Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 573: The End is Nigh (2)_1

Chapter 573: Chapter 573: The End is Nigh (2)_1

As the sun rose, Emperor Huian, draped in a bright yellow dragon robe, stepped out of the traveling palace, protected by the imperial guards. Following him, the Crown Prince, seated in a wheelchair and pushed out by the attending eunuchs, and even though the attending princes did not care for the feeble Crown Prince, they dared not act presumptuously in front of Emperor Huian. According to the order of seniority, they earnestly followed behind the Crown Prince to the already constructed high platform, lining up on either side of Emperor Huian.

The ministers and accompanying families who had long been waiting below kneeled en masse on the ground, hundreds of voices unified and loud, respectfully greeting, "Long live the Emperor, long live, long live; long life to the Crown Prince, long life, long life!"

The awe-inspiring voices carried far across the tranquil wilderness and echoed in the distance, startling countless birds into flight from the trees.

Despite having experienced such grand scenes before, the princes standing on the lofty platform looking down at the kneeling ministers still couldn’t suppress their excitement, their ambitions hidden deep in their hearts blatantly flourishing at this moment.

Chu Heng, who stood closest to Emperor Huian, watched as King Heng beside him breathed a bit heavier, a hint of ridicule flashing in his downcast eyes before calmly surveying everything below with an undisturbed gaze.

"My loyal subjects, rise! Since we are outside the palace, you may be at ease!"

Emperor Huian, nearly fifty and with well-maintained health, still couldn’t avoid the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and his slightly slack skin never ceased to reveal the reality that he was no longer young. However, as the ruler of Great Chu, his accumulated imperial presence ensured that even those unaware of his identity dared not treat him as an ordinary old man.

At that moment, although he was smiling and telling the people below to "be at ease," no one dared to truly behave casually in his presence. Everyone stood up with caution, fearing to behave improperly before the Emperor and to be despised by Emperor Huian.

Emperor Huian looked down at the gathering of young talents and, as usual, gave words of encouragement: "You are all the future pillars of Great Chu. Today is the first day of the autumn hunt. I will observe your performance. Whoever captures the most and the best game will be greatly rewarded by me!"

Upon hearing this, all the young talents were abuzz with excitement, the more composed quickly thanking the Emperor for his grace, while the more impulsive were already grasping their bows and arrows, eager to try.

Watching these vibrant young people, Emperor Huian couldn’t help but look towards his son in the wheelchair, a sharp pain crossed through the depths of his eyes.

Just then, the chief eunuch Liang Gonggong at his side reminded, "Your Majesty, the auspicious time has arrived!"

Emperor Huian snapped back to reality, concealing the unusual look in his eyes, and led his sons down the high platform to the front of the white horse brought by the guards, taking the reins and the dragon-tongue bow from another guard’s hand.

There is an unwritten rule in the imperial hunting ritual: on the first day of the hunt, it is usually the Emperor who shoots the first arrow. Only after he has taken down the game may others ride into the woods to show off their skills.

This time, however, Emperor Huian did not, as in previous years, ride into the woods to take down the first game. Instead, he personally led a carefully selected fine horse and, holding the dragon-tongue bow, approached Chu Heng under the puzzled glances of the crowd, and personally handed it to him: "My son, this year, you will take this first shot!"

Chu Heng suppressed the surprise in his eyes, staring intently at the dragon-tongue bow in Emperor Huian’s hands. No true man could resist a fine steed and a good bow, and he was no exception, even though he could not ride a horse or shoot an arrow—never having touched either!

Amid the envious, jealous, or resentful gazes behind him, Chu Heng accepted the reins and dragon-tongue bow with composed ease under Emperor Huian’s encouraging eyes and said in a tone full of admiration yet not lacking in respect, "Your Humble Son obeys!"

Emperor Huian clapped and laughed heartily, "Good, good, good, my son Xiao is outstanding, indeed outstanding!" Anyone could hear the joy emanating from his heart, a joy not of a lofty emperor toward the Crown Prince but that of an ordinary father, fond of his own son.

Chu Heng let out a faint smile, showing an appropriate amount of happiness on his face, ignoring those with various intentions. He propelled himself to the gentle white horse, and with Xiao Ruiyuan’s help, he sat atop it smoothly.

The dragon-tongue bow required great arm strength to draw, and Chu Heng’s body had long been ravaged by severe poison; he could hardly sit still for long, let alone draw the bow.

Emperor Huian certainly wouldn’t let his son become the butt of jokes. Once Chu Heng mounted the horse, the Emperor also mounted, riding with his son. He assisted him in drawing the bow and shot an arrow with precise aim into the neck of a drugged plum deer, killing it instantly.

"Worthy of being the Second Imperial Brother, truly as valiant as The Emperor!" Even though dissatisfied with the high regard Emperor Huian held for Chu Heng, King Heng and others could only suppress their jealousy, offering their compliments with apparent admiration.

If such words came from anyone else, they would surely be taken as blatant sarcasm, but to Emperor Huian’s ears, they were extremely pleasing. He looked at King Heng and the rest, his tone unclear whether it was a warning or something else, and said, "Among the dozen of you brothers, only the Crown Prince bears a striking resemblance to me! He is my legitimate son, my Crown Prince, the Crown Prince of Great Chu. You should treat the Crown Prince with the same respect as you would show me!"

The young and naive princes might be excused, but King Heng and others, who had made multiple attempts against Chu Heng, nearly fell ill with fright. Especially King Heng, recalling the scheme devised upon learning that Chu Heng would partake in the autumn hunt, felt a chill run down his spine, almost suspecting that Emperor Huian already knew about it.

Chu Heng’s expression remained cool throughout; after Emperor Huian finished speaking, he pointed at the plum deer on the ground, still bleeding from the neck, with a trace of hope on his face, "Father, a few days ago, Your Humble Son learned to roast meat. While the deer is fresh, allow Your Humble Son to roast it for you to taste my culinary skills."

"Very well! The Emperor will have the deer prepared, waiting to taste the deer meat roasted by Hengheng himself." Emperor Huian was overjoyed, not at all feeling that it was below the dignity of the Imperial Family for the Crown Prince of a Country to personally roast the meat.

Watching this loving scene between father and son, the other Princes felt increasingly discontent.

What was so special about roasting meat? After all, he himself had gone to great lengths to gather rare treasures, yet never received a word of praise from The Emperor. And now, for a piece of deer meat that might not even be palatable, The Emperor was this delighted. Indeed, The Emperor’s heart was biased!

No matter their discontent, soon someone carried the plum deer away. Not long after, they presented a blazing grill, the deer meat cleaned and cut into pieces, along with various seasonings.

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