For a brave beginner like Yu Shu, riding a horse is not difficult. With a good horse and a guard who never leaves her side, she can trot on the horse in less than an hour.
There is a long and winding road in the southwest of Huazhen Garden, leading to the paddock in the West Hill. The road is flat and the sand is soft. Tall elm trees are planted on both sides of the road. They are verdant and lush in the summer. When riding a horse, the sun is on its head. Only the breeze brings warmth to people's faces.
Xue Rui followed by Yu Shu's side. The two of them chatted and laughed as they ran. Two attendants rode their horses and lagged behind them at a moderate distance.
Yu Shu trotted for a distance before slowing down the horse's speed in a slightly jerky manner. She admired the pleasant scenery of the countryside. Stroking the neck of the docile white horse beneath her, she turned her head and grinned at Xue Rui.
"Since I came to the capital last year, this is the first time I have come out to relax. Thanks to you, brother."
Xue Rui knew Yu Shu's experiences after she came to An Ling like the back of his hand, and when he heard this, he could only sigh in his heart that she had a hard life. When she first came here, she dragged along her weak brother and Jing Chen who had lost his memory, and she was busy making a living. She set up a stall in the market square to tell fortunes, and she raised her family by herself.
Later, she was persuaded by him to participate in the Dayan Examination. She was busy preparing for the exam. Then she met Jing Chen and left without saying goodbye. Because of this, she became enemies with the Ji family. Troubles came to her one after another. She had no time to sneak out to play.
He had seen all of Yu Shu's sufferings with his own eyes. Sometimes, he would break out in a cold sweat for this lonely woman. However, she did not complain or blame anyone. Instead, she became braver and braver. It was as if she had an inexhaustible spirit. She never regretted the past and would always look forward. She lived a real life, which made him admire her.
Xue Rui looked at Yu Shu and his eyes flickered. He said in a clear voice, "This is still the capital region. A place to have fun is not really free. If there's a chance in the future, I'll show you the various sceneries of the north and south of the Yangtze River. The grasslands beyond the Great Wall, the snow on Changbai Mountain, the mountains and the sea of clouds, the desert of the Western Frontier. It's so beautiful. "
Yu Shu was not blind, but when she saw Xue Rui's spirited expression when talking about these things, she couldn't help but be attracted by him. She rolled her eyes and teased,
"From the way you talk, it sounds like you've been to these places before."
Xue Rui raised his thick eyebrows and shook the yellow rattan horsewhip in his hand. "I've been there, but I didn't tour all of them. I wasn't able to enjoy myself."
Yu Shu had a question in her heart for a long time. It was rare for her to talk about this. She took the opportunity to ask him, "I heard that you left Anling a few years ago. It's been two or three years since you left. Did you go sightseeing?"
Xue Rui turned his head and looked at Yu Shu. The smile on his lips faded for some reason and he slowly said, "Hmm."
Seeing his behavior, Yu Shu couldn't help but think of the rumor she heard from Xin Liu not long ago —
Xue Rui fled Anling out of sadness because of the death of the Tenth Princess. Could it be that he really went to heal his feelings?
Thinking of this, Yu Shu felt strange. She secretly looked at Xue Rui's face and muttered in her heart,
Three years ago, the Tenth Princess was only a little old. According to the ranking, she was at most the same age as the Ninth Prince, Liu Tan. At that time, she was only twelve or thirteen years old. Even if Xue Rui was only sixteen or seventeen years old, he couldn't have loved her so much, could he?
But … it was hard to say. Xue Rui's aunt was an Imperial Concubine in the palace. He was also very fond of the Emperor and often walked around the palace when he was young. It was possible that he and the Tenth Princess were childhood sweethearts.
Otherwise, there was no arranged marriage. Why did Xue Rui, a good young man, stay empty for two or three years and delay it until now?
The more Yu Shu thought about it, the more confused she became. On one hand, she didn't want Xue Rui to have other women in his heart. On the other hand, she couldn't figure out why he left the capital that year.
