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

In fact, Qi Xiao's plan was very simple. First, courtesy, then force. With the skills of him, Zong Sheng, and Bai Xiqiao, it would be easy to take anything from anyone. During the hunt, there were very few people with Ye Huai's skills. Qi Xiao was confident.

Qi Xiao didn't elaborate, so Tang Ling didn't pursue the matter further. She just played with the carved wooden bird and asked, "This is a night heron, which looks good? But there are many night herons in the forest. Which one is the prize that Your Majesty has prepared?"

Qi Xiao smiled and opened all three brocade boxes. He took out the red silk covering the bottom, revealing the carvings on the bottom of the wooden box. He pushed them in front of Tang Ling and said, "Take a closer look."

Tang Ling put the wooden carving down and picked up the brocade box. She saw that the carvings on the bottom were different.

"Epiphyllum, cattail, and lotus?" Tang Ling thought for a moment, then laughed. "Night herons love to live near water. If you can find a place where these three plants grow together, you'll definitely find night herons."

"Smart." The answer is hidden in the riddle.

"But which one?"

Qi Xiao raised his hand and pointed at the wooden sculpture that Tang Ling placed beside him: "This thing took a lot of effort to make."

"Hmm?" Tang Ling was puzzled. She picked up the wooden carving of the Night Heron and started playing with it. She turned it over and over several times. Suddenly, she seemed to touch something. She pushed near the wings of the Night Heron and actually spread the wings. Although it could not be fully opened, she could see a round mark under the wings.

Tang Ling was delighted, but then a puzzlement arose: "The Night Heron needs to spread its wings to see the mark. How can we hunt it?"

Night herons prefer to forage at night. Even if Qi Xiao had a pair of piercing eyes, he couldn't see clearly what was under the wings of a flying night heron in the dark. How could it be possible?

Qi Xiao laughed: "I'm not a god, so I can't see them. I can only use the most stupid method, catch them all, and then find them one by one."

Tang Ling was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. This was truly a foolish method, but not one that anyone could easily pull off. Being able to hunt at night, Qi Xiao must be a mountain spirit in human form.

"You do not believe?"

Tang Ling shook her head. "I believe it. But your Majesty's question was a bit difficult. Fortunately, I gave up early on."

Qi Xiao suddenly reached out and grabbed Tang Ling's wrist: "I win."

Tang Ling was stunned and wanted to pull her hand away, but Qi Xiao did not let go easily. He did not hold her too tightly either, leaving some room. Tang Ling struggled but couldn't get her hand free, so she froze and didn't struggle anymore.

"You won, what reward does His Majesty give you?"

"You came here just to be curious about whether I hunted anything lucky? What reward did I get?" Qi Xiao stayed in the woods all day and all night, and hunted the night heron. He did not do it for any reward, and he did not want to talk to Tang Ling about those unimportant things.

Tang Ling was silent for a moment, and suddenly couldn't think of what to say. He just wanted to see Qi Xiao, but even he found this reason ridiculous.

Qi Xiao stared at Tang Ling, watching him avoid his gaze and remain silent for a long time, but Qi Xiao refused to let him go. Tang Ling's ears and face flushed, and she couldn't help but want to escape.

Qi Xiao asked softly, "Is your injury feeling better?"

Qi Xiao's words were like burning. Tang Ling suddenly pulled her hand back and gently covered the wound on her arm: "It's okay."

"Have you thought about it?"

Tang Ling was slightly stunned. He had been thinking about this question for two days. Had he figured it out? No. He hadn't come up with anything. Every time he thought about it, his thoughts would be interrupted by the scene of Qi Xiao kneeling in front of him, and he could no longer think of anything else.

Tang Ling didn't say anything, so Qi Xiao waited quietly. It's not that he wasn't anxious, but he just didn't dare to rush her.

Tang Ling suddenly smiled softly, avoiding Qi Xiao's question and changing the subject: "Since you have won the hunt, His Majesty will certainly give you a generous reward. I really should think about preparing a gift. I don't have anything decent on hand, so I'll give it to you when I get back."

Qi Xiao looked at Tang Ling, his expression suddenly darkening, his eyes fixed on her intently.

Tang Ling seemed completely oblivious and continued, "The weather hasn't been kind these days. Now that you've caught the prize, the hunt should be over. We can probably break camp and return to the capital tomorrow at the earliest..."

Qi Xiao suddenly stood up and walked back to the inner room, leaving Tang Ling alone outside.

Tang Ling was stunned, her heart skipped a beat. As the sadness surged, she didn't know which was more frightening or regretful.

Qi Xiao walked into the inner room, stopped and stood there, frowning deeply. He wanted to sigh out all the depression and anger in his heart, but he only felt that his body and heart were heavy, as if he was trapped by heavy shackles and buried in the ground. It took him all his strength to even loosen his clenched fists.

He should have thought that Tang Ling would never engage him in close combat when playing chess with him. He was decisive and aggressive, which was of no use to Tang Ling. Even if he took the initiative, Tang Ling would have a way to go around and break his moves.

Now Tang Ling wants to put what happened that day behind her as if it never happened.

Pretend it never happened. This thought stung Qi Xiao. He had never been moved or had feelings for anyone before. He didn't even know he could be so madly expecting, so greedy to get what he wanted, and yet also feel the pain because of it.

Was he too reckless? Or was he too foolish, misjudging Tang Ling's intentions? He didn't know what to do. Just now, he really wanted to hold her in his hands, but even if he did, what would happen? What next? Like that little white snake, put her in a cage and hang her around his waist?

Qi Xiao hadn't considered Tang Ling's refusal. Their positions were so different that they might even come to blows. He just didn't know how to respond. This wasn't a simple game of chess; he could still attack from the outside, pursue and intercept her, and there was still a chance of victory or defeat.

Qi Xiao slowly turned his head to look at the spot where Tang Ling had just stood. He could almost see the blush on his face. It was obvious that he liked him, wasn't it? Wasn't that enough?

He had been free for years, so used to his freedom that he had almost forgotten how difficult it was to be trapped within the palace walls. But Tang Ling was different. He was the son of the illustrious Xun'an Marquis of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a renowned scholar with a reputation for talent, and he would one day rise to the highest position in the government. Perhaps he would be constrained by his status for the rest of his life, but that would be better than being implicated by Qi Xiao. He was probably forcing her to do something difficult.

Qi Xiao closed his eyes, trying his best to drive away the shadow in his eyes. After a while, he slowly opened his eyes. Tang Ling was still outside, and he couldn't hide forever.

Tang Ling sat there for a long time, as if he had sunk into a three-foot-thick ice pond. Everything was getting farther and farther away from him, and the bottomless darkness was pulling him down deeper and deeper.

Qi Xiao came out, his expression much calmer, the resentment he had just displayed long gone. But Tang Ling, far from feeling relieved, felt as if someone had grabbed him by the throat, choking him.

Qi Xiao gently placed a small, stuffed cloth bag on the table in front of Tang Ling. "I just picked some snake lotus. The little white snake is extremely poisonous, and Qinglan probably doesn't have any good antidote. These snake lotus flowers might be useful to him."

“…Qi Xiao…”

"I'm sleepy and want to take a nap."