Chapter 423

“Fifth Sister-in-law, the journey is tiring. How are you feeling?”

Shen Ninghua was a little stunned by how she was called “Fifth Sister-in-law” by Bu Yonghan. Then, she reacted quickly and changed the way she addressed her too. “Thank you for your concern, Second Imperial Sister-in-law. The carriage is very stable. There are also servants waiting along the way. I feel fine.”

“That’s good. Speaking of which, your physical condition is special now. The few of us combined are not as valuable as you. You have to take good care of yourself.”

“Thank you, Second Imperial Sister-in-law.”

Bu Yonghan smiled as she swept her gaze over Shen Ninghua’s body. The maid at the side led a small horse over. Bu Yonghan nimbly flipped over and mounted the horse. Her red riding attire was like a dazzling sun, setting off her heroic appearance. “Fifth Sister-in-law, I’ll go ahead and take a look first. I won’t be accompanying you.”

Seeing her ride away, Hong Ling was rather annoyed. “Miss, don’t take her to heart. Isn’t it just horse riding? If you weren’t pregnant with Little Master, you would have been much more outstanding than her.”

Shen Ninghua smiled. “Let’s rest for a while before returning to the carriage.”

“Yes, Miss.”

After traveling for about seven or eight days, they finally arrived at the imperial hunting ground. Shen Ninghua came down from the carriage. She felt as if her feet were stepping on cotton. After settling Baili Qingcang down, Baili Junyi immediately brought an imperial doctor over. “Ninghua, I invited the imperial doctor here to take your pulse.”

Understanding his worry, Shen Ninghua did not refuse. After a careful diagnosis, the imperial doctor heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. Originally, when he saw His Highness the Fifth Prince rush over, he thought that the Fifth Princess was not well. Unexpectedly, she was just a little tired. “Your Highness, Princess is fine. It’s just that the trip was a little tiring. She doesn’t even need to take any miscarriage-prevention medicine. She will be fine after two days of rest.”

The first two days after arriving at the hunting ground were used for rest and recuperation. There were no hunting activities. Shen Ninghua had plenty of time to rest. However, it was unknown who spread the news that Shen Ninghua had an imperial doctor over. Just as the imperial doctor left, a group of people came to greet her. After Shen Ninghua dealt with them, she only felt more tired than before.

Hong Ling was furious. “Miss, those people must have done it on purpose. They just heard that you were not feeling well, so they came here to make things difficult for you!”

Shen Ninghua smiled. “There is no need to be angry with them.” She did not say anything, but she had some ideas in her heart. Those people should know that her body was fine, so they dared to rush over. Otherwise, if she had a miscarriage, those people would hide as far away as possible from her. Now that they came over, it was just like what Hong Ling had said: they intended to make her feel angry and therefore adversely affect the baby in her belly.

“These people have no good intentions. How can I not be angry? Miss, you are too forgiving.”

“I’m not being forgiving. It’s just that it is not the time yet. There’s no need to fuss over these things and people one by one. Hong Ling, pay more attention to the movements around the tent. I keep feeling that there’s something unusual about Father Emperor wanting me to come along this time.”

“Yes, Miss. I have already arranged for people to protect you all night long. If there is any movement, they will report it.”

“Okay.”

After two days of rest, the hunting ground suddenly became lively. Early in the morning, Noble Consort Qi sent people to inform Shen Ninghua and invite her to her tent. Shen Ninghua packed up casually and brought Hong Ling and Rouqin over.

Because her body had always been weak, Noble Consort Qi only changed into a riding-style dress to fit in with the activities. She did not ask anyone to prepare a horse for her. When she saw Shen Ninghua coming over, she hurriedly said with a smile, “Ninghua, you are here. Today, the hunting begins. We shall wait for people to send the wild meat over.”

Shen Ninghua smiled and bowed. After being allowed to rise, she replied, “Your Grace is right. I will also follow Your Grace to piggyback some good luck.” She glanced around the tent but did not see Bu Yonghan. Could it be that she was not accompanying Noble Consort Qi today?

Noble Consort Qi got someone to bring over a few plates of pastries. “Quickly eat some to fill your stomach. You are pregnant now, you can’t starve.”

“Yes, thank you, Your Grace.”

Seeing Shen Ninghua eat two pieces without hesitation, Noble Consort Qi could not help but sigh in her heart. This woman was really smart.

Shen Ninghua naturally understood that Noble Consort Qi would not be stupid enough to tamper with the pastries. After all, this kind of thing had to be investigated very well. On the other hand, Noble Consort Qi had to carefully protect Shen Ninghua in case something happened to Shen Ninghua in her tent. Therefore, these pastries had to be checked several times before they were served.

The two of them ate a few pastries and walked out one after the other. There was already a viewing platform that had been built. There were many chairs placed on it. Noble Consort Qi and Shen Ninghua each chose their own seats and sat down. They chuckled as they chatted.

Not long after, they saw a fire-like figure on a horse galloping over. Shen Ninghua’s eyes moved slightly and she immediately saw that the person on the horse was Bu Yonghan.

When the horse was two steps away from the high platform, Bu Yonghan suddenly pulled the reins tightly. The horse neighed, and then its front hooves lifted high and landed back on the ground lightly, making a few crisp sounds. Bu Yonghan jumped down from the horse. There was a slight blush on her face, and she looked particularly energetic. That kind of liveliness and vitality was different from the elegance and calmness of the women of Da’an Kingdom. It was another type of charm. “Greetings, Mother Consort.”

