Chapter 59

The entrance to Longhu Mountain appears narrow, but it actually leads to a short mountain path. As you proceed further, the view gradually widens, and side paths branch out.

Because Su Mi hesitated at the entrance for a while, most of the others had already set off when Qin Yan entered the mountain path. Occasionally, people passed by and recognized Qin Yan, but they all avoided discussing it.

At first, Su Mi felt a bit embarrassed sitting sideways, but as time passed, she eventually embraced Qin Yan’s waist and curiously looked around.

As a girl, let alone hunting, she had never even been to the mountains except for the time she got lost while chasing a wild rabbit on Ganquan Mountain. She was young then, and when she returned, she fell seriously ill, so her impression was already vague.

Looking at the forests of Longhu Mountain now, she only felt that the surrounding trees were lush, unlike the hunting ground she imagined, and there were no fierce wild creatures to be seen everywhere. Instead, she saw a few wild rabbits and mountain deer.

As they went higher, the scent of grass carried by the mountain wind grew stronger. On the small hillsides, one could see green grass covering them. She had thought that spring hunting would be filled with blood and gore, but unexpectedly, it felt more like a leisurely stroll in the mountains. The sun was not scorching, unlike a hunting expedition; it felt more like an outing.

After walking like this for half a day, Su Mi looked at the few people they occasionally passed, who were carrying some wild animals. Only Qin Yan’s bow and arrows, along with that familiar hawk-headed longsword, remained hanging on the sidebag of his horse.

“Lord, are you not hunting today?”

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“Yx.”

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…

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“Lord, is it going to rain?” Su Mi, for some reason, felt a sense of panic and involuntarily tightened her grip on Qin Yan.

As soon as she spoke, the roaring of a wild beast suddenly came from not far away. Su Mi froze on the spot, as if that deep-seated fear had suddenly come alive. She could even feel the horse beneath her trembling, as if it sensed the danger. Could it be…

“Lor…lord.”

Qin Yan used his left hand to press Su Mi against his shoulder. “Don’t be afraid; I’m here.”

However, that initially unclear roar rapidly drew closer. The horse neighed and dropped to its front knees. Qin Yan’s gaze turned cold as he unfastened the strap on Su Mi’s feet, swiftly dismounted, and drew his hawk-headed sword from the horse’s back.

In a state of panic, Su Mi instinctively turned her head. When she saw what was coming towards them, she immediately stiffened in Qin Yan’s embrace.

Not far from them, a large mountain tiger with alert eyes stared at Qin Yan. The formidable aura of a beast king emanated from its entire body, just like the one she saw that year on Ganquan Mountain.

And at that moment, it was charging towards them.

***

In a side palace not far from the Emperor’s residence, the concubines resided.

Night was approaching, and Zhang Yue’er had been searching her room for a long time but still couldn’t find Eggheart. She looked through the table, the cabinet, and even under the bedding. Where could it have gone?

She felt anxious and blamed herself. She had clearly confined it within the wooden fence and only went to check the sighting instrument for a moment, so how did it disappear when she returned?

Zhang Yue’er’s face was filled with worry. The forest was teeming with wild creatures, and Eggheart was still so small. What if it had been eaten?

Shuangfu was also worried. “Master, let me go outside and search again.”

After speaking, Shuangfu walked out of the door and unexpectedly ran into an eunuch messenger. The young eunuch whispered something to Shuangfu.

Startled, Shuangfu hurried back inside and looked at Zhang Yue’er, who was still searching everywhere. “Master, please stop for a moment. The Emperor has chosen you to spend the night with him!”

…

Inside the sleeping chamber, Zhu Jingyu changed into a bright yellow brocade robe. He sat by the vermilion desk, his head lowered, as he played with the small yellow lynx resting on his leg.

“Alright, call out one more time.” Zhu Jingyu poked the warm and fluffy belly of Eggheart.

Eggheart lazily ignored him, wagging its tail without opening its mouth.

“If you don’t call, I’ll eat you.”

Annoyed by the poking, Eggheart glanced at him reluctantly. Suddenly, a smile appeared on Zhu Jingyu’s face, a smile that had never been seen in front of others, like that of a carefree young boy.

It wasn’t the gentle smile he usually wore outside, but a genuine expression of happiness from deep within.

Unconsciously, even he himself didn’t notice that he didn’t use the royal “we” when speaking to a little lynx.

Lu Dehai walked quickly and with a smile, approaching Zhu Jingyu. “Your Majesty, Zhang Yu’er, has finished bathing. Should we bring her in now?”

Zhu Jingyu paused for a moment, his hand pressing a bit heavily on the head of the little lynx, causing it to shake its head unhappily.

“Yes, bring her in.”

“Yes.” Lu Dehai waved his hand, and an eunuch at the door carried a tightly wrapped bundle and walked straight into the hall, placing the woman from within the bundle untouched onto the dragon bed.

Afterward, Lu Dehai tactfully closed the door and left.

Inside the hall, only a few flickering candles illuminated the space, creating a dim atmosphere.

Zhang Yue’er was wrapped in the blanket, lying on the dragon bed. She was wearing a thin silk undergarment. She couldn’t have imagined that she would actually be chosen.

During the day, she was worried about where Eggheart had gone. Now she had to think about serving the Emperor.

To avoid any discomfort in serving the Emperor, the palace maids taught them about intimate matters between men and women. So she knew about it, but she was still somewhat afraid.

While Zhang Yue’er was lost in her thoughts, a voice suddenly came from behind the screen.

“Do you know Qin Yan?”

It was the Emperor’s voice, and Zhang Yue’er remembered his gentle tone.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, I have only seen him once or twice during the selection process. I can’t really say that I know Supervisor Qin.”

