Wild beasts were fierce, and hunting was a dangerous endeavor. Therefore, civilian hunters usually traveled in groups when entering the mountains, or brought along one or two hunting dogs. When encountering small beasts like pheasants and wild hares, the dogs could help chase them down; when facing wolf packs or tigers and leopards, they could assist in the kill.
The royal hunt at the Northern Park also did not prohibit teaming up, but scores were calculated individually based on the arrows that struck the killing blow.
One point equaled a reward of one tael of silver, and the top three scorers would receive additional prizes.
Low-ranking military officers who lacked confidence in their archery skills or luck preferred to form teams. The one with the best marksmanship would claim the total kill score, while the others helped locate and drive the prey. After the competition, they would divide the silver reward according to a pre-agreed arrangement.
Princes, young nobles, or ambitious and skilled high-ranking officers were more eager to secure a spot in the top three to show their faces before the Emperor. They could choose to hunt alone, or they could recruit other officers to work for them. This involved a keen eye for selecting people, hunting skills, and tactical application.
Emperor Yongchang knew that the second prince had always hunted alone, bringing only two guards who were responsible for carrying the prey and did not participate in the hunt. But this year the situation was different, so Emperor Yongchang appointed Yao Lin to act as a deputy for the second prince. Given the second prince's temperament, he might not be happy if an outsider was chosen, but Yao Lin was his wife's brother. Considering how affectionate the second prince was with his wife, he probably wouldn't mind.
Having arranged things for the second prince, Emperor Yongchang looked over at Eldest Son. Unsurprisingly, he spotted the two young masters of the Li family from the Duke of Zhenguo's estate, both fine young men with exquisite horsemanship, archery, and martial arts.
With preparations complete, Emperor Yongchang led a group of dukes, marquises, renowned generals, and a squad of imperial guards, charging into the hunting grounds first.
Prince Kang and Prince Hui followed closely behind, trailed by nearly a hundred heroic and energetic young military officers.
Upon entering the hunting grounds, Emperor Yongchang rode to a higher elevation, turned his horse around, and looked back.
Prince Kang and his entourage took a relatively central path, heading straight for the mountain where the most prey was hidden. Looking to the east, Prince Hui's fine steed galloped like lightning across the flat grassland. Judging by his speed, it seemed he wanted to be the first to enter the mountain. However, Emperor Yongchang and the others saw clearly that Prince Hui did not head up the mountain at all. Instead, he kept going north, eventually obscured by the woods.
The hunt had just begun, and no one knew Prince Hui's intentions.
Emperor Yongchang was too far away to ask, but Yao Lin, seeing that the prince had no intention of entering the mountain, grew anxious: "Where is Your Highness going?"
There were too few foxes, so he didn't entertain that sweet dream. However, there were thirty wolves and deer combined. Both his and the prince's horses were one in a ten thousand fine steeds. Relying on their speed to enter the mountain first, they could easily hunt down a few wolves or deer. A deer was worth ten taels of silver, and a wolf twenty taels. As long as he hunted down just one, he could go back and show off to his hundred subordinates, as well as to his parents and grandfather at home!
The more Yao Lin thought about it, the more excited he became, but following Prince Hui further off the beaten path made him increasingly anxious.
Unfortunately, his noble and reticent prince brother-in-law did not answer him.
Yao Lin did not dare to make a sound and could only follow closely at his heels.
The hunting ground was vast. After galloping all the way, bypassing a few sparse woods, and crossing a sparkling shallow stream, about a quarter of an hour later, Zhao Sui slowed down at the northern outskirts of the mountain. Finally, he chose a cluster of seven or eight leafy, low bushes growing on a small mound. He spurred his horse to hide on the side facing away from the mountain, took down his bow and arrows, and stopped moving.
Zhang Yue and Wang Dong similarly sat motionless on their horses, guarding behind Prince Hui.
Yao Lin: "...What is the meaning of this, Your Highness?"
Zhao Sui: "Sitting back and waiting for the prey to come to us."
Yao Lin glanced at Prince Hui, then at the mountain forest ahead. As he looked, the continuous sound of galloping hooves could be heard coming from the southern side of the mountain.
Glancing back and forth a few times, Yao Lin understood: "Is Your Highness saying that the prey in the mountain will definitely flee this way because there are too many hunters entering?"
Zhao Sui: "Not necessarily. The mountain covers a wide area. Perhaps the prey will be intercepted by others before they even run over here. It's just that the chances of catching the ones that slip through the net are higher on this side."
The prey living in the mountains would not immediately flee outward just because hunters arrived. Only when they realized the mountain was completely unsafe would they flee down the mountain.
Yao Lin grimaced. High chances or not, he did not like waiting around foolishly like this.
