On the other side, in the Yushan Palace.
Qin Lan was led by the maid to the palace that was originally prepared for the Noble Consort De.
"You'll be the only one staying here, Qin Lan. You'll have to go to the kitchen to get your dinner by yourself," the maid instructed briefly before leaving.
Qin Lan closed the palace door tightly. After a simple cleaning, she took out a black stick - like object from her bosom.
This was a special scent signal of the Qin family. Once launched into the sky, the powder inside would precipitate within a radius of one li with the wind. The smell of the powder would attract the Qin family's messenger pigeons in the vicinity. It was a common emergency communication method for the Qin family's secret guards.
This method was mainly used when they knew there were Qin family's messenger pigeons nearby, as the smell of the powder didn't travel very far.
She lit a fire starter and launched the signal flare into the sky. With a soft "pop" in the air, the powder exploded and scattered.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
Qin Lan walked over and opened it. Standing at the door was Yu'er, the personal guard of the Noble Consort Xian.
Yu'er smiled and said, "The Noble Consort Xian said that since the Noble Consort De has left, she's afraid no one will take care of you here. So she sent me to invite you to have dinner in her palace."
Qin Lan was stunned for a moment and replied, "How dare this humble servant dine with the Noble Consort Xian? It would be too much of an honor."
Yu'er said, "The Noble Consort Xian said that if you refuse, I should tell you, 'Don't think I don't recognize you. One of your hairpins was once given to me as an apology by him'."
Qin Lan was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Understood. I'll go right away."
The next day was the spring hunt.
Sikong Ting slowly woke up. He felt sore all over, especially his arms, which were so numb that he could hardly feel them.
He slowly opened his eyes, and what came into view was a familiar face. Qin Huaiqiu was resting his head on Sikong Ting's arm, curled up against his chest, breathing evenly and sleeping soundly.
Sikong Ting was in a daze for a while. Suddenly, it was as if firecrackers were going off and gongs and drums were sounding in his mind. His face turned red from the top of his head to his toes.
He opened his mouth, overwhelmed by surprise and panic, not knowing what to do. Since Qin Huaiqiu was still sleeping and he couldn't pull out his arm, he had to endure the numbness and stiffness and lie still in bed.
In his sleep, Qin Huaiqiu smacked his lips slightly, as if having a dream. Sikong Ting's heart skipped a beat. He lowered his eyes and began to look at Qin Huaiqiu's sleeping face.
When it came to the beauty of the Noble Consort De, Sikong Ting would definitely agree. But different from the ordinary delicate and gentle women, the Noble Consort De exuded a natural and heroic aura from the inside out. He had thick eyelashes and a pair of sword - shaped eyebrows. Every gesture showed his valiance.
Looking at him, Sikong Ting felt as if something had suddenly lit up a part of his heart. He couldn't tell what that feeling was, but he knew that part was warm and reassuring, just like the person in his arms at the moment, making him feel comfortable and reluctant to let go.
The sound of footsteps approached. Xu Xian said softly outside the tent, "Your Majesty, it's time to get up."
"Okay."
Sikong Ting took a deep look at Qin Huaiqiu. He gently patted Qin Huaiqiu's face with his free hand and said, "Wake up."
Qin Huaiqiu was sleeping soundly. Suddenly, he felt someone patting him. He opened his eyes bleary - eyed, and what he saw was Sikong Ting's face up close. The young emperor was looking down at him. In his sword - shaped eyebrows and hawk - like eyes, his sleepy appearance was reflected.
"Um..." Qin Huaiqiu rubbed his eyes and was about to get up. He tried to prop himself up to sit, but froze in place the moment he moved.
He could clearly feel that there was something hard between his legs. His face turned white first, and then slowly flushed.
What... Why did this have to happen at this moment?!
Sikong Ting looked at his expression and leaned close to his ear and asked, "Still not awake?"
It was like a thunderbolt exploding in Qin Huaiqiu's mind. At this moment, the distance between his lower body and Sikong Ting was less than half a foot. As long as Sikong Ting moved forward a little, he would be close to that part. He was so scared that his face turned even paler. He quickly struggled to sit up.
Sikong Ting was startled to see him dazed one second and struggling the next. He quickly grabbed his arm and asked, "Noble Consort De? What's wrong?"
Qin Huaiqiu was suddenly grabbed by the arm. He jerked his hand away as if electrocuted. Then, unsteady on his feet, he fell backward. Sikong Ting was pushed by him and didn't have time to catch him. He watched as Qin Huaiqiu lost his balance and fell to the ground with a "thud".
