Lanqin saw the Tenth Prince walk directly up to Shuhui and speak to her. Xinyi and Xiuzhu had no choice but to step back, standing there rather awkwardly. Lanqin glanced at the princes, then walked away from the Fourth Prince, went to Xinyi, and pulled her aside to say a few words.
"Xinyi, why don't you go and follow behind the Seventh Prince later? He has a slight problem with his legs, so go and keep an eye on him, and also help take care of your sister," Lanqin said, pulling Xinyi along.
Xin Yi's long eyelashes fluttered a few times, and she naturally understood what Lan Qin meant. She pondered for a moment, nodded, and let Lan Qin lead her hand towards the Seventh Prince.
"Seventh Master, may I ask you a favor?" Lanqin looked at Seventh Master. He had fair skin and gentle eyes, and he looked like a senior student who was trustworthy and reliable.
"Please tell me, Consort. If it is possible, I will certainly do it for you," said the Seventh Prince with a gentle smile.
"A gentleman is like jade," Lanqin thought to herself.
“This is my fifth sister. She has just learned to ride a horse and cannot run too fast. Otherwise, I will not feel at ease. If Seventh Master is willing, I will put my fifth sister in your team. Is that alright?” Lanqin said.
Xin Yi stood behind Lan Qin, blushed slightly, and then lowered her head and remained silent.
Seventh Master was slightly taken aback, but he quickly succumbed to his gentle smile.
"If Fifth Princess doesn't mind that I run a little slowly, she'd be very happy to have me," Seventh Master joked.
"I don't mind," Xin Yi quickly whispered.
Lanqin smiled mischievously and said, "Alright then, you two chat, I'm going to keep our Fourth Master company." With that, she swaggered away, leaving Xinyi standing there looking bewildered, not knowing what to do.
"Fifth Princess, shall I have the servant bring your horse over?" Seventh Master said, seeing her embarrassment.
The eighth and ninth brothers, watching this scene, had a mocking smile on their lips.
"Eighth Brother, Fourth Brother has really pulled a lot of strings this time. This concubine has so many sisters, and not only did he give one to Tenth Brother, but he's also trying to get his own sister into Seventh Brother's group. Even though he's practically invisible, he's still a Prince, and at least he's earned a reputation as a good brother from Father Emperor," Ninth Brother said disdainfully.
"There's no draft yet, nothing's settled. What are you panicking for? Who knows what will happen then?" A shadow of gloom flashed in Eighth Master's eyes.
As for Chen Xiuzhu, seeing that she was all alone, she had no choice but to join Lanqin's group. She couldn't help but glance at Eighth Master, but he didn't even look at her.
Everyone mounted their horses and took their positions. The Third Master led his men off first. He was thrilled to be able to hunt some wild game in the woods in early spring and stretch his muscles. He had been stuck in the Hanlin Academy for over a year, constantly exchanging pedantic remarks with those scholars, and was thoroughly fed up. At this moment, he longed to gallop away on horseback.
Immediately after, the Eighth and Ninth Princes also ran out. The Fourteenth Prince also led his men out, following behind the Eighth and Ninth Princes. Only the Seventh, Tenth, and Thirteenth Princes remained, along with the Fourth Prince.
"Fourth Brother, I'll go with you," Thirteen said from afar.
"Alright, I'm entrusting the safety of your sister-in-law and Chen Gege to you now," Fourth Master interjected.
After a short while, Seventh Master set off with Xin Yi and a group of servants.
Tenth Prince remained standing beside Shuhui, seemingly trying to persuade her to come along, as it was too boring for her to stay alone in the tent.
"Tenth Master, I'm really afraid of horses. As soon as I sit on one, I feel dizzy and nauseous. I can't ride at all. Please, Tenth Master, go quickly, so as not to delay your time." Shuhui truly was "horse-sick," that's right. Just like with motion sickness, she felt dizzy and nauseous as soon as she sat on a horse. This was why she hadn't learned to ride. Actually, at home, although she was a concubine's daughter, she was still quite favored by Ling Feng.
"Then, shall I have someone carry you in a sedan chair? Hunting is really fun, and I'd like to give you the most beautiful pheasant feather tail," the Tenth Master said enthusiastically.
Shuhui was embarrassed by the Tenth Prince's insistence and didn't know what to do. She still felt some resistance towards him and didn't want to go hunting with him. But the Tenth Prince's enthusiasm made it hard to refuse him.
Lanqin couldn't stand it any longer and walked over to Shuhui, saying, "Shuhui, it's rare for you to come out. Why don't you let the Tenth Prince protect you and go have some fun? It's really boring to stay in the tent by yourself."
Tenth Master glanced gratefully at Lanqin, then turned to Shuhui and said, "In early spring, all the animals come out of the woods. Would you like to see rabbits, badgers, various deer and roe deer, and foxes? I'll see if I can hunt a red fox to make you a collar, okay?"
Lanqin looked at Shuhui with a smile, thinking to herself: Tenth Master really treats Shuhui well.
Shuhui couldn't refuse, so she nodded. Tenth Master was overjoyed and quickly said to Lanqin, "I'll have to trouble you, sister-in-law, to fetch a sedan chair."
Lanqin smiled and said, "That's easy, but I'm entrusting Shuhui's safety to you. You can't just focus on hunting."
After the servants brought the palanquin, the Tenth Prince helped Shuhui onto it, and then rode away with his men in a great commotion. He was usually a master who loved galloping on horseback, but now he was content to walk slowly, just to accompany Shuhui.
"Fourth Brother, let's go too. I can't wait." Thirteen mounted his horse. Today he was wearing a moon-white brocade robe with black goose feather trim, which suited him well, making him look spirited, fresh and handsome.
Fourth Master nodded, then helped Lanqin onto Rouge's horse before walking over to Muxue and mounting himself. Chen Xiuzhu, on the other hand, mounted her horse with the help of servants, clearly distracted.
In early spring, everything in the forest was thriving, and Lanqin hadn't expected it to be like this. As soon as she entered the forest, she was delighted. She could hear the melodious chirping of birds rising and falling, and birds whose names she didn't know vied to display their beautiful voices before her.
Wild rabbits, badgers, roe deer, and other small animals would occasionally peek out, looking incredibly cute. Wildflowers of all kinds bloomed profusely in the grass, almost blinding Lanqin with their beauty.
"Cousin, look what those flowers are! They're so beautiful," Chen Xiuzhu said to Lanqin as she rode up on her horse, pointing to a cluster of flowers. It seemed the three girls each had found their own masters, leaving her feeling outdated, a situation the ever-self-important Chen Xiuzhu found unacceptable.
"Hmm. It's nice. I've never seen this flower before." Lanqin followed Xiuzhu's hand and looked at it.
"If my cousin likes it, Xiuzhu will go and pick some for her," Chen Xiuzhu said ingratiatingly.
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