Xue Rui didn't know Yu Shu's speculation. He looked into the distance and said to her,
"We'll enter the hunting grounds if we go any further. Let's stop here."
Yu Shu nodded and dismounted with him. When the two attendants behind them caught up, they walked to the river together.
"Young master, drink some water." The younger of the two attendants untied the water bag and brought it to Xue Rui.
Xue Rui took it, unscrewed the cork, and handed it to Yu Shu. The latter smiled and looked up. She saw that the servant who handed her the water was looking at her and curled his lips, as if he was dissatisfied with her. Yu Shu's heart skipped a beat. She pretended not to see anything and drank a few mouthfuls of water. She casually asked Xue Rui,
"Are these two servants of Huazhen Garden, or did you bring them from the residence?"
Xue Rui said, "Both of them are from the residence and have been with me for many years. Gui San 'er came from the Supply House, and Hōtoku is my wet nurse's son."
He explained in detail and pointed them out to Yu Shu. The young man who was tying the horse was three to five years older than Xue Rui. He was Gui San 'er, and the one who handed her the water was called Hōtoku.
When Yu Shu heard Gui San 'er's name, she thought of the two attendants in Wang Ji Lou. She asked suspiciously, "Are Gui Qi and Gui Ba brothers with Gui San' er?"
Xue Rui turned his head and looked at the young man who was tying the horse under the tree. He said to her, "It's just that they have the same surname. Brothers are brothers, but they are not related by blood. It's not like you haven't been to the Supply House."
He changed the topic and asked, "By the way, how is the young master of the Bai family, the one you chose for Xiaoxiu?"
"He is very obedient and sensible. Xiaoxiu learned to write from him and has improved a lot."
Xue Rui suddenly mentioned Bai Ran, but Yu Shu didn't think too much about it. She looked at the river that was flowing slowly not far away, and her sharp eyes noticed one or two fish jumping in the river.
"Sigh, if I knew this would happen, I would have brought a fishing rod and fish basket."
"You know how to fish?"
Yu Shu said proudly, "Of course, in the past …"
Halfway through his words, he suddenly stopped.
Xue Rui asked, "What do you want to say?"
Yu Shu fell into a moment of reminiscence. She remembered the time when the merchant ship was robbed and they jumped into the river to escape. They survived in the forest by relying on her to catch fish.
"Hey, it's nothing. A hero doesn't talk about his past achievements. It's all in the past." Yu Shu tried to fool him and began to urge Xue Rui, "Aren't we going to hunt? Let's go, I'm hungry."
Xue Rui noticed that she was hiding something, but he did not ask further. Instead, he said, "Then you stay here and play in the water and look at the fish. I will take Hōtoku to the forest and come back as soon as possible. Don't run around. "
Yu Shu was not happy, "Why don't you take me? Don't you know that sitting and waiting to die is the most boring thing?"
Listening to her nonsense, Xue Rui did not know whether to laugh or cry. He reached out and patted her head, "What are you talking about? If you are bored, you can build a fire with Gui San 'er. You don't know how to shoot arrows. You will only cause trouble if you go."
Yu Shu wanted to say that she knew how to use a slingshot, and that she was very accurate in killing birds, but she glanced at the longbow and arrows that Gui San 'er had brought along. It was a well-equipped weapon, so she was too embarrassed to say that she knew how to use it.
"Well, you go then. Be careful."
Yu Shu did not speak out of turn to remind Xue Rui about the leopard and the tiger. She was afraid that Xue Rui's jinx would turn out to be true. She had also calculated that the weather would be favorable for him today, so she did not worry too much.
After Xue Rui left, Gui San 'er first cleared out a place for Yu Shu to sit at a shady spot by the river, then he laid out a hemp mat and soft cushion before placing two plates of fresh fruits that were plucked from Huazhen Garden early in the morning.
