From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 162: Wild
As with many things related to the imperial household, the first day of the autumn hunt commenced with much fanfare. Flags bearing the imperial dragon lined the entrance of the forest, fluttering red and gold in the wind against a backdrop of verdant.
Earlier that morning, over breakfast, Liu Yao had voiced concerns about Yan Zheyun’s participation in the hunt. There was always the option not to attend and to wait along with the female guests but given that the empress dowager would be hosting that party, Yan Zheyun would rather not ruin the day for his pernicious mother-in-law. Out of sight out of mind, after all. Liu Yao was worried about an assassination attempt on him and although it was unlikely that anyone would be bold enough to poison his tea so blatantly, he rather preferred not taking any risks.
The alternative, then, was to saddle up and participate in the day’s activities. Yan Zheyun had long since missed horseback riding. Back in the 21st century, this was considered a luxurious hobby and the prized stallion that he’d spent a lot of money maintaining each year had been as dear to him as family.
The pretty white mare Liu Yao had gifted to him for the occasion was a beauty too and far more suited to his current slight stature. Yan Zheyun had fallen in love with her at first sight, and christened her Wan Yun Chu Xue, which came from a line from a poem he loved, which described the evening clouds and the first snow of winter upon a mountain1. Liu Yao had been impressed with his equestrian skills but he’d had to suppress his amusement when he’d seen the clumsy way Yan Zheyun had fiddled with the bow when he’d been handed one for the first time.
He had no intentions to seriously hunt either, which was why it wouldn’t do for him to follow Liu Yao’s party, where he would be more hindrance than a help.
"It’s fine," Liu Yao had said with a frown. "I would be more relieved knowing that you were safe."
But Yan Zheyun had put his foot down firmly. As much as he would have liked to have spent the time with Liu Yao frolicking in the woods—it would have made for a refreshing sort of date, that was for sure, they hadn’t managed to have that many of those—Liu Yao had a reputation to uphold. The autumn hunt wasn’t just a hobby that the rich and powerful indulged in, it had political significance. There were strict rules regarding what could be hunted—pregnant females and their young were automatically excluded from the list—and the rarer and more dangerous the game, the more lauded an achievement it was. Many pairs of eyes were watching their emperor, waiting for him to misstep so that they could weigh in on his conduct with censure. Yan Zheyun was aware that it was important for Liu Yao to put on a strong performance for the court to witness, possibly secure the first kill.
They needed to know that their emperor might have left the battlefield behind him but he was still healthy, still formidable when the occasion called for it. This was why, as the emperor’s party opened the start of the hunt amidst blaring fanfare, Yan Zheyun’s little group waited idly on the fringes of the clearing for the official’s young sons and the soldiers keen on proving themselves to depart in a cloud of dust.
"Wah, these are exciting times," Hua Zhixuan said, craning his neck as he peered enthusiastically into the woods like he was trying to witness the first kill of the day. He reminded Yan Zheyun of spectators at F1 racing stands, trying their best to catch a glimpse of the action happening at an unrealistic distance.
Lord Chen sniffed. "It’s just a hunt," he muttered, doing his best impression of sounding blase, although, from the way he fidgeted restlessly with the reins in his hands, it was evident that he wished he were a more active participant. Despite that, he didn’t voice his impatience, and between Hua Zhixuan and him, Yan Zheyun was flanked on either side by a comical pair of ’bodyguards’. The male members of the imperial harem were permitted to attend the hunt and even show off their skills with the bow and arrow if they so chose. As such, the Department of Garments had prepared suitable riding gear for them in advance, forsaking the popular flowing sleeves favoured by the literati for a more militant style that would facilitate easier movement. The eunuchs in charge of these preparations knew how to read the mood in the inner palace though; not only was the sky blue set that Yan Zheyun wore woven of the best materials and tailoring, Lord Chen and Hua Zhixuan were attired in robes that were subtly above their station. Good enough to flatter them and possibly earn brownie points with their friends in high places, discreet enough that it would be difficult to accuse the department of bias.
All in a day’s work for the eunuchs, basically.
Yao Siya let out a lighthearted chuckle. Yan Zheyun had been surprised to discover that this gregarious captain of the Brocade Guard had been assigned to him; surely Liu Yao had better uses for the man on a busy day like this where something was bound to go wrong with security. He’d felt a bit bad as well—it felt like overkill to use the head honcho of the historical equivalent of a special ops team to guard their boss’...well, mistress—but Yao Siya had laughed in his face when he’d tried to suggest that he went to do something more useful than hang around for a casual horse-riding session in the woods.
