Lu Wanning ignored their bickering and only asked, "Third Brother, why are you here alone? Didn't you come with the others?"
"They wouldn't let me play with them. They're all flattering that Fu Rongxuan..." The Prince of Jia's Heir was originally looking aggrieved, but when he mentioned Fu Rongxuan, he stammered and looked at Lu Wanning guiltily.
Lu Wanning patted his head and asked, "What, did you lose in the hunting?"
The Prince of Jia's Heir pouted and said, "I'm still young. They're bullying the young with their seniority. It's so annoying!"
Lu Wanning said with a smile, "You're already fourteen. You're not young anymore. Fu Rongxuan was able to hunt fierce beasts when he was thirteen, and it was during the autumn hunt!"
The Prince of Jia's Heir got even angrier. "Eldest Sister, Fu Rongxuan treated you like that. Why are you still speaking up for him?"
Lu Wanning shook her head. "I'm just stating the truth. But the autumn hunt is in the hunting ground, which is different from our current hunting. Why would a person like him come here to compete with us for prey? Isn't it boring?"
The Prince of Jia's Heir nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, exactly. People like them won't gain any fun from beating us."
Zhen Yan scoffed. "Third Brother, you're wrong here. Fu Rongxuan didn't gain his fame for hunting fierce beasts. When he was thirteen, he hunted a pregnant doe but released it out of pity, which became a much - talked - about story."
Lu Wanning raised her eyebrows. This story was quite interesting. Whether it was true or not, the Fuguogong Mansion and Shi Aohan were of the same ilk. They all liked to manipulate public opinion.
Releasing the pregnant doe was originally a normal act. To let the prey in the forest recuperate, an unwritten rule among hunters was to only hunt male animals. If they caught a female or a young animal, they should release it. But the Fu family exaggerated this act because of Fu Rongxuan's young age. In fact, it was just to build up Fu Rongxuan's reputation.
The Prince of Jia's Heir reached out his hand to touch Lu Wanning's face, but she dodged him immediately.
"What are you doing?"
The Prince of Jia's Heir shrugged. "I thought you'd become normal after leaving Fu Rongxuan. You won't even let me touch you. How is that normal?"
Lu Wanning glared at him. "Are you crazy? How old are you? It was okay when we were kids, but now that we're grown - up, can we still act as casually as before?"
The Prince of Jia's Heir stared at her blankly. "Why not? We're sworn siblings."
Lu Wanning pushed him. "Come on. Even real siblings can't do this. Don't mess around. If my reputation is ruined, you'll be responsible."
Hearing this, the Prince of Jia's Heir immediately jumped back, looked Lu Wanning up and down, and shook his head. "You? No way. I don't want that."
Just as Lu Wanning was about to get angry, the Prince of Jia's Heir continued.
"You've been my elder sister for ten years. How could you become my wife?"
Lu Wanning didn't want to argue with him anymore. She simply mounted her horse and rode into the forest. While riding, she gossiped with Zhen Yan. "You know about what happened to Fu Rongli the day before yesterday, right?"
Zhen Yan nodded. "The Fu family sent Fu Rongli to their manor. Hehe, I have to say the Fu family is really heartless. After all, he's their son. How can he bear being treated like a slave? I heard that in a couple of days, they'll open the ancestral hall and remove his name from the family genealogy. Tsk tsk tsk. He deserves it."
Lu Wanning sneered. "He's not the mastermind, but this is already the best outcome. If they didn't sacrifice him, how could my father and elder brothers compromise? Once it goes to the Ministry of Justice, the entire Fu family won't be able to explain themselves."
Zhen Yan rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. I know your father and elder brothers dote on you the most."
Lu Wanning whipped the horse's rump where Zhen Yan was riding. "Don't your father and elder brothers dote on you?"
The horse galloped. Zhen Yan exclaimed, "Ning'er, you bad girl. You wait for me..."
Lu Wanning laughed so hard that she leaned forward and backward. She kicked the stirrups and wanted to catch up, but was stopped by the Prince of Jia's Heir.
"Eldest Sister, there's a result regarding the case of the Prince of Xiao yesterday. Do you know about it?"
Lu Wanning had been in a bad mood these two days, and her elder brothers hadn't mentioned this. She asked curiously, "There's a result? Has a verdict been passed?"
The Prince of Jia's Heir shook his head. "Not yet. After all, he's a prince. How to punish him depends on the emperor's decision. But today, the royal clan is already inventorying the properties of the Prince of Xiao's Mansion. And yesterday, the Princess He Kang was stripped of her title and rank for offending the queen and was sent away this morning."
Lu Wanning really didn't know about this. He Kang wasn't a smart one, but for something to happen to her so quickly, it was probably the queen's intention. Maybe the queen wanted to use her little daughter He Kang to save the entire Prince of Xiao's Mansion.
But probably, the queen's plan would fail.
Lu Wanning didn't really care about this. Looking up, she saw a maid running past. She recognized the maid. It was the personal maid of He Chan.
"Hey, why is He Chan here?"
The Prince of Jia's Heir scratched his head. "I don't know. But when I came here today, I saw He Chan here. Eldest Sister, you don't like He Chan, right? Come on. I'll take you to play a trick on her."
It was just a childish prank. Lu Wanning wasn't in the mood for this now. She just shook her head. "Forget it. It's a waste of time. I'll go hunting with Sister Zhen."
The Prince of Jia's Heir quickly said, "Don't go. They won't play with me, and you won't take me either. I'll be so bored alone."
Lu Wanning blinked and asked, "Who are 'they'?"
The Prince of Jia's Heir said aggrievedly, "It's Sheng Songyan. He said I'm useless and won't let me play with them."
The Prince of Qishan held great power, and the emperor was quite wary of him. Therefore, the emperor was very eager to win over Sheng Songyan, the heir of the prince. But the Prince of Jia was just a powerless side branch of the royal family. Although he was a prince in name, he was actually inferior to an ordinary duke, not to mention his heir.
So among the noble young men in the capital, they were willing to flatter Sheng Songyan, but few were willing to please the Prince of Jia's Heir.
Lu Wanning didn't dwell on this. She just asked, "Is Sheng Songyan here too? Then... where's the Prince of Yu?"
The Prince of Jia's Heir said, "The Prince of Yu is so busy every day. He doesn't have time."
Lu Wanning was a bit disappointed. She hadn't seen the Prince of Yu for many days. When she was busy, it was okay, but once she was idle, for some reason, she always thought of him.
Just then, He Chan rode over on her horse. She looked at Lu Wanning coldly and motioned with her chin. "Lu Wanning, dare you have a race with me?"
Lu Wanning looked at her in bewilderment and shook her head. "Sorry, I don't have time to play with you."
A flash of annoyance crossed He Chan's eyes. She said again, "Are you scared?"
The goading tactic didn't work on her.
Lu Wanning shrugged. "It's not that I'm scared. It's just not worth wasting time on you. In such a beautiful spring, I can spend time with my friends. Why should I waste time on someone like you?"
"You..."
Lu Wanning rolled her eyes. "You what? Are you worth it?"
He Chan took a deep breath. A hint of viciousness flashed in her eyes, and she continued, "Lu Wanning, you've always hoped that He Nanfeng and Jiang Shishi would have a smooth life, haven't you?"
Lu Wanning frowned. "What do you mean?"