A forest dense with the chorus of animals loomed over the river where the Dragon Boat competition was held earlier. This forest was where the Annual Hunt took place year after year. On the edge of the forest, tents were erected for each of the families that were participating as a place for them to prepare for the event.
Out of all the tents that were on the tent site, the royal tent stood out in size and grandeur. In contrast to the common fabric used on the other tents, the royal tent was exquisitely draped with golden-colored silk that had a slightly muted shine which only served to further elevate its appearance. The entrance was a flap of cloth that was cut out of the same lavish fabric but with a majestic dragon emblem embroidered over it.
Inside the royal tent, a variety of hunting weapons were laid out on their respective weapon racks that fitted lushly against the wall on one side of the tent. On another side, the grand eunuch was preparing some tea at a small table. However, the main focal point of the tent interior was a mahogany table that was placed right in the center of the tent which Ye An was currently seated at while she flipped through the documents that she had ordered to be brought out of the palace, not wanting to waste any spare time that she had.
"Lieutenant Yun, I think the hunt would be starting soon. Could you ask one of your men to bring my horse around?" Ye An asked the lieutenant without taking her eyes away from the document that she was reading.
A temporary stable was constructed at the far side of the tent site. All of the horses for those who would be participating in the Annual Hunt were placed there to keep the sound and smell away from the tents. Even the emperor's horse was temporarily housed in the shared stable.
Xi Chen bowed before apologizing. "I'm afraid that I don't have any men to spare. They are either busy patrolling the compound or conducting last-minute checks in the forest in case anything was missed during the security sweep earlier. Why don't I get your horse, Your Imperial Majesty? Since I need to get mine anyway."
Ye An finally put down the document she was holding. "Hmm.. Then could you bring my horse around, Lieutenant Yun?"
Xi Chen nodded. With the guards patrolling the area, it should be fine for him to step out for a while.
Only moments after Xi Chen had left to get the horses, Sze Chang popped his head into the tent.
"Minister Sze! What a surprise!" Ye An exclaimed.
"Your Imperial Majesty, I was just passing by and thought that I'd drop by to wish you luck!" Sze Chang said cheerfully, his apprehension from the night before long gone.
"Come in!" Ye An invited. "Pour some tea for Minister Sze." Ye An ordered the grand eunuch.
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty." The grand eunuch replied before promptly pouring a cup of tea for Sze Chang.
"Come, sit." Ye An told the young minister, waving to the seat opposite her.
"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty. Where's Lieutenant Yun? I thought that he would be with you." Sze Chang asked inquisitively.
"Oh, he was just going to get our horses from the stable. He'll be back soon. I didn't see you earlier at the opening ceremony, did I?" Ye An inquired.
"Ah, yes. I overslept and thought that it's better to not show up in the middle of the race so I just came here to get settled in before the hunt." Sze Chang smiled ruefully.
Ye An laughed. "I see."
Sze Chang finished his tea before saying. "Well, I think I should go make my last preparations now that the hunt is about to start."
"Of course! Good luck on the hunt, Minister Sze."
"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty." Sze Chang replied as he bowed out of the tent.
*******
At the stable, Xi Chen spent the past ten minutes or so for the royal horse master to get the emperor's horse bridled and saddled up. Each of the horses at the stable was accompanied by the participant's personal horse master to ensure that the horses were in good shape and to prevent any possible sabotage from happening right until the start of the hunt. Since Xi Chen would be accompanying the emperor during the hunt, his horse was also managed by the royal horse master.
It was nearing the start of the hunt and the stable was crowded with people which forced Xi Chen to stand in the cramped stall that was housing both his and the emperor's horses.
"How long more will this take?" Xi Chen asked the royal horse master.
"Just give me a little bit more time, my lord. I think it's best you wait outside of the stable for now. The horses might be agitated by how crowded it is in this stall. I'll bring them out once they're ready." The royal horse master informed Xi Chen regretfully.
"Alright." Xi Chen said and left the stable without needing to be told twice.
Once Xi Chen stepped out into the fresh air, he heard a familiar voice coming from the side of the stable. He walked over with light steps to peer over the side of the building and saw General Shao's figure. The general was standing with his back to Xi Chen and talking to someone who was behind the building out of Xi Chen's sight. What was the general still doing here? They already bid each other farewell hours earlier. Even though he couldn't see who General Shao was talking to, he could hear what they were saying.
General Shao was the first to speak. "Yes, everyone is expecting Emperor Ye An to be like the late Emperor Lee Hwi during the hunt. But what they don't know is that it was actually Lee Han who took the late emperor's place in all of those hunts."
"Well, I don't blame them. No one knew that the Empress Mother actually gave birth to identical brothers. Who, under normal circumstances, would have thought that Emperor Lee Hwi had a shadow emperor?" The general's companion replied.
Xi Chen was confused by the context of the conversation. Who's Lee Han? Shadow emperor? Identical brothers? Besides that, the voice that replied to General Shao sounded awfully familiar. It was nagging at the corners of Xi Chen's mind but he couldn't put a hand on who that voice belonged to.
Before he could inch closer to eavesdrop on the conversation better and get a glimpse of the person General Shao was speaking to, the royal horse master came out with the horses. "My lord. They're ready."
Jolted back to himself, Xi Chen thanked the royal horse master. "Alright. Thank you."
Xi Chen turned back to where he saw the general and his companion but found that they were both gone.
*******
"Lieutenant Yun, Minister Sze just stopped by a while ago to wish me luck. I hope that he gets many kills today. I'd much rather lose to him than those stuffy old men." Ye An blurted to Xi Chen as she strapped her light armor on when the lieutenant returned from the stable.
