Li Jincheng stared at the direction Xie Tingzhou was riding away from, the reins in his hands sweating.
He was the future emperor, how could he be frightened by Xie Tingzhou's weak arrow?
"Brother, don't be angry." There was another clatter of horse hooves, and Li Yanchang rode out slowly from behind the forest.
"There is no royal land in the world. When my eldest brother succeeds to the throne, it will be necessary to reduce the vassal state. By then, the entire Beilin will be your meal. His mere Xie Tingzhou will mean nothing."
Li Jincheng's anger subsided slightly, and he did not answer the question. Instead, he asked in a deep voice: "Old Qi, you said that he has not lost his martial arts skills. You are just pretending. What about now?"
"Brother has tried it." Li Yanchang said calmly: "But since he is just pretending, how could he reveal his secret in public?"
Li Jincheng said: "If you weren't so sure that he was faking, why would I deliberately want to expose him in front of others!"
"It was the guard next to him who was in trouble. Without that knife, he might have had to take action himself." Li Yanchang said.
Li Jincheng rode away, and his guards followed him immediately.
Li Yanchang asked: "Have you confirmed it?"
"Confirmation." A guard stepped forward and said, "The guard next to Xie Tingzhou is indeed the woman I saw that night. Although she disguised herself and looked different, I recognized her sword move. The combination of hardness and softness is a mixture of hundreds of schools of thought, and ordinary people cannot be so integrated."
Li Yanchang squinted his eyes, a hint of evil flashed in his eyes, "He's hiding a master."
Another group of people prepared to enter the forest from the other side of the hunting ground.
Li Jifeng and Xie Tingzhou were riding horses side by side. When they turned around and saw Li Yanchang at the other end, their faces immediately burst into smiles.
"Brother Seven." Li Jifeng ran over with his whip raised.
Li Yanchang lowered his expression and said warmly: "You and Xie Tingzhou went into the forest together?"
"Yes." Li Jifeng asked: "Brother Qi, where are you going?"
Li Yanchang didn't answer. Li Jifeng said with a smile: "What are you afraid of? It's just me and Ting Zhou. We don't compete for the top spot and won't compete with you for prey. We'll just go south and kill a few hares. If we're lucky, we'll hunt another one." Luzi, it’s not that ugly.”
After saying that, he shook his riding whip and said, "Let's go, Seventh Brother."
The group of people was waiting outside the forest. When Li Jifeng caught up with them, they disappeared into the dense forest.
Li Yanchang chuckled: "Call him useless, he really knows how to find a backer, call him not useless, he doesn't know anything."
……
Baishan Hunting Ground has been a royal hunting ground for nearly a hundred years. A large open space was cut out on the periphery of the forest farm for pasture, which has always been a camping ground.
On the first day, the ministers could not hunt with the prince, but the prince and grandson could.
When the princes and the children of the aristocratic families entered the forest one after another, the riding and archery competitions began again on the grassland.
Emperor Tongxu looked at it for a while and said, "Who do you think among them can come out on top?"
Li Zhaonian did not enter the forest. He sprained his foot when mounting his horse this morning, so he accompanied Emperor Tongxu.
"Of course it's the eldest brother."
"Why?" Emperor Tongxu asked.
Li Zhaonian said warmly: "Because the eldest brother is the prince, he must be the one who comes out on top."
Emperor Tongxu looked at Li Zhaonian. He was one of his favorite children. He was a gentleman and as gentle as jade.
It's a pity, it's a pity that he was born at the wrong time, in such a troubled time.
In troubled times, we need heroes and courage, but the only thing we don't need is such a dignified gentleman.
"Do you have a favorite word?" Emperor Tongxu suddenly asked.
Li Zhaonian was stunned for a moment, not understanding the meaning. After thinking for a moment, he said: "If I had to choose a word I like, let it be the word 'miao'."
"Why?"
Li Zhaonian said with a smile: "Zhuang Gong once said by the autumn river: planning China in the sea is not like planning rice in Taicang? ① I think I am so insignificant that I can't shake the universe."
Emperor Tongxu nodded in agreement. He also felt tired now.
