Chapter 36

Chapter 36 – Hunting (2)

It’s a pity that she hadn’t at least taken two wide strides earlier! Ye Zhen was beyond frustrated.

Now, Lu Lingzhi had already drawn nearer with his horse. Narrowing the distance between them, Lu Lingzhi acknowledged Teacher Shan then looked at Ye Zhen. Afterwards, he smiled, the smile Ye Zhen knew all too well.

“Yaoyao, I heard that you often went hunting with your fourth brother in the border town. Your fourth brother is now in the woods. Do you want to join him?” he said.

Not at all!

Ye Zhen refused instantly in her heart, but with a smile on her face, she said, “Eldest Brother, if I go hunting, my mother will break my leg. She will not allow me to be as crazy as I have been in the border town.”

“How can hunting be crazy? You are not the only one in the woods. The princesses from the Inner Palace are also there, riding their stallions!” Lu Lingzhi urged. Before Ye Zhen could refuse again, he called out the nearest page.

“Young man! Bring the horse over.”

Ye Zhen saw the lad unsaddle the horse dutifully, she frowned at Lu Lingzhi before sternly refusing. “I don’t want to go.”

On her side, Teacher Shan felt helpless, and was a bit concerned at Ye Zhen turning down her eldest brother’s request blatantly. This might  taint her name!

Abruptly, she intervened. “Go ahead. You will have to take the entrance examination and equestrianism is a part of it. It’s a good idea to practice now.”

Lu Lingzhi glanced at Teacher Shan gratefully. He didn’t want the emperor to meet Lu Yaoyao at this time. Although he felt that the emperor might not remember the Ye Zhen’s appearance, he still wanted to avoid it. And one way to be certain of this was to keep her by his side.

Even if Mo Rongzhan couldn’t remember, what about the people around them?

Ye Zhen could not reject the invitation anymore. So, she seized the reins, mounted and deftly maneuvered the horse.

In fact, both Ye Zhen and Lu Yaoyao’s riding skills were good. The difference was that Lu Yaoyao was trained purely for playing and hunting, for Ye Zhen it was a necessity.

Her father had personally taught her. Whether it was only for playing polo or hunting, she possessed the demeanor of a miss of a noble family in the capital.

Teacher Shan was also from a well-known family. Just looking at her stance of handling the horse, she knew that the little girl was not bad at riding.

“Let’s go.” Lu Lingzhi looked at Ye Zhen with a slight squint. His handsome face cheered up and his mood seemed to mirror the tranquility of the place, although still a little skittish inside.

Ye Zhen nodded and bid her companion goodbye. “Teacher, I’ll be leaving first.”

“I hope there will be fresh rabbit meat to cook tonight,” Teacher Shan said in jest.

“Teacher, rest assured that as long as there are rabbits in the woods, I will make a hot pot for you.” Ye Zhen smiled and looked ahead towards their destination. Mounting the horse, she seemed to reminisce past, her previous life.

At that time, no matter how infuriating she was just as what her mother claimed her to be, her father always embraced her and made her feel better.

Father…

Ye Zhen remembered her father’s generous and gentle smile as he taught her how to ride a horse. Her father’s soothing words throughout her angina pectoris¹.

Overwhelmed with emotions, she threw the reins in her hand and galloped like an arrow in full swing! The people nearby were startled.

Lu Lingzhi and his companions raced to catch up while people watched the bustling scene. Riding behind him was Tang Zhen, whom he urged to keep up with his pace.

“It’s really nice to extend the riding skill to the girls of the family! Her skills are not a bit like those spoiled girls’ in the capital!” Tang Zhen couldn’t help but remark.

He too was amazed that a girl such as Ye Zhen harboured such impressive skills!

“Yaoyao! Slower!” Lu Lingzhi shouted amid the wind.

Despite Lu Lingzhi’s yell, Ye Zhen didn’t hear a word – or chose not to. She could only enjoy herself at this moment where she felt like she was herself again; when she didn’t feel the need to be careful to keep up her disguise… just letting her hands take the reins as the horse sprinted freely on the vast land.

With her swift pace, she shortly entered the woods and cast aside the people hot on her trail.

However, Lu Lingzhi and his colleagues were honed in the harsh conditions of battlefields – riding was like a picking plaque stuck between their teeth. They soon caught up with Ye Zhen.

They warned her to stop but when they saw her hold the arrow hanging on the side of the horse, they were lost for words…

Ye Zhen, like a true marksman, drew the bow and arrow fluidly with her frail arms.

The arrow was too fast for their eyes to follow its glide… What they only saw as soon as she had released the arrow was a grey rabbit flopped down on the ground, the arrow plunged deep in its head. From its position, it could be discerned that it was hiding behind the tall grass.

How did Ye Zhen manage to shoot it?

Lu Lingzhi was stupefied as he looked at Ye Zhen’s delicate side profile and the rabbit she had shot like an ace.

“Yaoyao!” Lu Xiangzhi heard of the ruckus and came quickly.

Upon sighting her brother, Ye Zhen happily tried to him at once.

“Brother, I shot a rabbit!” Ye Zhen beamed at Lu Xiangzhi.

In her mind, there were only three people in the Lu Family she would not resent: Pei Shi, Lu Shiming and Lu Xiangzhi.

Without them, how could her sister have lived so splendidly?