It was almost time, and outside the hunting ground, everyone participating in the first day of hunting was already ready.
Among them were several military ministers, and more were young disciples from various prefectures.
Among these figures, a girl sitting on horseback, wearing a black narrow-sleeved robe, with her raven hair tied high and hanging behind her head, undoubtedly stood out.
Taifu Jiang glanced slightly at the few old civil servants beside him who were usually the most conservative.
This is the first time in Daqing that a woman participates in autumn hunting.
This Miss Xu has set a precedent.
Why don't these little stubborn people who want to take care of everything stop talking today?
Everyone sat there, looking at their eyes, nose and heart, as if they didn't see anything at all.
There's nothing I can do about it, why would this be His Majesty's special permission?
Oh, it may not be entirely because of this - after all, these people had raised objections to this before leaving the palace.
The reason why I am silent today is probably because...
Taifu Jiang quietly looked at King Dongyang who was looking up. The old man in a scarlet robe was sitting behind a small table filled with fruits and snacks. He was sitting as tall as a mountain, with his hands as big as cattail leaf fans resting on his knees. His eyes were still bright and sharp.
He swept around like a sword, with a posture of "I want to see who dares to talk."
I wonder who can bear this?
Compared to the ministers who seemed not to have seen the figure of the girl, the atmosphere among the female family members sitting in the tent with gauze hanging on all sides was surging.
"Look, that's Miss Xu..."
"I've long heard that Miss Xu is quite good at riding and shooting. Looking at her like this, she really looks like a general."
While the ladies were chatting in low voices, some girls said with bright eyes: "Mother, Miss Xu can participate, and my daughter will also go into the mountains tomorrow!"
The woman opened her mouth and thought, "What would it be like for a little girl's family to fight with a group of men?" However, she swallowed her words back because of the figure of a girl sitting on a horse.
Once someone sets a precedent for something, especially when the identity of the person setting the precedent is influential, it will always bring about a new situation.
"How can you win over them..." The woman changed her words as she spoke: "Your Majesty and so many adults are here, it's better not to embarrass your father."
The girl pursed her lips, looked at the well-known playboys in Beijing, and whispered: "They don't think they will embarrass the family, so what should I be afraid of?"
"How can your daughter's family be like theirs?" The woman gently pinched her daughter's waist and interrupted the topic: "Don't forget what I brought you here for today..."
The girl quietly rolled her eyes.
Aren't you just looking at the young master of the Fang family?
But what good-looking young master of the Fang family is there? How can he compare to Miss Xu?
The girl looked at the black figure again, with a look of yearning in her bright eyes.
At this time, an eunuch led a green horse and slowly walked over. Immediately sitting was a young girl wearing a rouge-colored riding costume with deep and delicate features.
"Princess Yongjia... also wants to participate in the hunt?"
"What's so strange about this? I heard that women in the North grew up on horses..."
While everyone was talking in low voices, Princess Yongjia had already driven her horse to Xu Mingyi's side, but she did not look at Xu Mingyi. She only looked straight ahead, with a slight sense of arrogance and alienation in her expression.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Emperor Zhaozhen spoke. He raised his hand and pointed to the sheath dagger hanging on the sandalwood stand on one side, and said with a smile: "This black iron dagger has been with me for nearly twenty years.
, he is considered a hero, so he will use it as a prize to reward the winner today!"
A group of military ministers and young disciples were all cheered up after hearing this, and those few military ministers looked like they were bound to win.
Some of them have been on the battlefield, so naturally they look down on the fancy tricks of these powerful children. As for the two little girls - they have their own principles on the hunting ground, and this is not the time to give in and be coaxed!
With the sound of drums, everyone drove their horses into the forest one after another.
Xie Wuyang did not participate. Since he was the prince now, if he rushed to join in the fun on the first day, he would easily tie up others and lose the meaning of hunting.
His eyes followed the black figure subconsciously.
Xu Mingshi also rode behind his sister.
Even though it’s a royal forest, you can’t be careless—don’t ask, just ask and experience it yourself.
This was Xu Mingyi's first time in the mountains, so he had to keep a close eye on people.
He had already made up his mind before coming here. He would not do anything today but just stare at Xu Mingyi!
It was as if the boy who had turned into an escort had just finished reciting this sentence in his mind. When he looked forward, he couldn't help but be startled - wait... his guy, hey, where's my sister?!
The mountains and forests here are huge, and everyone dispersed after entering the mountains.
Faintly hearing the sound of horse hooves approaching behind him, Xu Mingyi slowed down, assuming that he still couldn't get rid of Mingshi's housekeeper.
However, the next moment, what appeared in the peripheral vision was a dazzling bright red.
