Chapter 1

Volume 1 Chapter 002: Spring Hunt

The next day was the first day of the spring hunt, but the heavens suddenly turned foul. The sky, which had been clear and fine for over ten days straight, grew heavy with dark clouds. At the hour of the tiger, wind drove the rain in, and even the thick gates and walls could not keep out the creeping chill. The bitter wind and cold rain raged for only a couple of hours before plunging everyone back into the depths of winter.

When Gu Rui rose and emerged from her room that morning, her cousin Yin Chenbi was already sitting on the couch by the window in the outer chamber, waiting for her.

Gu Rui saw that she wore a lilac-colored upper robe and a moon-white pleated skirt of gauze, with a lotus-pink brocade cloak lined with fur draped over her shoulders. She knew the cloak must have been sent over early by Bixia, who had noticed the cold, and nodded to herself in approval.

Others said Yin Chenbi’s features were plain, but Gu Rui did not think so. Her cousin’s face was not the melon-seed shape currently favored—rather, it was a slightly rounded oval face. Her brows were not the slender, curved willow-leaf brows of a standard beauty either, but thick, straight, and long, extending all the way to the end of her brow bone. However, the lines of her lips and nose were very soft, which offset her somewhat heavy brows and eyes, slightly softening the rigidity and sharp angles of her features and lending her a touch of ambiguous grace.

Gu Rui had seen Yin Chenbi’s father when she was young. Clearly, her cousin resembled her father more in appearance. Though she had not inherited the delicate loveliness of her mother, Madame Yin, she still possessed a certain quality distinct from ordinary young ladies—a beauty of a different flavor. Especially her deep, luminous eyes, which often seemed to hold starlight and moonlight within them when one looked at her.

Hearing the sound of movement, Yin Chenbi rose and said with a smile, “You’re finally up! What a lazybones! The wind is cold and the rain is chilly—wear thicker clothes, don’t catch a cold.”

“I don’t feel cold at the moment. Sister, wait for me a little longer. I’ll finish washing up and we’ll go to Mother’s courtyard together.” Gu Rui had been close to Yin Chenbi since childhood, and the two sisters had always had a good relationship.

“Take your time washing up. In this weather, going early just means standing in the wind at the hunting grounds—what spring scenery is there to enjoy?”

Gu Rui nodded. “You’re right.”

So she did not hurry, and slowly finished dressing and grooming. She and her cousin arrived at Madame Tang’s courtyard, and after a while Gu Yao and Gu Lin also came. The group sat for another half hour before Madame Tang finally led the young ladies out to board the carriages. The procession made its way grandly out of the street and headed toward Yanling Mountain behind the imperial city.

Along the way, rain beat and wind blew, and the spring colors on Yanling Mountain had been stripped away overnight. Grass and leaves swayed, spring flowers fell scattered, and everywhere was empty mountain and misty rain—bleak and desolate. The young ladies sat in their respective carriages, and though braziers had been set inside, they still felt cold.

The roads were muddy and slippery, making it quite difficult for the carriages to move. At first, there was a sense of lonely travel through boundless wind and rain, but once they reached the mountain pass, the carriages waiting to enter the hunting grounds formed a long dragon, and things became somewhat lively. Before long, guards rode over on horseback to inquire, and after checking the Gu household’s invitation, they instructed the carriages to follow the one ahead and proceed slowly.

After passing the mountain pass, they traveled slowly for about another half hour before finally arriving at the designated disembarkation point. As soon as the Gu household’s ladies stepped down from the carriages, palace attendants came forward with umbrellas to welcome them, and thick felt carpets had been laid on the ground to prevent mud and water from splashing their shoes and skirt hems.

The spring banquet was not, as everyone had expected, held inside the hunting grounds’ temporary palace. Instead, as in previous years, it was still set up on a large flat area outside the palace. Only, to guard against wind and rain, tent frames had been erected along a stretch of one li, covered with rain felt on top and hung with dense gauze curtains on all sides. Inside the tents, silver-wire braziers were placed every few zhang. Though the mountain scenery of the Yanling hunting grounds could not be seen due to the gauze curtains, for the ladies of the various households who had felt the bone-chilling cold and damp the moment they stepped out of their carriages, it was nothing short of a warm paradise.

The spring hunt had already begun, so no young male guests were seen within the brightly decorated tents. The customs of the Great Jing were relatively open, and unmarried men and women could sit and drink together with the elders’ approval. If the drinking games and poetry games at the banquet were not enjoyed to the fullest, after the spring banquet there were still activities such as zither competitions, pitch-pot, cuju, chuiwan, wooden archery, leaf games, and Go, which young men and women could play together for an entire day. Although this year’s weather had dampened much of everyone’s enthusiasm, the eager expressions on the young ladies’ faces were still plainly visible.

