Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C079 pt1

As shen hour approached, more and more people hurried back.

Some rushed back in a flurry, while others strolled leisurely, stopping now and then to hunt a few rabbits or pheasants.

A group of people passed by and noticed that Prince Han's party remained where they were, seemingly not in a hurry to return. A young man in the group wanted to spur his horse forward to speak, but was pulled back by a blue-clad youth, slightly older than him, at his side.

"What are you doing?"

"It's almost shen hour, yet His Highness Prince Han is still lingering here, I…"

"It's not your place to speak so much, let's go." Seeing that his younger brother still seemed somewhat confused, the blue-clad youth added, "If they are not leaving, they must have their reasons. Why are you going to join in the commotion?"

Seeing that his brother was still puzzled, the blue-clad youth urged him to follow, while explaining the routine practices of these princes.

In general, the imperial winter hunt, though meant to select valiant young men from the capital, was almost always a solo performance by the princes on the first day of the hunt.

Who would dare steal the princes' limelight? Those young talents who wished to gain recognition would not choose this time to stand out and be an eyesore. Of course, even if you wanted to stand out, you might not be able to. No matter how inadequate the princes were, they were not comparable to ordinary noble sons.

And since no one knew how much game their opponents had bagged before returning, these princes would always delay a bit before heading back, just to make their opponents return first.

"But even if we know, it's useless. We can't turn back to hunt more game, there isn't enough time."

The young man was probably still young, with a naive and simple heart. His older brother shook his head, both amused and helpless, and said, "Who told you we need to turn back to hunt more game?"

"Then what do you mean, Second Brother?" The young man's expression changed, "It can't be what I'm thinking…"

The blue-clad youth did not speak, urging his horse forward, and his younger brother quickly followed.

"But isn't that deceitful? Wouldn't His Majesty discover it? What if he does?" The young man was surprised and somewhat disappointed, "I even thought Prince Han was exceptionally graceful and incomparably brave, but I didn't expect him to be like this."

"Alright, don't speak such nonsense. These princes are also truly capable. If it were ordinary times, they wouldn't bother with such deceit, it's only when…"

"Only when what?"

The blue-clad youth lowered his voice, "Only when the princes are competing with each other will they do this. Don't speak of this carelessly. I only know of this one time. That time when His Highness Prince Zhao and His Highness Prince Qin were competing, Commandery Prince Dongyang gave some of his game to His Highness Prince Zhao, but Prince Zhao still didn't win that time."

Prince Zhao had married the daughter of Prince Chen, and Commandery Prince Dongyang was the elder brother of Prince Zhao's consort. It was not surprising that a brother-in-law would help his sister's husband.

"In short, when the princes gather together, it is a place of trouble. It's best for those of our background to stay away."

The young man nodded, clearly taking his brother's words to heart.

After walking a while longer, the young man asked again, "Then, Second Brother, who do you think Prince Han is waiting for here?"

"Who knows?"

***

Prince Han was not waiting for anyone this time, he was just waiting for his subordinates to send him a message.

This time, Prince Qin was dealing with Prince Wei, so there was no need for him to interfere.

He only wanted to know if his good elder brothers had returned, and who was in the lead. Even if he didn't take the top spot, he didn't want to be at the bottom.

At this time, the Eighth Prince had not returned either. He and his cousin, Zhou Dang, were also waiting for news, but the news they were waiting for was not for themselves, but for Prince Wei.

"Cousin, do you think Third Brother can win this time? If it were any other time, it would be fine, but Third Brother just returned to the capital this year. If his limelight is overshadowed, he will lose a lot of face."

Losing face here was not the same as losing face at other times. Prince Wei had just returned to the capital and was officially entering the sights of the various families in the capital and the officials in the court. If he truly lost to Prince Qin here, Prince Qin's limelight would be unimaginable. With one rising and the other falling, if Prince Wei suffered a major setback in his first appearance after returning to the capital, it would be a heavy blow to him and his faction.

"Although I have great confidence in your Third Brother, things are hard to predict. I'm not afraid of anything else, but I'm afraid that it's not just Marquis Wuxiang's mansion helping Prince Qin." Zhou Dang stroked his chin and said.

Even if Sun Shixian was a good-for-nothing, he still had many well-connected noble sons as friends in the capital. Since he had also come this time, he must have bagged quite a few prey. Moreover, Prince Qin's faction was not just the Marquis Wuxiang's mansion; it had countless vassals.

Even if Prince Qin's entire faction was removed, what if other princes, not wanting Prince Qin to shine, were secretly helping him from behind?

Needless to say, this was certain. At least Prince Jin was very likely. Prince Jin was not alone either; Princess Consort Jin came from the Marquis Wuding's mansion, and the shizi of Marquis Wuding also had a considerable reputation.

