Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C077 pt2

This was the first time Wushuang had eaten like this, and it was roasted rabbit at that.

But it had to be said, the rabbits roasted by the guards were quite delicious, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The seasonings sprinkled on top were not just salt, but also other spices, making it very tasty. Wushuang ate a whole large rabbit leg, and under Ji Yang's encouragement, she even took two small sips of the wine from his wineskin.

This northwest shaodaozi* was completely different from the fruit wine she had drunk before. It was so spicy that her eyes welled up with tears, but Ji Yang was very happy and laughed heartily.

TN: type of wine

Seeing him happy, Wushuang was not annoyed. However, the guards not far away were all glancing in their direction.

After the meal, they rested for a while. The two sat on a rock, with Ji Yang's cloak spread beneath them, exuding an air of leisure and tranquility.

Not far away, the little mare was still trying to please Black Steed. Black Steed kept turning its head away, but the reddish-brown little mare always managed to get in front of it to bother it.

Wushuang watched with great interest, laughing as she did so.

Ji Yang put an arm around her shoulder, watching with her, but thought in his heart, [In the future, you better not bully her so much!]

Prince Wei had been there the whole time. When he heard that Ji Yang was going to take her riding, he knew that Ji Yang was showing off to him. Prince Wei had always disdained such childish tricks, although he felt somewhat displeased in his heart.

For the better part of the day, he had ignored him, but now he was speaking.

Prince Wei guessed that he must have discovered something yesterday, such as the bowl of sobering soup, the basin of water, and her eyes that would turn red when she cried. At the time, he had overlooked the details, but upon reflection, he understood that these few things must have revealed the clues.

However, he probably only knew that he had bullied her, but not how he had 'bullied' her.

Prince Wei thought for a moment, then said, [She is also this Prince's wife.]

[You should focus on your grand ambitions; what need have you for a wife?]

[Actually, I merely mentioned it to her—the matter of Father Emperor wanting to bestow a secondary consort upon this Prince at yesterday's banquet.]

[No wonder she cried! What need have you for a secondary consort? It's clear Prince Qin harbors ill intentions, deliberately urging Father Emperor. Besides, didn't you refuse?]

[Only you are allowed to embrace soft jade and fragrant warmth, while this Prince is to become a monk?]

Prince Wei was attempting to elicit information from Ji Yang, but was not Ji Yang also attempting to elicit information from him?

Finally, his true colors are revealed!

Ji Yang gave a cold laugh, saying nothing more.

It was Prince Wei, who, upon realizing his slip of the tongue, changed the subject without a trace of emotion.

[They have more than just these backup plans. If they miss this opportunity, it will be difficult for them to find a better place and chance later.]

[You needn't say it.]

[You behaved quite well today, actually managing to restrain yourself from erupting on the spot.]

[I am not a fool. Their intentions are as clear as day. I will not fall into their trap.]

Yet, Prince Wei had truly seen and felt that, had she not stopped him, he would have, even if he hadn't fallen ill, recklessly gone forward to injure Prince Qin and Prince Jin.

It wasn't that fighting back was wrong, after all, it was Prince Qin and Prince Jin who had maliciously provoked the situation first. But sometimes the world is like this: whoever is injured is the weak one, and people always like to sympathize with the weak. Furthermore, Prince Qin and Prince Jin had considerable power behind them, and their respective factions would not let such a good opportunity to attack him pass.

Prince Wei always liked to plan before acting. If it wasn't advantageous, he would never do it. Sometimes, there was no need to be so direct. After finding a way to gain benefits, then retaliate. Why not?

It was a pity that his way of thinking always clashed with 'his'. If he wanted 'him' to act according to his own ideas, he would have to waste a lot of effort and words. He hadn't expected that 'he' could endure this time, which also surprised Prince Wei somewhat.

This time, the credit belonged to Wushuang. Prince Wei also understood why he could be so restrained. Thinking about it, he felt a strange mix of emotions.

[Take her back early. She needs a midday nap every day, and today she has suffered two shocks in a row. She was only forcing herself to stay with you.]

Ji Yang replied after a while, [As if you needed to tell me!]

And then he ignored him.

***

Wushuang, seeing he did not speak, turned her head to look at him, only to find his expression exceedingly strange.

"Your Highness, what is wrong?"

Ji Yang, returning to his senses, said, "It is nothing. Have you rested enough? If you have, we shall return."

Naturally, she had rested enough.

When they returned, they still rode together. This time, Ji Yang did not ride quickly, but rather sometimes fast, sometimes slow, allowing Wushuang to experience the feeling of galloping and strolling on horseback.

Upon returning to Yuxiang Pavilion, Wushuang washed up and went to sleep. She was indeed quite exhausted and slept deeply.

She did not know that after she fell asleep, Ji Yang gazed at her face, sometimes frowning, sometimes lost in thought, and it was unknown what he was pondering.