"If nothing else, I’ll have to make sure Yue Langjun has food on the table tonight," had been his flippant reply. "We can’t expect Little Qi here to hunt enough to fill all our bellies, can we?"
After the day’s hunt, it was natural that the spoils wouldn’t go to waste, and the more successful the men of a family were, the better dinner would taste. Fine pelts and valuable furs were another measure of the hunter’s skill; if unblemished, they were often given as gifts to the emperor in exchange for recognition and praise. Yan Zheyun had heard stories about Emperor Wenchun going as far as to bestow titles and promotions upon talented officials who had brought him beautiful animal skins, plenty of which had ended up collecting dust in a forgotten corner of Liu Suzhi’s palace.
Yan Zheyun was certain that Liu Yao wasn’t about to let him starve to death if he couldn’t even bring back a rabbit. At the risk of sounding like a certain white lotus stereotype, he wasn’t sure whether his modern city boy values would allow him to contribute to any dinner where he couldn’t just buy the poor meat from the supermarket. He might have killed someone before in the name of self-defence and wasn’t opposed to the idea of doing so again if inevitable but that didn’t make ending lives, human or animal, any easier.
Far be it from him to deter the rest of his hunting party from indulging, though it became clear after a while that none of them was going to be winning any prizes after the hunt. Yao Siya was far more interested in meandering aimlessly between the trees and bothering Hua Zhixuan as he attempted to clumsily stalk some pheasants. Lord Chen did put in more effort but might have received private instructions from Liu Yao at some point because he kept rounding back to Yan Zheyun like a particularly well-trained hound, even at the cost of losing sight of his prey, which was few and far in between. Between Lord Chen’s lack of luck, Hua Zhixuan’s lack of skill, and Yao Siya’s almost alarming lack of motivation, they appeared more like a group of idle rich young masters out for a leisurely countryside ramble than participants in a competition.
Driven by Lord Chen’s unyielding desire to have venison for dinner, their party made its way over towards a thicket near the edge of a glen, where the groundskeepers had informed them they were most likely to find suitable game. It was a pleasant sort of morning and Yan Zheyun wouldn’t have minded taking a quiet nap underneath the tall canopies of the trees overhead up until their peace was disturbed by a sudden wanton moan that would have been a lot less out of place if they had been visiting a brothel instead of the imperial hunting grounds.
Lord Chen, who had wandered slightly further ahead of the rest of them, came to a halt, his back stiffening with surprise.
They had company, Yan Zheyun realised, the guards and attendants dressed in northern livery standing around stock still with impassive faces as though the flagrant panting and grunting happening just a stone’s throw away from them was nothing to look twice at. The rhythmic slapping of flesh against flesh was familiar enough to bring heat to Yan Zheyun’s ears and made it clear that they had stumbled upon more than just a picnic in the park. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
It was also too late to turn around and pretend they hadn’t seen anything though. The participants had heard their approach, twigs and leaves snapping and crackling beneath the hooves of their horses, and it wasn’t long before a figure peeked its head out, still manhandling the body he kept pinned against the thick tree trunk in front of him.
Prince Yenanda’s grin turned nasty as it traced over them before landing fixedly on Yan Zheyun’s. Rough hands grasped at soft silken strands as they spilt over a creamy white shoulder and forced its ravaged owner to gasp and look up.
The little companion Prince Yenanda had been busy feeling up at the opening banquet. There were enough similarities in their features for Yan Zheyun to feel his stomach turn with revulsion at the thought of being held down and opened up by a man who wasn’t Liu Yao.
Clearly, the thought must have occurred to Prince Yenanda too, his gaze hot and heavy as it bored into Yan Zheyun’s body like he was stripping him down. With a deliberate roll of his hips, he pushed in deep into the boy in front of him, making a show of indulging in the bliss that it brought him.
"Great Ye’s emperor has the fortune to enjoy many beauties, while the rest of us watch on enviously."
Yan Zheyun’s gaze turned into ice. This was a deliberate show of disrespect to Liu Yao and the inner palace but he was also aware that he was in a precarious position; one wrong word from him might leave an opening for the ministers of the morning court to attack their relationship.
He didn’t want to give anyone such an obvious edge over them both but other members of their party didn’t have the same qualms.
It was, surprisingly, Hua Zhixuan who retorted first. Yan Zheyun was used to Yao Siya’s methods of casual satire or Lord Chen’s firecracker personality. Much in the same way, his impression of Hua Zhixuan was that of an elegant, idealistic scholar with a romantic innocence that had yet to be tarnished despite drawing a rather short stick in life.
