Chapter 534. Pleasantly Surprised (2/2)

Unfortunately, none of them had any fate with taking first place anymore because Royal Prince Yang had entered the scene. Other than standing out the first day, he participated in all of the following days and easily snatched first place every day. All of the game he hunted, whether it was in terms of numbers or quality, easily surpassed the hauls of those in second and third place. Consequently, the legend of Royal Prince Yang dominating first place at the hunt became a sure thing.

On the very last day of the hunt, the sun had already set but Royal Prince Yang was still nowhere to be seen. The curtain of night was being pulled across the large grasslands and the stars started to twinkle naughtily in the dark blue sky. A cold night breeze began to blow and it brought along the fresh, unique smell of the grasslands with it. The bonfires had all been lit up in the camp. The emperor looked at the color of the sky and then glanced at the youths who were all waiting for the placings and rewards. There was still one person, the most spirited of them all, missing from that group of people.

“Su Ran, that fellow hasn’t come back even now. Do you think he encountered a sticky situation somewhere ah?” The emperor kept a faint smile on his face as his lips barely moved while conversing with Chief Steward Su.

Su Ran replied as if nothing had happened, “Imperial Majesty, Royal Prince Yang is a genius at martial arts. These past two years, his skills have advanced by leaps and bounds. In fact, this servant may not be able to prevail against him in a one-on-one fight. Thus, there’s no need for you to be worried.”

Even though the eunuch had said the words ‘this servant’, Su Ran’s handsome appearance and demeanor still resembled that of a pure and lofty immortal.

Zhu Junfan gave him a look that said ‘you broke the rules just now’ and then continued to pretend to be dignified. After waiting another few minutes, although the officials and their offspring didn’t obviously show their anxiety and impatience, it wasn’t quite right to make them keep standing there in the cold wind. After all, there were quite a few older officials in the group and it wouldn’t be good for them to be exposed to the elements for too long.

Just as the emperor was about to decide to stop waiting and announce the first three places as is, in the distant thickets, there was a flicker of torches. Yu Xiaocao keenly saw the light and cheered in a trumpeting tone, “Imperial Majesty, someone has come back. It must be Royal Prince Yang and the others!”

Even though it was getting dark and late and the forest was full of danger, Xiaocao wasn’t too worried. Not only was Zhu Junyang’s skills top-notch, but he also brought along Head Steward Liu and Bodyguard Dong along, who were both top-experts at martial arts. In addition, no one else at court was possibly able to bend the bow that he used, so he was the top predator in the forest. Although she wasn’t anxious about their personal safety, she was still worried about them being out so late and for so long.

As the torches got closer, it became clear it was Zhu Junyang and his subordinates. As they got even closer, everyone could see their haul from today and they all breathed in sharply in astonishment. Although they didn’t have a lot of game on them, what they did have was more than enough to blow the rest of them out of the water. They had a giant bear that weighed around four to five hundred catties and an Amur tiger that had been killed with a single arrow in the eye. Just these two specimens alone would be enough to win first place here.

“Wow! My tiger pelt!!” Yu Xiaocao was incredibly excited. Although she knew that Zhu Junyang had promised her earlier and that he had never broken a promise, as the end date to the hunt got closer and closer, the disappointment in her heart had also increased with each passing day. Today, she had already prepared herself mentally. Even if he wasn’t able to encounter a tiger, she was not going to reveal one iota of her disappointment to him. After all, so many days had passed and there were so many people out hunting every day. None of them had even seen the shadow of a tiger, so how could he just coincidentally come across one?

As evening rolled across the sky and more time had passed without Zhu Junyang returning, Yu Xiaocao began to feel moved and remorseful. She knew that the reason why he was returning so late was to find a tiger for her. No matter what sort of outcome he had today, she needed to say the words ‘thank you’ to him.

“Why is the tiger pelt automatically yours? Everything that is under the skies here is under my jurisdiction. Technically, all of the game that has been caught at this hunt is our personal property!” Zhu Junfan deliberately expressed an opposing opinion to Xiaocao’s.

The bright smile on Xiaocao’s face immediately froze and congealed. If the emperor was really planning on snatching this tiger pelt from her, as a tiny official, what could she say?

“However...if you want to trade that dragon-shaped jade pendant for the tiger pelt, then we will have to acquiesce to your request.” Zhu Junfan regarded the little lass’s conflicted expression with a sense of wicked delight. He was in a very good mood now.

After he had given out his jade pendant, that night, the empress had tactfully hinted that giving out something that was that significant and important to a young maiden may not be the most suitable thing to do. Thirteen to fourteen year old girls were naïve and inexperienced. If she decided to flaunt this jade pendant in her hands and do something inexcusable, was that really okay?

Zhu Junfan, on the other hand, had a pretty good understanding of this little lass and consoled the empress, “The little lass is quite cowardly and knows what can and cannot be done. Fei’er, the situation that you’re worrying about will not appear. That being said, a jade pendant is dead whereas people are alive. Is it really worth it to get ourselves in a tizzle over a dead object?”

[1] full moon ceremony - A Chinese custom, when a baby turns one month old, a ceremony is held to celebrate her first full month of life. Both mother and baby are formally introduced to the extended family and friends. For many of them, this will be the first time they are meeting the new baby.