WMSG Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Do You Hear Something?

Every year, the imperial family holds spring and autumn hunts. This particular hunt was not one of them, so neither the Emperor nor the ministers participated. Only the imperial princes and a few young men with close ties to them were present.

In truth, the princes hadn’t reached a point where they could leisurely hunt together with genuine camaraderie. However, they always had to do something to display brotherly harmony, both for the Emperor’s and the ministers’ benefit.

This seemingly forced summer hunt had been passed down relentlessly in the imperial family, like a competition where everyone held their noses and bore it. Since the previous generation could grit their teeth and come out to play for a few days, there was no reason for them to endure less. So, year after year, it became even more challenging than the spring and autumn hunts.

When the Fourth Prince of Yousu invited him to hunt together, he agreed without a second thought. If there was an opportunity to get close to all the princes, there was no reason for him not to come.

According to the original plot, an important milestone before the summer hunt was when the male lead, Gong Shengyin, gained the Emperor’s attention. The summer hunt was one of the occasions where he frequently showed his face before the Emperor.

Perhaps only Ye Yueshen knew that Gong Shengyin was already considered no worse than the other princes in the Emperor’s heart. A weakness in background could be easily erased with a bit of favor. The Emperor was the ultimate golden finger that the princes fought over.

Gong Xunwu didn’t cause any trouble. He even thoughtfully woke Ye Yueshen up, let him wash up and eat, and then sent Ye Yueshen to the hunting grounds without any objections.

It was as if his insistence on Ye Yueshen coming yesterday in front of the Junzhu was only to have him sleep in his bed for one night, providing a little warmth.

Ye Yueshen got out of the carriage and looked back at Gong Xunwu, who followed behind. The latter was still calm and indifferent, exuding an aura of ruthless oppression.

Ye Yueshen suddenly realized that this person had been doing it on purpose yesterday, deliberately making him see who was the powerful hunter and who was the small cub that even his mother couldn’t protect.

It wasn’t about letting him stay for a night, but clearly about making him recognize his own position. Their precarious relationship, Ye Yueshen’s timely attempt to distance himself when Du Ru Xiang was presumed dead from the boulder, was something Gong Xunwu couldn’t tolerate.

Although Ye Yueshen had been forced to return to his palm, he couldn’t completely relax, and needed to be knocked into place when necessary.

The small prey, who had been so docile this morning, suddenly showed his claws. Gong Xunwu asked him calmly, “What’s wrong?”

“Why are you still following me?” Ye Yueshen glared at him. “I’ve already seen them. I can go over by myself.”

Gong Xunwu justified his unreasonable behavior: “It’s nothing, I’ll escort you over.” Then he refused to leave.

Not far away were the carriages lined up, and the princes were standing together talking. They had obviously just arrived, and their attendants were carrying the things they brought into the estate.

Gong Xunwu’s carriage was parked to look like he was just dropping someone off, but who knew what he was thinking.

Gong Xuyin noticed them and, without alerting anyone else, quietly came over to greet them, bowing to Gong Xunwu: “Uncle has come! Why not hunt together? I heard that Uncle usually enjoys hunting, why not stay here and have some fun for a few days?”

Ye Yueshen smirked. Gong Xunwu ignored him: “Alright.”

The Crown Prince, Gong Ruiyin, brought his beloved dog, Xuezhualu, which was entirely black except for its white paws and tail tip. Its coat was shiny, and its body was slender but with clearly defined muscles.

From the moment Ye Yueshen appeared, this Xuezhualu had been barking at him incessantly.

Gong Xunwu silently shielded Ye Yueshen behind him, stepping forward and staring at the Crown Prince with an obscure gaze. The Crown Prince quickly pulled the dog behind him and bowed to Gong Xunwu.

Every time Gong Xunwu appeared, the Crown Prince’s expression was the ugliest. Originally, he was the eldest and most respected among the princes, but Gong Xunwu was two years younger than him and yet a generation above him.

However, now that Gong Xunwu had come, the Crown Prince had to accompany him, which gave Ye Yueshen a chance to breathe.

The people from the Qi Wang Manor brought his change of clothes, all prepared by Gong Xunwu. Ye Yueshen didn’t have to worry about anything.

