The bear hunting process was quite thrilling, but it didn’t take much time. There was still plenty of time before their agreed-upon meeting with the Yang siblings, so Wei Rao wandered for a while, then suddenly changed direction and continued deeper into the mountains, hoping to hunt some good prey—prey that would be entirely hers.

Lu Zhuo silently followed her.

In the forest filled with birdsong, only their regular footsteps could be heard.

Since he wasn’t chattering in her ear, Wei Rao gradually stopped being angry. It wasn’t a big deal anyway. Regardless of the reason, she had jumped from the tree to help Lu Zhuo, and Lu Zhuo had later caught up in time to shoot the black bear. The two just disliked each other, but would still help each other when faced with danger. Their quarrel was merely a momentary disagreement of words.

“Wait a moment, I’ll go check over there,” Lu Zhuo suddenly said.

Wei Rao turned back and saw Lu Zhuo pointing in a direction where there were only a few large trees—nothing particularly unusual.

Wei Rao walked to a tree and sat down, closing her eyes to rest.

This meant she would wait for him. Lu Zhuo smiled and walked away quickly.

The mountain breeze shuttled lightly through the forest, carrying the refreshing scent of vegetation’s revival. Wei Rao heard Lu Zhuo walk away, but he didn’t delay long before walking back toward her. His speed was so fast that it didn’t even seem like he had gone to relieve himself. Wei Rao opened her eyes curiously to see Lu Zhuo approaching empty-handed, carrying his bow and arrows on his back, with jade ornaments and water pouches hanging from his waist.

Though Wei Rao was curious about what he had done, she didn’t ask. Their relationship was limited to being a fake husband and wife—they weren’t even friends. When she saw Qi Zhongkai, at least she could chat peacefully with him. Between Lu Zhuo and her, they either acted, mocked each other, quarreled, or discussed business—they seemed never to have had a normal conversation.

With five or six steps still between them, Wei Rao stood up as if she had rested enough, patted the dust off her robe, and prepared to continue their journey.

“Have some water,” Lu Zhuo called to stop her, untying her water pouch from his waist.

Wei Rao was in a state where she could drink or not, but drinking now would be fine—it would save her from having to ask Lu Zhuo for the water pouch when she got thirsty later.

She stopped and reached out her hand as Lu Zhuo passed the water pouch to her.

Lu Zhuo smiled at her, his jade-like face making the surrounding forest seem brighter.

Wei Rao didn’t understand what he was smiling about. She looked down, and just as her fingers were about to touch the water pouch, she discovered that one end of the red cord at the pouch’s mouth was tied with a tender yellow wildflower. It had single-layer petals, fresh and tender—the most beautiful color Wei Rao had seen since entering the mountains.

“I’m not good with words and have repeatedly misspoken, angering you. Please take this flower as an apology for my earlier offense. Can you forgive me?”

Lu Zhuo said gently.

Now Wei Rao knew what he had gone to do. It was impressive that his eyesight was so good—he had noticed this tender yellow from such a distance.

Her eyes flowing with light, Wei Rao took the small yellow flower from the red cord, pinching the stem with her fingertips and looking at it. Suddenly, she smiled and said to Lu Zhuo: “Every time the Heir offends me, you apologize, but after apologizing once, you offend again. I can’t tell whether the Heir is truly repentant, or if you see that I have a good temper and take angering me as entertainment, then casually think of ways to appease me afterward.”

Lu Zhuo replied seriously: “I wouldn’t dare. I’m truly repentant. If you feel this apology is too light, I’ll find a precious gift when we return to the city.”

Wei Rao: “That’s not necessary. If the Heir is willing to wear this yellow flower in your hair until we leave the mountains, I’ll forgive you.”

Her lips were pressed together, but Lu Zhuo saw peach-blossom-like, brilliant laughter in her eyes.

Lu Zhuo smiled and bowed his head to her, looking at the deerskin boots on her feet: “I’ll have to trouble you to put it on for me.”

Wei Rao hadn’t expected him to be so agreeable. She paused, her gaze circling the top of Lu Zhuo’s head, then carefully pinned the flower into the hair by his left ear. She secured it very firmly—unless Lu Zhuo deliberately jumped around wildly, even if he chased prey, this little flower wouldn’t fall off.

