Chương 663: Departure

The fourth prince, Liu Yong, was even more boastful. During dinner, he boasted to the fifth prince, Liu Yan:

"Fifth brother, you wait and see. I'll show you my marksmanship, shooting a deer and making you some stew!"

Fifth Prince Liu Yan, holding a bowl of rice porridge, glanced up at him and slowly added insult to injury:

"Fourth Brother, you missed the target three times during the last shooting practice. You even shot all the grass around the bullseye."

"That's just the wind blowing!" Liu Yong blushed, stubbornly arguing, "The weather's been good these past few days, it's definitely accurate! Look, there isn't even a cloud in the sky!"

The princesses' side was also bustling with activity.

Princess Liu Ying was asking the head guard about riding and archery techniques, looking very serious, and even taking notes in a small notebook.

Princess Liu Sui was looking through trap diagrams, wondering if she could catch a live rabbit to keep in the palace; she had always liked these things.

The third princess, Liu Yi, and the fourth princess, Liu Mei, huddled together, studying the map and chattering excitedly: "I heard there are 'big tabby cats' in Shanglin Garden? They're tigers! Yellow and black striped, and they're huge!"

"Really? Will they eat people?"

"What's there to be afraid of! Father and the generals are here! We can just take a look from afar. I even want to draw it."

When the fifth princess Liu Ran and the sixth princess Liu Nong heard that there was a real tiger, their eyes widened and they kept asking questions.

The busiest department was the Imperial Household Department.

The chief eunuch, Li Dequan, was constantly on his feet, arranging for people to prepare hunting gear, saddles, and quivers, while also instructing the imperial kitchen to prepare dry rations, seasonings, and wine. He also had to send people to Shanglin Garden in advance to tidy up the hunting palace, clear the roads, and check for safety.

The young eunuchs ran around carrying stacks of leather boots and quivers, muttering, "His Highness the Third Prince wanted heavier arrows, don't grab the wrong ones!"

"The eldest princess's horse should be docile, not a wild one!"

"His Highness the Fifth Prince has a sweet tooth, so please bring two extra boxes of osmanthus cake!"

"And one more thing! His Majesty said to bring extra cumin and chili powder for roasting game!"

Li Dequan stood in the courtyard with his hands on his hips, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Hurry up! If anything is missing, you'll be in big trouble! Don't let His Majesty think our Imperial Household Department is incompetent!"

The entire palace was like boiling water, bubbling excitedly.

They weren't idle outside the palace either.

Upon receiving the news, the military officers were all eager to get to work, and they went home to polish their bows and arrows until they shone.

That very night, Cheng Yaojin pulled Qin Qiong aside for drinks, slamming his fist on the table and declaring, "Old Qin, let's have a contest this time! The loser has to treat us to three months' worth of drinks!"

Qin Qiong smiled and picked up his bowl: "Let's compete, who's afraid of who? But with your archery skills, I'm sure I'll win."

Cheng Yaojin retorted, "I was just letting you win! This time I'm serious!"

Zhang Fei was even more ruthless; he directly pulled out an iron-rimmed bow from the storeroom, saying he would use it to shoot a bear.

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu leisurely asked, "Can you pull it apart?"

Zhang Fei's face darkened: "I'll practice!"

Zhao Yun remained calm, simply instructing his attendants to replace the saddle with a new one and to check the quiver again.

The civil officials looked worried.

Normally they ride in sedan chairs, but suddenly they have to ride horses all day. How can their old arms and legs take it?

That very night, Tian Feng had his family find soft cushions and put three layers on the saddle. He also took some tonics beforehand and had his wife sew a back brace overnight.

Fang Xuanling practiced horseback riding at home for half an hour, and his legs were so weak afterward that he complained to his wife, "Your Majesty, this isn't a proper autumn hunt, it's torture for our old bones!"

The lady rolled her eyes at him: "Even His Majesty is going, how dare you not go?"

