The mountain where we picked mushrooms was about three miles from the hunting ground palace.
The mountain is very big and very high.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, there were about ten horse-drawn carriages parked by the roadside.
Two teams of imperial guards led the way, and Yuan Yao, led by Dan Qing, slowly climbed up the mountain.
The mountains here are rarely visited by people, and the trees grow very large.
Because the Ninth Prince had sent someone to clean it beforehand, there wasn't even a spider web...
The group of people walked through the woods and slowly climbed up.
The higher you go, the more the unfamiliar young ladies and gentlemen scatter in all directions.
Soon, cries of alarm came from the woods—
"There really are mushrooms!"
Wow! I saw a white one, and it's huge!
"I saw it too, is it edible?"
"..."
Yuan Yao listened, as if she had been injected with chicken blood.
She let go of Danqing's hand and lifted her skirt: "I can do it myself!"
Danqing said helplessly, "Princess, slow down! Don't slip and fall!"
"I'm not that delicate!" Yuan Yao said seriously.
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Chengyan's voice rang out: "Found it!"
"Where? Where?" Yuan Yao leaned closer.
Huairou also walked over out of curiosity.
Jiang Chengyan bent down, picked a flower from the rotten wood, held it up, and asked, "Can I eat this?"
Danqing glanced at it and said with a smile, "It's acceptable."
So Jiang Chengyan handed the mushrooms to the little eunuch carrying the bamboo basket.
The young eunuch accepted it with a grin.
Beside her, Yun Chan also handed over a flower and asked Dan Qing, "Is this one poisonous?"
Danqing smiled and said, "It's non-toxic and edible."
The young eunuch, carrying a large bamboo basket, handed it over and took the mushrooms from Yun Chan's hands.
Yuan Yao was extremely envious.
Danqing glanced at the mountain and said gently, "If you climb a little further up, there will be more mushrooms."
"Um!"
Yuan Yao lifted her skirt with one hand and held onto a tree with the other, slowly climbing up the mountain.
Of all the children, Huaiyao had the best physical strength.
While the others lagged far behind, Huaiyao had already walked a long way and climbed up a crooked tree trunk to sit down.
Seeing Huaiyao swinging her legs leisurely, Huairou, slightly out of breath, scolded, "Huaiyao... be careful, be careful not to fall."
"Don't worry, Your Highness," Huaiyao said easily. "You guys take care of picking mushrooms, and I'll keep watch!"
Huairou could only shake his head.
Yuan Yao walked for a while longer and finally saw the kind of mushroom that Jiang Chengyan and Yun Chan had picked up earlier.
She bent down and happily picked it up.
Feng Xun watched from the side, smiling gently: "Princess, there are some here too."
"Here you are!" Yuan Yao ran over with a smile.
The young eunuch followed behind her, and she picked up some and put them into the bamboo basket...
By the time they reached the halfway point up the mountain, the bamboo basket was already half full.
After resting in Huairou, he asked everyone, "Are you tired?"
Everyone shook their heads: Not tired!
It was so much fun up in the mountains!
Halfway up the mountain, the wind was cool, and looking through the branches and leaves into the distance, you could see the palace and grasslands...
On the meadow, young gentlemen were playing polo on horseback.
Cheers drifted on the wind from time to time...
Everything was very pleasant.
Yuan Yao wiped her forehead and smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Sister Huairou, shall we have a mushroom feast tonight?"
“Okay!” Huairou nodded with a smile.
“If you want a mushroom feast, this isn’t enough,” Jiang Chengyan said.
Huaiyao frowned: "It's so early, if it's not enough, just pick more! This mountain is so big, surely it can't fill two bamboo baskets?"
"You make it sound so easy!" Jiang Chengyan scoffed. "The moment you got up the mountain, you started chasing squirrels and climbing trees! I didn't see you put a single mushroom in your basket!"
Huaiyao said matter-of-factly, "Isn't this to protect your safety?"
"Heh..." Jiang Chengyan gave a cold laugh.
