Traveling through the Tang Dynasty: The Concubine Goes to War

It is a well-known fact that the emperor has always had a special liking for hunting and holds such activities once or twice almost every year.

Every time the emperor decided to go hunting, a series of preparations were essential, including carefully selecting excellent horses, sharp bows and arrows, sturdy armor and other equipment, as well as properly arranging the entourage and other related matters.

But this hunting trip was different from usual ones because the emperor had specifically instructed some things that required extra preparation.

Recently, a rumor spread in the palace: the emperor will take Concubine Hua with him on this hunting trip. This news has attracted widespread attention inside and outside the palace, and everyone has speculated on the emperor's intentions.

Some people believe that the reason why the emperor prepared this hunting trip so carefully was actually to please Concubine Hua, Ayiduo, a princess from a nomadic tribe, who was deeply favored by the emperor for her outstanding appearance and innate exotic charm. Therefore, the emperor hoped to further please her and enhance their relationship through this special hunting trip.

After hearing the news, Ayiduo was secretly delighted. She understood the emperor's intention and was looking forward to spending time with him.

So she began to prepare carefully. Not only did she select the most beautiful clothes and jewelry, she also specifically asked about the emperor's preferences, hoping to show her charm in the hunting game.

However, Ye Ling'er saw all of this and became jealous, fearing that Concubine Hua would become even more favored.

So she tried every means to stop Ayiduo from going with them.

She knew very well that the emperor had never taken her with him on hunting trips, so he would definitely not take her this time. After all, the little prince Rui Ze was still young and needed her care.

So she found Yunxi. As far as she knew, the emperor had taken Yunxi with him on hunting trips before.

Ye Ling'er cried to Yunxi: "Sister, the emperor dotes on that Turkic woman Ayiduo. He is almost bewitched by her. Now he wants to take her hunting with him in a grand manner. Sister, are you really indifferent?"

Yunxi was unhappy after hearing what Ye Ling'er said, but she remained calm on the surface. She smiled and comforted Ye Ling'er, "Don't worry, sister. I know about this. But I think that the Turkic woman may have only been favored for a while. Why should we bother with her?"

Ye Linger widened her eyes and said angrily: "Sister, how can you be so calm! That Turkic woman is almost climbing over our heads, why don't you take action? And she is from a foreign country after all..."

Yunxi sighed, patted Ye Ling'er's hand gently, and said, "Sister, I know you are very anxious, but we can't act rashly. We have to wait for the right time to let the emperor see our goodness. As for Ayiduo, let her be proud for a while."

Yunxi paused, then continued: "This is the emperor's decision, we have no right to interfere. Besides, it is reasonable that Ayiduo is deeply loved by the emperor."

Seeing this, Ye Ling'er cried even more sadly.

"Sister, if Ayiduo wins the emperor's favor during the hunt, wouldn't that only embolden her? We can't just sit there and do nothing!"

Yunxi frowned slightly and thought for a moment.

"Then what should we do according to your opinion?"

Ye Ling'er wiped her tears and whispered something into Yunxi's ear. After hearing this, Yunxi's face changed slightly.

"Is this... okay?"

"Sister, now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to give it a try." Ye Ling'er said with a firm look.

Yunxi hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. Ye Ling'er suggested creating some small "accidents" during the hunting trip so that Ayiduo could not smoothly accompany the emperor.

Ye Ling'er secretly contacted some palace maids and guards and planned an elaborate conspiracy.

At this time, Ayiduo was looking forward to the hunting in the near future with great joy. After all, she had lived on the grassland since she was a child and had mastered the hunting skills. She couldn't wait to show her strength and courage and let everyone see how powerful she was.

On the day of hunting, the sun was shining and the air was fresh. Ayiduo got up early and was very excited. She dressed up carefully, wearing a gorgeous riding outfit and beautiful hair accessories, and she looked heroic. She also specially selected her favorite horse as her mount, ready to show her skills in the hunting.

Just as Ayiduo was excitedly preparing to set off, she suddenly found that her horse was frightened for some reason and became extremely irritable. It kept neighing and kicking its hooves, as if it was full of fear of everything around it. Ayiduo tried hard to calm it down, but the horse did not listen to her command at all.

As time went on, the situation got worse. Ayiduo's horse started running wildly, and she grabbed the reins tightly, trying desperately to control the situation. But the horse didn't listen to her at all, and eventually threw her off its back and fell heavily to the ground.

Ayiduo felt a piercing pain coming from all parts of her body, and she couldn't help but groan in pain. She looked down and found that she had multiple wounds on her body. Blood was constantly pouring out, staining her clothes and the grass beneath her. Seeing this, the people around her rushed to help. They carefully lifted Ayiduo up and quickly sent her to the tent so that she could receive timely treatment.

Although Ayiduo's injury was not too serious, she still needed to rest for a while to recover her strength. When the emperor learned that Ayiduo was injured during the hunting, he was extremely worried. He immediately put down his work and went to Ayiduo's tent to visit her without hesitation. When the emperor arrived, he saw Doctor Zhang treating Ayiduo. He walked forward anxiously and asked, "Doctor Zhang, how is Concubine Hua?"

Doctor Zhang looked solemn as he said slowly, "Your Majesty, Concubine Hua's skin injuries are not serious. She will recover after a few days of rest and recuperation. However..." He paused here, as if he found it difficult to speak.

The emperor frowned and asked, "But what? Tell me!"

Doctor Zhang took a deep breath and continued, "It's just... the fetus in Concubine Hua's belly has miscarried." After saying that, he lowered his head, not daring to look the emperor directly in the eye.

The emperor's face instantly turned gloomy when he heard this. He was silent for a moment, but finally nodded to show that he understood.

Seeing Ayiduo injured, the emperor felt distressed. He sat beside the bed, holding Ayiduo's hand tightly, asking about her injury with concern, and comforting her to take good care of her injury. At the same time, the emperor also promised to investigate the matter thoroughly and find out the reason why the horse was frightened.

A tear flashed in Ayiduo's eyes, and she nodded gratefully to show that she understood. She knew that the emperor would find the real murderer and give her justice. At this time, the emperor's heart was also mixed. He felt sorry for Ayiduo's experience and was heartbroken for losing his child. But he understood that the most important thing now was to take good care of Ayiduo and let her recover as soon as possible.

However, the investigation did not go smoothly because there were not many clues left at the scene. The officials in charge of the investigation looked for evidence everywhere, but they could not find a conclusive answer. They could only speculate that someone might have deliberately frightened Ayiduo's mount, or that other unknown factors led to the accident.

Ye Ling'er secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the plan had succeeded. However, what she didn't expect was that the emperor was very depressed because Ayiduo couldn't go with him, and he lost interest in other things. The entire hunting trip ended hastily, and the emperor returned to the palace early, and became cold to the concubines in the harem.

Ye Ling'er was caught off guard and her original plan to win favor backfired.