On this day, the young masters of noble families who followed closely behind him had the honor of seeing the Crown Prince, who was always gentle and noble, turn pale and blue in his face, looking extremely ugly.
“I’m so sorry, Your Highness the Crown Prince.” Shen Qingzhuo raised his hand to cover his lips and said apologetically, “The minister has horse sickness.”
The implication is that even if I really vomited on you, it was your own fault.
“You…” Xiao Yichen was so angry that he was speechless. Seeing more and more people arriving at the outskirts of the hunting grounds, he could only leave with a dark face.
At this time, Pei Yanqi jumped off his horse, walked in front of Young Master Shen, and asked with concern, “Are you alright?”
Xiao Shen immediately embraced his master vigilantly, with a strong sense of rejection in his eyes.
Shen Qingzhuo patted his hand gently and politely smiled at Junior Preceptor Pei: “Thanks, Junior Preceptor, for your concern. It’s nothing serious.”
Pei Yanqi glanced at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s angry back, and after careful consideration, he reminded him cryptically: “Third Young Master, His Highness the Crown Prince is a nostalgic person.”
“Clothes are better when new, and people are better when old1It means new clothes are always better, but for people, old friends are always better than new ones..” Shen Qingzhuo replied calmly, “Qingzhuo is the same.”
Pei Yanqi said no more. After bowing and bidding farewell, he quickly caught up with His Highness the Crown Prince.
“Master.” Xiao Shen turned around and used his body to block his master’s sight. “The person has already gone far away.”
Shen Qingzhuo flicked his forehead with his finger. “Your hostility towards Junior Preceptor Pei is too obvious.”
Xiao Shen subconsciously retorted, “I didn’t!”
Shen Qingzhuo chuckled: “Your mouth is pouting so hard that you can hang a bottle of oil on it, and you still say no?”
Xiao Shen’s eyes drooped, and he lowered his voice and replied, “He once asked you to abandon me.”
Shen Qingzhuo recalled the day a few years ago when Junior Preceptor Pei went to Jiyue Pavilion specifically to persuade him to withdraw in time but was accidentally caught by his little disciple.
He raised his eyebrows slightly: “You hold a grudge so much ah, then do you hold a grudge against Master?”
After all, before he came here, the original owner had been tormenting him for several months. According to his little disciple’s vengeful nature…
“Why do you have to compare like this?” The handsome eyebrows frowned. Xiao Shen raised his voice angrily, “Others are others, and Master is Master. There is no comparison!”
“Alright, alright, it’s Master’s fault.” Shen Qingzhuo was afraid of attracting onlookers, so he simply pretended to be weak: “Aiya, I still feel dizzy.”
The youth was fooled, and he held him nervously and asked tentatively, “How about I carry Master in?”
Shen Qingzhuo: “That’s not necessary.”
The hunt lasted for three days. After arriving at the hunting ground, everyone checked into the pre-arranged tents to rest and wait for the hunting competition the next day.
The imperial family of Dayong always attached great importance to the art of riding and archery, and the spring hunting has always been an important channel for the emperor to examine whether the princes and imperial grandchildren are qualified or not.
At the same time, the emperor would also assess the abilities of military officers and soldiers through their hunting performance, and promotion or demotion depended on the whim of Emperor Guangxi.
Therefore, all those who participated in the hunt put all their efforts into it, ready to show their abilities in front of Emperor Guangxi.
The next morning, before dawn, those who participated in the hunting walked out of the tents. With Emperor Guangxi as the center, they spread out the encirclement from both wings, and the battle to chase the wild beasts officially began.
During the autumn hunting last year, the Third Prince narrowly defeated the Crown Prince with a snow-white fox and won the first prize.
This year, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince actively participated in the hunting from the beginning, vowing to regain the first place.
The young masters of noble families and the soldiers from the three camps followed the Crown Prince’s horse closely. Every time the Crown Prince shot a wild beast, there was a burst of cheers. Then the special guards would send the animals he had shot back to the main camp for display.
Xiao Shen rode his horse in the woods freely. He stopped, aimed at a little rabbit, drew his bow, and shot an arrow, looking very confident.
However, the arrow missed, and the little rabbit was frightened and quickly ran into the bushes.
“Hahahaha!” There was a burst of laughter from all around. The Fifth Prince, Xiao Jingrui, laughed so hard that he fell back and forth, “Seventh Brother, what a great archery skill ah!”
Xiao Shen glanced at him but didn’t get angry. He rode his horse to the other side without saying a word.
Before leaving today, his master specifically warned him not to act bravely for a moment, which simply meant that he should continue to act cowardly.
