Around noon, Zhu Junyang came back triumphantly with two hares and a pheasant in his hands. In the nearby thickets, there were many people who went there to pick up firewood, gather wild plants, so there wasn’t a lot of game around. By coming back with such a haul in such a short period of time, it showed that the young royal prince’s hunting skills were quite good.

For lunch, Yu Xiaocao made ‘salt and pepper rabbit meat’, ‘spicy wild pheasant’, ‘steamed egg with seafood’, ‘roasted garlic scallops’, ‘savory sandworms’, ‘sauteed eggplants with minced meat’, and ‘oyster tofu soup’. There were a total of six dishes and one soup, and the meal contained both seafood and wild game dishes. Everyone ate the food with great relish.

After finishing the meal, Zhu Junyang picked up his bow and arrows in preparation to enter the mountain.

Since the West Mountain was giant, the Yu Family was afraid that he wasn’t familiar with the terrain and might get lost. Furthermore, it was possible that he might accidentally step into the wrong area and meet something dangerous. Thus, they had the experienced hunter, Yu Hai, act as his guide.

Yu Xiaocao still didn’t feel comfortable with the arrangements, so she found an excuse to leave the house. She secretly followed them from behind as they entered the mountain. 

Today, Zhu Junyang only brought Head Steward...