Zhao Sui: "I have no intention of competing for a rank, so I don't need a deputy's cooperation. Go hunt in the mountain yourself, and pay attention to your safety."
Yao Lin was very tempted, but still refused: "I didn't want to compete for a rank either. The Emperor told me to follow Your Highness, so I will follow Your Highness."
Zhao Sui: "If you can hunt a wolf or a deer, the Princess Consort should be very happy."
Yao Lin thought of his sister waiting outside. Let alone a wolf, in the past, whenever he caught a rabbit in the mountains, his sister would jump three feet high in joy.
He tried to persuade Prince Hui: "If Your Highness hunts the wolf, my sister would be even happier."
Zhang Yue and Wang Dong, who had been silent for a long time: "..."
Zhao Sui lowered his eyes and said, "The mountain paths are uneven. If I go into the mountain, there is a risk of me falling off my horse."
Yao Lin: "..."
Zhao Sui: "Go on. I am more accustomed to hunting alone."
Yao Lin finally sensed it. The prince truly did not need him to follow. Besides, what use was his following? He would only say the wrong things and rub salt into the prince's wounds!
"Alright, then Your Highness wait here. I will go into the mountain to hunt wolves!"
Leaving behind this bold declaration, Yao Lin cracked his riding crop and charged into the mountain forest with a resolute expression.
Since the prince couldn't go into the mountain to hunt wolves, he would help drive the wolves over to him!
Because Prince Hui had led him around to the north of the mountain first, delaying him for a while, by the time Yao Lin entered the mountain, the young military officers from the south had also entered. Some searched for prey from south to north, while clever ones circumvented from both sides, forming a four-sided encirclement around the prey.
Red foxes and white foxes were small, intelligent beasts exceptionally skilled at hiding; encountering them was a matter of luck. Yao Lin didn't think about them. He just wanted to hunt wolves, which, despite yielding lower scores, looked much more majestic and prestigious when carried out. Deer were his second choice.
With great difficulty, he finally caught a glimpse of three wolves being driven over by others. Yao Lin chased after them, attempting to herd all three wolves toward Prince Hui's hiding spot. However, the three wolves fled in three different directions. Yao Lin could only lock his eyes on the closest one. Seeing that he was failing to herd this one too, Yao Lin gritted his teeth, drew an arrow, and nocked his bow. The arrow flew like a shooting star, striking a tree with a sharp thwack after the wolf dodged it.
Yao Lin: "..."
In the spring military examinations, his horseback archery was graded top-tier. It seemed this wolf's speed and evasion were exceptional.
Just then, another arrow shot through the air, hitting the wolf right in the side of its neck.
Yao Lin turned his head and recognized the archer as Commander Jiang Qu, the superior of Battalion Commander Li, who was in turn the superior of his own father!
Yao Lin excitedly rode over. "What incredible archery, My Lord!"
Jiang Qu glanced at him and asked, "Aren't you following His Highness?"
He had spotted Yao Lin earlier. Seeing Yao Lin herding the wolves, he had assumed Yao Lin wanted to drive them to Prince Hui's side. It wasn't until Yao Lin chose to shoot it himself and failed that Jiang Qu made his move.
Yao Lin sighed, "His Highness didn't need me to follow. He told me to come get points on my own."
Jiang Qu: "Is His Highness at the north of the mountain, waiting for the prey to come to him?"
Yao Lin's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
Jiang Qu did not answer.
That year when Prince Hui led the expedition to the Southern Frontier, he served under Prince Hui's command. It was Prince Hui who gave him the opportunity to render meritorious service, and it was also Prince Hui who mentioned his military exploits in a memorial to the throne. This allowed him, a young man from a poor family, to become a Guard Commander at such a young age.
Even back then, Prince Hui did not fight for military credit, so the Prince Hui with crippled legs would be even less likely to covet glory in this kind of hunting competition. Therefore, upon seeing His Highness Prince Hui galloping all the way north from a distance, Jiang Qu vaguely guessed his objective. Not competing was one thing, but it would be disgraceful for a dignified prince to not even catch a decent prey. Under the premise that it was inconvenient to ride into the mountains, Prince Hui would naturally choose the most suitable ambush spot.
I will help you drive the wolves. Just pretend I am competing with you. You do not need to mention me in front of the Prince or anyone else.
Yao Lin was stunned. Why is Your Excellency helping me?
Jiang Qu smiled and pointed at the wolf that had stopped struggling on the ground ahead. I took advantage of you here, so naturally I have to make it up to you somewhere else.
Prince Kang's group of five was the first to enter the mountain and the first to encounter the wolf pack.
