Spring Hunting Accident
Chen Yun was originally married into the Qiankun Kingdom as the Crown Princess. Due to her low status, Emperor Li Lie'ao and Empress Xue Lian, after much discussion, arranged for Huang Jianzhizhong to be Chen Yun's godfather. Although she was a goddaughter, the two did not interact closely.
After being demoted to the position of Xuan Wang, Li Lin feared for his life and death in the future. Considering that his army of only a few hundred men was far inferior to Li Jiancheng's thousand-man army, and the Emperor and Empress also favored their eldest son, she decided to rally forces for Li Lin.
Today, Chen Ying started with his relationship with his godfather.
The two of them met in the hall of Huang Jian early in the morning, and it happened that Li Ji, the chief of the capital, was meeting there.
Li Ji was Li Lin's confidant and one of the loyal ministers won over by Li Lin during his earlier campaigns. He gave Li Lin advice on a daily basis, which showed that he was very resourceful.
"Your servant, Li Ji, greets Princess Xuan."
"Li Wei, it's a coincidence today. I just happened to come visit my godfather and brought some delicious food with me. Why don't we all enjoy it together?"
Yueyue took out a bowl of snacks from the food box, and the two of them tasted them curiously.
Huang Jian was pleasantly surprised at first, but then his expression turned to pain. "What Concubine Xuan brought was indeed delicious. It's a pity that my worm-eaten tooth has harmed me. I can't eat too much."
Chen Yun came up to Huang Jian and said, "Open your mouth so I can see."
After reading, Chen Yun sat down, took out a piece of paper, and borrowed a brush to write a few words. "The method described in the Golden Chamber is effective for your condition. Mix the herbs with lard, then dip a locust tree branch in the herbs, roast it over a fire, and then apply it to the tooth cavity. This will achieve the effect of root canal treatment. The medicine contains realgar, which turns into arsenic when heated. Never consume it directly."
Li Ji sighed, "A rotten tooth, though painful, can be mended. But the bite of a worm that devours a nation is difficult to repair. Someone set fire to the princess's family home, and even killed Master Chen Lu. This is enough to prove that you, princess, have made too many enemies."
Huang Jian half-jokingly said, "The Xuanwang forces are afraid of the enemy?"
Chen Yun said helplessly, "I won't let go of my father's murder so easily. The perpetrator has already been apprehended. So, today I'm here... not only to visit my godfather, but also to prevent the criminals from further harming my Chen family during the mourning period." Chen Yun turned to look at Huang Jian, "Godfather, do you know the contents of this year's tribute?" Chen Yun gestured for Yang Yang to present a letter, his fingertips traced across the cinnabar annotation, "Thirty-seven pairs of bear paws, thirty percent more than in previous years."
"Godfather, do you remember the officer who escorted the military rations three years ago?" Chen Ying suddenly spoke, his fingertips tapping on the character "Qi". "That year, famine left corpses everywhere, and the officer who escorted the grain was the steward of the Huang Mansion." Chen Ying looked at Huang Jian again, his eyes turning red, and then at Li Ji's half-open mouth. He continued, "The transporter from Qingluan Mountain was later arranged to marry in Tufan Country. How could such a coincidence be possible? Godfather, deal with this matter as soon as possible."
"From what I understand, that person is none other than a relative of the royal family. Qingluan Mountain is also the location of this spring hunt. I suggest that the princess participate in the spring hunt to lure the snake out of its hole."
Didn't Chen Yun want revenge? He had finally managed to improve his family's lives a little, and his parents had only enjoyed that brief moment when misfortune struck. In the past, his father had encouraged him to be brave during thunderstorms, given him medicine when he was sick, and helped him when he was bullied. Now, he was gone, gone as he pleased.
After a long silence, Chen Yun stood up and said, "Get more people to help King Xuan. With more people, we can have a meal together and travel around."
After finishing his conversation, Chen Yun left. After a long while, the two began to drink tea.
Unmelted icicles dangled beneath the eaves. Li Jiancheng dropped the secret letter from Tufan into the charcoal basin. Sparks splashed onto the mirror, revealing his distorted features. "Fourth Brother, two hundred thousand Tufan cavalrymen have arrived at Yanmen Pass."
Li Ji's wolf-hair brush drew slanted ink marks on the report: "As long as we get rid of the second one..."