This is his strong point.
After most of the day had passed, the princes and nobles returned to the main camp one after another. Some had a rich harvest, while others brought a few melons and jujube, which they placed all in front of Emperor Guangxi.
Emperor Guangxi, wearing a cloak, counted the number of prey the Crown Prince had caught, nodded with satisfaction, and suddenly asked, “Where is the Seventh Prince?”
“Emperor Father, I’m here.” Xiao Shen squeezed in from a corner with great effort.
“Cough, cough.” Emperor Guangxi coughed, “How many animals did you hunt today?”
“In reply to Emperor Father, Erchen hunted a bird.” Xiao Shen stretched out his hands behind his back, and in his palms lay a dead bird.
“Pfft” the onlookers couldn’t help but laugh.
Emperor Guangxi shook his head in disappointment and said, “Never mind. This is your first time participating in the hunt, so your lack of experience is understandable. Learn from your Crown Prince Brother tomorrow.”
Xiao Yichen sneered in his heart but replied in a gentle voice, “Don’t worry, Emperor Father. Erchen will seriously teach Seventh Brother the hunting technique tomorrow.”
The ingredients for the dinner were the wild animals hunted during the day. Fine wine was poured, bonfires were lit, and fragrant venison soup was stewed in a large pot. Emperor Guangxi personally cut the venison and rewarded it to the princes and ministers who had shown bravery in today’s hunting.
Shen Qingzhuo sat in his seat, seemingly concentrating on the food in front of him, but in fact he was secretly paying attention to Concubine Yuan’s movements.
The original book did not describe the assassination in detail, but he guessed that the Empress, who was recuperating in the palace, should be the mastermind behind it.
However, after his deliberate provocation, the Crown Prince is very likely to take action in advance, and the spring hunt is the best time.
But in the past two days, Concubine Yuan and Emperor Guangxi have been inseparable, and the Jinyiwei have been guarding Emperor Guangxi’s side closely. If the assassin wants to take action, they can only wait until Concubine Yuan is alone.
Not long after, Concubine Yuan whispered a few words into Emperor Guangxi’s ear, then stood up and left.
Two armed Jinyiwei escorted her back to the imperial camp not far away, one on the left and one on the right.
Shen Qingzhuo left the banquet calmly, retreated to the periphery, and walked straight to Xue Shihang, the commander of the Jinyiwei, and called out, “Lord Xue.”
“Young Master Shen?” Xue Shihang was drinking and eating meat with his brothers in the Jinyiwei group. He was startled when he heard a clear and pleasant voice. “Why is Third Young Master not at the banquet and coming here?”
Shen Qingzhuo smiled slightly and said, “Lord Xue, can we have a word?”
Xue Shihang hesitated for a moment, put down the wine jar, and stood up. “I wonder if Third Young Master has any advice for me?”
Shen Qingzhuo led him to the direction where Concubine Yuan left and said with a low laugh, “Lord Xue, how was the battle today?”
Xue Shihang is the younger brother of Minister Xue, that is, the Minister of Revenue, Xue Yan, whom Shen Qingzhuo casually helped in the imperial study.
“Hai!” Upon hearing this, Xue Shihang’s face immediately showed an irritable expression: “Don’t mention it, this year’s hunting is Sanda Battalion’s turn to organize, and the Jinyiwei have been arranged to patrol the imperial camp in shifts, so there is no chance to enter the hunting grounds at all!”
“So it’s like that.” Shen Qingzhuo chuckled and said, “But this may not be a bad thing. After all, the Jinyiwei is responsible for His Majesty’s safety.”
Xue Shihang sneered: “His Majesty is in the center of the hunting ground during the day, how can it be our turn to protect?”
“Speaking of which.” Shen Qingzhuo paused. “I just saw that Concubine Yuan returned to the Imperial Camp first. There were only two Jinyiwei with her. Is it safe?”
This place is close to the imperial camp. Only a team of Jinyiwei are patrolling. All of the imperial guards and the Jinyiwei are gathered around Emperor Guangxi.
Xue Shihang also stopped and asked in confusion, “The Jinyiwei are not far away, why is it unsafe?”
“Lord Xue.” Shen Qingzhuo lowered his voice. “Concubine Yuan’s safety is very important. If Niangniang is pregnant with a little prince…”
Xue Shihang asked blankly, “What does Third Young Master mean?”
Shen Qingzhuo stared at the imperial camp and replied softly, “What I mean is that it is much more important for Lord Xue to protect Concubine Yuan than to kill a few wild animals in the hunting ground.”
