Chapter 75 Fox Hunting
Wen Yao followed Jinyun.
Zhao Xuanxu stood in place and watched the group of horses galloping into the dense forest in front of him and disappearing. The gentle warmth in the corners of his eyebrows and eyes disappeared. His eyebrows and eyes suddenly became cold, sharp and dangerous, like a colorful and graceful snake with its fangs bared.
He felt that Jinyun was too bold.
Her mother was a rare honest person in the harem and should not have raised such a daughter.
Everyone on the side was trembling with fear, secretly looking at Zhao Xuanxu. Zhao Xuanxu's face was uncertain, and he turned and walked towards the tent of Prince Yan's mansion.
They were only two steps away from the tent when a group of noblemen in splendid attire suddenly emerged from the small, wooden path surrounding the tent. Each one stood tall and straight, longbows in hand, looking like they had sneaked out and returned with a small reward, and they walked in with a lively and cheerful laugh.
Zhao Xuanxu faced them, Gao Shaoshan and his eunuchs standing behind a tent, separated from the path ahead by several rows of man-high wooden fences and colorful silk. The young men passed by, not noticing anyone behind the tent, and were about to leave with a smile.
The young eunuch's heart tightened. Looking at Prince Yan's expression, he wanted to walk out quickly to stop them from paying their respects, but he was suddenly interrupted by Zhao Xuanxu.
Zhao Xuanxu was slightly puzzled: "Why do they all have foxes in their hands?"
fox?
The eunuch and Gao Shaoshan looked over.
This group of young men were surrounded by a number of well-dressed followers. Their backpacks were already full, filled with pheasants, rabbits, and other prey, all of varying sizes. The only thing they had in common was that most of them were carrying foxes: gray, brown, red... all sorts of colors.
The foxes all over the mountains are in trouble today.
The eunuch thought about it and understood immediately: "Reporting to Your Highness, I guess it's because the Spring Forest Banquet is coming soon. As soon as the results of the Spring Examination are announced this year, the gentlemen will look for sons-in-law based on the list, and these young men will also want to meet the talented men. The Spring Forest Banquet is right after the Spring Examination, and the young ladies can also attend with their elders. Many of them hope to get to know the young talents-"
"I say." Zhao Xuanxu said expressionlessly, "Why are they all holding foxes?"
"Well, well..." The eunuch, sweating a little, skipped the unnecessary words. "It's because most girls like foxes. At the Chunlin Banquet, the young masters and young ladies exchanged calligraphy as gifts. Recently, it seems to be trendy to give girls furs and brocades. If a girl and her family are interested, they can send someone to propose marriage and then give them fur and brocade ornaments as a gift on the Qiqiao Festival."
Zhao Xuanxu frowned quickly: "Trouble."
"Yes, yes, it is a bit complicated." The eunuch nodded repeatedly.
The nobility, of course, loved to emulate the elegance of the ancients, and the more elaborate the etiquette, the better. In ancient times, men hunted and women spun, and only diligence, obedience, and harmonious harmony could make a couple. The powerful families of Bianliang, with nothing better to do, pondered for a long time before coming up with this set of rules, and were quite pleased with themselves.
Zhao Xuanxu said nothing more after saying "trouble." He watched the group of unsuspecting young men walk away. He stood behind the tent, his pale, slender hands tucked under his sleeves. He tilted his head and nodded, then suddenly said, "Go get my bow."
A fierce wind swept through the streets. Feathered Guards whipped their horses and hurriedly fetched powerful bows half a man's height from Prince Yan's palace. Prince Yan was about to enter the dense forest to hunt, and the Feathered Guards' black flags with mountain, water, and cloud patterns were lined up in a majestic formation.
Zhao Xuanxu held the bow in one hand and the other, gripping the reins and looping them around his wrist several times. His forearms were strong and powerful, his lines flowing, his fingers slender. He gripped the reins firmly, pulled them to his side, turned his horse, chose a less traveled path, and kicked his horse's belly to drive him into the forest.
Seeing this scene, Gao Shaoshan initially thought that his master was going to kill a few blind bears and take their paws and gallbladders. Unexpectedly, his master kept his head down and just stared at the fox in the bushes.
Zhao Xuanxu sat on his horse, his fingers precariously resting on his bow and arrow. Every little movement that occasionally flashed through the lush grass caught his eye.
He was picky with an expressionless face. This one had too much messy fur and looked ugly; that one was too thin and looked ugly... Zhao Xuanxu's brows slowly frowned, and he was very dissatisfied.
In such a big forest, isn’t there a good-looking fox worthy of Wen Yao?
A fiery red shadow suddenly jumped out from the side.
Zhao Xuanxu's eyebrows twitched, his gaze suddenly falling towards the bushes. There, a long, smooth, fluffy tail swayed, and a plump fox, its fur a shade darker than cinnabar, raised its paws and frantically dug a hole beneath a hidden boulder.
Zhao Xuanxu raised his arrow, slowly tightening his arm around the bowstring. The taut bow, ripped free by his powerful arm strength, became as round as the moon. He aimed the coldly gleaming arrow at the tip of the red fox's tail. Just as he was about to release it, a nervous, stuttering voice suddenly rang out from the side: "Yan, Your Highness!"