In contrast, Prince Wei had far too few helpers. His foundation was more in the military, in the Northwest. The reason why Zhou Dang was on good terms with Prince Wei was because Zhou Dang had once joined the army in the Northwest and served as a guerrilla general under Prince Wei.

One person fighting a group of people! How could he possibly win!

The Eighth Prince angrily swung his fist, his fair and handsome face filled with anxiety.

Seeing him like this, Zhou Dang found it somewhat amusing. "Alright, don't be so anxious. We're not just waiting here. After we receive news, we'll see how His Highness Prince Wei is doing before making any decisions."

"If only we hadn't sent back those prey we caught earlier," the Eighth Prince said, a hint of shame on his face. "To help me save face, Cousin, you even gave me some of the prey you caught. If only we had left it all for Third Brother."

The more the Eighth Prince looked at the prey behind him, the more he felt it was lacking.

Zhou Dang comforted him, saying, "His Highness Prince Wei is resourceful and decisive. Since he didn't even inform me, he must have already made his plans."

***

At this time, on the open space of the villa, people who had returned from hunting were already counting their prey.

Some were counting, some were tallying, and many people had gathered around.

The prey that these noble and official sons usually disdained had now become treasures. Even a dead rabbit, covered in dust, was not considered dirty or disgusting. If the counting chamberlain miscalculated, they would even bring it over to remind him.

"Lu Jiu'er, don't be so fussy. You're taking a dead rabbit to Chamberlain Hu to count. Is your Marquis Zhongyong's family short of this one wild rabbit?" someone teased.

The boy called 'Lu Jiu'er', who looked to be only thirteen or fourteen years old, with rosy lips and white teeth, said righteously, "Even if it's just a dead rabbit, it's a dead rabbit that I personally hunted. Besides, I didn't just hunt this one rabbit."

An old man dressed as a chamberlain beside him said, "Young Master Lu Jiu is right. You hunted a total of ten rabbits, five pheasants, two badgers, and one fox. That's already quite good among your peers."

Lu Jiu'er became even more smug and said to the boy who was teasing him, "Meng Shi'er, do you dare to compete with me?"

"I won't compete with you. Did you raid a rabbit's nest to catch so many rabbits?"

A group of boys of dancing age laughed and joked.

On the high platform in the distance, Emperor Taihe watched with a smile. Prime Minister Wu beside him said, "Your Majesty is hosting the winter hunt to train the young men of the capital. With these young men, Great Liang will never have to worry about a lack of brave generals in the future."

"Prime Minister, you flatter me. This is an ancestral tradition, and the credit cannot be attributed to me alone. I also don't want to see these fine young men become spoiled and dissolute, only knowing how to fight cocks and race dogs, weakening the prestige of their ancestors."

Naturally, no one else had the right to interrupt when His Majesty and the Prime Minister were speaking. However, after hearing this conversation, some ministers and nobles went home and strictly disciplined their sons.

"Speaking of prestige, these young men are still young, just children laughing and playing. However, General Li's second son, Li Mao, Lord Qian's third son, Qian Wuxian, the He family's seventh son... all are rare talents of valor, possessing the demeanor of their ancestors," Prime Minister Wu said slowly, stroking his beard. 

"And there are also His Highness Prince Qin and His Highness Prince Han. His Highness Prince Qin has won first place for six consecutive years, surpassing everyone else. Last year, His Highness Prince Han's prestige was still fresh in our minds. I wonder which prince will win the opening prize this year."

Emperor Taihe suddenly remembered his sons, whom he had not seen yet, and asked, "What time is it? Have Prince Qin and the others returned?"

Feng Xi, who was standing beside him, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it is only shen hour three quarters now. There are still five quarters until you hour (5-7pm)."

How could Emperor Taihe not know his sons' tricks? He couldn't help but shake his head and say, "It seems I have to wait for them a little longer."

The nobles and ministers beside him also knew what was going on, but they all said flattering and pleasant words, mostly praising the princes. Just then, someone shouted, "His Highness Prince Jin has returned."

Amidst everyone's attention, Prince Jin led his horse towards them.

About five or six meters away from the high platform, Prince Jin dismounted, took a few large steps to the foot of the platform, and bowed to Emperor Taihe, saying, "Father Emperor."

He was wearing a blue round-collared robe, with a white fox fur-lined cloak draped over it, which made his face look like jade. He was refined and cultured, exuding a scholarly aura that made people feel favorable towards him.

A minister praised, 'Prince Jin possesses a fine bearing!'

Another minister asked with a smile, 'I wonder, what are the spoils of His Highness Prince Jin?'

Upon hearing this, Prince Jin revealed a slightly embarrassed expression and said to Emperor Taihe, "Father Emperor, this son is ashamed. I encountered a sable on the road. Seeing its fur was smooth and its color lustrous, I thought it would be excellent to hunt it and make a hat for Father Emperor. Thus, I lingered. Who knew that this sable was so cunning? This son's martial skills are sparse, and I wished to capture it with my own hands to present to Father Emperor. I chased it for half a day before finally catching it. As for other spoils, I am too ashamed to mention them."

