Chapter 629: Stinky Tofu (1)

Although Chu Lian felt her cheeks burning, she simply disregarded the fiery looks of envy and jealousy shot her way.

For this year’s spring hunt, all the military officials residing in the capital, regardless of rank, were in attendance.

Included amongst these were Sima Hui, Captain Guo, Zhang Mai, Xiao Hongyu and the rest.

He Changdi took Chu Lian out with him to greet their old comrades from the northern border army.

Xiao Hongyu was a troublemaking little fellow, so he had already skipped over to welcome Chu Lian before they had even reached the group.

“Good afternoon, Sister-in-law!”

Chu Lian smiled at him in reply. Sima Hui also walked over to meet them at this time.

Sima Hui was dressed in a white riding outfit today. She had a tall figure and a handsome flair to her looks, unlike most of the ladies in the capital, so she looked very eye-catching.

Sima Hui nodded courteously to He Changdi. When her eyes fell upon Chu Lian, they lit up.

“Lian’er, this riding outfit suits you very well,” Sima Hui praised generously.

Chu Lian’s silver and red riding outfit was indeed very complementary to her looks. The sleeves of the top were decorated with many butterfly bows, giving her a mischievous yet cute appearance.

Chu Lian smiled until her eyes turned into crescents. She bobbed in front of Sima Hui, “Thank you for your compliment, Sister Hui.”

Sima Hui bent her head down and whispered into Chu Lian’s ear, “Let’s go together later.”

Of course Chu Lian wasn’t going to reject her offer. She had spent quite some time with Sima Hui in the north. They were close friends by now.

Before Chu Lian could reply, she was pulled back one step by He Changdi. He Sanlang stared at Sima Hui with a frostier expression than usual, “No, Lian’er is going to be by my side.”

Sima Hui looked up at He Changdi and a smile sprang to her lips, “Marquis Anyuan, you’ll have to accompany His Majesty later.”

He Changdi’s expression grew even more thunderous at her words. She was right. As the administrator of the Department of Appointments, as well as the newly titled Marquis Anyuan, he would definitely have to spend most of his time by the emperor’s side during the spring hunt. He didn’t have the time to take care of Chu Lian in the meanwhile.

Chu Lian tugged at He Changdi’s sleeve with a smile, “Relax. Nothing will happen to me if I’m with Sister Hui.”

The crease between He Changdi’s brows could kill a fly by now. He sucked in a breath and held it. When he looked at his wife’s sparkly eyes, he couldn’t speak his true thoughts: that he was worried precisely because it was Sima Hui with her...

In the end, he had no choice but to leave Chu Lian in Sima Hui’s care. Since the emperor had arrived, he had to lead his men to welcome His Majesty.

Not too far away was the living area marked out for the princes and princesses.

The crown prince was standing to the left of Prince Jin, while the fifteen-year-old Sixth Prince was to his right. The eleven-year-old Imperial Princess Leyao stood right behind the azure-eyed prince.

Behind Princess Leyao was Feudal Princess Anmin.

Right now, Imperial Princess Leyao was expressing her contempt, “Hmph! A poor Honoured Lady and a tomboy who can’t find someone to marry her! As they say, birds of a feather flock together! Cousin Anmin, we’ll have to show them what we can do later on.”

Feudal Princess Anmin’s reply was so light that Prince Jin couldn’t even hear what she said.

He turned his head, catching sight of Sima Hui’s tall figure from the corner of his eyes. His gaze rested there for a moment before he shifted it away.

When the Chengping Emperor arrived, dressed in a dark navy riding habit, everyone respectfully bowed or bobbed in welcome.

Due to their status, Chu Lian and Sima Hui were positioned on the outer rings of the entourage.

The emperor was surrounded by so many of his courtiers and nobles that Chu Lian could only see the top of his head from where she was standing.

While the two of them had been lowering their waists in their bobs, Sima Hui had spoken in a strange tone, “Lian’er, why does it feel like His Majesty is looking our way?”

Chu Lian didn’t believe her and rolled her eyes in amusement.

“There are so many people around, why would His Majesty look at us? However, I wasn’t expecting to be invited this time. I’m not really related to the imperial family after all, and my title is the lowest-ranked Honoured Lady.”

Chu Lian’s words made Sima Hui frown. “Lian’er, make sure you don’t leave my side later.”

This was indeed a little out of the ordinary. She didn’t have any knowledge of the future events from now on. It would be best to be careful in everything she did.

Once the officials from the Ministry of Rites finished the opening ceremony for the spring hunt, the emperor led all the members participating in the hunt off in a grand procession.

Chu Lian and Sima Hui were riding near the middle of the large group, together with many other noble ladies.

Although Royal Princess Duanjia wanted to ride with the two of them, she had no choice but to ride up front with Princess Wei, Imperial Princess Leyao and the rest of the imperial family members due to her special identity.

At the back of the group were the carriages holding their luggage and servants.

The imperial hunting grounds were located at the outskirts of the capital, so it wasn’t too far away. They would likely reach before 2pm.

He Changdi, Xiao Bojian, Heir Zheng and various princes, nobles and the young sons of nobles were all following by the emperor’s side.

Their proximity to the emperor was normally arranged by seniority and rank, but for some reason, the emperor had specially picked He Changdi to be by his side today.

Since the emperor had named him personally, He Sanlang had no choice but to accept. He controlled his mount and stayed at least half a horse’s length behind the emperor. The emperor didn’t speak at first, he simply remained silent with a cool and stony expression on his handsome face.

“He Sanlang!”

“Your Majesty, this humble official is here.”

The edges of the emperor’s lips curved upwards, “It’s rare for us to have this chance to talk. Tell us of the sights and scenes of the northern border in Liangzhou.”