Dominate the ancient academy

Chapter 183 Who Did the Rabbit Provoke?

By the time the dinner started, several people had already eaten and drunk their fill and couldn't eat anything else.

What I didn't expect was that the hunting emperor also brought a lot of dancers with him. Before the banquet started, these dancers were already dancing in the middle.

There were charcoal braziers around the tent that emitted heat, so it didn't feel cold even with the curtains open. If you didn't know this, you would have thought you were in that adult's house!

The only pity was that the food at the banquet was still steaming when it was served, but it quickly disappeared and the food was not eaten as fast as it cooled down.

Fortunately, most people at the banquet were focused on the conversation, and few paid attention to the food on the table. Shu Xiaoxiao was once again thankful that she had already eaten her fill beforehand.

I felt a bit bored after eating, so I planned to go out for a rest after watching the dances of these young ladies, and to check out the surrounding areas to prepare for tomorrow. Unexpectedly, I was introduced to many people by my elder brother. It turns out that from ancient times to the present, all banquets are a way to make connections.

Following the eldest brother, he called many uncles, aunts, and brothers. No matter what faction these people belonged to, they were all the backbones of the court. If he could make friends with them all, he could walk around the capital with ease.

Unfortunately, Shu Xiaoxiao also understood that these were old foxes who never showed their emotions. No matter how kind they looked on the surface, they might not be up to any evil intentions in their hearts.

But one must not be easily fooled by their appearance. In just a few words, several people came to test her background. Fortunately, her eldest brother was beside her, and before she understood the question, her eldest brother blocked the people away.

Shu Xiaoxiao also felt relieved. In just one banquet, she felt like she had gotten to know a lot of people.

Unfortunately...

"Brother, I don't remember any of these people just now, what should I do?"

Shu Xiaoxiao was a little worried. Her elder brother had just introduced the official titles and surnames of those people very clearly, but she only remembered one or two at the beginning, and now she has almost forgotten them.

If it were any other time, it would be fine, they could just introduce themselves to each other, and they didn’t know when they would meet next time. But this time they would be staying in the paddock for a few days, and they would need to say hello tomorrow. It would be awkward if she didn’t recognize them!

"It's okay. These people are just curious about you. It's okay if you can't remember. When you need to say hello, someone around you will remind you."

"Oh, then I'm relieved."

Shu Tingyu was also somewhat helpless. Although there were new faces in this winter hunt, most of them were officials from Kyoto or those who had returned to Beijing, and everyone was familiar with them. Only his own sister suddenly appeared, and was given unique favor. She had only been in Kyoto for a short time, but she had already become an uncle.

Although the earl has no real power, he is a real favor. Think about it, who among those who have a title in the court has not made great contributions to the court. Moreover, most of those earls were conferred titles in the early days of the emperor's accession to the throne. After that, meritorious officials were promoted, and very few were conferred titles.

Moreover, although the emperor did not specify who was responsible for the fine salt and iron hoofs of the court, if it was someone in the court, he would definitely not remain unknown.

The only special thing is the sudden appearance of Master Ye. These things only appeared after Master Ye came to Kyoto. How could they not be suspicious?

As for the grace of saving the emperor, they had inquired about it. Lord Ye's skills were really average. With so many masters around the emperor, how could it be the turn of a little student like her?

But the emperor was obviously pretending to be confused and didn't want to push Lord Ye to the front. What could they, as his subjects, do?

I pretended not to know and took whatever the emperor said as the truth. But I still had to get to know people I needed to know. They might be useful in the future, so I had to seize the opportunity to get to know them.

Master Ye not only has these merits, but also has her master and senior brothers. With this configuration, as long as she doesn't do stupid things in the future, she will be fine. Bring the younger generations over to get to know them, and there may be more paths in the future. They can't reach Prince Yun and the Sixth Prince, so getting to know their junior brothers is also a way!

For these reasons, many people wanted to meet Shu Xiaoxiao. By the time she finally got away from the banquet, it was already dark outside, so she had to go back to the tent to rest.

Maybe because it was close to the forest, the howling of wolves could be heard from time to time. Fortunately, Shu Xiaoxiao had a good sleep, and except for having some difficulty falling asleep, she was sound as sound as a rock after falling asleep.

This also made Brother Yun, who was worried about coming to visit his sister, feel relieved.

