Chapter 1 Who are they? Xuan and Xi 1. Hunting
"over there!"
“I see—”
"Hush! Silence!"
Although they tried their best to keep their voices down, the noise from the crowd still startled the wild ducks that were resting on the lake. With a whoosh, as the arrow flew off the bow, a series of flapping sounds could be heard on the lake.
Suddenly, it soared into the sky, its wings flapping across the water, leaving only a few ripples. A feather fell from the air, landing on the water surface, and finally, the ripples of the water returned to calm as they spread layer by layer.
"It's you who's at fault again!" A head popped out from the bushes and turned around and said fiercely, "I really don't understand why you have to follow us?"
Before he could finish his yelling, he was hit in the chest with a pink fist. A little girl in a light green straight-hem gown jumped up from the bushes: "Stop talking nonsense! It's obviously you who are clumsy..." When she stood up, she was only slightly taller than the two squatting boys in brocade clothes, but she had an intimidating aura that was fearless.
Seeing that the situation was about to get tense, the guards and eunuchs who were originally lying in the bushes and scattered everywhere quickly gathered around, and some of them begged and pleaded to get him to stop.
I withdrew my gaze, not caring about the children's petty fights like playing with cats and dogs, but was more interested in the child sitting upright next to me.
"Why don't you go hunting with your brothers?"
He turned his head, a look of surprise and amusement flashed across his childish face: "Mom, are you kidding? That counts as hunting?"
I tried hard to suppress my smile, and felt approval in my heart, but I didn't show it on my face.
"Fourth brother! Fourth brother!" Prince Yi ran over from the lake, holding up his skirt. The new clothes he had just put on were now filthy and in disgrace. "Fourth brother - come here! Shoot one for them to see. It's obviously the second and third brothers who are incompetent, but they still blame me..."
The little girl has passed her seventh birthday, but she doesn't look like a princess at all. She is always making noises. She is the eldest daughter of the emperor and should be a role model for women across the country. Unfortunately, she is not even as good as the girls of ordinary families. I feel helpless and a little troubled by her boyish personality. If she had not grown up in the royal family, if she was just an ordinary little girl, I would not restrict her lively and frivolous personality too much. Unfortunately, she is a princess and is destined to be extraordinary.
Just like her name - Liu Yi Wang! She seems to be more suitable to be a boy!
In the past few years, she was still young and ignorant, so she could still make excuses and refuse. But in recent years, she has grown up and still caused trouble. Her moral loss represents the loss of face for the royal family, so her stepmother also began to complain about it.
"It's time to teach the eldest princess proper etiquette and manners." The queen repeated this sentence more than once, but each time the emperor just smiled and glossed over it.
Prince Yi was unfortunate because, as the eldest daughter, she bore more pressure than her younger sisters; but Prince Yi was also lucky because she had not yet been given a title, and even if she was given a title of princess one day, she would only live in the same city as the princes, and after all, she would not be a man.
Only the prince can truly understand what pressure is.
I think no one understands this better than this seemingly innocent but actually smart and precocious boy next to me. Even Liu Fu and Liu Ying, who are two years older than him, are still more focused on how to play around and have fun.
Liu Yang was being held by his sister's dirty little hand, and two blurry handprints were printed on his sleeves. He was a mysophobe and liked to dress himself up solemnly and elegantly, especially in occasions like this. But he only glanced and did not shake off his sister's hand.
King Yi still grabbed his sleeve and tried hard to drag him to the lake.
After being disturbed, the ducks were still circling in the air, and three or four brave ducks dared to rest on the lake surface, but they swam very far away. From my visual estimation, the distance from the shore to the duck landing was at least ten feet away.
Liu Fu and Liu Ying could not wait for Liu Yang, so they stood on the shore and shot arrows, but due to their young age and limited physical strength, they could not reach the target, let alone the accuracy. After trying more than ten times, Liu Fu was still a bit more interesting. One of his arrows almost hit a duck, and the arrowhead pierced the water and scared away the wild duck.
The wild ducks on the lake gathered more and more, but they also swam farther and farther away.
"How stupid!" Liu Yang took in the whole scene and then sneered.
"Go! Go! Fourth brother, help me shoot one!" Prince Yi tried his best to drag him over.
He lowered his head, staring quietly at his sweaty sister, and suddenly said four words in a serious tone: "Mother is here!"
