The horse-drawn carriage stopped by a river with clear water flowing gently, surrounded by blooming flowers on its banks. Although it was not yet deep autumn, the sunlight still felt warm.

  "Ah, let's get off here, the view is great!" Lan Xiao Fan directly jumped down from the horse carriage, the gentle breeze blowing through her long hair. Since they were familiar with each other, she didn't wear any face-covering silk scarf, and when she smiled, it was completely unlike the demure smile of a young lady that didn't show her teeth.

  The maids and guards all began to prepare their belongings, from large cooking utensils to small cushions, everything was packed.

  "Shall we go fishing?" Nan Yi Ke suggested since there were only four of them with nothing to do, they couldn't just idle around like this.

  In the summer, Miao heard him say and slanted his eyes at him: "This body of yours is only good for fishing." His eyes were full of disdain.

  Look at his "small body" and Nan Jiu's 'hard' body, he coughed: "Cough... this is handsome, you know? And a small body! Are you saying you don't want to go fishing? What do you want to do?" She was the one with a small body, wasn't she?

  Xiatian Meng slightly raised an eyebrow and smiled: "How about hunting?" She remembered that she used to be enthusiastic about riding and shooting for a while, but later her governess told her that as the future princess, she should focus more on feminine virtues. So she put it down. Although it's been a long time since she last rode and shot, she still likes it very much in her heart.

  Lan Xiangfan waved her hand directly, looking very disgusted: "Forget it! Miss won't do such an unrefined thing! You guys play, I'll just go fishing!" Ju Shi Zhao was also a refined and polite man, not fond of this kind of activity, and she wasn't interested in this sweaty exercise either.

  Nan Yi was about to say "let's fight if you want to", but when he saw Nan Jiu's sparkling eyes, he changed his mind: "Ah, I'm not in the mood today, so let's just forget about it. Old Ninth is good at shooting, why don't you two go together?" He also gave Nan Jiu a wink: Brother, look at how righteous Second Brother is!

  In the summer, Meng looked at Nanjiu and slightly raised his chin with a hint of a smile in his dark eyes: "Then let's decide who wins by the number of prey!" After finishing speaking, he tucked the handkerchief into his waistband, mounted his horse with a smooth and agile posture, and it was clear that he was skilled in riding.

  Nan Jiu slightly pursed her lips and quickly mounted her horse, looking at Xia Tian Meng: "Miss Xia, I won't hold back." Since it's a competition, she probably doesn't want to hold herself back either.

  As expected, Xia Tianyang's lips curled into a smile: "Even if the great general is invincible on the battlefield, it doesn't mean that he can look down on me. The outcome of today's battle has not been decided yet?" Her subconscious told her that there was nothing she couldn't win, only things she didn't want to win.

  Nan Jiu looked at her smiling face and felt that this was indeed "brilliant as the scorching sun".

  In summer, Miao Zhen raised his whip and shouted "Drive!" as he rode off on horseback, quickly galloping away.

  Nan Jiu smiled slightly and followed him up.

  Looking at the dust splashed by the horse's hooves, Nan Yi Xie's face brought a teasing smile: "Ah, this is the impulsiveness of young love, tsk, tsk, tsk..." He remembered when he was still unaware of emotions and had a crush on one of his mother's maids, personally asking his mother to bring her over. At that time, he only thought she was special, with a straightforward personality, although her relationship with the other maids wasn't particularly friendly, but she won him over with her sincerity. It wasn't until later when she asked for favors from him for the sake of her family that he realized she was just like anyone else.

  I hope Lao Jiu's affection for Meng Wa can last forever.

  "Hah!" Lan Xiao Fan saw him like this and couldn't help but pat his back, "Second Prince, are you still fishing?"

  Nan Yi raised an eyebrow: "Of course."

  Lan Xiao turned around and went to the riverbank. He slowly followed up: "By the way, when did I become 'you' from 'young master'?"

  Divider line

  "Whoosh!" A long arrow pierced through the air and shot a wild rabbit.

  Xia Tian Mo slightly raised an eyebrow and nodded: "How is it?"

  Followed by a few meters of 'guard' to collect hunting objects, and then quietly covered up again.

  Nanjiu didn't expect that she was also 'skilled' in archery, and just now, despite being far apart, she still hit the target with one arrow, it can be seen that her skills are impressive! Thinking this way, a smile appeared on his face: "Archery is accurate."

  In the summer, Meng Yang smiled and looked at him: "The general has not fired an arrow until now." It's always been her who took action! Just looking at her taking action, what kind of hunting is this?

  Nan Jiu slightly nodded, and a heroic spirit appeared on his handsome face: "The one worth my hunting has not appeared yet." For example, the likes of tigers and wolves. These small prey can show off archery skills, but after all, it's not thrilling.

  In the summer, Miao didn't expect him to say that, and after a moment of stunned silence, he suggested: "I've heard that there are many prey on the right side of the forest, why don't we go together?" The suburbs of the capital city have a royal hunting ground, where ferocious animals such as tigers, wolves, and wild bears are kept outside the enclosure.

  Nanjiu had some thoughts, but was worried about Xia Tianmeng, if he didn't protect her well...

