Chapter 3: Risking Death and Surviving 6. Flying Feathers
The hunting date was set, and the safety of the hunting grounds and many other details were taken care of. When everything was ready, it was already the end of the Xu hour. In order to have enough energy for tomorrow, the quality of sleep tonight was also very important. However, I was still worried, and I tossed and turned in bed but couldn't fall asleep.
Liu Xiu was troubled by me, so naturally he couldn't get any shut-eye or rest.
"Xiu'er, tell me a story."
"Tell a story?" He turned sideways and faced me. I couldn't see his face in the dark, but I could feel his burning gaze fixed on me. "It really looks like Heng'er. Can't you sleep?"
"Um."
"What do you want to hear?" The gentle voice was so heartwarming no matter how I listened to it.
I hugged him tightly: "You can say anything. Listening to your voice makes me feel at ease..."
Then, the deep voice paused, and suddenly sang in my ear. It was soothing and beautiful, like a lullaby: "I went to the East Mountain, and I never came back. I came from the East, and the rain was misty. I said I was going home, but my heart was sad. I made clothes for him, and he didn't want to walk. The insects were insects, and they were in the mulberry fields. He stayed alone, and he was also under the car.
"I went to the East Mountain, and did not return. I came from the East, and it was drizzling. The fruits were scattered all over the house. The majesty of the deer was in the room, and the insects were at the door. The streets and deer farms were shining brightly as I walked at night. I should not be afraid of her, and I can cherish her.
"I went to the East Mountain, and never came back. I came from the East, and it was misty with a drizzle. The stork was calling on the ridge, and the woman was sighing in the house. I swept the tent, and my journey arrived. There was a bitter melon, cooked on chestnut wood. It has been three years since I last saw you.
"I went to the East Mountain, and I did not return. I came from the East, and it was misty with a drizzle. The oriole was flying, and its feathers were shining. The daughter was married, and her horse was magnificent. I tied her silk cord with my own hands, and it was a ninety-year ceremony. The new one was very good, but what about the old one?"
This was the first time I heard Liu Xiu sing, and I didn't expect his voice to be so gentle. I closed my eyes involuntarily and immersed myself in the ups and downs of his voice.
Liu Xiu patted my back gently, just like he usually did when he coaxed Liu Heng to sleep, and sang softly over and over again. I was drowsy and sleepy, but I couldn't bear to part with this dreamy voice. I struggled in my heart and refused to fall asleep. I mumbled vaguely, "It sounds good...but I don't quite understand the lyrics..."
The singing stopped abruptly. I opened my eyes suddenly and asked dazedly, "What happened?"
He immediately laughed and continued to coax me to sleep, tapping his hands softly: "Nothing. Close your eyes and go to sleep."
The superior and deep singing voice continued to ring out, lingering in my ears. My eyelids drooped, and finally I fell into a deep sleep with my whole body relaxed.
I raised my arm and let the kite fly. Its wings whistled through the sky and soared into the sky. I gently squeezed the horse's belly and whispered, "Don't use too much force. I'll take care of everything!"
I sneered at the back of my head. Liu Xiu put his arm around my waist, put his chin on my shoulder, and said lazily: "Do I look like a tyrant?"
He took his concubine with him on hunting trips, and the two of them rode together, being affectionate and close to each other in front of the prince and servants. Although it was a bit "foolish" in terms of appearance, it was better than him running out of energy and falling off the horse.
"Hunting is a luxury and a pastime, not worth promoting." I didn't dare to spur my horse too fast. Not far away, the princes were riding their horses with their servants, hunting dogs, and hawks, and their figures quickly disappeared into the jungle of the garden.
To be on the safe side, I placed ten cavalry soldiers next to Liu Yang and Liu Cang respectively to protect them secretly, and I also placed fifty or sixty guards around Liu Xiu, both openly and secretly.
"Since we're out here, we have to act decently, right?" I fiddled with the crossbow in my hand and ordered Dai Ang to take a dozen people to the forest to chase the prey. "If we return empty-handed, won't we be laughed at?"
Since it is impossible to really ride a horse to hunt wild animals, then try to make the prey "actively" hit the crossbow. Although, this opportunistic method is not very glorious.
I put the arrow into the crossbow, just pulled the crossbow string, and tried to aim at an open place, when suddenly a strong wind blew, followed by a deafening tiger roar from the forest. The horse under me was frightened, and it ran away without thinking, almost throwing us off the horse. Fortunately, Shanan saw the opportunity quickly, grabbed the bridle, and tried her best to rein in the reins.
"What's going on?" I said angrily, my face changed drastically, "I asked them to drive some deer, foxes and rabbits here, but why did they attract tigers instead?"
Dai Ang also looked terrified, but luckily he had served the emperor for many years and was considered an experienced old man in the palace. At this time, he could still remain calm and shouted loudly to send the eunuchs to see what was going on.
Before the words were finished, the roar of tigers came one after another, getting closer and closer. With a whoosh, the bushes in the jungle parted, and a tiger with hanging eyes rushed out from the forest, roaring, with all four limbs flying, looking very angry.
The tiger was obviously being chased by someone. It was not only frightened but also injured. There was an arrow feather stuck in its back, which kept shaking as it ran.
The horse was startled again. This time, Liu Xiu grabbed the reins from behind and clamped his legs tightly around the horse's belly. The horse neighed and neighed, but it didn't panic. A large number of cavalrymen gathered around after hearing the noise. The tiger was still a certain distance away from us. As it pounced out of the jungle, the hunters chasing behind it also emerged.
There were seventeen or eighteen of them in total. I squinted and saw that the leader was the Crown Prince Liu Qiang. The sound of horse hooves rang out again, and Liu Yang and his men chased out of the forest.
