good season

Chapter 5 The Fourth Prince's Invitation

Xiao Yue's incompetence was not only reflected in his academic performance, but he was also not good at martial arts.

The Xiao family is a family of generals. Although their descendants have given up military affairs to pursue literature, they are not weak scholars who cannot even tie a chicken. However, Xiao Yue has been weak and sickly since childhood.

Xiao Zhen had won the jackpot in the autumn hunt when he was twelve years old. Now Xiao Yue is also twelve years old, but he only dares to ride a docile mare and slowly circle around the stable.

Xiao Yue didn't like reading or practicing martial arts. What he liked most was music, singing and dancing.

His dancing was graceful and his singing was lingering for three days. He also liked to sing opera, and had secretly taken the famous actress Xiao Huangying as his teacher without telling his family. When Prince Consort Xiao found out, he grabbed him from the opera troupe and beat him up. Although Xiao Yue didn't dare to go to the opera troupe openly, the news spread throughout the capital. Even though he was just a concubine's son who could not be seen on the stage, he had entered the princess's mansion after all. It was a joke for the young master of the princess's mansion to take an opera actress as his teacher.

Xiao Yue also made himself a joke. He liked to be with Xiao Zhen.

The noble children in the capital have their own circles, and within the big circles there are small circles. Even in the same occasion, they will be divided into different levels.

As the son of the eldest princess, Xiao Zhen is first-class. He can sit next to the princes, and his playmates are either princes or crown princes.

But Xiao Yue could not enter this circle. In the eyes of the world, he was the shame of the eldest princess and a joke in the royal family. If he was sensible, he should stay indoors or find a sense of existence among the children of down-and-out nobles and minor officials.

But he refused!

He tried to squeeze into a circle that did not belong to him. He was willing to lose face and let go. He sang when asked to sing a song and played the flute when asked to play it. He danced with the dancers to entertain them. When others said that he danced better than the dancers, he did not know that it was a mockery but thought it was a compliment. He was so happy that his mouth stretched from cheek to cheek.

If Xiao Yue hadn't been afraid of offending Xiao Zhen, he would have been taken advantage of by those homosexuals long ago.

Therefore, if we were to ask which young man in Beijing is the most disappointing, it would definitely be Xiao Yue. When facing their own clumsy sons, the nobles in Beijing would often use Xiao Yue to comfort themselves, thinking that although their own sons are not talented, they are still much better than Xiao Yue.

If Xiao Zhen is the moon in the sky, Xiao Yue is the mud under his feet.

No one took Xiao Yue seriously. Whether in the Princess's Mansion or anywhere else, he was an insignificant person.

For example, this time, the Fourth Prince and Xiao Zhen went hunting together, and they were accompanied by the Prince of Nangui, the Prince of Yongning, the Prince of Dingguo, and even the unpopular Second Young Master of the Dingguo Mansion, but Xiao Yue was not mentioned at all.

Ever since Princess Jiayi and Prince Consort Xiao left the capital, Xiao Zhen was summoned into the palace by the emperor and lived in the princes' residence, studying with several princes who had not yet established their own residences.

The place they went hunting today was not the royal enclosure, but Shiji Mountain.

Shiji Mountain stretches for hundreds of miles. The Yongning Marquis' Mansion built a new manor at the foot of the mountain. As soon as the manor was completed, Yongning Marquis's son Qian Jiang invited the Fourth Prince to come here to hunt.

The Fourth Prince was the best at riding and shooting among the princes. Taking advantage of the emperor's good mood, he went to ask the emperor for help. The manor of Yongning Marquis was more than 50 miles away from the capital. The emperor asked him to come back in three days. The Fourth Prince begged and persuaded the emperor to give him two more days.

Although it was still within a hundred miles of the capital, the princes did not have many opportunities to leave the capital. The other princes were extremely envious, and the Fourth Prince was even more delighted.

