Chu Guannan's words made Zheng Taishi's already nervous expression even more awkward. His face twitched stiffly and he was unable to save himself for a moment, not knowing whether to defend himself or admit his mistake.
At this moment, his eldest son stood up and said, "Yes, Dad, Zhiyou fell off his horse today. Although the injury is not serious, the horse is lost. It makes us and the King of Yan lose the desire to hunt."
Zheng Taishi wanted to beat the idiot Zheng Hengyi to death, but now his mind came to his senses and he knelt down quickly, "Your Majesty, it is my incompetence."
"He is quite incompetent. If I remember correctly, the Grand Historian has made many wrong predictions in recent years. He even tried to falsify history books before." Lin Tingwei spoke slowly in a cold voice.
Everyone held their breath.
After Lin Zhimeng's death, the two families became enemies and kept a close eye on each other in the court, trying to find something to hold against the other.
The emperor was also helpless as the two men started arguing again.
The atmosphere was tense, and there was movement at the hunting ground; someone came out.
"Your Majesty, it's Xie Yuening and Shen Qingwu..." The sentry at the hunting ground also quickly ran back and reported loudly.
Everyone squinted their eyes and looked at it from afar.
Just at this moment, Shen Qingwu's horse could not bear the heavy prey and staggered to the ground. The prey slipped off and the horse pretended to be dead and did not move.
Xie Yuening's horse seemed to have realized something and fell to the ground, shaking off the prey that had crushed the horse to death.
Everyone in the stands was shocked. "Is he injured? The horse fell down."
Some people secretly gloated and hoped that they would not be able to get up.
"Go and see what's going on." The emperor was also worried and walked down from the stands directly.
In the distance, Shen Qingwu and Xie Yuening had no choice but to ask the sentry nearby for a carriage.
Not long after, Shen Qingwu and Xie Yuening appeared in everyone's sight with their prey. Behind them, more people came out. The two groups did not ask for a carriage.
When everyone arrived, those who had come down to watch the show were stunned.
There is no need to count the prey of Shen Qingwu, Xie Yuening and the other two this year. Just looking at it, you can tell that it will far exceed the top scorers in previous years.
Just two wild boars with their big fangs exposed were enough to kill the two teams that came out with them in seconds.
What is most amazing is that a red fox is lying on Shen Qingwu's shoulder, with most of its body hidden behind Shen Qingwu. Its furry head and tail are looking around curiously, so soft and cute.
Most of the female relatives' attention was attracted.
"This, this is all what you hunted?" Zheng Hengyi was the first to jump out and question Shen Qingwu.
Although the others didn't say anything, their eyes told the whole story.
Xie Yuening threw down the blood-stained knife and empty quiver, revealing her clothes that were torn by the bear's paws, and repeated what she had said before.
There was an unintentional threat in her movements, as if she would attack anyone from this aristocratic family who dared to question her again.
"So, the beast tide did not happen." Su Zeyan breathed a sigh of relief.
The others also felt relieved.
I couldn't help but blame Zheng Yutong in my heart for being a waste and not being able to deal with Shen Qingwu.
"I didn't expect that Miss Xie is still the best woman in Kyoto City with Kung Fu after so many years." Chu Guannan saw that everyone was obviously dissatisfied but did not dare to question it anymore, so he smiled and applauded.
"Your Majesty, you are so kind." Xie Yuening clasped her fists politely.
"I think the fox on Miss Shen's shoulder is very cute and clever. Would you mind giving it up?" The imperial concubine was really envious of the beautiful red fox without a single strand of hair.
Since we can't ridicule, let's try to please others.
"I also like it very much. Why don't you name a price, Miss Shen?" Chu Guannan seemed to be resentful of the imperial concubine for going against him just now, and spoke in a domineering manner.
"I don't want fox, I want to eat wild boar today." Su Zeyan cheered from the side.
There are already people specifically counting the prey Xie Yuening brought back.
Everyone looked at Shen Qingwu, snorting in their hearts:
So what if he won first place? He had to catch a wild fox to show off. Now, whether he gave it to someone or not, Shen Qingwu would offend the noble today!
The little fox had completely shrunk behind Shen Qingwu, with only the tip of its tail visible in everyone's sight.
"I can also pay for it." The imperial concubine said unwillingly.
"Shen Qingwu, it's an honor for you that the Imperial Concubine takes a fancy to your prey. Don't be ungrateful." Someone looked at Shen Qingwu smugly and warned him.
Shen Qingwu looked at the two people who asked for it, then looked at the emperor and knelt on one knee without hesitation.
"Your Majesty, although this fox is somewhat intelligent, it is still an untamed animal. If it injures anyone, I cannot afford to compensate. Moreover, the fox has already recognized its master. I will neither give it away nor sell it. Please, Your Majesty, make the decision."
The emperor's eyes were deep, and he laughed out loud. He bent down and raised his hand to pull Shen Qingwu up. "Don't worry, with me here, no one can take your things away."
Then he turned around and glared at the Imperial Concubine and Prince Yan, "You two are not allowed to think about it either."
Chu Guannan touched his nose nonchalantly, and then said with great determination, "If you don't want it, then don't. I'll go hunting by myself next year."
"Yes, yes, yes. Next year we will go hunting by ourselves. It is not a gentleman's behavior to kidnap a little girl." Su Zeyan responded subconsciously.
The imperial concubine's face turned black when she heard this.
The queen smiled triumphantly, and for the first time she was truly satisfied with her daughter-in-law Shen Qingwu.
"Qingwu is tired today. Go back and wash up and rest. I will ask someone to call you when the meat is roasted." The queen patted Shen Qingwu's hand affectionately and couldn't help but look at the red fox twice more.
However, Shen Qingwu had no intention of letting Red Fox get close to her. A flicker of dissatisfaction flashed across the queen's eyes, but she quickly concealed it.
…
As the sun set in the west, people in the hunting ground finally came out one after another.
Everyone had been waiting for the prince, and the prince's party finally felt relieved when they saw that the prince was safe.
However, the person who followed the prince brought silence to the entire audience.
The prince and others used makeshift animal skins to carry out several bloody people. Some of the rescued people had wounds of varying degrees on their bodies, and each of them looked as disheveled as if they had just crawled out of the ground.
Some of the women were crying, while others were retching.
"Quick, call the imperial physician!" The emperor almost lost his composure and shouted hurriedly.
Everyone quickly became busy and panicked.
Eight girls from aristocratic families, led by Zheng Yutong, fell into a trap set by trapped animals. Six of them were pierced by sharp iron nails in different parts of their bodies, and their lives were hanging by a thread.
Zheng Yutong was the most seriously injured. When he was carried to the tent, he was breathing out more than breathing in.
"Who can tell me what is going on?!"
As night fell, the emperor was furious.
The bonfire dinner that was originally prepared was forced to be suspended, and no one was able to celebrate.
The guards who went to the hunting ground to check in the early morning were now kneeling outside the tent.
There was still no light in the tent where Shen Qingwu was. She seemed to be sleeping very soundly and was not woken by the noise outside.
But in the shadows, she touched the fox on her lap and asked with a smile, "It's almost your turn to go out. Don't you want to go see your father first?"
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