Noble Consort Qi had a smile on her face. “Get up quickly. I was wondering why I didn’t see you in the morning. It turned out that you went horse riding.”

“I originally wanted to run two laps and then pay my respects to you, Mother Consort. I didn’t expect that you would come out so early, so I didn’t rush over to see you in time. Please forgive me, Mother Consort.”

“It’s fine. This is outside the palace. There aren’t so many rules.”

Noble Consort Qi spoke in a carefree manner, but Shen Ninghua could hear a hint of displeasure in her tone. Da’an Kingdom especially paid attention to the rules, particularly those between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. Bu Yonghan had just married Baili Jinchuan, but she was lax with the rules. It was expected that Noble Consort Qi was not satisfied. Of course, it was also possible that this couple of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were acting on purpose for Shen Ninghua to see.

Very quickly, the officials appeared one after another. The princes also rushed over. Baili Qingcang wore a dragon robe and rode on a thoroughbred horse as he accepted everyone’s worship.

“Dear associates, rise. We are here to hunt today. Dear associates, do not be too modest. If anyone can do the first kill, I will personally give the order to reward them with ten thousand taels of silver!”

“Yes, long live Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty is wise!”

At the mention of the reward of ten thousand taels of silver, many people’s eyes lit up. Ever since Baili Junyi exposed them for corruption and bribery, all the officials could be said to be very clean. They took their meager salaries and did endless work. In the past, they would not even pay attention to ten thousand taels of silver, but now that they heard such a reward, they felt their hearts beat faster and made up their minds to do the first kill!

Baili Junyi turned to look at Shen Ninghua and saw that she was sitting peacefully on the viewing platform. His heart relaxed a little. In the past two days, Father Emperor had handed over all the things in the hunting ground to him to deal with. There were too many things to prepare. He left early and came back late every day. Even the scheduled prenatal education had been delayed. It made him feel particularly depressed. Fortunately, it had come to an end now.

On the horse, Baili Qingcang led everyone into the forest. Not long after, a eunuch came to report the news to Noble Consort Qi. “Your Grace, His Majesty fired the first arrow and shot a deer. He specially asked me to report the news.”

Noble Consort Qi was especially happy. “Alright, go and receive the reward.”

All the others had already gone out to hunt. There was no point in them sitting here, so they could freely move around. There were people who specially took care of the hunting ground, and the scenery was also extremely beautiful.

Shen Ninghua did not have the mood to stroll around. The temperature outside was just right, and the breeze was light. Just sitting here was extremely comfortable. Moreover, this was the hunting ground. Who knew whether or not they would be suddenly shot?

Noble Consort Qi was also patient. Bu Yonghan, who usually stayed beside her, had already left with the hunting team. Noble Consort Qi chatted casually with Shen Ninghua, and both of them felt particularly comfortable.

However, not long after, a red figure dashed over on horseback. Shen Ninghua was startled. Why did Bu Yonghan come back so quickly?

Bu Yonghan got off the horse. Compared with her flushed face before, her face was particularly gloomy now. The smile she maintained was stiff.

Noble Consort Qi was a little confused. “You just went out for a bit. Why are you back so quickly? Are you tired?”

“Yes, I am a little tired, so I came back to take a rest.” Bu Yonghan tried to keep calm, but Shen Ninghua could hear some anger, endurance, and unwillingness in her tone. It seemed that something must have happened just now.

Bu Yonghan pinched her fingers tightly. It took a long time for her to calm down. She wanted to show Baili Jinchuan another side of her, so she had been following him on the horse just now. Unexpectedly, when they arrived in the forest, Baili Jinchuan suddenly seemed to have gone crazy. His whip shocked her horse, and she was almost sent flying. Only when the guards came forward was the horse held under control.

Without waiting for her to ask, Baili Jinchuan scolded her coldly, “As a daughter-in-law, why are you running around in the woods when you should be by Mother Consort’s side? Don’t you know the most basic filial piety? Also, go change your clothes. You look particularly like an eyesore!”

Hearing this, she almost fainted from anger. They had originally come out to hunt. Was it wrong for her to come out with him? Moreover, was not accompanying Noble Consort Qi to chat unfilial? When had Da’an Kingdom’s etiquette become so harsh? Also, this riding dress was carefully designed by her. More than a dozen people spent half a month to make it. In the end, it only received the words “an eyesore”?

However, Baili Jinchuan did not care about her emotions. He directly asked the guards to send her back. Bu Yonghan was so mad that she left the guards behind and rode back alone.

Having lived for many years in the palace, Noble Consort Qi could naturally find clues from her expression. However, she was too unbothered to pay attention to it. “Yonghan, I see that your complexion is not good. Go back to your tent and rest.”

Bu Yonghan fiercely pinched the palm of her hand. Only then did she smile a little more naturally. “Yes, Mother Consort. Thank you for your understanding.”

Back in the tent, she pulled out the horsewhip from her waist and ruthlessly whipped everything in the tent. When the table was whipped, a scroll rolled down from the table.

Bu Yonghan frowned and went forward to open the scroll. Then, she suddenly widened her eyes. On the scroll, there was a picture of a beauty riding on a horse. The woman in the picture was dressed in red riding clothes and holding a bow in her hand. Behind her was a forest, which made her red dress more conspicuous. The woman’s clothes were beautifully drawn, but her face was not drawn yet.

She suddenly remembered what Baili Jinchuan had said. “Go change your clothes. You look particularly like an eyesore!”