Chapter 89: Domineering White Moonlight 8 What qualifications do you have to judge this princess?
At the foot of Cangshan Mountain in spring, the royal camp was set up early on the high slope, and the nine-tassel dragon flag fluttered in the wind.
The endless mountains in the distance are like an iron barrier, stretching between heaven and earth, making this hunting ground even more majestic and magnificent.
"Dong-dong-dong-dong"
Three powerful drum beats pierced the sky and echoed across the plains.
Then, the horns sounded, ritual music played, and the Spring Hunting Ceremony officially began.
In the center of the hunting ground, a platform three meters high stood majestically, with thousands of armored imperial guards standing on both sides, long spears like a forest, flashing a sharp cold light.
"Your Majesty has arrived—"
As the ceremonial officials sang in high spirits, the golden curtain was lifted, and the Jin emperor Xie Suxuan walked out slowly, wearing a red hunting robe with dragon patterns and an emperor sword at his waist.
He has been on the throne for twenty years. His eyes are cold, his features are firm, and his aura makes people dare not look directly at him.
Ali bowed with everyone else: "Long live our emperor! Long live our emperor! Long, long live our emperor!"
Amidst the thunderous applause, the emperor and his concubine sat at the top.
"My dear ministers, please stand up." Xie Suxuan raised his hand, his voice short and powerful, his tiger eyes imposing without anger.
Everyone stood up and took their seats according to their rank. Ali's seat was right next to Xie Jingchuan, very close to the emperor and the imperial concubine.
Xie Suxuan surveyed the room, his gaze blazing. "Spring hunting is a long-standing tradition of our Great Jin State. Today, I and all of you are gathered here for one purpose: first, to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, praying for good weather and good harvests this year; second, to practice martial arts, remembering the teachings of our ancestors; and third, to select talented individuals to bolster the might of our Great Jin army!"
As soon as the words fell, the blood of all the soldiers in the audience boiled, especially the young men from each family, who were all rubbing their hands and eager to try.
Ali glanced at the audience without much interest, then turned his gaze back to the emperor.
Xie Suxuan looked like an extremely majestic emperor, ruthless and good at scheming. As an unpopular marginal prince, he stood out from his many brothers and successfully ascended the throne.
But when he looked at the imperial concubine beside him, his solemn expression turned into tenderness.
Ali lowered his eyes, thinking of the second half of the plot in the original book. Xie Jingchuan angered the emperor for some reason, was sent to the Eastern Palace for self-reflection, and was later almost deposed from the position of crown prince.
At that time, she saw that her greatest backer was about to fall, and was worried that her future wealth would be in jeopardy, so she turned her attention to the emperor, hoping to climb onto the throne and ascend to the throne in one step.
Unfortunately, the emperor discovered it.
Xie Suxuan almost chopped off her head in anger, but Xie Jingchuan fought to the death to save her. In the end, his position as crown prince was not abolished, and everything seemed to be back to normal.
Having escaped death, she thought that good days were coming, but she had just escaped from the tiger's mouth and fell into the wolf's den.
In a blink of an eye, Xie Jingchuan locked her up in the Demon Locking Pavilion, which was filled with forbidden spells, and tortured her day and night.
These images flashed through his mind one by one, and Ali felt uncomfortable all over.
Just at this time, the ceremony had ended, and Xie Suxuan and his son Xie Jingchuan were riding side by side on their horses, about to start the first hunting trip of the spring.
On the stage, the imperial concubine was surrounded by several wives of princes and nobles, and the group was talking lively.
These ladies all have daughters of marriageable age in their families who are not yet engaged and are all waiting for the selection of the Crown Princess, but no news has been released from the palace.
Now that the Imperial Concubine is weak, the Emperor has issued a clear order not to allow ladies from outside the palace to disturb her frequently. It is a rare opportunity for them to see the Imperial Concubine, so how can they not seize the opportunity to leave an impression in front of the Imperial Concubine and pave the way for the women in their family.
Ali drank the wine in the cup, stood up and left.
Today she let Lan Xin stay in the tent and prepared the horse gear for her so that she could go for a ride as soon as she came back.
