She raised her head, let out a long breath, and then swallowed everything, trying to calm down and stop thinking.
The night sky was pitch black. Suddenly, with a fluttering sound, a white dove landed on the snow. It looked at Chu Qiao from afar, tilted its head, and moved closer step by step.
This is a wild pigeon, not a domesticated carrier pigeon, and it is a little afraid of people. It must have been curious because it saw this person sitting here for so long without moving, and wanted to come over to take a look. Chu Qiao raised her head, noticed the bird, smiled slightly, reached into her pocket and took out a handful of wheat that she had brought with her for horse feeding, and scattered it on the ground.
There was heavy snow, making it difficult to find food. When the pigeons saw the snow, they chirped happily, spread their wings, and flew towards Chu Qiao.
However, at this moment, two sharp arrows suddenly shot out from a distance at the same time, both piercing the pigeon's chest and abdomen. With a swish, blood splattered and red plums were everywhere.
The sound of thundering horse hooves suddenly rang out, and two fast horses were far ahead of the people behind them, one red and one black, fierce and eye-catching. The man on the red horse was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, arrogant and domineering. When he saw the boy sitting on the snow, he didn't even ask a question. He bent his bow and drew his arrow without saying a word, and with a whoosh, he shot it towards Chu Qiao's heart!
With a dull swoosh, Chu Qiao suddenly became like a cheetah that leaped up suddenly. She supported herself on the ground with one hand and spun around to her feet. Her movements were extremely swift and smooth. She turned around with her right hand and grabbed the arrow firmly in her palm.
A strong wind blew, and the girl's long fur coat fluttered in the air, like a white eagle flapping its wings about to take off. Her eyes were as sharp as ice and snow, and she looked coldly at the person who was coming.
"Whose servant are you? Why are you wandering around the hunting ground so late at night?" A cold voice came out from the mouth of the man on the red horse. The man had hurt people for no reason before, but at this moment he did not show any remorse. He was dressed in a fur coat made from the snow in the far north. Despite his graceful appearance, he exuded an indescribable chill and gloom.
With a bang, the man on the black horse jumped off the horse. He was also about 25 or 26 years old, with eyes like copper bells and a dark complexion. He ran to the pigeon in a few steps, raised his hand and said, "Mu Hexifeng, how do you account for this?"
The man on the red horse gave Chu Qiao a cold look, then turned to the man and said, "Zarlu, my arrow hit your throat, so naturally I win."
The man frowned and said angrily, "How do you know your arrow hit the throat? We didn't use a name-carved arrow."
"I know the arrows that were shot by my own hand."
"Hmph, no way." Zaru said, "Let's compete again."
Mu Hexifeng raised his eyebrows, "How do you want to compete?"
"Then, let's go with her." Zaru pointed at Chu Qiao and said, "Isn't this a ready-made slave? Let's shoot her."
Chu Qiao frowned slowly and looked at Zaru with squinted eyes. Zalu didn't notice it at all. He turned around and climbed onto the horse's back. When he saw her coming, he urged her, "Run faster and run farther."
Chu Qiao looked the two of them up and down, her brows furrowed, and then she said to Mu Hexifeng in a deep voice: "I am not a slave."
Mu Hexifeng raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and seemed quite interested. He raised his eyebrows and said, "So what?"
Yeah, so what? Even if they were not slaves, these nobles could kill them at will when they felt like it, without any reason.
Chu Qiao stopped talking and turned to walk towards Yan Xun's tent. With a sharp whoosh, an arrow stuck into the snow close to her heel. Zalu shouted angrily, "I told you to run faster, didn't you hear me?"
In the fierce wind, the girl suddenly turned her head, her dark eyes swept across Zhalu's face sharply. The young master of Zhalu in the northwest fiefdom felt a chill in his heart, and he actually held back a curse.
"If I were riding a horse, would you two masters be able to shoot me?"
