At daybreak, the princes and royal relatives who were to take part in the Spring Hunt had already finished getting ready in front of their tents. They each brought their horses, bows and crossbows, guards, and hunting dogs, vying to be the star of the show.

This is the time when the earth warms up and everything comes back to life. Many animals that hibernate will come out to look for food, but the food is never as abundant as in summer and autumn. Therefore, it is not easy to find prey, and each family has to rely on their own skills.

Yan Sikong changed into a tailor-made white riding suit with cloud patterns. Compared with his usual court dress with wide skirt and sleeves, this neat outfit made him look more upright, handsome and extraordinary.

Chen Yu stared at Yan Sikong intently, smiling: "This is the first time I see you in riding clothes. You look even more elegant than usual."

Yan Sikong smiled and said, "I haven't ridden a horse for a long time. Once I put on this outfit, I can't help but want to gallop for eight hundred miles."

"Hahaha, then this royal hunting ground is not big enough for you to run around in, sir."

"If I can help Your Highness find good prey, I will be willing to run all over the hunting grounds."

Chen Yu pursed his lips and smiled, and personally picked a good horse for Yan Sikong: "Sir, just ride this one. I don't need a scholar to hunt for me. Just stay by my side."

"Yes, command."

Chen Yu instructed the guards, "In the hunting grounds, arrows are not very effective and horses can easily become frightened by prey. You must protect the master well."

"yes!"

Chen Yu was the first to climb onto the horse, and Yan Sikong also climbed onto the horse's back, deliberately acting a little clumsy.

Facing the cool morning breeze and the rising sun, Chen Yi gazed into the distance at the endless woods, his eyes shining with pride and determination, as if that was the world he was about to conquer.

If nothing unexpected happens, Chen Yi should be the winner of this spring hunt. As he is the crown prince, others will not be so ignorant as to compete with him for the opportunity to show off in front of the emperor. However, there is also the second prince who is eyeing the throne, and he may compete with him in the spring hunt, so Chen Yi must go all out.

He stepped on the horse's belly and uttered a clear and heroic young voice: "Let's go—" The horse shot out like an arrow.

Everyone followed closely and ran towards the hunting ground.

Soon, a group of people came running from the side. It was Feng Ye with his servants. Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong from a distance. Before Yan Sikong could react, Chen Yi had already glanced at Feng Ye coldly, then slowed down and gradually retreated to Yan Sikong's side by side, riding both horses side by side. As Chen Yi's horse was taller and stronger than Yan Sikong's horse, he completely blocked him.

There was a glimmer of surprise in Feng Ye's eyes and he frowned slightly.

After entering the hunting grounds, each team dispersed into the vast forest to look for their own prey.

Yan Sikong was not of any use in the team, so he just patted the horses at the right time to make Chen Yi happy.

They soon found a sheep. The guards led the hunting dogs to close in from the side. Chen Yiyi rode first to chase the sheep. He quickly waved the whip and shouted, "Drive!"

The sheep was chased so fast that it had no idea where to go and fled in the woods. Chen Yi clamped his legs around the horse's belly, took the bow from behind, drew an arrow, put it on the string, and slowly pulled the bow apart.

The sheep circled again and turned to the south. Chen Yi had no choice but to put away his bow and pull the reins to turn the horse around. Because the sheep turned too violently, half of his body seemed to be about to fall off the horse.

"Your Highness, please be careful." The guard shouted worriedly.

However, Chen Yu turned a deaf ear to the enemy and focused on chasing the sheep. When he reached a place where the trees were sparse and the view was a little wider, he quickly drew his bow and arrow. The young man's thin body burst out with surprising strength. In just a moment, the arrow flew away from the bow, turned into a silver light, and flew towards the running sheep.

There was a loud thud, and the sheep fell heavily to the ground while running, leaving a mark several feet away on the ground, its four hooves trembling, but it was still struggling.

Chen Yu slowed down the horse and walked in small steps to the prey lying on the ground. He looked down at it with no expression on his face.

The guard said quickly, "Congratulations, Your Highness! You must be the first among all the princes to catch prey. This sheep weighs at least 100 kilograms!"

Chen Yu said, "It's pregnant." There seemed to be a hint of sadness in his tone.

Everyone looked at each other. Yan Sikong observed Chen Yi quietly. He was curious about what this young man would do.