Just as she turned a corner, several unobstructed voices came into her ears.
Ali slowed down his pace and hid slightly behind the tent in front of him. He saw a group of young men and women talking not far away. One of them was Chen Danzhi.
"Yesterday I saw that idiot princess and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince riding horses outside. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is really kind-hearted. He can actually tolerate such a good-for-nothing!" said a young lady in blue angrily. Her mother was talking to the imperial concubine at this moment.
The sisters around her nodded in agreement: "Who says it's not true? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is such a bright and noble man, but he is being dragged down by that princess."
The lady in blue looked unhappy. "Is it because we grew up together that His Royal Highness is so tolerant of her?"
"Maybe it's because of her face. I think she is not much different from my father's concubine Xiang. If she were not a princess, I would definitely make her my concubine..." A young man in yellow touched his chin with a vulgar posture and smiled with ill intentions.
Chen Danzhi, who had been silent the whole time, interrupted him: "Mr. Li, be careful with your words! That vicious woman is still a member of the royal family after all. How can she be so outspoken!"
Li Mao was not happy when he heard this. "I am doing this for you. One day I will make sure she falls into my hands and I will vent my anger on you!"
Ali listened to these silently, without any ripples in his heart.
She had heard countless more nasty words than this since she was a child. The people in the palace were much more venomous than these young masters and ladies from aristocratic families.
Being angry would not solve the problem, so she always ordered the people from Qingluan Palace to hang up and beat those who gossiped about her.
After the fight, her anger subsided.
As for Chen Danzhi, could it be that she was really scared by the beating she suffered? It was a wonder that she could even utter the words "unrestrained in speech".
The ladies who had spoken earlier exchanged glances with each other. Li Mao, the only son of the Earl of Dingxiang, had a special affection for Chen Danzhi and had been pursuing her for many years. Everyone in the capital knew about it.
However, the Chen family had never agreed to the engagement. It was said that the elder brother of the Chen family disagreed, and Dingxiang Bo was not very satisfied with it. However, Li Mao still had his heart set on Chen Danzhi.
The two of them often stayed together, and anyone who saw them could tell that they were in love.
Although the Earl of Dingxiang has fallen into poverty compared to previous years, he still has the title of Earl. Li Mao is the next Earl of Dingxiang. He has the highest status among the people present and no one can afford to offend him.
The lady in blue softened her expression slightly and took Chen Danzhi's hand: "Danzhi, you are really magnanimous. Even after being treated like that by that woman, you still spoke up for her."
Hearing her bring up the incident from that day, Chen Danzhi's expression turned even worse, but he ultimately said nothing more: "After all, her parents are indebted to the royal family, and she is a princess. Even if she is just taking advantage of the power of others, we can't afford to offend her."
Li Mao snorted coldly, very disdainful: "What do you mean by favor? It's just a way of repaying a favor!"
"You don't know. My father said that her parents deliberately watched the Imperial Concubine and the Crown Prince fall into trouble, and only came to their rescue when they were in danger."
"If it works, their family will have no worries about wealth and prosperity. If it doesn't, they can still send their daughter to the palace. No matter how you look at it, it's a good deal."
Chen Danzhi widened his eyes slightly: "Is this how things really happened back then?"
Seeing his beloved looking at him with admiration, Li Mao couldn't help but feel a little flattered and boasted, "It's absolutely true! How could I lie to you?"
"Her parents' move was quite clever, but unfortunately, these two untouchables were unlucky and were killed by the bandits who caught up with them. They didn't live to enjoy the good life."
"But exchanging two lives for a lifetime of wealth is a win no matter how you look at it..."
Before Li Mao could finish his words, he was hit on the face with a horsewhip.
"Ouch!" He immediately covered his face and jumped up and down in pain.
Chen Danzhi and the others were also startled and hurried to check on Li Mao.
Ali walked out from behind the group with a gloomy face, and slowly wrapped the blood-stained horsewhip around his hand.
"Mr. Li, could you please repeat what you just said?"
