After an entire night of deep thought that produced no results, early the next morning Princess Weiyang Ying Huan sent someone to deliver a message. The message simply stated that Duchess Yong felt pity for the lonely Zhao hostage prince living far from home and wished for the Zhao Prince to accompany them to the spring hunt the following day.
When the message arrived at Lantai, Zhao Shu was watching Qi Ying make jujube paste pastries. Hearing that it was an order from Duchess Yong, she assumed it was because the Zhou Shizi’s tour was approaching and Changming Palace was taking measures to ease diplomatic relations.
The boxes and bundles brought over by the servants contained riding clothes and hunting equipment that were exquisitely made and fully prepared.
Qi Ying had always been unable to sit still. Furthermore, after hearing that Lian Yu would probably also attend, she begged to accompany Zhao Shu to the spring hunt.
Zhao Shu felt that she might not have much time left to live, and she also wanted to entrust her to Lian Yu in person. Therefore, after only a brief hesitation, she flicked Qi Ying lightly on the forehead and agreed with a smile.
***
After Jingzhe passed, although Xianyang was still cold, the willow branches along the Ba River had already burst into crisp green buds.
The royal hunting grounds were located ten li northeast of Xianyang. It was a valley beside the Ba River. Though it was only the beginning of spring, the place already displayed flourishing grass and water, with all living things showing signs of revival.
The group from Changming Palace had already been here for two days for the spring hunt.
Zhao Shu and the others were assigned to the last felt tent. It was an inconspicuous location, but Qin soldiers guarded and accompanied them day and night.
Today was the twenty-first day. The spring chill was still sharp, but the sunlight was pleasant. Zhao Shu and Qi Ying stood on the bank of the Ba River, where the snow had not yet fully melted, using thin pieces of stone to skip across the water.
When she first came as a hostage, she had also been escorted by Qin people. Looking at the Ba River branch flowing gently beside her, Zhao Shu played somewhat absentmindedly.
The past two days had been neither good nor bad. The person she least wanted to see had not appeared, and the deadly cold poison had not acted up again. She heard that Lian Yu had been transferred to Lord Hengyuan’s side and had also not seen him. As for Princess Weiyang, she had invited Zhao Shu to hunt twice, but Zhao Shu had refused both times by claiming she was unwell.
Just as she was feeling dispirited, Qi Ying lit a fire and began making a small stove meal. The young girl seemed to be in a good mood, smiling as she added water and kneaded dough.
At that very moment, Weiyang arrived with a group of people riding horses.
“You refused when I invited you once, twice, three times. I think you are just staying around until you make yourself sick from boredom.” There was clearly some displeasure in Ying Huan’s voice, though she still looked at Zhao Shu with anticipation. “Come, this princess will show you something interesting. That illness of yours will disappear.”
As she spoke, servants brought over a fine horse.
Zhao Shu knew that noble young ladies often had a proud and stubborn streak when they became interested in something. At this point, it would be difficult to refuse again, so she followed her instructions and mounted the horse.
When Qi Ying and the guards preparing to accompany them also mounted to follow, Ying Huan quickly glanced sideways at her, raised her whip arrogantly, and said, “This princess has so many people. Are you afraid they will lose your young master? You two don’t need to follow either.”
The valley stretched for twenty li in every direction, with dense forests and countless branching paths. Although Lord Hengyuan called it a spring hunt, in reality, he had merely gathered a group of young nobles and officials. They stayed on the open riverbank at the southern edge of the valley, enjoying music, dancing, and drinking every night.
Ying Huan brought more than ten swift horses. These people were all death soldiers raised from childhood without military achievements. They obeyed only Ying Huan and followed far behind at all times. Not only did they have no intention of listening to the conversation between the two women, they did not even care about Zhao Shu’s identity.
“How is it? My hunting results are enough to take first place, aren’t they?” Ying Huan talked all the way about what she had hunted over the past two days. The person riding beside her remained silent the entire time, causing Ying Huan’s willow-like brows to rise. “If I had known you were not skilled at riding or archery, I would not have forced you.”
Zhao Shu naturally understood the displeasure hidden in her words. After thinking for a moment, she gently added, “I was playful since childhood. Other than learning some medical knowledge and acupuncture from my elder brother, and knowing a few tricks for taming horses and training birds, I truly do not understand the other six arts. Besides, everyone usually hunts in autumn. There are not many wild animals at this time of year.”
“Isn’t that even better? This princess hates those people who spend all day discussing policies and military affairs. If you were like my elder brother, I would feel sick just looking at you.”
She had originally intended to make her dislike her, but instead she happened to strike exactly what Ying Huan liked. The young girl flicked her whip, hooking Zhao Shu’s horse reins, and laughed. “Ride faster. This princess will take you to see something fun.”
The two galloped several li in one breath, entering the edge of the dense forest. Ancient trees towered everywhere, blocking out the sky. Even during the cold winter when everything had withered, sunlight was rarely seen even at noon.
Ying Huan pulled on the reins in front of a pit trap. She ordered her people to clear away the leaves and dead branches covering it. Several death soldiers stepped forward, splitting and sharpening branches. After some time, more than ten sharpened wooden stakes stood upright at the bottom of the two-zhang-deep pit.