This was not the first time Xiao Zhen came to Shiji Mountain to hunt. There were no ferocious beasts in the mountains, and even wild boars were not common. All that could be hunted were rabbits, pheasants and the like.

However, this time, things were not going well from the beginning.

Before they reached the villa, Xiao Zhen's mount started to have diarrhea, and its four legs became weak. However, the Fourth Prince was in high spirits, and if Xiao Zhen didn't go up the mountain, it would definitely spoil the Fourth Prince's mood. Fortunately, there were spare horses in the villa, so Xiao Zhen chose one and went up the mountain with everyone else.

Everything went smoothly on the first day. The pheasants and rabbits they hunted piled up into a small hill. The fourth prince smiled and said to Qian Jiang, "These pheasants and rabbits are like fools, standing there for us to hunt. They must have been raised in cages."

Being exposed by the Fourth Prince, Qian Jiang chuckled: "Your Highness is very smart, nothing can be hidden from you."

The fourth prince snorted: "It's boring. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have come."

Qian Jiang was embarrassed. He had hit the horse's hoof with his flattery. He could only bite the bullet and say, "This mountain is too big. The places we usually go to are only around here. The wild animals here have long been hunted out."

What to do if there are no wild animals? They can only raise them themselves. The fourth prince was right. Those pheasants and rabbits were raised in cages and were only released on the mountain this morning. When arrows were shot at them, they had no idea to escape.

The fourth prince felt unsatisfied. He looked at Xiao Zhen and said, "Ah Zhen, don't you think it's disappointing? We came all the way here, but we can't even see a real wild animal."

Xiao Zhen smiled and didn't respond.

Qian Jiang rubbed his hands, looking embarrassed. After a while, he seemed to muster up the courage and said to the Fourth Prince: "In fact, there are many wild animals in this mountain, but I am afraid it is not safe."

The mountains that Qian Jiang was referring to were certainly not the twenty or thirty miles of mountains behind Zhuangzi, but somewhere farther away.

The fourth prince snorted coldly: "Qian Jiang, what do you mean, do you think I am also that cowardly?"

Qian Jiang was startled, and he lifted his robe and was about to kneel down to apologize, but the Fourth Prince stretched out his leg to stop him: "Don't try that, find someone to lead the way, and leave early tomorrow morning. Those who dare not go can stay, and this prince will not force them."

After saying that, the Fourth Prince looked at Xiao Zhen again: "Ah Zhen, are you going?"

Xiao Zhen nodded: "Go."

He has always been very frugal with words, and the Fourth Prince has long been accustomed to him. He happily patted Xiao Zhen's shoulder and said, "This is my good brother!"

Several princes exchanged glances and saw envy in each other's eyes, but this kind of intimacy was something they could not envy.

Although they have an extraordinary status in the capital, they are not royal family after all. Although Xiao Zhen's surname is not Zhao, he is the cousin of the fourth prince.

At dawn the next day, the group left the village and headed towards the distant mountains.

Two hours later, they finally saw deer and hares running away when they saw people. Everyone was overjoyed and in high spirits, letting the horses gallop freely in the mountains and forests.

I don’t know how far they walked, but suddenly, the leading horse neighed, and before everyone could react, a leopard rushed out.

It was a leopard, strong and ferocious.

At this moment, the one closest to the leopard is the Fourth Prince!

Although the noble Fourth Prince wanted to hunt wild animals, he never thought that he would actually encounter a ferocious beast.

"Ah Zhen, save me, save me!"

Xiao Zhen drew his bow and shot at the leopard. However, at the critical moment, the mount under him suddenly rushed out like crazy!
　Today I finally mustered up the courage to castrate the two cubs. Fortunately, everything went well. After they woke up, they jumped up and down, and they wouldn't stop even with the Elizabeth collar on. I fought a battle of wits and courage with them since I came back from the pet hospital. I didn't write until the evening. The update is late today, but I will update during the day tomorrow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)