The Autumn Hunt use to be a casual event masked up as a fun gathering but in fact a stage to show off their talents.
Men compete and boast about their abilities, all in while saying they were simply comparing notes and having friendly conversations.
But their gaze is sharps as they weight each other"s worth. What they are hunting were, in fact, one another.
And then, Jiang Yu sat into the dragon throne and another purpose got attached to the Autumn Hunt.
"All hunted games will be offered in goodwill to the lesser provinces," the emperor declared.
It was in time for winter too. A time where the commoners are a lot more desperate. The perfect moment to light up the ma.s.ses" expectations towards the ones that run the kingdom.
The emperor even made a public display of it. Giving rewards to the best hunters and announcing it to the whole nation to know.
"How cunning," the ministers thought. The emperor drags them and throws them right into the pit.
How much can a person hunt in a day? With such merger contributions, the emperor"s generous praises and rewards were like a slap to the face.
Then what comes after are the citizens" wild eyes and sharp tongues. Acting like a scholar, they will talk around the street about the deeds that happened at the hunt. Before you know it, your reputation among the public was stepped beyond recognition.
And so, along with offering their games, the ministers gifted chest of golds, crops, jewelry, or any treasure that could be worthy for the commoners" eyes.
After all, no matter how worthless the low birth in the eyes of the n.o.bles, there are times when they need to appeal to the ones who pay the tax and still would do all the dirty works.
Suddenly, it was a fight on who has the whole nation in his heart. On which subject is more concern for the whole well being of the kingdom.
The preys became decorative ornaments for the minister to raise their family"s reputation. The hunt became a mean for the emperor to swindle his subject of their gold.
With a "poof" the whole Autumn Hunt change its meaning and become so big that they needed to perform a few traditional ceremonies in accordance, pray to the G.o.ds and G.o.ddess, and then parade themselves like some martyrs.
"Even though it was supposed to be just a hunt! It was actually wrapped in political agendas!"
After Wei Yi Yi learned of it, she started a slow clap in the direction of the imperial study.
"It"s not a company outing. This is a business deal. Boss is so amazing! 10/10 I approve. This smell bonus."
Inside the carriage, Wei Yi Yi lifted the bamboo curtain.
They had pa.s.sed the walls of the capital. As they move forward, the scenery turned greener and greener than the first one.
Wei Yi Yi immediately took this as an opportunity to remove the outer layers of her ceremonial dress.
Ma.s.saging her aching neck, she starts to wonder how could the other girls look at her with such envious eyes when they see her dress like this.
Every morning, she would exercise and run. Although not obvious, her muscles are developed enough.
And yet, she crashed so badly with just a quick flip.
Searching thru the cus.h.i.+on, Wei Yi Yi grabbed the robe that she hidden.
The weather in autumn is the best. Not too hot nor too cold. Just shady enough with a good amount of blowing wind. But still, Wei Yi Yi will definitely not walk around like a cloth hanger!
When the wind blows just a bit more strong, the sleeve, hems, and end of her skirt will be blown away together. While she doesn"t need to worry that it will lift up and show what must not be shown, now she needs to fear the probability if being carried away by her own dress!
"How many more years till the person who invented jeans get to be born? Let"s hope for a safe birth as to not hinder human progression," Wei Yi Yi thought while praying that Tang Mei won"t snap in anger later.
She didn"t notice that she"s been mumbling all this time. The servant driving the carriage was at a loss and showered with sweat and tears. The noise inside the carriage was perceived as curse sounds.
Leaning to the side, Wei Yi Yi raised her skirt and from within, took out a book.
This is the only advantage that she found with the dress.
Flipping the pages, she emerged herself into reading. With books, she gets to live another life. Maybe, in reality, it was another form of transmigration.
Just like there is 2D gaming, 3D gaming and finally VR gaming.
This bro has no recollection of asking for the latest VR experience in transmigration though!
"Ah!" Wei Yi Yi let out a startled sound as the wind hit the book away from her hands. It pages flipped a few times before she was able to grab it back.
Suddenly, Wei Yi Yi remembered how much she likes to sit next to the window. As she doesn"t go out much unless drag by her "brothers", she like feeling the wind and the sun without the need to move out of her comfort zone.
She could get all the window seat she wanted except inside the car. Lan Zhuang would drive, Ye Ming wouldn"t let anyone take the shotgun sit as he blasts the radio, He Lian silently take up the one behind Ye Ming while throwing the snacks around, and Si Song would kick her inside to steal the final window seat.
They fight it out for a few times.
Outside, no one could bully them but when together, they bully each other. Despite the fact that they"re always shouting and making remarks with each other, it was the best moment of their youth.
But she really hated that moment when Si Song wouldn"t compromise at all.
They grew up together and know each other"s borderline. Despite that, the ever-reasonable Si Song ends up overbearing and stubborn.
Wei Yi Yi didn"t understand. She didn"t until they were met with a car accident.
It was a minor accident but Wei Yi Yi remembered the blood dripping down Si Song"s face while she remained unscathed in his embrace.
"Come to think of it, this will be the first in years that I would be traveling alone."
Jiang Liu said, only subjects of the emperor and few n.o.bilities could enter the palace. If that so, as long as he belongs to the n.o.bles, that "man" is probably there.
No, he must be there. And Wei Yi Yi will be sure to hunt him.