As the Crown Prince entered the forest, Shen ordered the guards around the camp to bring three times the usual number of men and horses to escort the Crown Prince. In the forest, knives and arrows were flying everywhere, and it was impossible not to worry, but since she had finally come to Chulu City, she couldn't miss the opportunity for Yanyan to show her face in front of the Emperor.

  Lin Wan had just trembled and climbed onto the horse.

  Don't look at the emperor's eldest son, a little kid who can play polo. Lin Yuen rode up and only then realized that horse riding was as difficult as taking a driver's test. She had been hesitating for an entire morning before finally mustering up the courage to mount the horse for the first time.

  She is really bad at this.

  At first, taking a driver's license was also like that, and I still hadn't passed the second test until the year I died.

  She turned her head to look again, and Wen Pei was gone. Lin Yuan's head drooped down, and she realized that even in ancient times, one needed to exercise to keep up. Although Wen Pei was the daughter of a university scholar, she had learned to ride a horse for half a day and could already run out to chase after the emperor, while Lin Yuan had just started trying to ride.

  Suddenly, a heavy horn sounded through the air, and the boiling human voices and hoofbeats gradually approached. Lin Wei was already frightened to death, and this huge sound startled her so much that she lost control and fell down with a thud.

  Unforeseen rescue scene, Lin Yan fell sideways.

  She really wanted to cry, her butt was all numb, and she had mud all over her mouth and face. The most embarrassing thing was that she actually fell off the back of a ten-year-old child-sized young mare.

  All around were the sounds of people kowtowing, it was clear that the Emperor had returned from his hunt. Lin Wei wiped away her tears and struggled to get up, she hated being seen with a dirty face the most. But now she had to hurry up and get up, as more and more people were gathering around.

  At this time, her arm was suddenly pulled by someone with great force, and she cried out in pain as she got up. Just as she was about to thank him, wiping the dirt from her face to get a clear look at the person, she burst into even more bitter tears: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty... I've lost my dignity..."

  "That's enough, if you continue crying, it will be really unseemly." After saying that, Tuoba Hong walked away, neither blaming her nor continuing to pay attention to him.

  The scene was somewhat chaotic at this time. The emperor returned with a full load, and the followers were busy piling up the prey into mountains. Beside them, the eunuchs counted: "Prince Long of Lungu hunted three wolves and two deer, Prince Bei Jing of Beizheng hunted two white foxes..." Of course, the emperor's harvest was the largest, which is an international convention.

  Everyone was excited to watch the hunt, and the one-zhang-tall black bear shot by Emperor Taizong of Tang himself was a spectacular sight. As for Lin Yuen, this muddy little person didn't attract much attention. However, Lin Yuen was still furious and wanted to shout. Why did the emperor have to come back at this time? Originally, she had planned to practice horse riding while everyone went hunting, but now so many people saw her, and the emperor even watched from close up.

  She covered her face with her sleeve and ran into the tent, still able to hear from a distance a foolish Mongolian princess laughing loudly: "Central Plains women are indeed useless..." What a loss of eight lifetimes!

  At night, after finishing a day of hunting, Tuoba Hong went to Lin Yuan's tent. Half of Lin Yuan's body was wrapped in his arms, enduring the large bruises on her arm and buttocks from being thrown off, still serving the emperor wholeheartedly. Tuoba Hong chuckled and patted her back: "Little silly melon, tomorrow I'll come teach you horseback riding and archery."

  Lin Yuerong scrambled up: "Goodbye, that's all men's business. Ah...my arm almost broke today."

  "So you still get scared sometimes?"

  "Afraid, really afraid." Lin Wan refused this rare opportunity without hesitation. The emperor's favor is precious, but life is even more valuable - although a small horse that is not even as tall as a person cannot kill someone unless it is startled. And those horses specifically used for training are as gentle as sheep.

  "You're really..." Tuoba Hong rubbed her nose, remembering how she had fallen down earlier today, it was quite amusing.

  Lin Wan had made up her mind not to ride a horse again, but on the second day, she still reluctantly got on the little mare called Rouge, which was ridden by Tuoba Hong, who was riding a big Dawan blood horse and was three feet taller than her.

  She didn't expect that Tuoba Hong would actually fulfill what he said last night. It's not that the emperor had nothing better to do than teach a clumsy newcomer how to ride a horse, but rather that the Mongolian noblewomen were too fierce and brave, and there wasn't a single woman from the Central Plains who followed them on the hunt, which didn't look good in comparison. Tuoba Hong thus issued an edict ordering all the women who could ride horses to follow, and Lin Huan, as his favored concubine, also had to come out and put on a show.

  On that day, when the sun rose from the foot of the mountain, the majestic drumbeats and horn sounds rang out simultaneously. Every day, facing the vast desert sunrise, the hunting opening ceremony was simple yet grand. The gentle little horse under Lin's crotch felt excited by the horn sound, stretched out its small hooves and drew a circle on the ground, Lin was frightened by its small movement and her whole body stiffened.

  Meng Wu Wang Yuan Lie came up with a good idea, saying that today the young and talented of both countries would come to compete. Tuoba Hong agreed happily, first whipping his own horse, and the Qin state's team swarmed into the forest.

