The hunting team did not return until the afternoon.
Most people gained something. Those who hunted prey were very happy, but those who didn't hunt were ashamed and didn't want to go back. They procrastinated until the evening but still got nothing. When they heard the horn, they had to end the first day of autumn hunting in frustration.
The emperor came back early today. He hunted two long-tailed birds and an adult deer and sent them directly to the kitchen for processing.
The deer will be roasted tonight, and the skin will be peeled off and processed. When we return to the palace, it will be sent to be made into boots.
Qin Lin hunted a hare and a deer.
Li Mu actually hunted a rabbit, and happily took his prey to Li Wan to show off his treasure.
"Sister! Look! This is the rabbit I hunted!"
Li Wan patted his head in support: "Wow, Mu'er is awesome!"
Li Mu hunted his first prey in his life, and it was caught in the autumn hunt. He became very famous and his face turned red with excitement: "It's all thanks to the teacher who taught me well!"
Li Mu added: "The teacher said that if you want to make a pair of rabbit fur gloves, one rabbit will definitely not be enough. I will peel the fur of my rabbit and make gloves for you!"
Li Wan was a little surprised. She originally thought that Qin Lin was angry with her because of the deer.
Li Wan asked: "What about your teacher? Did you give him anything as a gift?"
Li Mu was extremely hungry. He stuffed cakes and drank tea into his mouth while saying, "Later, I'll treat the teacher to roast rabbit meat in the evening."
The custom of autumn hunting is to build a bonfire at night, roast the prey killed during the day, drink wine and eat barbecue.
Cuizhu smiled and said, "The young master is really kind. He gave the fur to the master to make gloves, and gave the meat to the teacher as a gift. He worked hard all day but got nothing in return."
Li Mu asked in confusion: "How come I have nothing? I also want to eat rabbit meat tonight."
Li Wan smiled and said, "Sister Cuizhu is praising you."
Li Mu ate the cakes and said with some pride and gloating, "Sister, Li Tu didn't catch any prey today, and his face turned black with anger! He even said he would teach me a lesson today! But now I have a teacher! I'm not afraid of him!"
Li Wan smiled.
Li Tu is the eldest son of the Li family. He has been spoiled and has an extremely cunning and arrogant temper. Especially towards his half cousin Li Mu, he has looked down on him since he was a child, and orders him around without any brotherly love.
In the past, Li Mu had no backing, so he was naturally suppressed by him. But now the situation is different. Li Mu has a backer, and this backer is the General's Mansion, which even the Li family has to respect.
This afternoon, the Li family sent a few boxes of snacks. Li Wan recognized the old woman. She used to come and deliver messages on behalf of the Li family's first wife. Even in front of Li Wan's mother, her attitude was always arrogant. But now, facing Li Wan, she was smiling and very impolite.
Li Wan's identity is very different now. Although she has not been canonized yet, the news from the palace says that she is just missing a title.
Once Li Wan gains power in the future, the future of the illegitimate branch of the Li family will be limitless. Naturally, we cannot offend him, but instead we must try our best to win him over.
Li Wan politely declined the old woman's invitation to talk to the lady and asked Cuizhu to send the old woman away properly.
She did not touch the boxes of snacks and gave them all to the palace servants.
Li Wan and Li Mu were talking when Xiao Qianzi called her outside the tent and said that the emperor asked her to come in.
…
Li Wan lifted the curtain and went in. The emperor had just finished bathing and changed into a light blue casual suit. He was standing by the table, looking refreshed and stuffing a piece of dessert into his mouth. When he saw Li Wan come in, he just glanced at her, then picked up another piece of dessert and stuffed it into his mouth.
He looked starving.
Li Wan smiled and went over to pour him a cup of tea.
The emperor drank it all in one gulp, and after a pause he said with some pride: "Did you see the prey I hunted? It was such a big deer that I could make you a pair of deerskin boots with some left over. The deer Qin Lin hunted were not as big as mine."
Li Wan smiled and said, "The Emperor is the most powerful."
The emperor said without any modesty: "Of course." Then he asked: "I heard that Li Mu also hunted a rabbit?"
Li Wan pursed her lips and smiled: "Yes, he is extremely happy."
The emperor said: "Well, since you didn't bring shame to me, I will reward you."
Li Wan was surprised and asked, "How can you say he didn't bring shame to the emperor? His teacher is Qin Lin, not the emperor."
The emperor raised his eyebrows and said as a matter of course: "His teacher was chosen by me because I have a keen eye for talent."
Li Wan smiled and said, "Well, the emperor is right."
The emperor asked again: "How is the fawn you saved?"