In hindsight, Hua Zhixuan was always particularly defensive of him. In the blink of an eye, the folded fan tucked neatly away in his belt had been drawn out and flicked upon, Hua Zhixuan’s normally cheerful eyes cold and lofty as he lectured, "Copulating in broad daylight in front of others, perhaps instead of envying others, one might wish to start with some self-reflection instead."
Prince Yenanda’s salacious stare turned its attention to Hua Zhixuan, raking up his slender frame expansively before he let out a hum of approval. "Skinny and not as lovely as that great beauty over there but also a fine gem indeed. Little Precious, there’s a lot more fun to life that this prince can introduce to you if you give me the chance."
Yan Zheyun made to move in the split second that followed but Lord Chen got there first, hand firmly pressing the hilt of Yao Siya’s sword back into its scabbard.
Prince Yenanda’s laughter was obnoxious. "Great Ye’s customs sure are unusual," he mocked. "Keeping a bunch of sows in the inner palace but not using them to breed and instead placing much stock in men with dull weapons, fit only to hone the edges of their emperor’s blade in bed."
Please stop talking. If Yao Siya chooses to commit the murder of a foreign prince in front of my eyes I would probably help him bury your body and I don’t want to deal with the aftermath. Yao Siya’s patented lazy smile was missing for the first time since their acquaintance and Yan Zheyun wasn’t privy to what his role as captain of the Brocade Guard entailed but he was willing to wager that the sword he hadn’t even noticed he was carrying until now wasn’t for show.
Hua Zhixuan’s soft laughter interjected before Lord Chen’s outburst could. "You’re right, His Majesty is well-educated and refined, aware that there is a time and place for all things," he said, his mannerisms light like he hadn’t just been reduced to a receptacle for sex in Prince Yenanda’s insults. "He has respect for his inner palace and knows what is appropriate behaviour with them. Similarly, he has formidable insight into politics and knows what is best for his kingdom." After his little piece of shameless flatter that Liu Yao wasn’t around to hear, he stunned them all by giving Prince Yenanda the most thorough, explicit, scrutinising once-over before shaking his head as though disappointed by what he saw.
"The great general and philosopher Sun Tzu once said that the art of war is governed by morality, heaven, earth, the commander, and method and discipline. This one isn’t well-versed in the military arts and can only offer limited insight but...this one can’t help but think that it isn’t all that surprising that you’ve come to seek peace with Great Ye after all."
Lord Chen didn’t bother concealing his snort and Yao Siya shook his head, his smile plastered on his face again but softened at the edges with a fondness that gave Yan Zheyun a toothache just by witnessing it.
From the fleeting glances Hua Zhixuan sneaked at him, especially the mischievous little nose wriggle he made when their eyes met, he knew that his young scholarly friend was proud of sitting up for him.
Yan Zheyun was touched. Lord Chen yesterday and Hua Zhixuan today. He’d made so many new close connections after transmigrating that meant as much to him now as the people he’d left behind.
Prince Yenanda, however, was a lot less amused by Hua Zhixuan’s audacity. Yan Zheyun figured it must feel a lot like being provoked by a dwarf bunny. Tossing the boy in his arms aside, he yanked on his trousers before stalking over in their direction, expression thunderous as he opened his mouth to speak—
—only to be interrupted by a sudden commotion that drew closer.
The wild galloping made Yan Zheyun’s heart echo in tandem. He’d been unsettled ever since parting with Liu Yao earlier in the day, fingers crossed in the hopes that everything would remain uneventful until their reunion in the evening over roast dinner.
This hope was dashed as a team of guards burst into the small clearing they were standing in, led by a solemn Deputy General Pan Liqi, whose gaze was hard and mistrustful as he caught sight of the northern dignitaries.
Yan Zheyun felt his heart sink. There was ongoing animosity between the different encampments, to be sure, but this heightened increase in tensions was an ominous sign. He wasn’t well-acquainted enough with this Scumbag 4 to be able to read his thoughts but he could tell from the hostility radiating off of him towards the northern entourage that something had gone horribly wrong.
Not to mention the bloodstains on the front of Pan Liqi’s armour.
"This subject has been sent to escort Imperial Noble Consort Yue and fellow concubines back to the tents at once," he said stiffly. "There has been an attempt on His Majesty’s life."
Written by Tang Dynasty poet and court official Huangfu Ran.
