At the end of August, Xia Houyuan announced a major news when he came back from the imperial court: the emperor would go hunting in Nanyuan in early September. He appointed more than half of the princes, ministers and officials from the imperial court to accompany him. The families of officials above the sixth rank in Beijing were young and strong. All men can sign up to participate.
Nan Qi has spring search and Qiu Mi, which became popular since Emperor Taizong, and then passed down. Originally, spring search and Qiu Mi were held every year, and the scene was grand. When Emperor Qi Cheng was in power, he felt that everything was reviving in spring. To thrive, one should be compassionate, so the Spring Search was scheduled to be held every three years, and the Qiu Mi was still held once a year.
Every time he went hunting, in addition to the princes, ministers and officials he relied on, the emperor would also bring along a number of people such as princes, grandsons, concubines, guards, etc. The invited officials would also try their best to bring their nephews and nephews with outstanding abilities. Therefore, , each time there is a siege, there must be at least 20,000 to 30,000 people in the traveling team. At that time, the people are cheering, the horses are neighing, the flags are covering the sun, and the grand occasion is unprecedented. The men are determined to get good luck in the hunt, win the favor of the emperor, and find a good future; Women strive to show their face in front of dignitaries and have a good reputation for both talent and appearance, in order to find a suitable husband in the future.
In previous years, Xia Houyi didn't bother to participate in hunting and never showed up. However, Xia Houshu had not yet reached the age of hairpin, and Zhong Yuqing was worried that she would cause trouble if she behaved improperly before the emperor, so she never took her there. But now, Xia Houyi is different from the past. Now that Xia Houshu has grown up, it’s time for him to go out and socialize. But Xia Houyi didn’t know what was wrong. Not only did he volunteer to sign up, but he even announced that he would bring his younger sister to participate, which caused a stir in the capital. Everyone knows it.
Zhong Yuqing heard that He Ziyan had also signed up, and persuaded Xia Houchun, his fiancée, to go too. It happened that he was also in touch with his old acquaintances, and since he had left the cabinet in the future, he had a few people with whom he could talk.
According to custom, before hunting starts, the emperor will first offer sacrifices to the mountains and forests in the palace. All the ginseng hunters will offer wine and swear to do their best in the paddock and not to hurt anyone. Then their relatives will tie ribbons for them to pray for good luck, which is called Silk Gifting Ceremony. After several dynasties, this custom gradually evolved into young women tying ribbons for their brothers or the person they like. All elders will not regard this as rude.
In the next few days, Xia Houchun and Xia Houchun stayed together to discuss Qiu Mi's affairs.
Xia Houshu said in confusion: "Mother asked you to go because He Ziyan was also going. But what did they ask me to do? Are they still worried that no one will tie the ribbon for the second brother?"
Xia Houchun couldn't help but burst into laughter and said: "Didn't I say that there are countless women in Beijing who want to marry the second brother? That shouldn't be the case."
"That's right!" Xia Houshu agreed, "How could my father and mother not understand the truth that we all know? And the second brother has been too active this year."
Xia Houchun also felt that Xia Houyi's behavior was abnormal. After thinking about it, he said, "Is it possible that the second brother didn't want to do it himself, so he pulled you out as a shield?"
"Why did I ignore this?" Xia Houshu suddenly realized. During the silk ceremony, a woman can only give silk to one man. If she goes, other women who like Xia Houyi will no longer be able to give him silk. But Thinking of her parents' attitude, she couldn't help but continue the discussion with her cousin, and said: "Second sister, you said that the second brother has reached the age of maturity. Now that the eldest brother is not here, he has to support the family, so it will be sooner or later that he gets married. What's more, in our family, only the eldest sister has two children, so why are my father and mother not anxious about his marriage, but instead anxious about mine?"
"Well..." Xia Houchun thought seriously for a while before saying, "Maybe the eldest uncle and eldest aunt are not worried that the second brother will not get a good wife, so they have been choosing carefully."
"Although what you say makes sense, why do I find it strange to hear it?" Xia Houshu frowned and asked, "Is it possible that I can't find a good husband, so they worry about me so much?"
