince, their previously meager prey looked much better. However, the guards didn't show any joy on their faces; instead, they all looked rather strange. After all, these things weren't hunted by the Fifth Prince, but rather they had benefited from the Crown Prince's favor.
The Fifth Prince himself didn't feel ashamed at all; on the contrary, he seemed to think it was perfectly normal. These guards, who originally valued their personal martial arts skills more than anything else, were all filled with mixed feelings.
Is this really a prince? Is he truly a descendant of the dragon and phoenix? Why doesn't he have any sense of shame?
Meanwhile, the Fifth Prince, who had no sense of shame whatsoever, was calmly speaking to Fu Mingzi: "Look, I don't need to put in any effort, the prey just comes to me."
"Your Highness must have already considered this." Fu Mingzi looked at him with a complicated expression. He saw it very clearly: the Crown Prince only had four deer, and now that Zhou Xiaoyan had given two, he only had two left. If he wanted to stand out, he would probably have to hunt a few more.
He really hadn't expected that Zhou Xiaoyan's original plan was to take advantage of the Crown Prince's possessions, which was completely out of character for his aloof appearance.
“Everything comes at a price. The Crown Prince wants to take me under his wing, so isn’t it only natural that he should offer me some benefits? Otherwise, I am also a prince, so why should I support him to ascend the throne?” Zhou Xiaoyan said with an air of self-righteousness.
Fu Mingzi was speechless. He had almost forgotten that no matter how pure and indifferent this person appeared, he was still a prince. Scheming and scheming were etched into his bones from the moment he was born.
“Your Highness is right.” Fu Mingzi’s tone returned to calm: “This humble subject misunderstood.”
Zhou Xiaoyan gave a faint "hmm," but where Fu Mingzi couldn't see, he gripped the reins tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white.
In his previous life, he didn't understand these principles. He only learned about benevolence and morality, but he didn't understand that some people, though full of benevolence and morality, were actually wicked and immoral. In this life, if he wanted to compete with these people, he had to be more ruthless and cunning than them. Otherwise, he would only end up with the same fate as in his previous life.
He didn't know if Fu Mingzi would like him this way, but he didn't want to hide this side of himself from her.
Upon thinking of this, Zhou Xiaoyan felt a tremor in his heart and dared not delve any deeper into the matter. He quickly changed the subject, saying, "Let's go and take a look ahead."
Fu Mingzi, unaware of Zhou Xiaoyan's change of heart, didn't say much and spurred her horse to follow.
Several guards wanted to say that since the Crown Prince was coming from there, there probably wouldn't be any prey left, but seeing the Fifth Prince's expression, they swallowed their words and silently followed him forward.
After circling around and finding no prey, Zhou Xiaoyan wasn't in a hurry and leisurely walked to the other side.
They had only walked a short distance when the guards who had led the way returned to report: "Your Highness, His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine are hunting not far away."
Zhou Xiaoyan frowned: "Have they spotted us over there?"
The guard paused for a moment, then replied, "There shouldn't be any."
"Then let's not disturb Father and Empress's enjoyment. Let's go to the other side." Zhou Xiaoyan had no intention of flattering them.
The guards were stunned to see such a detached prince for the first time, but they dared not disobey Zhou Xiaoyan's orders and all turned their horses around and headed in the other direction.
On the emperor's side, another fox was brought over by the guards. Consort Luo took a liking to the fox's fur at first glance and said eagerly, "Your Majesty, let me try this time."
"Very well, I'll take this opportunity to see my beloved concubine's archery skills," the emperor said with a smile.
The imperial concubine smiled brightly: "Your Majesty, I'm off." With that, she spurred her horse and galloped toward the fox.
Once the imperial concubine's figure disappeared into the woods, the emperor's tender smile vanished, and he turned to the head guard who had just stood beside him: "What happened?"
The leader hesitated for a moment, but still answered the emperor honestly: "The Fifth Prince seemed to have come this way just now, but when he saw you and the Imperial Concubine, he turned around and left."
"They've left?" The emperor frowned.
"yes."
The emperor seemed somewhat displeased: "Truly a person who cannot be brought to the table..." After saying that, he realized that he had misspoke and changed his mind, saying: "Alright, I understand. In the future, there is no need to report such trivial matters."
The head guard was somewhat uneasy, but he could only obey the emperor's order and bow as he withdrew.
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