On the thirteenth day of the third lunar month, at the hour of the snake, the sunlight on Bailu Plain scorched the earth. The sound of hunting horns startled a flock of sand geese into flight. Jiang Wan lay prone on her snow-blue horse, squinting at the grass a hundred paces away, her fingertips tapping lightly against the bowstring. Lu Jingyuan rode alongside her on a black horse and suddenly reached out to press down on her bow. "Careful, that is a pregnant deer."
Jiang Wan froze. She lowered her bow and watched as the doe, her belly slightly swollen, led her fawn into the willow thicket. She turned to look at Lu Jingyuan, only to find a look of approval in his eyes. "A kind heart is more important than archery."
"You flatter me, Heir," Jiang Wan said with a soft laugh. "It just reminded me of when the dogs at the Marquis's Mansion were whelping, and my sister would feed them milk every day."
Chapter 152