Gong Xunwu seemed particularly interested in dressing up Ye Yueshen. Ye Yueshen really wanted to give him a doll sold in three worlds, so he could dress it up without anyone interfering.

Everyone was busy when they first arrived, and Ye Yueshen, being idle, strolled around nearby. He didn’t know when the Crown Prince’s dog came back again, with no one watching it.

This dog had bitten Liu Qingying in the original story, so Ye Yueshen was a little afraid of it.

Animals were particularly sensitive to fear, and it quickly noticed who was the easiest to bully among the people coming and going. It barked wildly at Ye Yueshen and lunged at him.

Ye Yueshen turned to run, but someone brushed past him, and the dog whimpered, falling to the ground and rolling. Even though it was kicked over, it didn’t get angry. Instead, it wisely ran away.

Gong Shengyin grabbed Ye Yueshen’s shoulders. He wasn’t usually a friendly person, and he even had to stand outside the door for a while to mentally prepare himself before saying good things in front of the Emperor. Ye Yueshen already knew this from the original book.

“Are you alright?” Gong Shengyin stared seriously at Ye Yueshen.

Ye Yueshen first subconsciously looked for Liu Qingying’s figure. He knew that Liu Qingying would be at this summer hunt.

“I’m fine.” Ye Yueshen thanked him politely and, without waiting for him to say anything, excused himself to change into riding clothes. Gong Shengyin stubbornly followed him, and Ye Yueshen couldn’t tell him to leave.

Someone had already found his clothes for him in Ye Yueshen’s room, hanging on a carved wooden rack. Riding attire was much neater than ordinary clothes, with tight cuffs and thicker trousers, with a layer of flexible leather protection on the inside of the legs.

Every one of Gong Shengyin’s words contained a trap: “Has Zhe Rong ever hunted before?”

“No.” Ye Yueshen thought that he could use being unaccustomed to it as an excuse to return early.

But Gong Shengyin was thinking about something else: “Then you probably don’t know how to wear them, right? And you didn’t bring a servant. How about I help you?” He added with clear boundaries: “I’ll go out first. Put on the inner lining, and I’ll come in later to help you with the outer garment.”

He didn’t say anything offensive, and Ye Yueshen had no reason to refuse. Rather than having him help, it would be even more difficult if Gong Xunwu came back later.

So Ye Yueshen put on the inner lining, making sure that no skin that shouldn’t be seen was exposed, and then softly called for the Fifth Prince. Gong Shengyin helped him fasten the outer riding garment and suddenly knelt down, saying that his boots weren’t tied tightly enough and he would get hurt later.

Ye Yueshen watched him untie the straps of his boots and retie them, the firm black straps winding tightly around his calf muscles, tightening so much that the blood almost stopped flowing.

Ye Yueshen couldn’t help but say, “It’s a bit tight.”

Gong Shengyin paused and said softly, “Okay,” and loosened it a little.

As if by instinct, Ye Yueshen looked up and saw Liu Qingying watching them at the door, his eyes lonely and hurt.

In the original story, Ye Yueshen didn’t come to the hunt, and this part of the plot was the male lead and male second’s show. Liu Qingying was reserved and withdrawn, and knowing that Gong Shengyin would stand out and win the top spot at the hunt, he felt uneasy and kept advising Gong Shengyin not to take risks.

Gong Shengyin’s ambition could no longer be suppressed, and he was annoyed by the nagging, so he scolded Liu Qingying harshly. Liu Qingying was sad and felt embarrassed, so he ran away alone, lost and dejected.

Unfortunately, he ran into bandits who had mistakenly entered the hunting grounds. Liu Qingying was not calm enough and first invoked the princes to intimidate them, which only frightened the bandits, so they coerced Liu Qingying to lead them out. When leaving the hunting grounds, they were afraid that Liu Qingying would report them, so they took his clothes.

When Ye Yueshen saw this part, he felt very uncomfortable. Liu Qingying was like an accessory in this story that enriched Gong Shengyin’s conditions for turning evil. He suffered this disaster for no reason, just to let the princes ridicule him and humiliate Gong Shengyin.

When Liu Qingying saw him look back, he panicked and lowered his eyes, hesitated, and then ran away. Gong Shengyin watched coldly, without any concern in his eyes.