"Ah!" Prince Yi's face changed, and he loosened his hand in fear. He pulled at his hair and then his messy dress with his little hands, "Mother! Mother! Help me take a look, is this okay? Is this okay?"
Liu Yang chuckled. I rolled my eyes at him and pulled the frightened Prince Yi closer to me. “You’ve just learned to restrain yourself. Why were you playing so crazy before?”
I used my fingers to play with her sweat-soaked hair, then waved my hand, and immediately the palace maids and eunuchs came over to help her untie her braids and comb them again. She stopped making trouble and obediently let them fiddle with her hair and put it on.
Seeing how frightened and uneasy she looked, like a mouse seeing a cat, she had completely lost her liveliness and cheerfulness just now. I suddenly felt a sense of reluctance and pity in my heart.
The clever boy rolled his eyes and met mine. He seemed to guess what I was worried about and couldn't help but speak toughly: "I'm not afraid of mother, I'm afraid of her nagging. Every time she nags, it's father who comes to my rescue... But mother, you see, father has gone to the mountains to hunt on horseback and won't be back for a while. What if..."
"Father is back!" Liu Yang suddenly interrupted.
King Yi spat, "You are trying to deceive me again!"
"Really! Father is back!" Liu Yang stared into the distance and pointed with his finger.
The ground was shaking, and I stood up from the couch, brushed my clothes, and gathered my clothes. The horses' hooves rumbled, and soon they were close. The emperor, accompanied by the Yulin Army, was riding his horse towards me.
A smile involuntarily spread across my face, and I slowly walked towards him.
I took two steps forward and then stopped, my palms were a little sticky. The King subconsciously hid behind me, I hugged her and put my hands on her slender shoulders.
Guo Shengtong, who was resting on the jade carriage, got off the carriage and went to meet him with a group of servants. Liu Xiu did not dismount, but stood in the wind, wearing a dark blue dress with dark patterns, standing under the horse, looking up and smiling at her husband. Behind the two of them was a hunting carriage. The crown prince Liu Qiang was young and not yet able to drive a horse, so he went with the carriage on this hunt.
Liu Fu, who was playing by the lake, was so excited when he saw his father and brother return that he threw away his bow and arrow and ran forward. Liu Ying, on the other hand, was standing by the lake, hesitating a little, with an awkward expression, not knowing whether to go forward or backward.
There were many pheasants and wild birds hanging on Liu Qiang's hunting car. Although they were not big prey, for an underage child, it was indeed commendable to have such a harvest. Although he was the crown prince, he was only thirteen years old at heart, and occasionally showed some childishness. I watched from a distance and I didn't know what Liu Xiu said to Guo Shengtong. While talking, he pointed at Liu Qiang. Then Guo Shengtong smiled more and more brilliantly, and Liu Qiang also took off the prey hanging on the hunting car with great satisfaction, jumped off the car and presented it to his mother.
"Fourth brother!" Prince Yi hugged my waist from behind, poked his head out, and asked curiously, "Crown Prince brother is really great, isn't he?"
After asking twice without getting any response, I turned my head and found that Liu Yang was looking straight ahead with his eyes sparkling, and there seemed to be two flames burning in his black pupils.
Such a naked, direct and unconcealed look really made my heart palpitate. I was about to speak out to interrupt his stunned state, but unexpectedly he suddenly stepped over.
At this time, Liu Qiang had just presented the game to his mother and was being dragged to the lake by his brother Liu Fu. Liu Fu gestured to the wild ducks swimming in the center of the lake and muttered a few words from time to time, and Liu Qiang couldn't help laughing.
Liu Ying handed over the bow and arrow in a flattering manner.
Liu Yang suddenly stopped moving forward. Without looking back, he called out to the person behind him in just the right voice: "Prince Yi, come here. I will teach you how to hunt ducks."
"Really?" Prince Yi was bewitched, or maybe she saw that her protector had returned, so she completely forgot about her mother's nagging and ran up excitedly. "I have a bow and arrows, although... a little small, but father said that they can also hurt people."
"Yeah." Liu Yang responded casually, took his sister's hand, and walked towards the lake step by step.
With a whoosh, Liu Qiang's arrow flew off the string, and under everyone's attention, he hit a wild duck that was preening its feathers ten feet away. When the wild duck fell over, it startled another companion beside it.