This time, the Gu household’s ladies had been assigned a less-than-ideal location—right at the wind gap between two gauze curtains. Cold wind poured in continuously through the gap, and the braziers were far apart. Madame Tang led the young ladies to their seats and did not dare let them remove their cloaks. She secretly lamented their misfortune, but Gu Yao and Gu Lin felt it suited them perfectly. Ignoring the cold, they wrapped their cloaks tightly and peered out through the gap in the curtains.

Before long, the sound of horns rang out in the distance. Clearly, the spring hunt over there had reached its climax. With this, the Gu household’s location became an excellent vantage point. The young ladies sitting nearby by the braziers, wearing only delicate spring garments, grew restless. Not far away, the Shangshu household’s Third Miss Li, though haughty in expression, also glanced over several times. Gu Yao and Gu Lin exchanged smiles, secretly pleased with themselves. Even Gu Rui, who was usually unflappable, sat down by the edge of the tent with her hand warmer.

Outside the tent, rain fell in unbroken sheets, dense and endless. Between heaven and earth, all was vast mist and water. The scene in the distance was hazy and indistinct. Before long, several gray dots that looked like ink washes appeared briefly on the mountaintop and then vanished. Soon after, there was a clamor, and a procession of figures in varying shades of color surged out, churning and swaying for a while before slowly receding into the distance. Gu Rui watched for a while without understanding what was happening and found it dull, so she returned to her mother’s side. Yin Chenbi accompanied Gu Yao and Gu Lin, the three of them sitting at the wind gap gazing into the distance, still full of curiosity.

After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, a long horn blast echoed through the valley, announcing the end of the spring hunt’s competition. The victor had presumably been decided. At this, palace attendants filed in, clearing away the tea and snacks from the tables and setting out bowls, chopsticks, and wine cups for the banquet. The stuffiness in the tents was swept away, and everyone whispered among themselves, all immensely curious about who had won first place this time.

Madame Tang was not concerned about the winner of the spring hunt; she was only anxious about her youngest son, Gu Han. Gu Han had ridden ahead to the hunting grounds at the hour of the rabbit that morning. This spring hunt was his first time participating, and Madame Tang was very afraid he might catch a chill or get injured while hunting. Seeing that the spring hunt had ended quite a while ago and the cold dishes on the banquet tables had been set out one after another, and that some young male guests had already changed clothes and entered their family seats, yet Gu Han still had not come over, she could not help but worry.

Yin Chenbi observed her expression and asked softly, “Aunt, are you worried about Cousin?”

“Your cousin’s first time this year—I wonder if anything went wrong? Why hasn’t he come over yet?”

“Mother, please be at ease. Didn’t Father say yesterday that he had asked the eldest son of General Yan to look after little brother? I’m sure nothing will happen.” Gu Rui gently tried to comfort her.

Madame Tang slightly suppressed her worry. Over there, the eldest son of the Ministry of Personnel’s Shangshu household, Li Zhong, had also taken his seat. Li Wenyan, the Li household’s Third Miss, called out, “Eldest Brother is back! Who won this time?”

The Gu household members pricked up their ears.

Li Zhong straightened his robe and sighed. “Who won? The weather today was too terrible. Not long after the hunt began, people started falling from their horses one after another. Just now, Prince Qin and the Ninth Prince were contending for game and accidentally fell off a cliff. Several people who were with the Ninth Prince, including Yan Ling, are also missing. Cui Jin and Wen Ruoqing are currently leading the imperial guards to search below that cliff. General Yan reported to the Emperor, and that’s why the horn was blown to end the hunt. We still don’t know if they’ve been found!”

A wave of exclamations rippled through the surrounding people.

Li Wenyan frowned. “Young Marquis Cui is still searching for people? Will he be in danger?”

Li Zhong said, “With Wen Ruoqing with him, nothing will happen.”

“Wen Ruoqing?” her sister asked him. “Who is that?”

“The youngest son of the Duke of Dingguo—the one guarding the Conglin Pass.”

Madame Tang’s face turned ashen. She gripped Gu Rui’s hand tightly and said in a trembling voice, “Did you hear that? The eldest son of the Yan family is also missing. Han is with the eldest son of the Yan family—could he also be…”

Gu Rui gently patted her mother’s hand. “Mother, calm down a little. Let’s ask more clearly first.”

She took a deep breath, rose, and walked to the Li household’s seats. She bowed to Li Zhong.

“Eldest Young Master Li.”

Li Zhong hurriedly rose and returned the bow. “Eldest Miss Gu.”

“May I ask Eldest Young Master Li, have you seen any sign of my younger brother, Gu Han?”

“This… I saw him at the beginning of the hunt, with Yan Ling and the others, but after that I didn’t see him again. But Eldest Miss Gu, don’t worry. Good people have heaven’s protection—he will surely be fine.”

Gu Rui could only manage a forced smile. “Thank you, Eldest Young Master Li.”

Madame Tang had heard clearly from the side, and her heart was even more unsettled. Yin Chenbi comforted her, “Aunt, don’t panic. How about we send someone to go take a look?”

