Chu Qiao felt warm in her heart, patted Zhao Song on the shoulder, and said, "Don't worry, I have my own way."
"Alas," Zhao Song sighed, "Anyway, you always have a way. I'm worrying in vain."
"No," Chu Qiao said with a smile, "You let me know that you were worried about me, and you still treat me as a friend. I am very grateful to you."
"You appreciate it?" Zhao Song immediately became interested and leaned over with a smile, "Then don't go back to Yanbei with Yan Xun, stay and accompany me?"
"No," Chu Qiao rejected it outright, "Everything else is fine, but this one is not."
Zhao Song immediately sighed, drooped his shoulders, and looked like he was saying, "I knew it would be like this."
All in all, they have known each other for six or seven years. When she followed Yan Xun into the palace, everyone thought she was Yan Xun's maid and guard. No one doubted her identity or investigated the origins of this young child. All the people around Yan Xun who knew the truth had died, and the servants of the Zhuge family had no chance to enter the palace to see her. Zhuge Yue, the only one who knew everything, kept his mouth shut for some unknown reason, and left Zhenhuang a month after the incident to recuperate in Wolong Mountain, and never returned.
Although each of these Celestial nobles had seen her at the initial hunting grounds. But how could these arrogant guys even take a second look at a dishevelled little slave? Even Wei Jing, who had a deep hatred for her, only regarded her as a servant of Yan Xun. The several times he sought revenge on her were all directed at Yan Xun, without any unnecessary trouble.
However, such peaceful days changed after meeting Zhao Song. The little prince, who had only met Yan and Chu twice at the beginning, recognized the maid from Zhuge Mansion who had teased him many times at a glance, but he was kind enough not to say it out loud. When the royal nobles were collectively taking advantage of the situation, he secretly helped Yan and Chu and helped them overcome difficulties time and time again.
Seriously speaking, he is the only friend they have in the imperial capital.
It’s a pity that Zhao Zhengde is his father and he is the prince of Daxia. Yan Xun will probably never be able to let go of this.
"Ah Chu," Zhao Song handed over the golden box and said, "This is for you."
Chu Qiao was stunned, "How can that be possible? Such a valuable item."
"Oh, just take it." Zhao Song stuffed the thing into Chu Qiao's hand without saying anything. "It's useless for me to take it. You know me. I won't like it after a while. I will have to give it to someone else. It's better to give it to you first. You are weak, and Yan Xun is a cold-hearted guy. He made you run around in such a cold weather. I heard that you just came back from the north, right?"
"Yes," Chu Qiao nodded and said, "I'm going to the north to buy some goods. They are some small businesses of the prince in Yanbei."
"I have a new snow-skin coat sent by the Sissi in my palace. It is very warm. I will send someone to deliver it to you when I get back. Remember to wear it."
"Well," Chu Qiao smiled, "thank you very much."
"Okay then. I'll go back first."
Chu Qiao was stunned. "Aren't you going to join the hunting later?"
Zhao Song shook his head. "It takes several days to hunt in the field. Today is human hunting. A group of people are shooting arrows at a few slaves. I don't have that hobby. I came here just to find you. Now that I've found you, I'm going back first."
Chu Qiao nodded and was about to speak when she suddenly heard a shrill voice shouting, "Hey! My little ancestor, I didn't mean that!"
Chu Qiao and the other person turned around and saw two young men of about sixteen or seventeen years old standing in front of Zhao Song's tent, shoulder to shoulder. They both had very deep features and looked about 70% similar. One of them had thick eyebrows and big eyes with a sharp look. He was wearing a royal blue robe and a fur cape, like a sturdy little leopard. The other one was wearing a gray fur coat that looked a bit old. It just reached his thighs and seemed a little short. His eyes were indifferent and as cold as ice and snow. There were only a few short servants following them, and no carriages or horses.
The young man in the blue robe glared coldly at a young eunuch in second-class eunuch uniform and said angrily, "That's not what I meant. What do you mean?"
The young eunuch was kicked so hard that one of his arms almost fell off. He cried out, "Ouch!" "What I mean is that this camp is reserved for His Majesty the Thirteenth Prince. Your Majesty the Sixteenth Prince cannot use it."
The young man spoke in a low voice, and his eyes suddenly turned cold when he heard the words. He grabbed the young eunuch by the collar and said angrily, "Then where will I be assigned?"
"You...you were assigned to the western forest."
"Really?" The young man sneered, "What a great place. If I remember correctly, there's a stable next to it for livestock."
"Well...well...the servants will be careful not to let those beasts disturb Master Sixteen's sweet dreams in the middle of the night."
"Yu Delu!" The young man glared and shouted, "You are so brave!"
"Sixteen!" A deep voice suddenly sounded, and the young man in a gray fur coat stretched out his hand to stop the young man and said in a deep voice, "Don't cause trouble."
"How did I cause trouble?" the young man said angrily, "Brother Fourteen, I just don't understand. We are all my father's sons, why are some of them treated like stars in the center while others are relegated to the corners with the beasts? It's all because of these dogs and slaves who look down on others!"
"Stop talking," Fourteen turned around and said to Yu Delu in a deep voice, "Eunuch Lu, please lead the way and take us to the camp to set up the tent."
"Yes, yes." Yu Delu crawled to his feet and led the way.
"Wait!" Zhao Song suddenly shouted and took a few steps forward.