Xia Houchun stayed a little farther away, then smiled and said deliberately: "It's not impossible."
Xiahou Shu immediately lowered his face and said slightly angrily: "Second sister, why are you like this?"
Xia Houchun covered her mouth and laughed for a while. She watched her sister's face getting darker and darker before she suppressed her laughter and said, "You are not talking rudely. My second brother's future wife will be the clan daughter-in-law of the Xiahou family, which is no small matter."
, uncle and aunt naturally have to make many choices and be cautious."
Xia Houshu nodded silently, thinking that it was not impossible, but the problem was that there were too many girls who wanted to marry Xia Houyi. Who did Xia Houyi like?
He has never revealed what kind of girl he likes.
Xia Houchun didn't want to continue to waste time on this topic, so he reached out and patted her shoulder, comforting her: "Our elders will take care of these things for us, so why should you and I worry about it? We should think about Qiu Mi quickly.
You should wear whatever clothes you want and what jewelry you should match with them. I heard that all the 14-year-old ladies in the capital have gone there, but I can’t let them think that I’ve turned into a country bumpkin after a few years in the Western Region.”
Xia Houshu felt that what his cousin said made sense, and immediately took Xia Houchun to pick out clothes and jewelry.
On the day of Qiu Mi's siege, Xia Houyuan got up early in the morning to organize his troops, and took his nephews to the gate of the imperial city, waiting for the holy driver to march to Nanyuan together.
Nanyuan is a paddock used by the royal family. Now that the emperor is present, it is naturally heavily guarded. Xiahou Shu opened the curtains of the car from time to time along the way, and all he saw were the guards of the palace and the patrolling imperial guards.
Before the arrival of the holy driver, the director of the Nanyuan Paddock had already dispatched more than a thousand officers and soldiers to the paddock at dawn to set up a fence. Infantry were sent to fences where the grass was deep and dense and the trees were not suitable for horses to move around. Infantry was sent to fences where the terrain was flat and the trees were sparse.
The cavalry was sent to advance, guided by the outposts, from both sides of the paddock in an arc from far to near, approaching the command podium built on the commanding heights of the paddock, and driving the animals within the enclosure into a small encirclement close to the city.
When the Holy Emperor arrived, it was already broad daylight and the wild animals in the paddock were already very dense. The surrounding officers and soldiers immediately rode on horseback to report to the emperor that the siege had been closed.
After about two hours, the hunting team arrived at the Nanyuan Palace one after another. Food and accommodation had already been arranged in the palace. The emperor and his accompanying concubines moved into the palace, while other officials and their families settled in the courtyards near the palace one by one according to their rank.
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After everyone was settled, the men went to the palace to pay homage to the emperor and hold a sacrificial ceremony. The women took a short rest and then went to perform the silk ceremony for their hunting relatives after the sacrificial ceremony.
Xia Houyuan, his father and son, and Xia Houhui went to the palace to pay homage to the emperor. Xia Houshu took Xia Houchun back to his residence to chat. They got up at Yinshi to dress up, and then followed their father and brother to the gate of the imperial city to wait for the ride. Then they bumped along the way, and they were tired at the moment.
It came like a tidal wave, and I fell asleep while chatting.
The two of them were sleeping soundly when they suddenly heard a burst of urgent footsteps approaching from far away, and then heard Yun Xi say: "Girl, get up quickly, it's time for us to set off!"
Xia Houshu had woken up when he heard Yun Xi's footsteps. Now he heard that Yun Xi was just urging them to go out quickly, but he was not in a hurry at all. He turned over and hugged Xia Houchun and continued to pretend to sleep.
Yunxi pushed up a few times, but Xia Houchun still pretended to be asleep, but instead woke up Xia Houchun.
Xia Houchun sat up immediately, looked at Yun Xi and said in panic: "What happened?"
Yun Xi burst out laughing, quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief and said, "Second girl, it's almost time. You and third girl should get up and dress up quickly."
