Since the princess consort had spoken thus, the matter was settled accordingly. The Regent Prince would stay temporarily.

He sent someone back to the city to postpone the council meeting originally scheduled for later that evening, telling the ministers they need not wait any longer. The group entered the palace, with the two couples each taking separate chambers, while their accompanying attendants served their masters and helped them settle in.

Although it was already noon, upon arriving here, no one had any appetite. After hastily taking their meal, they prepared to go out. Soon, both sides finished their preparations and emerged.

Lady Zhuang had already brought all his clothing. Shu Shenhui was dressed for hunting – wearing a white gauze inner robe beneath a simplified military-style brocade jacket with split skirts, purple above and black below, with a leather belt at his waist and a sword at his side. A bow hung from the side of his saddle, and on his back he carried a quiver filled with feathered arrows. On his feet were a pair of black leather boots. This appearance was completely different from his usual solemn demeanor when wearing court robes in the palace. His sword-like eyebrows and star-bright eyes revealed a heroic spirit emanating from within, vigorous as the blazing sun at its zenith.

Chen Lun was similarly attired.

Princess Yongtai was usually active and often abandoned her carriage when going out, unafraid of showing her face in public. She would cover her face with a veil-hat and ride horseback, her equestrian skills being excellent. Today, she had originally worn a long jacket and wide skirt suitable for women’s horseback riding, draped with a peacock fur cloak that shimmered with rich splendor. When she emerged and saw Jiang Hanyuan’s attire, her eyes couldn’t help but brighten.

Her long hair was bound in a simple knot atop her head, and she wore men’s clothing – bright red brocade with gold-threaded trim, secured with a decorative jade belt, black boots on her feet, and a white fur-trimmed cloak draped over her shoulders for warmth. From head to toe, she appeared spirited and crisp, glowing like a ruby, making it difficult for people to look away.

The princess stared intently for a moment, then immediately called a halt, turned, and rushed back inside. When she emerged again, she had changed from her original skirt outfit into men’s clothing, laughing as she said, “Today I won’t wear that troublesome eye-covering veil either. I’ll just copy the cat and learn from my younger sister’s style of dress. Husband, how do I look in this?”

The princess had a voluptuous and charming figure. This masculine attire gave her a completely different feeling from the Regent Prince’s consort, with its distinctive charm. Chen Lun was accustomed to seeing her in women’s clothing, so this sudden change of dress felt refreshingly novel. He quickly praised her. The princess then took Jiang Hanyuan’s arm, chatting and laughing as they walked out together.

Outside, the imperial stables had sent carefully selected fine horses, and the guards and attendants had also prepared bows and arrows, torches, food for rest, folding stools, small tents, and other conventional items needed for today’s hunting expedition. After the four mounted their horses, Wang Ren and Chen Lun’s guards each led their subordinates to follow. The group of more than ten people spurred their horses and galloped toward the imperial hunting ground with loud calls.

This hunting ground was truly vast in area. Galloping within it, they saw large and small lakes strung together like pearls, undulating mountain ranges stretching endlessly, and passed through vast dense forests – the scenery was overwhelming to the eye. The only regret was that although the park housed hundreds of beasts, it was still early spring, not the optimal time for hunting. Many of the female animals they encountered were pregnant, so naturally, they could not be hunted. The group had come out in the afternoon, and in the blink of an eye, half the day had nearly passed. They had only bagged seven or eight small creatures like wild rabbits and pheasants that had foolishly stumbled out on their own. As evening approached, they had unknowingly traveled nearly a hundred li from the palace. If they didn’t return soon, it would be dark.

Although Chen Lun felt the excitement was far from over, he could only stop and ask the Regent Prince whether they should turn back now.

Shu Shenhui raised his head to look at the sky, then turned to Jiang Hanyuan, riding closer to ask, “What do you think? It’s getting dark. If you’ve had enough, shall we return?”

From departing Yanmen until now, it had been several months, and today was the first time Jiang Hanyuan had the opportunity to ride freely again. In truth, she was far from satisfied.

She wouldn’t mind staying later – even if they returned on the night road, she could still ride her horse. But considering Princess Yongtai…

She looked toward the princess who was riding ahead. Just then, a deer shadow suddenly leaped out from a grassy hollow ahead. The deer was large in build with massive antlers – the first stag they had encountered today, magnificently robust!

“Whoosh—”

The princess was in front and immediately shot an arrow upon seeing it. The feathered arrow flew straight toward the deer, and just as it was about to hit, the stag leaped up. Everyone’s vision blurred as it flashed past and rushed into the forest.

The quarry that was within reach had just flown away!

“Quick, chase it!”

The princess shouted and spurred her horse to chase after it first.

“A Meng! Come back!” Chen Lun shouted.

Princess Yongtai paid him no heed, her horse already nearly reaching the grassy hollow from before. Chen Lun hurriedly begged pardon from Shu Shenhui and chased after her to stop her.

Having caught only these few small creatures all afternoon, Wang Ren and the guards were also still unsatisfied. Suddenly seeing this fine quarry appear, with the princess charging out, the prince consort shouting unsuccessfully and chasing after to protect his wife, everyone couldn’t help but feel somewhat restless. But since the Regent Prince hadn’t given the word, they dared not move. They turned their heads, and more than ten pairs of eyes all shot their gazes toward him in unison.

The Regent Prince withdrew his gaze from the princess and Chen Lun ahead, turned to look at Jiang Hanyuan again. Before he could speak, something like wind passed before his eyes – she had already spurred her horse forward, leaving him behind in the blink of an eye.

“Everyone follow!”

He turned his head and shouted to the guards, then immediately spurred his horse and chased after as well.