Seeing those stakes, Zhao Shu frowned, feeling an indescribable sense of wrongness.
She had seen hunters’ traps before. They usually dug pits about a zhang wide, but the sharpened stakes inside were extremely densely arranged. Once prey fell in, its organs would be pierced through, and it would die instantly.
But this trap was different. The death soldiers had deliberately chosen hard branches only two or three fingers thick, and the spacing between them was much wider.
It seemed as though… they had deliberately intended to keep the prey alive.
“Young Master truly is clever.” Seeing that Zhao Shu had understood, Ying Huan proudly revealed the truth. “At this time of year, most of last year’s young animals have already died. I heard there is a kind of snow ferret that is especially cautious and difficult to catch. My mother loves its fur the most. Young ferrets are less alert, so if one falls into this pit and is injured and cries out from the pain, the mother ferret will surely come. This method of catching mother ferrets at the end of winter works every time.”
Ying Huan spoke proudly and happily, but she did not notice Zhao Shu’s expression becoming increasingly cold.
This method used the mother ferret’s urgent grief over losing its child. Second, it restrained the animal only with minor injuries instead of killing it quickly. Third, hunters using such methods to make fur clothing usually did not wait until the animals died before taking the fur.
It was truly a cruel, vicious, and inhumane method to the extreme.
Ying Huan continued explaining the later steps of processing the fur, when suddenly two deep rolls of thunder erupted beyond the clouds. A fierce wind suddenly rushed into their necks and limbs.
“A snowstorm is coming. Princess, should we return to camp? His Highness said during his evening drinking that he wanted the princess to accompany him.”
“Return? Why should I return? So what if we cannot make it back? Father has more than forty children. Why must it be me accompanying him? He has fine wine and beautiful women. I still need to catch ferrets. Why should he compare himself with my mother?”
At the mention of Lord Hengyuan, Ying Huan’s tone suddenly changed. The death soldier did not try to persuade her at all. He simply followed her instructions, helped her mount, and continued eastward to arrange more traps.
After the second trap was prepared, Ying Huan returned to talk with Zhao Shu again. This time, the two sat beneath a tree roasting by the fire. The death soldiers guarded the outer perimeter, and Ying Huan spoke even more boldly and freely.
“Young Master Shu!” The girl suddenly bumped her shoulder against Zhao Shu. “I say… if you truly can never return in this life, have you ever thought about what you would do?”
Before Zhao Shu could answer, she smiled sweetly to herself. “If you are willing, come to my princess residence first. Whether I marry far away in the future or leave to receive my own fief, I will give you a hundred qing of land. You only need to stay with me and coax me, how about that?”
Zhao Shu suddenly no longer wanted to endure it. She answered coldly, “The princess’s kindness is too great. I am merely a hostage slave and cannot accept it. A proper man would not wish to receive gifts from others. Please, princess, show yourself some respect.”
For one fleeting instant, she almost thought Ying Huan was about to leap up and strike her, she had already gripped her whip in hand.
Yet the next moment, several snow-white shapes flashed past like lightning, bounding out from the thorn bushes behind them.
“Ferrets!” Ying Huan had never seen such a large group before. She instantly forgot her anger, sprang to her feet in two strides, and vaulted onto her horse. “Hyah! Where do you think you’re going?!”
Zhao Shu wanted to mount and follow, but the death guards’ horses were much faster. The ground here was thick with thorn bushes and twisted tree roots. In less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, she had been left far behind.
When the surroundings finally grew so quiet that the only hoofbeats remaining were her own, she suddenly reined in her horse and came to a halt. Thunder rumbled overhead once more, and she simply sat there numbly in the saddle.
Those death guards… had actually left her behind without orders?!
She had often heard of hostage princes escaping back to their homelands. Only a few days ago, she had complained that being confined within the Royal Estate left her unable to breathe. Yet today, she was forced to face a reality more deeply and more painfully than ever before.
It turned out that what imprisoned her now was no longer Qin….but herself. She had nowhere left to return to.
Snow began falling in earnest, drifting through the towering forest canopy and quickly settling upon her hair and shoulders.
Her horse snorted loudly, as though startled awake. Zhao Shu tugged faintly at the corner of her mouth, intending a bitter smile, but the icy wind froze her lips before it could form.
Life and death, even emperors and imperial descendants could not command them. Perhaps it was simply fate. Her mother had been the legitimate eldest royal princess, yet she had succumbed to illness at only thirty. When her wet nurse had still been alive, she would always sigh that the imperial princess had died far too young. But who could have imagined that Zhao Shu herself had only just turned seventeen this year?
Fortunately, none of them would ever know.
No matter what, she had to protect Qi Ying. Even if all hope was lost, she still had to entrust her to someone reliable. At the very least… she prayed Qi Ying would never have to worry about food or clothing.
Somewhere nearby came the faint, fragile cries of something young.
Turning her head to determine the direction, realization dawned upon her.
She pulled on the reins and turned her horse around. Leaning down, she softly murmured a few soothing words into its ear before squeezing its flanks. The horse immediately galloped back along the path they had come.
