In the early morning, sunlight streamed through the windows, casting dappled patterns of light into the sleeping quarters of Fu Shuang Palace.
Yun Duoduo was leaning back on the sofa in her sleep, scrolling through short videos on her phone, holding a bag of lime-flavored potato chips, drinking her favorite soda, and occasionally bursting into laughter.
Suddenly, her expression froze as she saw a trending topic.
Her idol was exposed for school bullying.
She scrolled through her phone rapidly, looking at the news about her idol's scandal...
"Princess, wake up!"
Ah Xiang walked to Yun Duoduo's bedside and pulled her out of the warm quilt.
【Um?】
"The weather seems to be getting warmer..."
"Yes, I've already changed to a thinner blanket..."
"The imperial kitchen has delivered breakfast. Today they've even prepared extra hibiscus cake, saying the flowers in front of the kitchen are in bloom, so it's the perfect time to make pastries..."
The increasingly loud voices around Yun Duoduo, along with the noisy chatter of the palace maids and the sounds of sweeping the courtyard outside, pulled her back to reality, to the world in which she truly existed.
"Princess, the sun's already high in the sky!" Granny Liu said with a loving smile as she wiped the unidentified substance from the corner of Yun Duoduo's eye.
Granny Liu and Ah Xiang helped Yun Duoduo put on her coat.
Yun Duoduo's eyes were half-open and half-closed. She was so sleepy that she was powerless to resist and let Granny Liu and A Xiang dress her, wipe her face, and comb her hair.
“Princess, just now, Zhang Mama from Shouchang Palace came and said that the Empress Dowager has arranged for you to have lessons in riding and archery.”
Wow, so many tricks!
[The past few days we studied scriptures and learned etiquette, and today we're learning horseback riding and archery.]
As expected, being a princess isn't a job you can slack off on, nor can you be lazy.
"Huh? What kind of clothes are these?"
Yun Duoduo looked at her white clothes and white pants and felt a little strange. Usually, she would say she wore a cotton skirt, but today's clothes looked a bit like modern work clothes.
"Princess, today we will ride in a carriage to leave the palace and learn riding and archery."
[Leaving the palace? Great news! Great news!]
Finally, I can leave this confined space under the sky and see the outside world!
Last time I went out of the palace on New Year's Eve, I was preoccupied with something and didn't get a chance to properly enjoy the scenery in the countryside. Today is a good opportunity.
"What about Huo Huo and Zhuang Zhuang?"
"And Guan Guan."
"As before, Huo Huo, Zhuang Zhuang, and Guan Guan went with the princess to learn riding and archery."
As they were talking, Sun Huohuo, dressed in a handsome riding and archery outfit, stood at the entrance of the bedroom. Jin Zhuangzhuang, like Yun Duoduo, was still sleepy. After Liu Mama dressed Yun Duoduo, she began to dress Jin Zhuangzhuang.
...
Granny Zhang kept urging them from outside. They didn't even have time to eat breakfast. Yun Duoduo took a big gulp of soup, grabbed a meat bun, and went outside. Sun Huohuo carried a plate of buns and a plate of braised beef and got into the carriage.
Jin Zhuangzhuang was completely dazed and walked unsteadily. A Xiang was afraid that she would trip over the threshold at the door, so she picked her up and carried her into the carriage.
The carriage swayed and wobbled for about an hour before finally coming to a stop.
Yun Duoduo clutched her chest, feeling like she was about to vomit at any moment.
She suspected that the driver was either drunk or driving without a license; otherwise, how could the carriage have been swaying so violently on the flat official road?
This carriage is swaying so much it makes me dizzy!
"Ninth Princess, we've arrived."
The young eunuch accompanying the carriage stood beside it and said something softly.
Yun Duoduo lifted the carriage curtain and glanced outside. "Where is this?"
"Yes, Your Highness, it is the Royal Hunting Grounds."
The palace maids and eunuchs prepared small stools and helped Yun Duoduo down, followed by Jin Zhuangzhuang and Sun Huohuo.
"Burp!" Sun Huohuo let out a big burp and patted his round belly.
Unfortunately, Yun Duoduo smelled the digested food emanating from the air after Sun Huohuo burped, and she gave Sun Huohuo's shoulder a hard shove in disgust.
"Erhuo, stay away from me..."
After pushing Sun Huohuo away, Yun Duoduo calmed down and looked at the scenery in front of her.
"Princess, this is the Mulan Hunting Ground outside the capital."
Yun Duoduo was looking at the scenery in front of her in surprise.
Wow, so this is the royal hunting ground, the Mulan Hunting Ground?
[What a huge archery range! It's absolutely awesome!]
[This hunting ground must be over 10,000 square kilometers! Wow, people come here to learn horseback archery.]
Before us stretched a lush green meadow, seemingly endless, with herds of horses galloping orderly in a southwest direction, guided by their handlers.
Yun Duoduo held a fine bow and arrow that the Empress Dowager had sent to her last night. Although the bow and arrow were a bit heavy, she liked the feeling of being dashing and heroic.
"Ninth Princess, greetings to the Ninth Princess."
Yun Duoduo was shielding her eyes from the scorching sun with one hand and holding a bow and arrow in the other, gazing into the distance. Behind her came the melodious voice of a little girl, as sweet as silver bells.
"Guan Guan, you've arrived!"
Although Guan Guan was Yun Duoduo's study companion, he did not live in the palace. Every day after school, he would take a sedan chair waiting at the palace gate back to Guan Mansion. After having breakfast in the morning, he would take a sedan chair from Guan Mansion to the palace for classes.
She got up early today to avoid being late for the archery range.
"The Guan residence must be even further from here. You must be very tired."
Yun Duoduo noticed that Guan Guan, who always paid great attention to her image, had come in a hurry today and hadn't had time to put on any jewelry.
For young ladies from prominent families, wearing jewelry is a symbol of family tradition and social standing, so clothing and appearance are especially important.
"Princess, this archery range is truly vast." Guan Guan looked at the expansive scene before him, and was also extremely surprised.
"yes!"
"Duo'er, thanks to you, I've only ever been to my father's training grounds, never to this royal hunting grounds. It's truly magnificent!"
"At the time, I only thought that the training ground was already very big, but I didn't expect that the hunting ground was so big that you couldn't see the end of it!"
Sun Huohuo exclaimed in amazement.
As they were talking, a middle-aged man with a dark complexion, dressed in riding and archery attire, came up to them.
"Your subject Ji Nan greets the princess." The middle-aged man's voice was slightly hoarse, and Yun Duoduo noticed that his hands had a thick layer of calluses.
【prostitute……】
【male……】
Yun Duoduo shook her head violently. What was she thinking about?!
This is inappropriate, absolutely inappropriate.
Yun Duoduo looked at the man in front of her. Although he looked thick, he seemed to be all lean muscle.
[This must be her archery instructor, right?]
【Yun Duoduo, you must respect your teachers and not let your mind wander.】
“Princess, this is a pony that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager instructed me to choose for you.”
[A little pony?! What an adorable little pony!]
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