ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 73
Once everyone was ready, Grand Princess Yong Ning gathered them all in one place, reminding them that the purpose of this trip was for enjoyment, and there was no requirement to hunt a specific number of game. She emphasized that even if no prey was caught, the priority was to have fun.
Having said that, she smiled and added, “If you find it not entertaining enough, I have prepared some other fun activities.”
Two guards brought over a cage filled with chirping and squawking. Xiao Rulei exclaimed, “It’s pigeons!”
Everyone focused their attention, and indeed, the cage contained pigeons. In addition to pigeons, there were other birds like doves, white-headed sparrows, and sparrows of various types and sizes. However, each bird had a thin red ribbon tied around its claws, making it quite conspicuous.
On the side, Qiao Luo explained, “These birds have had a section of their wing feathers trimmed, so they can only fly for a short distance, about two or three zhang. As for how many you can hit, it depends on your skills.”
Xiao Rulei eagerly asked, “Aunt, can we start shooting now?”
Everyone laughed, and Xiao Rulei pouted, saying, “If you don’t want to give, then don’t.”
Li Zhizhi quickly reassured her, “Don’t worry, A’yang. If I hit any, I’ll give them all to you.”
Xiao Rulei then happily cheered up. The guards opened the cage door, and the birds flew out in a flurry, creating a lively scene with flapping wings and scattered feathers. Xiao Rulei chased after them, thoroughly enjoying herself.
Grand Princess Yong Ning glanced at the sky, smiling as she addressed the crowd, “One hour is the limit. Whoever catches the most birds will be granted a reward.”
Xiao Rulei hurriedly asked, “Aunt, what reward is it?”
Grand Princess Yong Ning made a thoughtful sound and said, “I haven’t decided yet.”
Suddenly, she looked at Li Zhizhi and smiled, “How about letting Zhizhi decide when the time comes? What do you think?”
Li Zhizhi naturally agreed, while Xiao Yan looked on coldly. He knew what Grand Princess Yong Ning meant. Today’s trip to the Qianshan hunting ground was prepared for Pei Yanchuan. Su Qingshang was just an unexpected addition.
Looking at Pei Yanchuan, he indeed seemed eager to try. If it weren’t for everyone holding back, he would have probably already charged into the woods.
So Xiao Yan began to feel uneasy again. His gaze fell on his own legs.
When Qian Luo announced the start, everyone dispersed. Even Grand Princess Yong Ning returned to her carriage to get her bow and arrows. Li Zhizhi and Xiao Rulei were in conversation when, out of the corner of her eye, Li Zhizhi suddenly spotted someone not far away – Xiao Yan.
He was dressed in a dark robe, sitting alone on the carriage, looking somewhat lonely and pitiful.
It was said to be for fun, and everyone went to play, leaving only the Crown Prince standing alone in place. Due to his legs, he couldn’t accompany them. Li Zhizhi couldn’t help but feel a hint of sympathy in her heart. Somehow, she suddenly remembered that day in the Buddhist hall when Xiao Yan was also like this, sitting alone under the Buddha statue. He didn’t chant scriptures or worship; he just sat there quietly day after day.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, Xiao Yan turned his head and waved to her. Li Zhizhi approached and asked, “Your Highness, what brings you here?”
At the words, Xiao Yan smiled and raised an eyebrow, saying, “When you need something you call me ‘brother,’ and when there’s nothing you call me ‘Your Highness’? Li Zhizhi, aren’t you making people feel a bit chilly with this?”
Li Zhizhi choked for a moment but quickly put on a smiling face, saying deliberately, “Isn’t it because I’m afraid you’re not used to it?”
“You’ll get used to it after hearing it for a long time,” Xiao Yan said leisurely. “Try calling me that once and see.”
“What should I listen to?”
The voice of the Grand Princess came from the side as she approached, holding a bow. Xiao Rulei quickly answered, “Brother wants Sister to call him brother!”
After a while, the Grand Princess reacted and couldn’t help but suppress a laugh. She said to Xiao Yan, “You’re showing off your power today.”
She then turned to Li Zhizhi and said, “Since he has recognized you as his sister, you should call him brother. Little Fifth is now the Crown Prince. In the future, as he rises to power, enjoying a prosperous and luxurious life, you as his sister will naturally be indispensable.”
Li Zhizhi couldn’t help but laugh, and with a gracious attitude, she called out to Xiao Yan, “Brother, I will ask you for more advice from now on.”
Xiao Yan, seeing her smiling with curved eyebrows and charming demeanor, felt a lot of pent-up frustration in his heart finally easing.
At that moment, Grand Princess Yong Ning suddenly remembered something and asked, “Is Xiao Wu going hunting?”
Everyone was momentarily surprised, and before Xiao Yan could respond, Grand Princess Yong Ning sighed and said, “Unfortunately, with your leg not being mobile, we’ll have to trouble you to wait for us here.”
Xiao Yan: …
Seeing that Grand Princess Yong Ning was about to leave with Li Zhizhi, Xiao Yan’s carefree younger sister happily followed behind, not even bothering to look back.
As they gradually walked a distance, Li Zhizhi whispered, “Mother, are you really not going to take care of the Prince… Brother?”
Grand Princess Yong Ning revealed a meaningful smile and said, “Don’t worry.”
Unable to understand her meaning, Li Zhizhi was about to ask more when she suddenly heard the sound of hooves approaching from behind. The sound was getting closer, and before long, Xiao Rulei’s cheerful voice rang out, “Oh, it’s brother!”
She raised her hand excitedly and waved, shouting, “Brother, brother! We’re here!”
Li Zhizhi turned around and indeed saw a chestnut horse emerging from the woods, trotting towards them. The person on the horse was dressed in dark blue attire – unmistakably Xiao Yan.