When she arrived, sure enough, the thin layer of branches covering the trap had been broken through, leaving a hole about the width of a palm.
Zhao Shu tied her horse beneath a tree where the snowfall was lighter before hurrying over. With several forceful motions, she tore away the entire tangled covering of branches and leaves. Carefully lying flat at the edge of the pit, she peered down, and pity flickered through her eyes.
There was indeed an animal that had fallen into the trap but it was not one of the ferrets Ying Huan had been hunting.
It was a gray-furred wolf cub.
The cub was no more than three or four months old, small enough to fit inside a food box. Because it was so tiny, among the dozen or so sharpened stakes at the bottom, only one near the edge had struck it. Yet that single stake… had pierced straight through its abdomen, suspending it in midair.
The forest was utterly silent. Gazing into the pit, which was over twice a man’s height deep, Zhao Shu quickly found a thick vine. After repeatedly checking that it was securely fastened, she hesitated no longer and climbed down using it.
The pit was two zhang deep. Its frozen earthen walls were slick with moisture, making the descent difficult.
When she finally reached the bottom, the wolf cub bared its tiny fangs and growled at her. But pinned atop the sharpened stake, every slight movement caused the little gray bundle of fur to slide farther down, blood streaming continuously from the wound as its injuries worsened.
“It doesn’t hurt… it doesn’t hurt. Soon it won’t hurt anymore.” Her voice was gentle, but her hands moved swiftly and decisively. She first cradled the cub steadily on its side with her left hand before drawing her dagger with her right to cut away the upper portion of the stake.
“You won’t bite me, will you?” She had no spare hand to restrain it. The cub feared the pain, and its baby teeth were scarcely any duller than her dagger. The through-and-through wound was drenched in blood; its internal organs might well have been injured. The sight made her heart ache. Unafraid of being bitten, she carefully worked on the broken stake while lowering her head to rub gently against the wolf cub’s pointed ears.
Perhaps all living things truly possessed spirits or perhaps it was simply because she always carried the scent of animals upon her. The wolf cub, which had been snarling only moments before, suddenly blinked its round obsidian-like eyes, then stretched out its tongue and gently licked her nose.
With a snap, the sharpened stake broke. She gathered the little wolf against her chest and, without climbing back up immediately, anxiously examined its wound first.
Perhaps the wolf disliked the smell of the disguise paste on her artificial skin. Moisture trickled down the bridge of its narrow nose. It let out a soft whimper before pressing its little black nose against hers and quickly licking her icy-cold lips.
Fortunately, the wound had narrowly missed its vital organs.
Zhao Shu chuckled. Smelling the mingled scents of grass and milk on the cub’s fur, she immediately puckered her lips and planted a loud kiss squarely on its nose.
“You little rascal. You’re not going to die. Don’t be afraid.”
She tucked the cub safely inside her robes. Just as she was about to climb back to the surface, distant sounds of shouting hunters reached her ears.
To avoid trouble, she remained suspended halfway up the vine. Facing the icy wall of the pit, she focused intently on every sound above her head. Her right hand was beginning to tremble from exhaustion when she suddenly heard two arrows fly with startling clarity.
Clang!
The sharp ring of metal striking metal seemed to sound right beside her ear. Only after the hoofbeats gradually receded into the distance did she wait a while longer. It was only when she could scarcely hold onto the vine anymore that she forced herself to climb back up.
Afraid of crushing the cub nestled inside her robes, she practically crawled and stumbled onto the ground. The instant she reached the surface, she immediately rolled over onto her back.
The snowfall had grown even heavier. Still breathing raggedly, she saw a familiar figure appear within her line of sight. Her apricot eyes froze as she stared at the man standing beside her horse.
“You… why are you here all by yourself?”
The man wore full armor, a quiver on his back, a longbow slung across his shoulder, and a longsword at his waist. Yet in his arms, he was cradling an enormous gray wild rabbit.
For a moment, Zhao Shu did not know which of them she ought to look at first.
That rabbit was absurdly large. One of its hind legs had apparently been grazed by an arrow, fresh blood staining the sleeve of the man’s robe. Its ears were unbelievably long as well. Resting its forepaws on the man’s left shoulder, those gray-and-white ears reached all the way to the top of his head. At this moment, the giant rabbit, half covering his face, trembled violently, clutching desperately onto him.
Zhao Shu was slow and absentminded about many things. But when it came to this, she understood instantly. Those two arrows just now, one had been fired by the hunter. The other had been shot to stop the kill.
Impossible though it seemed, there was no denying it. The wild rabbit in Ying Wuji’s arms was one he had just rescued.
Though the rabbit’s extraordinary size startled her for a moment, Zhao Shu quickly withdrew her gaze. They had not seen each other for three days. She had almost managed to forget what had happened that night.
Yet now, of all places, at the very moment she had least expected to encounter him, her face grew hot with embarrassment.
Just as she was inwardly relieved that her disguise concealed the blush spreading across her face, a fierce gust of wind suddenly howled through the mountains. In the blink of an eye, the swirling snow turned into a torrential downpour.
“Come. Let’s take shelter in the cave ahead first.”
