Ban Heng had long known that his sister had prepared a bunch of things for this autumn hunt, such as headgear, riding gear, boots, and so on. He had never understood why his sister could make such a big deal out of it when it was just a hunting trip.
But seeing his sister's fiery red dress, Ban Heng proudly puffed out his chest. In the entire Jing City, only his sister could suppress such a bright red. Having such a beautiful sister, he had developed a good habit from a young age, and that was to view beauty as fleeting clouds. In any case, they weren't as beautiful as his sister.
The siblings walked to the main courtyard. The Yin Clan was waiting for them there. Seeing them come out, she stuffed the fortune pouch that she had begged for a few days ago into the siblings' hands: "Swords have no eyes, you two have to be careful."
"Don't worry, Mother, I will take good care of Heng-di." Ban Han took the fortune pouch, hung it around his neck, and carefully stuffed it into his clothes: "You really don't want to go?"
"You two go, I don't like riding and shooting arrows. If you go, you can only sit in the tent. It's not as comfortable as staying in the marquis fu to have someone to serve you." The Yin Clan smiled and touched the golden leaf crown on Ban Han's head: "This is beautiful, it's perfect for you."
Ban Han smiled at the Yin Clan, and bowed to her in a manly manner: "Mother, wait for me to hunt a few good leather hides for you to use as cushions."
"Winter is coming, and I was thinking that the cushions at home weren't soft enough." The Yin Clan smiled: "Let's go quickly, otherwise it will be late."
The siblings bid farewell to their mother, and followed Ban Huai out the door.
It was interesting. Even though Ban Huai was the descendant of a great general, he wasn't good at riding and shooting. Usually, he could ride a horse and trot, but it was difficult for him to shoot an arrow. Fortunately, he was open-minded. No matter how others said that he was a disgraceful son of a general, he wouldn't show off because of it. He didn't know where he got his good attitude from.
There was a large royal hunting ground in the western suburbs of the capital. There were all kinds of animals there. Even animals that were not supposed to live in the capital would obediently appear on the hunting ground when the emperor hunted.
"This year's weather is favorable, the grass is plump, and the horses are strong. It will definitely be a bumper harvest." Emperor Yunqing turned his head and said to his two sons behind him, "What is the price of grain this year?"
The Crown Prince's cheeks were red. How could he know the price of food? Recently, his favorite concubine had given birth to a pair of twins. He was so happy that he didn't know north, south, east, west. How could he care about these things?
"Father Emperor, why don't you ask your son this kind of question? Why don't you ask those officials?" Second Prince was very straightforward and said in a strange tone, "Something that even Big Brother doesn't know, your son definitely doesn't know."
Ever since the Emperor had wanted him to marry the daughter of the Count Of Zhongping, there had been animosity between him and the Crown Prince. He had even become unscrupulous in front of the Emperor.
When the Emperor Yunqing saw that one of his sons was mediocre and the other refused to be disciplined, he felt that if he looked at them any longer, he would kick them off his horse.
"Jun Po, you speak." His two sons were troublesome. The Emperor could only find some psychological balance in his favored officials.
"Your Majesty, the price of grain in the capital right now is six wen per liter for white rice, four wen per liter for brown rice," Rong Xia urged his horse forward a few steps, "The price is slightly cheaper than two months ago."
"En," Emperor Yunqing nodded in satisfaction, "Zhen is comforted to have an official like Jun Po."
Hearing this, the Crown Prince's face was so red it was almost dripping blood. Second Prince glared at Rong Xia with displeasure. It was a pity that Rong Xia didn't even look at him. This made him even angrier.
Coincidentally, at this time, the people from the Count Of Zhongping's fu arrived. Second Prince looked at Xie Wanyu on horseback and thought with annoyance that such a mediocre woman was going to marry him as a wangfei. It really made him unhappy.
Xie Wanyu didn't know that her future husband was annoyed with her. When she thought about how she would meet Second Prince at the hunting grounds today, she didn't sleep well the entire night. She relied on thick makeup to hide the tiredness on her face. If she could raise her head and look at Second Prince's expression, she would know that the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with might not be the right person for her.
"Sister Xie," Shi Feixian was wearing a plain white riding outfit and a gauze hat. When she got close to Xie Wanyu, she lifted the gauze on her hat and revealed her face, "You're one step ahead of me."
Xie Wanyu bowed to her father, the Count Of Zhongping, and then rode her horse in front of Shi Feixian. She smiled at her and said, "I was worried that you wouldn't come today."
Shi Feixian looked in the direction of Rong Xia. Rong Xia was talking to His Majesty and didn't notice her arrival. She was a bit disappointed. She turned to Xie Wanyu and said, "Second Prince is really handsome."
"You're doing it again!" Xie Wanyu's cheeks were red. "If you keep making trouble, I'm going to ignore you."
"Okay, okay, okay. I won't make trouble." Shi Feixian kept looking at Rong Xia out of the corner of her eye. Other than talking to His Majesty, Rong Xia was talking to other officials. She didn't even look at them once.
"Clip-clop, clip-clop."
The sound of a horse's hooves came from behind. Shi Feixian looked back and saw a beautiful horse carrying a woman in red galloping towards them. Although the woman was still some distance away from her, Shi Feixian's intuition told her that this woman would definitely attract the attention of many people present.
As the horse came closer, Shi Feixian recognized who it was.
Ban Han. It was her. It really was her.
