Apart from the main courtyard, the eastern compound also had two side courtyards closely adjoining it on the east and west. The midday meal had already been prepared in the dining hall of the western side courtyard.

A plate of greens, a plate of sliced cured meat, a large bowl of chicken stewed with mountain mushrooms, a bowl of braised grass carp chunks, and a small wooden bucket containing half a bucket of white rice were arranged on the Eight Immortals table by the window. While not exactly rare delicacies, these were sumptuous dishes ordinary families could not afford to enjoy.

Over the past two or three days, Han Qian hadn’t had a proper meal, and having ridden horseback for half the day, he was now famished. As he sat down, he found the fragrant aromas assaulting his nostrils, greatly stimulating his appetite. Yet he worried that the little whore Yao Xishui, unwilling to accept her failed attempt, might have an inside accomplice tamper with the food. His eyes fixed on the table of delicacies, but he dared not act rashly.

Seeing Fan Dahei clumsily fill a bowl of rice and hand it over, Han Qian reached out to take it. Using his chopsticks, he picked up several pieces of the translucent fatty cured meat, a few chunks of braised fish, a few pieces of stewed chicken, and two stalks of greens, pressing them into his rice bowl. Then he set the bowl aside and pointed at the remaining food on the table, saying to Fan Dahei: “I’m not that hungry yet. What’s left here is enough for me. You eat the rest first!”

Fan Dahei was quite at a loss, but his nature was crude and he couldn’t resist the temptation of the delicious food before him. In a muffled voice, he said: “If my father asks later, Dahei will have to say the young master forced me to eat all this!”

“You still need to attend to my riding this afternoon. Are you afraid your father will break your dog legs over eating one meal?” Han Qian urged impatiently.

At that moment, Han Qian glanced out the window and saw Fan Wucheng walking into the western side courtyard with Qing Yun, his face dark as he untied the purple-maned horse from the peach tree, looking thoroughly displeased.

Han Qian’s brows furrowed slightly. He thought that even if this fellow wasn’t colluding with Yao Xishui, he would need to find an opportunity to deal with him later.

Fan Dahei quickly devoured half the wooden bucket of rice along with all the dishes, showing nothing but satisfaction on his face with no other abnormalities. Only then did Han Qian quickly finish the bowl of food he had set aside.

At that point, Fan Xicheng entered with a dark face, following Qing Yun. Seeing that Fan Dahei was still sitting opposite Han Qian, he glared and scolded: “You ungrateful fool, you don’t understand the slightest bit of propriety—quickly go clean out the stables in the northern courtyard!”

Fan Dahei was indeed afraid of his adoptive father Fan Xicheng. After receiving this scolding, before Han Qian could speak, he scurried away with his tail between his legs back to the northern courtyard. Qing Yun also stuck out her tongue and went out to clear the dishes.

Han Qian said nothing either, but returned to the study. In the afternoon, he went again to the training ground, but didn’t see Fan Dahei. Instead, he saw another household guard from the estate, Zhao Kuo, leading the purple-maned horse over, saying: “Dahei was sent out by Master Fan to handle business. He told me to attend to the young master’s riding!”

Han Qian was so angry that the veins on his forehead began to pulse slightly.

During the midday meal, he had clearly told Fan Dahei that he would need him to attend his riding in the afternoon, yet that old bastard Fan Xicheng had deliberately sent him away on an errand!

Was this old bastard Fan Xicheng trying to demonstrate that he was the one in charge at this estate?

With a gloomy expression, Han Qian mounted the purple-maned horse and trotted in circles around the estate. Zhao Kuo glanced at Han Qian and was slightly startled to see that the young master hadn’t erupted in fury.

Han Qian had been sent to the estate under house arrest for over a month now. Well fed and well treated, without wine and women to drain his body, his complexion had recovered somewhat.

