Led by Gu Ruobai, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
The emperor watched this scene with a beaming face. "It seems that the winner of this competition is Miss Su from the Su family. Does anyone have any objections?"
After witnessing Su Mingyu's superb archery skills, no one dared to say a word.
Noticing this, the emperor deliberately cast his gaze towards the Khan beside him. "Well... what's your opinion, Khan?"
The Khan's face turned pale, and he remained silent.
The emperor narrowed his long and narrow eyes and chuckled. "Today, Su Mingyu has made great contributions. She not only saved the third prince of Mongolia but also hunted down the black bear and protected my people."
Saying this, the emperor smiled at Su Mingyu. "Miss Su, tell me what you want. As long as it's not too excessive, I'll grant it to you."
As soon as these words were spoken, gasps could be heard from the audience.
It was well - known that in previous autumn hunts, the emperor had never been this happy, let alone made such a verbal promise that he would grant almost anything reasonable.
With this promise, Su Mingyu could almost do whatever she wanted without having to worry about anyone causing trouble for her.
Unlike those who were envious, Su Mingyu didn't think much of it.
She participated in this competition mainly to help Gu Ruobai gain honor.
So she really hadn't thought carefully about what to ask for.
Money? She could earn it herself.
Power? Gu Ruobai's was hers.
As for a person, having Gu Ruobai was enough for her.
Seeing Su Mingyu frowning tightly, the emperor suddenly burst out laughing. "You girl, when I asked you to prove your ability, you agreed without even raising your eyelids. Now, when I ask you to think about what benefits you want, it's giving you a hard time?"
Caught off - guard, Su Mingyu scratched her head. "Your Majesty, I actually haven't thought it through yet."
"Once, all I wanted was to find someone to love me whole - heartedly and spend the rest of my life with me."
"But now I already have the Prince Ruixian, so this only obsession of mine has been fulfilled."
Saying this, Su Mingyu looked up at the emperor and symbolically suggested, "Your Majesty, could you please keep this wish for now? When I need it in the future, I'll come and ask for it. How about that?"
Hearing this, the emperor narrowed his eyes. "What if I say no?"
Su Mingyu wasn't overly sad. She shrugged and said calmly, "If it's not possible, then forget it. Anyway, I don't really care about this wish."
As soon as she said this, people began to whisper among themselves.
"Ah! Did I hear it right? She doesn't even want the emperor's promise?"
"Is this girl really that open - minded or does she have other motives?"
Unlike the malicious speculations of those people, Gu Ruobai felt as sweet as if he had eaten honey.
This girl finally expressed her feelings towards him, and she did it in front of so many people. Although it was a bit bold and unruly, it also helped him get rid of a lot of admirers. So the corners of Gu Ruobai's mouth curved up in a very pleased arc.
The Prince Yu stared fixedly at Su Mingyu with his deep eyes. Although Su Mingyu's victory in this competition had brought honor to the whole country, she had stolen his limelight, which made the Prince Yu a bit unhappy.
But what made him even more unhappy was Su Mingyu's attitude towards Gu Ruobai.
As a woman, she was so bold as to confess her love in front of so many people. It was simply crazy.
However, the Prince Yu had to admit in his heart that he was actually a bit jealous of Gu Ruobai.
What on earth did this disabled Gu Ruobai do to deserve Su Mingyu's love!
He clenched his fist so tightly that he didn't even notice when his neatly trimmed nails dug into his flesh.
From afar, Su Yueyue watched Su Mingyu standing in the crowd, being flattered and looking complacent. Her face turned as black as ink, filled with thick jealousy.
The emperor also didn't expect that the girl in front of him would give up such a good opportunity so easily. He was stunned for a moment and then burst out laughing. "You've made such great contributions today. If I don't even grant you this small request, wouldn't I seem too heartless? It would make the people lose faith in me."
Although Su Mingyu still maintained a respectful expression on her face, she rolled her eyes mentally at the emperor's changeable attitude.
"Then Mingyu would like to thank Your Majesty here."
The emperor waved his hand. "You deserve it. Go and sit down. You've been busy all afternoon. It's time to take a good rest."
After thanking the emperor, Su Mingyu pushed Gu Ruobai to his seat.
Everything that had happened today was so incredible that everyone didn't come back to their senses until Lord Zhang shouted, "The banquet begins!"
Just as Su Mingyu and Gu Ruobai sat down, Gu Ruobai took her hand.
Su Mingyu looked at him suspiciously. "What's wrong?"
Gu Ruobai shook his head. "It's nothing. I just want to hold your hand."
Seeing this, Su Mingyu grinned at him. "Don't worry. I'm really not injured."
"I know." Gu Ruobai nodded. "But don't do it again next time."
Although he seemed extremely calm throughout the process, in fact, he had been extremely worried and restless.
If he hadn't had absolute faith in Su Mingyu's strength, he would probably have sent Mu Yi to look for her long ago.
"When I heard those who slandered you say that you were holding a severed limb, I felt scared for the first time."
Gu Ruobai lowered his eyes and looked at Su Mingyu. His pair of dark eyes were filled with deep affection. "I was thinking at that time, if you also encountered that wild beast and couldn't defeat it, what should I do... Girl, promise me, don't do such dangerous things again in the future."
It was the first time for Su Mingyu to see such a vulnerable Gu Ruobai. Her heart softened, and she nodded with pursed lips. "Okay, I promise you."
Just as they were talking, suddenly a wine cup was stretched out. "Miss Su, you're really a heroic woman! I'm truly impressed!"
Su Mingyu turned around and looked at him, frowning in confusion. "Who are you?"
The man chuckled. "I'm just someone who admires Miss Su. Miss Su, may I offer you a toast?"
Saying this, he was about to hand the wine cup to Su Mingyu. Just as Su Mingyu was about to take it, Gu Ruobai snatched the cup before her. "My wife is not suitable for drinking."
The man was stunned for a moment and then smiled ambiguously. "Is the Prince Ruixian suspecting that there's something wrong with this wine?"
Gu Ruobai raised his eyebrows but didn't answer. "Does Lord Shi have something to say?"
Shi Minglong?
Su Mingyu immediately understood why Gu Ruobai's face looked so grim.
She smiled at Shi Minglong. "Sorry, I've exhausted a lot today. Now I just want to take a good rest."