Suddenly startled, the fox quickly retracted its claws, nimbly leaped onto a few rocks, and fled into the distance. Zhao Xuanxu remained unmoved, continuing to hold the bow. The tip of the arrow twitched slightly before he suddenly released his fingers.
The sharp arrow pierced the air and the fox wailed. Its brain was pierced by the extremely fierce arrow. The whole fox was flipped over by the force and pierced on the arrow shaft, and its four claws twitched.
A feathered guard quickly stepped forward, pulled out the half-buried arrow shaft, and returned to Zhao Xuanxu, carrying the bloody fox. Prince Yan looked down at the red-haired beast with a critical eye. After a moment, he found it acceptable. He dismounted, personally took the fox, and walked to the nearby stream, extending his hand to Gao Shaoshan.
Gao Shaoshan immediately understood what he meant and pulled out his dagger, handing it over. Zhao Xuanxu took the dagger, skillfully cut open the fox's head, and began to skin it.
The smell of blood and the distinctive scent of foxes spread. A girl in a pink dress, accompanied by two female guards, appeared in the dense forest, but was ignored. She stood there blankly for a long time. Her initial courage suddenly faded, and she dared not speak, her face gradually flushing.
Gao Shaoshan turned around and looked at her, and he felt that the girl looked familiar. He frowned and thought hard, and suddenly realized, "Oh, the girl is General Yin's daughter?"
Yin Yiru suddenly realized what was happening. Her gaze passed over Zhao Xuanxu, who was crouching by the gurgling stream, and landed on his profile. She then clutched the soft object in her sleeve and mustered her courage once more. "It's me. I'm here to see His Royal Highness Prince Yan."
"Miss Yin, if you have anything to say, please feel free to ask." Gao Shaoshan smiled innocently and stood in front of Yin Yiyu, refusing to budge. "The master is busy."
Yin Yiyu gritted her teeth, slightly annoyed, and silently cursed Gao Shaoshan for not understanding the situation. It was a great courage for the young girl to dare to follow him, so how could she say it out loud in front of so many people?
She was the only daughter of a general in the Tiger Guards, one of the Twelve Armies. A military family's only daughter possessed a courage and boldness not often found in other women. Yin Yiru's father, having been blessed with a daughter in his old age, raised her like a precious jewel. He brought her all the way from western Sichuan to Bianliang, loving her with all his heart. Naturally, facing the menacing Feathered Guards and Gao Shaoshan, a member of her father's rank, Yin Yiru showed no fear like other women.
She was not even like others who avoided the notorious and evil Prince Yan... No one knew that Yin Yiru loved Prince Yan, and she had an inexplicable admiration and love for Zhao Xuanxu.
At the time, she was only eleven or twelve years old, living with her father in the military camp in western Sichuan. Her wet nurse would hold her outside playing, and she would often see Zhao Xuanxu coming in surrounded by a group of people. Zhao Xuanxu was handsome and of noble status. More importantly, everyone in the army praised the seventeen or eighteen-year-old Prince Yan for his masterful military tactics, and her father, upon his return, was also full of praise for him.
The young man Mu Ai and Yin Yiru were proud and had high standards, but they gradually developed a liking for the Prince of Yan, whom they had never spoken to before, and their feelings became more and more persistent as time went by.
Yin Yiru knew Zhao Xuanxu had never been interested in any woman. She felt a certain fear of him, but also a greater excitement and a subtle sense of pride. Her father was His Highness's right-hand man, and she was naturally on his side. She had grown up in the military camp, and compared to the other women, she was closest to His Highness, and naturally the most intimate. If His Highness ever needed to choose a concubine, who in the world could be more suitable than Yin Yiru?
She always thought so, and the joy in her heart was like a flower bud about to bloom.
Until recently, she heard that a female swordsman from Jianghu had inexplicably appeared by Prince Yan's side. She didn't know what means she had used to gain the favor of the prince, and she actually became his close guard and was rarely separated from him.
That female swordsman was said to be the best in the world, and she even admitted that she came to Bianliang City to follow His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan because of her admiration for him - to say such shameless words in front of Your Majesty is truly vulgar and shameless!
So what if he was number one in the world? Even a rogue like him was still a scoundrel, so how could he possibly marry into the royal family and become the Princess of Yan? In terms of status, she wouldn't even be qualified to be Teng's concubine. She was different. Her father was a fourth-rank general in the imperial court, with a promising future. She wasn't something some random woman could compare to.
Yin Yiru kept repeating these words to herself for months, and at first, they managed to calm her down. But the longer the time went on, and the more rumors spread about Prince Yan and the female swordsman, the more jealous and anxious she became.
She couldn't enter or leave the barracks freely, and it had been a long time since she'd met His Royal Highness Prince Yan. This spring hunt was the opportunity she'd been waiting for. His Royal Highness hadn't participated in previous years, and she had prayed silently for a long time before finally finding out from her father that His Royal Highness would come to the hunting grounds this year.
