TGCFNM -Chapter 527 Is Someone About to Leave First?

Lu Shi returned to his seat and sat down. He lifted the teacup in front of him, yet his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the forest not far away.

From the moment Fu Qingyu was injured to when he was sent to the imperial physicians for treatment, the time wasn’t particularly long or short. He wondered how those few “monkeys” were doing in the forest.

In any case, it would be best if they came out soon.

At this moment, the “monkeys” that Lord Lu was worrying about were swinging from one tree to another. After landing, they would pause briefly, lie along the branches, tear open a small slit in the powder packets, and then carefully tie them back up.

After finishing this, they would jump to another tree and repeat the same process again and again, until all the medicinal powder in their pouches had been used up. Only then did the group jump down from the trees.

Chu Ling tightened the cloth covering her face and made a hand signal. The others immediately moved away from the area.

As they left, the wind in the forest suddenly grew stronger. The powder packets hanging above were blown high into the air, and the powder scattered everywhere with the wind, drifting and settling all around.

—

Su He pulled out a blue strip of cloth from a thorn bush, then raised his hand to point the way.

“Keep going forward. The path is correct.”

Wan Sanjin let out a sigh of relief. “Good thing Su He had the foresight to leave markers.”

Su He nodded seriously. “This is called learning from past mistakes.”

Zhang Dong took Su He’s blue cloth strip and braided it together with the previous markers and their face coverings, using it as a bag to hold the wild fruits Xiao Hua had picked.

According to their lord’s words, they had to bring something back so it looked like they had actually participated seriously in the hunting event.

Meanwhile, Chu Ling led Su He and Wan Sanjin along, digging up any medicinal herbs they came across. Even the most ordinary ones were not spared.

Digging and gathering along the way like this, the group eventually followed Su He’s markers to find their horses. Then, guided by the horses’ sense of direction, they smoothly made their way out of the forest.

But the moment they exited the forest, they were surrounded by people.

Lu Shi strode forward. Before those people could begin questioning them, he directly took the group away.

“Why are you standing around here? Don’t you know you should hurry back to see His Majesty?”

Chu Ling and the others knew what had happened, so they immediately jogged after him.

Chu Ling leaned closer and whispered, “I saw it.”

Lu Shi frowned. “Don’t say anything you shouldn’t. Understood?”

Chu Ling nodded.

She understood. She had no evidence, and if she said anything, it would amount to slandering the Crown Prince’s orphan. That was far too serious an accusation.

After Lu Shi brought them before the Emperor, Chu Ling and the others knelt together and kowtowed.

“May Your Majesty be blessed with peace and prosperity.”

The Emperor wore a faint smile and told them to rise.

“You were gone for so long. Did you not catch any prey at all?” the Emperor asked Chu Ling.

Chu Ling immediately put on a bitter smile.

“Your Majesty, the wild beasts all ran too fast. We couldn’t catch up with them. So we thought that since we came all the way to this hunting gathering, we couldn’t return empty-handed. On the way, whenever we saw wild fruits, wild vegetables, or medicinal herbs, we dug some up. At least it means the trip wasn’t wasted.”

Hearing this, the Emperor burst into laughter.

“So it wasn’t a wasted trip. No wonder the few of you managed to make the steady Lord Lu turn black-faced with anger.”

Lu Shi quickly defended himself. “Your Majesty, you can’t blame this old minister. These monkeys are simply too troublesome.”

Wan Sanjin silently stretched out his dirty hand. In it were several dirt-covered things—whether they were grass or vegetables was hard to tell.

“Lord Lu, I dug these up with great effort. I’ll stew them into soup for you.”

Lu Shi looked at them with disgust. “What on earth are those things?”

“It seems to be some kind of medicinal herb. It should be useful. Just toss it into the chicken soup when you stew it—good for nourishment,” Wan Sanjin said with a perfectly sincere expression. Lu Shi’s temples immediately began throbbing again.

“Should be useful! Hahahahaha!” The Emperor laughed uncontrollably. Looking at Lu Shi’s darkened face, he said, “Minister Lu, if you feel like taking matters into your own hands, just go ahead. I won’t blame you for losing decorum in front of the throne.”

Lu Shi first cupped his hands to thank the Emperor, then grabbed Wan Sanjin by the clothes and raised a hand to hit him.

Wan Sanjin instantly hid behind Su He. Su He tried to run, but Wan Sanjin clung to him desperately. With no other choice, Su He quickly handed out the wild fruit.

“Lord Lu, why don’t you eat this instead? This one is definitely edible.”

Lu Shi looked at him suspiciously, then leaned forward to glance at the bright red wild fruits. They looked… acceptable?

The Emperor also looked over curiously. “Bring them here. Let me have a taste.”

Eunuch Zhang was startled. “Your Majesty, this old servant will wash the fruit first before letting Your Majesty taste it, to see whether it’s ripe. Would that be acceptable?”

The Emperor nodded in agreement.

Smiling, Eunuch Zhang took the fruit from Su He and had someone wash them.

Now that the commotion had settled, the Emperor seemed to remember the real matter. He beckoned Chu Ling and the others forward, the smile fading from his face as his gaze turned serious.

“In the forest… did you encounter anything?”

Chu Ling cupped her hands and answered with a solemn expression. “Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble official encountered a small deer, three rabbits, and also heard some rustling sounds. I’m not sure if it was a snake, but I didn’t have the courage to check.”

This time it was the Emperor who froze, clearly not expecting such an answer from Chu Ling. But after thinking about it, it made sense.

These people were Qingyu’s friends from among the common folk. If they had discovered anything, from Qingyu’s perspective they would definitely have stepped forward to help him immediately. Since they hadn’t, it meant they truly hadn’t encountered anything.

Eunuch Zhang sighed inwardly beside them, unsure whether these few were lucky or unlucky.

“Didn’t encounter anything… that’s fine too.” The Emperor waved his hand, preparing to dismiss them.

Just then, the fruit had been washed and brought back. Eunuch Zhang picked one up with a smile and took a bite.

Instantly, his entire face scrunched together, saliva nearly spilling out. His twisted expression clearly conveyed one thing:

This fruit was so sour it was practically inedible.

Eunuch Zhang forced himself to swallow the bite. His eyes turned red from the sourness as he bowed respectfully.

“Your Majesty… this old servant… does not recommend that Your Majesty eat this.”

“Hahahahaha!” The Emperor burst into laughter again.

Lu Shi, looking like he wanted to know just how sour it could be, picked one up himself. After cautiously nibbling the tiniest bit, his face twisted tightly together as if he had suffered a great ordeal.

Chu Ling blurted out instinctively, “Oh no!”

Lu Shi slammed the wild fruit back into the basket and glared at them through gritted teeth.

“Run! I permit it,” the Emperor said, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

Chu Ling and the others hurriedly thanked him and immediately turned to flee.

Lu Shi snorted coldly. “Lu Chong! Tie up those little monkeys for me!”

“Yes, my lord!” Lu Chong responded and rushed out.

Lu Shi then bowed respectfully to the Emperor. “Your Majesty, please forgive this old minister for failing to discipline them properly. After I catch those little monkeys, I intend to return to the capital immediately and let my wife properly teach them a lesson.”

Eunuch Zhang’s expression turned strange.

Was he planning to leave ahead of everyone else?

The Emperor smiled. “Go ahead. In any case, the matters at the hunting grounds have nothing to do with you.”

After thanking the Emperor again, Lu Shi strode away. Before leaving, he even took the basket of fruit with him.

He was determined to personally make those little monkeys taste what exactly it was they had picked.