***

In the Yuhua Hall, Emperor Taihe had also heard of the incident that had occurred earlier.

Seeing Emperor Taihe reveal a cold smile, Feng Xi lowered his head deeply, not daring to utter a single word.

After a long while, Emperor Taihe murmured, "They truly do not give up. Back then, they drove Yu'er mad, and now they won't let Prince Wei go. How truly excellent, excellent indeed."

In truth, Emperor Taihe's words were clearly problematic. Given the ages of Prince Jin and Prince Qin, it was impossible for them to have driven Consort Chen mad. Yet, Emperor Taihe used them as a collective representation.

But even knowing there was a problem, Feng Xi did not dare say a word.

He, the Grand Chamberlain of the Inner Court, was, to put it plainly, only serving by Emperor Taihe's side for twenty years. As for the one before him, he was once incomparably glorious, the ancestor of all the palace chamberlains, yet he fell precisely on this matter. This was a reverse scale that no one could touch in Emperor Taihe's heart.

***

Soon, the day of the first hunt arrived.

The scene that day was extremely grand. Even Emperor Taihe appeared wearing a suit of golden lacquered double-dragon armor, a phoenix-winged helmet, and a precious sword at his waist. The other princes, imperial relatives, and high-ranking officials were naturally no exception.

The proud sons of various families in the capital had long been holding their fine steeds, waiting for the order to mount and depart. Emperor Taihe stood on the high platform at the very front and spoke some words, roughly stating that whoever could take the lead on the first hunt would surely receive a great reward, and the other ten would also receive their own rewards.

Besides the high platform at the very front, there were also high platforms on both sides. On these platforms, large tents were set up with felt carpets. The concubines who had come along this time, as well as the princesses consort of various princes, and the female relatives of various high-ranking officials were all here.

This was an old custom that had been passed down in Great Liang for a long time, and it was also a continuation of ancient rites. The winter hunt was to capture and kill wild beasts, balancing their numbers to prevent them from descending the mountains in the spring and harming people, disrupting the spring plowing. It was also because winter was a time of leisure in the four seasons, making it a good time to train the young men in horsemanship and martial arts. Therefore, of the four seasonal hunts, the winter hunt was the grandest.

It was said that according to ancient rites, each time the men went out hunting in the winter, the women would clean the game upon their return, prepare the meat, and everyone would celebrate the harvest together.

Of course, now they would certainly not have the concubines, princesses consort, and madams clean the game. It was merely a formality, and therefore, Wushuang would have to stay in this tent for the entire day.

Fortunately, the tent had been prepared in advance, and the charcoal fire was burning well, so it did not feel cold.

At this time, because it was before the departure of the various families' sons, and Emperor Taihe was speaking above, the female relatives of the various families could not hide in the tents. They were all standing in front of the tents, watching the scene.

Wushuang saw Prince Wei from afar. He was standing at the very front with more than ten guards dressed in black armor.

In fact, the princes were all at the very front, arranged from left to right according to their seniority. The position where Prince Wei stood was directly facing Emperor Taihe. In addition, this group of people was all dressed in black, which was truly eye-catching in the colorful crowd, attracting countless gazes.

As for why Wushuang guessed it was Prince Wei and not Ji Yang, it was because Prince Wei was wearing the hat she had made today. She had not seen him wearing it before he came out, and she did not know why it was on his head at this moment.

With a low and drawn-out sound of a horn, the men in the field had already scattered, forming countless small teams that sped away.

The female relatives returned to the tents once more.

At this time, Princess Changhe was at the head of the tent, and even Noble Consort Sun could only accompany her below. Counting down, there was Worthy Consort Wu, the mother of Prince Zhao, Virtuous Consort Li, the mother of Prince Han, and Pure Consort Zhou, the mother of the eighth prince. Emperor Taihe's offspring were few, and the older princes were only these six.

Besides these few high-ranking concubines, there were also a few concubines of lower rank, either having given birth to princesses or having sons who were still young. Because their ranks were not high, the lowest rank in this tent was a concubine, and the others were either consorts, princesses consort, or princesses, thus they were lost among the crowd.

The eighth prince's princess consort, whose surname was Wan, had just married into the palace in July of this year. She was delicate and charming. Among the people in this tent, only she and Wushuang had tender faces. The two of them sat below, listening to the people above speak. They exchanged a glance and began to pay attention to each other.

After a short while, Wan Chun'er came to Wushuang's side and called out, "Third Sister-in-law."

"Are you cold?"

In fact, Wushuang had seen it long ago. She saw that she was a delicate and tender little person, whose courage seemed even smaller than her own. She did not speak much. Although she sat below as obediently as she did, she saw her moving her feet from time to time, indicating that she was not wearing enough layers and was cold.

Unlike Wushuang, who had prepared long ago, everyone else was concerned about their appearance and looking good. Only she was wearing mink fur from head to toe. In order not to appear bloated, she had specially chosen short-haired mink, with the fur sewn inside. From the outside, it looked like she was wearing riding attire. Riding attire naturally had to be paired with leather boots, and the boots also had thick wool linings.