Although she didn’t know why the Emperor asked this, Zhang Yue’er answered truthfully. However, after she finished speaking, there was no more sound from the other side. She suddenly felt, “Could it be that the Emperor chose her to serve him because he wanted to ask about this?”

Another moment of silence followed, and the sound of footsteps grew closer. Zhang Yue’er knew that the Emperor was approaching. She felt a bit nervous, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes fixed on the screen.

Finally, she saw Zhu Jingyu.

His face overlapped with the pale and handsome face in her memory, gentle and elegant without losing its sharpness. Perhaps it was because of spring; she didn’t even hear him cough.

Zhang Yue’er stared as he walked toward the edge of the bed, but Zhu Jingyu didn’t even glance at her. She inexplicably felt a bit disappointed. Lowering her gaze, she saw a bundle of yellow fluff in his arms.

Eggheart?

Zhu Jingyu didn’t look at Zhang Yue’er, so he couldn’t see her surprised expression. He lay down on the bed, holding Eggheart, and slowly closed his eyes. There was a distance of three feet between him and Zhang Yue’er.

“Your Majesty…” Zhang Yue’er wanted to ask about Eggheart but didn’t know how to approach the topic.

With his eyes closed, Zhu Jingyu said, “Don’t speak to us and don’t touch us.”

Zhang Yue’er had to keep silent and respond, “Y..Yes.”

For the first time, Zhu Jingyu felt that the night wasn’t so difficult to endure because he had a soft little thing in his hand to accompany him.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, suddenly the young lynx in his hand wriggled as if trying to slip away from his grasp. Subconsciously, Zhu Jingyu half-opened his eyes and tried to catch it, but he followed the young lynx into Zhang Yue’er’s blanket.

As he touched the smooth and non-furry softness, Zhu Jingyu instantly woke up. He immediately jumped off the bed.

Zhang Yue’er, who was already half-asleep, felt the movement and opened her eyes, only to see Zhu Jingyu looking at her with extreme disgust from below the bed.

“Your Majesty?”

“Bring her away now!”

***

Outside, it was late at night. Qin Yan sat in front of the bed, his clothes stained with animal blood and mottled all over.

He looked expressionlessly at Su Mi, lying unconscious on the bed.

“Master, I have investigated. The barrier in the northwest corner was breached, and the wild beasts entered through that opening.”

Ling An continued, “As for His Majesty, we have already sent additional personnel.”

There were Imperial Guards stationed all around the enclosure, except for the unguarded barrier in the mountains. Since there was a breach, it was evident that someone had infiltrated. And the wild beasts this time were obviously an unintended threat brought out by the assassin.

Qin Yan coldly said, “Find that person and kill them directly.”

“Yes.”

As Ling An left, Feng Bao happened to return after escorting the imperial physician. He held clean clothes in his hands and looked at the expression on Qin Yan’s face, hesitating to speak.

Madam had fainted out of fear, but she hadn’t suffered any injuries.

However, Feng Bao felt that he couldn’t bear to look at the expression on the master’s face when he carried Madam back. It seemed like he would never dare to look at it again.

“Master, would you like to change into a new set of clothes?” Feng Bao paused for a moment, then continued, looking at his complexion. “Master, you are covered in animal blood, and I’m afraid it would be distressing for Madam to wake up and see you like this.”

“Go fetch some water.”

Feng Bao was astonished to hear that. Master, was he wiping himself here? Not to mention bathing, Master never chooses a place with people around; remember the time when Master got angry with Madam?

However, looking at Su Mi lying on the bed, unconscious, it didn’t make much difference.

Besides, Feng Bao guessed that the master was also unwilling to leave.

He sighed and went out to prepare hot water.

***

Su Mi felt drowsy and couldn’t open her eyes, even though she could hear what Feng Bao was saying.

In the mountains, the last thing that appeared in her mind was the gaping mouth of a mountain tiger and Qin Yan’s sword that struck it down.

Qin Yan held her tightly, and the warmth in his embrace was scorching. She shouldn’t be afraid, but the memories of that year on Ganquan Mountain seemed to replay in that moment. Her fear was not from this encounter but rather from the lingering fear from when she was alone back then.

Just before losing consciousness, she suddenly remembered what she had forgotten after a serious illness.

That familiar-looking hawk-headed sword and the strangely familiar side profile of Qin Yan when they first met all existed in the moonlight of that dark night and flashed before her eyes.

The person who saved her turned out to be Qin Yan.

Su Mi desperately wanted to wake up. She wanted to ask Qin Yan if he remembered her, why he had saved her back then, or maybe she just wanted him to know how happy she was.

…

After an unknown amount of time, Su Mi finally felt some strength returning. She struggled to half-open her eyes.

Her eyes had been closed for too long, and she wasn’t used to the bright candlelight. Her mind was slow to process, and she passively observed her surroundings.

There was a man in front of the bed, vaguely unfastening his clothing. Su Mi was startled until she recognized Qin Yan’s face, and then she felt at ease.

She wanted to call the Lord, but her throat seemed blocked, and she couldn’t speak.

Su Mi watched as he removed his blood-stained outerwear, then his inner garments, until only the silver silk inner robe remained.

He seemed unprepared to change the inner robe, but the silk belt accidentally loosened, the clothing separated without restraint, and his naked body appeared before Su Mi’s eyes, half-hidden yet partially revealed.

The well-proportioned and fair-skinned body was glimpsed occasionally, with firm and smooth muscles. She knew she shouldn’t continue to look, but Su Mi just couldn’t tear her eyes away and kept moving downward.

Suddenly, her breath caught.

His entire body was as flawless as jade, so why was that part so dark and unsightly?