After that, they dutifully gathered the firewood around them and poured out the charcoal and other materials they had brought with them. Yu Shu wanted to help, but was politely stopped by someone.
"Miss, go play with the water. I will do these."
Yu Shu touched her nose and sat down not far away. She picked up a guava and started to nibble on it. She put one hand in the shallow water and splashed the water. It was cool.
She had nothing to do here, but she did not know that on the other side, a group of people was approaching the river.
.....
"What bad luck. Fortunately, we ran fast. Otherwise, we would have died in the tiger's mouth."
Eighth Prince Liu Du patted his chest as he sat on his horse. He looked back frequently with a pale face. He was afraid that the white-fronted tiger lying on the hill would catch up with them.
The Thirteenth Princess was sitting on the back of Liu Tan's horse. She grabbed her brother's waist with one hand. Hearing this, she scratched Liu Du's face and teased,
"Eighth Brother is a coward. He said he would take me into the mountains to hunt the tiger. You ran fast just now."
Eighth Prince looked embarrassed. He turned to look at the cold and calm Jing Chen beside him and could not help but drag him down.
"Jing Chen has been cultivating in the mountains for so many years. He is highly skilled in martial arts. He should not be afraid of the beasts. Why did he run away when he saw the big tiger?"
Jing Chen glanced at him and said, "I saw you all running away. Why should I stay?"
Fifteen minutes ago, they were still hunting in the Western Mountain enclosure. Liu Du led the way and arrived at the foot of a hill. Before they even got close, they looked up and saw a tiger the size of a small hill dozing off halfway up the hill. Liu Du was scared out of his wits. With a cry of alarm, he turned around and ran. The rest of them naturally turned around and followed him. Along the way, there were quite a few servants who ran away. Coincidentally, they lost their way, so they got lost.
Liu Tan was at a loss for words. The Thirteenth Princess giggled as she lay on Liu Tan's back. She had a charming and mischievous look on her face. She hadn't seen that big tiger with her own eyes, so she didn't know how terrifying it was.
Liu Tan looked at the fork in the forest in front of them. He turned his head and asked Jing Chen, "Martial Uncle, which direction should we go?"
Jing Chen looked up at the sun and narrowed his eyes. He calculated in his sleeves and knew that the person he was looking for was in the southeast. He pointed to a path and said, "Go this way.
There should be a river in front. "
Liu Du quickly said, "Yes, yes. We will know the way back once we find the river."
Liu Tan then sent a servant to find a river in front of them.
The group of people rode on horses and walked out of the forest. They were getting farther and farther away from the enclosure but closer to the river. Not long after, they saw the white stone beach and their field of vision suddenly widened.
"Look, there's a river in front!"
The Thirteenth Princess cheered and was about to jump down from her horse when Liu Tan pulled her back. A servant knelt down and used his back as a tiptoe to help her down.
Liu Du also dismounted and said, "We're tired. Let's rest here and wash our dirty faces. Let's get something to eat before we go back."
Most of the princes loved to ride horses and hunt. They were very noble in the capital. When they went out to play, they were more casual. They did not have to rinse their mouths with bird's nest or pick their teeth with shark's fin.
The stone beach was not suitable for horses, so they all dismounted and walked on foot. The servants led the horses away and they strolled along the river bank.
Jing Chen's eyesight was very good. He saw someone on the other side of the river from afar. When he looked closely, he was not sure if it was Yu Shu or not.
So he started walking in that direction. He was so focused on the person on the other side that he did not notice the movement behind him. After walking for about ten steps, he suddenly heard a frightening scream from behind.
"Ah!"
Jing Chen quickly turned his head and saw a golden figure slowly walking out from the woods. Its huge body shrouded everyone's hearts in fear.
The white-fronted tiger they met in the hunting grounds had actually chased them all the way here!
"Awooo —"
The tiger's roar struck the eardrums of everyone on the riverbank. Everyone's faces turned pale. The tiger was indeed extraordinarily large. Even an adult black bear would not be able to match it. It stretched out its four limbs and the fat on its body jiggled. It bared its sharp teeth and transparent saliva dripped down.
