Chapter 41
The autumn hunting is over.
In previous years, only the top three were honored, but this year the top five were all good. The emperor was in a good mood because he had unearthed the treasures of the previous dynasty, so he made an exception and gave them all official titles.
That night, a large number of low tables were placed on the original high platform and open space. People sat on the ground and ate barbecue around the campfire.
The source of barbecue is the prey of people participating in the autumn hunting, including pheasants, rabbits, deer, and tigers.
The tiger was the first one to be hunted and was placed in the center for exhibition like a trophy.
Everyone who saw it would praise his bravery - he could hunt the king of beasts with just one man and a bow, and not leave too many wounds on the tiger's body. It was indeed worth bragging about.
The premise is: he really killed the tiger alone.
Chu Huan, who had already suffered from the system's mistakes, smiled and said nothing.
Isn't it just to build momentum? She doesn't want to understand too much, so she'd better not expose it, lest she make too many enemies.
Wouldn’t it be better to just eat barbecue?
Chu Huan picked out a few slices from the barbecue plate brought by the eunuchs, dipped them in a little chili powder, and as soon as she took a bite, she felt a surge of happiness.
"Barbecue must be spicy!" Chu Huan was extremely satisfied. After eating a few slices, she felt sick and ate a few more bites of vegetables.
The system appeared at the right moment: [It would be even better if there was a lettuce wrap or a clove of garlic.]
Chu Huan chatted privately with the system while eating: [Your way of eating is a bit complicated.]
System: [The impact of globalization of diet, don’t you like it?]
Chu Hua: [You can eat whatever you want at home, but be careful when you're out, especially at a banquet. Garlic can be quite strong.]
The system has never experienced it personally and has no sense of smell, so it can only imagine it through text descriptions.
It tried to imagine the "rush" of garlic, but decided to make one last effort: "But, I eat meat but not garlic..."
Chu Huan replied naturally: [The fragrance is half as strong.]
He fell silent after answering the call.
no!
This is a banquet. What if someone comes to talk to her and her mouth is full of garlic smell? Wouldn't that suffocate them to death?
Thinking of that scene, Chu Huan's attitude suddenly became firm: [I won't!]
System: [...You're clearly moved. I saw you trying to ask the eunuch for garlic just now.]
Chu Hua: [I don’t!]
The host was so determined that the system had no choice but to give in, even though it was a little unwilling.
This unwillingness made it decide to hold back a big one.
And such an opportunity will soon arrive.
The symbolic significance of the Autumn Hunt is even more important, because as long as the Autumn Hunt exists, it represents the importance that the Great Sheng Dynasty attaches to military force. The emperor's encouragement of learning martial arts and joining the army is a reassurance to the military generals.
Otherwise, it will be held once every three years, and at most three to five military officers can be selected each time. What's the point of that?
The banquet on the third day of the autumn hunting is also a good opportunity for many girls and boys to get to know each other - which girl doesn't like a man who is both civil and military?
Men and women sat separately, but not too far apart. Amid the dim light of the bonfire, there was a unique artistic conception.
The young men quietly observed the girls they were interested in, while the girls were also secretly observing a certain young man. The girls who got along well with each other gathered together and started chatting.
"I received a fox from my fiancé."
"I received it too. It's still alive."
"What do you think of this year's number one look?"
"Second place looks better."
Most of the female relatives received furs as gifts from their husbands, whether they were fiancés or married men. They would show them off, compare them with each other, and discuss whether there was any young man they liked during the autumn hunt.
Some of them were chatting lively, either for the younger generation in their family or for themselves as they were not yet engaged.
Chu Ping, a weak scholar, went to the woods to shoot two rabbits, but his archery skills were not good and the fur was not intact, so he could barely make a pair of gloves.
Regardless of the quality of the gloves, Wen himself is very happy.
In comparison, Chu Huan didn't have any prey given by her father and brother, and her aim was not good. She had nothing and looked a little miserable.
Whenever Chu Huan saw or heard that other girls had received prey or furs from some young master, she would always receive complicated looks from her parents and maids.
Translated, it roughly means: Everyone else has it, why don’t you have it?
Chu Huan: “…”
Halfway through the banquet, many people, under the influence of alcohol, were looking for people to chat with and had long since left their original seats.
Some young men and women would also quietly come together under the cover of night and say a few words that would be inconvenient to say during the day.
Chu Huan, Chu Ping and Wen Shi had almost finished their meal, so the family took a walk together to help digest the food. They were accompanied by several maids and Jinyiwei.
