The Beiyuan hunting competition was limited to three hours, but military officers could leave early if they were already satisfied with their scores, felt that staying longer would be futile, or had the misfortune of getting injured.
When the hunt had gone on for about two hours, the number of military officers coming out began to increase.
A tent had been set up on the left side of the hunting ground's exit. The officers would hand their prey over to the palace servants guarding this area, receive a token with their score, and then go elsewhere to collect their reward money.
Yao Huang, the First Princess, and the Second Princess led some of their accompanying noble ladies over to watch the excitement, while proper and demure, or timid and blood-fearing princesses and ladies like Chen Ying and Zheng Yuanzhen stayed where they were.
Consort Xian was not surprised by her daughter-in-law Chen Ying's choice. Sweeping her gaze past the wife of Duke Zhenguo, Consort Xian asked in surprise, "Why didn't Li Fuwei go?"
Li Fuwei, the beloved legitimate second daughter of the Duke Zhenguo's estate, was just sixteen years old.
Unlike her gentle, demure, and ill-fated late sister, the former Princess Consort Kang, Li Fuwei had loved martial arts since childhood. Her skills with swords and spears were top-notch, and she often accompanied her older brothers to hunt in the mountains on the outskirts of the capital.
Li Fuwei's original name was Li Fuwei (with the floral Wei), but she had changed it herself when she was around ten years old.
When Emperor Yongchang issued a decree to select consorts for the three princes the year before last, he required the candidates to have reached the hairpin age of fifteen. At only fourteen, Li Fuwei was unable to participate; otherwise, Consort Xian would have very much liked to select the second daughter of the Li family for her son, and she believed the Li family would have been willing as well.
Li Fuwei replied respectfully, "To answer Your Highness, I have seen many hunting scenes in my daily life, so I do not wish to join in the excitement."
Consort Xian did not think much of it.
After Li Fuwei sat back down, the wife of Duke Zhenguo quietly patted her daughter's hand.
Originally, her daughter had also wanted to participate in this hunt. If the sons of the nobility could, naturally the daughters of the nobility with martial arts skills could too. However, when her daughter learned that her two older brothers were going to act as Prince Kang's assistants, she lost interest. Her reason was: what if she strove for first place and accidentally stole Prince Kang's thunder? Since she couldn't compete properly, rather than going onto the field and putting on a half-hearted performance, it was better to stay outside and watch the competition.
Over by the tent, the Second Princess covered her nose with a handkerchief while observing the prey brought back by the military officers. The First Princess, afraid that other noble ladies might accidentally bump into her second sister-in-law, insisted on holding Yao Huang's left arm.
Yao Huang couldn't do anything about her.
After watching for a while, the Second Princess suddenly cried out, "Second Brother is back!"
Yao Huang immediately looked toward the inside of the hunting ground and indeed saw Prince Hui riding on horseback, followed by the princely estate's guards, Zhang Yue and Wang Dong.
As their eyes met, Prince Hui seemed to frown slightly.
Yao Huang glanced at the crowd of noble ladies around her, knowing that Prince Hui was worrying about her again. She smiled at Prince Hui and led the two princesses to the side closest to the hunting ground's exit.
When Prince Hui was close enough, Yao Huang saw a deer still kicking and struggling on Wang Dong's horse. On Zhang Yue's side, there was a half-grown wild boar about four feet long and a gray rabbit, both of which had been shot through the throat with a single arrow.
For prey destined to be killed, this method of death actually spared them from suffering too much pain.
Prince Hui, sitting on his horse, saw the pleasant surprise in his consort's bright eyes.
The Second Princess calculated the score beside her: "A deer is ten points, a wild boar is five points, and a rabbit is one point. Second Brother has sixteen points in total!"
With about a hundred young military officers, foxes were hard to hunt, and wolves and deer added up to only thirty, which was simply not enough to go around. Anyone who managed to hunt just one of them was guaranteed an above-average score.
Everyone knew that Prince Hui's legs were crippled; to still be able to beat more than half of the young military officers like this was truly impressive.
Zhao Sui explained, "I've been picking up strays on the outskirts of the mountain. Fortunately, my luck was pretty good."
