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"This..." Eunuch Li raised his head to look at the Emperor lying on the bed, unsure of how to explain himself.

The Emperor coughed twice, "I thought they were hindering my hunting, so I didn’t let them follow."

The tent suddenly fell silent. Who would dare to dispute the Emperor’s order?

Even the Empress, in front of so many people, wouldn’t speak out against the Emperor.

Having grown up in the General Residence, and being accustomed to the ways of the court, she knew the Emperor valued face, and one had to give way to the Emperor and the Prince even when one was right.

So the Empress would only lose her temper in private, she had never caused the Emperor to lose face in public.

Once it was confirmed that the Emperor was unharmed, Princes and officials withdrew, leaving only the Empress. The atmosphere abruptly became very quiet.

Looking at the injury on the Emperor’s right arm, the Empress felt a lingering fear when she thought of how perilous the situation had been.

"How could Your Majesty be so careless? How would having the royal guards follow affect the hunt? It was fortunate that today’s incident was without serious consequence; otherwise, the repercussions would have been unthinkable."

The Emperor, feeling guilty, nodded in agreement, "The Empress is right, I was negligent."

The Empress’s gaze rested on the wounded arm of the Emperor. She had heard from the Imperial Doctor that the wound was somewhat deep, and although it had been bandaged well, the sight of the wound was still shocking.

"Does it still hurt?"

The Emperor weakly nodded, "Empress, I am a bit thirsty."

Upon hearing this, the Empress stood up, went to the table, poured a cup of water, returned to sit by the bed, "Let me feed it to you."

At this moment, the Empress, considering the Emperor was injured and that it happened while saving her, was naturally more gentle than usual.

The Emperor looked up at the Empress, such rare tenderness, he felt all the injuries were worth it.

Seeing that the Emperor was only staring at her and not drinking, the Empress tried to control her volume, "Why are you looking at me, Your Majesty? Aren’t you thirsty?"

The Emperor obediently took a few sips of water, and then said softly, "The Empress is rarely so gentle."

The Empress: "..."

After Xiao Jinyu returned, seeing Chun Xi sitting at the table holding a rabbit, he strode over.

"Miss Chun, are you hungry?"

Chun Xi lifted her head to look at Xiao Jinyu, and thinking of what Wanxin had said, felt a bit upset.

Xiao Jinyu saw her staring at him and not speaking, and couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious, "What’s wrong?"

Chun Xi watched him for a while before slowly speaking, "I seem to have never asked if you would take concubines."

In Chun Xi’s eyes, Xiao Jinyu marrying her meant she would naturally be the principal wife.

Xiao Jinyu a sigh of relief, chuckled, "And I thought it was something serious. You can ask now if you want."

Chun Xi didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly, "Then, will you take concubines?"

Xiao Jinyu answered very seriously with two words, "I won’t."

Chun Xi felt relieved at this, "That’s good then."

Xiao Jinyu asked again, "Are you hungry?"

Chun Xi nodded, she had only eaten breakfast, and was already hungry by now.

"I heard my sister-in-law is having grilled meat. Wait here, I’ll go get some for you." Xiao Jinyu turned happily and left the tent.

He hadn’t gone far when he saw Wanxin coming toward him. She curtseyed, "Prince Jinyu."

Xiao Jinyu asked, "What are you doing here?"

Wanxin replied softly, "I just cooked some dishes and wanted to bring them over for Prince Jinyu to taste, but I was afraid that my cooking wouldn’t be presentable enough and you might not like it."

Xiao Jinyu’s eyes showed surprise, "So you can cook? Miss Chun can’t even tell salt from sugar."

Wanxin’s eyes twinkled with a smiling expression as she heard the words, "Since I was a child, my mother has told me that a girl’s domestic cooking skills will be a treat for her future husband."

Xiao Jinyu chuckled, "Then your husband is in for a treat. I’m not so fortunate, though. Miss Han doesn’t cook, but that’s alright. I have two chefs in my household, whatever I want to eat, I just let the chefs handle it."

The smile at the corner of Wanxin’s mouth stiffened slightly, before she replied warmly, "Would Prince Jinyu like to try some?"

Xiao Jinyu waved his hand dismissively, "Miss Han mentioned yesterday that the Crown Princess’ grilled meat tasted quite good. I’m going to the Crown Princess now to get some grilled meat to take back for Miss Han to try."

Wanxin: "..."

Having said that, Xiao Jinyu walked away.

Wanxin had spent considerable time preparing a table full of dishes, only for no one to eat them.

Xiao Jinyan had caught quite a bit of game, which he left to Qin Xiao and Weichi to clean, and then had Chun Xi grill them.

All the condiments and ingredients were ready, just waiting for Chun Xi to bring the grilled game to the table.

Xu Concubine and Tao Lady stayed with their faces stretched in a forced smile, solely for the pleasure of tasting freshly grilled game.

After the grilling was done, Xiao Jinyan had some sent to the Emperor and Empress.

Xiao Jinyu, from a distance, caught the scent of the grilled meat, and as he approached, overheard the Crown Prince sending some to their father the Emperor and mother the Empress.

"Brother, why didn’t you think of sending some my way?"

It wasn’t that Xiao Jinyan hadn’t thought of it, it’s just that he was about to speak when Xiao Jinyu arrived.

"Aren’t you here now?"

Xiao Jinyu chuckled twice, his gaze turning toward the game Chun Xi was grilling; it should be pheasants, right? And hare?

"The game Chun Xi grills is delicious. Miss Han has been praising it non-stop. It’s quite the coincidence that I came by today."

Xiao Jinyan: "..." Expert at freeloading food and drinks.

With his brother present, Xiao Jinyan naturally wouldn’t let him leave empty-handed, slicing half a chicken and half a hare, thinking that should be enough for them.

In the end, before leaving, Xiao Jinyu also took a pigeon and didn’t even spare the chili sauce, grabbing it before he left.

Shen Chuwei watched Xiao Jinyu’s actions, thinking that he truly was a devoted husband, always thinking of his wife when it came to good food; he even took the only pigeon, which she hadn’t gotten to try yet~

Xiao Jinyan, seeing Shen Chuwei’s pained expression, then realized that Xiao Jinyu had taken the pigeon that she had wanted to eat...

Shen Chuwei, full and content, lay on the couch and saw Xiao Jinyan enter with a white cat in his arms.

She instinctively touched Xuetuan, who lay beside her, and thought, ah, the creature that Xiao Jinyan was holding was...

Upon closer inspection, that cat had a prince-like mark on its forehead, was covered in pure white fur, but, unlike Xuetuan, it had patterns interwoven in its white fur.

It was a white tiger!

Xiao Jinyan placed the little fellow beside Shen Chuwei, "I found this while hunting. If you like it, you can keep it."

Shen Chuwei declared, "I like it. When it grows up, I can bask in its reflected glory."

Xiao Jinyan chuckled softly, "Aren’t you afraid?"

"Although tigers are fierce, if you raise them from a young age, they become protective of their owner." Shen Chuwei looked down at the little white tiger, so small, she wondered if it had weaned yet~

"For now, let’s just keep it as a pet." Xiao Jinyan figured that while it was young, it could be kept as a cat, but once grown, it could be sent to the Beast Garden.

After delivering the pet, Xiao Jinyan stepped out of the tent.

As someone who also doted on his wife, Xiao Jinyan obviously had to go hunting for a few pigeons to satisfy her cravings since she hadn’t gotten to eat any.

The cloaked figure saw Xiao Jinyan riding his fine horse into the forest and quickly followed.

ps: Second update