Chapter 54: Fragrant! No one can steal it!
It’s past noon.
There was a scene of jubilation beside the pond in the valley. The open space next to it was filled with various prey. A group of generals were busy collecting firewood and making a fire to prepare lunch.
Chang Zongyan rolled up his sleeves and took the lead in going down to the river to catch fish, and his hearty laughter echoed throughout the valley.
Yun Qingqing sat on the lawn, holding her chin and watching the lively scene.
The people under Xiao Changheng are not only individually brave, but also well-trained and well-coordinated. They are worthy of being the king's army that makes the enemy tremble in fear.
The most surprising thing is that they could have hunted the entire herd of bison in one fell swoop, but they did not do so. Instead, they only hunted the last third and deliberately let the immature calves go.
There was a hint of approval in Yun Qingqing's eyes.
Soon, the aroma of meat wafted from the fire.
"Princess, the rabbit meat is roasted. Come and have a taste of it. The prince specifically asked you to try it first!" Nan Zheng enthusiastically handed over half a fat rabbit.
Yun Qingqing was stunned:
"Aren't we supposed to take these prey back? Why are they roasting it?"
Nan Zheng smiled and said:
"We're going to bring them all back for the competition, but if it weren't for you, Princess, leading the way, we wouldn't have been able to catch so many prey! This hare was hunted specifically for Princess by General Chang!"
Yun Qingqing couldn't help but turn her head to look at Chang Zongyan.
Chang Zongyan coughed twice:
"No matter what, if the princess wasn't here, we definitely wouldn't have been able to discover this precious hunting ground. The princess is undoubtedly the heroine of today!"
He felt a little embarrassed when he thought about how he had previously criticized the princess for leading the way in the wrong direction.
Yun Qingqing smiled and took the rabbit meat:
"The prey was caught by General Chang and your generals. Your contributions are no less than mine."
Chang Zongyan touched his nose and smiled embarrassedly, thinking that this princess was actually a pretty good person.
Yun Qingqing took a bite of the rabbit meat and her eyes lit up:
"It smells so good! Who made this? It must be really good!"
"It was roasted by my subordinates." Nan Zheng was a little proud.
Barbecuing is his specialty, so he knew the princess would be surprised.
Yun Qingqing really liked it, and took a few more bites, but then she heard a "slurping" sound coming from not far away.
When I looked up, I saw that more than one person quickly looked away and wiped their saliva in a hurry.
She blinked and looked at the rabbit meat in her hand.
Hmm...it's so delicious, no one can steal it!
She can eat this half whole, so she's going to snatch it from your prince.
Yun Qingqing looked towards Xiao Changheng and saw that he was gracefully putting the last piece of rabbit meat into his mouth. The plate in front of him was full of leftover bones.
...How could this guy be so graceful and finish half a roasted rabbit at the speed of light with his eyes blindfolded!
Yun Qingqing took another bite of the roasted rabbit and felt the envious and greedy gazes from all around her.
She pondered for a moment and said to Nan Zheng:
"Didn't we shoot a few hares? Roast them all and share them among you."
Nan Zheng's expression paused:
"But... we have to take the rest back. The hares may be small, but if we lose a few of these, we'll lose the race..."
The other generals also hurriedly said:
"No, no, we just need to eat fish. We caught so many fish that it's enough for everyone."
Chang Zongyan also said:
"Princess, don't pay attention to them. They are just rough guys who don't care about a few bites of meat."
Yun Qingqing looked at him and smiled calmly:
"Then do you think that if we can kill a wild beast, we still need these rabbits to make up the numbers?"
Chang Zongyan was shocked:
"Of course not! Although we've had a good harvest, all the prey are vegetarians, and we haven't even killed a single ferocious beast!"
"With the amount of prey we have now, if we can kill one more ferocious beast, we'll be almost certain to be the champion today!"
Yun Qingqing nodded:
"I just checked your fortune for the second half of the day. You need fire to boost your luck. Meat is fire, and roasting it with fire will boost it even more. I'll roast a few rabbits for you to share. You'll definitely have a big harvest later."