When he rode in the morning, feeling his physical strength insufficient was still an aftereffect of the poisoning and several days without proper meals. Now mounting the horse again, he felt much more at ease.

At this point, Han Qian was no longer satisfied with circling the estate. Instead, he urged his horse down to the small stream, crossed to the opposite bank, and began trotting around the farmstead at a brisk pace.

The muddy embankment paths around the estate’s perimeter were too narrow for the quite spirited purple-maned horse to gallop properly.

The farmland on the western bank of the stream covered over three hundred acres, making a complete circuit of four or five li.

The dirt roads between the elms and willows were relatively spacious, and without walls or houses blocking the way, the purple-maned horse could open up its stride and run joyfully—if not for fearing that Fan Xicheng would jump out to restrain him, Han Qian would have preferred to gallop down to the lake beach below and circle around there.

After trotting three or four circuits around the farmland, Han Qian was drenched in sweat. Stopping by the stream to rest, perhaps because his mental state had suddenly reversed, he didn’t feel exhausted but rather experienced a sense of exhilaration.

Fan Xicheng, having received someone’s report, hurried to the mountain stream. Seeing that Han Qian wasn’t doing anything reckless, he simply stood on the opposite bank without saying anything. The setting sun fell on his dark, thin face, making it look covered with a layer of elm bark. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“Young master, you must take it easy. If you fall and hurt yourself somewhere, old Zhao will have no way to explain to the family head!” Zhao Kuo ran over drenched in sweat. When Han Qian urged the purple-maned horse to speed, he had no way to keep up.

Han Qian ignored the household guard Zhao Kuo, who usually wasn’t very prominent. Suppressing his inner dissatisfaction, he said calmly and peacefully to Fan Xicheng on the eastern bank of the stream:

“Fan Dahei has good stamina. From now on, have him attend to my riding. He should also take his meals with me in the eastern courtyard morning and evening. Master Fan, instruct the kitchen to prepare meals for the eastern courtyard according to Dahei’s appetite. Don’t let people think I would mistreat those close to me…”

“…” Fan Xicheng said neither yes nor no, only admonishing the drenched, thin, old household guard, saying: “Zhao Kuo, don’t let the purple-maned horse gallop wildly again. If the young master is thrown, you and I will only have our lives to answer for the family head’s kindness.”

What an old bastard, truly like a stone in the outhouse—stinking and hard!

Han Qian cursed bitterly in his heart, then mounted the horse again. But this time Zhao Kuo gripped the reins tightly, and even when Han Qian cursed and struck him twice with the whip, he wouldn’t let go.

Zhao Kuo was in his forties, appearing small and thin, his yellowed face full of weathered marks, like the skin of rock eroded over a thousand years.

His arm gripping the reins was as thin as a withered tree branch, yet it could clamp down like cast iron, firmly restraining the extremely strong purple-maned horse, making it impossible for the horse to move an inch.

In the past, when encountering servants and maids below who wouldn’t listen to him, Han Qian couldn’t help but fly into a rage, attacking in anger. But at this moment, he was slightly startled, not expecting that the usually inconspicuous Zhao Kuo would have such great strength in his arms!

Seeing Zhao Kuo struck twice by his whip, cowering and not daring to resist, only gripping the reins without letting go, Han Qian thought about how Zhao Kuo usually acted this submissively and wasn’t spared from bullying by other household guards either. The suspicion should not be great.

Otherwise, Yao Xishui and whoever was behind her would have invested far too much effort on him.

With Zhao Kuo not releasing his grip, Han Qian couldn’t pick up speed for a gallop, which defeated the purpose of exercise. So he had Zhao Kuo lead the horse toward the rather steep and dangerous back mountain—which also belonged to the estate—casually observing the surrounding scenery and terrain.

Baohua Mountain, located between Jinling and Runzhou, was also called Shengrun Mountain because Jinling’s old name was Shengzhou. It spread in a chain formation for over two hundred li along the southern bank of the Yangzi River.