  In the summer, Meng saw his expression and knew what he was thinking. He raised an eyebrow and nodded: "General Mo, aren't you worried about your daughter? If she says her archery skills are unmatched within a hundred paces, I'm afraid the Ninth Prince won't believe it. Why not use the size of the prey to determine victory or defeat this time?" According to her usual temperament, she wouldn't have such an attitude, but after hearing what Nan Yi said earlier, "Big brother doesn't like Meng!" She had been depressed ever since.

  Even though her mind was telling her it was no big deal, her heart still couldn't help but feel sad.

  It's as if liking someone for a long time has become a habit.

  Although Nanjiu didn't understand why she was so persistent in wanting to hunt and go to dangerous places, he couldn't bear to refuse her request. He nodded: "Okay." He would protect her well.

  The guards behind them couldn't help but rub their temples in confusion as they watched the two head to the right instead of the left: "Hey, Captain, where are Master and Miss Xia headed?"

  The guard captain actually looked at Xia Tianmeng with a serious expression, his own master had always kept a distance from women, but this time he was actively hunting with a woman. Looking at the current direction, it's likely that they're heading to the outer perimeter of the royal hunting grounds! In his heart, he was amazed, but on his face, he still maintained a cold expression and slapped the questioner's head: "Chen Yi, what nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up and follow!" The outer perimeter is full of dangers, they'll have to be careful.

  Chen Yiduan smiled and followed on horseback, still muttering to himself: "Our master rarely opens up!" Among the emperor's several dragon sons, only the ninth prince has not yet had a wife or concubine, and even in his mansion, there are mostly 'male attendants' and very few 'female attendants'. In the capital city, there were many young masters who were only 11 or 12 years old and already had servant girls to serve them, but the ninth prince was already 18 years old and had never had any dealings with women.

  His Majesty was worried several times!

  Now it's fine, the Ninth Prince finally knows what it means to win a girl's heart! It seems that Xiao Shizi is not far from coming out either...

  The eunuch, however, was not as optimistic. He thought to himself: Miss Xia is renowned for being the most beautiful woman in the land and has been secretly chosen by the Emperor as his future Empress. What chance do Master and Miss Xia have?

  Shake off those thoughts and hurry up to catch up with them. If they get lost, it'll be a disaster!

  The further to the right you walk, the denser and more luxuriant the trees become. Sunlight filters through the dense foliage, casting dappled shadows on the ground. From a distance, you can see beams of light shining down from above, beautiful and mysterious.

  "Miss Xia likes hunting?" Along the way, Nan Jiu saw that Xia Tian Meng had not spoken up all this time and was worried that she thought it was boring because they didn't have anything to talk about, so he took the initiative to speak up. "And she's also very good at riding and shooting, it's rare for a young lady from a noble family in the capital to be skilled in these things."

  In the summer, Moe slightly tilted her head and raised an eyebrow: "It's just that when I was young, I learned to ride and shoot for some reason. Later on, I thought it was pretty good. When I grew up a bit more, I gave up riding and shooting because of the rules, but I still liked it. It's probably just that kind of thing, the more people don't allow it, the more you want to do it." In fact, riding horses didn't have anything that made her unforgettable, what she couldn't let go of was that period of time, the freedom back then.

  The most beautiful time in her memory was when she was four years old. At that time, her mother was still gentle and kind, always treating her with tenderness and love. Her father was still strong and handsome, often hugging her and calling her "good girl". Later, when she was ten years old, she witnessed how her mother became thin and frail, how she lost her appetite, while her loving father didn't notice at all. She was so small but lived in constant fear every day, often crying and looking for her mother at night, afraid that one day her mother would be gone.

  Reality played a joke on her, and when she was awakened by the sound of birds falling into the water and told that her husband had passed away, she actually felt that it was to be expected!

  When she saw the corpse being carried down in her mother's courtyard, she didn't shed a single tear, but fainted.

  In dreams, it's still a gentle mother and a stern father, they're still a happy family.

  "Miss Xia?" Nan Jiu saw that Xia Tian Meng suddenly stared blankly ahead, her bright eyes filled with dullness, and hastily called out to her.

  In the summer, Meng Hui's god returned, and 'Lu' revealed a smile that wasn't considered rude: "I was thinking of something else just now." She thought of the secret she had been hiding in her heart for a long time, and even thinking about it would make her feel cold. Now she could say it with an expressionless face as if it didn't matter.

  There was a giant beast hidden in her heart, constantly roaring and wanting to escape, as if it could bite through someone's throat at any moment.

  The 'guard' following behind saw Nan Jiu approaching Xia Tianmeng from a distance and couldn't help but laugh, it's obvious to everyone that Master has a crush on Miss Xia! As expected, he's still a naive child...

  Chen suddenly burst out laughing, turned his head to ask, but his eyes quickly caught a glimpse of the flash of light from the branches and leaves of the tree. He immediately shouted loudly: "Be careful! Protect the master!" As he spoke, the sharp arrow in his hand shot straight at the branches, making a dull thud as an object fell down. Before he could see what it was, several black-clad men darted out from between the trees, holding swords and stabbing directly at Nan Jue!

  Nan Jiu was already on high alert when Chen Yi opened his mouth, and as soon as he saw the assassin come out, he drew his bow and shot three arrows in quick succession, directly killing the three black-clad men.

  The rest of them looked at each other in dismay, nodded, and several of them surrounded Nan Jiu, while the other two charged straight at Xia Tianmeng!

  --------

  I'll let Meng come over more often... and listen to Meng's opinions.