“There.” Wei Rao clapped her hands, taking pleasure in his misfortune.

Lu Zhuo raised his head.

He was handsome but had none of a woman’s soft femininity. With his gentlemanly, jade-like scholarly elegance, even with a flower pinned to his ear, there was nothing ridiculous about it—it only added to his charm.

Even so, Wei Rao was still very pleased with herself.

After looking her fill, Wei Rao wanted to leave.

“Wait a moment,” Lu Zhuo blocked her path, smiling: “There’s no mirror here. Don’t move—let me borrow your eyes as a mirror.”

Having said this, he suddenly leaned closer, his handsome face only half a chi away from Wei Rao’s.

He gazed so intently into her eyes that Wei Rao didn’t know what was in her own eyes, but in Lu Zhuo’s star-like eyes, she saw herself—lips slightly parted, looking dazed and stunned by his sudden approach.

Embarrassment and annoyance surged up. Wei Rao pushed him away and walked forward without looking back.

Lu Zhuo’s smile deepened as he caught up: “You haven’t had your water yet.”

“Stay away from me!”

After wandering in the mountains for over an hour, Wei Rao saw a small deer, but it was so graceful and adorable that she couldn’t bear to hunt it.

“I wouldn’t have expected you to have such soft-hearted moments,” Lu Zhuo laughed beside her.

Wei Rao wanted to shoot an arrow at his stomach.

The little deer ran away, and it was time to meet up with the Yang siblings at the mountaintop. On the way, Wei Rao saw a large hedgehog about three chi long. The hedgehog was quite confident in its quills—hearing their footsteps, it curled its head toward its belly and rolled into a spiky ball, staying motionless.

Wei Rao had anger with nowhere to vent, so she shot an arrow at the hedgehog.

The hedgehog fell to the ground, struck by the arrow.

Lu Zhuo glimpsed the corners of Wei Rao’s mouth turning up and suddenly had an ominous feeling.

“This hedgehog is my prey. Zhao Song and the others went to transport the bear—could I trouble the Heir to carry it for me?”

Didn’t he like to act and wipe water for her? Didn’t he dislike making sincere apologies and playing the gentleman? Then let him act again.

Wei Rao stood beside the hedgehog, smiling at Lu Zhuo.

Lu Zhuo had no choice. He removed the arrow stuck in the hedgehog’s back, flipped the hedgehog over to expose its belly and four short legs, then picked it up by one leg and stood straight. This was a large hedgehog with sharp quills like needles. Lu Zhuo had to extend his arm far to ensure the hedgehog wouldn’t poke him as it swayed with his steps.

Seeing his awkward posture, Wei Rao was in great spirits. She stopped looking for other prey and headed straight for the mountaintop.

The three Yang siblings had already arrived. Hearing footsteps, they all looked over to see Wei Rao with a face full of smiles and Heir Lu Zhuo walking beside her with a helpless expression. The Yang siblings first startled at seeing the hedgehog in his hand, then noticed the conspicuous little yellow flower by his left temple…

Yang Third was the first to turn his head away, trying so hard to suppress his laughter that he started coughing.

Wei Rao sat beside Yang Yan as if nothing had happened.

Lu Zhuo explained shamefully: “I frightened away a deer my wife had her eye on, so I had to pin a flower in my hair to entertain her as an apology.”

Wei Rao glanced at him. The self-righteous heir had such flexible moments.

Lu Zhuo looked at her with doting eyes.

Wei Rao immediately looked elsewhere.

Yang Second and Yang Third were asking about the deer, trying to change the subject to ease the heir’s embarrassment. Yang Yan leaned close to Wei Rao’s ear and said with infinite envy: “The Heir treats you so well—watching makes me want to get married.”

Wei Rao naturally couldn’t undermine her act, so she smiled and said to Yang Yan: “Then you must choose carefully.”

Yang Yan said, “I didn’t know how to choose before, but now I do. Whoever wants to marry me, I’ll bring him hunting. If he’s willing to pin flowers in his hair and carry hedgehogs for me like the Heir, I’ll marry him.”

Wei Rao hastily said: “You can’t be so hasty—what if he’s deliberately pretending to be honest?”

