HLnovel Chapter 296, Section 296: Jealousy
Chapter 296, Section 296: Jealousy
Chapter 296 Jealousy
Chunyu Jing narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Chunyu Yang, not even noticing his fingernails digging into his palm.
Chunyu Yang: "Your Majesty, I have heard that when you were young, you went on an autumn hunt with your grandfather and displayed great prowess, shooting down five black eagles with a single arrow. I have a request, and in order to win the autumn hunt, I ask that Your Majesty bestow upon me the bow and arrow that shot down those five black eagles."
The emperor burst into laughter, pointing at Chunyu Yang and saying:
"Only you could come up with such a thing. You must have led troops and fought battles. I'd like to see how well you do at the autumn hunt. Li Decai, go to my armory and fetch that bow and arrow. Give it to the Third Prince."
Half an hour later, the eunuch brought the bow and arrow, and the emperor personally handed it to Chunyu Yang, a sight that stung the eyes of many.
Upon seeing this, Chunyu Yang's younger sister, Chunyu Lianyi, rolled her eyes and pouted, saying:
"Father is so biased! Mother and my brother went hunting with you, leaving Lian'er all alone in the palace. I'm so bored! I deserve a reward too!"
The emperor was always very strict with his sons, but extremely indulgent with his daughters. Chunyu Lianyi's coquettish behavior caught him off guard, so he deliberately put on a stern face and said:
"Why are you, a young woman who hasn't even married yet, not staying in the palace? What are you doing here, joining in the fun?"
Chunyu Lianyi said, "Don't think I don't know. My brothers are going to show off their skills at the autumn hunt in order to win the heart of a beauty. How can I miss such a lively event? Eighth sister, don't you think so?" After saying that, she nudged the Eighth Princess Chunyu Yuexuan with her elbow and signaled to her with her eyes to speak quickly.
Chunyu Yuexuan looked up at her older brother, Chunyu Jing, who shook his head slightly with a composed gaze. She pursed her lips and said:
"Go by yourself if you want to. I'm not like you, who's always so irresponsible."
"You!" Chunyu Lianyi was speechless with anger and anxiety. She could only look at the emperor again and continue to plead, "Father Emperor~"
"It's not impossible for me to take you along, but..." the emperor smiled mysteriously.
"But what?" Chunyu Lianyi's eyes widened. "Father, you still want to negotiate with me?"
The emperor laughed and said, "Of course. Look at your brothers, which one of them doesn't want to negotiate with me? If you want to receive the same treatment as them, you will naturally have to pay the corresponding price."
Chunyu Lianyi said with a mournful face, "Tell me, if I can do it, I will do my best."
"I haven't thought of anything yet. I'll tell you when I do." After saying that, the emperor looked at Chunyu Yuexuan and smiled, "Yue'er, you should come along too."
Although she said she didn't want to go, upon hearing the emperor's words, Chunyu Yuexuan couldn't help but smile with delight, and she and Chunyu Lianyi stood up and bowed.
"Your son thanks Your Majesty for your grace."
Disguised as An Rong, Ye Yingrou looked meaningfully at the elegant Chunyu Yuexuan, and suddenly a plan formed in her mind.
Having achieved his goal, the emperor soon excused himself by saying he was tired and left the Imperial Garden with the empress. The remaining people, each with their own thoughts, engaged in some perfunctory exchanges and also departed.
Chunyu Yang and Jingxuan escorted Consort Zhuang back to Xianling Palace. Jingxuan knew that she was Chunyu Yang's birth mother, and he tried to get close to her and please her along the way, making her laugh constantly. After returning to Xianling Palace, it was only natural to leave the father and son there.
Ever since Consort Zhuang discovered she had been poisoned, the palace has been filled with incense pills specially prepared by Ye Pianran. As soon as Jingxuan smelled the familiar scent, his eyes lit up, and he grabbed Consort Zhuang's hand, saying in a childish voice:
"Your Majesty, your room smells so good! Xuan'er loves it."
