On the first day of autumn hunting, Jing Ye took a wheeled carriage to the paddock on the outskirts of the capital, got off the vehicle and moved in at the imperial camp. The autumn hunting officially started at dawn the next day.

In the imperial camp, Jing Ye ordered the maids to retreat outside the tent.

Ye Mao came over to undress him. Seeing his pale face, he worriedly said: “It is no trouble to call the imperial doctors over…”

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“It’s nothing.” Jing Ye waited for him to untie the jade belt around his waist, then sighed and sat down at the table. Just those few wheels, even if they are inlaid with gold and jade, it couldn’t hide the fact that when they roll, they could make people vomit from motion sickness.

Speaking of vomiting, Jing Ye’s throat rolled and he felt like vomiting again.

Ye Mao hurriedly supported his back and said: “Your Majesty, please rest for now. Chen will go find the imperial doctor right away.”

As he was about to leave the tent, he saw the tent curtain lifted and Lin Xiaosheng walked in with a wooden tray and said, “No need.”

Ye Mao said anxiously: “But His Majesty…”

Lin Xiaosheng put the wooden tray on the table and said: “The imperial doctor will only come to prescribe some medicine to soothe the nerves and nourish the stomach. It is unpleasant to drink and painful, so it’s fine not to take it.”

When Jing Ye heard this, he raised his head and said, “What Lin Qing said is correct.”

What’s correct, you just don’t want to take medicine, right?!

Ye Mao had no choice but to stand aside.

Lin Xiaosheng said: “Your Majesty, please drink some water.” As he said this, he brought a cup of water on the tray to Jing Ye.

Jing Ye took it and took a sip, saying, “It’s warm.”

“Cold water is harmful to the body.” Lin Xiaosheng took a sterling silver carved peony spoon and swirled it in a small bowl. “This is fu ling cream, which is good for the spleen and stomach.” (TN: a wood-decay fungus)

Jing Ye took it and took a sip.

Lin Xiaosheng said: “Lu Baizang has urgent matters and won’t be able to come over until tomorrow.”

Jing Ye nodded: “…”

Lin Xiaosheng: “…” 

The room fell silent.

Eating, washing, and sleeping were all spent in silence. Jing Ye felt embarrassed at first, but seeing Lin Xiaosheng’s every move calm and composed, he gradually became at ease.

The maids packed up their changes of clothes and left. Ye Mao bent down with his whisk and said, “Tonight Lin Gongzi will accompany Your Majesty. Chen and the rest shall withdraw.”

Jing Ye said: “Go ahead.”

Ye Mao and the palace maids extinguished all the big lights in the tent, leaving only a few floor lamps, and then exited the tent.

Jing Ye was leaning on the bed in his inner robe, pondering on tomorrow’s hunt. Lin Xiaosheng came out after washing up from behind the screen, looked at several lamps placed on the ground, and said, “Your Majesty can’t sleep?”

Jing Ye came back to his senses, paused and said, “A little bit, even though zhen is clearly very tired. Perhaps the tent is too bright, so turn off all the lights except for one.”

Lin Xiaosheng complied, and then the room darkened, only the light in his hand reflecting on his face, appearing dim and gentle, diluting his usual aloof indifference.

Jing Ye said, “Leave that one and move it to the bedside so it will be easier to get up at night when needed.”

Lin Xiaosheng came to the bed with the lamp, placed the lamp on the small table beside the bed, took off his shoes and sat on the bed.

Jing Ye moved over, and the two slept side by side, saying nothing for the night.

Before dawn the next day, Ye Mao called to wake him up outside the tent. Jing Ye opened his eyes in confusion and found that he was hugging someone’s waist.

At first he thought it was Gu Hong, so he shamelessly moved his head over and rubbed against the other, mumbling a bunch of words that he didn’t even understand.

But as he rubbed against the other, he suddenly realized, damn, this feeling was wrong!

Jing Ye propped himself up and looked over. Lin Xiaosheng was sitting on the bedside, holding a thick volume in his hand and flipping through it. There was also a pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose.

If it weren’t for his long hair that hung down to his waist, Jing Ye would have thought he was back in his previous life.