Fang Xuanling sighed, "Go, go, what can you do when he's His Majesty? It's just that his backside is going to suffer."

Du Ruhui was adept at finding amusement for himself. He drew a map in advance, marking which forest had the most prey and which stream was teeming with fish, just like making a strategic plan.

When Guo Jia heard that they were going to hunt autumn animals, he surprisingly didn't slack off and had the best wine prepared in advance, saying that he wanted to "hunt while drunk, for drunken arrows are divine."

Jia Xu quietly had a pot of fine tea prepared, saying that he was responsible for admiring the scenery and commenting on the prey.

The ladies were also busy preparing their clothes and jewelry for the trip, exchanging messages to each other to arrange to travel together, and also to inquire about each other's gossip.

Xiahou Qingyi asked Zhen Jiang if there were any wild chrysanthemums in Shanglin Garden, saying she wanted to pick some, dry them, and use them to make tea.

Zhen Jiang laughed at her, "Are you going hunting for wild game or gathering herbs?"

Xiahou Qingyi said matter-of-factly, "Autumn is here, you can do anything in autumn. Didn't your husband say that there are no restrictions on breed?"

The wives also made plans to have tea and enjoy the scenery together, and also to see how each family's children were behaving, inevitably leading to some comparisons in private.

After a chaotic and hectic week, the day of departure finally arrived.

..................

As dawn broke, people gathered outside the west gate of Luoyang.

Leading the way were the Imperial Guards on the left and right, their black armor and red tassels, their long spears like a forest, their banners fluttering in the wind, making them look particularly intimidating.

In the middle, Liu Ce rides a black horse, dressed in dark hunting attire, with a composite bow at his waist and a quiver full of three-edged iron arrows. His hair is tied up with a jade crown, exuding a heroic air.

He reined in his horse and looked back. Behind him was a huge crowd of people, including princes, princesses, civil and military officials, and their families. There must have been over a thousand people in total, like a house mover.

One carriage after another, the air was filled with the sounds of people and the clatter of horses' hooves, as lively as a market day.

"Is everyone here?" Liu Ce called out.

"Your Majesty, everything is ready!"

"Alright, let's go!" With that command, the large group marched westward in a grand procession, the clatter of hooves raising dust half a foot high.

The row of military officers were all in high spirits, and their horses seemed to be moving more energetically than the others.

Zhao Yun, dressed in white robes with two quivers of arrows hanging from his saddle, sat upright, his eyes already scanning the woods by the roadside, habitually searching for the shadows of prey.

Qin Qiong hung his double maces at his sides, occasionally reining in his horse and turning around a couple of times. He had so much energy he had nowhere to expend, like a tiger that had been trapped for a long time and was finally released.

Guan Yu stroked his long beard, sitting calmly on his horse, as if he were not there to hunt but to patrol the streets.

Zhang Fei, however, was far less composed. He carried a bag of cooked beef in his pocket, munching on it as he walked, occasionally chatting with Dian Wei beside him.

"Fifth Brother, do you think we'll run into a bear today? I, Old Zhang, haven't stretched my legs in ages!"

Dian Wei, carrying double halberds and a large wine gourd on his back, said in a deep voice, "If we run into each other, I'll go first. Don't try to take it from me. Last time you were fighting a bear, it got away."

Xu Chu looked around, his eyes wide open as if searching for treasure, muttering, "I heard there are wild boars in Shanglin Garden. I'm the best at catching wild boars; I can take them down with a single cut."

Cheng Yaojin was the most carefree, riding his horse while cracking sunflower seeds, casually tossing the shells to the roadside, and even taking a sip of wine after finishing his meal, looking incredibly content.

Li Jing, looking very serious, sat on his horse discussing military strategy with Li Ji beside him, occasionally pointing out the terrain along the roadside:

"Look at this place, it's high on both sides and low in the middle. If we were to ambush someone, we could easily catch them red-handed. We can use this principle to plan our hunting grounds today."