Ning Chen and Ye Yun were gone for an hour, and by the time they returned, the hunters had also come back.
Ye Zhe came quickly, holding a rattan basket covered with a cloth.
"Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty and to Ming Jieyu. Today, during the hunt, I happened upon a nest of baby rabbits and brought them for Jieyu to raise for fun. I wonder if Jieyu likes them."
"Rabbits? Brother, let me see..." Ye Yun clearly showed interest; most girls have no resistance to soft and cute creatures.
Ye Zhe smiled and lifted the cloth, revealing three small gray rabbits huddled together, looking timid.
"They aren't white," Ye Yun said, a bit disappointed, but she still reached out to touch them, finding them soft.
"Rabbits on the grasslands are all gray or brown. If Jieyu wants white rabbits, I'm afraid they don't exist here," Ye Zhe explained honestly.
Ye Yun nodded, contemplating, "Let's raise them for now; they're still so small, and roasting them wouldn't yield much meat anyway."
As soon as those words left her mouth, everyone present looked over in shock.
Even Ning Chen, let alone Ye Zhe, her brother, hadn't expected that.
"Why are you and Brother looking at me? The rabbits are so cute; they'd taste even better with some seasoning," Ye Yun blinked innocently.
Ning Chen was speechless. "What's going on in that head of yours? Aren't you afraid I'll think your heart is cruel?"
Hearing this, Ye Yun rolled her eyes. "People live by food; if this is cruel, then everything is cruel. We might as well all become monks. Anyway, I'm going to eat meat. Those who pretend otherwise are hypocrites unless they're really satisfied just by drinking the northwestern wind."
With that tone and expression, so prideful, Ning Chen couldn't help but want to laugh.
"You're always the most reasonable one; I'll say you're hungry, let's set up a feast."
Hearing this, Yuan Jiu hurried off to make preparations.
Ye Zhe felt it inappropriate to linger, so he took his leave.
After walking a few steps away, he turned back to glance at his sister, who was smiling and chatting easily with the emperor. He felt a bit more at ease.
Accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger; he had only this one sister, so he couldn't help but worry.
At the banquet, Yao Xiang suddenly came over to chat.
"Ming Jieyu seems in a good mood; it must be that the place the emperor took you to really has good scenery."
"The scenery doesn't matter; as long as I'm with the emperor, anywhere is fine. Fang Cairen, don't you agree?" Ye Yun said deliberately.
Yao Xiang lowered her eyes and chuckled softly, "I have no such luck; I don't have the emperor's favor like Jieyu. I just went by myself. Yesterday, I wandered far and saw a river; I don't know if it's the same place Jieyu visited."
"Even if it's the same river, I doubt Fang Cairen could match the elegance of Ming Jieyu. Don't you feel embarrassed comparing yourself?" Yi Meiren interjected with a cold laugh, her gaze unfriendly.
"Meiren is right. I'm just a Cairen, without the fortune to enjoy the scenery with the emperor; I'm just envious," Yao Xiang said lightly.
"Hmph, you're just a mere Cairen; how could you compare to me?" Yi Meiren shot her a glare.
YOU ARE READING
The Enchanting Imperial Concubine (Book 1)
Fiksi SejarahNote: This is a translated novel by me. Title: 贵妃她千娇百媚 Ye Yun was supposed to be the prince's concubine, but due to the sudden death of the late emperor, her entry into the palace was delayed for over a year. She entered the palace with the new bat...