Jing Ye: 〒▽〒.

Lin Xiaosheng lowered his head and the two looked at each other. Jing Ye swallowed, let go of his hands, sat up and said, “Zhen didn’t do anything, right?”

Lin Xiaosheng: “It’s nothing, Your Majesty was simply hugging chen and not letting go.”

Jing Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Xiaosheng: “And touching chen‘s waist.”

Jing Ye: “…”

Lin Xiaosheng: “And rubbing against chen‘s chest.”

Jing Ye: “…”

“But in the middle of the night…” Lin Xiaosheng stretched out his hand to caress the corners of his mouth, and that pair of phoenix eyes flashed behind the clear crystal glasses, “Something hard pressed against chen.”

Jing Ye: “…!”

Thunder and lightning struck.

The sky was still dark.

Jing Ye had the palace servants finish serving him in washing up, and Ye Mao put on his padded armor for him, tied his hair and put on a crown. He then walked out of the tent.

Thousands of soldiers on horseback were waiting outside the imperial camp.

Jing Ye walked through the rows of soldiers in armor and walked up to the tall and handsome young man. He stretched out his right hand and spread his palm upward.

Li Tingqiu knelt down on one knee and handed the riding whip in his hand to Jing Ye.

When Jing Ye took the whip rope the two of them touched palms. Li Tingqiu stood up, held Jing Ye’s hand, and helped him mount his horse.

After Jing Ye sat firmly on the horse, Li Tingqiu turned over and mounted the other horse, saying loudly: “Begin!”

The sound of armor clashing sounded in the distance. More than a thousand iron-armored soldiers surrounded the emperor on horseback and headed towards the hunting grounds in the distance.

When Jing Ye came to the hunting grounds, he could see the soldiers in armor in the distance, surrounding the open space that could accommodate tens of thousands of people.

Waiting in front of the soldiers on horseback were the children of various aristocratic and official families as well as the martial arts students who had performed well in the martial arts examination. After the emperor shot the first arrow, this was their hunting ground.

Jing Ye squeezed the bow in his hand. The weight was not bad, but… may the heavens bless him, that it could fly farther.

The wind blew and everything was silent.

The east sky became slightly bright.

The etiquette official on the side bowed and said: “Your Majesty, the time has come.”

“Hmm.” Jing Ye raised his hand, took the arrow, and pulled the bow.

He then let go.

The arrow tied with a fiery red feather “swooshed” through the air and stuck on the ground not far away.

The eunuch in charge of ceremonies in the audience struck the gong and said in a high voice: “The ceremony is completed——”

The soldiers tightened their reins and began to move.

The army made openings from the southeast and northwest, and countless animals waiting to be hunted were driven into the hunting ground. Smoke and dust billowed, and the animals clamored and the horse neighed.

Above the hunting ground, Jing Ye watched, when suddenly he seemed to sense something. When he turned around, he saw Li Tingqiu looking at him quietly.

Their eyes met.

The latter turned his face away in embarrassment, a thin layer of red appearing on his jade-like face, but it quickly subsided.

After the hunting ceremony was over, Jing Ye went down and mounted his horse. He ordered dozens of people to follow him and left the hunting ground.

The mount was a docile white horse. Jing Ye reached out to comb its hair. The white horse gently lowered its head and rubbed his sleeve.

The horsekeeper smiled on the side and said, “Your Majesty, the name of this horse is Bright Night. It was born from the famous horse Moon Walk given to the late Emperor by the Lord of Pingyue City when the late Emperor was alive.”

Jing Ye thought of Obsidian, which was also a good horse with extraordinary intelligence. It was a pity that back in Zhengzhou he was too busy fleeing for his life and forgot it at Luyi Tower.

Back at the imperial camp, the guarding soldiers all retreated. Ye Mao came up to him outside the tent and said, “Your Majesty, Lu Gongzi is here.”

Jing Ye was surprised.

Ye Mao stepped forward and lifted the curtain. Jing Ye lowered his head and walked in. He saw a round white fat bun on the small table lying on a red coral plate.

Lu Baizang leaned lazily on the couch, poking and poking with his slender jade finger, making the bun roll.

Jing Ye said: “Come back so soon?”

