Seeing Li Zhi put away Li Qinzai's letter, Empress Wu's face became increasingly ugly.
"Your Majesty, the spring day is still cold. Your Majesty, be careful of catching cold. Why don't you leave the palace after it gets warmer in a few days?" Empress Wu advised softly.
Li Zhi said with a smile: "The weather has been good since spring this year. There is no cold weather. I have known Jingchu for several years. This is the first time that he has invited me to hunt. If I don't agree, wouldn't I be disappointed?"
"I will leave the palace incognito tomorrow. By the way, there are several hounds kept in the palace. They have very fierce tempers. I just happened to take them with them to search for prey for me and Jingchu."
Seeing that Li Zhi had made up his mind, Empress Wu could no longer persuade her, so she had to force a smile, but her hands in her sleeves were trembling slightly, and her eyes were gradually becoming as cold as frost at this moment.
…………
Ganjingzhuang.
Li Qinzai put on a hunting suit, stood in front of a huge bronze mirror, looked left and right, and assumed various heroic and handsome postures.
Kono Sanliang, the distressed princess of the Japanese kingdom and now the maid in charge of the backyard, stood silently next to Li Qinzai, looking at Li Qinzai's various expressions of arrogance in front of the bronze mirror with an expressionless face.
"How is it? Is my master handsome? Is he brave? Is your little sweetheart jumping?" Li Qinzai asked, staring at himself in the bronze mirror.
Kono Sanliang knew that he was not asking about the bronze mirror, but about her, so he lowered his head and said, "Yes, the master is very handsome."
Li Qinzai pointed at her: "For the first time, the people of our two countries have reached a consensus. Yes, I also think I am very handsome."
Kono Zenliang raised his drooped eyelids, and he was about to roll his eyes. Li Qinzai, who was looking in the mirror, seemed to have a tacit understanding, and said without looking back: "If you dare to roll your eyes, I will break your legs and make you the first physically disabled person in Japan." A strong princess."
Kono Sanliang immediately lowered his head obediently, with a frown at the corner of his mouth.
Today was by no means an auspicious day, but she was sent by the madam to help Li Qinzai dress. In the past, she was very guarded by the madam, and she was usually not given the job of serving the male master.
This was the first time for Li Qinzai to wear hunting clothes. After putting them on, he found that Datang's hunting clothes were really pretty.
The hunting suit is in the style of a short shirt, with a layer of leather armor on the outside to protect the chest and back, and leather wrists and knees. The leather armor on the back also has several small metal buttons, which are specially used to fix the quiver. Wear a belt studded with copper nails and jade pieces.
"They are indeed extraordinary warriors. If the beasts on the mountain are wise enough to see such heroic figures hunting them, it would be best for them to kill them on their own initiative to save me the trouble..."
Li Qinzai adjusted his collar and suddenly said: "Why are you here to help me dress today? Where is my wife?"
Kono Sanliang lowered his head and said, "Madam is lying in the backyard. Recently, Madam has been in low spirits and has been feeling sleepy frequently. She has slept a lot more than before."
Li Qinzai didn't think too deeply about it, he nodded and said, "It's a natural phenomenon to be sleepy in spring and tired in autumn. When the weather gets hotter in a while, you may feel energetic."
"Tell the madam that after my husband returns home today, I will shoot some bastards and make soup for her to replenish her body."
Kono Sanliang suddenly began to doubt his level of Guanzhong dialect, and couldn't help but said in shock: "Shoot... shoot the bastard?"
"Oh, it's a turtle, the kind that swims in the water."
Kono Sanliang was still confused and said: "You can shoot even if you swim in the water?"
"Hou Yi shoots the sun, Yuanmen shoots halberds... For men, everything in the world can be shot, and the tortoise is just one of them."
…………
At the entrance of Ganjingzhuang Village, horseshoes come from the east and dust is flying.
Li Qinzai, dressed in hunting attire, stood at the entrance of the village, followed by more than a hundred people, all dressed in hunting attire and armor.
Li Zhi arrived with nearly a thousand Yulin guards. Before anyone could dismount, Li Qinzai and his subordinates bowed and saluted.
Li Zhi was obviously in a good mood today. He dismounted and laughed and said, "It's rare that Jingchu invites me to go hunting. I left the palace before dawn today. I can't wait!"
Li Qinzai smiled and said: "I am honored that your majesty can come here in person. The spring has been perfect recently and all the animals are in action. It is a good time for hunting."
Li Zhi raised his eyes and glanced at the mountains and forests around Ganjing Village, and said with a smile: "It's true, I also have this elegance. How about we have a competition between the king and his ministers today to see who can shoot the most prey?"
Li Qinzai cupped his hands and said, "I would like to attach my tail to you."
Li Zhi waved his hand and said: "Okay, everyone mount up! Where Jingchu will go hunting today, I will listen to you."
Li Qinzai got on his horse neatly and said, "There is nothing to hunt near Ganjingzhuang. Why don't I take your Majesty for a walk a little further away?"
Li Zhi agreed, and a group of more than a thousand people hit their horses and galloped towards the north of Ganjing Village, their figures disappearing in the dust.
An hour later, everyone arrived outside a village in Weinan County.
There is a very dense mountain forest outside the village, but outside the mountain forest is an open area of plains. On the grass, you can faintly see hares jumping around, deer foraging for food, streams beside the forest gurgling, birds chirping and flowers fragrant.
Li Zhi looked at it and sighed: "It's full of spring and the scenery is very beautiful."
Li Qinzai pointed to the mountain forest not far away and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, there must be a lot of prey in that mountain forest, why not settle here?"
Li Zhi sighed: "Such a beautiful scenery, I can't bear to kill here..."
"Your Majesty, we hunt every spring and autumn because if there are many wild beasts, they will eat and destroy crops. Killing animals is not advisable, but if you are able to hunt properly for the livelihood of your people, it is still okay."
Li Zhi nodded: "Yes, I will go hunting in this mountain forest today according to Jingchu, and all the harvest will be given to the people in the local village."
Li Qinzai praised: "Your Majesty is kind and kind, and your people are lucky."
It is still some distance away from the mountains and forests, and we must pass through the village in front of us.
The Imperial Guards of Yulin led the way, Li Zhi and Li Qinzai rode side by side behind, and hundreds of members of the Li family stood behind.
As soon as the group entered the village, Li Zhi felt something was wrong. He held the reins with one hand, slowed down the horse, and looked left and right.
Li Qinzai said in confusion: "What is your Majesty looking at?"
Li Zhi frowned and said, "Strange, why are there only old people, women and children in this village, but not young people?"
Li Qinzai smiled and said: "Your Majesty will consecrate Mount Tai next year. It will be a grand event for the whole world. All the young people from all over Guanzhong have been recruited by the government to build palaces and pave roads for Your Majesty. More than a hundred people have been recruited for my Ganjing Village. .”
Li Zhi's face froze and he still didn't say anything, but his expression was already a bit unnatural.
Everyone continued on horseback, passing through the village, and came to the flat land outside the village. The flat land was full of fertile fields, and the field ridges clearly cut the land into pieces. It was very neat and very suitable for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder to watch.
Li Zhi was riding on his horse, looking at the fertile fields on both sides of the road, and couldn't help but smile with a pleasing smile.
After walking for a while, Li Zhi's smiling expression suddenly froze, and then he suddenly reined in the reins. The horse under him stopped immediately. Seeing that Li Zhi had stopped the horse, the accompanying guards also stopped.
"No! I just remembered that it's past the spring sowing time. Why are these lands still empty and no one is planting crops?" Li Zhi's face was ashen.