Ali stood in front of several people, speaking in a cheerful tone and smiling very sweetly.
If Xie Jingchuan was here, he would know that she was in a very bad mood, and would use all means to torture people.
Li Mao, in excruciating pain, saw the person who had hurt him clearly and started cursing, "You little bitch! Are you crazy? How dare you hit me? Do you know who I am?"
Ali still smiled sweetly, but she swung the whip in her hand accurately at his face and body again, hitting him so hard that he crawled on the ground like a stray dog.
"This princess truly doesn't know who has such misfortune to raise a beast in human form like this young master."
Seeing Li Mao being beaten to pieces, Chen Danzhi cried and stood in front of him: "Princess! Princess! Stop beating him, or someone will die!"
Ali's lips curled up happily, but her eyes were as cold as ice. She easily avoided Chen Danzhi and once again mercilessly whipped Li Mao, who was hiding behind her.
"Wouldn't it be better if someone died? A life could buy a lifetime of prosperity for your family. Why would Miss Chen stop such a good thing?"
Ali tilted his head and looked at her, his black and white eyes were full of confusion, and the words he said were naive and cruel.
Chen Danzhi trembled all over and collapsed to the ground.
Yes, how could she forget that Princess Wangshu was the most cruel and vicious person, who had bullied and humiliated so many people by relying on her royal status. How could she have the courage to ask her for mercy?
Chen Danzhi couldn't help but shudder and felt timid.
But when she thought about the fact that Li Mao was injured like this when he was with her, and that Dingxiang Bo would never let her go after returning, Chen Danzhi could not just run away like that.
"Princess..." Chen Danzhi's face was pale, and his voice was trembling. "Princess, please let Master Li go..."
The smile on Ali's face completely disappeared. He lowered his eyes and sighed softly: "Well, since Miss Chen and Master Li are so deeply in love——"
"Don't even think about touching her!" Li Mao, who was like a dead dog just now, suddenly rushed forward, protected Chen Danzhi behind him, and yelled at Ali.
"May I ask, Princess, which of our previous statements were lies? Princess, you're so anxious to shut me up. Perhaps you've hit a sore spot!"
"How dare such a dignified princess abuse her power to bully others, injuring the earl's only son in broad daylight? I will report today's incident to the emperor and see how His Majesty will judge it! Then it will depend on how the princess can argue her way out of the crime!"
Despite being pointed at and insulted like this, Ali, who always showed his emotions on his face, did not look angry nor afraid at all.
She calmly put away the whip, walked forward slowly, and imitated Xie Jingchuan's usual tricks perfectly.
Chen Danzhi was so frightened that he was shaking like a sieve, and hurriedly grabbed the furious Li Mao.
Li Mao suddenly pushed her away and looked at A Li: "What? Princess, do you still want to resort to lynching?"
Ah Li chuckled. "Master Li, you're joking. How dare I? Master Li just mentioned that what you said is true. I wonder what it was that I don't understand?"
Li Mao thought she was scared and immediately became complacent: "Your parents saved the imperial concubine and the prince, and their purpose was to send you to the palace. This is known to everyone, is there any falsehood?"
"As a princess of the royal family, you act arrogantly and bully others... You have failed the teachings of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager and have brought disgrace upon the royal family. This is absolutely true!"
Seeing that Ali did not refute immediately, Li Mao felt more confident.
He helped Chen Danzhi up, walked to A Li, and glanced at her: "Are you scared, Princess? Do you want us to let you go? I'm telling you——"
"ridiculous."
Li Mao was stunned: "What?"
Ah Li listened carefully, and after a moment, he slowly spoke, "The incident of the Imperial Concubine and the Crown Prince being in danger back then is recorded in the imperial edict and the historians. It says that my parents saved them and made great contributions to the royal family and the country. The emperor even personally called them 'my benefactors.'"
"Yet the young master claims that this princess's parents are demanding repayment for a favor. Could it be that the emperor is being held hostage by two common people? Or perhaps the young master believes that the emperor's handling of this matter is inappropriate and is eager to give him some advice and have this fake princess of mine expelled from the capital?"
