The Eldest Daughter-in-Law [Reborn] - Chapter 84

Yang Xiyan fell to the ground, feeling hopeless that night.

The next morning, the Emperor personally held a hunting ceremony in the parade ground. Long cannon salutes were fired, and thousands of people surged into the woods like a tide.

The Emperor, aged yet in good health, led the way in a bright yellow hunting suit, closely followed by Duke Wang, Duke Gao, and some old cabinet ministers. Behind them trailed dozens of officials, most of whom were capable middle-aged officials. Among the young scholars, only Wang Shuhuai was present.

After running for a while, the Emperor stopped at a hilltop. The old man leaned against the horse’s back and panted, “Where are Prince Han and Prince Xin?”

A guard rode forward and reported, “Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince led a group of people to the eastern mountain, His Royal Highness Prince Han went to the west, and as for His Royal Highness Prince Xin…” The guard hesitated for a moment, “There is still no signal arrow.”

The Emperor sneered, “This boy is arrogant. He has been stationed at the border for many years; he must not take this hunting seriously.”

That was not pleasant to hear. Unfortunately, Prince Xin had no wife, no father-in-law to help him, and no friends among the court officials. He was isolated and helpless. At that moment, with so many important officials around the Emperor, no one dared to speak up for Prince Xin. Instead, Duke Wang nodded and smiled, trying to persuade him, “Your Highness, Prince Xin always strikes back; Your Majesty, please don’t be impatient.”

The Emperor smiled, “Indeed.”

Wang Shuhuai, on the side, silently curled the corners of his lips.

After walking for a while, the Emperor grew tired and returned home, letting the young people around him go.

Duke Wang instructed Wang Shuhuai, “Your wife has never been into the forest. Go and take a look.”

Wang Shuhuai took the order. Naturally, he was worried about Xie Yunchu, so he had sent Qi Wei to follow her. At this moment, he gave a slight signal, and Qi Wei on the other end replied. He soon discovered where Xie Yunchu was and drove towards the northwest corner at lightning speed.

On a hillside covered with short grass, Xie Yunchu, Wang Yining, and others stopped their horses to rest. The wind blew the grass low, and a sika deer appeared at the foot of the mountain, searching for food. Xie Yunchu saw it and couldn’t help but draw her bow to take a shot. Wang Yining held her breath, afraid of disturbing the deer, and whispered, “If it works, we’ll roast the deer tonight.”

Xie Yunchu pulled the bow to its full extent, aiming at the deer. The deer strolled leisurely in the forest, unaware of the danger surrounding it. Its peaceful demeanor was heartbreaking, and Xie Yunchu felt a pang of sympathy for it.

In the woods not far away, Prince Xin sat tall on his horse. Seeing that Xie Yunchu hesitated, he drew his bow.

The little girl must have wanted to eat venison but was reluctant to kill it.

He did what she did not do.

Whatever she desired, he would get for her.

With a “swish” sound, the arrow flew off the string. Prince Xin had not yet lowered the bow when he noticed a flash before his eyes. Another faster arrow came from a different direction and hit his arrow directly. With a loud bang, his arrow was pushed into the crevice of the stone by the other man’s arrow.

Prince Xin put away his bow and cast a faint glance over. Wang Shuhuai had put the bow behind him and rode over slowly.

Prince Xin was not surprised by Wang Shuhuai’s appearance; after all, he had clearly seen Qi Wei’s signal arrow.

“Master Wang is a great archer!”

“I can’t compare to His Highness Prince Xin, who can shoot an arrow through a target from a hundred paces away,” Wang Shuhuai said, bowing while on horseback.

Prince Xin returned the salute and pointed at the frightened deer. “Yun Chu’s venison banquet tonight is over. She finally managed to leave the capital, but Your Excellency ignored her wish just to get angry with me.”

Wang Shuhuai looked at his wife in the distance. She and Wang Yining were having a lot of fun chasing butterflies around the flowers.

“Who disregards her feelings, me or you, Prince Xin? She doesn’t want to kill, so why do you have to act against her wishes?”

Prince Xin sneered, threw the bow and arrow to the guard behind him, and glared back, “I have fought on the battlefield and killed countless people, so I don’t care about this time. But Lord Wang, under the banner of respecting his wife’s feelings, has thrown all the affairs inside and outside the house to her and acted as a hands-off boss. Are you very at ease?”

Wang Shuhuai’s expression remained unchanged, and he disdained to argue with him. He just replied calmly, “Your Highness’s last patrol map, on the surface, aims to increase the number of troops in Western Chu, but in fact, he wants to control Longzhou, which is upstream of the Han River. He seeks to control the fiefdom of His Highness Prince Han by using the upper part to control the lower part, and the high part to control the low part. If His Majesty knew what Your Highness Prince Xin was thinking, I wonder what he would think?”

That was already a blatant threat.

Prince Xin looked at him coldly. Wang Shuhuai slowly turned sideways, and his handsome face emerged from the shadow of the tree. Under the sunlight, his face was like a pearl emerging from water. For a moment, he was stunning.

Prince Xin narrowed his eyes, looked back in the direction of Xie Yunchu, and made no comment.

Wang Shuhuai followed his gaze again, his tone containing a bit of coldness that could not be refuted, “Since the peace talks between Western Chu and Great Jin were successful, and the Mongols increased their troops on the border, will Your Highness Prince Xin continue to stay in the capital?”

Prince Xin felt a little bitter, but his expression did not show it.

“It seems that Lord Wang is not unfamiliar with military strategy.”

Wang Shuhuai smiled faintly and said nothing.

Prince Xin’s eyes slowly passed over Xie Yunchu, and he turned his horse around to leave. When he passed by Wang Shuhuai, he smiled.

“I will follow Shu Huai’s advice and return to the border. As for Yun Chu, I will ask Shu Huai to take care of her.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he rode past Wang Shuhuai at full speed.

Wang Shuhuai’s face suddenly darkened. He had the upper hand just now and was very sure that he could force Prince Xin to leave Beijing. However, all his advantages were ultimately lost in that one sentence.