Deer were highly sought-after ten-point prey. Zhao Sui suspected that the one he hunted had been deliberately driven toward him by someone. He appreciated the gesture, but to prevent the people inside from continuing to help, Zhao Sui changed locations. Encountering a wild boar running out of the mountain was indeed pure luck.
Zhang Yue and Wang Dong unloaded the prey. One took Prince Hui's score token, and the other went to collect the silver, casually instructing that Prince Hui's deer should be kept alive and asking the palace servants to temporarily send it to the Rare Beast Garden for the garden's veterinarian to treat.
Yao Huang followed Prince Hui out of the crowd and asked in confusion, "Where is my brother?"
Zhao Sui said, "I told him to go hunt on his own."
He could see Yao Lin's anticipation for this hunt. Whether for the reward money or the glory, Zhao Sui didn't want to hold him back, and he truly didn't need an assistant.
Yao Huang said, "With so many people, he doesn't even have a helper. It would be a miracle if he manages to snatch anything good. Then Your Highness should go back first, and I'll wait for him a bit longer?"
Zhao Sui: "...Stay safe."
Yao Huang smiled and nodded, returning to the First Princess's side.
Prince Kang's exit caused quite a commotion because he brought back an enormous amount of prey: a white fox, two wolves, two deer, and a large adult wild boar, totaling 115 points, the highest score among the military officers so far.
The Second Princess whispered, "Did Big Brother actually not go look for the red fox? It's such a good prize that others wouldn't dare hunt even if they saw it. As long as Big Brother found it, he would definitely be able to hunt it."
Because Prince Hui had no intention of striving for first place, Yao Huang didn't care at all who took the top three total scores, nor had she thought about who the red fox would belong to. Hearing the Second Princess's words, Yao Huang finally realized: the Emperor hosted the hunting competition and provided the reward money, so of course the military officers had to tactfully give the Emperor face and leave the greatest glory for the imperial descendants.
The First Princess thought of a possibility: "Could it be that Fourth Brother found it?"
The fourteen-year-old Fourth Prince was also participating in this hunt.
The Second Princess: "...His archery skills are probably worse than my golf skills, unless the red fox crashed headfirst into a tree near him and lay motionless for him to shoot."
Just as she finished speaking, the Fourth Prince came out with his two guards and assistant, having hunted a three-point river deer—better than coming back empty-handed!
As the end of the hunt drew nearer, almost all the military officers had come out. But since the red fox had not yet appeared, even Emperor Yongchang was anticipating whether the last few people would bring a surprise.
While others paid no attention to whether Yao Lin, the obscure brother-in-law of Prince Hui, was present or not, Yao Huang knew her brother hadn't come out yet. She worried one moment if her careless brother had gotten injured, felt sorry the next moment if her silly brother was still chasing some wild pheasant or rabbit all over the mountains just to earn a few more taels of silver, and then...
Suddenly, Yao Huang noticed a gaze. She abruptly looked over and caught the hurried head-turning motion of the Second Young Master of Duke Zhenguo's estate, who was standing next to Prince Kang.
Looking again at Prince Kang's profile, which showed no joy despite clearly holding the current highest score, Yao Huang's heart began to beat faster.
A few more hoofbeats echoed from inside the hunting ground.
Yao Huang raised her head and saw four fast horses. Her brother was sitting on one of the fine steeds. Looking at the back of his horse, a small bundle of prey was netted on the left side, and two exposed wild pheasants were tied to a rope on the right.
A moment later, Yao Huang saw the two rows of white teeth her brother revealed because he was smiling so happily, and she finally clearly saw the red-furred fox in the net.
Prince Kang also felt Yao Lin's sincere and overly pure joy. At this moment, he finally believed Li Guantang's guess: this person hunted the red fox purely for the reward money and it had absolutely nothing to do with his second brother.
"Your Majesty, look!"
As soon as he exited the hunting grounds, Yao Lin reined in his horse and eagerly pulled off his net bag, holding it high to show his catch to Emperor Yongchang opposite him.
Emperor Yongchang looked at the young man's bright, round black eyes, which closely resembled those of his second son's wife, and smiled. "Not bad. Tell me, how did you manage to hunt a red fox?"