Li Mao's face turned pale, and he trembled as he cursed, "When did I ever say those words?!"
Ali didn't give him a chance to speak, staring at him intently. "Furthermore, what you said about my princess being a shabby princess and accomplishing nothing, not to mention that this is an offense against the royal family, what about you, young master?"
She took the braid that hung down to her chest and played with it in her hands. She walked around Li Mao leisurely and said, "Look at your face, you must be twenty years old. But I have never heard of your performance in the literary examination."
"Today is the first day of the spring hunt. The young men from the noble families accompanying us have all ridden their horses into the hunting grounds. Why are you here, young master?"
Ah Li paused, his eyes icy cold. "How can a useless person like you, who is neither good at literature nor martial arts, be qualified to judge this princess?"
Li Mao felt as if thunder had struck his head, and he took a few steps back in panic, not daring to look into Ali's eyes again. Chen Danzhi was sweating profusely.
Ali, however, remained relentless and pressed closer to them, "Master Li, do you acknowledge what I just said?"
Li Mao wanted to speak, but he felt that if he admitted it, how would he, as a man, stand in front of Chen Danzhi in the future.
So, he stiffened his neck and said, "I didn't go to the hunting ground today simply because I wasn't feeling well. Your Highness asked me why I was here, and I wanted to ask you, could it be that you don't even know how to ride a horse or shoot an arrow?"
When the young ladies heard what was said, they tried desperately to make Li Mao shut up. They had seen the princess riding a horse with their own eyes, so how could he dare to say that?
But Li Mao was so excited at the moment that he could not listen to anyone.
Ali smiled faintly, with a strange light in his eyes.
Are you still not convinced?
That's even better, she's best at making people submit.
"Since you are so curious about me, why don't we have a competition in horseback riding?" Ali said lightly.
Seeing Li Mao hesitate, Ali continued to provoke him: "Mr. Li, are you afraid?"
"Who's afraid? Let's compete. Don't feel embarrassed when you lose!" Li Maoqiang replied.
In just a quarter of an hour, palace servants came with the two men's horses.
Ali jumped onto the horse nimbly, but saw Li Mao, with a bruised face and nose, arriving late.
She sat upright on her horse and did not miss his whispers with several palace maids.
"If you are afraid, Master Li, kneel down and kowtow to me now and admit your fault. I will consider letting you go."
Li Mao forced a cold laugh through his teeth and said sarcastically, "Are you scared, Princess?"
Chen Danzhi stood not far away, looking at the man on the horse worriedly. Beside her was the princess's maid. The maid called a little palace servant, apparently asking him to go find His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Chen Danzhi was worried that the Crown Prince would side with the Princess and wanted to stop them, but the two of them had already started horse racing and she had no time to pay attention.
The two horses rushed out like arrows. Ali took the lead and soon left the trembling Li Mao behind.
The two men ran into the dense forest, one in front and the other behind. This place was close to the tent, but still some distance away from the emperor and his men's hunting grounds.
Li Mao gritted his teeth at the sight and could barely hold onto the reins. His disheveled face had a slightly distorted expression.
How could this idiot girl ride a horse?!
Seeing the distance between the two getting wider and wider, a hint of viciousness flashed in Li Mao's eyes, but he quickly calmed down and continued to speed up to catch up.
Ali raised the corners of his lips slightly, his hair flying in the wind, grass debris flying wherever the horse's hooves stepped on, and his slender figure quickly disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.
Just as she was about to rush into the narrow path in the forest, the horse under her was suddenly frightened and was about to hit the thick thorny tree in front.
Ali's pupils constricted, and at the critical moment she suddenly turned sideways and pulled the reins. The horse barely brushed past the thick wood, but before she could steady herself, a thick branch growing horizontally suddenly whipped at her.
"Swish!" The sharp bark scratched her fair neck, and her skin was instantly torn and blood gushed out.
A sharp pain came over Ali, and he groaned. Warm blood flowed down his collarbone and soaked his clothes.
The movement of the frightened horse here attracted the attention of Xie Jingchuan and his group not far away.
