On Yan Mountain, horses galloped swiftly.
The Emperor, accompanied by the Empress, the princes, meritorious nobles, and young masters, began the first round of the hunt.
Some noble ladies and noblewomen interested in hunting also rode their horses at full speed. Only a few palace consorts and women like Yun Chu who were somewhat weary remained in the encampment.
Yun Chu sat under a tree, watching from afar as the two children ate pastries under the attendance of palace maids.
At this moment, a nursemaid walked toward her.
“Madam Xie, Imperial Consort Yin requests your presence for tea.”
Yun Chu’s fingers paused.
She roughly guessed why Imperial Consort Yin wanted to speak with her. She had partnered with Prince Pingxi to open the hot spring estate, so it was reasonable for Imperial Consort Yin to ask a few questions.
She followed the nursemaid to the imperial tent area.
Under the swift bustling of several hundred palace maids and eunuchs, dozens of imperial tents had already been erected. This grand display could be called a traveling palace without exaggeration.
Several older palace consorts had not gone hunting and were each resting in their tents.
When Yun Chu entered Imperial Consort Yin’s tent, she saw Imperial Consort Yin talking with a young lady around sixteen or seventeen years old.
The young lady had delicate features and a round face, looking quite endearing. They must have been discussing something that made the girl’s face flush bright red.
“Miss Fang, come here.” Imperial Consort Yin smiled and removed a bracelet from her wrist. “This is a meeting gift from me. Keep it safe.”
Miss Fang was somewhat flustered and didn’t dare accept it.
Imperial Consort Yin directly helped her put it on her wrist.
Last time she had selected Miss Tan for Third Brother, but unfortunately that boy Yuge had ruined it.
This time, before His Majesty bestowed the marriage, she would absolutely not let another maiden from a respectable family have contact with the two children…
After Miss Fang expressed her gratitude, she withdrew from the tent.
Yun Chu stepped forward and curtsied, saying, “This subject’s wife pays respects to Imperial Consort Yin.”
“Madam Xie, please sit.” Imperial Consort Yin smiled and said, “This is the first time I’ve formally met with Madam Xie, isn’t it?”
Yun Chu sat down, her bottom occupying only a third of the seat, keeping her head lowered as she replied, “Yes.”
“I heard from Third Brother that the hot spring estate above Chu Yun is under Madam Xie’s name.” Imperial Consort Yin took a sip of tea and said casually, “I had someone investigate and learned that Madam Xie obtained that estate from a merchant for a few thousand taels of silver. How about this—I’ll pay twenty thousand taels of silver, and Madam Xie can transfer the estate to Third Brother’s name.”
Yun Chu was startled. She truly hadn’t anticipated that Imperial Consort Yin would want to buy her estate.
It was she who had actively sought out Prince Pingxi as a business partner, but that didn’t mean he was her only potential partner.
She was only stunned for a moment before smiling and saying, “Thanks to the Empress’s invitation, this subject’s wife had the fortune to come hunting at Yan Mountain. This subject’s wife has been thinking about what thank-you gift to prepare for the Empress. Might Imperial Consort Yin offer some guidance?”
Imperial Consort Yin had just been looking completely confident in her strategy, but upon hearing Yun Chu’s words, she nearly dropped the cup in her hand.
She understood this Madam Xie’s meaning—if she insisted on buying the estate, then the woman before her wouldn’t mind partnering with the Empress and Crown Prince instead.
If it truly came to that step, then whatever little friendship Third Brother had with the Yun family would be gone.
“The Empress enjoys fragrance.” Imperial Consort Yin smoothly began a new topic. “I’ve heard that Madam Xie’s mother, Madam Yun, excels at blending fragrances, and the orchid scent especially pleases the Empress.”
Yun Chu smiled and said, “Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness.”
As the two were conversing, the tent flap was lifted. Before anyone appeared, a voice rang out first: “Imperial Grandmother!”