The garden was empty, and the tiger had nowhere to hide, so it could only roar and run around the garden. At this time, Liu Fu, Liu Ying and others also arrived with their men.
Seeing this, the Tuqi army dispersed slightly. Liu Xiu smiled and said, "Let the children play. There is no need to steal their credit."
I sneered: "Why do you think I want to go tiger hunting?"
Liu Xiu reined in his horse and bypassed the tiger hunting ground, intending to find another hunting ground. I don't know why, but I always felt uneasy in my heart, and I looked back unconsciously again and again. The tiger was already at the end of its strength, and was fighting like a trapped beast. But judging from the situation, it must not last much longer.
"Don't look at it anymore. If you feel like itching to do so, I'll accompany you to Shanglin Garden in Chang'an some other day to have fun."
I chuckled secretly, Liu Xiu really understood my thoughts. Before I finished laughing, a flash of inspiration flashed through my mind, and I froze suddenly, grabbed his arm, and turned my head nervously: "Zhang Ling... Where did the tiger come from?"
In preparation for this "show" tour, I had already conducted a thorough , and there was absolutely no way I would allow such a huge beast to roam around freely here.
This sentence completely shattered Liu Xiu's smile. We both looked at each other. After a moment, Liu Xiu pulled the reins and turned his horse around.
My heart couldn't help but tremble. If there was an unspeakable conspiracy behind this hunt, then... what kind of outcome would this mean?
Tigers roared, horses neighed, people shouted, everything happened in an instant. I watched helplessly as someone fell off his horse, and then the hunting crowd gathered and dispersed like a hornet's nest that suddenly exploded, and feathers and arrows flew like locusts.
The tiger was shot dead in an instant, but I had good eyesight and had already seen that the man who fell off the horse was none other than Liu Yang. I was so anxious that I wanted to spur my horse forward to check, but after running a few steps, I suddenly heard a sound of breaking through the air and a flying feather came towards me like a meteor chasing the moon.
"Be careful!" Liu Xiu held my head with his big hand, forcing me to lower my body.
The arrow whizzed by me, but I jumped up unscathed and screamed, "Xiu'er!"
"I'm fine!" He held my hot hand firmly, "Don't panic."
The arrow didn't hit either of us, but it still had force and hit the group of servants behind us. For a moment, we couldn't figure out who was hit, but the noise was so frustrating.
I subconsciously tracked the arrow's trajectory and found that it was coming from a hunting team that was hunting tigers. I had no idea who shot the arrow and it missed the target and flew here, whether it was intentional or unintentional...
I jumped off the horse, and then Dai Ang and I helped Liu Xiu off the horse. Shannan was very efficient, and without waiting for my instructions, he had already come back to report the latest situation to me.
"Dong Hai Gong is fine. When he fell off the horse, Chen Min, the little girl, desperately cushioned him."
Chen Min's sincerity in protecting his master finally put my heart at ease. Later, Liu Xiu also received a report that during the hunting, the horse of the Duke of Donghai was frightened and stumbled. The Duke of Donghai abandoned the horse in time, and the attendant beside him bravely protected his master and was injured in the arm by the horse's hoof.
Liu Xiu praised him a few times. There was no way to investigate this matter, so we could only treat it as an ordinary small accident. When I was about to ask Dai Ang to clean up the mess and prepare to evacuate, Shan Nan suddenly squeezed next to me and said solemnly: "Mr. Cheng is injured!"
"What?" I was shocked.
"He was shot by arrows and can no longer speak. He has been unconscious. He is old and his blood vessels are damaged. I am afraid..."
I was immediately confused, and my head was getting bigger and bigger. I wished I had three heads and six arms to take care of everyone. I finally helped Liu Xiu leave the garden. I didn't have time to find Liu Yang to ask the reason, so I hurried to visit the injured Cheng Yu.
As Shanan described, the arrow that missed me and Liu Xiu actually hit Cheng Yu, who was accompanying us at the time. This old man, who was over 70 years old, had superb medical skills, but he really lived up to the saying that a doctor cannot treat himself.
"How long has he been unconscious like this? Has the bleeding stopped?" I asked the doctor angrily.
The imperial physician panicked and said, "The arrow is lodged beside the heart. I dare not remove it without authorization."
For imperial physicians, it is their duty to provide good treatment, but failing to do so will result in the death penalty. Therefore, despite being extremely cautious, they often hesitate and delay the best time for treatment.
Seeing Cheng Yu lying on the bed, breathing out more than breathing in, I was shocked and angry, and couldn't help but burst into tears.
"You don't dare to pull out the arrow. I don't blame you. You should find a way to wake Mr. Cheng up and keep breathing. Then listen to what he says." For now, I can only take one step at a time.
The imperial physician trembled as he boiled a bowl of medicine. The dark liquid reflected my face clearly. Fortunately, although Cheng Yu was in a coma, he was still able to swallow. He drank most of the bowl of medicine. I quietly stayed by his bed. I couldn't tell what I felt in my heart. I just felt that it was more bitter than the medicine, and it was helpless and desolate.
After about half an hour, Cheng Yu finally woke up with a groan, and his eyes finally opened, but he still couldn't speak. I had to hold his head, lift him up slightly, and signal him to look at the wound on his chest. Unexpectedly, he waved his hands weakly, and his throat made incoherent syllables hoarsely.
I didn't understand what he was trying to say, and my tears fell even faster as I became anxious. He held my hand tremblingly and wrote a word on my palm.
When I realized that he was writing the word "Zhuang" over and over again, he suddenly let go. The withered hand slipped from my palm, and I stared at my palm in a daze. I felt that at this moment, my mind was blank.