She wore a fox fur vest, and on top of that, a fox fur cloak. She held a hand warmer in her arms. She was truly warm from head to toe. Wushuang's palms were even sweating at this moment.

Wan Chun'er did not expect that the Princess Consort of Prince Wei would see that she was cold. She had not come to talk to her because she was cold, but because she saw that the other party kept looking at her, and she thought that she wanted to talk to her, so she took the initiative to come over.

"Your shoes are too thin," Wushuang said, seeing that she did not speak, revealing the truth.

Indeed, these concubines, princesses, and princess consorts, for the sake of appearance, all wear their usual shoes. Even if these shoes are cotton-padded, they wouldn't be too thick. And this ground isn't like the heated floors they're accustomed to. So, one can imagine.

Originally, Wan Chun'er wasn't feeling that cold, but after Wushuang spoke, she actually felt an icy chill from the soles of her feet, which made her feel even colder all over.

"Did you not bring any leather boots for this trip?"

Wan Chun'er shook her head. She didn't ride horses, nor did she even go out, so she had no use for leather boots. She didn't have any.

Wushuang thought for a moment and said, 'I think your feet are about the same size as mine. How about I lend you my leather boots?'

When noble ladies go out, they naturally can't just wear the clothes on their backs. To guard against getting them dirty or wet and needing to change, Linglong had brought another set of clothes for Wushuang when she came out. Of course, it wasn't as thick as what she was wearing, but the boots were the same. When the riding attire was made, two pairs of leather boots were prepared.

Wan Chun'er couldn't refuse, and could only say, "Then, I truly thank Third Sister-in-law."

The two quietly went out, not far, just to the tent nearby where the noble ladies changed clothes. Wan Chun'er changed into her Third Sister-in-law's thick sheepskin boots. Whether it was a psychological effect or something else, she immediately felt warmth all over her body.

"Your clothes aren't thick enough. Cotton clothes alone won't hold off the cold. Although the cloak is warm, it's not snug enough. Put on this mink vest, and you definitely won't be cold."

Wushuang then took out a fur vest for Wan Chun'er. Linglong hesitated, and Wan Chun'er paused for a moment, then had her maidservant help her take off her cloak and put on the vest. After putting it on, she put her cloak back on, and immediately felt even warmer.

"Thank you, Third Sister-in-law."

Wushuang said, "There's no need to thank me. Prince Wei is the Eighth Prince's elder brother. Among those inside, we're the two youngest, and we can't really join in their conversations. It's always better to be on good terms."

In fact, Wushuang wasn't just trying to befriend Wan Chun'er. It was because she knew that in her previous life, the Eighth Prince, also known as Prince Duan, was of Prince Wei's faction.

In her previous life, although her knowledge of court affairs was limited, she knew that among the princes, the previous ones had either died or been deposed. Only Prince Duan stood out, and was greatly valued by Emperor Qianwu. This outcome was not difficult to guess.

Moreover, Pure Consort Zhou was born into the Zhou family of Marquis Huaiyin's mansion, and Prince Wei was also close to Zhou Dang, the shizi of Marquis Huaiyin. Previously, when Prince Wei had just returned to the capital and was sheltering from the rain at a villa, he had borrowed the name of Marquis Huaiyin's family. So, one could imagine their relationship.

The two quietly returned, but what they thought was quiet had long since fallen into the eyes of those with ulterior motives.

The Princess Consort of Jin smiled and said, "Third younger sister-in-law and eighth younger sister-in-law are truly close. It hasn't been long, and they are already so amicable."

With these words, all eyes in the tent turned to them.

Wan Chun'er, timid by nature, couldn't help but move closer to Wushuang upon seeing this scene.

In truth, Wushuang wasn't much braver. Fortunately, she had lived an extra life and had a few more years of experience. In her previous life, as the favored Lady Fengtian, she had garnered much hatred from many.

And Mei Wuxia, while using her, also sought to suppress her. She often summoned her to speak, only to have a room full of concubines waiting there. What kind of sarcastic and barbed words hadn't she heard? If gazes could kill, she estimated she would have died eight hundred times over. This kind of scene wasn't unfamiliar to her. At first, she was afraid, but as she feared, she realized fear was useless. The more you feared, the more they would try to intimidate you. Once you were no longer afraid, they would eventually quiet down.

"Princess Consort Jin has truly sharp eyes. Eighth younger sister-in-law was dressed thinly, and seeing her cold, I lent her one of my garments. We are to stay here for a whole day. If we don't dress warmly and fall ill from the cold, what then? His Majesty is following the old ancestral customs, training the martial arts and physiques of the young men in the capital. If we womenfolk fall ill from the cold while here, and become a hindrance, wouldn't that be most disappointing?"