Yang Yan said, “Don’t worry, I can tell whether someone is sincere or fake.”

Wei Rao thought to herself: silly girls will be silly girls. If Yang Yan had such perceptive eyes for judging people, she should be able to see that Lu Zhuo was currently pretending.

The five people with their attendants made a fire on the mountaintop to roast meat—the mountain chickens and wild rabbits hunted by the Yang siblings. Lu Zhuo’s black bear needed to be transported back to the city, and as for Wei Rao’s hedgehog, no one here had ever eaten hedgehog meat.

When going down the mountain, Wei Rao said nothing, but Lu Zhuo automatically picked up the hedgehog again without delegating to others.

Zhao Song and Zhao Bai walked side by side behind them, watching their master chatting and laughing with the Young Madam while carrying the hedgehog. The brothers exchanged glances and once again confirmed something—heroes cannot resist beauties, and their master had completely fallen into the Young Madam’s tender trap. If the Shenwu Army soldiers saw this, would their master still have any prestige left?

But the brothers worried unnecessarily. When the group returned to Jin City, Lu Zhuo and Wei Rao rode side by side, with the huge black bear transported by Zhao Song’s cart right behind the couple. Most of the citizens on the streets had never seen a black bear, so they called friends and gathered around to watch the excitement. While Zhao Song and Zhao Bai were inclined to be modest, Yang Second used his booming voice to build up Lu Zhuo’s reputation.

Now, all the citizens of Jin City would know that the Shenwu Army, the leader of the four upper armies, had come to Jin City to recruit soldiers. The Shenwu Army’s deputy general, Heir Lu Zhuo of Duke Ying, was young and valiant—he had hunted a giant black bear taller than a wall!

Riding on her horse, Wei Rao watched the citizens’ admiring expressions toward Lu Zhuo and listened to their praise of the Shenwu Army. She suddenly understood why Lu Zhuo had wanted to hunt that black bear. Everyone praised the Shenwu Army’s prowess, but aside from enemy generals or court ministers who had truly seen Shenwu Army soldiers in action, how would common people know whether the Shenwu Army was truly or falsely formidable?

Today, Lu Zhuo had shown this skill, bringing back a rare black bear beast. Having seen it with their own eyes, the Jin City citizens now had the Shenwu Army’s prestige truly rooted in their hearts. Men who previously hadn’t wanted to join the military recruitment might now be eager to try.

Wei Rao looked toward Lu Zhuo. He had already removed the yellow flower from his ear, and the hedgehog had long been tossed onto the cart. The current Lu Zhuo was handsome and valiant, as if both the civil and military stars of heaven had been reborn in one person.

“I wouldn’t risk my life just to make you happy.”

His mocking voice from the tree echoed in her ears again. Wei Rao smiled—fortunately, she had never thought that way either.

Returning to the post station, Wei Rao ordered Bitao to prepare water and took a comfortable bath.

“It’s been inconvenient on the road—you haven’t had a massage in a long time. Let me give you a massage,” Bitao said with distress, looking at her mistress resting with closed eyes in the bathtub.

Wei Rao nodded. After drying off, she wore only undergarments and lay on the bed.

Bitao had already closed the doors and windows and lowered the bed curtains, kneeling beside the bed to serve her mistress.

When Lu Zhuo arrived at the back courtyard, the little maid guarding the courtyard saw him and nervously bowed, her voice weak.

Lu Zhuo nodded and dismissed the little maid, walking toward the main hall himself.

There was no one in the main hall, so Lu Zhuo entered the side room. Just then, a series of soft moans that made his lower abdomen tighten came from inside—one falling, another rising.

That was Wei Rao.

What was she doing?

“Miss, this area seems to have gotten bigger again.”

“What’s the use of being big? It’s just in the way.”

“That’s not true. Nanny Liu said that some women want to be bigger but can’t. Miss, this is natural beauty.”

“If it’s truly natural beauty, why would Nanny Liu teach you this technique?”

“It’s the icing on the cake.”

The master and servant deliberately lowered their voices, but Lu Zhuo’s hearing was superhuman—he could hear everything.

He dared not go forward, quietly leaving and instructing the maid outside to act as if he had never come.