Immediately after, Chu Hongyu charged in like a small cannonball and threw herself into Imperial Consort Yin’s embrace.
“Oh my precious darling!” Imperial Consort Yin looked at the child in her arms with a face full of affection. “I had someone prepare a small pony for you. Would you like to try hunting?”
Chu Hongyu’s eyes lit up. “Can I really?”
Imperial Consort Yin nodded. “You may go, but not Changsheng. Don’t wear out her health.”
Even if she hadn’t said so, Chu Hongyu already knew he couldn’t take his little sister horseback riding.
The little one’s eyes rolled and landed on Yun Chu. “Madam Xie is the legitimate eldest daughter of the Yun family. General Yun is so imposing when charging into battle—I imagine Madam Xie would be no less capable. How about I compete with Madam Xie?”
Yun Chu: “…”
This little rascal really knew how to put on an act.
What was gratifying was that the boy knew to disguise their overly intimate relationship in front of others.
She stood up. “Since the Young Lord has invited me, how could I refuse? Please.”
Chu Hongyu puffed out his small chest and swaggered forward. Yun Chu curtsied to Imperial Consort Yin in farewell before leaving the tent.
The smile on Imperial Consort Yin’s face gradually faded.
Outside, when Chu Hongyu saw the white pony the guards had brought, he was overjoyed and quickly had someone help him mount.
His father practiced martial arts, and he had enjoyed such things since childhood. At age three he could already sit on horseback, and now at over four years old, he could ride quite well.
He said to the several guards beside him, “None of you follow me. Madam Xie, I’ll go ahead first.”
Yun Chu hadn’t originally planned to hunt and hadn’t brought a horse, so she had to borrow one from someone else. She swung herself up and followed the small pony ahead.
Chu Hongyu rode faster and faster, though the horse beneath him was too small—no matter how fast, it was still slow. Before long, Yun Chu caught up with him, and so did a group of guards.
He huffed indignantly, “I told you not to follow me. Everyone stay far away from me!”
Yun Chu spoke up, “With me here, the Young Lord will be fine. You all fall back a bit—it’s no harm.”
The several guards exchanged glances before slowing their pace and following at a distance.
Once certain the guards couldn’t hear them, the little one sweetly called out, “Mother!”
Yun Chu deliberately put on a stern face. “Don’t call me that.”
“When no one’s around, I’m going to call you that.” Chu Hongyu’s face was full of smiles. “My goal is to catch two foxes and make two scarves—one for Mother and one for Changsheng.”
Hearing this, Yun Chu couldn’t help but laugh.
This boy had just learned to ride a horse. High-difficulty actions like mounted archery were completely beyond him, yet he knew how to boast.
She said, “I don’t need the scarf. Look over there—so many flowers. Let’s go pick flowers. We can make a flower crown for Changsheng.”
The two dismounted and walked hand in hand toward that sea of flowers.
These were wildflowers whose names she couldn’t identify—red, purple, white, blue, all kinds of colors.
The little one happily picked flowers while Yun Chu earnestly wove a flower crown. At this moment, voices suddenly rang out nearby.
“Young Master Xie, you just ride but don’t shoot arrows. Don’t tell me you can’t shoot arrows! Ha ha ha!”
The Sixth Prince sat on his large horse, looking at Xie Shi’an behind him with a face full of mockery.
With him taking the lead, a group of wastrels also joined in the taunting.
“Young Master Xie is so brilliant at studying, yet he can’t even shoot arrows. How utterly stupid.”
“Tsk tsk, if you can’t shoot arrows, what are you doing at the hunting grounds? Such an embarrassment.”
“If you can’t hunt, don’t get on a horse. Get down, get down!”
Previously when studying at the Imperial Academy, this group would still show some consideration for the instructors and teachers. But now, with no one else around, everyone let themselves go, surrounding Xie Shi’an and mocking him endlessly.