Chapter 570: Qing Dynasty Spirit Spring System (21)

At this moment, Lemin Junzhu did not yet know the efficacy of these little pills; she only knew they were a gift from a newly met friend, and she happily hugged them back to the encampment where the Horqin banner was stationed.

The next day, Kangxi began to receive the leaders of the various grassland tribes.

Lemin Junzhu also followed her father and brother to pay her respects to Kangxi.

After paying her respects, her father and brother remained in the tent to keep Kangxi company, while she slipped out to find Xie Yang to play.

Both of them had brought clean clothes this time, and after galloping on horseback for half a day, their faces were flushed with excitement, so they headed straight for the hot spring lake to enjoy a refreshing soak.

The guards were naturally left on the perimeter to keep watch, while Shaoyao stood with her back to the lake, guarding their clothes.

Once Xie Yang and her companion had their fill of the soak, it was Shaoyao's turn to go down and experience the hot spring.

Only then did they return to the camp to dine.

Today was the first day of the Emperor's formal meetings with the tribal leaders; there was a banquet in the tents at noon and a bonfire party in the evening, with truly lavish programs.

Kangxi had already learned of Xie Yang's entire itinerary for the day from his secret guards and couldn't help but laugh: "This girl, she didn't seem like this when she was in the manor, but why is she like a wild horse off its tether once she's out of the capital? To be able to play together with Lemin, this temperament is not at all like Old Four's."

He then thought of the Sixth Princess who was about to be sent for a political marriage, and his expression dimmed slightly: "If only Little Ten had five or six parts of Haiyin's liveliness, I could rest much easier."

Liang Jiugong comforted him: "Your Majesty, the Sixth Princess is just a bit quiet, she is very intelligent!"

Kangxi was not comforted; how could he not understand the temperaments of his own children?

Especially his daughters; apart from Kejing, the rest were one more quiet than the other, and their conduct was particularly indecisive—this was not a suitable personality for a princess sent for a political marriage.

Although he did not expect them to be arrogant and domineering, they had to be able to stand their ground, otherwise in the future...

Kangxi shook his head.

"It's a pity, this girl from Old Four's house is a bit too young..."

He paused, seemingly talking to himself: "Eleven, not too young, but not old either. When I betrothed Lanyue to Celing, I remember she was also eleven..."

The Main System accidentally overheard some big gossip and hurriedly reported to the Host: 【This is bad! Kangxi is going to marry you off!】

Xie Yang, who was enjoying grassland delicacies with Lemin: "..."

That's insane!

She is only eleven!

The annual Mulan Autumn Hunt was grand in scale.

Before dawn, the Minister of the Hunt led the Horqin princes and nobles, along with over a thousand Mongol cavalry and two thousand enclosure soldiers, tiger-gunners, guides, and Eight Banners troops provided by the Ongniud, Bairin, and Aohan tribes, to set up the perimeter in separate groups.

After daybreak, Kangxi, surrounded by his attendant ministers and guards, ascended the watchtower to observe.

Halfway through, he became interested, so he walked down from the watchtower, changed into riding gear, and took up his bow and arrows to participate in the hunt.

However, he was followed by a large group of attendants—some leading dogs, some handling hawks, some handing him arrows—and the guards were numerous both in front and behind to ensure the Emperor's safety.

Only after Kangxi had his fill of hunting did it become the turn of the princes, grandsons, nobles, ministers, and Eight Banners youths.

Kangxi returned to the watchtower to evaluate everyone's performance during the hunt, and after it ended, he would reward merit and promote or appoint people accordingly.

In short, the Mulan Autumn Hunt was not just a recreational part of Kangxi's summer retreat, but also an important link in his appointment and promotion of talent.

Especially his sons, who were the cream of the crop; in order to stand out in the Autumn Hunt and let their imperial father see their bravery, combat prowess, and skill in riding and archery, they were as energized as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

To Xie Yang, that fanatical intensity seemed almost demonic.

Seeing them shouting and roaring as they led the guards to charge out on horseback, followed by Eight Banners youths waving banners and hunting experts selected from all over the country—the sound of hooves and the fluttering of banners—there must have been four or five thousand people.

Xie Yang twitched the corner of her mouth and decided not to join the excitement in the central area where the deer herds appeared.

Finding a quiet area with fewer people to catch a pheasant and roast it to eat would be quite nice.

At this moment, she finally understood why Kangxi never brought Si Ye to the Mulan Autumn Hunt every year, but instead arranged for him to oversee the state. This treatment, besides Si Ye, was only for Yinyou.

But the Seventh, Yinyou, was because his legs were slightly disabled, while Si Ye was purely because his riding and archery were not up to par.

Of course, he was considered good among scholars, but when placed with the Manchu and Mongol youths, especially compared to his brothers, he was clearly not up to the mark.

Was Kangxi afraid that his son, Old Four, would embarrass him?

After all, present were not only the princes, grandsons, and Eight Banners youths, but also the princes and nobles of the various grassland tribes. Did he, the dignified Emperor of the Great Qing, not need to save face?

The more Xie Yang thought about it, the more interesting it became, and she felt she had hit the truth.

She rode her horse, blowing in the crisp, cool breeze, and happily ran away from the popular hunting area.

"Haiyin!"

"Haiyin!"

Lemin Junzhu rode her horse and caught up with her.

"Haiyin, aren't you going to hunt?"

"There are too many people." Xie Yang pointed to the meadow on the outskirts, "I want to go over there and wander around. If you want to hunt, just go ahead, no need to follow me. We'll meet up when it's over."

"It's fine, the Autumn Hunt happens every year, and it's the same every year; I'm already bored of it. It's more fun to follow you."

Hearing her say this, Xie Yang let her follow.

The two of them rode their horses slowly, wandering around the meadow as if taking a stroll, and were just looking for a place to set up camp for a picnic.

Ever since coming to the grassland, every time they went out, Xie Yang had the guards bring picnic gear, so that if they accidentally ran too far, they wouldn't go hungry before returning to camp.

As for food, besides the small bags of polished rice, dried vegetables, dried mushrooms, dried shrimp, and dried meat carried on the guards' horses, Shaoyao's horse also carried a food box and water bottles; the food box was filled with snacks, and the water bottles were filled with water and milk tea. Even if they couldn't catch a pheasant or a wild rabbit, the dry rations and tea they brought were enough for them to eat for two or three meals.

But normally, in the grassland during this season, as long as one's reflexes were fast and one's movements were agile, one would absolutely not go hungry.

For instance, right now, they had discovered a sea of grass and a shallow beach connected to it.

Reeds of varying heights swayed in the wind, and water celery and water caltrops were everywhere, ready-made ingredients for a picnic.

The guards took off their shoes, rolled up their pant legs, and waded into the shallows to spear fish.

Xie Yang used some tough weeds to roughly weave a shrimp cage, tied a grass rope to the bottom, threw some snack crumbs into the cage, and then held the rope and threw the cage into the water at random. After a while, she pulled it back, and there were already quite a few shrimp and small fish in the cage. Large fish couldn't get in, but many were speared by the guards with their long spears.

Over here, Shaoyao and a guard had already set up an earthen stove and started a bonfire.

The small fish and grass shrimp were stewed into a soup; besides salt, only a little pepper was added to remove the fishy smell, and when adding water, a few drops of Spirit Spring Water were added, and the fragrance soon overflowed from the Soup Pot.

The large Fish that had been caught was cleaned, rubbed with the spices Xie Yang had brought, and hung over the campfire to roast. Once the Fish skin roasted until it released its oils, it was brushed with Honey and sprinkled with seasonings, which brought out an even richer fragrance.