  It's not worth mentioning how pitiful Lin Yuan looked as she ran. Tuoba Hong and the Mongolian king were both in high spirits for the hunt, and the princes, crown princes, and young masters who had been named to compete in the archery contest didn't want to fall behind, each urging their horses to gallop forward wildly. The scene was chaotic, and Lin Yuan, as a woman, slowly fell behind, along with several foreign noblewomen. These women were vastly different from Lin Yuan; some of them were skilled horseback riders who didn't lose to men, while others had just learned how to ride but were extremely enthusiastic about it. Having been confined in the capital for a long time, they suddenly received the great honor of being allowed to follow the royal family on the hunt as women, and their eyes shone with excitement.

  Lin Wan's heart was racing as she watched the large troop move far ahead, and then hastily called a palace maid to help her dismount. With her feet back on solid ground, Lin Wan finally came back to life, holding onto the horse with one hand while leaning against a tree to catch her breath. A tall and slender young noblewoman standing beside her, dressed in dark blue riding attire, laughed without restraint: "The imperial princess is indeed delicate, she should be sitting comfortably in the golden sedan."

  Xiao Qi Shao is the legitimate daughter-in-law of the Xiao family, with a high birth and the support of the Empress Dowager. She has an air of superiority in front of Lin Yin, who holds a lower rank as a palace concubine. Only the Empress can sit comfortably under the golden canopy, while Lin Yin has to run back and forth serving the Emperor. Sometimes, outside women speak without being polite to the palace ladies.

  At this time, Lin Wan had just been frightened by a runaway horse and her fighting spirit had plummeted. She didn't even have the energy to argue with Xiao Qi Shao. She turned around and left, only wanting to find a quiet place to wait for the return of the holy carriage.

  Xiao Qi Shaoye coldly and disdainfully turned her head away.

  Just at this moment, a vast expanse of dust and sand rose up in the distance as far as the eye could see.

  Lin Yan raised her hand to cover her eyes, and the sound of horseshoes getting closer and closer startled her even more, making her heart increasingly restless.

  In the distance, it was a dense and vast army of soldiers. That wasn't a hunting party, but an army, real warriors.

  Lin Wan closed her eyes and then opened them again, quickly thinking over all the things that had happened in the imperial court. Emperor Taizong of Tang held a midnight meeting to discuss politics, after Empress Shen was demoted but still enjoyed great honor, the Chu family rose rapidly, while Empress Xiao watched from the sidelines.

  Lin Yan slowly smiled, she knew who the visitor was.

  She finally knew the purpose of Tuoba Hong's trip to Luoyang.

  A thrilling excitement surged up from the chest again - that was the feeling of participating in the struggle for power, manipulating the situation with one's own body. Good, the world of Great Qin is going to be chaotic again.

  The turbulent situation is life-threatening, but it's also the greatest opportunity for people like Lin Yuan who likes to muddy the waters.

  ***

  King Mu of Miao, King Jing Gong and other close relatives' fiefs were all far away from the capital. The emperor issued an edict ordering all princes and nobles to follow him on his autumn inspection tour, so they had to come from afar despite the inconvenience.

  King Mu of Zhou just arrived today and is also the last one to arrive.

  Three thousand iron-clad soldiers followed him, with a majestic momentum that was no less than that of an emperor.

  Tuoba Hong did not stop today's hunt due to his arrival. His gaze swept coldly over Mu Wu Wang and the heavy armored cavalry behind him, politely instructing this third-ranked half-brother: "Third brother has arrived just in time. The Khan of Mongolia wants to compete with us, you will surely make a great display of your skills and help our country gain prestige."

  Lin Yuan, who was following behind, looked forward through the dense crowd. There were too many people, and she couldn't see Mu Wu Wang's face clearly.

  She smiled faintly, her figure disappearing like a light cloud. Indeed, she was an ambitious person, afraid of falling to death but not afraid of bloody struggles.

  With the appearance of Mu Wu Wang, the competition in the arena became even more intense.

  Mu Wu Wang was a generous person, he joined the crowd's hunting despite the hardship of the journey, his figure was heroic and brave, his riding and shooting skills were excellent, which made many generals admire him. The young Khan Yuan Lie looked at him with narrowed eyes, then looked at Tuoba Hong with a strange smile.

  Tuoba Hong's horse ran faster and faster. When he finally shot a white tiger dead, he sent the huge tiger head to Yuan Lie, laughing: "The Great Qin and Mongolia have been in good relations for generations, I will definitely let Khan Wang get what he wants."

  In the evening, the celebration feast was in full swing. The men were all at the front table toasting, and the empress behind the curtain beckoned Lin Yu closer, smiling: "You're lucky enough to go hunting with the emperor, you must have had a great time and seen many interesting things?"

  Today, the two countries competed, and naturally, many talented young men with excellent riding and shooting skills emerged. However, as Lin Yu's identity, she couldn't discuss other young men. She smiled slyly and said: "The imperial concubine is really timid, even when serving the emperor, I don't dare to ride a horse and run wildly, several times I couldn't keep up with the team, unfortunately, more than half of the excitement was missed."

  Wen Bin's face was somewhat stiff as she failed to receive an imperial edict.

  The Empress's smile conveyed a sense of comfort and boredom. She took the mare's milk wine and tasted it lightly: "Being timid is not a big deal. When I was your age, I was also very afraid of riding horses."

  It was also Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei who personally taught her how to ride a horse... Ten years have passed, and things are no longer the same.

  It seems that I underestimated Tuoba Hong's favoritism towards Lin Wan.

  The three of them tacitly avoided mentioning Mu Wu Wang. Lin Wan's eyes swept around the empress, she was still too unfamiliar with the empress and couldn't guess what the empress planned to do during this trip to seize power... Forget it, there was no time to pay attention to the empress now.