Autumn Hunting Turmoil
The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is the Double Ninth Festival.
Banners fluttered in the royal hunting grounds of Zhongnan Mountain, three thousand imperial guards in golden armor shone in the sun, and civil and military officials lined up on both sides.
Li Zhi, dressed in a crimson hunting outfit, stood in the center of the hunting platform, holding a golden eagle bow. Wu Meiniang sat beside him, holding Taiping, who was wrapped in a snow-white sable fur coat. The three princes, Crown Prince Hong, Li Xian, and Li Xian, all dressed in silver-gray riding attire, stood in front of the platform.
"Today is the Double Ninth Festival, a grand hunting occasion. All of you are welcome to display your skills," Li Zhi announced with a hearty laugh, his gaze sweeping over the generals, including Cheng Wuting. "The one who wins the hunt will be rewarded with a fine horse from the Western Regions."
The bugle sounded, and a thousand riders charged forward.
Cheng Wuting took the lead, leading the Imperial Guards in a fan-shaped formation as they galloped into the birch forest.
Prince Hong carefully controlled the reins, leading his two younger brothers slowly along the planned route.
Wu Meiniang pulled Taiping closer to her, her gaze always following the banners fluttering in the forest.
Suddenly, Taiping pointed to the sky and saw a formation of geese flying across the azure sky in a V-shape.
Li Zhi understood and took the carved bow offered by the servant.
Just as the bowstring was about to be fully drawn, a loud crash of breaking trees suddenly came from the forest.
"Protect the Emperor!" Cheng Wuting's roar echoed through the valley.
A maddened adult wild boar crashed through the fence, its tusks dripping with saliva, and charged straight at the prince's cavalry!
Wu Zetian suddenly stood up, shoved Taiping into the wet nurse's arms, and her scarlet skirt drew a neat arc on the stage.
Seeing that the wild boar was less than ten feet away from Prince Hong, she snatched the guard's bow and arrows and fired three feathered arrows in quick succession.
The first two arrows pierced the wild boar's eyes with precision, and the third arrow pierced its throat, the white feathers at the end of the arrow still trembling.
The still-shaken Crown Prince Hong was escorted back to the hunting platform by his guards, while Li Xian and Li Xian's mounts, startled, galloped away.
Although eleven-year-old Li Xian tried his best to control the reins, nine-year-old Li Xian was so frightened that he lay on the horse's back and sobbed.
"Prepare the horse!" Wu Meiniang didn't even have time to change her riding clothes before she leaped onto the Qinghai horse that Cheng Wuting had brought.
Her crimson palace dress fluttered in the autumn wind. She bent down and swept past the startled horse, lifting Li Xian with her left hand and placing him in front of her, while her right arm scooped Li Xian behind her.
The two children clung tightly to their mother's clothes as the three rode side by side back to the hunting platform.
Suddenly, cheers erupted from the silent court. Di Renjie stroked his beard and exclaimed, "The Empress is truly a blessing to the nation!"
At the banquet, the hunting palace was brightly lit. Cheng Wuting stepped forward, raising a luminous cup: "Your Majesty, I salute you. Today, your three arrows sealed the victory, a feat no less impressive than Princess Pingyang Zhao's performance back then!"
The military officers raised their cups in response, and praises also came from the ranks of the civil officials.
Wu Zetian calmly finished her wine, then turned to Li Zhi and whispered, "Today's events remind me that the princes' riding and archery lessons should be added as a daily mandatory course."
Li Zhi nodded, took her hand and examined it closely: "The calluses on your hands, Empress, show me more clearly than I do how much you have sacrificed for the children over the years."
Just then, the wet nurse approached, carrying the awakened Taiping. The little princess opened her sleepy eyes and looked at her parents.
Li Zhi took his daughter into his arms, held her small hand, and gently touched the bowstring: "When Taiping comes of age, your father will personally teach you how to shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces."
Taiping giggled as she grasped the bowstring, her clear, childlike voice drifting in the night breeze.
The candlelight in the hunting lodge cast the family's shadows onto the wall painted with hunting scenes, blending with the still-burning campfire outside to create a warm autumn night.
——
[Officials' Night Talk: Special Edition of the Double Ninth Hunting Ceremony]
Cheng Wuting (waving a roasted lamb leg excitedly): "Did you see that! The Empress's three arrows! In my twenty years in the army, I've never seen such precise rapid-fire arrows! The first arrow pierced her eye, the second followed up, and the third sealed her throat—the skill, the courage!"
Di Renjie (slowly pouring wine): "General Cheng, it's not surprising that the Empress, in her desperation to save her son, unleashed such potential. But from today onward, those pedantic scholars who constantly spout 'a hen crowing at dawn' should shut up."
A Hanlin scholar (looking embarrassed): "Lord Di, you are mistaken... It is only right for the Empress to save her son, but to ride a horse and draw a bow in public is ultimately..."
Shangguan Wan'er (interrupting with a light laugh): "Scholar Zhang, have you forgotten the story of Princess Pingyang Zhao? Back when the Women's Army was renowned throughout Guanzhong, your grandfather was still teaching in Taiyuan."
The Minister of Revenue (thoughtfully): "Today's hunting expenses have reminded me of something good—after this incident, the Ministry of War will surely approve any further reports from the Secretariat regarding expenses for cavalry and archery training."
The Vice Minister of Rites (gesturing furtively): "Did you notice that when the Empress lifted the Second and Third Princes onto the horse, she used a double-handed stance? That arm strength..."
The Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices (excitedly taking notes): "I intend to record today's events in the 'New Compilation of Inner Rules,' writing 'The Empress went hunting and bravely rescued the Crown Prince'..."
Cheng Wuting (suddenly slamming his hand on the table): "I've made a decision! Tomorrow, those good-for-nothing boys in my family will practice archery for two extra hours every day!"
Di Renjie (adding quietly): "General Cheng, your son smashed the window frame of the Hongwen Hall just the other day..."
All the military officers (in unison): "Our family's sons and nephews will all begin extra training tomorrow!"
The civil officials (facepalm): "It's over, the Hongwen Academy will be half empty tomorrow..."
A palace guard on duty muttered under his breath, "I heard that Her Majesty the Empress learned her archery skills back in Bingzhou from the former subordinates of Princess Pingyang Zhao?"
Old eunuch (mysteriously): "More than that! Back when Her Majesty was at Ganye Temple, she hunted wild game from the back mountains to improve her meals..."
Under the moonlight, the officials dispersed in twos and threes, their voices drifting through the night mist of Zhongnan Mountain.
At the highest point of the hunting palace, the lights in the emperor and empress's bedroom were still burning until midnight.
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