Compared to Baohua Mountain, Chishan Lake, which gathered the streams and rivers from Baohua Mountain’s southern foothills and was only three or four li from the estate, seemed utterly insignificant despite being thirteen or fourteen li wide.

As the sun set, dusk seemed to drape over like a wisp of light purple gauze, making the distant mountain forests appear fraught with hidden dangers.

At this point, Han Qian didn’t dare wander about outside either. He rode the horse, with Zhao Kuo leading it down the mountain.

Still some distance from the estate below, an old hunter and a young one rustled out from the mountain forest.

These two wore coarse hemp clothing with grass ropes tied around their waists, sickles tucked in, and hemp shoes that exposed their toes. Each carried a hunting bow on their back and a bamboo basket, with rather crude arrow quivers made of bamboo sections. They looked familiar—probably tenant farmers from nearby.

These lowly tenant farmers dared to run into his family’s back mountain to poach game. In the past, Han Qian would have immediately struck them with his riding whip. But at this moment, Han Qian sat pensively on horseback, looking at the bamboo baskets on their backs filled with pheasants and other prey, with blood seeping from the bottom of the baskets.

Zhao Kuo glanced back at Han Qian. Seeing the young master’s expression was gloomy and not knowing what he was thinking, Zhao Kuo fulfilled his duty as a household guard, turned around, and sternly questioned the old and young hunters: “Old Zhao, you father and son have quite a good haul from entering the mountain today!”

The two probably hadn’t expected to encounter Han Qian and Zhao Kuo here and were greatly startled.

After a moment of shock, the older one reacted first, pulling the youth down to kneel on the ground. They removed the bamboo baskets from their backs, and in a somewhat trembling voice, he said: “We were just about to take these prey to the estate. We didn’t expect to meet the young master and Master Zhao here!”

The youth’s eyes showed a defiant look. He struggled to stand up but was pressed down firmly by the older man, prostrate on the muddy ground.

“You father and son have quite some nerve! Master Fan has said countless times, strictly forbidding you from poaching on the mountain. You treat it like wind past your ears. Don’t you know now that this mountain belongs to the Han family? If we hadn’t happened to run into you, would you really have taken the prey to the estate?”

Zhao Kuo looked back to see Han Qian still showing no reaction. The young master presumably didn’t intend to easily let this father and son off. So gripping the saber at his waist, he stared viciously at the father and son before him.

“This time we must haul you to the county to face charges!”

Poaching was the same as theft. If sent to the county yamen to face charges, they would certainly receive several blows with the rod. Moreover, without finding someone to deliver money and plead for leniency, those few blows would leave them crippled if not dead, shedding several layers of skin.

Hearing Zhao Kuo say this, the older man’s face immediately turned pale. Prostrating himself on the ground, he kowtowed begging for mercy. In his carelessness, he knocked over the two bamboo baskets behind him, and the prey they had shot tumbled out. Besides several pheasants, there was even a hawk that had been pierced through the abdomen by an arrow.

It was quite common for mountain hunters to be capable of shooting several pheasants with a hunting bow, but to shoot a hawk soaring in the sky required archery skills that could already be considered quite remarkable.

Though Han Qian had wasted these past few years, he still understood these simple principles. He hadn’t expected that in this wilderness, there would be someone with such formidable archery.

Han Qian had been reminding himself all day to remain calm in all matters, and wouldn’t speak up for these two unrelated hunters—just letting Zhao Kuo handle it would be fine. But at this moment, a thought flashed through his mind.

Now looking at the youth again, even though forcibly pulled down to kneel by his father, his taut spine still gave one the feeling of a wild beast about to pounce and bite. Not to mention the defiant expression hidden in his eyes—it truly left a deep impression.

Han Qian couldn’t help but wonder: if the person from his dream, Zhai Xinping, were here, how would he make use of this youth before him with such superb archery and untamed wild nature?