Chang Zongyan was confused and didn't know whether to believe it or not.
Xiao Changheng chuckled:
"Listen to the princess."
But Nan Zheng immediately slapped his thigh and stood up:
"I'll roast all the remaining rabbits immediately!"
With the prince's words, everyone immediately became excited and quickly prepared the rabbits and roasted them. Nan Zheng controlled the heat and added the seasonings he brought with him.
Soon, the aroma of meat wafted out, and everyone got some rabbit meat. The camp was filled with laughter.
After eating and drinking their fill, everyone put out the fire and prepared to set off. They wanted to bury the leftover bones on the spot, but Yun Qingqing stopped them.
"Don't bury them yet. Gather the bones and put them over there." She pointed to an open space not far away.
"Princess, what do you mean?" Chang Zongyan was completely confused.
"Your luck is in the southwest right now. Do as I say. Everyone, hide in the surrounding areas. The outcome will be clear soon."
Chang Zongyan was skeptical, but thinking that it was thanks to the princess that he found such a good hunting ground, he did as he was told.
Xiao Changheng pulled Yun Qingqing onto Qianlixue again. Just as they were about to go into hiding with the main force, Yun Qingqing pulled the reins:
"You can't go with me, my lord."
"Hmm?" Xiao Changheng raised his eyebrows.
"You are too imposing. If you go there, not only will you suppress the fortunes of General Chang and others, but you will also scare the prey and make them dare not approach. How can you hunt them then?" Yun Qingqing said seriously.
Xiao Changheng: ...
Okay.
He put the reins into Yun Qingqing's hands:
"Then tell me, where should I go?"
Yun Qingqing took Xiao Changheng to a completely opposite direction and watched from afar as the others put the bones away and hid in the woods.
The generals were skeptical and waited with bated breath.
Less than half an incense stick of time had passed when a huge figure suddenly emerged from the woods, walked straight towards the pile of bones, and sniffed.
It turned out to be a big spotted tiger!
Chang Zongyan's eyes lit up, and at a command, several arrows whizzed past.
The tiger, shot by an arrow, let out an earth-shaking roar and turned around to escape, but it was surrounded by experienced generals and soon became a big trophy from the king of the mountain.
When they gathered again, Chang Zongyan couldn't close his mouth.
"The princess is truly brilliant. Old Chang, I'm truly impressed this time!"
…
One side is happy, the other side is sad.
Just when the Regent returned with a full load, the Prince's team worked hard for most of the day and only caught a pheasant.
Even though Xiao Zirui believed that Yun Bailian was Tianfeng, he began to have doubts at this moment.
He looked up at the sky, his brows furrowed tightly.
"Bai Lian, it's getting late. When can we find prey?"
"Uh..." Yun Bailian was riding on the same horse with him. She had been so busy with her blushing and heartbeating feeling from the close contact with the prince that she only remembered that she had important matters to attend to, and she began to panic.
Seeing her hesitating for a long time without saying anything, Xiao Zirui became more and more annoyed and said unhappily:
"What are you daydreaming about? Today's autumn hunt is a matter of great importance to the military power of the Northwest. Can you please be serious?"
"I, I know, I'm trying my best!" Yun Bailian pursed her lips and said angrily, "Brother Crown Prince, you also know that I didn't choose my fate as a Heavenly Phoenix. I was just supposed to have good luck. So, I haven't gained anything in all this time. Could it be that you don't really trust me?"
Xiao Zirui's eyelids twitched, and his voice immediately softened:
"How could that be? Of course I believe you. Don't be anxious. Just take your time."
Yun Bailian smiled proudly:
"That's more like it... Hey? There seems to be something over there... It's a deer! Go check it out!"
She saw a little deer flash by in the woods and immediately urged Xiao Zirui to chase after it.
Everyone also hurriedly rode their horses to catch up.
Crash!
"ah!!!"
"Ouch!"
“Ah…what’s going on!”
Suddenly there was a loud noise, and people and horses fell to the ground, accompanied by various screams.
The prince and his entourage were almost wiped out and fell into a big pit.
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