Chapter 750: Chapter 712: Injured (Part 2)

All the ministers and noble sons were eager to try, but as soon as they saw Crown Prince Zhao Xi sitting steadily below the emperor, they immediately calmed down.

His horse riding and archery skills might not be the best in the world, but at least in the entire capital, there was no second person who could match him. The only one who could, perhaps, was Yun Liulang from Suzhou.

It seemed that Emperor Guangxi’s conditions were set just for the Crown Prince alone.

Whether it was intentional support or deliberate testing was intriguing and subtle.

In the flash of a thought, everyone at the table came to realize this, and each of them turned their gaze to Zhao Xi.

The seventeen-year-old Crown Prince already showed signs of maturity between his brows and eyes. His upright figure was wrapped in a light blue crane cloak. The warm autumn sun highlighted his noble and unmatched elegance.

Zhao Xi finished the last sip of wine, stood up, looked at the emperor on the throne, and spoke in a deep, slow, and mellow voice, "As your child, I am already honored to be the Crown Prince, with both parents in good health, and have nothing more to ask for. I’d rather let this opportunity go to someone in need; therefore, I hereby ask not to be counted."

This implied that he wasn’t planning to seek the emperor’s promise, but his way of speaking was very clever. He didn’t find a lame excuse of feeling unwell to not participate in the hunt, which would have seemed pretentious, nor did he arrogantly think he could definitely win and directly refuse Emperor Guangxi. His reason was simple: he was content with the status quo.

Content with the position of Crown Prince bestowed by his biological father, content with the presence of his parents, with nothing more to seek.

The many people below had their own thoughts, which Emperor Guangxi could not discern, but he indeed softened his gaze slightly at Zhao Xi’s words "parents in good health and nothing to ask for," then lifted his wine cup, his wide sleeves concealing all emotions.

Zhao Xi’s decision not to count his prey cast that great temptation toward everyone participating in the hunt.

Ye Rong looked toward the Xu family’s seat and saw only Marquis Zhenxi, Xu Guangfu, and Princely Heir Xu Shu.

Xu Jia did not come.

With lowered eyes, a hint of gloom flashed under Ye Rong’s eyes.

...

The hunt began at noon.

Emperor Guangxi, dressed in golden armor and wearing a Phoenix Wing Wine Goblet Helmet, led the charge on a shiny black Snow Hoofed Green-Maned Horse, leaving a trail of dust.

The already mounted officials and noble sons followed suit, spreading out after entering the forest, while the ladies remained in the tents, drinking tea and chatting.

As the soon-to-be Crown Princess Consort and concubine, Yang Xueru and Dong Han naturally came along too. At present, a group of people gathered in Princess Consort Duan’s tent, ostensibly to visit the lovable Second Prince, Yu Xuke, but in reality, everyone knew that the Empress had been left in the palace and had clearly fallen out of favor. Among the concubines called out, there was only one Princess Consort Duan, and all others were consorts, indicating that her position in the emperor’s heart hadn’t moved.

Wen Wan had previously gone to visit Consort Xian and Consort De. When those two wanted to look for Princess Consort Duan for tea, she was forced to follow along, now sitting uncomfortably below Princess Consort Duan.

She could be generous when she was really generous, but when it came to remembering grievances, her heart could be smaller than the tip of a needle.

Especially facing Princess Consort Duan, who "returned injury with kindness," she couldn’t bring herself to smile.

Even though she kept reminding herself internally that the Yang family was merely Princess Consort Duan’s maternal family, Nanny Qin’s seemingly innocent face always lingered in her mind.

If it wasn’t for avenging the Liang family, the Yang family wouldn’t have conspired with Su Yi to come up with such a devious plan. If Nanny Qin had succeeded at that time, ruining Song Wei’s reputation, the Crown Prince would have lost an arm, and the biggest beneficiary would have been the Second Prince Zhao Nuo.

Though Zhao Nuo was young, those scheming and paving the way for him were full of claws and teeth, never pausing for a moment.

Thanks to Emperor Guangxi’s wisdom, he bestowed Yang Xueru to the Crown Prince, which made the Yang family restrain themselves a bit. Otherwise, with Chief Minister Yang’s vengeful nature, he would never have let Song Wei go.

Wen Wan held a tea cup in a daze, hearing Yang Xueru beside her softly ask Dong Han if she would like to go pick flowers.

Wen Wan turned her head and saw the side profile of the soon-to-be Crown Princess Consort, radiant and beautiful. As if receiving a gentle refusal from Dong Han, she stood up, led by her two close maidservants, and exited. From her appearance to her demeanor, all exuded the style of a noble lady from the capital.

Wen Wan let her gaze fall on Dong Han’s tranquil face, the latter sensed it and looked up, her expression so calm that it instead gave Wen Wan a feeling of being caught in the act, feeling an awkward embarrassment.

Unfamiliar with Dong Han, Wen Wan didn’t say anything, just smiled slightly and withdrew her gaze.

Soon after, Dong Han got up and excused herself to leave.

