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Wanxin paused for a moment at the words, her timid nod confirming, "The humble girl dares."

Xiao Jinyu couldn’t help but raise his thumb, "You really do have a lot of nerve, eating it even though you’re scared."

Wanxin cast her eyes downward and explained softly, "The humble girl has always been timid since childhood. After my relatives passed away one by one, I had no choice but to make myself become braver."

It was only then Xiao Jinyu realized how pitiable she was, orphaned at just fifteen.

"In this place where you have no relatives, you still have to cheer up."

Wanxin bowed, "The humble girl will, thank you for your concern, Prince Jinyu."

"I still have to go catch rabbits, so I will take my leave first." Xiao Jinyu said and then turned to hurry toward the nearby woods.

Concubine Xun and Lady Tao had rested enough and came out to look for Shen Chuwei. From afar, they caught sight of Shen Chuwei’s figure and excitedly waved and shouted towards her.

"Crown Princess, over here!"

Shen Chuwei turned her head and saw Concubine Xun and Lady Tao waving at her, so she walked over to them.

Wanxin stood still, watching Xiao Jinyu’s retreating back, bit her lip, and followed him.

Concubine Xun, eyeing the woman at a distance, asked Shen Chuwei with a puzzled look, "Crown Princess, who is that woman?"

Shen Chuwei replied, "That’s Wanxin, a person from the Empress Dowager’s side."

Lady Tao asked, "Why is she here?"

"I don’t know either." Shen Chuwei was not focused on this; she laughed lightly and suggested, "Let’s go roast rabbits now, shall we? They’re really delicious."

Ever since Xiao Jinyu mentioned roasting rabbits and wild fowl, her mouth watered uncontrollably, and she simply had to catch a rabbit to satisfy her craving.

Concubine Xun fluttered her little handkerchief in agreement, "Oh, that sounds great. I’ve never tried wild rabbit before. It must be very delicious."

Lady Tao was tempted just hearing about it, "I haven’t tried it either, but if the Crown Princess says it’s tasty, it must be."

"Let’s go, let’s go," Shen Chuwei urged them to catch rabbits. But after a few steps, she stopped, "We need to find Chun Xi first."

Concubine Xun and Lady Tao nodded and turned to look for Chun Xi.

After tidying up and returning back to the tent, Chun Xi didn’t see Shen Chuwei. Recalling how Shen Chuwei had been severely injured during the autumn hunt the year before last, she was frightened and hurriedly ran out to look for her.

"Master, Master, where have you gone?"

After running only a few steps, she saw Shen Chuwei coming towards her with Xun Tao and breathed a sigh of relief.

Chun Xi ran up to greet her, "Master, where have you been? You scared me to death."

"It’s fine, it’s fine, aren’t I perfectly all right?" Shen Chuwei soothed her a few words before getting to the point, "Chun Xi, we’re going to roast rabbits."

Without a second thought, Chun Xi nodded, "Great, I’ll go get the tools and seasonings."

Shen Chuwei nodded, "We’ll go catch the rabbits."

After their discussion, they set off in different directions.

Concubine Xun was somewhat concerned, "Crown Princess, rabbits run so fast, can we really catch one? We might not even see a rabbit hair by nightfall."

Lady Tao suggested, "We could use animal traps."

"Traps are too much trouble," Shen Chuwei said while walking, "Let’s just head to the woods and set a simple snare."

Concubine Xun and Lady Tao nodded in agreement.

In the woods, Shen Chuwei looked around for a bit and found some taro vines. Taro is a perennial climbing plant, its vines are perfect to use as rope.

She tore off a few pieces to gamble with, then tied knots to make a vine about three meters long.

She tied a running noose with the vine and placed it on the ground, holding the other end and hiding behind a big tree.

Concubine Xun, noticing the obvious snare, looked worried. She tugged at Shen Chuwei’s sleeve and asked quietly, "Crown Princess, will this really work?"

Shen Chuwei was full of confidence, "This is how I used to catch rabbits."

Lady Tao couldn’t help but ask, "Did it work in the end?"

Shen Chuwei touched her chin, "Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t."

Concubine Xun expressed doubt, "... with fifty-fifty odds, when will we be able to catch a rabbit?"

Shen Chuwei explained, "Sometimes the snare doesn’t catch rabbits because they are too dumb, and they run too fast and knock themselves out by hitting a tree."

Concubine Xun couldn’t help but laugh, "Crown Princess, are you sure it’s not that the rabbits that fall into the trap are the dumb ones?"

Shen Chuwei explained, "Falling into the trap means they weren’t careful; hitting a tree is a different matter altogether."

Concubine Xun and Lady Tao looked at each other, unable to find a rebuttal.

Chun Xi ran back to the tent and took out a crossbody bag filled with tools and seasonings for barbecuing. She slung it over her shoulder, intending to find Shen Chuwei, but then she saw a tall figure in the distance.