"His Highness Prince Jin's filial piety is enough to make up for the lack of spoils. It is said that filial piety lies not in words, but in the heart and in actions. Your Majesty having such a son is truly the envy of us old ministers."

Before Emperor Taihe could speak, the ministers on the side all began to praise him, which was enough to show how much these civil officials valued Prince Jin.

Emperor Taihe laughed and said, "Good, good, Prince Jin shall be rewarded."

At this moment, someone shouted, "His Highness Prince Zhao has returned."

It was a repeat of the scene when Prince Jin returned earlier, but compared to Prince Jin, Prince Zhao was much more low-key. However, his spoils were quite abundant, several times more plentiful than the game that followed behind Prince Jin.

According to custom, ten wild rabbits or pheasants are equivalent to one badger, five badgers are equivalent to one fox, two foxes are equivalent to one sable, five foxes are equivalent to one wolf, and thirty wolves can be exchanged for a tiger. The value of a bear is similar to that of a tiger.

Generally speaking, this was the exchange method. However, there were great fluctuations depending on the size of the prey and whether the fur was intact. The best prey was one hit by an arrow, and it was best if the arrow did not damage the fur, entering through the mouth or eye was considered optimal.

Prince Zhao had hunted quite a few wolves, more than forty in total, but only thirty or so had intact fur. More than ten had many wounds, and their fur was damaged. But no matter what, it was still a pile of prey, and it was quite frightening just piled there.

Not to mention that Prince Zhao's spoils were far more than just these. Among them were two wild deer, three wild boars, and dozens of wild pheasants, rabbits, and badgers. A rough calculation showed that it far exceeded the total of everyone who had returned from the hunt so far.

Thus, there was another chorus of praise for Prince Zhao's might. And seeing that there were less than three quarters of an hour until you hour, why had Prince Qin, Prince Wei, and Prince Han not yet returned?

Just as they were speaking, Prince Han returned.

Prince Han's spoils were roughly equal to Prince Zhao's, but he had hunted fewer wolves than Prince Zhao, though Prince Han had hunted two more deer than Prince Zhao.

It must be known that deer are good things. Deer skin, antlers, venison, and even deer blood are all good things, but since the deer had been dead for half a day, the blood could not be extracted.

Now that Prince Han had also returned, where were Prince Qin and Prince Wei?

Prince Qin, who had already been stopped outside the other courtyard for a while, looked around and waved his hand with great reluctance, saying, "Enter!"

After walking in, Prince Qin once again adopted a triumphant appearance.

Even though Prince Wei had not yet returned, Prince Qin did not think that the other could surpass him, because this time his luck was not bad.

"Is that a tiger?"

"Prince Qin actually hunted a tiger!"

"How many years has it been since a tiger was seen at the winter hunt?"

Outside, there was a chorus of discussion. The ladies of the palace could not go out to look, but the little chamberlains ran extremely fast, relaying one piece of news after another inside.

"The tiger that His Highness Prince Qin hunted is more than two people tall, and several people cannot lift it…"

"Besides the tiger, His Highness Prince Qin also hunted more than twenty wolves…"

"Those wolves were baring their teeth, very frightening…"

The little chamberlain described it vividly. Noble Consort Sun pretended to be frightened while also pretending to be impressed. The smile on her face could not be concealed. This time, there was no doubt that her son would take first place.

A tiger, that is the king of beasts.

Prince Han's Princess Consort suddenly said, "Where is Prince Wei's Princess Consort? Third Brother has not yet returned, is Prince Wei's Princess Consort perhaps worried?"

Wushuang was indeed anxious.

It wasn't that she was worried about losing face; after all, she had been ridiculed for quite some time. She was anxious because Prince Wei had not yet returned, fearing something had happened to him.

Fortunately, everyone was currently discussing Prince Qin. Taking advantage of the opportunity to change her clothes, she slipped out of the tent. Seeing that everyone in the field was gathered around Prince Qin, and no one was paying attention to her, she pondered for a moment and led her people towards the outside of the detached palace.

"Princess Consort, please do not worry. His Highness will be fine," Fusheng said.

"But he hasn't returned yet, and no one has come to send word."

Previously, Wushuang had asked Fusheng to find Mei Wuxia. She had thought the other party would play coy or use it as an opportunity to make demands. Regardless, she had to test her to know her loyalty. Who knew that Mei Wuxia hadn't mentioned anything at all, saying that the words written on the paper were what she had overheard. She had only heard two sentences, which she repeated verbatim, and knew nothing more.

Because of this, Wushuang, even though she knew in her heart that Prince Qin wouldn't make a move at this time, still couldn't help but worry.