"Shh—" Li Jiancheng suddenly pressed down on his brother's wrist. A eunuch announced from outside the bedroom: "His Royal Highness Prince Xuan is here to see you."
Li Lin stepped into the pavilion and smelled a faint, almost scorching smell. He calmly bowed, "Brother Emperor, why have you summoned me so late at night?" His eyes swept over the scorched edge of the sheepskin on the desk.
Li Jiancheng's fingers unconsciously stroked the white paper on the table. "Second brother, you worry too much." He suddenly stood up and unfolded a hunting picture on the sandalwood table. "The spring hunt is in three days. How should you and I, brothers, entertain you?"
"Boss, this is your job. I have no right to tell you what to do. Goodbye."
Li Jiancheng's fingertips rested on the circled area of Qingluan Cliff on the map. He looked up and noticed Li Lin's fists clenched tightly, veins bulging. Beside him, Li Ji's Yanling scabbard was pointed at Li Lin's throat.
"Aren't you responsible? What do you mean now?" Li Ji asked coldly.
"The venue is ready. Whatever surprise you choose for Father and Mother, I won't interfere, nor am I bothered to plan it." With that, Li Lin turned and left, leaving Li Jiancheng and Li Ji to fret in the dim light.
In a flash, the day of the Spring Hunt arrived. Amid the rustling of pine trees on Qingluan Mountain, Li Lie'ao's arrow pierced the morning mist, accurately striking a deer's head fifty paces away. Li Jiancheng, on horseback, leaped before Li Lin and hefted the prey onto his shoulders. "Father, your archery is unmatched. I, your son, bow down to you."
Chen Yun rode up to Li Lin on horseback. Li Lin leaned forward slightly and asked with concern, "Are you used to riding?"
"fine."
"By the way, are you really alright over there? Will it have any impact if you come hunting before the mourning period is over?"
The one hundred days Li Lin mentioned referred to the mourning period after Chen Lu's death. Chen Yan didn't care, as these hundred days presented both opportunities for herself and her enemies. After all, she possessed the Yuan Tian Sect's skills, and the Emperor relied heavily on her, so those behind the scenes wouldn't openly confront her. However, if she were absent, everyone in the Xuan Palace could be harmed.
"Since you killed my father, it means we will all be killed. You also arranged for my brother to lurk nearby. He is the one who protects you secretly, and I am the one who protects you openly."
Li Ji suddenly reined in his horse and turned around. "Second brother, it's been a long time since we've met. How about we compete in hunting times?"
Li Lin was about to reply when Chen Yun drew his horn bow and said, "I, too, would like to learn archery from the King of Qi."
Li Lieo clapped his hands and laughed on his horse: "Great! It's rare that Princess Xuan has such a refined taste. My lords, just look at this heroic demeanor of a woman!" The ministers who were accompanying her cheered loudly, startling several gray sparrows in the woods.
The two men rode their horses in pursuit, shooting into the wind, and the "whoosh" and "whoosh" sounds were like a beast descending the mountain.
Chen Yun's eyebrows rose slightly, an arrow poised on the bowstring. With a slight tremor, the bowstring sent the arrow hurtling past. Similarly, Li Ji, standing nearby, readied his second arrow. Within moments of its release, three wild pheasants fell to the ground.
Li Lin rode up to the target and saw that all of Chen Yun's arrows had hit the pheasant's head. He turned to look at Li Jiancheng, only to see him tying up a newly hunted elk, its blood dripping onto the grass.
The next moment, Li Jiancheng rushed forward again, his followers also riding their horses to hunt. Amidst the hail of arrows, Li Lin did not act rashly, but instead surveyed his surroundings. Li Ji remained to the right, and the minister remained within ten horseback distance of Li Jiancheng.
Look again, Li Jiancheng's arrow always grazes the deer.
Li Lin quickly caught up to Li Jiancheng and asked, "Brother, are you giving in to me?" He rode his horse closer to the prince, but saw that Li Jiancheng's eyes fell on Li Lieo's imperial horse.
"My second brother has made great achievements in battle, so naturally I have to show him some respect." Li Jiancheng's smile was bitter. "But although this hunting ground is big, it can't accommodate..." His words were suddenly interrupted by the whistling wind in the mountains.
As Li Lin pulled the reins, three arrows flew through the air. He instinctively dodged sideways, but saw Chen Yun had already swung out his chain knife and entangled the arrow shafts.
