Chapter 5: The Fourth Prince's Invitation

Xiao Yue's lack of capability was not limited to his studies; he was also no good at martial arts.

The Xiao family was a lineage of military commanders. Although the descendants of the Xiao family had abandoned martial arts in favor of civil pursuits, they were not weak, frail scholars incapable of lifting a finger. However, Xiao Yue had been sickly and frail since childhood.

Xiao Zhen had won top honors at the autumn hunt when he was twelve. Now, Xiao Yue was also twelve, yet he only dared to leisurely circle the riding grounds on a gentle mare.

Xiao Yue liked neither studying nor martial arts; his true passion lay in music and dance.

His dancing was graceful and his singing could linger in the rafters for days. He also loved opera; he had previously kept it a secret from his family to study under the famous performer Little Yellow Oriole. When Consort Xiao found out, he dragged him back from the opera troupe and gave him a beating. Although Xiao Yue no longer dared to visit the opera troupes openly, the incident had spread throughout the capital. Even if he was merely an illegitimate son who couldn't be brought to the surface, he had nonetheless entered the Princess's manor. For the young master of the Princess's manor to take an opera performer as a teacher was nothing short of a joke.

And Xiao Yue had turned himself into a joke. He loved following Xiao Zhen around.

The noble youths of the capital had their own circles, and within the large circles were smaller ones. Even at the same event, people were divided into various social tiers.

As the son of the Grand Princess, Xiao Zhen was of the highest tier. He sat beside princes, and his playmates were either princes or heirs to noble houses.

Xiao Yue could not enter this circle. In the eyes of the world, he was the disgrace of the Grand Princess, a joke within the imperial family. If he were sensible, he should have stayed behind closed doors or sought a sense of belonging among the fallen nobility and the children of minor officials.

But he refused!

He insisted on forcing his way into circles where he did not belong. He was willing to throw away his dignity and was uninhibited; if asked to sing, he would sing; if asked to play the flute, he would play. He would even dance alongside dancing girls to liven up the atmosphere. When others said he danced better than the professional dancers, he didn't realize they were mocking him; he thought they were praising him, and his grin would stretch from ear to ear.

If it weren't for his fear of offending Xiao Zhen, Xiao Yue would have long since been devoured by the men in the capital who indulged in male beauty.

Therefore, if one were to ask which youth in the capital was the most useless, it would undoubtedly be Xiao Yue. When facing their own unruly sons, the nobles of the capital often used Xiao Yue to comfort themselves: *At least my boy, though lacking talent, is much better than Xiao Yue.*

If Xiao Zhen was the moon in the sky, Xiao Yue was the mud beneath one's feet.

No one held Xiao Yue in high regard. Whether in the Grand Princess's manor or elsewhere, he was a person who could be taken or left without consequence.

For instance, this time, the Fourth Prince went hunting with Xiao Zhen, accompanied by the heirs of the Prince of Nanguai, the Marquis of Yongning, and the Duke of Dingguo. Even the unfavored second son of the Duke of Dingguo's manor was invited, yet there was not a single mention of Xiao Yue.

Ever since Grand Princess Jiayi and Consort Xiao left the capital, Xiao Zhen had been summoned to the palace by the Emperor. He lived in the princes' quarters, studying alongside the princes who had not yet established their own households.

Today, the place they went hunting was not the Imperial Hunting Grounds, but Mount Shiji.

Mount Shiji stretched for hundreds of miles. The Marquis of Yongning's manor had recently built a new villa at the foot of the mountain. Just as it was completed, the heir of the Marquis of Yongning, Qian Jiang, invited the Fourth Prince to hunt there.

The Fourth Prince was the best rider and archer among the princes. Taking advantage of the Emperor's good mood, he petitioned the Emperor. The villa of the Marquis of Yongning was over fifty miles from the capital; the Emperor told him to return in three days, but after the Fourth Prince's persistent pleading, the Emperor granted him two extra days.

