Chapter 28: 28

Horse Riding (2)

This means that Zhao Yanzhou is working for the Crown Princess while Xu Rong is clearly working for Xiao Yu. It does seem strange that one of them wanted to kill that person while the other rushed to get the Steward of Medicine to heal him.

Since the Crown Princess is the daughter of a fallen courtier, the person she wanted to protect must be someone related to the Chu family.

But why would Xiao Yu want to harm someone from the Chu family?

He began to form a few guesses in his mind.

The beautiful face that frequently appeared in his mind appeared to him again. She looked just as she did yesterday at the scenic pool, gentle but unyielding.

He remembered her exact words.

“He indeed saved me, but I do not owe him.”

He was quite certain that his nephew did not treat the Crown Princess as well as what everyone thought. Otherwise, he would not have killed her entire family.

Yet for some unknown reason, he felt a little relieved. However, at the same time, his mind began to speculate. He suspected what her motives were when she took the initiative to approach him.

Strong conflicting feelings battled in his heart. He was not angry. Instead, he felt burning desires in his body.

She is truly different from other women.

He imagined how beautiful her delicate face would appear under the lamp, smiling at him from under a thin veil.

Her smile carried a hint of suggestion and seduction. His heart trembled, and his body tightened with excitement. He urgently needed to do something to relieve his burning frustration.

“Your Majesty?” Liu Kang reminded carefully. He had waited for a long time, but Xiao Kezhi was silent.

Xiao Kezhi suddenly stood up from his desk and put on his robe. Then he grabbed the bow hung on the wall and said, “Send someone to the back courtyard and ready a horse. I want to go for a ride.”

Liu Kang was shocked. He couldn’t understand why the emperor wanted to go riding in the middle of the night. After being stunned for a moment, he instructed a eunuch to make the preparations. By the time Xiao Kezhi arrived at the back courtyard, the horse was ready.

Without a word, he slung the bow and a bag of arrows on his back and got onto the horse. Then, he rode the horse onwards to the north.

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Taiji Palace covered a large area of land. Apart from a park, there was also an ample flat slope in the back courtyard. There was plenty of space for horse riding, and one could even organize two separate polo matches there.

Xiao Kezhi did not control the horse towards any direction but let it gallop in the autumn breeze. Occasionally, his sharp eyes caught a wild hare or pheasant scuttle past, and he quickly shot an arrow. He rode the horse for an hour and was covered in a layer of sweat. He pulled the reins and turned back.

His attendants had collected the wild animals he hunted. The wild animals were now arranged in a row.

He got down from the horse and saw that there were many wild animals. He pointed to a wild hare that was still moving, “Give this one to Weimo and send the rest to the imperial kitchen.”

The guard answered in affirmative and took the wild animals away.

He gave the bow and arrows to a eunuch. Then he flipped the lapel of his robe to cool himself with the cold breeze.

After riding for some time, the frustrating heat had been suppressed temporarily. Even his mind was much calmer than before.

Under the cold moonlight, he stopped and looked towards the Dragon Door.

It was dark over there, save for palace lamps dotting the darkness.

……

In the silence, he could almost hear the growing intensity of his impulse. However, before he could do anything, he had to find out what she wanted.

…

The next morning, both the Empress Dowager and Xiao Yu had the wild hares and pheasants that Xiao Kezhi hunted for breakfast in their respective palaces. Even the courtiers who came to pay their respects at the Taiji Hall got to eat roasted hare and pheasant soup.

Everyone was surprised and couldn’t help but wonder why the emperor suddenly went hunting last night. They were even more amazed by his riding and hunting skills. They found it incredible that he was able to hunt so many wild animals at night.

The military generals who had been overlooked in the royal court for years and were left idle without duty suddenly had hope again. They believed that the new Emperor would have good plans for them. On the other hand, the scholarly courtiers were worried and fearful that they would be despised from now on.

Xiao Yu took note of the situation and felt a growing bad feeling.

A month was nearly over. Once the national mourning period was completed, everyone would take off their mourning clothes and the kingdom would return to how it was before. The state matters that were postponed for a whole month would be brought up again. Meanwhile, as the eldest son of the previous Emperor and the current Crown Prince, Xiao Yu had no clue as to what the new Emperor had in store for him.

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