"Be careful!" Chen Yan exclaimed, as three deep scratches were left on Li Lin's clothes.
Since the other party had already started to attack, he naturally could not sit and wait to be killed. Li Lin dismounted, pulled his wife off the horse and protected her behind him, but found that Li Jiancheng's Red Leopard Flag was waving on the top of the mountain in the distance, and Li Ji on the other side was out of range.
"Protect His Majesty!" Just as he finished speaking, he saw the imperial chariot Xue Lian was riding on moving towards the cliff. Li Lin's eyes widened with fear. He left Chen Yun where he was and rode forward himself, only to hear Li Jiancheng shout from behind, "Second brother, be careful!"
Li Jiancheng and Li Ji exchanged glances, then drew their bows and shot. The arrows flew out, and the gangsters around the imperial chariot were killed.
In the distance, seven black-clad assassins leaped from a crevice in the rocks, each holding a horn bow. Li Lin had to repeatedly lean sideways to block the arrows from afar with his bow, but on the sixth attempt, he felt his right arm go numb—the poison was starting to take effect.
"Second brother, squat down!" Chen Yan ran to Li Lin, then rotated the chain knife in front to block the arrow, but saw one of the arrows from the opposite side pass through the chain knife.
Li Lin's pupils suddenly shrank, and he threw Chen Yan to the ground. The arrow only grazed the back of Li Lin's clothes.
When Chen Yun looked into the distance again, he saw Li Jiancheng and Li Ji preventing officials and soldiers from moving forward and staying far away from him.
Li Lie'ao, who was standing in the middle of the group, looked at them anxiously: "What are you waiting for? Go up and save them!"
Li Jiancheng said, "Absolutely not! This is definitely a detailed attack. If we send our men forward, they'll be wiped out in the next second!"
Li Ji said quickly, "Father, we should let the Second Brother and the Empress Dowager hold on while we make a detour and attack from both sides!"
Li Lin looked at the distance and saw Xue Lian running back to Li Lie'ao. After Li Lin confirmed that his mother was safe, he quickly pulled Chen Yun up, and the two ran behind a tree. At the moment when he dodged behind the tree, the arrow missed him, and the rest of the arrows hit the tree.
At this critical moment, dozens of Qiankun soldiers swooped out of the woods like night owls, firing back with bows and arrows. Soon, the men in black were forced to flee. The leader of these counterattacking soldiers ran to Li Lie'ao and knelt on one knee, saying, "I, Chen Feng, am late in protecting you!"
Only then did Chen Ying and Li Lin feel relieved.
Li Lin began to cover his arm in pain. Chen Ying took Li Lin's hand and saw that it was completely black. If he didn't save him, his life would be in danger. So Chen Ying took out the acupuncture needle he carried with him and began to give Li Lin a makeshift first aid.
Li Lie'ao and his group arrived. Xue Lian held Li Lin's arm with a distressed look on her face and asked, "Yin'er, how is Lin'er?"
"To your mother, we need to first observe whether the poison has penetrated into the internal organs. We have already given my second brother acupuncture, and the poison has stopped flowing back. Next, we need the imperial physician to heal the wound and remove the poison."
After returning to the camp a while later, Li Lin lay down and fell asleep. Chen Yun walked out of the tent and came to the emperor's tent.
Inside the tent, the bodies of several men in black lay on the ground, emitting a faint smell of blood. Several bodies of men in black lay on the ground, while bows and arrows, red leopard flags, and tokens were placed on a table nearby. Li Lie'ao looked at Li Jiancheng and Li Ji with a stern face.
"Crown Prince, Prince Qi, I have to ask you two once again. Why are the Red Leopard Flag and the Prince Qi Palace token on these assassins?"
Li Jiancheng showed no fear at all, but Li Ji looked uneasy. He said, "Father, I did report the loss of the royal palace token recently. However, there is only one, and the arrow is a specially made hook eagle arrow from the Tufan Kingdom. I suspect that the spies are inside our Great Qiankun Kingdom and are plotting something bad."
Li Jiancheng muttered to himself, "Why is there a Qi Chi from my mansion?"
Li Jiancheng said, "Yes, Father. I knew the Spring Hunt was strictly guarded, so why would I risk exposing my Red Leopard Banner? Someone must be trying to frame me. I suspect my second brother. He went to the Eastern Palace the night before he set out, and the servants there can testify."