As soon as Yin Yiyu arrived at the enclosure, she sent someone to watch outside. When Prince Yan emerged from His Majesty's tent, she immediately sneaked out of the Queen's tent with two maids to meet His Majesty. Yin Yiyu met Zhao Xuanxu and, beside him, the renowned female swordsman.
Her appearance...was not bad, no wonder she was able to win over His Highness. But Yin Yiruo considered herself pretty good-looking too. No matter what, she was going to fight for it today and would never give His Highness up to anyone else.
Yin Yiyu ignored Gao Shaoshan and took out a pair of wristbands hidden in her sleeves. Her heart pounding, she walked towards Zhao Xuanxu in the distance. Her lips trembled slightly, and her tongue tasted sweet. She firmly reached out to Zhao Xuanxu and handed him the wristbands she had been sewing for so long.
The surroundings were silent, save for the rustling of Zhao Xuanxu's water. Gao Shaoshan and the Feathered Guards all wore gloomy expressions. The two maids who had accompanied Yin Yiru were already sweating through their clothes. They watched the dagger in Zhao Xuanxu's hand with nervous vigilance, fearing that the Prince of Yan would suddenly go mad and stab their young lady in the neck.
"Your Highness," Yin Yiyu said, suppressing her excitement, "You need to wear a wrist guard when using a bow. Please accept this, Your Highness."
Zhao Xuanxu pretended not to hear it.
He meticulously cleaned the fox's fur, scooping up clean water to rinse away every speck of blood and flesh. The fox pelt had a fishy odor, and he frowned. Remembering how Wen Yao seemed to like the scent of white butterflies in the pond that day, he decided to take the fox pelt home, pickle it, and then make a pair of wristbands for Yao.
Wristband?
Zhao Xuanxu stood up, his hands wet, clutching a fox pelt. At his feet lay a bloody mass of flesh, blood foaming in the stream. Zhao Xuanxu's expression was deep, and the scene around him was terrifying.
The courage that Yin Yiru had mustered in her heart faded away, and her wrist began to tremble slightly after being raised for so long.
"Did you make this?" Zhao Xuanxu stared at the white wristband on her hand. It was delicately embroidered, with floral patterns dotting the edges, making it look lively and lovely.
The embroidery is very nice. Are all the jewelry that people give to their loved ones like this?
Zhao Xuanxu had never cut clothes, let alone touched an embroidery needle. In short, His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan could kill, skin, massage, and cook, but he couldn't sew a wristband.
Since it was a gift for Ayao, he naturally wanted to give her the best. If his embroidery wasn't as beautiful as those women's, wouldn't Ayao be laughed at if she wore it?
Zhao Xuanxu's gaze stayed on the wristband for too long.
Yin Yiyu initially thought Prince Yan liked her wristband, and she was overwhelmed with joy. But Prince Yan just stared at it, showing no intention of reaching out to take it. Her excitement gradually calmed down, and she realized something was wrong. She looked up to see Zhao Xuanxu's expression.
This was the first time she was so close to His Royal Highness Prince Yan.
Even in his disgrace, His Royal Highness Prince Yan's aura remained undiminished. Yin Yiru blushed, her heart pounding, and she lowered her head once more.
Then Zhao Xuanxu walked straight past Yin Yiyu with the fox skin in his hand.
He put the fox skin into the bamboo basket, jumped on his horse, and whipped off without hesitation.
Yin Yiru looked up suddenly in disbelief.
Before leaving, Gao Shaoshan glanced at Yin Yiyu, who was standing there in a daze, and knew that his master had let her go for the sake of her father.
Otherwise, the master would have thought everyone was trying to sow discord between him and Commander Wen, and he would have been so frightened that he would have killed them along with the two maids beside him and thrown them aside. After all, there was no one else in the wilderness, so he had to be clean. Yin Yiru's father wouldn't have guessed that it was Prince Yan who had killed him.
"Let's go!" Gao Shaoshan waved his arm and jumped on his horse. The Feather Guards' hooves clanged as they hurried away, following their master like a whirlwind.
"Wow." In the distance, on the top of a tall tree, Wen Yao covered Jinyun's mouth with his hand and forced her to swallow her sigh.
Jinyun was dissatisfied and tugged at her clothes. Wen Yao didn't care and waited until Zhao Xuanxu was far away before letting go.
Jinyun covered his mouth and glared at Wen Yao: "What are you doing! You are so bold!"
"Your Highness, please forgive me." Wen Yao: "If you shout that, they must hear it."
"I heard it, I still need to go down and take a look." Jinyun grabbed Wen Yao's sleeve and said, "Did you see it? The Third Prince ignored that woman. He really likes you. With such a good opportunity, why don't you go down and let that woman know who the Third Prince belongs to?"
It is obvious that he is afraid that the world will not be in chaos.
Wen Yao was helpless.
What was she going down there for?
"Shh, shh, Your Highness." Wen Yao raised his hand and put his arm around Jinyun's waist, diverting her attention: "Just now when I came here, I saw a wild beehive. Your Highness, have you ever eaten wild honey? I'll take you to collect some."
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