Half an hour ago, he and his father went deep into the hunting ground and hunted many preys, among which a white fox was the rarest. His father ordered him to take the white fox back to give to his mother first.
Xie Jingchuan also wanted to ask Ali if there was anything he wanted, so he led a group of people back along the path.
Hearing a sound not far away, Xie Jingchuan tightened the reins, identified the source of the sound for a moment, and ordered one of his followers to take the white fox back first, and the others followed him to check.
This is the royal hunting ground, and no unauthorized persons are allowed to enter. Most of the people who came here are on my father's side. Who could be riding a horse here?
The injured Ali felt dizzy in front of her eyes, and the frightened horse also slowed down. Li Mao took this opportunity to overtake her successfully.
Ali tried his best to calm down, not even raising his hand to cover the wound. He suddenly clamped his grip on the horse's belly and shouted, "Gee!"
The horse neighed and galloped forward, chasing Li Mao like a flash of lightning.
Li Mao thought she would let go and fall off her horse. Just as he turned back triumphantly, he saw the blood-stained figure approaching at an even faster speed. He was almost furious: "How is this possible?!"
Ali's eyes were cold, and he didn't care about the blood on his neck at all. He just lowered his body and quickly overtook at the last turn.
"Bang!" The horse's hooves stomped heavily across the finish line, stirring up a cloud of dust.
The palace maids who had been waiting there were all horrified when they saw Ali covered in blood, and they rushed forward. However, Ali's horse had gone completely crazy at this moment and was desperately trying to throw Ali off its back.
The horse rushed around out of control, its front hooves softened and it almost fell to the ground, but the next moment it suddenly jumped up and kicked its four hooves wildly.
The unarmed palace servants could only stand anxiously on the periphery, and no one dared to approach.
Ali, who had already lost a lot of blood, was now almost exhausted. His vision was blacking out and he was about to fall off his horse.
"Princess!"
"Ali!"
Chen Yizhi, who happened to be patrolling here, saw Ali who was about to fall off her horse. Without thinking, he spurred his horse towards her, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was one step ahead of him and flew to catch the fallen princess.
Ali fell into a familiar embrace and subconsciously relaxed. Before she could say a word to Xie Jingchuan, he had already carried her onto his horse and galloped towards the tent.
Ali half closed his eyes and touched his wound first. It didn't seem big, but it looked hideous, so he felt relieved.
"Xie Jingchuan." Her voice was low. When she raised her eyes, she could only see Xie Jingchuan's tense jaw and the trees flashing by quickly around him.
"Yeah, I'm here," Xie Jingchuan hummed softly, trying to make his voice sound steady. "Hold on a little longer, I'll be there soon."
Ali was unexpectedly energetic at this moment, chattering on and on about what had just happened, and told Xie Jingchuan exactly what Li Mao had said to her.
She is not a compassionate person who can repay evil with kindness. Whoever provokes her will be made to pay double the price.
Xie Jingchuan was distracted while talking to her, unable to stop feeling flustered: "Why are you so angry today that you took matters into your own hands?"
She was most unwilling to suffer. Even if she was angry in the past, she would order her servants to do it and she would just watch with a smile on her face.
Xie Jingchuan thought this was good, at least she wouldn't get hurt.
The desperate look today really made him feel unfamiliar.
"Because that blind guy said bad things about my parents..." Ali replied.
It is never anyone else's turn to criticize her parents.
If anyone has to complain, she is the only one who can complain.
Ali's eyes were fixed on the void, muttering to himself: "Although I have never seen them, they have appeared in my dreams and are the people I love most in the world." Even though they are no longer in this world.
Xie Jingchuan only felt his throat dry, and an emotion called heartache spread from the bottom of his heart, bringing waves of unbearable pain.
So she would risk everything for the one she loves the most?
He lowered his eyes, looked at her, and suddenly asked: "Then... what about me?"
What am I in your heart?
Will you risk your life for me one day in the future?
Ali buried his head in his shoulder, his voice getting lower and lower, his pale lips opening and closing: "You, you are the most important person to me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