Chen Yi paused for a moment, then suddenly raised his bow and shot an arrow through the ewe's head: "Take out the suckling lamb from its belly and make a yokan for the Empress."

"yes."

Yan Sikong narrowed his eyes slightly.

After hunting the sheep, they searched the entire morning and only caught a rabbit, which was a bit frustrating. It was almost noon and they had to return to the camp for lunch. Naturally, they had to compare their morning performance with others. Just one sheep and one rabbit was not a good start.

Chen Yu was getting a little impatient: "Go find another one. Find me a big one."

"Yes." The guards led the hunting dogs to search in all directions.

Yan Sikong soothed him, "Your Highness, don't worry. The snow has just melted and there aren't many prey out. If we can't find it, neither can others."

Chen Yu nodded: "If you really can't find it, forget it."

After waiting for a while, a guard came back with a hunting dog and shouted from a distance: "Your Highness, I found a deer!"

Chen Yu's eyes lit up and he rode his horse to follow.

The hunting dog led them all the way into the depths of the forest, and sure enough, among the barren trees that had just begun to turn green, they found a beautiful sika deer, a strong male deer that was looking around with some caution.

Chen Yi slowed down. This male deer was in its prime, extremely agile and nimble, and very difficult to hunt. At this time, the distance was still far away. If it was disturbed, it would definitely run away in a flash. The guards first dispersed with the hunting dogs and surrounded it from both sides to prevent it from running out of the range of the bows and arrows. Chen Yi then approached carefully.

The deer spotted them and turned and ran, jumping up and down with great speed and grace.

Chen Yu urged his horse to chase after it, and shouted, "Guard both the east and west sides, don't let it get away!"

Suddenly, the sounds of shouting, horse hooves, and dogs barking merged into one, and the sluggish forest, which had just awakened from the cold winter, suddenly became lively and lively.

All the guards around Chen Yi went to surround the stag, only Yan Sikong followed Chen Yi closely. He was a little worried that Chen Yi was so eager to become strong that he would fall off the horse.

"Drive! Drive!" Chen Yu chased the deer in the forest at a speed that was dizzying.

Yan Sikong called from behind: "Your Highness, be careful and be safe! Your Highness!"

Just when Chen Yu had closed the distance with the stag, a chaotic sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the distance. Yan Sikong turned his head and found that another group of people had cut in from the southeast, also targeting the stag. He looked closely and saw that the leader was the second prince!

Chen Yu also discovered the second prince. His eyes turned cold and he chased the stag even harder.

The second prince was only a year younger than Chen Yi and was almost as tall as Chen Yi. Naturally, he was unwilling to be outdone. Not only did he catch up, he also drew his bow, hoping to snatch the stag first.

Chen Yu gritted his teeth and clamped his legs around the horse's belly, wanting to draw his bow and shoot an arrow. However, the forest in front of him gave him a much narrower vision than the second prince. The stag was moving so fast that it was almost invisible. Not only would he miss the shot, but even the second prince would have a hard time hitting it.

"Your Highness, this is too dangerous!" Yan Sikong shouted anxiously. If Chen Yu took such a risk, he might fall off the fast horse!

Chen Yu, however, turned a deaf ear to the call, obviously unable to tolerate the Second Prince catching a stag right under his nose. After all, he was young, and it was difficult for him to keep his body shape on a galloping horse. When he drew the bow, his body swayed, looking very dangerous.

Yan Sikong cracked the whip in his hand, but he could not catch up with Chen Yu's horse.

The second prince drew his bow and pointed it at the stag, but the arrow clearly shot towards the front of Chen Mi's horse's head!

Chen Yu was startled and had to drop his bow, grab the reins and tighten them.

The horse was suddenly startled, and its front hooves bounced off the ground, with its body almost standing upright in the air. Chen Yi could no longer hold on, his legs went limp, the reins slipped out of his hands, and he fell off the horse.

In a hurry, Yan Sikong didn't care about much else. He jumped up and rushed towards Chen Yi, holding him tightly in his arms, especially protecting his head. They both rolled to the ground until Yan Sikong's back hit the tree trunk and they were forced to stop.

Yan Sikong only felt severe pain all over his body, and his vision suddenly went dark. Chaotic images rushed through his mind, and he struggled in a semi-comatose state.