"Have Miss Xu ever gone hunting in the mountains before?" Princess Yongjia also slowly dismounted her horse, looked at the mountain forest with golden fallen leaves in front of her, raised her chin slightly and said: "The mountains in Mizhou are much more dangerous than here, and there are often dangerous things in the mountains.
Wild beasts are out and about, and Miss Xu probably hasn’t had the chance to see them since she was a child in the capital—"
Xu Mingyi smiled slightly and said: "Then I will wait to see the princess show off her talents today, so that I can open my eyes."
It's just that she has never seen someone dressed so brightly during an autumn hunting trip. She doesn't know how he survived in a dangerous place where wild beasts roam - with a group of followers to protect him?
Princess Yongjia sneered, with a hint of contempt hidden in her eyes, she turned to look at her and said, "I also want to see Miss Xu's skills."
But don't end up not looking at your skills, but making people feel that the name is hollow, and then it seems that those so-called military achievements don't know whether they are true or false.
Princess Yongjia glanced at Xu Mingyi one last time, shouted "Drive!", and then rode away.
Seeing that bright figure disappear, Xu Mingyi walked in another direction.
Autumn is golden all over the land and the mountains and fruits are fragrant. It is the time when prey are looking for stored food.
Xu Mingyi found a trace of a black-haired mountain boar next to a leafless bamboo forest.
She had already slowed down her horse, and now she stopped it. She raised her hand to take out the long bow from her back and drew it up. She narrowed her eyes slightly and silently nocked the long arrow.
Holding his breath, just as the arrow was slowly aiming at the prey, the big horse beneath him suddenly screamed restlessly, and then suddenly rushed forward.
Caught off guard, Xu Mingyi was thrown backwards, and the long arrow fell to the ground. She quickly reacted and grabbed the reins, and immediately leaned forward to protect herself as much as possible.
All this happened in just one breath, and there was no time to think about it. Everything was an instinctive reaction.
But the worse was yet to come.
The horse neighed and galloped forward, carrying her through the tall thorny bushes without hesitation, refusing to stop no matter how hard she tried to control it.
This horse is a war horse with excellent pedigree. It is strong and tall, and can gallop at lightning speed. There are many uneven terrains around it, and there are often rocks. Even if you want to vault, it is difficult!
The palms of Xu Mingyi's hands holding the reins were already bleeding. However, the horse was about to rush up a high slope ahead. After the high slope, it was not clear whether there was a cliff or a dead end!
Xu Mingyi did not dare to take risks. He pulled the reins tightly with one hand to force the horse to turn to the right. With the other hand, he touched the steel needle hidden in the girdle - this needle was quenched with poison and had the effect of paralyzing people into coma.
However, if used on a big horse, the effect will inevitably be much weaker, and the horse will be frightened again after suffering pain, and may even become more manic.
This is also the reason why she didn't take action in the first place.
But now it seemed that she wouldn't be able to control the horse for a while, and she didn't dare to bet on whether the road ahead would be a dead end.
All we have to do is give it a try!
Just when she was about to pierce the horse's belly with the long needle in her hand, she suddenly heard a familiar sharp cry in the sky.
A black shadow swooped down very quickly, blocking the horse's way.
Before facing danger, the horses neighed, raised their front hooves, swerved away, and rushed to one side.
The third eye continued to follow and drive, forcing the horse to change direction.
Xu Mingyi saw the right opportunity. When passing a relatively flat open space, she raised her body slightly and rushed to the open space in front of her right. The moment she was thrown off the horse, she also pushed the steel needle hard.
In the horse's flesh.
The horses roared and ran forward.
Mixed in with it were the sounds of other horses' hooves, as if they were coming from behind.
Before Xu Mingyi fell to the ground, she suddenly felt a gust of wind coming from behind her. At the same time, she had already hit a wall of flesh.
The man hugged her tightly, with his big hands behind her head, and rolled her twice in the thick fallen leaves until her back hit an old tung tree.
"Are you hurt?!"
Listening to this familiar voice, Xu Mingyi said: "It doesn't matter to me, what about you?"
She climbed out of his arms and sat up, immediately checking on his injuries.
"I'm fine too, just wait here for me to come back -" The young man, covered in fallen leaves, stood up neatly. Without a moment's delay, he got on his horse and chased in the direction of the frightened horse.
"Be careful!" Xu Mingyi shouted towards his back.
"rest assured!"
Xu Mingyi calmed down her breathing and naturally understood why Wu Chao was rushing to chase the frightened horse, just like why she had made preparations for the vault but still stabbed the steel needle.
Firstly, he didn't want to frighten the horse and hurt other people in the forest, and secondly, it was natural that the horse might be useful if he kept it.