When I woke up again, it was the next day. There were colorful flags flying outside and the atmosphere was lively. Most of the boys and girls were dressed in riding and shooting outfits, looking heroic and the atmosphere was also very lively.

The yellow tent in the middle is the emperor's account office. Everyone first gathers at the emperor's place and then goes to the built platform together.

Shu Xiaoxiao followed her elder brother in the front row and had a good view. She could see the emperor, princes, and concubines on the stage very clearly. Yun Qinghan, who was standing beside the emperor, was even more eye-catching in his riding clothes. Shu Xiaoxiao was also very happy about the advantage she had taken before, but she still had to take action when something happened.

Those concubines were also dressed in palace costumes, with exquisite makeup and decent manners, and they were also a beautiful sight.

Shu Xiaoxiao paid special attention to the princes. These princes had different looks. Some were handsome, while others were ordinary. Perhaps it was because of their clothes or their good mental state that they looked quite bright.

The emperor looked radiant and his voice was sonorous and powerful, probably because of the nourishment of ginseng water during this period.

The emperor was only in his forties, which should be the prime of life in modern times. However, due to overwork and lack of exercise, although he had an inviolable aura, he could not get rid of the weak and tired look.

Now that he had used the mushrooms mixed with ginseng water and with the advice of Imperial Physician Zhang, he had picked up his old martial arts again. His energetic appearance surprised all the civil and military officials.

Originally, they were somewhat tempted by the princes' solicitation, but now looking at the emperor's condition, they decided to be cautious.

According to convention, hunting would only officially begin after the emperor shot the first arrow.

But in the past two years, when the emperor said he wanted to train the princes, the adult princes took turns to do it, without bias or favoritism, and without causing them unnecessary illusions.

But this time, the emperor looks fully prepared and is planning to come in person.

The emperor stood in front, took the bow and arrow handed over by the servant and nodded. After receiving the emperor's signal, the guards who had been prepared released the well-proportioned and strong stag from the cage.

The stag looked like a domesticated one, with smooth curves, a well-proportioned body, shiny and smooth fur, long limbs and very sharp hooves. As the cage was opened, the stag inside jumped out of the cage without any delay, and galloped towards the distant forest, running a long way in the blink of an eye.

The emperor quickly drew his bow, aimed, and shot the arrow. In the blink of an eye, the deer in front of him had fallen to the ground, flapping its wings a few times before dying.

"Excellent archery skills, Your Majesty is mighty!"

There was silence in the hunting ground. Then, the ministers reacted and immediately applauded. There were countless people flattering the emperor, but more princes and ministers had flashing eyes and thought secretly as they looked at the emperor's agile figure. The officials looked at the stag that was gradually losing its breath and applauded even more enthusiastically. As for what they were thinking in their hearts, no one knew.

Yun Qinghan looked at the flickering expressions of the princes and clapped happily. Apart from being naughty occasionally, his junior brother was a true lucky star.

Shu Xiaoxiao was also extremely surprised. This was the legendary "Duel for the Deer", which was quite shocking. Where could one see such a scene in modern times? It was worth it that she sent almost all the mushrooms around her to the palace. Seeing the emperor like this, plus her occasional tributes in the future, she would be able to live an easy twenty years!

With the emperor around, Concubine De and the Eleventh Prince can only plot whatever they want. She has the emperor's support, so those princes can just be princes.

The emperor felt his body becoming more and more relaxed, and he enjoyed the admiration of the crowd. As long as he was in good health, neither the princes nor the ministers in the court could cause any trouble, and even if they had some small thoughts, they had to endure it.

After everyone's voices stopped, he raised his hand and announced loudly: "The hunt has begun. All participants, regardless of identity or status, must do their best to display their abilities. The first place winner will be rewarded handsomely."

After saying this, he jumped on his horse and ran first towards the forest not far away. The princes, ministers, and soldiers from the Shenji Camp and the Huqiang Camp on horseback followed closely behind him, leading dogs, driving eagles, and passing arrows, never leaving the emperor's side.

After the emperor left, the warriors who were ready to go behind him also found their directions and ran deep into the forest. In almost the blink of an eye, more than half of the people on the field disappeared.

Those who can officially participate in the hunt are all over the age of twelve, and the rest are mostly women and children under the age of twelve.

