Chapter 140: Winter Hunt (2)

After saying this, Yun Shu vaulted onto the horse, greeted her father, and immediately rode far away.

Seeing Yun Shu running faster than a Rabbit, Yan Ning did not know what to say.

At this moment, Xiao Huaijin spoke: "Ningning, does the Steam Train you mentioned really exist?"

"Recently, I have heard a lot about the Steam Engine in the teahouse; they say it can move on its own without human labor, and it travels quite steadily, much better than a horse-drawn carriage. Is this true?"

Yan Ning smiled, took a blueprint out of her sleeve, and handed it to Xiao Huaijin to look at.

In truth, she had taken it out from her space.

Xiao Huaijin took one look and saw a rough drawing of a Train; the patterns on it were clear, the Train had several Carriages, the engine was puffing out steam, and there were tracks drawn underneath.

With the blueprint, Xiao Huaijin finally felt that this Steam Train could be built sooner or later.

Xiao Huaijin pointed at the tracks below and asked: "What is this? It must be made of iron."

Yan Ning explained: "These are tracks; they allow the Train to travel steadily and can also ensure the Train's speed."

As Xiao Huaijin kept looking, he almost bumped into a tree.

Yan Ning took the design blueprint back and said to him: "I feel it could be finished this month."

Xiao Huaijin's eyes widened: "Is he that amazing?"

Yan Ning shook her head: "Not really; this thing was introduced from overseas. I saw it in a volume of Travel Notes. With the experience of those before us, it is much smoother for us to build."

Xiao Huaijin said: "So that's how it is. After it is finished, may I go and see it?"

Yan Ning smiled and said: "You may see it; I will call you over when the time comes."

Along the way, quite a few people were greeting Yan Ning, but Xiao Huaijin seemed to have some social anxiety and did not talk much to others.

As the two walked along, they entered the depths of the dense forest, and Yan Ning saw a white object flash by.

The next moment, Xiao Huaijin shot an arrow, which hit the Rabbit perfectly.

He dismounted, tied the Rabbit onto the horse's back, and said with a smile: "We can eat roasted Rabbit today; I will go hunt a few more."

Yan Ning's eyes lit up; she felt that wild meat tasted better than farm-raised meat.

The two of them continued to look for prey, and Yan Ning also tried shooting arrows, but her aim was not very good; she missed ten out of ten times.

Xiao Huaijin comforted her: "You are a beginner at mounted archery; being able to shoot from a horse is already very impressive. When I first learned, I couldn't hit anything either."

Yan Ning always felt she was just a tiny bit off.

She refused to give up and aimed her bow and arrow at a Bird dozing in a tree.

This time, she actually hit it!

Xiao Huaijin: "Amazing!"

Yan Ning was also beaming as she tied this prey behind her.

It could not compare to Xiao Huaijin's many catches, but she was quite satisfied with one.

Yan Ze did not go hunting, and Ji Lan was by his side; the two were playing chess.

Ji Lan was not good at chess and loved to take back moves, but Yan Ze rarely had time, so if she wanted to take back moves, let her.

People around them saw this and always felt a bit envious.

Unfortunately, Yan Ze had said from the beginning that he would not let any other woman enter the palace.

Yan Ning returned at this very moment.

She had a bright smile and held up the Bird in her hand, "

Father, Mother, I hit a Bird!"

Yan Ze and Ji Lan hurriedly stood up and looked at the Bird in Yan Ning's hand.

Yan Ze turned into a praise-machine: "Ningning is truly amazing; having only learned mounted archery for five days, she can already hit a Bird."

He also brought Xiao Huaijin into it: "Huaijin, did you hunt all of these? You are so amazing?"

Xiao Huaijin had a shy smile.

Yan Ning recalled the way he had shot his arrows just now; he was truly like a different person.

Xiao Huaijin had hit quite a few Rabbits and Mountain Chickens.

Yan Ze began to prepare the roasted meat, and Yan Ning even said: "Actually, Xiao Huaijin could have hit a Deer just now, but thinking it would be inconvenient to process, and we wanted to look further ahead, we didn't take that Deer down."

Yan Ze was quite surprised: "So this prey was selected by you two to be suitable for dinner?"

The two nodded.

Yan Ze praised them sincerely: "Huaijin's mounted archery is truly impressive."

Rabbits were the hardest things to hunt, and he had hunted three of them alone.

Yan Ze began to process the Mountain Chickens and wild Rabbits, saying to Xiao Huaijin: "Call your father and mother over to eat together."

Xiao Chengtian arrived soon after, and he also helped process the Rabbits.

Yan Ze also said: "The fur of these Rabbits must be kept; when the time comes, I'll make a little Rabbit handbag for Ningning, and gloves would be nice too."

Nanyang Wangfei then began to tear off large pieces of skin, so as not to run short for making the bags.

After processing the Rabbits, they began to make roasted meat at the entrance of the tent.

A wave of fragrance quickly spread out.

Then Yan Ze sprinkled seasonings on top; with all kinds of seasonings added, the smell became even more fragrant.

The six of them ate with great relish.

Quite a few people cast glances over; it was truly too delicious.

After eating, Ji Lan pulled Nanyang Wangfei and two other female relatives over to play mahjong.

Yan Ze and Xiao Chengtian began to play chess; the atmosphere between the two was very good, and they did not look like monarch and subject, but like brothers.

Quite a few people felt a bit sour.

Why didn't they build a good relationship with His Majesty sooner?

Before going to Lingnan, Yan Ze was an idle Prince, and the ministers had no dealings with him.

After going to Lingnan, they could have originally extended a helping hand, but as it turned out, many people stood on the wrong side, and not only did they not help, they even caused them quite a bit of trouble.

One of them whispered, "It is already good enough that His Majesty does not hold it against us that we stood on the wrong side back then."

Several people sighed, truly envious of the Prince of Nanyang.

At this moment, the Prince of Rui, who was Yan Ze's uncle, said happily, "Your Majesty, why not let the young people have a hunting competition tomorrow?"

Yan Ning found it a bit strange, "Why don't the older ones participate? It's not like they can't shoot anymore."

Everyone present was stunned for a moment.

What kind of question was that?

The youth competition was to select young talents and let the Crown Princess take a look at them; if she took a fancy to one, they would be able to rise rapidly in their careers.

What would the old ones go to do?

However, someone began to smooth things over, "It is like this, the older ones are experienced, so participating together is a bit unfair to the young people."

Yan Ze was thoughtful, "Fine, let the young ones have a competition tomorrow, and let the older ones have a competition the day after."

After the people dispersed, Yan Ze asked Yan Ning, "Do you want to participate?"

Yan Ning shook her head, "I'd better not; with my hit rate, it would be good luck if I could hunt a single Bird."

Yan Ze said, "If you are interested, learn more horse riding and archery next year before going."

When Yan Ze had just transmigrated, he secretly learned to ride a horse by himself and accidentally fell off and broke a leg.

He was quite afraid that Yan Ning would have an accident while riding a horse.

The next day, those under twenty years old all stood out, preparing for today's hunting competition.

Yan Ze began to state the rules: "Only hunting is allowed, no harming people, and there are several types of animals that are not allowed to be shot..."

He recited these rules for two minutes.

Finally, there were the prizes.

Yan Ze said, "The top three in the hunt will receive prizes."

"The first place will be gifted Coral, the second place will be gifted two Jade Ruyi, and the third place will be gifted a Glazed Bowl and Dish Set."