In just a few steps, I still heard a girl say, "The fox you gave me is very cute" and "I have made the rabbit you gave me into gloves."
Chu Huan felt hurt by her parents' gazes and was helpless: "I'm wearing men's clothes."
Which young master would dare to send prey to another young master?
Are you sure this isn't a provocation?
Even though most people on this trip knew that Chu Huan was a woman disguised as a man, no one gave her anything at this time.
Chu Ping was unhappy: "What's wrong with men's clothing? My daughter is so outstanding!"
With his daughter's excellence and the magical power of her system, the Chu family's threshold will surely be trampled by matchmakers proposing marriage next year. He must keep his eyes open and carefully choose a suitable husband for his daughter!
Wen rolled her eyes at him. "How can you just praise a girl's excellence? Do you know how to speak? At least add "pretty" or "beautiful," right?"
Before Chu Ping could react and figure out how he had offended his wife, he saw her take Chu Huan's hand and said, "Huan'er, what do you think of the first place in this autumn hunting?"
Chu Ping quickly added, "That's General Mingwei's grandson, eighteen years old, talented in both literature and martial arts. He's been excellent these past three days, and has become a popular choice for a son-in-law. As far as I know, both the Minister of Works and the Minister of Rites like him."
Chu Huan was very surprised. "Dad, aren't you from the Ministry of Justice? How did you find out about the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites?"
With her father's bad character of "do as much work as you get paid", "don't come to me for matters outside the Ministry of Justice", and "get promoted steadily based on seniority", how could he ever expand his interpersonal relationships to the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites?
If I remember correctly, her father had a superficial relationship with his immediate superior, the Minister of Justice. It had only been a few days, but he had actually contacted the immediate superior of another department.
Could it be that his father’s favorite departments are actually the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites?
I am in Cao's camp but my heart is with Han. That's great, Dad!
Chu Ping appeared calm and composed: "We are all colleagues in the six ministries, so we naturally need to be more active in interacting with each other."
In fact, I was crying violently in my heart: If it weren't for you being too outstanding, making your father look like a loser, and being disliked by the emperor and all my colleagues for being too unmotivated, would I be in this situation?
When he was young, he didn't roll up his sleeves when he should have. Now in his middle age, when he should have been lying down happily, he has to roll up his sleeves because of his daughter.
It’s too difficult!
Chu Huan: "..." Do you believe this?
【Tonger~】
The system expertly activated the sharing function and chuckled: "Hey, Sister Huan, can I help you check if any of these "Dragon-Riding Sons-in-Law" have any melons? "
Chu Hua: [Let’s go!]
The swift Jinyiwei rushed to inform the emperor at the speed of a 100-meter sprint, along with several old tutors and old mentors who had left the meeting early due to their age, and then the grandfather of the central figure of the topic: General Mingwei.
General Mingwei: "..." Thank you, you at least remembered to inform me.
Because I had to eat the melons of five people this time, there was a lot of content, and I had to do a certain degree of searching and filtering, so the system disappeared for a long time.
When it finishes these tasks, it comes back and finds that it can consume more melons.
Looking again, wow, the emperor, the six ministers, the generals, and many female relatives all came secretly to eat the melons. The number of people sharing was three or four times that of the past. How could the cost of the melons not be small?
system:"……"
If each of them could be brought to the main system, they would all be good candidates for training to become members of the melon-eating system.
What a pity, I didn’t get any commission.
The system returned with regret, not wanting to keep the story in suspense, and started with a bombshell: [Number one, Song Feng, is ready to kill.]
Chu Hua: [Oh wow!]
Chu Ping and Wen Shi: Oh no!
Others who came to eat melons: Oh wow!
General Mingwei was completely stunned. His beloved grandson wanted to kill someone? Who?
System: [Song Feng has a childhood sweetheart. Her family has fallen on hard times, and she's staying at his house. Young and full of vigor, he and Qingmei fall head over heels for each other. One stormy night, Qingmei, fearing the thunder, throws herself into Song Feng's arms, and the two of them cross the line.]
[Young men only just began to understand the true nature of love, and once they did, they were incredibly captivated. The two of them often sent their servants and maids away to meet in the small attic by the lotus pond.]
This autumn hunt is a great opportunity for Song Feng to stand out and be remembered by the emperor. Qingmei is also here.
Chu Hua: [So he's planning to kill Qingmei?]
System: [No, it's about killing the baby in Qingmei's belly.]
Chu Huan was stunned for a moment before she understood: [He won first place, found out that the Shangshu valued him, and wanted to climb up the social ladder?]