The tiger was not afraid of humans at all. It must have gotten tired of eating birds and beasts deep in the mountains and came out for a change. Its cold gaze swept across the group of humans and it walked towards them step by step, as if it was choosing which one to eat first.
Liu Gu was so scared that he almost peed his pants. His legs trembled and he could not even move, let alone run.
Thirteen was so scared that he cried. He tightly held onto Liu Tan's arm and was pinched hard by him. He did not dare to make another sound.
At this time, whoever made the first move would undoubtedly become the tiger's first target.
Liu Tan was also nervous to the point where his nose was dripping with sweat. But he was more composed than Liu Du. He stared at the tiger's movements, and sized up the surrounding situation with his peripheral vision. His eyes turned cold, and he calmly withdrew the gemstone ring on his index finger, and shot towards a direction.
"Ah!"
A servant who had been kneeling on the ground with his head in his hands jumped up. At the same time, the tiger turned its head and stared at him. Its two thick forelimbs tightened and contracted as it pounced at the servant.
At the same time, Liu Tan pulled Thirteen back and shouted,
"Martial Uncle, quickly make your move!"
There was no need for him to say anything. The moment the tiger pounced at the servant, Jing Chen had already caught up. His movements were light as a feather, but his long leg brought with it a gust of wind as it struck at the tiger's back!
"Awooo!"
The tiger was unfazed. After being kicked away, its massive body trembled and it gave up on its prey. It turned towards the more threatening human, Jing Chen, and stretched out its sharp claws to slap down!
In the blink of an eye, the man and the tiger were engaged in a fierce battle. Jing Chen was good with swords, but he did not bring his sword with him on this trip. He was bare-handed, so he was at a disadvantage when facing a wild beast.
Liu Tan, on the other hand, was very calm. Seeing that Jing Chen had entangled the tiger, he let go of Thirteen and ran to Liu Du, who was lying limply on the ground. He pulled the dagger from his waist, unsheathed it, and threw it at Jing Chen.
"Martial Uncle, take this!"
Jing Chen used the Spirit Crane Flips the Clouds to dodge the tiger's attack and caught the hilt. With a twist of his wrist, his aura suddenly changed as he faced the tiger and aimed for its life. However, because he was not used to using a sword, his thrust was slightly off the mark and stabbed the tiger's right ear.
"Awooo —"
The Single-eyed White-Fronted Tiger let out a pained roar. It keenly sensed the fatal danger and jumped back. As if it had turned into a spirit, it turned around and fled towards the other side of the river!
Jing Chen, who was calm when he was fighting the tiger, suddenly changed his expression and chased after it with his sword!
"Martial Uncle, stop chasing!"
Seeing Jing Chen chasing the tiger, Liu Tan quickly called out to stop him. However, he saw Jing Chen's figure flying at lightning speed. In a blink of an eye, the man and the tiger were more than a hundred feet away.
.....
Meanwhile, Yu Shu had eaten a few fresh fruits and was washing her hands by the river. She was shocked when she vaguely heard a roar from afar.
"Gui San, did you hear something?"
Gui San put down the metal rack in his hand and held onto the dagger at his waist. He stared into the distance and his expression changed. He took a few steps back and grabbed Yu Shu's arm before running towards the river bank.
"Miss, let's go!"
Yu Shu looked back in confusion. Her sharp eyes saw water splashing in the middle of the river. Something was running towards her. Soon, she saw clearly what it was and was shocked. She cursed in her heart.
'Damn it, Xue Rui, you jinxed it!'
Yu Shu wanted to cry but had no tears. She could only flee for her life with Gui San 'er. Unexpectedly, she saw Xue Rui and the manservant returning from the forest in front of them with bows, arrows, and prey in their hands. Before they arrived in front of her, she had already shouted loudly,
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