“Thank you, Fifth Prince.” Ye Yueshen distanced himself from him: “Yueshen remembered that he forgot something in the carriage and wants to ask His Highness Prince Qi if the carriage has gone back.”

The meaning was that he was going to see Prince Qi now, and you couldn’t play tricks in front of Prince Qi, right?

When reading the novel, he felt inexplicably confused. Now that he was in the story, there was no reason to let the inexplicable things happen as before. He couldn’t stop the princes from fighting for power, but he could avoid a helpless son of a wet nurse from being embarrassed.

He caught up with Liu Qingying, who was resolutely walking towards the deserted place, “Young Master Liu.”

Liu Qingying clearly harbored hostility towards him, pretending not to hear him and quickening his pace. But Ye Yueshen caught up with him after running a few steps, and Liu Qingying had no reason to avoid him anymore and no courage to offend the Marquis’s son.

“Greetings, Young Master Yue.” Liu Qingying lowered his eyes to salute him.

“No need.” Ye Yueshen glanced at the gloomy deep mountains and forests and asked him, “Where are you going?”

“This one wants to take a walk over there.” Liu Qingying had no fear of the desolate mountains and fields. The bushes and grass that blocked his view seemed to not exist in his eyes.

Ye Yueshen didn’t want to comment on his intermittent naivety, and suggested, “Walking on mountain roads is not fun, and I can’t walk anyway.”

Liu Qingying didn’t understand that he wanted to take a walk in the mountains, what did it have to do with Ye Yueshen not being able to walk.

“Why don’t you go catch fish with me.” Ye Yueshen ordered him with a cold face: “You accompany me to catch fish.”

Although Liu Qingying was unwilling, he really had no ability to refuse Ye Yueshen. In the princes’ hunting grounds, his position was essentially no different from that of the prey.

This was the first time Ye Yueshen had come to this place, and he didn’t know if there was a river at all. As long as he walked a road that was completely opposite to Liu Qingying’s choice just now, he should be able to avoid the bandits.

They walked in silence. After a long time, Liu Qingying became a little uneasy. He unilaterally believed that Ye Yueshen was his rival in love, and he was very resistant to Ye Yueshen’s repeated initiatives to contact him.

He said just now that walking was not fun, and suggested catching fish. But looking at the current strange atmosphere, Liu Qingying felt that fun was just an excuse. Maybe Ye Yueshen was just trying to trick him out to kill him.

Liu Qingying’s breathing was a little rapid, and he was so nervous that his teeth were chattering a little.

Ye Yueshen didn’t know what Liu Qingying was thinking, but he just felt very embarrassed that he couldn’t find a river, and he was very anxious.

Hearing Liu Qingying’s obvious breathing, Ye Yueshen asked him a little apologetically, “Are you thirsty? It’s almost there, it should be just ahead.”

Liu Qingying followed him with a stiff face. Because of his nervousness, he stepped on a pothole and fell down with a thud.

Because of the psychological suggestion of looking for water, Ye Yueshen felt a little thirsty. He turned back to help Liu Qingying, comforting him: “Are you thirsty?”

Ye Yueshen helped him sit on a rock and went to a tree next to him with red fruits to observe. The branches were too high, and they could only look at the fruit with greedy eyes.

After hesitating for a while, they each found a pole and began to knock the fruit down. The fruits were already ripe in midsummer, and several fell down with a crash when they were knocked.

Ye Yueshen threw away the pole, picked one up, wiped it clean, and took a small bite. The fruit was sweet and sour, and it emitted a rich fruity fragrance in his mouth.

He heard Liu Qingying also crunching on the fruit. The hostility between the two seemed to have diminished a little, leaving only an unfamiliar awkwardness.

They ate quietly for a while. Ye Yueshen took off the outer robe that he had finally put on, and the two used the robe to hold many fruits. Without anything to say, they continued to search for the river stubbornly.

The road ahead seemed to get softer and softer, and the sound of laughter came from a distance. Ye Yueshen slowed down and went from walking in front to walking side by side with Liu Qingying.

He asked softly, “Do you hear something?”

Liu Qingying actually looked around and slowed down as well: “This one hears it.”