The onlookers cheered continuously. Liu Fu and Liu Ying clapped their hands in admiration and cheered continuously.
Liu Qiang drew his bow and aimed his arrow again, but this time it was not easy to find the target. The closest wild duck was at least 13 or 14 feet from the shore. He drew his bow and arrow, scanning back and forth several times, but he did not dare to let go and shoot the arrow.
At this time, Liu Yang had pulled his sister to the lakeside. Liu Qiang was concentrating on hunting ducks. Liu Yang did not step forward to greet and disturb him. Instead, he waved and called a eunuch and whispered a few words to him.
I was curious about what he was up to, so I gave up paying attention to Liu Xiu and Guo Shengtong's movements and walked towards the lake with my skirt lifted.
"Be careful not to get your shoes wet." Chen Min pretended to help me, but I waved my hand and told her to be quiet.
She and I sneaked up behind the group of young men like thieves. Liu Qiang and Liu Fu didn't notice my arrival, only Liu Ying saw it and wanted to shout, but I made a gesture to him to keep quiet, and he immediately pursed his lips and lowered his head.
After a while, the eunuch returned, followed by seven or eight eunuchs, each holding a pottery jar in his arms. Liu Yang glanced at them, waved his hand, and then these people immediately dispersed, leaving two standing on the shore, and the rest jumped onto two small boats.
Now, even Liu Qiang couldn't help but put down his bow and arrow out of curiosity and watched what his fourth brother was doing.
The eunuchs rowed the boat to about 20 feet away and stopped, then threw food at the ducks. For a while, the lake was filled with quacking sounds, and the ducks flapped their wings and made a lot of noise in excitement. The boat quietly rowed back, gradually leading a large number of wild ducks to the shore. Finally, the people on the boat stopped to feed them, and the two eunuchs on the shore took over and continued to throw cake crumbs into the air.
While Liu Fu was cheering, Liu Yang smiled and patted King Yi on the shoulder: "Go and get your little bow and arrow!"
"Fourth brother, you've got it!" Liu Qiang punched Liu Yang approvingly, "You're really the smartest one."
As he was speaking, King Liu Yi had already excitedly taken out his bow and arrow. He was only eight years old, so the bow and arrow looked more like a toy for a child to play house with.
Liu Fu said with a smile: "My sister, is that a bow and arrow in your hand? You should go back to the palace and shoot the chickens and ducklings raised by the eunuchs for fun."
Prince Yi glared at him fiercely, puffing up his cheeks and shouting, "How dare you make fun of my bow and arrow? This is made for me by my father himself. Do you have one? Do you have one?" She made a face and stuck out her tongue, saying, "If you have the ability, ask my father to make one for you!"
Liu Fu was not amused and said unconvincedly: "That was just made for you by your father for fun. How can you really hunt animals?"
Things were about to get awkward here, but Liu Yang on the other side nonchalantly stroked the bow and arrow, tested the toughness of the bowstring, and then actually put the arrow on it and pulled the bow.
Although the bow and arrow is small, the momentum is really not to be underestimated. I suddenly realized something and was about to speak out to stop it, but unexpectedly a hand fell on my shoulder, and a low voice said with a smile: "Let him go!"
I didn't look up, my eyes were still fixed on Liu Yang. Sure enough, he loosened his hand, and the arrow made of a thin bamboo pole flew out of the string, whooshed into the neck of a wild duck, and pierced the slender neck straight through.
The hand on his shoulder trembled slightly, and Liu Xiu uttered "Oh" softly, appearing both surprised and excited.
No wonder he was excited. In fact, I was even more excited. Liu Yang was deliberately showing off. He didn't even choose to shoot nearby prey. He shot a duck ten feet away with one arrow.
The flock of ducks that were fighting for food suddenly exploded, some flew away, some ran away, and water splashed on the lake. The sudden commotion made it impossible for others to pay attention to what kind of wild duck the Fourth Prince shot with his sister's toy bow and arrow.
However, I know that Liu Xiu noticed it. Not only Liu Xiu, but also the Crown Prince Liu Qiang beside Liu Yang noticed it. His expression gradually changed from surprise at the beginning to solemn.
This kid... is such a worry-inducing thing!
I sighed helplessly in my heart. It seems that I have to ask Yin Xing to teach my nephew a lesson tomorrow - this kid is too proud of himself and likes to show off too much.
