northernbook Chapter 135 General's Mansion 6
Chapter 135 General's Mansion 6
The garden party held by the emperor today was really lively. Not only were there various specialties from the imperial kitchen, but there were also various fun activities.
For example, there are various sports such as polo, archery, pitching pots, etc. There is nothing the emperor dare not organize that they cannot think of.
A Cuju competition was recruiting players. Zhou Leping had no intention of playing, but when he saw that the prize was a phoenix hairpin worn by the empress, he suddenly became interested.
"I'll give this hairpin to Sister Shuyi. He will definitely be happy."
After saying that, he pulled Ding Kang onto the stage.
Zhou Leping lived up to his father's years of training. His literary talent ranked among the best in the academy, and his kung fu skills were also good. The rich young men on the field were no match for him at all.
After a beautiful overhead kick, Zhou Leping won thunderous applause again. He also successfully took the golden hairpin.
The excitement here even startled the emperor, who squinted his eyes and looked at the audience: "Whose child is this? What a handsome Kung Fu."
General Zhou quickly stepped forward and saluted: "Your Majesty, it's my son."
The emperor looked at General Zhou and understood clearly: "As expected, a good father will have a good son. Daliang has a successor! Reward!"
The emperor's words made Zhou Leping, who was previously famous for his beauty, more famous for his strength. He successfully caught the attention of more noble ladies.
But Zhou Leping was just a 15-year-old boy at the time. He didn't have those thoughts in his mind. He only wanted to make his cousin happy. He happily took the hairpin and ran to find someone: "Cousin, look, I won a hairpin for you."
Looking at the delicate and lively hairpin in her hand, Song Shuyi smiled slightly: "Why don't you keep it for yourself." What a glorious thing it is. It would be great to leave it to your future wife as a betrothal gift.
But Zhou Leping didn't think so much now. He just thought that with the hairpin given by the queen, no matter who his cousin married in the future, she could wear it when she got married to shut up those gossipers.
He looked around and asked, "Cousin, where is Jing Zhuo?"
Song Shuyi looked behind her, and sure enough, Jing Zhuo was nowhere to be seen: "He was there just now."
As he was talking, Jing Zhuo came back with a plate of pastries: "Is the competition over so soon?"
"I was just saying that if you come with me, it will definitely be over faster. They are preparing to go hunting in the mountains, and you have to go with me this time no matter what." As he said this, he pulled Jing Zhuo and ran away.
Elsewhere, Princess Anhe, the daughter of Prince Ning, was watching this scene from afar. She lowered her head and asked the noble lady beside her, "Who is the one who took Zhou Leping's hairpin?"
The noble lady next to her was peeling nuts bit by bit. When she heard this, she looked over there and said, "Isn't that Song Shuyi from the Song family who broke off the engagement with the Yu family some time ago?"
Princess Anhe was a little confused: "What is the relationship between him and this Song Shuyi? Why did they both break off the engagement without any hesitation?"
The noble lady at the side knew: "Their mothers are sisters, and Song Shuyi and Zhou Leping are cousins. Song Shuyi grew up in the Zhou family, so the two of them are childhood sweethearts."
A childhood sweetheart, the princess sneered: "How can a person who has broken off an engagement have the nerve to accept that hairpin? Come on, invite Miss Song to come and play with us."
On the other side, Zhou Leping, Jing Zhuo and Ding Kang were riding horses to hunt in the back mountain. It was indeed a royal garden. This style was truly unprecedented in the country. There was even a hunting area specially set up in a garden.
However, most of the animals inside are herbivorous, and there are absolutely no carnivorous beasts.
Zhou Leping hunted for a while, then took his horse and found a mountain cave to hide. He really didn't like hunting these things that were not challenging. The biggest prey here was probably a young deer, which was very boring.
You know, he usually went to the mountains to play, and the beasts he fought were all man-eating beasts. He had hunted several wild boars and had also escaped from the eyes of black bears. His dream was to hunt a black bear.
But there are no black bears here, only white rabbits to play with them.
After tying up the horse, Zhou Leping began to play with the little rabbit in his arms. He never thought that such a soft and cute little creature would become a prey one day. It was so small, how could the palace servants bear to let it go?
"Little rabbit, you're lucky to have met me. If you had met Gu Er, you would have been in trouble."
The little rabbit kicked twice in his hand, and then Zhou Leping slapped him: "You little heartless thing, I saved you, but you kicked me. Do you really want to be on the plate?"
As he was talking, there was a noise nearby. Zhou Leping looked up, and when he saw it was Jing Zhuo, he felt relieved: "It's you. I thought someone was planning to ambush me here."
Jing Zhuo dismounted and sat next to Zhou Leping, watching him trample the little rabbit. "I knew you wouldn't like hunting here. But why did you agree to their declaration of war? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at if you lose?"
Zhou Leping didn't care: "I will go to the battlefield to kill the enemy in the future. Why bother with them who can only hunt pheasants and rabbits here?"
Jing Zhuo nodded: "Then it seems that I will meet you on the battlefield later."
"Of course!" Zhou Leping shook the little rabbit and greeted Jing Zhuo: "We will fight side by side in the future!"
Jing Zhuo looked at Zhou Leping and suddenly laughed: "Do you have General Zhou's permission to fight side by side? Does he agree? I heard him say a few days ago that he would let you take the imperial examination and pursue a career in government!"
Zhou Leping got a headache when he heard the words "take the imperial examination". "I am the son of a general, why should I take the imperial examination? I study to enrich myself and expand the territory in the future, not to govern the country. I can't do that job. General Zhou should face the current situation as soon as possible."
Jing Zhuo persuaded him, "General Zhou is right. Going to the battlefield is too dangerous. I can go alone. You should study hard for the imperial examination and become an official in the court."
"I don't want to." Zhou Leping directly rejected Jing Zhuo's advice: "I still want to fight side by side with you."
The two men led the horses and walked slowly outside, holding their only prey in their arms.
As expected, as soon as he went out, he was laughed at by those young masters. The one who laughed the hardest was Gu Er. Behind him, there was a pile of miscellaneous things, including pheasants and ducks, and even a small fox with its eyes not even open.
"Oh, oh, oh, this is our Master Zhou's prey. It hasn't even been weaned yet, how come it was captured by Master Zhou?"
Facing Gu Er's ridicule, Zhou Leping was not angry. He tilted his head and looked at the group of sarcasm behind him: "You are still young and naive! That's not like you. You are disturbing the chicken coop."
After saying that, he ignored their reactions and led Jing Zhuo towards his mother's direction.
Before he even got there, a woman in pink riding clothes came towards him. How could Zhou Leping not recognize this person? Princess Anhe, the only daughter of Prince Wang Ning, the only one of a different surname in Liang State. It was said that she was very domineering.
Zhou Leping bowed his head slightly and said, "Greetings, Princess."
Princess Anhe looked at Zhou Leping: "You actually know me."
Zhou Leping tilted his head slightly: "Shouldn't I know the princess?"