Although it was still within a hundred miles of the capital, the princes rarely had the chance to leave the city. The other princes were filled with envy, and the Fourth Prince was overjoyed.

This was not the first time Xiao Zhen had hunted at Mount Shiji. There were no fierce beasts in these mountains; even wild boars were rare. The only things to be hunted were rabbits and pheasants.

However, this time, things went wrong from the very beginning.

Before they even reached the villa, Xiao Zhen's mount began to have diarrhea, so much so that its four legs went weak. However, the Fourth Prince was in high spirits; if Xiao Zhen did not go up the mountain, he would surely dampen the Fourth Prince's enthusiasm. Fortunately, there were spare horses at the villa. Xiao Zhen selected one and headed up the mountain with the group.

Everything went smoothly on the first day. The pheasants and rabbits they hunted were piled into small mountains.

The Fourth Prince said to Qian Jiang with a laugh, "These pheasants and rabbits act as if they're stupid, just standing there for us to shoot. They couldn't have been raised in cages, could they?"

Having been seen through by the Fourth Prince, Qian Jiang chuckled. "His Highness is incredibly bright; nothing can be hidden from you."

The Fourth Prince snorted. "How boring. Had I known, I wouldn't have come."

Qian Jiang looked embarrassed. His flattery had backfired. He could only grit his teeth and say, "The mountains are vast. Usually, we only go near here, and the wildlife in this area has long been hunted out..."

What should they do if there was no wildlife? They could only raise it themselves. The Fourth Prince was not wrong; those pheasants and rabbits had indeed been raised in cages and were only released onto the mountain that morning. When arrows flew toward them, they had no idea how to flee.

Feeling unsatisfied, the Fourth Prince looked at Xiao Zhen. "A-Zhen, don't you think this is quite disappointing? We traveled all this way only to not see a single real wild animal."

Xiao Zhen smiled but did not respond.

Qian Jiang rubbed his hands together, looking hesitant. After a moment, as if gathering courage, he said to the Fourth Prince, "Actually, there is plenty of wildlife in these great mountains; it's just that it might not be safe."

By "great mountains," Qian Jiang was certainly not referring to the twenty or thirty miles of land behind the villa, but to the areas much further away.

The Fourth Prince snorted coldly. "Qian Jiang, what do you mean by that? Do you think I am a coward?"

Startled, Qian Jiang moved to kneel and beg for forgiveness, but the Fourth Prince extended a leg to stop him. "Cut the act. Find a guide. We leave tomorrow morning. Those who are too afraid can stay behind; I won't force anyone."

Having said that, the Fourth Prince looked at Xiao Zhen again. "A-Zhen, are you going?"

Xiao Zhen nodded. "I am."

He was always a man of few words, and the Fourth Prince was long used to it. He happily patted Xiao Zhen on the shoulder. "That's my good brother!"

The various heirs exchanged glances, seeing envy in each other's eyes, but this level of intimacy was something they could never achieve.

Although they held high status in the capital, they were not of the imperial bloodline. Even though Xiao Zhen did not bear the surname Zhao, he was the Fourth Prince's cousin.

At dawn the next day, the group left the villa and headed toward the distant mountains.

Two hours later, they finally saw deer and rabbits that fled upon seeing humans. Everyone was overjoyed and their spirits soared as they let their horses gallop through the mountain forests.

After traveling for an unknown amount of time, the lead horse suddenly let out a shrill neigh. Before anyone could react, a leopard lunged out.

It was a leopard—robust and ferocious.

At this moment, the person closest to the leopard was the Fourth Prince!

Though the precious Fourth Prince wanted to hunt wild animals, he had never imagined he would actually encounter a fierce beast.

"A-Zhen, save me! Save me!"

Xiao Zhen drew his bow and loosed an arrow at the leopard. However, at that critical moment, his mount suddenly bolted forward as if driven mad!