Yes, the corruption of Dazhou has been rotten to the roots. With his ninety-five supreme body, he has not yet been able to repair this dilapidated country. The energy he invested is like a grain of corn that fell into Dazhou's granary. No interest.
It took him more than ten years to figure out the truth, but his son had already understood it.
"Alas..." Emperor Tongxu let out a long sigh, "The word "miao" is not suitable. Among the words "Qin, Jin, Qi, and Chu", are there any words you like?"
Li Zhaonian suddenly raised his head and looked at Emperor Tongxu, "Father..."
Emperor Tongxu waved his hand, "You can go back and pick one."
Li Zhaonian lowered his head again, he knew what this meant.
Princes in previous dynasties could be crowned kings when they reached adulthood, but in the generation of Emperor Tongxu, the title has been delayed until now.
Now that he is preparing to be crowned king, he is probably lamenting that his time is running out.
Emperor Tongxu raised his eyes and looked up, "Is that Anan?"
Li Zhaonian followed and looked. In the distance, Marquis Xuanping was scolding Pei Chunli. He was kicking the grass with the toe of his shoe with his head lowered. He had a rebellious look on his face and an angry look on his face, as if he was about to explode in the next moment.
Emperor Tongxu laughed, "It seems that Anan has made his father very angry again. Let's call him over."
The chamberlain hurriedly went to invite someone, and soon Pei Chunli came running up, followed by the ashen-faced Marquis Xuanping.
Pei Chunli: "Uncle!"
Marquis Xuanping scolded: "No one is big or small in front of the Holy Lord! Why don't you kneel down!"
Pei Chunli's real name was Pei Nan. Before he was named, his family members called him Anan.
At that time, the sister of Marquis Xuanping married the prince Tongxu Emperor as his concubine and gave birth to the prince Li Jincheng. Therefore, Pei Chunli called Emperor Tongxu his uncle, and Li Jincheng was Pei Chunli's cousin.
"It doesn't matter." Emperor Tongxu waved his hand, "The chariot asked me yesterday when I didn't see you. Marquis Xuanping said you were not feeling well and stopped coming. Why are you here again today?"
Marquis Xuanping looked nervous, as if he was afraid that Pei Chunli would say the wrong thing.
Pei Chunli glanced at his father and said, "He lied to you. My father detained me at home to endorse the book. The book is so thick."
Pei Chunli stretched out his arms to show his exaggerated thickness, "I came here secretly on my own. He was just lecturing me. Your Majesty, please beg me for mercy."
Pei Chunli has been a happy nut since he was a child, and Emperor Tongxu laughed.
"Now that you're here, why don't you go hunting?"
Pei Chunli remembered Shen Yu's warning that it was okay to go to the Baishan hunting ground, but he had to stay away from the forest farm.
"My cousin has already gone in. There's no point in me going alone. I'll go tomorrow."
There was a burst of cheers on the grass field. Perhaps some military general or the son of a minister had won the prize in the competition. Many ministers went to watch, and Pei Chunli also joined in the fun.
Emperor Tongxu rolled up his sleeves and said, "Ai Qing seems to have something to say."
Wen Hongyuan, Minister of the Ministry of War, had been waiting for a long time and had no chance to intervene. Seeing that Emperor Tongxu was in a good mood at this moment, he wanted to ask for a favor for his nephew Wen Lesheng.
Before he could speak, Emperor Tongxu asked, "Is it about Wen Lesheng's murder?"
Wen Hongyuan: "The old minister is happy to see that the future generations are formidable. I believe that within five years, we will be able to train a group of good generals for the court. However, the suppression of bandits is imminent now, but there is no one to lead the troops. The old minister thinks about Wen Lesheng. While he is in custody, it is better to let him go to suppress the bandits and make meritorious service."
"It's the father's fault if he doesn't teach him." Emperor Tongxu said, "I naturally won't dislike you as my uncle because of this matter."
Wen Hongyuan quickly picked up his robe and knelt down, with tears of gratitude on his face but a tight feeling in his heart.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty, your grace."
Emperor Tongxu was hinting to him that this uncle should protect himself and not get involved in this case.
