Chapter 481 Hunting in the Autumn Mountains
The afternoon sun sprinkled on the Qiushan hunting ground like broken gold, dispelling the last trace of moisture in the woods.
Yan Xiuyun took the lead, followed by dozens of royal family members, all of whom were in high spirits and holding longbows.
A gray-brown tail flashed by in the bushes ahead. Yan Xiuyun was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He instantly pulled out a feather arrow from the quiver behind him, put the string on it and shot it out.
The gray fox fell to the ground.
"Your Majesty, you are a great archer!" The people around praised him and hurried to look for their own prey.
The hunting here was in full swing, but the scene in the palace in the back mountain was quite different.
For this autumn hunting trip in the mountains, Yan Xiuyun not only brought along members of the royal family, but also concubines, princes and princesses from the harem.
Yan Ning and Yan Jing were naturally among them, but the princes were still young and could not participate in the hunt, so they all stayed in the palace.
Dong Lanxin and Qin Yuwei, along with a group of palace servants, set up a pergola under a banyan tree.
The two of them played chess while enjoying fruits and snacks and feeling the fresh breeze from the mountains.
Not far away, Yan Ning was riding a black pony, practicing riding skills under the protection of several eunuchs.
Yan Jing stood beside him with his two lovely big eyes open, the word "envy" written all over his face.
"Ah Jing, come up, I'll take you with me!"
Yan Ning, who was on horseback, waved to her, which frightened the eunuchs around him and they tried to dissuade him, but in the end they were still unable to persuade Yan Ning.
Yan Jing was carefully carried to the horse's back, and his two little hands fearfully grasped Yan Ning's clothes.
Several young eunuchs were frightened by what they saw, but fortunately the foal was docile and just walked slowly. After the two children got used to it, they were no longer afraid and gradually started to have fun.
Dong Lanxin and Qin Yuwei were playing chess and chatting. They glanced at the two children from time to time. Qin Yuwei was a little worried at first, but when she saw that Yan Ning was very protective of Yan Jing, she felt relieved.
"Princess Zhaoyang is so young, but she's already so wild. Who knows how much more troublesome she will be when she grows up."
Dong Lanxin and the other person looked over when they heard the voice, and saw Li Yao, with her slightly bulging belly, staggering towards them, supported by two palace maids.
Li Yao was originally a noble lady. After she became pregnant, Yan Xiuyun promoted her to the position of concubine and gave her the title of "Rong Fei".
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen and Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine."
Li Yao stood in front of the two and said, chuckling again, "My sister is pregnant, and His Majesty has granted me permission not to perform the palace ceremony. I hope you two sisters will not be offended."
"Since Concubine Rong is pregnant with the prince, there is no need for those red tape. Please sit down." Dong Lanxin said calmly.
Qin Yuwei didn't say anything, she just picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, her eyes looking deep.
Dong Lanxin ordered someone to call Yan Ning and Yan Jing over. The two children saluted Li Yao in childish voices and then returned to their respective mothers.
Qin Yuwei carefully helped Yan Jing tidy up his loose braids with a loving look in her eyes.
Li Yao watched from the side and said with a smile:
"Sister Imperial Concubine is very generous. You won't take what you just said to heart, right?
Sister, what I mean is that riding horses and archery are things that men do. Princess Zhaoyang is a girl after all, so she should spend more time on reading and calligraphy.
In the future, when we recruit a prince consort, it will be more respectable if he is well-educated and well-mannered. "
Li Yao paused, her tone became a little proud, and she fiddled with her long nails painted with nail polish and said:
"Your Majesty has said that no matter whether this baby is a boy or a girl, I will invite the best teacher in the world to teach.
She also said that the child I gave birth to would be smart and clever, and that he would be able to read at the age of three, recite poems at the age of five, and finish learning the Analects at the age of seven."
Li Yao said, and smiled as if she was "embarrassed":
"In fact, if you ask me, Your Majesty loves this child too much. He has placed such high hopes on this child before he is even born. This is really..."
Four-year-old Yan Jing nestled in Qin Yuwei's arms, blinked twice, raised his head in confusion, and asked in a baby voice:
"Mother, why do I have to finish learning the Analects at the age of seven?"
Before Qin Yuwei could speak, Li Yao rushed to say:
"In Daliang, the literary culture is flourishing. If you want to get started with studying, you must first learn the Analects.
But the Analects is so profound, how can a seven-year-old child learn and memorize it all? "
Yan Jing wrung his hands, looked at Qin Yuwei, then at Yan Ning, feeling somewhat panicked.
“But… the teacher at the Imperial College said that Jing’er has already learned all the contents of the Analects and can now teach the Book of Rites.
Mother, did the master lie to Jing'er..."
As Yan Jing spoke, tears began to fall. Qin Yuwei quickly hugged her and gently coaxed her:
"The teacher at the Imperial College is teaching Jing'er at the order of your father, how could he lie to you?"
Yan Jing stopped crying after hearing the comfort, but there was still great confusion in her lively eyes:
"Then why does Concubine Rong's child have to be seven years old to finish learning the Analects..."
Li Yao felt a rush of heat on her face and felt ashamed and annoyed.
This little girl Yan Jing seems to have some talent for studying. I don’t know her academic situation myself, but doesn’t Your Majesty know it?
She had finished learning the Analects at the age of four, but His Majesty expected his unborn child to be seven years old...
Who are you scolding?
"Well, maybe I remembered wrongly what Your Majesty said." Li Yao said with forced calmness.
She changed the subject and smiled shyly:
"After all, Your Majesty has been visiting my palace so often these days, and he has said so much that it is always easy to forget.
By the way, I heard that the Empress loves to eat lychees. Last time, His Majesty even ordered people to transport a whole lychee tree from Lingnan and plant it in my palace.
Your Majesty, when we return to the palace, I will send you more."
Although Yan Ning, who was beside Dong Lanxin, was young, he could also hear the implication of the words and immediately felt a little unhappy.
He turned his head to look at Dong Lanxin, but found that Dong Lanxin had a dull expression. He had no choice but to stand silently beside her with a gloomy face.
Qin Yuwei covered her lips and said teasingly:
"I'm afraid Sister Rongfei has never eaten lychees before, so she doesn't know much about them. Most lychees are grown in summer, and it's only what month now?
My sister wouldn't have kept last year's lychees until now, would she?"
Li Yao's expression changed immediately, but he did not dare to lose his temper due to his position.
She was silent for a moment, then changed the subject:
"Speaking of which, Your Majesty hasn't visited the Queen in some time, right?
During the days since I came to Qiushan Palace, His Majesty has not summoned anyone to sleep with me, but recently he sent someone to tell me that he would have dinner with me in the evening.
I am pregnant and cannot sleep with you, but Your Majesty insisted on coming to accompany you...
I am afraid that I will neglect His Majesty. My two sisters, what do you think I should prepare to serve His Majesty tonight? "
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