Mu Hexifeng raised the corner of his mouth slightly, but before he could say anything, Zalu angrily said, "Give her the horse."
A pitch-black warhorse was led in front of the girl. Chu Qiao patted the horse's head gently, then turned around to look at the two of them. The wind was very strong at night, blowing the snow on the ground and hitting my face like small grains of sand, which was very painful.
Suddenly, the girl jumped onto the horse, pulled out the small dagger from her waist, and stabbed it into the horse's buttocks without hesitation. The warhorse let out a mournful cry and suddenly galloped away at lightning speed. Before anyone could react, it had disappeared from the two men's sight.
Zalu was stunned, his eyes wide open like cow eyes for a long time, then he turned to Muhexifeng and said, "She just left like that?"
Mu Hexifeng turned his horse around and headed towards the direction of the noisy crowd. He snorted nonchalantly, "What do you think?"
Zalu was furious, and his angry voice came from behind. Muhe Xifeng's eyebrows were cold, and his eyes flashed with sharp edges.
Before they got close to the camp, a group of people came galloping from the opposite side. Chu Qiao reined in her horse, frowned and looked over, only to see figures getting closer and closer. They were none other than Yan Xun and A Jing's guards.
“Ah Chu!” Yan Xun saw Chu Qiao, grabbed the reins, rushed forward, and said in a deep voice, “Are you okay?”
"It's okay." Chu Qiao shook her head and asked, "Is the night hunt over? Why did you come back so soon?"
Yan Xun looked the girl up and down, his chest heaving, a little out of breath. He shook his head and said, "Let's go back to the tent first."
Yan Xun seemed very tired tonight. After returning to the tent, the two of them went back to their respective rooms. When she was leaving the house, she happened to meet Ah Jing and several guards leading a few children into the camp. Chu Qiao was stunned and walked up to ask.
Ah Jing said respectfully, "Miss, this is what the prince bought from the night hunting ground."
Chu Qiao was stunned and said in a deep voice: "Bought it from the Night Hunting Ground? What do you mean?"
"Tonight's hunting, the prince said he had drunk too much and would not participate. The second sons of Wei refused and joined the youngest son of King Ling in making trouble. The prince had no choice but to buy each of the children in his cage for 100 gold coins."
"Oh." Chu Qiao nodded, "You guys go ahead and do your work. I'll go back first."
The girl turned around calmly. The night wind was very cool, blowing on her body. She opened the curtain of the tent and it was warm inside, but she didn't feel stuffy at all.
The girl took off her fur coat, and sat on the couch for a long time. Suddenly, a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, like a gorgeous sunset.
The second day was the hunting competition held by the Daxia royal family.
In addition to royal nobles, princes and ministers, their families and relatives, those who were eligible to participate in the Great Xia hunting included envoys from nearby fiefdoms. Therefore, the scene is very grand. Hunting in spring is different from hunting in autumn. On the hunting ground, there is snow and pine forest. Young men from all families are dressed in their best clothes, wearing brocade clothes and fur coats, carrying bows and crossbows on their backs, and they are extremely brave.
The customs of Daxia were open, unlike those of the Song and Tang dynasties. Everywhere one looked, one could see women of rosy youth riding horses at full speed, so Chu Qiao following Yan Xun did not seem out of place.
"Ah Chu," Yan Xun turned around, looked at Chu Qiao's red face, and asked, "Are you cold?"
"It's not cold." Chu Qiao raised her head and said, "I haven't gotten up this early in a long time. The air is really good."
Yan Xun smiled and was about to speak when he suddenly saw a group of people approaching rapidly. Mu Hexifeng was dressed in a long sable fur coat and looked handsome and outstanding, attracting many eyes along the way.
"Prince Yan, long time no see, I hope you are well."
Yan Xun turned his head, narrowed his eyes slightly, looked Mu Hexifeng up and down, and then smiled faintly, "Master Mu He has been leading troops outside all year round, it's really been a long time since we last met."
