Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

Not far away, in Tang Ling's tent, there was also food given by His Majesty, and also an exquisite little box with a piece of wood carving inside.

Tang Ling lowered her eyes and looked at the wooden sculpture quietly placed on the red silk in the small box, as if she was in deep thought. Qinglan didn't dare to disturb her, so she winked at Ye Huai: The food on the table is almost cold, speak quickly.

Ye Huai stood straight, pretending not to see anything.

Qinglan wanted to speak several times, but he held it back. He had just made Tang Ling unhappy, and now he didn't dare to do it again. He could only stand there with Ye Huai, feeling extremely uncomfortable all over.

After a long while, Tang Ling finally reached out and closed the small box. Qing Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief and listened to Tang Ling's instructions: "Ye Huai, secretly deliver this to the King of Chu."

"Yes."

***

It rained for two days in a row. The rain gradually subsided on the second night, but a strong wind blew up again, howling so loudly that it was impossible to sleep.

The weather was not very good in the following days. It was very gloomy and there was occasional drizzle. However, the hunting in Baiyan Mountain had reached the most critical stage. Since His Majesty bestowed the brocade box, the hunting was officially started. All the troops responded very quickly but wanted to act quietly and avoid being seen. The original excitement and intensity were mostly hidden by the rain, and the camp seemed deserted.

The wind was strong and the fog was cold in the mountains. The three princes, the sons of various families and the military all went into the woods. The number of people accompanying His Majesty suddenly decreased, and it became a bit boring. So His Majesty summoned Tang Ling to play chess.

Incense was burning in the golden tent, and the kettle on the stove was bubbling. Tang Ling and His Majesty each had a cup of tea at hand, and Zhang Suian was serving them. The other eunuchs and guards were outside, not daring to disturb them. The only sound inside the tent was the sound of chess pieces falling on the board. It seemed even quieter than outside the tent.

The guard quietly entered the tent and stood at the door to salute Zhang Suian respectfully.

"Zhang Suian, any news?" His Majesty's mind was still on the chess game. Tang Ling was a master of chess and very difficult to deal with. This game had been going on for nearly two hours and was at the critical moment of the end. Not a single mistake could be made. At this moment, even the news of the hunting was not important.

Zhang Suian recruited people.

"Your Majesty, the wind is strong outside and it looks like it's going to rain again. The Fifth and Seventh Princes have already returned to the camp."

"Back? Where are the others?"

"The Imperial Guards, the Five Capitals, and the Five City Guards have not returned yet. Prince Consort Shen and Prince Feng returned earlier."

His Majesty waved his hand and asked them to leave. When they were almost at the door, His Majesty called out, "Wait, where is the King of Chu?"

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu has not yet returned."

His Majesty shook his head and smiled: "Let him be."

The people in the military are all tough and resilient, and all the years of hard work are put to good use at this moment. The Baiyan Mountain Hunt is their best and fastest chance to stand out, and they will never let it go. Therefore, they try their best every year. Over the years, the ones who have won the prize are all people in the military. Although the fifth prince and the seventh prince have both performed well, and even missed the mark several times, they always lose.

This time, the prize is a night heron, and His Majesty has given a three-pronged challenge. Since he's explicitly asking them to form an alliance, he's deliberately trying to gauge their choices. The military is clever, uniting internally to avoid having to choose between the princes while also aligning with their strongest allies. However, the Imperial Guards, the Five Capitals, and the Five City Guards have always operated independently, making seamless cooperation within three days difficult.

On the contrary, it was King Qi Xiao of Chu who entered the forest early in the morning before dawn and is still wasting time with the military. It seems that he is determined to win.

Another half cup of tea passed, and when it was almost time to light the lamps, the game of chess was finally settled.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty."

His Majesty sighed deeply, "Ah, this game was wonderful. Lord Tang played a brilliant game. This half point I won was won with great effort. It's true that heroes emerge young."

When Tang Ling came to Dachen, he was conferred the title of "Suwei Lang" by His Majesty, and was considered a minister of the State of Chen.

"I am humbled by your compliments, Your Majesty. Your plan is brilliant, and I have benefited greatly from it."

"Hahahaha, playing chess with Mr. Tang is truly fascinating, even more so than hunting." His Majesty laughed. "It's getting late, Mr. Tang, please stay and have dinner with me."

"Your Majesty's kindness is such an honor to me."

It was almost midnight when Tang Ling returned to her tent. The first thing she did was ask, "Has the King of Chu returned?"

On the way back from His Majesty's Golden Tent, Tang Ling passed by Qi Xiao's tent. There was no guard outside and no lights inside, so he knew that Qi Xiao had not returned yet, but he still couldn't help asking.

Ye Huai shook his head: "Not yet."

"Hasn't he come back yet?" Tang Ling frowned, wondering if something had happened. She then asked, "Where are the others? Where are the military personnel?"

"They all came back half an hour ago."

Tang Ling was stunned. Everyone had returned, except Qi Xiao...

"Ye Huai, where are our people? Are they still following us?"

"Yes, follow the Master's instructions. Stay by the King's side and respond flexibly. If there is an emergency, someone will send a message back."

Tang Ling took two steps back and forth and whispered, "If your injuries hadn't healed yet, I would have let you go."

Ye Huai stood aside, silent. Qing Lan glanced at Ye Huai, then stole a glance at Tang Ling. She felt her master was overly concerned about Qi Xiao. Ye Huai had always been Tang Ling's personal protector, and no one else was qualified, let alone Qi Xiao. But Qing Lan had learned her lesson, keeping these thoughts to herself and not daring to speak them out loud.

Qi Xiao now only has two pieces of wood carvings in his hand. Without the third piece of wood carving to piece together a complete wooden bird, he cannot solve the mystery of the wood carving. How can he hunt the prize?

But Qi Xiao was gone for a whole day and didn’t come back at night. What happened?

Baiyan Mountain was filled with the army of Dachen, making it difficult for Xingluowei to act. The forest in the mountains was very large, and it would be useless for the few scattered Xingluowei to go in. He knew nothing about the people and things in the forest, and he could hardly suppress the uneasiness in his heart.

The day before yesterday, Tang Ling asked Ye Huai to secretly deliver the wood carving to Qi Xiao. Qi Xiao accepted the wood carving and only asked Ye Huai to say "thank you" to Tang Ling. That was all, and he never came to see Tang Ling again.

Qi Xiao said he'd wait until Tang Ling made up her mind and told him, so he was just going to wait there? If Tang Ling didn't come looking for him, he wouldn't come? It would have been fine if he didn't come, but as soon as the rain stopped, he went into the woods and never came back?

Tang Ling felt very upset. He gave Qi Xiao the wood carving to help him and to give him a way out. However, Qi Xiao was more patient than he thought. He would not come unless Tang Ling went.

It's really infuriating.