When Sixteen saw him, his eyes widened and he was about to rush forward, but was stopped by Fourteen.
"Thirteenth brother."
Zhao Song nodded and said to Yu Delu, "Eunuch Lu, I will not participate in today's hunting. Let my fourteenth and sixteenth brothers take over this place."
Yu Delu was startled when he heard this, and looked at Zhao Song carefully, then asked, "What about tomorrow? What about the day after tomorrow? Is His Highness the Thirteenth Prince not coming?"
Zhao Song laughed and said, "We'll talk about tomorrow's matter tomorrow. It's okay even if we become neighbors with animals. Don't forget, I slept in the horse stable when I was a child. It's okay."
"this……"
Yu Delu was about to speak when Fourteenth Prince suddenly interrupted him and said, "Thank you, Thirteenth Prince, for your kindness. Sixteenth Prince is young and does not know much. This place should be left to you. Sixteenth Prince, let's go." After saying that, he turned around and left, pulling the Sixteenth Prince.
Yu Delu was stunned, then quickly chased after him.
"This is the Fourteenth Prince, with a single name of "Yao", which is the most awkward. You may not have seen him. His and the Sixteenth Prince's mothers were both concubines presented to our father by the Hanjia people. They were of humble origins and have always been in the West Five Palaces, not on your side."
Chu Qiao nodded and remained silent.
"Okay, I'm leaving now. Go find Yan Xun. Be careful, Zhuge Yue. I saw him at the banquet last night. He's not the same as before. Be careful."
Chu Qiao nodded, "I understand."
Zhao Song climbed onto the horse with his guards, and turned back to say, "Don't wander around. Jing Han and the others have seen you before, so be careful not to show your hand. Wei Jing is here this time too, so you and Yan Xun should hold back the fire, and send someone to notify me if anything happens."
The girl sighed helplessly and urged, "I know, go now."
"If anything happens, send someone to notify me immediately. Don't just stand there like an idiot."
Chu Qiao said with a smile: "If you don't leave now, it will be dark."
"Humph," Zhao Song turned his horse's head and muttered as he walked, "You just want to hurry me along. You have no conscience. Sooner or later you will find out who is the most humane."
With a shout of "Go!", Zhao Song and his group rushed away.
Chu Qiao looked at Zhao Song's departing back and suddenly felt that the sunset in the west was so warm that she could hardly feel the fierce north wind.
When he came back, he happened to pass by the woods in the west. From afar, he saw the Fourteenth Prince Zhao Yang and the Sixteenth Prince Zhao Xiang setting up tents with several servants. Chu Qiao secretly kept it in mind, just took a glance, turned around and walked towards Yan Xun's camp.
As soon as the curtain was opened, the warm fragrance of orchids immediately hit me in the face. Yan Xun did not look up, as if he was writing something, and said calmly, "Is Zhao Song gone?"
Chu Qiao looked at Yan Xun and sat beside the brazier to warm her hands. "You are quite smart."
Yan Xun heaved a long sigh, placed the document he had just written on the desk, put down his pen, and said, "He has never been able to play such a show since he was a child, so it's not surprising that he left."
Listening to Yan Xun using the word "program" so nonchalantly, Chu Qiao felt a chill in her heart for some reason. She raised her head and asked in a deep voice, "He can't play, what about you?"
Yan Xun frowned, "Are you asking about the past or the present?"
“Both.”
"Ah Chu," Yan Xun came forward, squatted beside Chu Qiao, and said, "Do you know where my father was defeated?"
Chu Qiao looked up but didn't say anything.
Yan Xun smiled faintly, his smile was bitter, but it also contained a faint smell of blood. "He failed because he was too soft-hearted and too attached to friendship. He once had the opportunity to depose Emperor Xia De and ascend the throne himself, and bring the Yan family back to the Zhao family tree, but he didn't. He later had the opportunity to kill the general Meng Tian who came to conquer, but he didn't. So in the end, Zhao Zhengde confiscated his property and Meng Tian chopped off his head. As early as the day I entered Shengjin Palace, I swore that I would never be like him in this life."
The young Prince Yan stood up, with an upright posture, handsome face, eyes as dark as the deep ocean, and walked out.
The man paused as he lifted the curtain and said in a deep voice, "If you can't accept it, stay in the tent tonight and don't come out to see it."
The moon was full and the stars were sparse. From the hunting ground, the sounds of singing, dancing and music continued to come.
The people of Daxia value martial arts and are tough. In order to commemorate the nomadic spirit of their ancestors and not forget the roots of their clan, hunting twice a year in spring and autumn was indispensable in the Great Xia Dynasty.
It is still early spring, but in Hongchuan, the snow never stops until May or June every year. The summer is very short and the winter is very long. There were sporadic human voices in the woods not far away. Chu Qiao knew that they were soldiers looking for tigers and bears hibernating in order to eliminate danger for tomorrow's hunt.
She wore a snow-white sable-feather jacket, a snow-blue fur coat, and a pair of white boots, which made her eyes look even darker and her hair look even more inky. Seriously speaking, Jing Yue'er's face can be considered as that of a little beauty. Even though she hasn't grown up yet, she exudes an unconcealable elegance and cuteness.
There was a brazier burning in the tent, and it was warm, but for some reason, she felt a little stuffy. She walked alone to the northwest corner of the camp, listening to the stringed music coming from afar. Her heart gradually became irritated, and some resistance rose up in her heart little by little.