Xia Houchun looked at the clothes he was wearing, and then at Xia Houshu's clothes. They had spent several days preparing this. There was nothing wrong with it, so why did they have to dress up?
Yun Xi noticed her doubts and quickly said: "We just went outside to take a look. It is estimated that all the princes and ladies from the capital are here. The two girls from Prince Gong's Mansion live in a separate courtyard not far from us.
Miss Zhang from Duke Ye's Mansion is also here."
Xia Houshu suddenly opened his eyes when he heard about Prince Gong's Mansion. The only unmarried daughters of the Zhong family were Zhong Lufu, Zhong Qingkui and Zhong Zixi. However, Zhong Zixi was still young, and with Zhong Zan's character, he would never bring her out.
Then the two people who came could only be Zhong Lufu and Zhong Qingkui. She suddenly became interested, and half-supported her body to ask Yun Xi: "Before, Qingkui told me that my uncle and aunt had booked a reservation for Zhong Lufu at the home of General Cheng Wang of the Yulin Army."
The fifth young master seems to have called Cheng Jian, is he here too?"
The Zhong family's engagement to Zhong Lufu was not widely publicized, so Yunxi didn't know the inside story. She shook her head and said, "I don't know much about this, but the second and third young masters went with the Duke to see His Majesty.
Yes, if you come, you will definitely see them. The two girls will ask them again later."
Xia Houshu pursed his lips.
Xia Houchun was very curious and asked, "Didn't you have a conflict with the third girl of the Zhong family? Why are you interested in her future husband again?"
"Who is interested in her future husband?" Xia Houshu curled his lips and said, "I just want to see what kind of person Cheng Jian is and how he compares to his second brother."
"In your heart, is there anyone better than your second brother?" Xia Houchun said scornfully.
"Of course." Xia Houshu said confidently, "The third brother is also very good."
Xia Houchun is Xia Houchun's half-brother. In Xia Houchun's heart, he is naturally very good. She smiled and said, "Have you put honey on your mouth today?"
"Let's just tell the truth." Xia Houshu said and got up from the bed, "Let's pack up quickly and go out to meet those famous ladies. Don't let them get the upper hand later. If my second brother finds out that I'm sleeping with you,
If he goes too far and misses the silk ceremony, he will definitely not be done with me."
Xia Houchun smiled and quickly stood up to tidy up his clothes.
As soon as the two sisters left the hospital, they met sisters Zhong Lufu and Zhong Qingkui.
Zhong Qingkui's purpose was to watch the excitement, so she did not always pay attention to her behavior like other famous ladies, and waved to her two cousins from a distance.
Zhong Lufu's expression changed drastically, but she soon calmed down, put on a calm expression, and greeted the other party politely.
Among the four girls, Xia Houchun was slightly older and naturally had more prestige. She looked at her two cousins with a smile and said, "We haven't seen each other for a few years, and the two cousins have become big girls! They are really getting better and better."
The more beautiful it becomes!”
Zhong Qingkui smiled and said: "Cousin Chun, I miss you so much. I wanted to go to Mrs. Ye Guogong's birthday party last time, but my mother didn't let me, so I didn't see you. Later I heard that you were coming to Qiu Mi.
, so I went to my mother to beg her, and she allowed me to come with my third sister."
The Zhong family in Prince Gong's Mansion is Zhong Yuqing's natal family, while Xia Houchun's tenant is the Zhang family, so the younger generations of the two families are only close because they played together when they were young. There is not much interaction between the adults. Princess Gong does not let Zhong Qingkui come here
It is also reasonable to support Xiahou Chun.
Xia Houchun's eyebrows were crooked, and he looked at Zhong Lufu again, saying: "I heard that Prince Gong has arranged a match for cousin Lufu. He is a man with outstanding abilities. When he enters the paddock later, you have to show it to me.
Look, I want to see if Prince Gong has chosen the right person."
After hearing this, Zhong Lufu's expression changed again, not shy, but nervous and panicked.
Xia Houshu noticed the change in her expression and said, "My second sister was just joking. Why are you so nervous? It's as if someone is trying to steal someone from you."