Lu Baizang sat up, smiled so hard that his eyes squinted and said, “Why, Your Majesty, don’t you want to see chen?”

Jing Ye stood by the table, and Ye Mao came up to remove his armor. Lu Baizang touched his chin and admired: “How handsome.”

Jing Ye said to Ye Mao: “Help me look at my ribs. I feel a little pain.”

Lu Baizang said: “What’s wrong?” After saying that, he got off the couch to take a look.

Ye Mao helped Jing Ye take off his armor. Lu Baizang motioned for him to step back, then he came over and hugged Jing Ye, saying, “Where does it hurt?”

“A little below.” Jing Ye moved his arms, “Ai… it’s right here.”

Lu Baizang held his hand up to one of his ribs and pressed hard, and Jing Ye hissed.

Lu Baizang let go, picked him up in his arms the next moment, and carried him to the bed, “Let me take a closer look.”

Jing Ye kicked him and said, “It’s not my legs that hurt!”

Lu Baizang held his wrist, kissed his cheek, and said, “Alright, husband, let this concubine take a look. This concubine is so distressed at your pain.”

Jing Ye didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Lu Baizang reached out to untie his belt and peeled off the layers of clothes. As he was peeling off, he thought of some obscene things. He grinned and leaned into Jing Ye’s ear and said: “My good Majesty, let’s do something so that it won’t hurt.”

Jing Ye wanted to punch him, but his hands were held by him and he could only bite him on the lip. Lu Baizang cried out in pain and covered his mouth.

Jing Ye said: “What are you covering it for? A touch of red on your lips looks best.”

Lu Baizang let go and said, “Really?”

His bite was not in the right place. He had bitten the corner of his mouth and red blood flowed from it, which looked quite tragic.

Jing Ye couldn’t help laughing and said, “Yeah, it’s very charming.”

Lu Baizang looked at him and said, “I know you’re laughing at me. my good Majesty, please let me kiss you.”

The final sound of the word “you” was drawn out high and long, successfully awakening all the goosebumps on Jing Ye’s body.

Jing Ye said: “Get out.”

Lu Baizang said pitifully: “Your Majesty…”

His hand reached into Jing Ye’s clothes and gently stroked the bruises on Jing Ye’s ribs.

Jing Ye looked at him, the two looked at each other, and then their lips touched each other for a long kiss.

Lips parted, Lu Baizang rubbed Jing Ye’s cheek and said with a smile, “I’m going to get some medicine to treat the bruises.”

Jing Ye had a large bruise on his ribs, which was all caused by the iron armor. This body was really too pampered.

After rubbing the medicinal oil, Jing Ye lay on the bed and said to Lu Baizang: “Sleep for a while, wake me up when lunch comes.”

Lu Baizang said: “En, okay.”

Jing Ye closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly. Lu Baizang sat on the edge of the bed and looked at his long eyelashes and full yet thin lips.

A slight breeze blew by, blowing the tassels hanging from the top of the bed.

“Your Majesty, chen has only one lifetime, and I will be entrusting it to you for the rest of it.”

The man said softly.

Lu Baizang had gone to Zhengzhou, and when he came back, he brought Obsidian with him.

Jing Ye went to the stable to look at Obsidian. It was standing in front of the trough chewing hay with the white horse Bright Night. After Bright Night chewed and finished eating, it pushed its own share over and rubbed the other horse’s ears as if to please.

Bright Night also nuzzled it, and Obsidian’s tail twitched, swaying more and more happily.

Jing Ye walked over, and Obsidian looked up at him.

Jing Ye said: “Obsidian, Bright Night is a stallion.”

Mr. Obsidian’s horse face flicked and snorted with disdain.

Jing Ye laughed, stretched out his hand to touch its mane, and said, “Come on, let’s take you out for a ride.”

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Ye Mao on the side said hurriedly: “Your Majesty, do you want to go hunting in the forest?”

“En, let’s go and have a look.”

Ye Mao bent down and said, “Your Majesty, please wait for a moment. Chen will go and call General Li to accompany you.”

Jing Ye smiled and said: “Zhen will take the attendants with me first, just ask him to follow after.”

“Yes.”

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