Two days later, Hongzhou sent men to bring the two courtesans, Qingluo and Yuning, to the imperial palace in Xiangshan. Hongzhou came first to prepare for the hunting trip.
"Your Highness, the attendants, horses, and hounds are all ready!" Xiao Tian walked over from a distance. Hong Zhou nodded and looked at the flowers, grasses, and bushes of Fragrant Hills. He suddenly remembered that his father and Hongli used to often take him here to hunt.
I was still young then, and Hongli always took me with him. Sometimes, after a whole day, we wouldn't have caught a single prey. Afraid that my father would be angry, Hongli would share the prey he had hunted with me.
Thinking back to that time, Hongzhou's lips curled up slightly. But now, thinking about their situation on the Northwest battlefield, he wondered how things were going. Hongzhou's heart tightened again.
Before noon, Hong'ang and Hongxiang finally arrived. They had participated in royal hunting trips here when Emperor Kangxi was still alive. However, after the Fourth Prince ascended the throne, there was a generational gap, and besides, this place had become the Emperor's Fragrant Hills Palace; without the Emperor's permission, relatives of the imperial family were not allowed to enter.
Hongzhou led Hongang and Hongxiang into the courtyard. Hongang sighed, "Sigh... We brothers used to come here to hunt, but we haven't come here much since. I didn't expect things to change so much."
When Hongzhou saw Hongang say this, he said, "It's nothing. If you want to come over in the future, just let me know."
Hong Ang and Hong Xiang were overjoyed and quickly thanked Hong Zhou.
Hongzhou led them to the Wisteria Courtyard for a short rest. "Brothers, you must be tired from the long journey. Why don't you take a bath and change your clothes here first, and have lunch? Then we can go hunting this afternoon."
Hongzhou had some side dishes brought up to fill their stomachs.
The two set off from the Fifth Prince early in the morning, and the journey was bumpy, so they were indeed quite tired.
"That's perfect. My brother and I will rest for a bit first, and then we'll have a showdown with Prince this afternoon." Hongxiang usually enjoys archery, and he's determined to have a good hunt this time.
Hongzhou laughed loudly, "Great! I've been wanting to compete with my two older brothers for a long time! Oh, right... I've also invited the two young ladies from Zuibai Tower last time. They'll come out to keep me company later."
The two brothers were quite excited when they heard that Qingluo and Yuning had also come.
"That's wonderful! We had a really great time drinking at Zui Bai Lou last time!" The two brothers were thrilled when they thought about how they had two beauties on their left and right last time.
"Well... brothers, please take a bath and change your clothes first. I'll go check on the food preparations! I'll send someone to invite you later!" Hongzhou then left.
Amidst swirling smoke, Hong Ang and Hong Xiang bathed and changed clothes under the care of palace maids and eunuchs, enjoying the treatment befitting imperial sons and grandsons.
“Hongxiang, do you think the Fifth Prince is suddenly being so nice to us brothers? Could it be that he… wants something from us?” Hongang leaned against the edge of the bath, thinking that it was really strange that Hongzhou had been inviting him to drink and go hunting these past few days.
Hongxiang shook his head. "Don't overthink it. What could a prince like him possibly want from us? He's just bored and wants us to keep him company!"
Hong Ang thought this made sense. Hong Zhou lacked nothing, and he would ask Hong Zhou for help whenever he needed anything.
"Yes, yes... right there, give me a good squeeze... feels good!" The two brothers hadn't enjoyed this kind of treatment in a long time, and now that they were at Xiangshan Palace, they were determined to have a good time.
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