Yao Lin turned his head and pointed at Li Guantang, who was standing beside Prince Kang. "I was just riding around the mountain at random, hoping to hunt a wolf or a deer. By sheer luck, I saw someone driving a red fox my way. At that moment, I only had eyes for the fox. I chased after it and fired two arrows in succession. Only after I hit it did I realize it was the Second Young Master Li who had driven it over. I've already made up my mind to split the reward money with Second Young Master Li later. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have stumbled upon such good luck!"
Everyone turned to look at Li Guantang in unison.
Li Guantang: "...My skills were inferior. What you shot is yours. There is no need to share the reward with me."
Who cares about fifty taels of silver!
Yao Lin: "If you don't want it, fine. I'll treat you to drinks later!"
Li Guantang: "..."
Yao Lin went off to hand over his prey and collect his tally and reward. A hundred taels of silver weighed about seven catties, but he lifted it effortlessly.
As the scoring for Yao Lin and the other three concluded, the top three of this hunt were also determined. Prince Kang took first place with 115 points, Yao Lin came in second with 102 points, and third place went to a young nobleman who had hunted another white fox, scoring a total of 87 points with his other catches.
For a prince, winning first place was more about the honor. Emperor Yongchang rewarded Prince Kang with the standard hundred taels of gold for the champion and praised him with a simple "Your martial skills have improved," and left it at that.
When it came to Yao Lin, Emperor Yongchang smiled with exceptional satisfaction. "I held this hunting competition with such fanfare precisely to select young men of both martial prowess and courage. Being able to shoot a red fox shows your superb horsemanship and archery; daring to shoot it shows your commendable courage. I told you all to give it your all, and you were the one who listened to my words the most. I am very pleased. Aside from promoting you two ranks, I also wish to bestow upon you a good marriage. Are you willing?"
Yao Lin was stunned. Sitting among the female guests, Yao Huang also stared blankly at Emperor Yongchang.
Emperor Yongchang kept his gaze fixed on Yao Lin. "What, are you unwilling?"
Yao Lin hastily knelt down and said, "To receive a marriage bestowed by Your Majesty is my good fortune. It's just... I don't know who Your Majesty intends to give me, and I'm afraid the lady might look down on a boorish fellow like me."
Emperor Yongchang smiled and looked toward Duke Zhenguo, Li Qian. "Guantang's horsemanship and archery are somewhat inferior to Yao Lin's. What does the Duke think of this young man?"
Li Qian looked Yao Lin up and down and smiled. "He has a strapping physique and a striking appearance. He is an excellent choice for a son-in-law."
Emperor Yongchang: "Then if I give him to you to be your excellent son-in-law, would the Duke be pleased?"
Li Qian smiled bitterly. "With Your Majesty acting as matchmaker, it is something this subject could only dream of. However, my youngest daughter has been highly opinionated since childhood. She even managed to change the name I gave her. Now, when it comes to choosing a husband, I'm afraid I cannot make the decision for her. I beg Your Majesty's understanding."
He had two sons and two daughters. His eldest daughter had died early, so the couple doted on their second daughter even more. Li Qian understood that the Emperor was displeased because both of his sons had gone out of their way to flatter Prince Kang today, losing the integrity expected of military officers. He was willing to accept whatever punishment the Emperor meted out to him and his sons, but when it came to his daughter's marriage, Li Qian was unwilling to force his beloved child.
Emperor Yongchang also knew that Li Qian was telling the honest truth. He looked toward the female guests and waved amiably at Li Fuwei.
Li Fuwei walked over with a calm expression.
Emperor Yongchang smiled. "I like Yao Lin, but you are a little girl I've watched grow up. I value your feelings even more. If you feel Yao Lin is not to your liking, I will absolutely not force you."
Li Fuwei looked at Yao Lin.
Yao Lin blushed with shame. Wasn't the Emperor playing matchmaker blindly? How could he be worthy of a noble lady from a Duke's estate, especially a girl so precious and beautiful?
Having finished her appraisal, Li Fuwei said, "I am grateful for Your Majesty's profound favor. I also admire Lord Yao's excellent martial skills. I am willing to marry him."
At the very least, among these hundred or so young military officers and noble scions, Yao Lin had the most backbone.