Inside the tent, only a group of married women remained, each with a respectable background, yet the content of their discussion couldn’t escape household trivialities and gossip. Some even steered the topic towards Qi Xuan, knowing Wen Wan had visited the Yang family that day, they specifically inquired if she had seen her.

Wen Wan disliked this atmosphere of discussing others behind their backs, so she vaguely replied to a couple of questions and excused herself.

Returning to her tent, Linglong and Yun Cai had already boiled some water.

Wen Wan sat on a cushioned stool, reaching for the hot tea handed by Linglong, just as Jinbao came running in from outside.

The little one was covered in dirt from play, yet hadn’t washed up and just wanted to snuggle up to Wen Wan.

Wen Wan put down the tea cup, patted the dust off his clothes, and asked where he had been earlier.

Jinbao said that several children around his age came today, and he had just been playing outside with them.

"Why didn’t you keep playing?" Wen Wan picked up the tea bowl again and brought it to Jinbao’s lips.

The little guy drank more than half with his mother’s hand, then said after catching his breath, "Jinbao also wants to ride horses and hunt."

Wen Wan laughed, "You’re only five years old, you can’t even get on a horse, so how can you ride and hunt?"

The little guy was a bit dissatisfied, muttering grumpily for a while, finally saying he saw several girls go into the woods, who must also be sneaking off to hunt.

Wen Wan was taken aback, "Who went into the woods?"

"Quite a few." The little guy wasn’t sure who was who, he just said they were all girls.

Wen Wan thought they were probably going to relieve themselves, so she didn’t pay much attention, and asked Linglong to fetch water to wash Jinbao’s face and change his clothes.

Having played for so long, the little guy was tired, and not long after, he drifted off to sleep on the embroidered couch.

Wen Wan covered him with a light quilt, and afraid of disturbing him, she specially dismissed the maids and servants, and left the tent herself, intending to take a walk outside when she heard a commotion from afar.

She furrowed her brows and quickened her pace towards the sound, stopping in front of the Yang Family tent, where she saw two maids in a panic. She stopped and asked them, only to learn that Yang Xueru was injured, struck by a stray arrow.

Such incidents were not uncommon on the hunting grounds; some have even died on the spot.

But the puzzling thing was, the arrow that struck Yang Xueru bore the Crown Prince’s personal mark.

Wen Wan’s first reaction was that it was impossible.

Zhao Xi’s archery skills, although she had not witnessed them firsthand, were spoken of by Song Yuanbao as almost flawless.

Even if he made a mistake, it couldn’t have injured someone.

Perhaps there was some misunderstanding here.

Yang Xueru’s personal maid was weeping, saying her young mistress was now unconscious, and the injury was on her chest, making it inappropriate for an imperial physician to examine, leaving them at a loss on what to do.

At this time, the sound of horse hooves rang from afar, as Zhao Xi returned midway. Before Eunuch Sanbao could come forward to assist, he had already dismounted briskly and walked over, his handsome face shrouded in gloom.

The Yang Mansion’s servants, belatedly realizing who had arrived, hurriedly knelt down, and Wen Wan also bent her knee slightly.

Zhao Xi stopped in front of the tent, exhaled lightly, and asked Wen Wan, "How is Miss Yang?"

Wen Wan glanced at the maid who had spoken earlier and said softly, "It’s said that the location of the injury is private, not suitable for casually calling an imperial physician."

Zhao Xi turned around and looked at Eunuch Sanbao, "Go inquire whether Consort Xian or Consort De has a female physician with them, and if so, invite her immediately."

It was rare to see the Crown Prince with a stern face; Eunuch Sanbao carefully agreed and was about to head to Consort De’s place.

"Leave it to me!"

A clear voice suddenly came from the side.

Zhao Xi turned his head.

The newcomer was dressed in a plain moon-blue jacket with colored hems, hair adorned with a hairpin and tassels gently swaying; her appearance was elegant and graceful, it was the soon-to-be concubine, Dong Han.

Meeting Zhao Xi’s gaze, she slightly lowered her eyes, "Did His Highness forget that I have studied medicine?"

Zhao Xi seemed to remember something, the tension on his handsome face slightly eased, "Thank you for your help... Miss Dong."

Hearing him intend to still address her as sister, a rare smile appeared on Dong Han’s normally indifferent face, "Your Highness, please wait a moment, I will go in to take a look."

After finishing speaking, she turned and lifted the curtain to enter the tent.

Dong Han’s biological father was Zhao Xi’s teacher. The year Zhao Xi started school, he was six years old, and Dong Han, two years younger, often accompanied her father to the Study Room. Over time, she became familiar with Zhao Xi; at that time, she was too young and ignorant to understand what being a prince entailed, so she candidly called him brother.

After Zhao Xi turned seven, Dong Han started to understand the concept of avoiding suspicion and never went to the Study Room again, though she often heard stories about the Eldest Prince from her father until he was titled as the Crown Prince.

She had always admired his talents, believing such men were rare in the world, yet never thought that one day she would become his betrothed concubine.