Consort Xian bent down and gently tapped his nose. "Since Xuan'er likes it, he can come to the palace more often with his father in the future."
Jingxuan got tired after playing in Xianling Palace for a while and fell into a deep sleep in Consort Zhuang's arms.
Upon seeing this, Chunyu Yang dismissed the palace maids in Xianling Palace and took Zhuang Xianfei's pulse to check for poison in her body.
Although Consort Zhuang burned incense pills specially made by Ye Pianran in her room every day, the incense could only suppress the poison in her body. It was not easy to completely remove the poison from her body.
Chunyu Yang took his pulse and found that the poison was being suppressed relatively stably, and his tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.
"With the autumn hunt approaching, I was worried about whether Mother Consort would be able to accompany Your Majesty, but I did not expect that Mother Consort had already come up with a solution," Chunyu Yang said.
Consort Zhuang smiled and said, "Your mother has been in the palace for decades, so she naturally has some methods."
"Who exactly poisoned him? Does Mother have any clue?" Chunyu Yang asked.
Consort Zhuang shook her head: "We haven't found any clues yet. However, since my son and I have made such a splash today, and I was able to go to Xingzhou with your father, that person will definitely not be satisfied and will take action again."
Chunyu Yang said in a deep voice, "I will leave Ye Cangqiong in the palace to protect Mother Consort."
Consort Zhuang patted his hand and smiled, "I know you're worried, but Ye Cangqiong is a man after all. If someone with ulterior motives finds out, it might cause more trouble. Don't worry, there are only a few days left before the autumn hunt, everything will be fine."
——※※※——
On the way back to the Prince's residence from the palace, Chunyu Jing's face was extremely gloomy. Ye Yingrou's mind raced, and she softly asked:
"Your Highness, what exactly did you and the Third Prince make with the Emperor? Was that bow and arrow really that important?"
Chunyu Jing narrowed his eyes, recalling the bet and naturally thinking of Ye Pianran. This time, however, his heart didn't suffer the same excruciating pain as before. The thought of Ye Pianran filled him with an indescribable disgust. He had only made this bet with Chunyu Yang and Chunyu Shan to ascend the throne.
And he was determined to win!
"Whether that bow and arrow can truly hit the bullseye every time is not important. What is important is that Father Emperor believes that whoever possesses that bow and arrow will be invincible. Third Brother's martial arts skills are already far superior to ours. If he gets that bow and arrow, Father Emperor will naturally value him even more. This is very disadvantageous to me," Chunyu Jing said with a cold snort.
"I have put so much effort into this plan, I absolutely cannot lose here."
Ye Yingrou said, "Your Highness is right. Rou'er will do everything in her power to assist Your Highness."
Chunyu Jing asked, "Did arranging Zheng Yan to be by Gongsun Zhan's side have any effect?"
"Your Highness can rest assured that Rou'er is capable of handling things." Ye Yingrou said with undisguised pride, "That old man Gongsun Zhan has no suspicion of Zheng Yan and let her serve as a maid in the Prime Minister's residence. Last night, Rong Qi successfully brought back the article written by the Left Prime Minister. Rou'er's brother has been good at imitating other people's handwriting since he was a child. He and Rou'er have always been of one mind, and he will definitely be able to help Rou'er forge the letter between the Left Prime Minister and Prince Yue about treason."
Her brother? Ye Yanxun, the top scorer in this year's autumn imperial examination?
Chunyu Jing raised an eyebrow, the fierceness on his face lessening considerably. He pulled Ye Yingrou into his arms, pinched her cheek lightly, and said:
"You need to spend the next few days in close contact with Shi Zhenghan to ensure the autumn hunt goes smoothly. Whether it succeeds or fails depends on how much sincerity you have for me."
Ye Yingrou replied sweetly, "Yes, Your Highness."