Ye An stopped her actions when she finally saw the lieutenant's face properly. "What's wrong?"
Xi Chen cleared his thoughts. "No, it's nothing."
"Are you sure?" Ye An asked as a horn was blown in a distance to inform that it was time for the participants to enter the forest.
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. Shall we go?" Xi Chen forced a smile as he put his helmet on.
Ye An looked at the lieutenant in hesitation as she hastily strapped the last of her armor on herself and put her helmet on as well. "Alright. Let's go."
Ye An grabbed a crossbow and a bundle of arrows in her quiver that was made out of a large cut of bamboo. The quiver had a strap that could go across its wearer's chest. In it, the feathers of the arrows were colored so that it would be easy to identify who the kills belonged to. Throwing knives were strapped to the side of her calves but her sword would be left in the tent. Swords were tremendously helpful during combat but generally useless in hunting.
On the other hand, Xi Chen was strapping his sword over his waist. He wasn't participating in the hunt and would only be riding by the emperor for the emperor's protection. Both Ye An and Xi Chen left the tent to climb over their horses' back before galloping into the woods.
For the hunting event, the starting points of each participant were different and spread out across the forest floor. These starting points were marked with the colored flags on their assigned open chariots that were readily parked at those spots. Unlike the chariot that transported Ye An earlier, these chariots were more similar to the two-horse war chariots with their open cart design. The chariot coachmen would be the ones picking up the kills after the participant whom they were assigned to.
A gong sounded in a distance signaling the start of the hunt.
"Come on, Lieutenant Yun!" Adrenaline was running through Ye An's veins as she squeezed her horse's abdomen, spurring the horse to a gallop. The open chariot followed closely behind them.
Ye An directed her horse towards the river where the Dragon Boat competition was held earlier to follow it to its water source. She thought that it was the best bet anyone could make in search of game. She wasn't the only one who thought so. A Northerner was hot on her horse's hoofs as they steered their respective horses towards the same direction.
Both Ye An's and the Northerner's horses were tight and near. Xi Chen decided to fall behind and not interfere. However, before they reached the water source, they spotted a rabbit hopping around the base of a tree. Ye An slowed her horse to reach back for her arrows and nock it on her bow, all the while balancing herself by clasping on her horse with only her thighs.
Startled by the thunderous gallops of the horses, the rabbit hopped away as quickly as it could. Ye An focused all of her attention on the small furry animal and made her shot. The Northerner's shot was released half a beat later. Even so, only Ye An's arrow went through the rabbit as she let out a triumphant whoop of delight.
The chariot coachmen got down from his chariot and picked up the emperor's kill before passing the arrow back to Ye An. For some reason, the Northerner pulled his horse's reins into the opposite direction without a word.
A man who was watching the scene from afar on his own horseback followed the fleeing Northerner.
"What was that?" Minister Peng hissed when he caught up with the Northerner. "You were supposed to aim at Emperor Ye An. Have you forgotten your mission?"
"I-I couldn't do it." The Northerner pulled his horse to a halt and replied timidly.
"Useless!" Minister Peng barked, stopping his horse as well.
"I-I'm s-sorry."
"Save your apologies!" Minister Peng reprimanded. "What use having you Northerners around?! I still need to do all the dirty work myself! Give me your arrows!"
The Northerner passed his quiver of arrows that he had strapped over his back to the minister. Unlike the arrows of the other participants, his arrows didn't have colored feathers, but Minister Peng didn't care about it as if he already knew this information all along as he roughly grabbed the arrows from the Northerner.
"I'll see you when this is over! And you better pray to that god of yours that he doesn't hear about this!"
Minister Peng galloped back towards the direction he came from, leaving the Northerner shivering at the thought of facing the minister and possibly the mysterious man who terrified him later.
*******
"Where are all the animals? Should we just give up on this area and look for them elsewhere?" Ye An asked no one in particular as the lieutenant's horse and the chariot horses trotted beside her. They were already nearing the water source but there were no signs of any other animals after the rabbit that they had encountered earlier.
"Why don't we just circle around the area and check it out for a while before leaving, Your Imperial Majesty?" Xi Chen asked. "And maybe leave the chariot here? We might just be making too much noise."
"Hmm.. I guess we could do that." Ye An mused before turning to the coachman who was driving her open chariot. "Please stay here while we hunt, you could just come in after we had our kills."
"Of course, Your Imperial Majesty."
"Let's go, Lieutenant Yun."
Both of them heard the fierce gushing of a waterfall as they closed in on the source of the river.
"Let's go on foot. I feel like the horses might scare them away too." Ye An suggested.
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty." Xi Chen replied as they both got off their horses.
Ye An had her bow nocked with an arrow as she crept on the forest floor, her eyes scanning for game. Xi Chen followed behind with the same amount of stealth.
"There!" Ye An whispered in excitement, spotting a pheasant this time as she held her nocked bow up, steadying her stance. Right when she was about to let go of her arrow, she heard the rushing sound of an arrow coming towards her from the opposite direction. All of a sudden, Ye An felt a sharp pain at the small part on her side right under her arm that wasn't protected by the light armor that she was wearing.
Time stopped in Ye An's world as she staggered from the momentum of the impact. She slowly let go of the tensed string she was holding onto and looked down to her side. An arrow was embedded into her, blood gradually seeping into the white shirt she was wearing underneath her armor. Whoever shot this arrow was certainly a competent archer who managed to not only have the arrow pass through layers of bandage Ye An had on to cover her chest but also managed to aim the arrow right between two ribs. Before she could respond, another arrow came flying towards her.
"Your Imperial Majesty!"
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