"Noble Consort De?!"
The fall woke Qin Huaiqiu up. He quickly propped himself up and knelt on the ground, saying, "This humble concubine deserves death. I was so drowsy that I offended Your Majesty. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
Sikong Ting looked at Qin Huaiqiu kneeling on the ground and felt very annoyed. In order not to disturb his sleep, he didn't even want to pull out his arm even after waking up. But this guy's actions just now showed an obvious tendency to avoid him, which made Sikong Ting extremely irritable.
"What did you dream about?" Sikong Ting asked.
"Your Majesty, this concubine dreamed... dreamed..." Qin Huaiqiu paused and said, "I dreamed that I was being chased by a wild animal while hunting."
After hearing this, Sikong Ting felt a little better. He paused and said, "Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The servants brought in the water for washing up. Qin Huaiqiu quickly began to wash. The erection between his legs had already softened because of the scare just now, but Qin Huaiqiu still felt very embarrassed. He could only try to distract himself while washing his face. When he finished, Sikong Ting was still sitting on the edge of the bed, not moving.
"Your Majesty?"
Sikong Ting glanced at him and said, "Come here."
Qin Huaiqiu didn't want to go. He stood still and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Massage my arm."
Qin Huaiqiu: "..."
Before the spring hunt, the emperor had to preside over the sacrifice to heaven to pray for the country's prosperity, the people's well - being, and good weather. Qin Huaiqiu yawned and stood below the stage, looking at Sikong Ting on the stage blankly.
He followed the procedure set by the Ministry of Rites and completed the sacrifice step by step. When he lit the bonfire, the eager hunters below erupted into cheers.
Sikong Ting slowly walked down from the sacrificial stage. He walked up to Qin Huaiqiu. Seeing his lack of interest, he couldn't help but reach out and touch his head, saying, "Getting impatient waiting?"
Qin Huaiqiu turned his head away angrily.
There were indeed too many red - tape rituals in the palace. Even after a month in the palace, he still couldn't get used to them. If this spring hunt was held on the border, Qin Feng probably wouldn't care about anything. He would just open a few jars of good wine, raise a wine bowl, drink it in one gulp, then throw it away and say, "Start!"
But this was the Central Plains after all. Qin Huaiqiu pursed his lips.
"It's about to start," Sikong Ting whispered in his ear amidst the cheers.
"Wu - " The sound of the ceremonial horn sounded, announcing that the spring hunt was about to begin.
Sikong Ting pulled Qin Huaiqiu to the front of the team.
Since Qin Huaiqiu had said before that he knew how to ride and shoot, the Ministry of Rites had also prepared a horse for him this time. But considering that he was a noble consort, the horse was actually a foal that had just been born not long ago.
Qin Huaiqiu looked at the horse that was a head shorter than the ordinary horses and twitched the corner of his mouth, asking, "That horse, is it for this concubine?"
Sikong Ting looked and said, "Yes."
"Your Majesty," Qin Huaiqiu grabbed Sikong Ting's sleeve and said, "This concubine has practiced martial arts since childhood under the guidance of General Qin Feng of the North - Guarding Army. Your Majesty giving this concubine such a young horse, is this not an insult to this concubine?"
Sikong Ting was stunned. His eyes darkened and he said, "I was considering that the situation in the mountains would be unknown later, and I might not be able to take care of you."
Qin Huaiqiu stared at Sikong Ting without saying a word.
Sikong Ting looked at him, sighed, and said to the official of the Ministry of Rites beside him, "Lead a good horse here."
The official bowed and backed away. After a while, he led a strong red horse over. When Qin Huaiqiu saw the horse, his eyes lit up. He walked forward and grabbed the reins. The official of the Ministry of Rites wanted to help him get on the horse, but Qin Huaiqiu ignored him. He stepped on the stirrup with one foot, then exerted force with his foot, and with a perfect spin, he was on the horse.
Sikong Ting stood on one side with his hands behind his back. Looking at Qin Huaiqiu's agile figure, there was a faint smile on his lips.
Qin Huaiqiu took out a hair tie from his bosom, tied his hair into a high ponytail with his hand, then lifted his chin at Sikong Ting, with a hint of provocation.
Sikong Ting laughed. He also mounted his horse. He rode to the front of the team, slowly raised the long bow in his hand, and said in a deep and powerful voice befitting an emperor, "Let the hunt begin!"