Li Zhizhi exclaimed, “His legs…”
The Grand Princess laughed, saying, “I already guessed, his legs are probably fine, at least not to the point of being unable to walk.”
Li Zhizhi puzzled, “Then why does he sit in the wheelchair all day?”
“I don’t know,” the Grand Princess raised an eyebrow, saying, “Maybe he’s just too lazy to walk.”
As they spoke, Xiao Yan had ridden his horse to the group. The Grand Princess crossed her arms and scrutinized him, teasing, “Oh, so you can stand again? Didn’t you say your legs were broken?”
Xiao Yan’s face remained unchanged, with a hint of laziness in his handsome smile. He showed no embarrassment and replied, “Aunt, I can’t walk, but I can still ride a horse.”
The Grand Princess suddenly felt the urge to smack his head, but considering he was her nephew, she resisted and said, not too pleased, “Let’s go.”
The group moved along the road, stopping from time to time. The Grand Princess managed to hit two birds, both with red cloth tied to their claws. Xiao Yan, without a bow and arrows, had his hands free. Li Zhizhi and Xiao Rulei were equipped with bows and arrows but were not skilled.
Li Zhizhi attempted to shoot twice. Forget hitting the birds, she couldn’t even keep the arrow on target; it just flew off randomly. She heard a light laughter from the horse nearby and decided to give up on archery, not giving that person a chance to mock her.
“There are foxes around here.”
Grand Princess Yong Ning suddenly stopped in her tracks, staring at a spot for a long time. She smiled at Li Zhizhi and said, “I’ll shoot two foxes for you, make a scarf, it’ll keep you warm in winter.”
Xiao Rulei hurriedly said, “A’yang also wants a scarf.”
“Alright,” Grand Princess Yong NIng readily agreed, “I’ll make one for our A’yang too.”
She used the arrowhead to poke at the pine needles and fallen leaves on the ground, carefully examining the paw prints. She said, “This fox seems quite large.”
Following the fox’s trail up the mountain, the slope became steep. Xiao Yan couldn’t ride his horse up, so he had to stop and say, “I’ll wait for you here.”
Grand Princess Yong Ning asked Li Zhizhi, “Is Zhizhi going?”
Li Zhizhi thought for a moment. She had a realistic understanding of herself. They had been walking for almost half an hour from the start, and if it were a flat road, it would be fine. However, now they had to climb, she couldn’t shoot arrows, and she didn’t have the physical strength. It would be better to wait for Grand Princess Yong Ning to come back. So, she shook her head and said, “I’ll wait here.”
However, Xiao Rulei insisted on going. No matter how they persuaded her, Xiao Yan said a few words, and she burst into tears, squatting on the ground and refusing to get up, crying like a stubborn child.
Helpless, Grand Princess Yong Ning had to take her along. Xiao Yan ordered two guards to follow as well, saying, “Don’t be fooled by her current energy. In a while, she won’t be able to walk. Take turns carrying her back.”
Seeing Xiao Rulei happily following Grand Princess Yong Ning up the mountain, Li Zhizhi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Yan turned to her and said, “Now you know how annoying this girl is, right? One day you’ll see her rolling on the ground again.”
Li Zhizhi shook her head, saying seriously, “This can’t be blamed on A’yang. She is more mature than other children, but deep down, she is still just a child.”
However, Xiao Yan casually said, “But not everyone will treat her like a child, constantly indulging her.”
Li Zhizhi frowned and said, “If it were possible, she wouldn’t want this either.”
Xiao Yan fell silent for a moment and then said, “This is inevitable.”
The implication was that there was no “if,” and the fact was already so.
Suddenly, Li Zhizhi became a bit annoyed and said coldly, “Who wouldn’t want to be liked by everyone? For A’yang, she will never understand what she did wrong, only knowing that everyone hates her.”
She looked up at Xiao Yan on horseback. Because of her excitement, her eyes were slightly red and moist, like dewy mist, making people want to gently brush it away. Xiao Yan just stared at her deeply and didn’t respond for a moment.
The forest fell silent, with the gentle breeze carrying the crisp chirping of birds. Li Zhizhi suddenly came back to her senses, averted her gaze, and took a deep breath. She felt that her attitude just now was a bit aggressive. Just as she was about to apologize, she heard Xiao Yan say, “Not everyone hates her.”
Li Zhizhi was taken aback, lifted her eyes, and met Xiao Yan’s gaze. He continued, “Even if she’s clumsy or not good, I still like her.”
When he said this, Li Zhizhi felt that the emotions in his deep phoenix eyes were surprisingly gentle.
A’yang is undoubtedly very lucky. She has a good aunt and a good brother who both love her, even if she doesn’t understand anything.
Unlike herself, Li Zhizhi had once exerted all her strength but couldn’t earn even a bit of affection.
She suddenly spoke, “Do you still remember what you told me that time?”
Xiao Yan didn’t react for a moment, asking, “Which time?”
Li Zhizhi replied, “By the lake in Qionglin Garden, you had someone call me over.”
Xiao Yan then remembered that incident, his expression changing. Li Zhizhi continued, “You threatened me at that time, telling me not to think about using A’yang, not to climb up to the powerful, and to stay away from her. Do you know what I was thinking at that time?”
Xiao Yan hesitated before saying, “What?”
Li Zhizhi suddenly laughed, her smile warm and beautiful, reminiscent of peach blossoms in the wild. She said, “At that moment, I thought, this person is really good to his sister. Why don’t I have a brother like that? It’s truly envy-inducing.”
While speaking of envy, her eyes were clear and pure, like transparent glass, instantly striking another person’s heart.