Chapter 483 Back Mountain
Prince?
What is he doing sneaking here so late at night?
Li Yao looked around and was extremely surprised not to find any palace servants following her.
Under the moonlight, Yan Ning's figure looked extremely small among the tall trees.
In his hand he held a bow that was slightly smaller than usual. He pulled the string with some effort, then aimed the arrow at a cypress tree and shot it.
Li Yao observed carefully for a long time before he could see clearly that there was a fist-sized circular mark on the cypress tree. Yan Ning was practicing archery at that mark.
Li Yao just felt a little unbelievable, and at the same time a sense of crisis emerged in his heart.
She touched her belly, but didn't know whether the baby was a boy or a girl.
If it was a boy, she would naturally want her son to compete for the position of crown prince, and Yan Ning would be the biggest opponent.
But... Yan Ning was only six or seven years old, yet he knew how to secretly practice archery without being seen by others. Isn't he too cunning and hardworking?
Li Yao felt a huge pressure.
No, she had to expose this!
Li Yao's mind moved, and just as she was about to speak, she suddenly heard a rustling sound.
She looked in the direction of the sound, and the blood in her body instantly froze!
I saw a colorful snake, two fingers wide, spitting out its tongue, crawling past me a few steps away.
I don’t know if it was Yan Ning’s arrow that startled it, but the snake actually went straight towards Yan Ning!
Judging from the pattern, it must be a highly poisonous snake.
Li Yao subconsciously wanted to shout, but in a split second, another idea flashed through her mind.
She covered her mouth tightly, her heart almost jumping out of her throat, and looked at the snake in horror as it got closer and closer to Yan Ning's back.
Ten more steps... five more steps...
Li Yao stepped back slightly.
Dong Lanxin, I didn't release the snake. I have nothing to do with your son's death...
You're the one who blocked my way, don't blame me...
The poisonous snake was only one step away from Yan Ning, but Yan Ning was unaware of it and just mechanically repeated the action of shooting the arrow.
Finally, the snake's body shrank slightly, which was a sign of attack.
"call out!"
A cold light flashed.
Li Yao was so frightened that his whole body trembled. When he looked again, he saw that the poisonous snake had been cut into two halves by something.
Yan Ning heard the noise and turned around. Seeing the two pieces of snake corpse on the ground, her face instantly turned pale with fear.
The bow fell to the ground, Yan Ning stepped back in horror, and finally fell to the ground.
He was so frightened that he even forgot to cry.
"Your Highness, are you okay?" A figure walked out from the depths of the woods.
In the moonlight, the man was tall, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a light green stubble on his chin. He could be called a handsome man.
After seeing his face clearly, Li Yao was stunned again.
The commander of the imperial guards, Xiao Yuan?
Why is he here too?
Could it be that he happened to be passing by while on patrol and happened to save the prince?
In Yan Ning's impression, although he had not spoken to Commander Xiao many times, he felt an inexplicable closeness in his heart every time he saw him.
When he heard Xiao Yuan's voice at this moment, the emotions that had just accumulated suddenly burst out and he shed tears.
Xiao Yuan walked over to him, squatted down, and helped Yan Ning wipe away her tears.
He hesitated for a moment, but finally held Yan Ning in his arms and comforted her softly.
Yan Ning gradually stopped crying, a look of shame appeared on her face, and she sobbed:
"Commander Xiao... please, don't tell Father...
I am the son of my father, the emperor, and the crown prince, but I was frightened to tears by a snake...
If the emperor knew, he would think I was useless..."
Xiao Yuan looked at him with complicated eyes for a long time before he said solemnly:
"good."
He patted Yan Ning on the shoulder and asked:
"It's so late, why are you here alone? Where are those palace maids and eunuchs?
Does your mother... the Queen know that you are here?"
Yan Ning's eyes immediately showed some guilt, "I ordered them not to follow. The Queen Mother has already rested, and I came out alone."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan recalled the dangerous scene just now. He glanced at the dead snake on the ground and couldn't help feeling scared.
Fortunately, I was always keeping an eye on Yan Ning's movements, and I found that he came to the back mountain at night. I was worried and followed him secretly all the way...
Otherwise, the consequences will be disastrous!
Thinking of this, Xiao Yuan couldn't help but feel a bit of blame in his eyes, but in the end he couldn't bear it.
He took Yan Ning's hand, stood up and said:
"I will take His Highness back."
Yan Ning didn't move.
Xiao Yuan frowned slightly. Although he could only watch Yan Ning from afar on weekdays, he knew that Yan Ning was not a naughty and rebellious child, and would not deliberately run out at night to make adults worry.
He squatted down again and finally saw something unusual in Yan Ning's childish eyes.
Xiao Yuan's heart moved, and he touched Yan Ning's head lovingly.
"Your Highness, if you have anything on your mind, why not tell me?"
Yan Ning avoided his gaze, bit her lip and said nothing.
Xiao Yuan said in an encouraging tone:
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. Tell me what’s on your mind. From now on, it will be a secret between us.
I will never tell anyone."
Yan Ning's expression was extremely conflicted, his face almost wrinkled like that of an old man.
Finally, he shook his head and suddenly said to Xiao Yuan:
"Commander Xiao, can you shoot arrows?"
Xiao Yuan nodded, "Of course I will."
Yan Ning thought about it, picked up his bow and arrow and handed it to Xiao Yuan, then pointed to the marked tree in front.
Xiao Yuan understood and easily pulled the string of the bow. The arrow steadily and accurately hit the center point marked on the tree without any deviation.
Seeing this, Yan Ning raised his head, his eyes filled with admiration:
"Commander Xiao, can you teach me?"
"But it's late at night..." Xiao Yuan hesitated, but when he met Yan Ning's longing eyes, he couldn't help but soften his heart.
Many times, he could only watch Yan Ning from afar through the palace gate on his way to and from the study.
Not to mention a hug, even saying a word is a luxury.
Only large-scale royal outings like the imperial tour were free of restrictions and gave him the opportunity to get close to Yan Ning and Xin'er.
How could he bear to refuse Yan Ning's request at this time?
Half an hour, just half an hour.
Then send him back to Xin'er.
Xiao Yuan said to himself in his heart, gently pulled Yan Ning into his arms, supported his arm and raised the bow.
"Raise your right arm, lower your shoulders, and breathe steadily..."
When Xiao Yuan taught archery, his tone was slightly deep and even his expression became a little more serious.
He corrected Yan Ning's actions in a very strict manner without any perfunctory or leniency.
Yan Ning was only six years old, but he studied very seriously. Even though his arms were so sore that they were shaking slightly, he still gritted his teeth and persisted with a determined look on his face.
My father doesn't like children who are too weak.
There is still some time before the end of the Autumn Mountain Tour. I must practice diligently and find an opportunity to perform well so that my father will take notice of me.
In this way, my father will spend more time with my mother.
If the queen mother is unwilling to fight for something, I will fight for her!
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