Chapter 714: Chapter 423: The Grace of a Deer
King Chun carried the carved purple sand soup bowl out of the kitchen, with the sound of the Xia Emperor’s furious roar behind him: "Rebellious son, the hundreds of years of the Li Family’s foundation, are you really going to hand it over willingly?"
King Chun stopped in his tracks, turned to look at the Xia Emperor, and said softly, "I don’t understand Father Emperor, but I understand Xuanjing; he would never want to be Emperor."
The Xia Emperor coughed violently, his bloodshot eyes fixed fiercely on King Chun, and he said sharply, "Even I have been deceived by him for twenty years, do you really think you understand him?"
"If he truly desires it..."
King Chun smiled slightly and said, "Let him have it then. The world in Xuanjing’s hands would be better than in Father Emperor’s hands."
The last glimmer of hope shattered, veins bulged on the back of the Xia Emperor’s emaciated hand as he leaned against the wall and spat out a few words through clenched teeth: "Get out! Get out of my sight!"
King Chun walked out of the vermilion gate, just as the clouds parted and the sun emerged.
He looked up at the azure sky, the spring sun warming the glazed tiles at the eaves of the King Mansion.
Today, the breeze was gentle, and the sunlight was just right.
The spring of the 37th year of Zhisheng came much earlier than seventeen years ago.
...
The 20th year of Zhisheng, the fourth day of the first lunar month.
After the Great Court Meeting, the Emperor was in a good mood, taking the princes and courtiers outside the city for a hunt.
South Mountain Hunting Ground.
A cold wind swept snowflakes across the withered branches, Li Chun rode on horseback, his fingers clutching the iron bow had turned purple from the cold, suddenly the shadow of a tree shook, and a snow hare dashed out from behind a tree, he hastily drew his bow and shot an arrow, the feathered arrow plunged deeply into the snow.
A zhang away, the rabbit perked up its ears, its ruby-like eyes glanced blankly at the bulky figure on horseback, then turned to run into the bushes.
Whizz!
Another feathered arrow shot from the side, a silver arrow piercing through the clouds and breaking stones, pierced through the body of the snow hare, nailing it firmly to the ground, a blood-red plum blossom bloomed on the snowy ground.
The sound of hoofbeats approached from afar, the man on horseback reined in his horse, the gold thread on the collar of his black fox fur cloak dazzling in the sunlight, he casually lifted the still-twitching prey, and looked at King Chun with a laugh, saying, "Dear brother, it seems your archery needs more practice..."
The accompanying officials behind him also joined King Han in making jibes.
"King Chun’s archery is lacking, but his culinary skills are quite good, even the Imperial chefs have praised them."
"Haha, if today’s event wasn’t a hunt, but a culinary contest, King Chun would surely take the top prize."
"Indeed..."
...
Though both were princes of the Daxia Emperor, the status between King Han and King Chun was worlds apart, King Han’s maternal family was illustrious, with countless followers in the court.
King Chun’s mother was merely a lowly palace maid, and not a single official in the court supported him.
The Emperor often bestowed rewards upon the princes, yet King Chun was never included, showing that in the Emperor’s heart, King Chun held no position.
This naturally led to a lack of respect towards King Chun.
A deep horn sounded from afar, signaling the end of the spring hunt.
King Han loosened his horse’s reins and said, "It’s getting late, time to return to the camp, what a pity we didn’t catch that deer, can’t claim Father Emperor’s reward..."
He glanced at King Chun, whose horse’s back was empty, indicating he had caught no game during the spring hunt, King Han lightly tugged at the corner of his mouth, turned his horse, and rode away.
King Chun watched King Han and the officials carrying their game on horseback, sighed lightly, and silently followed them back towards the camp.
The four two-hour spring hunt had ended.
At the Spring Hunting Camp, the officials engaged in lively discussion.
"King Han had quite the haul this time."
"King You also gained a lot."
"Though King Rui is young, he’s surrounded by officials skilled in archery, so he didn’t fall behind either."
"King Gong did fairly well too..."
"I wonder who caught that deer, the reward from the Emperor is quite substantial this time..."
Every spring hunt, the Emperor would set a special prize, whoever caught the game with the prize would receive a generous reward, this time the prize was a deer with a yellow silk ribbon around its neck.
Though the princes didn’t lack such prizes, the symbol of "hunting the deer" was significant, everyone wanted to win this prize.
As everyone wondered whose house this spring hunt’s prize would fall into, a thin horse meandered forward from ahead.
"King Chun has returned as well."
"Uh..., hasn’t he caught anything?"
"I heard King Chun is skilled in culinary arts, hunting isn’t his forte indeed..."
"But four two-hours with nothing gained, it’s quite disgraceful..."
...
Though Li Chun on horseback couldn’t hear the voices ahead, seeing their gesturing and shaking heads, he could guess what they were saying, causing him to lower his head even further.
Due to his upbringing and interests, he had been subjected to ridicule from an early age and had grown accustomed to it.
But in front of Father Emperor and the full court, being humiliated so, he couldn’t help but feel intensely ashamed, his face flushed red, this short distance seemed incredibly long to him.
Bang!
A sound came to his ears, at the same time he felt a shudder from the horse beneath him, its movement seemed to slow slightly.
He turned to look back, his expression suddenly froze.
On his horse’s back, a young deer had somehow appeared.
A young deer with a yellow silk ribbon around its neck.
The gold-thread tassels on its neck swayed with the northern wind like a swimming dragon.
He slowly raised his head, the handsome and refined man on horseback nodded at him slightly.
...
Li Mansion.
Although the Great Court Meeting had ended, discussions about court affairs had just begun.
The Confucian officials, who had finally gained complete control of the court after hundreds of years, were constructing a magnificent blueprint for the continent’s future.
"Lord Li’s reform in the Zhao Country is worth learning, I think we could even follow it in its entirety."
"Chu Country and Qi Country should continue to be annexed quickly, there are still thousands of suffering people waiting to be rescued there!"
"Indeed, since we already have such power, we should strive for world peace, allowing the people of the entire continent to live prosperous lives..."
"The continent is too large, managing even one Wei Country is difficult enough, add Qi and Chu and we might be overwhelmed, one court can’t oversee so many places..."
"Should we consider re-dividing the world, granting local regions some degree of autonomy, though this might introduce new issues..."
...
After the joy of gaining power, confusion inevitably set in.
After all, the path they were walking was unprecedented.
No one knew what lay at the end of this path, nor what new problems they might encounter as they advanced, everyone’s eyes couldn’t help but turn towards a figure standing before the crowd.
Lord Li, who had created all this for them, remained silent.
The Left Prime Minister stood beside Li Xuanjing and asked, "Are you worried about who the Emperor will pass the Imperial Throne to this time?"
The Left Prime Minister slightly nodded, a vague unease lingering in his heart.
Who knows what troubles the court will face once he crosses that threshold, and at that time, what will they do?
At a certain moment, the chattering courtiers suddenly caught their breath and fell silent.
A few couldn’t help but sniff, and then their throats involuntarily moved.
...
The tantalizing aroma wafted among them, and countless people’s noses twitched as their appetites were whetted, rumbling like thunder in the courtyard.
A figure holding a soup bowl walked in slowly from outside the door, King Chun.
After one passed through the gate with a soup bowl, King Chun stepped inside slowly.
