Chapter 87 – A Shrill Cry in The Forest
The next day, Tang Zhen visited Ye Zhen—or tried to visit her rather.
Much to his frustration, he was turned away when he went to Zhuangzi Hot Springs. However, Lu Lingzhi was somewhat pleased to have heard about this.
Ye Zhen knew that Mo Rongzhan had not yet returned to the imperial palace,and would probably go hunting today so she made sure to steer away from the hunting grounds.
There was a mountain forest near the baths. Before, she often hunted sparrows in that forest with her father and second brother. The thrill of the hunt was always followed by a small feast of roasting the hunted sparrows.
Dwelling on these memories, she suddenly had the urge to visit it once again, thus coerced her teacher to have the training inside the forest.
Mister Shan was not good at riding, so he just advanced slowly with his horse while Ye Zhen had already raced into the woods.
The woods in late autumn seemed to be covered with gold, the ground topped with fallen leaves.
In spite of that, the wind was still chilly, making Ye Zhen’s face feel numb and her teeth chatter.
Ye Zhen ran deeper along the path in the woods. It was too familiar to her that she was not a bit afraid of getting lost.
After running for a while, she slowed down, finding the perfect spot to hunt.
Mister Shan was still nowhere to be seen so she decided to hunt without him assessing her.
She tied the horse to a trunk of a huge tree and took a bow and arrow, seeing if there was any prey nearby.
Although it was nowhere near as good as the royal hunting ground nor the Baihua Garden, small animals still resided in this forest.
She felt the earth beneath her and walked carefully. This forest had many traps for animals. Now that it’s autumn, leaves coated the ground, making it a difficult task to find those traps.
She could only walk slowly, afraid of falling into one of it.
It was not long when a hare could be seen hiding behind the bushes. Ye Zhen drew herself closer, lifted her arrows and—
“Help! Help!” a shrill voice alerted the hare and caused her shot to miss it! Before she knew it, the hare had already run a good distance away from her!
The first time she heard the call, she thought she just misheard it. It could be the wind or the sounds of animals…but suddenly, the voice rang out again!
“Anyone, help!” In the silent forest, the voice came out, but this time, it was more subdued like the owner had run out of hope.
Ye Zhen frowned and walked to the source of the sound.
Deep in the woods, she saw a trap set by a hunter and a…a child?!
How can there be a child in this remote mountain forest? Ye Zhen looked at him warily. “Why are you here?”
The little boy, who was crying for help, heard someone’s steps and raised his head in a hurry. He looked at Ye Zhen, but could only see the top of her head. With tears in his eyes, he pleaded. “Help me, help me up!”
With his small build and the depth of the trap which was at least two meters deep, there was nothing around to help himself up.
Although the little boy was not injured, it was impossible for him to come up all by himself. Ye Zhen looked at him and saw that he was wearing fine silks and satins, his skin was white and delicate. He should be a master of a large family …
No, this boy looks familiar.
Ye Zhen frowned at him, unable to remember where she’d seen him, “How did you fall into the trap?”
“Be quick to help me up, and when I go back, this prince will certainly give you lots of rewards!” The little boy ushered Ye Zhen, his face was flustered.
Prince? Ye Zhen’s eyes were slightly cold as she finally remembered who the boy was.
Mo Rongzhan’s younger brother was only ten years old and ranked 11th in the noble list. His name was Mo Rongyi! He was the only prince who still lived in the palace and also the youngest one.
When Ye Zhen’s soul was trapped in the palace, she’d seen him several times. No wonder he was familiar.
“I see, it turns out that you are a prince! So there’s no need for this commoner to come rescue you. I think your guards should be nearby. Your highness, please wait a little longer, someone will come to rescue you soon.”
After that, Ye Zhen turned around, intending to leave the boy to his misery.