Seeing Jing Xunchè shaking his head, Mu Fēngqié felt rather helpless. What on earth was this fox up to?
The fox grew impatient when it saw they didn't understand its intention. It struggled to stand up, walked over to Mu Fēngqié, picked up its cub in its mouth, placed it at her feet, and rubbed against her leg.
This time, Mu Fēngqié got the message. "You want me to take care of your cub?"
"Squeak..." The fox nodded.
"But it's your own cub. If you're not going to take care of it, where are you going?"
The fox looked at its wound and licked it.
Mu Fēngqié understood. It had just been injured and, due to the shock, its cub was born prematurely. It was on the verge of death and had no other choice but to use its cries to attract people.
This was a risky move. It wouldn't have done this if there had been any other option. If it left the newly - born cub here, it would either be taken away by people or eaten by wild beasts.
Either way was too dangerous.
"I understand. Don't worry. I'll take good care of your cub."
Right after Mu Fēngqié said this, the fox collapsed and slowly closed its eyes. Perhaps due to the mother - cub bond, the newly - born fox cub started to wail.
Mu Fēngqié picked up the fox cub and looked at Jing Xunchè. "Let's bury this fox. At least it'll have a proper resting place."
"Okay." At this moment, Jing Xunchè would agree to whatever Mu Fēngqié said, let alone digging a hole to bury a fox.
With the little fox in her arms, Mu Fēngqié had no interest in hunting anymore. She and Jing Xunchè returned to their tent. When they got back, they heard that Yuán Yǔchuān had promised that the first - place winner in the hunting competition could make a request, and he would fulfill it within his power to add some excitement.
Sure enough, this promise got everyone more enthusiastic. But Mu Fēngqié and the others didn't really care. They knew well that the requests the emperor would agree to would only be minor things.
However, there were some people who just didn't get it, like the princess of Huāmǎn Country and Mù Xīngróu.
The princess of Huāmǎn Country thought that if she won first place, she could ask the emperor of the Qín Dynasty for Jing Xunchè. She was determined to marry him! Having made up her mind, she went to talk to Yuán Yǔchuān.
Mù Xīngróu had a similar thought. She planned that after Young Master Wáng won first place, she would ask him to cede the title to her. Then she would request the emperor to make her a princess.
By then, she would have a noble enough status to be with Young Master Wáng. She wouldn't even mind being just a concubine; she would even be willing to be the main wife.
Just like this, the two of them with their own agendas started to prepare for the battle for first place.
"Emperor of the Qín Dynasty, what do you think of my proposal? As long as I win first place, you'll give Jing Xunchè to me."
Yuán Yǔchuān looked at this brainless princess of Huāmǎn Country, his eyes glinting.
"Sure. If you can get first place, I'll grant your request." This princess was clearly a fool. If she married Jing Xunchè, he could separate Jing Xunchè from Mu Fēngqié. Moreover, he could use this princess to monitor and even control Jing Xunchè.
"In that case, Your Majesty, just wait for my good news."
"Alright."
After getting a definite answer, the princess of Huāmǎn Country couldn't wait to leave. The hunting competition lasted for three days, and one day had already passed. She had to hunt more prey in the remaining two days, even if it meant using unscrupulous means!
Soon, news spread in the hunting ground that the princess of Huāmǎn Country was robbing others of their prey. She couldn't hunt that many animals on her own, but there was no rule against taking others' prey.
This time, she even robbed Mù Xīngróu and her group.
"Damn it! This princess of Huāmǎn Country is so arrogant! Won't the emperor do something about it?" Mù Xīngróu watched the princess leave with their prey, fuming.
"Come on, Róurou. Don't be angry. Even if we don't get first place, I'll find a way to marry you. Don't worry." Young Master Wáng comforted Mù Xīngróu.
"Yeah, I knew you were the best to me." Mù Xīngróu gave Young Master Wáng a gentle smile. Her eyes were full of love for him. She had never loved anyone like this before, not even the Third Prince.
After robbing many people of their prey, the princess of Huāmǎn Country thought it was enough and started to hunt quietly on her own.
When Jing Xunchè and Mu Fēngqié heard about this, they were quite surprised. They didn't expect this princess to be so... shameless in order to win first place.
"Do you think what request the princess of Huāmǎn Country will make to the emperor if she wins first place?" Yuán Yǔhán came to visit with Ārú and started to tease Mu Fēngqié and the others.
"I think this princess has a screw loose. So, her request will definitely be for the emperor to arrange a marriage between her and Jing Xunchè. Once the emperor gives his word, a royal edict will be issued. If A - Chè doesn't agree then, he'll be defying the imperial order. Then the emperor will have plenty of ways to deal with you." Mu Fēngqié guessed correctly.
Mu Fēngqié looked at Jing Xunchè with a smile in her eyes. You really have a lot of admirers.
Jing Xunchè looked at her helplessly. I'm innocent. It's all them coming after me. You're the only one in my heart.
"In that case, we can't let this princess of Huāmǎn Country win first place."
"But she's already robbed so much prey. She must be in first place by now. And the hunting competition ends tomorrow. Where can we hunt so much prey?"
"Who said we're going hunting?"
"Then what should we do?" Ārú was confused.
"My silly Ārú. Since the princess of Huāmǎn Country can rob others of their prey, we can rob hers. Others don't do it just because they're concerned about her status. But if we do it, what can she say? Besides, there might be many people who would be happy to see her being robbed. A first - place title obtained in this way is not worth having."
After hearing Mu Fēngqié's plan, Ārú looked at her with admiration. "Sister is so smart."
"It's not a big deal. I could have thought of it too. She just got ahead of me." Yuán Yǔhán butted in discontentedly. So, Ārú, you don't need to admire others. Just admire your husband.
But Yuán Yǔhán's words didn't earn him Ārú's admiration. Instead, he got her disdain.