"So that's the real reason you refuse to go?"
Emperor Xuanwu's lips twitched. He had suspected something was off when this little rascal suddenly showed so much enthusiasm about low-cost paper production. Just yesterday, when he set a two-month deadline, she had been sulking about it.
So delicate, truly.
Yet even as he grumbled inwardly, Emperor Xuanwu was already thinking of a solution for her.
"If you can't stand the bumping along the way, then ride in Sixth's carriage. His is remarkably comfortable."
It was likely not much worse than the imperial palanquin.
"That's right, that's right!" Yun Chuhuan was more than happy to share his carriage with Yun Shu.
After all, the round trip would take ten full days. Just him and Mother Consort sitting together for so long sounded dreadfully boring. But add Yun Shu into the mix, and everything changed.As far as Yun Chuhuan was concerned, there was no one more fascinating than his Fifth Sister. She always seemed to know the oddest, most surprising things.
"My carriage, Fifth Sister, you've seen it! Big and comfortable. We'll be fine riding together!"
"…Then…"
Looking at Emperor Xuanwu's expression, Yun Shu already knew she had no room to refuse.She sighed in resignation.
"Your daughter obeys the decree."
…
After leaving the Imperial Study, Yun Shu was still undecided on where to go when Yun Chuhuan came bounding over with excitement.
"Fifth Sister, let's go outside the palace today!"
"Leave the palace?" Yun Shu blinked.
"Of course! We finally got out of those endless lessons. Surely you're not going back to study again?"
Yun Chuhuan looked at her as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Didn't Father Emperor give you that token for leaving the palace? He never asked for it back.Let's take advantage of it and get some archery practice in. Who knows, by the time the Autumn Hunt comes around, we might even bring something back to eat!"
"You think archery can be mastered in a single day?"
Hearing something so absurd, Yun Shu didn't even know how to respond.
"You're a dignified prince. Are you really worried about not having enough to eat?"
"Hunting something with your own hands is totally different from having food handed to you!"Yun Chuhuan was earnest. "If it were just about eating, I could stay in the Capital and eat my fill. No fun in that."
He understood that hunting and archery couldn't be learned in a day. Still, there was a gleam of longing in his eyes.
"I heard that Eldest Brother and Second Brother, the Crown Prince, once brought down a bear during the hunt. If I could do that too… I'd look incredible!"
"The Eldest Prince and the Crown Prince?"
"Yeah, why?" Yun Chuhuan tilted his head, puzzled. "Fifth Sister, your expression looks kind of strange."
"It's nothing. You just want to catch something yourself, right? That's not too hard."
Snapping out of her thoughts, Yun Shu casually started walking toward Fengyang Palace as she replied,
"I'll draw you a few blueprints in a couple of days. Find someone to build the tools. Also, when you head out for the Autumn Hunt, bring more men. You'll need them."
"I knew you'd have a way!"
Delighted with her promise, Yun Chuhuan stopped pestering her, worried he might distract her from drawing the designs.
He had no idea that what was occupying Yun Shu's mind was something far more serious.
When she first heard about the Autumn Hunt, it hadn't triggered anything. But now, after Yun Chuhuan mentioned the Eldest Prince and the Crown Prince, it all came rushing back.
She remembered the original book's plot.
It was during this very Autumn Hunt that the Eldest Prince used a rare white deer—symbol of peace and prosperity—to lure the Crown Prince to the edge of a cliff. Then, he sent in assassins to finish the job.
The Crown Prince survived, but his leg was crippled. And that injury forced him to withdraw early from the struggle for the throne.
As for the Eldest Prince, he failed to clean up the evidence. Emperor Xuanwu, furious upon discovering the truth, exiled him to guard the imperial tombs.
If that were all, Yun Shu might have stayed out of it. Power struggles over the throne were always filled with blood and schemes. There were always losers.
But the aftermath of this one… the fallout was far too great.
The Eldest Prince had served on the frontier for two years. He had loyal followers—capable and battle-hardened generals.
Once he was exiled, the disgraced Crown Prince, bent on vengeance, unleashed every resource he had to eliminate the Eldest Prince's faction.
What followed was a reckless, all-out retaliation.
In that purge, the faction's strongest pillar—General Wei Yuan—was killed.
Two years later, Bei Xiang launched a full-scale invasion. With General Wei Yuan gone, the imperial court sent a young, inexperienced general to fill the gap.
They lost.
For an entire year after that, the war seesawed back and forth, exhausting both sides.
Then, the neighboring Jin Kingdom, seeing an opportunity, joined the conflict in the second year.
Tian Sheng's forces had already been stretched thin. With enemies on two fronts and no capable commanders left to send, the court had no choice. Emperor Xuanwu personally led the army.
It took him another year to bring the chaos under control.
But the campaign took a heavy toll on his health.
A few years after returning to the capital, without having named a new Crown Prince, Emperor Xuanwu passed away.
…
All in all, the chain reaction from this single incident was too severe.
Yun Shu wanted nothing more than to live a quiet, lazy life as a carefree princess. But if the entire Tian Sheng dynasty collapsed, there would be no peace for anyone—not even for a salted fish like her.
So…
Yun Shu let out a long, heavy sigh.
She needed to remember more details—what exactly had the Eldest Prince prepared during that hunt?
What else had the book mentioned?
…
Half a month passed in a blink.
At last, the day arrived to depart for the imperial hunting grounds.
All luggage and supplies had been packed onto the carriages ahead of time. Yun Shu, carrying only a small bundle and accompanied by Ting Xue, arrived at the palace gates, only to spot Yun Chuhuan's extremely flashy carriage from a distance.
"Fifth Sister, over here!"
Even though Yun Chuhuan had tried to lower his voice, his shout still drew the attention of several people nearby.
The first to approach Yun Shu was a boy around fifteen or sixteen, with a roguish grin and the kind of mischievous air that made him seem anything but proper. He stood a head taller than her, and as he spoke, he deliberately leaned in close—so close that his face was barely a handspan from hers.
"So you're Xiao Wu? Come on, let's hear you call me Third Brother."
Yun Shu: "…"
Ah. So this was him—Yun Chuhe.
In the original novel, once Yun Chuhuan ascended the throne, this very same Third Prince had raised a rebellion, convinced that if even Sixth could become emperor, then surely he could too. The revolt failed swiftly, and Yun Chuhe was subjected to cruel punishment—roasted alive like a duck on Yun Chuhuan's orders.
Yun Shu quietly took a step back and offered a proper greeting.
"Third Imperial Brother."
"Tch, what's with the 'Third Imperial Brother'? That sounds so distant!"
Yun Chuhe scowled.
"Try again. Say 'Third Brother'!"