System: [No, it’s because he met a fortune teller in the capital.]
The fortune teller told Song Feng that he would get what he wanted in this year's autumn hunt, and his career would be smooth sailing from then on. However, he had a serious peach blossom calamity, and if he didn't handle it well, he would be deeply hurt by two women.
Song Feng didn't believe it at first, but after he won first place in the autumn hunt, Qingmei told him she was pregnant. Although she couldn't tell the gender of the child, he already believed it.
Chu Huan's face was filled with disgust, which she couldn't hide: [You've crossed the line and you don't get married quickly. You have a child and you don't get married quickly, but you're thinking about aborting it. What kind of idiot is that?]
The system said righteously: [General Mingwei's family is an idiot.]
General Mingwei: “…”
Others: Hahahahahaha!
Chu Hua: [What is he going to do?]
System: [He has already sent his servant back to Beijing to find the fortune teller. He wants to ask him how to handle this matter.]
But he also ordered his servant to go to the pharmacy on the way to the capital to get an abortion pill, so he could be prepared for both scenarios. Even if he had to force Qingmei to have an abortion, he had to protect her reputation.
[The problem is!] The system exclaimed, [That fortune teller was hired by Qingmei!]
Everyone couldn't help but gasp. What, what, what... Could it be that Qingmei doesn't want a child?
At this point, the system said the following: [As the Autumn Hunt approaches, Song Feng becomes increasingly anxious. Qingmei wants to reassure him, so she had the fortune teller predict his wish would come true, rather than first place.]
Song Feng was hoping to get first place, and after actually getting it, he felt the fortune teller was right, which then corresponded to the second half of the sentence about peach blossom calamity.
Chu Huan was really confused: [Did Qingmei let you say that?]
System: [Yes, Qingmei noticed that the two maids serving Song Feng looked at him with strange eyes, and she also heard that the two maids were secretly discussing becoming his concubines. So she asked the fortune teller to spread rumors to keep Song Feng away from women for a while.]
Chu Huan: […I didn't expect the fortune teller, in an effort to appear sophisticated, didn't explain things clearly enough, leading Song Feng to misinterpret the situation and attribute it to Qingmei and the child in her belly.]
[This time, it’s really…] She didn’t know what to say.
Everyone silently said in their hearts: The attempt to steal a chicken ends up with nothing but loss.
If the system hadn't eaten the melon today and let General Mingwei know about it, his great-grandson would probably have died quietly.
General Mingwei couldn't stand it any longer and rushed back angrily like an angry bull.
When he walked over, he happened to see Song Feng and Qingmei hugging each other. There were servants and maids not far away helping to keep watch. Their postures were very skilled, which showed that they had done this countless times.
General Mingwei immediately became furious, took off his boots and started beating him up.
The gossip he heard from the system couldn't be spoken casually, so he could only beat his grandson silently, shouting "I'll beat you to death!" at most.
How could Song Feng dare to fight back against his grandfather? He quickly begged for mercy: "Grandpa, what's wrong with you? Grandpa, stop hitting me!"
Qingmei was so scared that she was dumbfounded. She was pregnant and didn't dare to go over. She could only beg for mercy.
When General Mingwei heard that this girl had suffered such a great injustice but was still begging for mercy for his grandson, he became even angrier and beat Song Feng even harder, beating him until he ran away in fear.
Qingmei turned her head left and right worriedly, and the hairpin on her bun accidentally fell off. Song Feng bent over as he passed by her, wanting to use Qingmei to beg for mercy, but the tassel of the hairpin that slipped off accidentally hit Song Feng's eyes.
"Ouch——" Song Feng covered his eyes in pain.
"Ah——" Qingmei's face turned pale with fright.
"Ah--" Qingmei's maid was also frightened and screamed louder than her master.
Song Feng's eyes were hurting, and he was suffering from the double attack of high decibels at close range. He subconsciously took two steps back and accidentally stepped on something and fell.
He had practiced martial arts for many years and his reaction speed was very fast. He supported himself on the ground with his hands and fell face down. However, there was a medium-sized stone there, which just corresponded to a certain part of his body.
"Ah!" After a short cry of pain, Song Feng covered his eyes with one hand and his lower body with the other.
In a blink of an eye, he still felt a little more pain down there. He covered his lower body with both hands, his whole body bent like a shrimp, his face turned pale with pain, and he was completely unable to speak.
General Mingwei, who saw everything clearly: "..."
So this is what it means to be deeply hurt by two women. It is indeed very deep:)
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