She looked at the beautiful and delicate crown with golden leaves on Ban Han's hair and turned her head to look at Rong Xia.
However, this one glance made her heart feel as if it was being pricked by needles, and it was extremely painful.
"Oh, the girl from the Ban Family is here." Hearing the sound of the horse's hooves, the Emperor wondered who was riding the horse. He looked up and the smile on his face suddenly became wider. "I knew it. Except for this girl, not many people would dare to do this in front of me."
Rong Xia followed Emperor Yunqing's line of sight and looked over.
White and red clothes, with great beauty and a golden crown. On the golden ground, they looked particularly dazzling.
"Hyah!" Seeing the Emperor and his entourage, Ban Han whipped the horse and sped up to the Emperor. She jumped off the horse and saluted to the Emperor. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
"Get up, get up." Emperor Yunqing smiled and looked behind her. "Where are your father and brother?"
"Their horsemanship is not as good as mine. I was anxious to see Your Majesty, so I came here first." Ban Han smiled and took a step forward. "I haven't seen Your Majesty for a few days. Your Majesty looks more handsome."
"Girl, you are used to talking nonsense." Emperor Yunqing looked at the lively girl in front of him and the smile on his face deepened. "I'm old. I can't compare with you young people."
"Your Majesty, you are the ruler of the world, a wise ruler. How can you compare with a little girl like me?" Ban Han knew how to flatter the Emperor from a young age. Even though she was only the Emperor's niece, in front of the Emperor, she had more face than the other princes and princesses.
The number of times the Emperor smiled at her was more than the number of times the daughters of the concubines.
"Hahahaha," the Emperor laughed loudly. "Good, good, good. I'll give this horsewhip to you, a little girl. I hope you can bring back good things."
He looked at the lively and beautiful girl in front of him and felt it was a pity. If she wasn't his niece, he would definitely take her into the palace and make her a favorite concubine. He would give her the most beautiful jewels, the most beautiful cloth, and raise her well.
Fortunately, Emperor Yunqing's moral integrity was still acceptable. His love for Ban Han was maintained at the level of uncle and nephew. He was also a very clear-headed father. Even though he favored Ban Han, he would never let his son marry a woman like this.
It was okay to spoil this kind of girl as a junior, but if he married her and made her his daughter-in-law, it would be a bit troublesome.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ban Han took the horsewhip and swung it in her hand. "Your Majesty's whip is still the best." After she finished speaking, she took the whip from her waist and threw it to the side in disgust. Then she took the horsewhip that Emperor Yunqing gave her and tied it to her waist. "When this subject's daughter hunts something good, I'll give it to you."
Jiang Luo's eyes fell on Ban Han's white and tender earlobes and wrists. Then he quickly moved his eyes away and raised his eyebrows in disdain.
After so many years, Ban Han's flattery skills were still exaggerated and crude. But his father, the Emperor, liked to eat this. He liked to give her things when he had nothing to do. This made her more and more undisciplined and arrogant.
Thinking about how Ban Han had also made things difficult for the woman he liked, Jiang Luo became even more picky with her.
No wonder no man dared to marry her. This kind of woman …
His eyes swept over Ban Han's tender and smooth face. He wouldn't want this kind of beautiful woman even if she was given to him!
"This subject greets Your Majesty." The Ban Family's father and son finally caught up. Ban Huai didn't say anything and directly asked Emperor Yunqing for forgiveness. "This subject's daughter is rude. This subject didn't discipline her well enough. Your Majesty, please forgive this subject."
"Forgive what?" Emperor Yunqing's smile didn't disappear. "I think your daughter is very good. Don't restrain her."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ban Huai took advantage of the situation and stood up straight without hesitation. He tactfully dragged his son and blended into the crowd of officials.
"Your Majesty, this subject's daughter will also take her leave." Ban Han touched the horsewhip at her waist and looked like she couldn't wait to show it off.
"Go, go." Emperor Yunqing saw through her intentions and waved his hand to let her go play by herself. He was an elder, an emperor, and a man. When he saw that the beautiful and delicate junior liked what he gave her and was so happy that she wanted to show it off to others, her straightforwardness was very pleasing to him.
With Ban Han's interruption, the Emperor forgot about the displeasure the Crown Prince and Second Prince had caused him. He looked at the sky and said to the people behind him, "Get ready to start."
Before the start of the hunt, there would be people from the Ministry of Rites setting up an altar to pray to the heavens that everyone would be able to return safely with their harvest.
This custom, which had been passed down from ancient times, had become a formality for the royal family before the hunt. However, this was related to the safety of the royal family and the court officials, so no one dared to be careless.
"Isn't it just a whip? Look at how frivolous she is." Xie Wanyu saw some short-sighted noblewomen surrounding Ban Han and flattering her. He felt very sick of it. He turned to Shi Feixian and said, "How did the Jingting Marquessate raise such a daughter?"
Shi Feixian sneered and said, "An idiot will always be an idiot. How can she act like this in front of so many people? How vulgar."
Xie Wanyu looked at Shi Feixian in surprise. Although Shi Feixian didn't like Ban Han's behavior before, he had never used such a sharp tone to talk to her. Today was the first time.
Shi Feixian also realized that he was a little overboard, so he forced a smile and said, "Let's go. Let's find a place to rest. There's no need to fight with those stinky men for the prey."
"Okay." Xie Wanyu nodded and didn't take Shi Feixian's strange behavior to heart.
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