Xue Shihang sobered up a little at once, and his right hand subconsciously reached for the Xiuchun Sword2Embroidered Spring Sword. (Not sure if I’ve used Embroidered Spring Sword before or not, i don’t remember :3 I’ll used the pinyin from now on anw) on his waist.
At this moment, there was a rustling sound on the grasses, as if something was moving along them.
The next moment, several dark shadows appeared outside the imperial camp like ghosts, silently wiping the several patrolling Jinyiwei guards in the neck.
At this point, Xue Shihang’s drunkenness completely disappeared, and he immediately released the Jinyiwei’s special cloud-piercing arrow signal.
At the same time, the sharp blade of the Xiuchun Sword was unsheathed, and he flew forward to fight with the assassin.
However, it was not easy for Xue Shihang to fight one against five. One of the assassins took the opportunity to sneak into the imperial camp. Shen Qingzhuo did not have time to think and quickly followed him in.
“Someone come! Someone come ah, help me!” Concubine Yuan was covering her stomach and screaming as she dodged, but the assassin had a clear purpose, and the sword went straight to her abdomen.
“Bold assassin!” Shen Qingzhuo shouted, “Do you know who you are assassinating?”
The assassin paused slightly, glanced at him with his exposed eyes, and continued to stab at Concubine Yuan with his sword.
In a flash, Shen Qingzhuo’s body moved faster than his brain thought, and he flew over to block Concubine Yuan from falling to the ground.
With a “swish”, the sharp sword pierced into his arm, paused for a moment, and then pulled out with another “swish.”
“Third Young Master!” Xue Shihang, who had just dealt with four assassins, rushed in. Without saying a word, he fiercely slashed at the black-clad assassins with his sharp, Xiuchun sword.
The sharp clanging sound of the swords clashing pierced his eardrums. Shen Qingzhuo endured the severe pain in his right arm and shouted loudly, “Leave him alive!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Shihang slashed the assassin’s calf with the sword.
Shen Qingzhuo turned around and said sternly, “Remove his jaw!”
In a flash, Xue Shihang cut the assassin’s jaw off with lightning speed, preventing him from biting his tongue or swallowing pills to commit suicide.
At this time, the Jinyiwei who arrived surrounded the imperial camp. Emperor Guangxi opened the tent, strode in, and called out anxiously, “Beloved concubine! Beloved concubine, where are you?”
“Your Majesty!” Concubine Yuan was terrified, her hair disheveled, and she collapsed on the ground. A pool of blood was spreading out from under her elaborate and gorgeous palace skirt. “Save the child, save it quickly, save my child, Your Majesty!”
“Imperial Physician! Imperial Physician Xuan. Cough, cough, cough!” Emperor Guangxi was so angry that he coughed loudly. The eunuch beside him hurriedly supported him.
There was chaos in the tent. Shen Qingzhuo quietly retreated to the door, pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve, lowered his head, bit it with his teeth, and tied it around his arm.
“Master!” Just as he tied the handkerchief, a hoarse and split voice exploded in his ears like thunder.
Shen Qingzhuo subconsciously raised his eyes and bumped into a pair of red eyes.
The bright red blood flowed down his arm, reflected in the youth’s clear eyes, instantly dyeing his obsidian pupils scarlet.
After a brief pause, the youth rushed towards him like a sharp arrow but suddenly stopped a few steps away from him.
Shen Qingzhuo’s face was as white as snow, and his lips were pale, but he still smiled at his little disciple: “Master is fine.”
With a muffled “dong”, Xiao Shen’s legs softened, and he kneeled straight in front of him.
Shen Qingzhuo was startled to see the youth’s eyes turning red at a speed visible to the naked eye. Then, large, round tears fell from his eyes, like a string of pearls that had broken off the string, and hit the ground.
No matter if it was the little wolf cub he first met three years ago or the high-spirited youth three years later, he would act like a spoiled child and pretend to be pitiful to gain sympathy, but he had never shed tears so heartbrokenly.
The joke stuck in his throat. Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t help but sigh, leaned over and touched the back of the youth’s head, and coaxed softly, “Be good, Master is fine.”
Xiao Shen raised his trembling hands little by little and suddenly hugged him tightly.
He used so much force that it seems if he let go, he would lose the whole world.
“Shen Qingzhuo, I really…” The youth choked in his arms and couldn’t speak a word. “I can’t live without you.”
The author has something to say:
Shen Qingzhuo: Don’t be disrespected, call Master.
The Little Wolf Cub: Master, don’t worry. I have many more nice nicknames. I will call them to you one by one later…
