A beautiful daughter came to the Xiangfu

Lin Qingyang saw Lin Meir walking back to the tent angrily from outside the tent.

"Who offended her again?"

Lin Qingyang said casually.

Lin Qingyang didn't walk around for long. Although there were soldiers guarding the area all around, it was a night in the suburbs of Beijing after all, and there was nothing much to see except the sky full of stars.

It was late at night, and the moon in the sky was not full, with a thin layer of mist. In the woods not far away, there were occasional noises, probably some animals that hibernate during the day and come out at night. It was time to change guards, and the soldiers were doing the handover in an orderly manner.

At this moment, the emperor's tent was brightly lit. Prince Qi and Duke Qing were both in the emperor's tent. They used to be close friends when they were young, but after the emperor ascended the throne, they had less interactions. The good friends became monarchs and subjects, and their relationship was no longer close.

Prince Qi had just finished playing a game of chess with the emperor. Judging from his expression, the emperor, with a big smile on his face, must have won.

Prince Qi is a few years younger than the emperor. He usually has the dignity of a prince, but at this moment he acts like a child.

"No more playing. I'm not good at chess. I've never beaten my royal brother since I was a child." Prince Qi muttered.

"Hahaha, playing chess is an elegant thing. There's no need to worry about winning or losing." The emperor couldn't hide the smile on his face as he picked up the chess pieces.

"That's what my royal brother said, but I didn't see you showing any mercy!" Prince Qi continued.

"How about you and Duke Qing play a game?" The emperor looked at Duke Qing standing aside and said to Prince Qi.

"No, you guys can play if you want. I'd better go back to accompany my princess!" Prince Qi said as he picked up the last chess piece on the board and put it in the chess box, ready to leave. The whole capital knew how good Prince Qi was to Princess Qi. Many people envied Princess Qi. The couple lived in harmony, her husband doted on her, and her son was filial and obedient. The only flaw was that their eldest son died in the battlefield two years ago, leaving only their only son.

Prince Qi and the Emperor are half-brothers. According to royal rules, the throne must be inherited by the legitimate son. Therefore, Prince Qi and his mother, who have no backing, have never had any intention of usurping the throne. Moreover, Prince Qi is indeed not as smart and capable as the two sons born to the Queen Mother. Now Prince Qi lives a happy life and does not participate much in court affairs. The Emperor is very confident in him.

Just as Prince Qi was about to stand up, there was a commotion outside the tent.

"There's an assassin~" the guards outside shouted.

At this moment, a man in black flew in sideways from outside the tent and fell heavily to the ground. He was "kicked" in by the guards.

The emperor and his men saw the assassin in such a state of disgrace, but they still did not dare to let down their guard. Prince Qi stood in front of the emperor and Duke Qing. He was once a skilled warrior on the battlefield, and now when he encountered danger, he still rushed to the front as usual.

Except for the assassin on the ground, no other assassins came.

A guard rushed over and knelt before the emperor.

"Your Majesty, three men in black came to assassinate us just now, and they have all been executed."

Has it been rectified?

Shouldn't they keep the person alive for interrogation? This is an attempt to assassinate the emperor.

But the emperor just waved his hand and let them all go.

Just now, when the emperor, Duke Qing and Prince Qi were in the tent, they sent all the servants around them outside. At this time, the eunuchs around them returned to the emperor and waited for instructions.

"Pass the order down and return to the palace tomorrow." The emperor gave the order, and stopped hunting and returned to the capital.

Duke Qing and Prince Qi heard the instructions and didn't ask any questions.

"You two dear ministers, please go back and rest. We have just been disturbed. We will return to the palace tomorrow. We will talk again when we get back."

After Duke Qing and Prince Qi left the emperor's tent, they were supposed to go east and west respectively. However, Prince Qi followed Duke Qing for a while and did not intend to turn.

"Aren't you going back to accompany your princess? Why are you following me?" Duke Qing looked at Prince Qi who was following him and asked. He knew that Prince Qi must have something to say at this time.

Prince Qi looked around and quietly approached Duke Qing.

"Who do you think sent this assassin?" Prince Qi asked the question directly. Everyone wanted to know the assassin's origins.

"This is not something you and I should worry about. There is no benefit in knowing too much." Duke Qing smiled with narrowed eyes, which was completely different from his usual calmness.

The two separated and went back to their homes.

Early the next morning, everyone received an order to return to the capital, because an assassin appeared in front of the emperor's tent last night, so the spring hunt was ended early.

In previous years, rewards were given according to the amount of prey caught during the spring hunt in each prefecture. Although this year's spring hunt ended early, the rules could not be broken. Rewards were given based on the amount of prey caught in the previous few days. However, the spring hunt was only carried out for two days, so the amount of prey was easy to count.

Shunwang Mansion: 5 items.

Duke Qing’s Mansion: 4 items.

Prince Qi’s Mansion: 7 items.

Zhenyuan General’s Mansion: 3 items.

Commandery: 4 items.

Wang Duwei: 3 things.

Commander: 2 items.

Prince’s Mansion: 3 items.

......

Some people did not plan to make any effort in the past few days, and as a result, the spring hunt ended like this. The Prince Qi's Mansion won the first place in the number of hunts with 7 types of prey.

The Prince Qi's Mansion received a reward from the emperor, a piece of jade and a bounty of 1,000 gold coins.

Every year during the spring hunt, everyone longs for this "honor".

Although those who follow the emperor to the spring hunt are not short of the bounty, for the Jin Kingdom, which emphasizes both civil and military cultivation, the spring hunt is the best time to display bravery. After all, the martial arts champion is not selected every year, and not everyone wants to go to the battlefield. Now that the Jin Kingdom is basically peaceful and prosperous, the best opportunity to show off is the spring hunt, a moment of national celebration.

"Father, there was an assassination attempt last night. Weren't you and Prince Qi playing chess at the emperor's place?"

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Crown Prince Zhuang Yunlin quietly asked Duke Qing.

Duke Qing nodded but said nothing.

"Did the assassin commit suicide? I only heard that there was an assassin last night and he was going to return to Beijing today. How come there is no news about the assassin?"

Zhuang Yunlin was not simply curious.

Duke Qing looked at his son and said, "Prince Qi and I were both in the emperor's tent last night. We just heard the commotion outside. The emperor's guards are still very capable. Although they encountered several assassins who came to assassinate him, they were all killed by the guards. So the emperor did not suffer any harm. But it is normal to return to the palace. Encountering such a thing is more or less a disappointment."

After Duke Qing finished speaking, he continued to return to his previous state.

Zhuang Yunlin heard a few key words and roughly pieced together the general idea.

There were not many assassins and they were all killed.

The person was dead, so there was no way to know who sent the assassin, and the emperor did not investigate further.

Zhuang Yunlin went to pack up his belongings, he didn't have much stuff, so he went to find King Xiao An. The early end of the spring hunt was a pity for others, but for King Xiao An, it was a good thing. After all, there were many people who hunted the same prey as him, so no one would suspect his injuries.