Farm Girl's Manor

Despite taking on the temporary role of Chief of Royal Protection for this autumn hunt, responsible for the safety of everyone within the enclosed hunting grounds, Xiao Ruiyuan only needed to arrange manpower and guard each critical passageway, preventing assassins or those with ulterior motives from infiltrating and plotting nefarious deeds. Figures like Emperor Huian and Chu Heng had Imperial Secret Guards protecting them covertly; there was no need for him to constantly stand by them, and even less for anyone else to be granted the privilege of his personal protection.

However, the current situation made it impossible for Xiao Ruiyuan to remain uninvolved.

Those noblemen were one thing; even if an accident really did happen in the Savage Beast Forest, nobody would dare to place the blame on Xiao Ruiyuan. But the Princes were different; even if they were not as important as the Crown Prince in Emperor Huian’s eyes, they were still his flesh and blood. With the Crown Prince’s frail health, Emperor Huian might well be considering other possibilities.

Perhaps among these Princes, there was a candidate Emperor Huian had in mind to succeed the Crown Prince. Should an accident occur, Emperor Huian would surely be enraged. The wrath of an Emperor could lead to a bloodbath, and Xiao Ruiyuan, as the person in charge of the safety of the hunting grounds, would bear the brunt of it.

The blatant threat from King Heng enraged Xiao Ruiyuan, yet he had to compromise, stepping into the trap King Heng had set because King Heng was not as loving and soft-hearted towards his brothers as he appeared to be.

Xiao Ruiyuan had confirmed that King Heng had ill intentions, whether it was demanding him to instruct several young Princes in archery in front of the palace or the Thirteenth Prince’s deliberate loss and wandering into the Savage Beast Forest; all were part of King Heng’s carefully calculated steps. As for the aim... it was to completely eliminate himself as an obstacle!

Eventually, Xiao Ruiyuan ordered a guard to return to the palace to report the truth to Emperor Huian and arranged for an additional two hundred guards to come over, ensuring the safety of the party.

King Heng would definitely not dare to openly move against him with lethal intent; the only thing he could do was to engineer an "accident." And this accident might not even sidestep the others; it all depended on their luck. Two hundred guards couldn’t prevent an "accident" from happening but, at the critical moment, they could be of great use, potentially saving quite a few people.

Xiao Ruiyuan’s compromise not only pleased King Heng’s heart but also allowed Prince Qi to vent his spite. He began to launch biting verbal attacks against him.

Xiao Ruiyuan was tense, silently calculating the "accidents" King Heng might create. As for Prince Qi’s verbal attacks, he treated them as if a mosquito were buzzing, not even sparing him a glance.

The group reached the outskirts of the Savage Beast Forest when they faintly heard two wild beasts making fierce roars near the devoted area of the mountainside. However, it didn’t sound like they were truly fighting, more like they were threatening each other. Two tigers cannot share one mountain; these wild beasts, cornered into the small area of the Savage Beast Forest, inevitably fought for territory.

King Heng, with a sense of amusement, listened for a while, then turned with a smile to Xiao Ruiyuan and said, "General Xiao, how about we make a wager to see who can catch one of those two wild beasts first, what do you say?"

Xiao Ruiyuan, paying attention to their surroundings, didn’t even lift his head as he replied coldly with three words, "No, thank you." Knowing that he was the target of someone’s scheme and in a precarious situation, it was safer to stay close to the person making the calculations than to try and avoid it.

With that response, those who were not too familiar with Xiao Ruiyuan gained a new level of understanding for his aloofness and courage.

King Heng’s face stiffened momentarily before his smile deepened, "General Xiao’s disposition remains as outspoken as ever. Perhaps only in front of the Second Imperial Brother do you show a softer side."

Xiao Ruiyuan remained silent. He would have to burn bridges sooner or later; with such a person, he was too tired to pretend any longer.

Seeing his most admired Imperial Brother also thwarted by Xiao Ruiyuan, Prince Qi, even more angered than when he himself had been snubbed, mocked, "Third Royal Brother, you are overestimating him! No matter how much he is praised by outsiders, he is nothing but a shrinking turtle, unwilling to compete. If you want to compare, little brother is willing to take you on."