The guards were extremely excited, called out in response, and all drove their mounts to successively enter the forest.

The sky had already darkened, and the light in the forest was even dimmer than outside. The deer seemed to know that its life might be forfeit today, running frantically through the forest without choosing its path, darting left and right in desperate flight. The paths the people could take were narrow and winding, and with so many pursuers, movement was hindered. A large group followed this stag around the forest for quite a while. Finally, when the daylight completely faded, they had lost track of the deer.

All that effort for nothing.

Princess Yongtai was frustrated, dismounting and stomping her feet incessantly. Chen Lun hurried to console her, saying they would surely have a great hunt tomorrow. After he coaxed her for quite a while, she reluctantly calmed down and remounted her horse.

During the deer chase, it was mainly the princess leading the group, charging ahead. With so many people and such narrow paths, Jiang Hanyuan hadn’t joined the commotion shortly after entering the forest, only following behind. Shu Shenhui fell even further back than her, always staying behind her, neither far nor near.

At this moment, seeing the princess so vexed, with her unrestrained temperament and emotions flowing freely from her heart, Jiang Hanyuan found her quite adorable and fascinating, along with some vague feeling she couldn’t identify herself…

This should be the normal temperament and appearance of a woman, she thought.

Unlike herself, as she had told that man on their wedding night, apart from having a woman’s body, she was no different from a man in any other way.

This wasn’t deceiving him. This was true.

It could be said that from childhood to adulthood, the only woman she had ever been in contact with was the old nanny by her mother’s side in Yunluo City, and even that contact was limited. Being able to live alone in a tent in the military camp was already her greatest privilege. Unwilling to make herself an oddity in others’ eyes, at seven or eight years old, she had insisted on sending people away. Thereafter, she had always lived independently.

She would never forget her experience of her first monthly courses at thirteen. It was a summer afternoon, with the blazing sun overhead and yellow dust flying. She was drenched in sweat, training with her military companions, when she suddenly felt an unprecedented dull abdominal pain that seemed to emanate from the deepest part of her body. Her reaction slowed for a moment, and she was kicked down by a companion. After getting up, she soon felt a strange, warm liquid flowing from her lower body. Thinking it was caused by that kick, unwilling to let others know and even less willing to be looked down upon, she quietly returned to her quarters to examine herself. She discovered that the warm liquid flowing from that private place was bright red blood.

That day, her father Jiang Zuwang happened to be away from camp. Even if he had been there, she would never normally go to him to report any injury, let alone this kind of injury. She didn’t seek the military doctor either. She felt extremely ashamed, completely unable to speak of it, hoping this would be like other injuries she had suffered before – something that would heal if she just endured it.

That night, the blood continued to flow intermittently without stopping, soaking through all the clothing she had randomly used to try to stop it. She thought she might die this time. She felt both infinite panic and infinite unwillingness. The next day, however, she discovered she hadn’t died after all – she was still alive. Apart from continued abdominal pain and the inconvenience of the bleeding, nothing else seemed wrong. Like this, she hid and dodged alone, hesitant and uncertain, torn between telling someone and not telling, tortured between fear and false hope for several days. Finally, a miracle happened to her – the bleeding stopped as suddenly as it had begun…

Suddenly, someone handed her a water pouch, holding it in front of her.

Jiang Hanyuan abruptly withdrew her gaze that had been fixed on the princess, turned her face, and saw that Shu Shenhui had ridden up, stopping beside her and offering her a freshly opened water pouch.

“It’s clean, I haven’t drunk from it,” he said when he saw her looking but not taking it.

She slowly accepted it, drank a few mouthfuls, and reached out to him for the cap. But he took it back from her hands and casually drank from the same mouth of the water pouch she had just used, tilting his neck back slightly to take several gulps.

She wanted to stop him, but it was already too late. She could only close her mouth and pretend she hadn’t seen.

“What were you thinking about just now? I saw you watching Yongtai the whole time,” he said, stuffing the cap back and casually tossing the water pouch into his saddlebag, asking in an offhand manner.

She turned to look at him.

The guards around them had already lit torches for illumination. In the firelight, his gaze watching her flickered slightly, with two dancing points of fire reflected in his pupils.

In those pupils with points of firelight, she seemed to see a taste of inquiry. This suddenly gave her a feeling of being invaded, making her uncomfortable. She instinctively avoided and refused.

“Nothing. Just watching the princess’s regret.”

“Don’t you think it’s a pity we didn’t get the hunt?”

She asked in return.

He looked at his sister and smiled slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Chen Lun then approached, inquiring what they should do for the rest of the night.

If they turned back, they had chased the deer another twenty li or so. At this moment, judging by the height of the moon overhead, it should be around the hour of hai. If they returned, it would be well into the second half of the night. Moreover, they had gotten somewhat lost chasing the deer in circles through the forest earlier. This place had never been visited before, so finding the way back would also take some effort.

Returning was somewhat unrealistic.

“…Besides, the princess is also somewhat tired and probably can’t ride such a long distance back…” Chen Lun appeared rather troubled.

Shu Shenhui pondered for a moment, looked toward the front of the forest, and said, “I remember when I was young, accompanying Father Emperor on hunts, I came to this area. Ahead, beyond the forest, there should be a mountain valley with a clear stream and no strong winds. We brought tents – perhaps we could spend the night in the valley?”

After speaking, he looked toward Jiang Hanyuan: “What do you think?”

Jiang Hanyuan had no problem at all. Never mind having tents – even sleeping in the open was routine for her. She nodded: “I’m fine with it. What about the princess?”

Princess Yongtai found it quite novel and laughed, “Excellent! If my younger sister can manage it, how could I not? Third Brother’s idea is good! Let’s spend the night in the valley! It’s decided!”