Li Jingtang, the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's estate, and the second young master Li Guantang were both masters of horseback archery. However, on this trip, they were supposed to help Prince Kang win the championship, so they could only help drive the wolves and could not shoot the arrows themselves.
Prince Kang was quite good at playing Chuiwan, and when standing still to shoot targets, he could occasionally get a top grade. But once he started moving, his archery accuracy would drop to barely average. As for horseback archery...
When the ten wolves had not yet fully scattered, Prince Kang shot five arrows in a row, all of which missed. Under Li Jingtang's reminder, the sixth arrow was timely adjusted to the front left, and finally hit the hind leg of a wolf. Meanwhile, Li Guantang had already gone ahead to drive the wolves.
After hunting two wolves and two deer, Li Jingtang personally took Prince Kang to search for the dens of the three foxes. Li Guantang took one of Prince Kang's guards to search in a different direction, planning to call the guard over to report once they found it.
Riding on his horse, Prince Kang felt an unprecedented sense of lofty pride. In the royal hunt, the military officers tacitly left the red foxes to the princes, which was why his second and third brothers were able to hunt red foxes the previous two times. This year, his third brother did not participate, and his second brother probably would not compete with him. It was finally his turn to bring back a red fox!
After spending some effort to successfully hunt a white fox, Prince Kang's confidence in killing a red fox soared.
In the northern mountains.
Zhao Sui had been waiting for a long time. Suddenly hearing the rapid galloping sound of animal hooves hitting the ground, before drawing his bow, Zhao Sui whispered to Jing Wu, Do not move.
Jing Wu merely tilted its horse head toward the other side of the woods.
A chestnut-red deer with spots all over its back ran over in a panic. When the deer ran past the bushes where Prince Hui was hiding and finally noticed someone hiding there from the corner of its eye, the arrow in His Highness Prince Hui's hand had already been shot. It hit exactly above the hind leg of the deer, injuring the muscles and tendons but not the bone.
Wang Dong chased after it, successfully intercepted the deer that could no longer run fast, and tied it to the back of his horse with a rope.
Zhao Sui was very satisfied with this deer. Compared to wolves, the Princess Consort should prefer a live deer, which could be brought back to the prince's estate and raised in the back garden.
Deep in the woods, looking through the gaps in the branches and leaves, Cen Jun, the heir of the Marquis of Weiyuan's estate, watched Prince Hui slowly leave after hunting the deer. He made a hand gesture to his deputy opposite him and continued his own hunt.
With good luck, a wolf appeared ahead.
Cen Jun killed it with one arrow. Just as he finished, he heard a thunderous, angry roar from the opposite side, That is my wolf!
Cen Jun looked up and recognized Yao Lin, the Princess Consort's biological brother, who had been following the Prince when entering the arena. Another figure had already left on their own before getting close.
When Yao Lin charged to the front in a rage, Cen Jun calmly said, Driving it for the Prince? Unfortunately, the Prince has already left.
Yao Lin was speechless.
Cen Jun added, The Prince seems to have hunted a deer.
Yao Lin remained speechless.
Cen Jun offered, If you do not mind, I can act as your deputy this time, and you can hunt whatever you want.
Yao Lin's expression changed repeatedly. He said disdainfully, Forget it, being able to hit it is your own skill. Let us go our separate ways. I want to hunt by myself!
He wanted to earn silver, but he did not care to take advantage of others.
Leaving behind that stranger, Yao Lin picked a random direction and walked away, heading towards quieter places away from the noise.
As he walked, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the northeast. Yao Lin did not bother to identify the person on horseback because he saw the prey the other party was chasing. It was a red-furred fox, the one and only red fox worth one hundred points and one hundred taels of silver!
Yao Lin nocked an arrow while giving chase.
The person behind him told him to stop, but Yao Lin did not care. Hunting was just like this; whoever shot it owned it. He had driven wolves twice before and benefited others. Angry as he was, he had not actually fought with them.
Shooting two arrows in succession, the Yao family's military graduate, who had scored top grades in the horseback archery test of the spring martial examination, finally did not let down his years of hard practice. The second arrow hit the fox's backside!
Yao Lin laughed heartily and rushed over, untying the net bag he received before entering the arena and scooping the one-hundred-tael red fox inside.
Only then did he look at the person who had caught up.
Li Guantang, the second young master of the Duke of Zhenguo's estate, looked at him with a complex expression. If he had not been waiting for Prince Kang to come over, how could he have let the fox fall into someone else's hands?
Yao Lin smiled at him. A dignified second master of the Duke's estate would not be a sore loser, right?
Both of them followed princes. Li Guantang recognized Yao Lin, looked around, and asked, Where is the second prince?
Yao Lin replied, He went back. He is not short of silver, so he left fully satisfied after hunting a deer.
Li Guantang was left speechless.