"Alright, stop arguing." Huairou stepped forward and advised, "Huaiyao, Chengyan, you're not allowed to fight!"
Today, we finally got to go out and have some fun, so let's not spoil everyone's enjoyment.
Jiang Chengyan and Huaiyao glared at each other before turning away.
Huairou is utterly helpless.
Yuan Yao looked at it and found it amusing.
Huaiyao and Jiang Chengyan don't seem like siblings at all; they're more like enemies!
She stopped smiling and looked at Feng Xun and Yun Chan: "Aren't you two tired?"
Feng Xun shook his head and said gently, "I'm not tired."
Perhaps it was the heat, or perhaps it was the mountain climb, but Yun Chan's usually pale complexion finally had a touch of color today, a rosy hue.
He said calmly, "I walk slowly, it's nothing."
"That's good." Yuan Yao nodded with a smile.
What she was most worried about was Yun Chan and Feng Xun.
Yun Chan was frail and sickly, and Feng Xun's health wasn't particularly good either...
After resting for a while, the group climbed up the mountain again.
On the mountain, besides mushrooms, there are also wild fruits.
This is the season when wild fruits ripen.
Along the way, we encountered many ripe wild grapes.
Yuan Yao was overjoyed and immediately ordered a young eunuch to bring a basket and pick all the wild grapes...
After descending the mountain, five bamboo baskets were piled high with them.
Two baskets of mushrooms, three baskets of wild grapes.
Other young ladies and gentlemen also descended the mountain one after another.
Seeing Yuan Yao and the others' harvest, I was extremely envious—
"Your Highnesses, we have had a very fruitful day!"
"Yes! It's so enviable!"
"These fruits are edible? We just came across so many!"
"..."
Yuan Yao took a bunch of wild grapes and handed them to a kind-looking young lady: "Take them home, wash them, and have a taste."
The young lady was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed happily, "Thank you, Princess!"
Yuan Yao smiled and said, "No need to be so polite."
Anyway, the remaining wild grapes are enough to make quite a bit of wine!
At this moment, three teenagers gathered around.
The one in purple bowed, cupped his hands, and smiled, "Greetings, Your Highnesses! You have certainly had a bountiful harvest today!"
Yuan Yao looked at the boy in purple and asked curiously, "How many mushrooms did you pick?"
The boy looked directly at Yuan Yao and smiled, "Thanks to the princess, we picked a basket of mushrooms and caught a squirrel and a pair of rabbits."
Squirrels and rabbits?
Can you even catch a squirrel?
That's amazing?
Yuan Yao looked at the boy curiously: "Can I see your squirrel?"
She wasn't too interested in rabbits.
The Ninth Prince caught a full twenty live rabbits and specially prepared a courtyard to keep them.
I only baked three last night...
The boy in purple raised his hand: "Please."
After speaking, he glanced at Huairou and the others.
Huairou smiled gently and said, "Let's go take a look too."
They all followed the boy in purple.
The edge of the bamboo basket.
A young eunuch squatted on the ground, fanning himself with his hand, and looked up to ask his companions, "Did you hear anything?"
"What's that sound?" a guard asked.
"Buzzing..."
There was a sound of flapping wings, getting closer and closer.
One of the imperial guards shouted, "It's a wasp!"
Behind them, a round, brown hornet's nest rolled down into the grass.
The little eunuch yelled at the top of his lungs, "Quick! Run!"
After saying that, he bent down to move the bamboo basket.
"I'll carry it." A burly imperial guard snatched the bamboo basket. "You all run! Go and inform the princess and the others to get them into the carriage!"
The four thin, frail eunuchs took off running.
There were five bamboo baskets, but there were only two Imperial Guards present; the rest had gone to the carriages…
Gritting his teeth, one of the imperial guards said, "The rest, we'll move them later. It'll be an extra trip!"
After saying that, the two of them each grabbed a bamboo basket and ran off.
After everyone had run away, two furtive white figures, their heads wrapped up, came running back carrying a bamboo basket and replaced one of the baskets of mushrooms...
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