Li Wan said: "The imperial physician bandaged the wound, and I fed it some fruit and water. Its appetite is pretty good."
The emperor said, "Qin Lin's arrow will probably still make him lame even after he is cured. If you really want to raise one, there are many in the Kyoto Deer Park. You can pick one you like and bring it back to the palace to raise."
Li Wan asked curiously, "Can I keep it in the palace?"
The emperor said, "Of course you can. You can keep her in a piece of land in the main palace when the time comes."
Li Wan was very excited: "Then I will pick another one to keep it company when the time comes!"
The emperor stared at her for two seconds, then suddenly pulled her into his arms, held her face and kissed her mouth, saying a little aggrievedly: "I miss you so much."
This seemed to be the first time they had been apart for so long since they had expressed their feelings to each other. He was not used to it and always subconsciously wanted to see her, but he always saw nothing. He felt so sad.
Li Wan said with a smile: "We have only been apart for half a day."
The emperor corrected him, "More than half a day! A day without seeing each other feels like three autumns. We have been apart for at least two autumns."
Li Wan couldn't help laughing: "How can you calculate it like this?"
The emperor suddenly frowned and looked down at her with some dissatisfaction: "Don't you miss me?"
Li Wan hugged his waist and gave him a kiss: "I thought about it."
The emperor's expression suddenly changed from gloomy to bright. He hugged her tightly, lowered his head, and rubbed her with his tall nose, not hiding his feelings: "I don't want to be separated from you for a moment now."
Li Wan kissed his cheek and then his lips.
The emperor raised his lips, held her face and kissed her, first rubbing his lips against hers, then licking them, and suddenly said, "It's sweet."
Li Wan couldn't help but smile: "I just drank half a bowl of sour plum soup."
The emperor hummed, "Let me try it." Then he pried open her lips, stuck his tongue into her mouth and stirred it around, kissing her for a long time and was reluctant to let her go.
…
"Cao Yu! Is Sister Wan here with your brother?" The Prince of Qi came over with the palace servants and walked towards the tent.
With the lesson learned from the last time, Cao Yu quickly stopped the Prince of Qi who was about to rush in, and said, "Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will inform you." Then he raised his voice to the inside of the tent, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Qi is here."
There was silence for a while before the emperor's voice came: "Let him in."
Cao Yu opened the curtain for the King of Qi, who immediately came in wearing a blue riding suit. He called the Emperor and asked Li Wan impatiently, "Sister Wan, where is the fawn you brought back? I want to see it!" He paused, looked at the Emperor in surprise and said, "Brother, why is your face red?"
Li Wan turned her head to look, and sure enough, she saw that the emperor's handsome face was slightly flushed, and even the corners of his phoenix eyes were crimson.
Seeing that both of them were staring at him, the emperor coughed twice unnaturally: "I just feel a little hot."
The King of Qi naturally had no doubts and immediately turned to look at Li Wan: "Sister Wan, take me to see the deer!"
Li Wan looked at the emperor.
The emperor's body was experiencing some unspeakable changes at this time, so he said, "Go."
Li Wan glanced at him with a mischievous smile, and was glared at by him. Then she took the King of Qi out.
…
By the evening, there were no more people watching the deer.
The little deer was lying on the hay. When it saw Li Wan, it made a small neighing sound and seemed to be struggling to stand up. Li Wan walked over and touched its head twice to calm it down.
The little deer opened its big watery eyes, which made me feel so pitiful.
The King of Qi uttered a small exclamation, then carefully squatted down beside Li Wan, as if afraid of scaring it, and asked in a low voice: "It's so cute. Sister Wan, can I touch it?"
Li Wan nodded: "It's very friendly, you can touch it."
The King of Qi cautiously stretched out his hand and said, "Don't be afraid..." As he spoke, his hand gently fell on the deer's head and carefully touched it.
The little deer seemed to sense the King Qi's tenderness. It raised its head slightly and rubbed its wet nose on the King Qi's hand.
The King of Qi opened his eyes wide at the wet touch, his face full of surprise and excitement, and he couldn't help but break into a happy smile.
King Qi looked at its injured leg and was a little worried: "Sister Wan, will it get better?"
Li Wan nodded: "Yeah, it will be fine."
The King of Qi asked again: "Will Sister Wan take it back to the palace?"
Li Wan smiled and said, "Well, the emperor promised me to keep it."
The King of Qi said happily: "Great! Then I can visit it often in the future!"
Li Wan looked at the innocent look on his face and couldn't help but raise the corner of her mouth.
Just then, Qin Lin walked over here. He wanted to come and see the little deer, but when he saw Li Wan and King Qi were there, he paused.