"Sir! Sir!" Chen Yu was held in Yan Sikong's arms, and only suffered minor skin injuries. He immediately climbed up. He looked at the blood gushing from Yan Sikong's forehead and roared, "Chen Chun, you are so brave! Do you want to assassinate the prince?"

The second prince Chen Chun sat on his horse, looking at Chen Yu coldly, without a trace of fear on his face, and said in a neutral tone: "Brother, please calm down. I just want to shoot a deer, and I would never dare to offend you."

"You, you bastard!" Chen Yu yelled, "Someone come, someone come!" He was shaking all over, half with anger, half with humiliation. He was a prince, but he was bullied to this extent!

Guards rushed over from all directions.

"Hurry up and get your dignity back!" Chen Yu hugged Yan Sikong, tears welling up in his eyes, "Sir, sir, are you okay? Don't scare me."

Yan Sikong opened his eyes faintly and said softly, "Your Highness, it's alright... Where is His Highness?"

Chen Yi shook his head and choked up, "It's all my fault. I was too eager for quick success and even caused Mr. to get hurt."

"Your Highness, don't... blame yourself. I'm fine..." Yan Sikong checked the location of the pain and found that his ribs were broken and his head was probably ruptured. However, his hands and feet were still sensitive, so it shouldn't be a big deal. He was just shaking with pain and hated Chen Chun in his heart. If Chen Chun got hurt, all his efforts would be in vain.

At this time, there was a sound of horse hooves coming from far away. Yan Sikong recognized the horse that Feng Ye often rode in his blurred vision. It was not Zuihong, but a black horse, also a rare and excellent horse.

Feng Ye walked closer and looked at Yan Sikong, who was lying weakly on the ground, covered in dirt and filth. His eyes almost popped out of his head and he turned over to get off his horse.

Yan Sikong shook his head at him. If Feng Ye showed any flaws at this moment, they would be finished.

Feng Ye stopped abruptly, his fingers gripping the reins so tightly that they made a creaking sound, his lips trembling. He used all his willpower to stop himself from going to Yan Sikong.

Chen Yu looked up at Feng Ye and angrily said, "Feng Ye, why don't you dismount when you see me?"

Feng Ye tried hard to suppress his voice to prevent others from hearing his fluctuations. He said calmly: "This deer almost caused Your Highness to get injured. It really deserves to die. I hunted it and presented it to Your Highness. You can decide what to do with it." He sat steadily on the horse. Although his tone was calm, his attitude was extremely arrogant. He had no intention of getting off the horse at all.

Chen Yu was stunned for a moment, and looked behind Feng Ye. The guards of Feng Mansion were dragging the male deer weighing more than 300 to 400 kilograms. In such a complex forest, it must be very difficult to hunt a strong male deer that was fleeing everywhere, but Feng Ye made it sound as easy as catching a chicken in the fence.

Chen Yu clenched his teeth and said, "No matter how poor I am, I will not take credit for other people's prey!" His lips were bitten until they bled, but he didn't feel any pain at all. Compared with the humiliation he suffered, the pain was nothing. Chen Chun, Feng Ye, none of them took him seriously, and each of them hurt Yan Sikong!

The guard modified the sheep-dragging rack, covered it with a clean tarp, and carried it over: "Your Highness, please put Lord Yan up."

Chen Yu whispered softly in Yan Sikong's ear: "Sir, please bear with it for a moment. I will send you back to find Doctor Yu right away."

Yan Sikong nodded.

Chen Yu carefully picked up Yan Sikong and placed him on the shelf. His eyes were filled with unconcealable heartache and anxiety.

Feng Ye looked at Chen Yu in a daze.

The guard lifted the shelf, and Chen Yu gently wiped Yan Sikong's face with his sleeve, and said with red eyes: "Sir, we will go back now. Tell me where you hurt."

Feng Ye's eyes gradually turned cold. He saw some familiar emotions on Chen Yi's face. He was not sure, but he could not help but worry. That kind of expression should not appear on Chen Yi's face. Chen Yi's attitude towards Yan Sikong should not be so... so...

"It's okay..." Yan Sikong's eyes passed over Chen Yi and secretly glanced at Feng Ye. He had thousands of words to say, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Just one glance, that glance that seemed to be silently asking for help, made Feng Ye's heart ache. He was filled with hatred that was about to bleed, but he could only watch others carry Yan Sikong away from him, and he couldn't even say a word of comfort to her in person.

Yan Sikong closed his eyes, feeling exhausted.