And the horse was hit by a needle and couldn't run very far.
Tianmu was behind her and patted her back with his wings, as if he was cleaning up fallen leaves and grass clippings for her, or as if he was comforting a frightened person.
Xu Mingyi stood up and shook his robe.
At this time, there was the sound of horse hooves approaching again.
It's Xu Mingshi.
"What happened?!"
The boy asked in shock, getting off his horse and running towards her quickly.
"Did you fall off your horse?! Did you get hurt anywhere?" Xu Mingshi was so nervous that his face turned pale.
Sure enough, it won’t work if you don’t pay attention for a while!
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Xu Mingyi, who had a faint blood mark scratched on his face by a branch or a shrub, and a head full of grass clippings, asked him, "Do you want to take first place today?"
"What do I get first?"
How can he still have such thoughts!
Xu Mingyi nodded: "Then let me lend you your horse."
As she spoke, she strode towards the big brown horse, grabbed the reins with one hand and jumped onto the horse's back.
"You...you still want to go hunting?!"
"You wait here for Wu Chao to come back, then go out to the mountains with him and wait outside for me." After saying this, Xu Mingyi rode away, leaving the boy's objections behind him.
Let it go if she doesn't participate. Once she does, there is no reason to lose without a fight.
What was surprising was that the horse was not her.
Besides, if someone really didn't want to see her in the limelight, then she would try her best to fight for it.
Xie Wuyang restrained the frightened horse, and when he led it back to his side, he could not see Xu Mingyi's shadow again.
"Where is your sister?" the young man dismounted and asked.
"She snatched my horse and ran away!" Xu Mingshi pointed in a direction and said with a dark face.
After Xie Wuyang was stunned for a moment, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Your Highness, are we going to get her back?" Xu Mingshi was more worried than angry.
Xie Wuyang: "No need, I will tell the Imperial Guards patrolling the mountains to pay more attention."
What she wants to do must be done. He can't stop her, and he doesn't want to.
She just had to do what she wanted to do, and he would take care of the rest.
"thump!"
There was a muffled sound, and the horse that he had brought back fell to the ground.
Xu Mingshi recognized the horse, "Your Highness, this horse..."
"I suddenly went crazy." Xie Wuyang did not rush to make a conclusion, and only said: "We still need to take him back for a closer look."
Xu Mingshi's face changed slightly, realizing something unusual.
It's hard to say about other horses, but this horse was specially selected by his grandfather for Xu Mingyi. It is the best among the best in terms of appearance, physical strength and adaptability. How could it go crazy easily?
At this time, there were patrolling guards passing by. Seeing that Xie Wuhao was there, they quickly stepped forward and saluted.
"Take this horse out without making any mistakes."
"Yes, I humbly obey my orders!"
Seeing the prince emerging from the mountains and forests, all the officials were puzzled.
His Royal Highness, who originally said he would not participate in this hunt, suddenly became interested when everyone entered the forest, changed his mind and chased after them——
But why is he the first to come out now?
Taking a closer look, I saw that the descendants of Dongyang Prince's Palace were also coming out together.
Seeing this, Ms. Cui, who was among the female relatives, quickly put down the tea cup - why did this brat come out so early if he didn't keep an eye on his sister?
Xie Wuyan and Xu Mingshi got off their horses one after another and stepped forward to salute Emperor Zhaozhen.
At this time, everyone saw two guards driving a cart out of the forest, and on top of the cart was a large injured horse.
King Dongyang stood up suddenly when he saw this.
This is Zhao Zhao’s horse!
"Where is your sister? Where is she? Is she injured?" The old man asked his grandson nervously.
I'm afraid this Quanheshan might not be in conflict with his Xu family!
His grandson almost lost his life here last spring. If anything happens to Zhao Zhao again this year, he will have to level this mountain!
"Grandpa, don't worry, my sister is fine. She snatched...borrowed my horse and it is still in the mountains." Xu Mingshi said: "The horse was frightened and went crazy for some reason. After being restrained by His Highness, the prince fell to the ground.
"
After hearing this, Emperor Zhaozhen also stood up and saw scratch marks on the young man's cheek: "A Yuan is injured?"
"It's just a skin injury, father, don't worry." Xie Wuyang looked at the horse that was brought forward and said, "The reason why I chased into the mountain just now is because I could vaguely see the horse flicking its tail frequently when entering the mountain.
There’s something strange—”
They were all people who practiced martial arts and were accustomed to dealing with horses. When Emperor Zhaozhen and King Dongyang heard this, they both came forward to check it out personally.
There were faint murmurs of discussion everywhere.
Seeing this scene, a maid in green clasped her fingers nervously.
