At dusk, at the military camp in the outskirts.
"Lord Marquis Huo! You must seek justice for us!"
An old man was wailing outside the camp, clutching a pale, sturdy man in his arms. The younger man’s lower body was a mass of gore, with blood gushing out in a steady stream, instantly soaking the old man’s clothes in red.
"What is going on here?" Huo Yanxing asked, hurrying over at the sound of the commotion to question the guards at the gate.
"My Lord, this old man says that some group was out hunting and trampled his family’s field, and they also... trampled his son’s lower parts," the guard reported honestly.
"You lot, take them to the infirmary tent and fetch the military physician. Bai Yu, take some men to patrol the perimeter and find out who is hunting nearby."
Everyone acted according to Huo Yanxing’s orders.
The military physician quickly examined the injured man and staunched the bleeding, but when he emerged, he shook his head at Huo Yanxing. To be trampled by a horse and survive was a stroke of luck; it was fortunate the horse's hooves hadn't hit his chest, but his lower body was effectively ruined.
Seeing this, the old man burst into tears, kneeling before Huo Yanxing and refusing to rise. "My son is naturally simple-minded. Today, when he saw these noblemen trampling our fields, he didn’t hide but ran forward to argue, only to be kicked over and crushed by the horses. He may be a fool, but he is my only lifeblood! Now that he has suffered such a tragedy, what are we to do? I beg you, Lord Marquis, give us an explanation!"
Huo Yanxing helped him up. "Rest assured, old man. I will certainly get you an explanation."
Bai Yu returned just then, and the result was exactly as Huo Yanxing had suspected. The one conducting a large-scale hunt nearby was none other than Prince Xiao Qi.
Imperial hunts in the outskirts were an old custom, but they were generally held in the autumn. That was when the harvest was in, beasts were fat and strong, and farming activities had mostly ceased, minimizing the impact on the populace. Although noble families and imperial relatives occasionally hunted in the mountains, they usually kept to the deep woods and rarely stepped foot on the commoners' fields.
However, the Prince had never cared for such conventions. He was lavish with his money, and whenever his men damaged fields, he would simply toss silver to silence the victims, which was why no one had reported him for so many years.
"Bai Yu, have your men look after this father and son well. Tomorrow, once the city gates open, send them to the best medical clinic in the city."
"Yes."
Huo Yanxing hand-picked ten of his personal guards, preparing to go and make arrests.
A sound of galloping grew near, and a young servant in green livery, looking deathly pale and wretched from the ride, appeared on horseback.
"Mar, Marquis... the, the Madam has sent a letter." Reaching the camp gate, he tumbled off his horse, landing right in front of Huo Yanxing.
"Whatever it is, it can wait until I return." Huo Yanxing swung onto his horse with swift, clean movements.
But the servant in green actually grabbed his reins. "No, no... The Madam said, said you must, read it immediately!"
"Insolent!" the nearby guards barked, "Get lost before we drag you away!"
The servant rolled his eyes in silence. Before he had departed, Songyan, the Madam's personal maid, had whispered in his ear: "Ride fast. If the Marquis doesn't see this letter, your monthly wages are gone." He was a man of the Marquis’s Estate, under the Madam’s command, not the camp’s.
"Hand it over." Seeing the servant’s persistence, Huo Yanxing assumed it must be some urgent family matter that had prompted Lu Qingyuan to write to him.
To his surprise, the servant presented a delicate piece of peach-blossom stationery. The pink paper, adorned with a vivid pattern of peach blossoms, sparked the imagination.
"Oh! Peach-blossom stationery!" Yuan Shu, the sharp-eyed commander of the personal guards, let out a loud, teasing cry.
Huo Yanxing felt his mouth twitch, forcing a pained, wry smile. He took the letter and unfolded it. Several young officers poked their heads out from behind like gophers, winking and nudging one another.
"Madam is the daughter of Prime Minister Lu, a family of scholars—her writing must be exquisite."
"It’s only natural for our Lord Marquis to be a newlywed, truly, it’s only natural!"
Yet, Huo Yanxing’s brows suddenly knit together, a flicker of disbelief crossing his eyes, before his expression smoothed and he gave a slight nod.
"My Lord, don’t tell me the Madam misses you already?"
"Well, it is the second day after the wedding; you should probably go back and keep her company."
These were all Huo Yanxing’s personal guards, men who had grown up with him in the camp, often acting informally in private.
"What, is your daily training not exhausting enough?" Huo Yanxing’s face turned cold, and the officers behind him instantly became as quiet as quail.
Only Yuan Shu continued to chatter on. "We train for a thousand days to use them for a single moment. We train so hard specifically to beat that bastard Xiao Qi into the ground, don't we? I’ve hated him for a long time—what does he think he is? Just because he has money and power, he can do whatever he wants? My Lord, tell us, how should we beat him later... Hey, hey, why are you heading back?"
Huo Yanxing dismounted and walked into the main tent.
"Huh? My Lord, aren't we going to settle the score with that grandson Xiao Qi... My Lord? My Lord!" Yuan Shu hopped around the tent entrance, glanced at the calm Bai Yu, and scratched his head. "Brother, what does the Marquis mean by this? It’s over. He isn't actually going to be the type to let a woman distract him from military matters, is he?"
Bai Yu gave him a helpless look.
A roar erupted from inside the tent: "Get in here this instant!"
……
Late at night, the mountain forest on the outskirts was lit as bright as day. Rows of guards holding torches rode atop tall horses, following their master.
"A wild boar!"
A guard who had dismounted to count the prey up ahead reported, "Congratulations, Your Highness! Your archery is infallible; you are truly Hou Yi reborn."
"Humph, it’s just a wild boar. What is so rare about that?" Xiao Qi felt a lack of interest. He enjoyed hunting, and apart from the depths of winter, he would come out once or twice a month. Watching arrows pierce flesh, seeing blood spray out and the prey struggle in the throes of death, he found it satisfying. But this pleasure came and went quickly; gradually, ordinary game could no longer stir his competitive spirit.
"Enough, back to camp." He sat lazily in his saddle, looking bored and preparing to head home.
"Your Highness, look! There seems to be game!" A guard pointed toward a flash of white in the thicket.
"White!" Xiao Qi’s eyes lit up, his interest instantly piqued. He squeezed his horse’s flanks and raised his whip with his right hand. "It’s a white deer! Follow me!"
The white deer’s fur was as white as snow, glowing brightly even in the pitch black of night. It moved slowly, and before long, Xiao Qi caught up.
"Don't any of you move! I want it alive!" Xiao Qi took aim at the right moment, drawing his bow. With a "whoosh," the arrow flew like a shooting star toward the deer’s ankle. Struck, the deer stumbled and collapsed.
His subordinates gathered around, raining down praises.
A man in white robes stepped out from the crowd. "This white deer is truly rare. As the saying goes, 'A deer lives for a thousand years, and when it reaches five hundred, its color turns white.' Such an auspicious omen—if you present it to the Empress Dowager, she will surely be overjoyed!"
"Not bad, not bad," Xiao Qi said, eyeing this white-clad advisor with appreciation, though he looked somewhat unfamiliar. "You... you are a man of great learning. Reward him with ten pieces of gold."
Xiao Qi had many retainers, and the Xian Wang Manor was lavish with its wealth, so the number of advisors he kept had grown—so many, in fact, that he couldn't remember all their names.
"Keep the white deer well-fed. Tomorrow, I will enter the palace and present it to Mother!"