Just as he was about to leave, Li Wan looked up and saw him.
"Guard Qin!"
Li Wan called him.
The King of Qi also called him: "Brother Qin Lin, are you here to see the deer too?"
Qin Lin put his hands behind his back, hiding the apple in his hand, and said expressionlessly: "I was just passing by."
King Qi said, "Brother Qin Lin, come here quickly! This little deer is so beautiful!"
Qin Lin hesitated for a moment, but still walked over, trying his best to control his eyes not to look at Li Wan. He half-knelt down beside King Qi and looked at the little deer lying on the ground.
The little deer seemed to still remember him, and its eyes showed fear, and it didn't dare to look at him.
"Qin Lin." Li Wan called his name and asked, "Are you angry with me?"
Qin Lin froze for a moment, looked up at her, and said sternly, "No."
Li Wan said sincerely: "I'm sorry, I was soft-hearted at the time and I stole your prey. Please don't be angry with me."
Although Qin Lin has a cold temper, he is not a bad-tempered person.
At that time, he was obviously angry with her.
Li Wan thought that it was probably because he had snatched his first prey, and he felt very guilty about it. Besides, they were still friends, so he had to humbly beg for his forgiveness.
Qin Lin said stiffly: "I don't have it."
He himself didn't know what he was angry about at the time.
Angry that she said she wanted to give him money?
But why was he so angry about this? He himself couldn't figure it out.
Later, when he saw the cautious look on her face, he felt a little uncomfortable.
I just thought of this little deer and wanted to come over to take a look, but I didn’t expect Li Wan and King Qi to be here.
She even apologized to him for his momentary loss of control in the woods.
Qin Lin silently handed the apple in his hand to King Qi and said that he could feed it to the deer.
The King of Qi was surprised and immediately snatched the apple from his hand and wanted to feed it to the deer.
The fawn just sniffed it and didn't eat it.
The King of Qi was suddenly a little disappointed.
Li Wan comforted him, "It ate a lot in the afternoon and can't eat anymore. Come feed it tomorrow." Then he smiled at Qin Lin.
Qin Lin was as cold as ever.
…
The bonfire party in the evening was extremely lively.
It was completely dark.
A bonfire was lit in the open space.
The tables were placed in a circle, surrounding the bonfire in the middle.
The barbecue experts and palace servants were all busy.
The venison and rabbit meat on the grill were cooked to medium rare.
The wind is filled with the aroma of barbecue.
Li Wan was drooling at the aroma.
The King of Qi couldn't help but urge several times, asking how long it would take.
A whole deer leg was roasted until it was sizzling with oil. Two palace servants carried a chopping board and placed it on the table in front of the emperor.
The emperor first glanced at Li Wan. Seeing that Li Wan was looking at him eagerly, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly. Then he skillfully cut a small piece of meat from the sizzling venison with a knife, pinched it with his hand, blew on it, turned around, and put it to the mouth of Li Wan who was kneeling behind him: "Open your mouth."
Li Wan was stunned for a moment. So many eyes were looking at this side, but the emperor acted as if no one was around and put the first bite of meat to her mouth.
Emperor: “Hmm?”
She hesitated, then opened her mouth and moved closer.
The emperor put the small piece of meat into her mouth and warned her, "Be careful, it's hot."
Li Wan took the piece of venison into his mouth and looked at the emperor with his dark eyes. The emperor's phoenix eyes were full of tenderness: "Is it delicious?"
Li Wan felt soft in her heart, she pursed her lips and smiled: "Mm, it smells good."
There were so many pairs of eyes staring at the emperor, and they were all a little surprised when they saw this scene.
The news coming out of the palace was always unclear. Only when I saw it with my own eyes did I realize to what extent the emperor favored Li Wan.
Li Wan is the Queen Mother's person.
Could it be that the Emperor also wanted to ease relations with the Empress Dowager?
Wanpin clenched the cup in her hand, hatred flashing in her eyes.
Song Mingyi, who was far away, was hurt by this scene. He lowered his eyes and drank the wine in the glass.
Mrs. Qin from the general's mansion looked at Qin Lin calmly.
Qin Lin was seen holding the wine glass expressionlessly, his face showing no emotion at all as usual.
She must have overthought it.
Madam Qin looked at Li Wan who was beside the emperor. She was indeed a beautiful woman with a generous and calm demeanor. If she had not entered the palace... she would have been a perfect match for Qin Lin.
This thought only flashed through her mind, and Mrs. Qin suppressed it.
He did not notice the sudden change in Qin Lin's expression.
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