"If you truly doubt this, then what would you have done if you saw the prisoner wearing the Prince's Palace token on his waist that day when the Chen residence was flooded?"
Everyone looked towards the doorway. The person who spoke was none other than Chen Yin. She exuded a frosty aura as she looked towards the two princes.
"Ying'er, do you have any evidence?" Xue Lian asked from the side.
"Evidence? They'll claim the token was stolen. But the man has been apprehended. He's incarcerated in the government jail." Then, leaning down between Li Jiancheng and Li Ji, he faced them provocatively. "The money's also somewhere! A total of one hundred and seventy taels and fifty coins."
Li Jiancheng and Li Ji quickly turned to look at her, their expressions a mix of anger and indignation. Even Li Lieo and Xue Lian noticed something was amiss.
Li Jiancheng suppressed his anger and said in a veiled tone, "That's great, but it's best not to take ill-gotten gains for yourself. Otherwise, it would be like silencing someone."
Chen Yun's eyebrows shot up, her clenched fists trembling uncontrollably, her heart filled with indignation at this unwarranted slander. "Are you two insinuating that I burned my own father to death for money?"
"Don't talk nonsense, you two. She's your sister-in-law, so be careful with your words." Li Lie'ao quickly stopped the situation from escalating. Chen Yun didn't say much, suppressed his anger, and turned to leave.
But when Chen Yun arrived at the tent, Li Ji quickly walked over to the soldier's body and pulled out the arrow, then quickly walked behind Chen Yun with his clothes blown off. The sharp end of the bow and arrow was placed on Chen Yun's neck, and Chen Yun had to stop and listen to the intention of the person coming.
"You can't take another step forward, my sister-in-law. You are a serious suspect in this assassination."
Chen Yan turned around, his eyes glaring at the person in front of him, almost wanting to devour him. "Is it because I suspect you that you're taking this opportunity to eliminate me? There must be a motive and evidence, right?"
Li Ji said, "You wanted to seize the crown prince's position, so you resorted to the self-torture scheme and conspired with the second brother. Otherwise, why, by such coincidence, did the arrow not directly and fatally strike you? And why, by such coincidence, did your eldest brother appear there? On the other hand, the thugs who abducted our mother could only be brought in by arranged personnel. If it wasn't you, it must have been someone from your Xuanwang Mansion. You are to blame."
"Please allow me to explain!"
At this time, a boy came over, followed by Chen Feng who was supporting Li Lin.
"Your Majesty, I was entrusted by my sister to lead a group of people from the palace to hide in the mountains and forests to protect you. Also, someone from the palace arrived here after me. I don't know who they were, but I am sure someone must have made preparations in advance. They couldn't have been unaware that I had been lurking here without warning."
Li Lin gently shook Chen Yin and shook his head slightly, letting Chen Yin's anger slowly subside.
Li Lieo thought about it and felt that both made sense.
At this time, a soldier ran over, "Your Majesty, urgent news! Dou Jiante is leading his troops north to Sishui!"
Li Jiancheng thought calmly, then said, "Hedong land. Father, they want to break through Hukou and occupy Hedong land."
"Hedong is my gateway to the waterways. If it is surrendered, it will harm commerce and easily accelerate the growth of local vassal kings. It must be stopped."
Li Jiancheng said, "If that's the case, then my second brother will go and clear up the suspicion."
Chen Yun snatched Li Ji's arrow and raised it to kill these people, but Chen Feng and Li Lin stopped him.
"The Crown Prince has just returned, so it's wrong to send him off right away. The Fourth Prince doesn't have much battlefield experience, so he could easily be tricked. It would be safer for Lin'er to go." Thinking of this, Li Lie'ao said, "Lin'er won't refuse, will he?"
Li Lin frowned, then said, "I will definitely return with a great victory!"
Then Li Lin signaled to Chen Feng, and the three of them turned and left, leaving only Li Jiancheng with an evil smile.
When they got outside the tent, Chen Yun supported Li Lin and asked unconvincedly, "Why didn't you let me do it? I really wanted to kill those murderers just now."
Chen Feng scolded, "Stupid. If you really do that, won't that just play into their hands? Calm down!"
"There's no need to pursue this further. Most of Qiankun Country was conquered by me and my sister, but a phoenix and a phoenix are invincible."
Li Lin gave Chen Ying a confident look, but Chen Ying was worried.
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