Yao Huang lay on the ground, able to hear the rustling sound of the Crown Prince’s legs dragging across the grass as he shifted himself closer.
That sound made her heart ache with such pain that even when the Crown Prince had seated himself beside her, Yao Huang still didn’t want to lift her head.
The autumn wind blew through the surrounding treetops, the swishing of swaying branches making the place even quieter. Not far away, the wild boar had stopped struggling after an arrow pierced its neck. In the distance, Zhang Yue and Wang Dong, who had been following, had quickly retreated far away after seeing the Crown Prince’s hand gesture once he had sat up.
Zhao Sui turned over the Crown Princess who was lying face down on the ground.
He could have directly pulled her into his embrace, but with the uncertainty about his legs, Zhao Sui didn’t dare act rashly for the time being.
Yao Huang hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to do this—the tears on her face were smeared askew as he turned her over. The Crown Prince didn’t want her to see his disheveled state, and Yao Huang felt the same way.
She quickly sat up, turning her back to the Crown Prince, using one hand to clutch her sleeve and wipe her face while the other hand pretended to rub her lower back: “Ah, it doesn’t seem to hurt that much…”
Before she could finish speaking, someone grasped her wrist.
Yao Huang turned her head and found the Crown Prince looking at her palm, scraped and bleeding from the gravel.
Yao Huang hurriedly said: “It’s nothing. When I was little and playing with the neighborhood children in the alley, I often fell down. This kind of scrape was practically a daily occurrence.”
As she spoke, Yao Huang turned around, glancing at the Crown Prince and then at Jingwu standing obediently a few steps away, puzzled: “How did Your Highness dismount?”
Zhao Sui: “…I fell.”
Yao Huang pretended not to have seen how he fell, anxiously wanting to check the Crown Prince for injuries.
Zhao Sui pressed down on the Crown Princess’s hands, pulling her sideways into his embrace, his left hand supporting the Crown Princess’s shoulder while his right arm held her.
The Crown Prince held her very tightly. Yao Huang’s face was pressed firmly against his chest. The Crown Prince appeared not to have been hurt badly in the fall. Yao Huang immediately thought of how she had nearly been sent flying by a wild boar, and after the lingering fear came anger. Buried in the Crown Prince’s embrace, she said through gritted teeth: “With great difficulty I showed off my skills in front of Your Highness, only to be chased by a wild boar the next moment—from heroic bearing to fleeing in panic. Your Highness will probably remember this for a lifetime.”
If it had been her brother in front of her like this, Yao Huang would always remember that scene. No matter how old she lived to be, whenever this matter came up she would have a good laugh.
Zhao Sui: “What if I do remember?”
More than the urgency and panic when his own life hung by a thread, Zhao Sui would indeed remember this for a lifetime.
Yao Huang pouted: “I want Your Highness’s memories of me to all be beautiful ones, not embarrassing ones.”
Zhao Sui: “…If it were Jun’er being chased, would you also overthink things like this?”
Yao Huang: “…At Jun’er’s current age, I’d definitely just be worried. But when he grows up and gets chased by a wild boar, as long as he’s not actually hurt, I’d still laugh at him.”
Zhao Sui: “…I won’t laugh at you over something like this.”
Yao Huang looked up, only now noticing that the Crown Prince’s face was still pale. Just now she’d been too busy fleeing for her life from under the wild boar’s snout to be afraid, but the Crown Prince watching from afar must have been frightened badly.
Yao Huang quickly hugged the Crown Prince again, laughing: “It’s fine, no real danger. I can even laugh about it myself. It would be even better if Your Highness hadn’t fallen because of me.”
It had happened too fast—Yao Huang hadn’t clearly seen exactly how the Crown Prince had dismounted. Perhaps he’d first moved one leg onto the horse’s back before making a jumping motion?
The brief image that had flashed by seemed quite nimble, though perhaps it was because the Crown Prince was handsome—he wouldn’t look awkward in any posture?
Yao Huang really couldn’t remember anymore. This wasn’t important anyway. She just remembered that scene of the Crown Prince kneeling and bracing himself on the ground, and she didn’t find that Crown Prince disheveled at all, because the Crown Prince had acted so recklessly in dismounting out of concern and anxiety for her.
Zhao Sui didn’t need the Crown Princess’s comfort. He helped her sit up properly, then lifted the Crown Princess’s hands to help her clean the fine gravel embedded in her palms.
There was water and emergency medicine on the horse. Zhao Sui called out to Jingwu, who walked over on his own and knelt down beside his master.
Zhao Sui took down the water bag to help the Crown Princess rinse her hands, then applied medicine for her.
Yao Huang: “Does Your Highness have any injuries? Let me tend to them for you too.”
Zhao Sui shook his head. His palms had taken the brunt of the impact when he braced himself on the ground, but his palms were calloused and the skin hadn’t broken.
“Shall we go out and wait for them first?” Zhao Sui asked. The Crown Princess had injured her hands and shouldn’t draw the bow anymore.
Yao Huang nodded, looking at the wild boar and roe deer on the ground—together they were worth eight points, which shouldn’t leave them at the bottom.
To leave they needed to mount the horse. Zhao Sui patted Jingwu’s back and lowered his eyes: “Turn around. I’ll try mounting by myself.”
If he were in his wheelchair, he would definitely need help, but now that he was sitting on the ground, he could completely manage by first lying his upper body across Jingwu’s back, then moving his legs.
Yao Huang cooperatively walked behind a tree.
In the profound silence, Zhao Sui first shifted himself beside the saddle, but he didn’t immediately climb onto Jingwu’s back. Instead, he tried to bend his right leg. Before the leg moved, a tingling, slightly numb discomfort came first, but this kind of discomfort was something Zhao Sui had sought in vain for three years. So he only felt joy, enduring this tingling sensation as he successfully bent his right knee, his right foot pressing solidly on the ground.
With the right knee raised, next came the left knee. The location wasn’t suitable, so Zhao Sui didn’t attempt more, instead managing to change to a kneeling position while supporting himself against Jingwu, then slowly coordinating hands and legs to mount the horse’s back.
When Jingwu stood upright again, Zhao Sui tried to press his feet firmly into the stirrups.
Still very numb, but the stirrups did indeed sway back and forth in small movements with the force of his feet.
Zhao Sui stroked Jingwu’s back a dozen times before calling the Crown Princess to come out.
An hour later, the autumn hunt ended.
The Eldest Princess and Yu Shen had hunted one roe deer and one pheasant. The Six Arts of the gentleman included archery. As a civil jinshi scholar, Yu Shen’s archery simply couldn’t compare with those who specialized in the military examinations, but his aim was actually decent. Plus with so many prey in the hunting grounds, when a roe deer had evaded the pursuit of Yao Lin and others and run directly in front of the Eldest Princess and her husband, it gave Yu Shen a perfect opportunity to perform.
The Second Princess and Fan Ruochuan had hunted one roe deer, two pheasants, and three rabbits.
Li Fuwei had gone out relatively late and hunted two roe deer, seven rabbits, and eight pheasants.
Yao Lin had come out last and hunted one roe deer, five rabbits, and six pheasants.
The Second Princess exclaimed: “You two as a couple added together actually have thirty-five points?”
Wild boar was five points, roe deer three points, and pheasants and rabbits were one point each.
Li Fuwei looked toward Yao Lin.