Madame Tang was dazed. “What did you say? Send who to look?”

“We don’t know what’s happening over there right now, so it’s only natural to be anxious. With something like this, the priority is Prince Qin and the Ninth Prince’s side. With so many people and so much confusion, I imagine no one will think to come notify us for a while. Isn’t our household’s carriage still parked by the fence over there? How about I go speak to the driver and have them unhitch the horses and ride to the opposite mountain to scout for information? If they learn anything, they can come back and tell you, Aunt. That way you’ll have some idea, rather than waiting here in vain.”

Madame Tang nodded repeatedly. “Good child, you’re so thoughtful… In my panic, I’ve forgotten everything! Ah, if only your uncle weren’t so busy with official duties today and hadn’t come along, we wouldn’t need to handle this ourselves! The wind and rain outside are fierce—you shouldn’t go either. Just send a maid.” With that, she turned to look at the maids beside her.

Yin Chenbi stopped her. “Aunt, please don’t. The young ladies are all delicate and accustomed to comfort. It’s still far from here to the fence. Catching a chill would be a minor matter, but if one of them falls or gets hurt, that would be worse. I grew up on a farm estate and am used to running about in wind and rain. Aunt, rest assured, I’ll be back in a moment.”

Madame Tang looked around at the maids, seeing each one with head lowered and shrinking back, eyes flickering. She had no choice but to give up. Gu Rui had just returned to her seat and had not yet had time to speak up to stop her when Yin Chenbi had already taken an oil-paper umbrella from the edge of the tent and stepped out alone into the rain.

Bracing against the wind and rain, she made her way to the mountain pass fence. Amid the splashing mud and water, she searched several times before finally finding the Gu household’s carriages. But no one was on any of the three carriages—the drivers must have been unable to endure the cold wind here and had gone to find shelter from the rain.

Yin Chenbi waited a while, but not a single person appeared. Gritting her teeth, she unhitched a horse and found a saddle under the carriage. She tossed aside the oil-paper umbrella that had become a crumpled mess. Unable to find the driver’s straw rain cape or hat, she could only mount the horse soaking wet and urge it toward the opposite mountain.

At this moment, the wind howled and rain darkened the sky, willows wept and flowers cried. Yin Chenbi sat on horseback, gazing around. All she saw was a vast curtain of rain, and the mountain path had already turned into stretches of mud. The higher she went, the more slippery the path became, with loose bits of mud and stone continuously rolling down. Not a soul was visible on the mountaintop—they had presumably all gone behind the mountain to search for people.

She paused to look around, wiped the rain from her face, carefully avoided the falling debris and mud, and slowly made her way around to the cliff behind the mountain.

On the other side of the mountaintop, the heir of the Duke of Pingguo, Cui Jin, was frowning as he sat on horseback, gazing at the situation in the mountain’s belly.

Fortunately, the cliff here was not steep—it stopped before reaching the mountainside, barely a few zhang high. It was just extremely slippery. After people and horses fell from the cliff wall above, they could not steady themselves and slid down one after another, rolling diagonally all the way into the mountain’s belly. By now, all the people who had fallen from their horses had been found. Only two or three had suffered minor injuries; the situation was not serious. But for the spring hunt, which had the whole nation’s attention, to end like this—the current Emperor’s dignity had surely suffered, and a war of words between Prince Qin and the Ninth Prince was unavoidable.

“Why the long face? Could it be that you’re depressed because you didn’t get to show off your heroic bearing in front of your sweetheart?”

Cui Jin laughed despite himself and turned to look at the person who had spoken teasingly. He saw the man had a face full of stubble and was dressed in a riding outfit covered in mud and grime from head to toe. Cui Jin turned his face away and said with disgust, “Wen Ruoqing, come talk to me again when you’ve shaved your beard.”

“You told me to accompany you to the spring hunt. I rode three days and three nights without sleep or rest from Conglin Pass to accompany you, so naturally I didn’t have time to shave. And you despise me for it—that’s really too unkind. Huh, isn’t that… that who… Gu… Gu something?”

Cui Jin looked closely. “It’s Gu Han, the youngest son of Censor Gu. How did he also fall from his horse…”

“Oh… I thought he looked familiar. So he’s Eldest Miss Gu’s younger brother…” Wen Ruoqing’s tone was somewhat meaningful. “Then why aren’t you going over yet?”

Cui Jin hesitated and glanced at Wen Ruoqing.

“Go on. Things are mostly settled here. Besides, you have me.”

Cui Jin spurred his horse and left, but before departing he shot him a fierce glare. “Clean yourself up properly! Don’t let anyone see you looking like this!”

Wen Ruoqing rubbed the stubble on his chin, noncommittal. He glanced at the sky, then turned to look at the mountaintop. His expression gradually turned serious. He called his personal attendant, Wen Jun, forward and gave him a few instructions. Wen Jun received the orders and immediately relayed them to the imperial guards below, who withdrew the men in orderly fashion.