The hunting grounds are spring-like all year round because of the warm springs, and even in early winter, the grass is still lush and the flowers are abundant.
A gentle breeze, carrying the faint scent of unknown flowers, wafted to Li Qingchen's ears, along with the young lady's clear, melodious voice, bringing an inexplicable sense of comfort. However, the smile on Li Qingchen's lips at this moment was not due to his good mood, but rather to the rudeness of the person opposite him.
"Why would I follow you?"
Seeing the enigmatic smile on his lips, Wei Shuwan felt it was a mockery. Furthermore, after learning how he had fed her the medicine last time, she felt a surge of anger, which she couldn't express—it would be like biting the hand that feeds her—but keeping it bottled up was unbearable, like she'd suffered a silent injustice.
So, not in a good mood, he pressed on, "What is the young prince doing here, and how did he get in?"
Li Qingchen was somewhat puzzled by the question: "Since this is a hunting ground, can't I come here to hunt and relax?"
"But I've already booked this place, so they shouldn't be letting anyone else in. Besides, even if the young prince wants to hunt, he can go to the royal hunting grounds in the South Garden. Why did he come to the North Suburbs?"
Li Qingchen just smiled, but didn't respond to her words at all. Instead, he asked, "Why did you change your way of addressing me? You called me that so naturally just now."
Wei Shuwan was slightly taken aback, but quickly understood what he meant. She had struggled to climb up the mountain, only to bump into him unexpectedly. In her shock, she had blurted out his full name.
He immediately felt uncomfortable: "I...I was just being rude by accident. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
“We’re practically family now, so there’s no need to be so cautious.” After saying this, Li Qingchen turned around and took a few steps inside, standing in front of the vermilion railing and gazing at the desolate mountains and forests in the distance.
Although these words made Wei Shuwan feel a little awkward, they were indeed correct, and she had no reason to be pretentious. She followed Li Qingchen's gaze and looked into the distance. From her position, she couldn't see very far, so she stepped onto the last step, walked to the vermilion railing, and carefully peered into the woods.
Although the astrological platform was quite spacious, it was pentagonal. The best angle to overlook the western mountains and forests was the one where Li Qingchen was standing. Wei Shuwan, wanting a better view, naturally stood side by side with Li Qingchen in front of the vermilion railing.
"What, looking for someone?" Li Qingchen didn't turn to look at her, but asked in a deep voice, his gaze still fixed on the distance.
Wei Shuwan hesitated for a moment, then decided there was no point in hiding it and answered truthfully, "Yes. Today I went hunting with my uncle and Pan Duhu’s daughter, Sister Pan. I accidentally fell off my horse and hurt my ankle, so I had to turn back halfway, but they haven’t returned yet."
Li Qingchen then turned his head to look at Wei Shuwan's feet. No wonder she came up with a wooden cane. He had just assumed she was doing it to save energy.
He glanced at the sun on the horizon again. "The sun will set in less than half an hour, and then the road will be hard to find. Your uncle is not a foolish person; he won't be returning at the exact time."
Wei Shuwan understood this reasoning, but after Li Qingchen's words, she became even more worried, her brows furrowing heavily: "Perhaps they have gotten lost, but I have already ordered the servants who accompanied us to go into the forest to search for them. I hope we can find them soon."
Li Qingchen stared into the distance, his brows growing increasingly heavy, as if swirling with clouds.
"If they are only in the shallows of the forest, it's fine. But if they go deep into the forest, the most terrifying thing is not getting lost, but encountering a bear."
Wei Shuwan's heart skipped a beat. She turned to look at Li Qingchen, her eyes widening in surprise: "Are there really bears in here?!"
“Of course,” Li Qingchen said, looking at her with unwavering certainty.
Wei Shuwan opened her mouth several times before finally repeating guiltily what she had said to Ziqiao and Miaoxiang earlier that day: "Even if there really is a bear, Uncle should be able to beat it, right..."
Li Qingchen didn't answer her. Instead, he raised his right arm and placed it on the vermilion railing in front of him. Behind his back, he slowly rolled up the edge of his sleeve, revealing a scar that was a sliver long. Although the scar didn't look grotesque on his muscular arm, but rather added to his charm, it still shocked Wei Shuwan.
"This is?"
"This was left behind when His Majesty bestowed this hunting ground upon me in the year he did, and I boasted that I would go into the forest to hunt a bear and present it to His Majesty."
"So...did you hunt the bear?"
Li Qingchen shook his head, but his eyes revealed no emotion, neither regret nor embarrassment.
Wei Shuwan examined the scar closely. It wasn't very deep. Suddenly, she remembered that he was surrounded by talented people. Zi Qiao had said that the doctor who prescribed the medicine for her this time was a remarkable physician named Lu. So she asked curiously, "Then why didn't you ask that physician Lu by your side to remove this scar?"
Li Qingchen chuckled softly, rolled down his sleeve, and said in a calm tone as if it were none of his business, "This is the result of Lu Beixing using all his strength. The wound was so deep that the bone was visible. Fortunately, it didn't hit any vital organs."
Only then did fear gradually appear in Wei Shuwan's eyes. She deeply realized how terrifying a bear could be. She had personally witnessed how strong Li Qingchen's martial arts were, and he was definitely no less skilled than her uncle. Moreover, her uncle was a military general whose martial arts relied mainly on brute force, while Li Qingchen relied mainly on lightness and skill. Logically speaking, he should be more adept at escaping from the jaws of a tiger.
Even Li Qingchen narrowly escaped death and still failed to hunt the bear, so wouldn't it be even more dangerous for Uncle?
"Then my uncle..." At this moment, Wei Shuwan was extremely regretful for her stupid idea. In order to bring her uncle and Madam Pan together, was she going to risk their lives?
"The most urgent task is to send more people to search the forest," Li Qingchen said calmly.
Wei Shuwan frowned: "But the Wei family only brought about twenty servants, and they have all been sent out."
Li Qingchen didn't speak again, but took out a pill-like object from his sleeve and threw it into the air. In an instant, the pill exploded in mid-air with a loud bang.
This signal is far superior to what Wei Shuwan usually uses; it can display brilliant colors even in broad daylight.
Before long, Yuan Que appeared on the astrological platform. "Young Prince, what are your orders?"
"Take everyone into the forest to look for people."
Who is it?
"Sun Xingjian".
After receiving the order, Yuan Que disappeared from the astrological platform in an instant. Wei Shuwan couldn't even see clearly how he left with her naked eyes. A moment after he left, she suddenly seemed to come to her senses and turned to thank Li Qingchen: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Li Qingchen glanced at her and said, "As I just said, since we're almost family, there's no need to be so formal. Besides, this smoke pill can also be used to gather your subordinates and give your uncle directions. If he's just lost, he can find the exit in this direction."
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