The rest of the people looked at those people with envy as they left in such a handsome manner. A few of them sighed, then led their horses and prepared to go to the outskirts to pick up some spoils. Although they were not old enough to go into the mountains, they had no problem hunting in the outskirts accompanied by their servants.

Kids of their age didn’t talk much, but not too little either. They formed teams automatically with those they played well with. The teams looked at each other and immediately chose opposite directions and headed towards the forest.

There is only a short distance between them. If they gather together, how can they catch prey? It is better to hunt separately.

Shu Xiaoxiao and a few others chose the left direction. As soon as they came in, they began to admire the warriors who were riding their horses towards the forest at lightning speed. Their speed was not that fast, but the cold wind... made them feel a lot more sober!

Although it was quite cold, they were unwilling to go back empty-handed. Fortunately, there were many animals inside for hunting, and they soon came across some hares and pheasants, which should be what those who went in would not look down on.

But they don't mind. They can't deal with large prey, but small prey like hares and pheasants are still easy to catch.

A few people shot a few arrows, and almost every arrow hit the target. The prey fell down. Shu Xiaoxiao almost immediately liked the feeling of hunting.

It was quite fulfilling to hit one arrow at a time. It was a pity to let Dabai take the shot before.

Seeing the attendants following them collecting the prey, Zhou Hekang said regretfully: "There are only these little things outside, which is not interesting at all. It would be great if we could go inside. I am not greedy, just hunting a deer is enough."

After hearing this, Su Shiche immediately replied: "You are not greedy at all. If you were greedy, you would want to hunt a tiger or a bear from time to time!"

Zhou Hekang immediately retorted: "What's wrong with hunting tigers and bears? I can participate in hunting in two years, and I must kill a tiger."

Cao Yixing: "Yes, then we will fight together and kill a tiger, and let the Imperial College see what's so great about killing a wolf."

During the autumn hunting last year, the Imperial College was lucky enough to encounter a lone wolf. It’s amazing now.

The few of them were discussing animatedly, looking forward to the hunting trip they would take part in later. However, when Shu Xiaoxiao heard that they were going to hunt tigers, she became a little worried.

Dabai should have arrived. There are so many people here. If they run into Dabai, who has a sharp sword, it would be difficult to deal with anyone who gets hurt, no matter if it's the hunter or Dabai! She was also counting on Dabai to get to know everyone, so that they wouldn't become enemies before they even met.

I hope Dabai can remember her advice and stay away from these people before she calls him, and run away quickly if he meets them.

"Hey, is this a rabbit hole?" Lu Leran shouted, pointing to a small oval hill on the left.

When they heard the word rabbit hole, several people immediately surrounded it: "It really is a rabbit hole, Shao Lan, you have a good eye."

Several people quickly looked around for other cave entrances and caught some alive to take back and eat.

Participants who participate in hunting here have to submit the number of prey they catch and rank them, but there are no restrictions for them.

Because they usually hunted small prey with not much meat, they could roast and eat the dead prey at the hunting ground, and they would not take the leftovers back because that amount of meat was not worth it, so they would hand them over to the imperial chef to process. But it was different for the alive prey, they could take them back to the palace.

The good thing is that the prey is hunted by yourself and can be kept for two days before eating.

After all, the live prey they can catch must be smaller, so the adults won’t care much and they can just take it back.

When going out hunting, one must bring a tinderbox. The servants who followed him were very tactful and picked up branches from the surrounding area and built fires in front of several caves.

As the smoke grew thicker, there was movement in the cave, and several rabbits suddenly jumped out one after another. Fortunately, they watched carefully and caught all six rabbits.

There is also a snow-white little rabbit among them, with its snow-white fur and red eyes, it is so adorable. It’s a pity that the people in front of it don’t have much love for it. They prefer the mighty and domineering ones, not the soft and sticky ones.

Lu Leran touched the rabbit's ear and lamented, "Others are hunting tigers and wolves in there, and all we have left is catching rabbits."

Shu Xiaoxiao twitched the corner of her mouth. How deep was the resentment? What had the rabbit done to anyone? It was hibernating peacefully without any provocation, but even its nest was destroyed, and it still suffered a miserable fate.

The cold wind made people feel chilly. Several people looked at the prey on the attendants' horses. It could be considered a full load. There was no point in staying here since they could not go in. If it was autumn hunting, they would try their luck here, but forget about winter hunting.

It's so cold, it's unlikely that prey would escape.