"Yes," Mu Hexifeng smiled lightly, "There has been a small-scale rebellion in Yanbei recently. Prince Yan is lucky to be able to live in peace in the imperial capital. But I can't do that. I was born to be busy."
Yan Xun smiled and nodded, saying, "Those who are capable should do more work. Everything is for the rejuvenation of Daxia. What Master Muhe has done is witnessed by the people of the world."
Mu Hexifeng laughed, "Then I'll take your advice." After that, he turned his horse around, stopped and looked at Chu Qiao when he passed by her, and said with a strange smile, "This girl looks familiar."
Chu Qiao returned the greeting respectfully, "Master Mu He, I think you have recognized the wrong person. Chu Qiao is unlucky and has never had the honor to see you, Master."
"The best among people, Chu Qiao, what a good name."
Mu Hexifeng smiled, turned around and rode away quickly.
At this moment, the sound of drums suddenly rang out, seven long and seven short, sometimes fast and sometimes slow. In the distance, King Xia and Muhena Yun, surrounded by a group of guards, slowly climbed onto the high platform. Tens of thousands of guards stood on both sides, separating the emperor from the people outside. Under the thick golden curtain, King Xia's eyebrows could not be seen at all. One could only feel the coldness slowly emanating from behind the curtain.
The whole audience was in awe, shouting in unison "Long live our king", kneeling on the ground and bowing their heads straight.
The hunting team, which stretched for more than thirty miles, shouted in unison, with an astonishing momentum. The much-anticipated Great Xia hunting finally kicked off.
Looking from afar, you can see flags rising like a sea and people bustling along the banks of the Chishui River. Chu Qiao stood beside Yan Xun, looking at the dozens of miles of military tents deployed below, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
The military might of Daxia is indeed extraordinary. Even though today is just a royal hunting event, such a large battle has been set up. One can imagine how majestic and powerful it would be if they really went into battle to kill the enemy.
With the king's tent as the center, the Xia people set up the most aggressive circular camp on the plains. The Imperial Guards, Green Camp, Cavalry Camp, and Beijing Cavalry were arranged vertically in the four directions of southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest, with one end connected to the other. There are wing camps on high platforms on both wings, located on high slopes, in a square formation, guarding the central tent.
The four armies in the southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest of the city were deployed in a snake-shaped formation to protect the periphery of the central army. Signal soldiers were posted every thirty steps, and a hundred men were deployed every hundred steps for defense. Outside the four corners of the camp, there were thousands of field army soldiers standing guard. The defense was impenetrable, with no loopholes to escape.
A long gust of wind blew, the war horses neighed, and the war flags fluttered. Yan Xun looked over, his expression unchanged, and he said slowly in a low voice: "A Chu, go back and rest for a while."
Chu Qiao turned around and looked at Yan Xun's face, and suddenly she understood something. She nodded and said in a deep voice, "Be careful."
Yan Xun turned around and smiled faintly, "This opportunity is hard to come by, it only comes once in a lifetime, Ah Chu, wait for my good news."
The whole afternoon, the atmosphere in Yan Xun's camp was in a state of tension. Chu Qiao was sitting in the camp, wearing a jet-black robe. At first glance, one would think it was Yan Xun sitting in the tent.
She drew the last stroke on the map, looked up, and said in a deep voice: "Remember to be careful and cautious, and don't reveal your true identity."
Everyone responded, "Don't worry, Miss Chu!"
That afternoon, Muhe Xifeng, the most outstanding young man of the Muhe family, disappeared in the dense forests of the northwest. The entire Muhe clan dispatched a large number of troops to search for him, but no trace was found. Muhexifeng is the nephew of Muhenayun. The Queen Mother of Daxia wanted to privately use the Cavalry Battalion to search for him, but was righteously rejected by Zhao Che, who was currently in charge of the Cavalry Battalion. The mother and son parted unhappily, but at this moment, Zhao Che had no idea how much trouble this action today would bring him in the future.