Chapter 38: The Thrilling and Exciting Spring Outing

Not a man?

The young prince was immediately displeased upon hearing this. Even with his face still pinched, he spoke very seriously, “Whether one is a man or not cannot be judged by age alone. Some may be well into their thirties, yet if they are timid, weak, incompetent, and lacking responsibility, they can hardly be considered men. As for me, even though I have not yet come of age, I conduct myself with integrity, stand without shame before heaven and earth, and dare to act and take responsibility. Why, then, am I not a man?”

That makes a lot of sense—Peach Blossom nodded repeatedly, looking at his soft, tender little face with an even more affectionate gaze.

Prince Nan possessed a youthful spirit she hadn’t seen in a long time. Only such a passionate young person would insist on being called a man.

When she thought about it, it was actually quite endearing.

Releasing his hand, Peach Blossom forcibly held back the urge to pat his head, silently repeating “this would be overstepping boundaries” twenty times in her mind, and then smiled.

“It was narrow-minded of me to judge by age. Your Highness is the most gentlemanly man I have ever seen!”

Her face still carried a hint of irritation, but upon hearing this, Mu Wuxia suddenly felt a little embarrassed. He turned to look outside and changed the subject: “Carriages can’t go up to Yingxian Mountain; we’ll have to climb on our own later.”

Was that shyness? Taohua looked at him in surprise, her heart melting even more.

Having dealt with someone as cunning and ruthless as Shen Zaive for so long, someone like Prince Nan, who is genuine and sincere, seemed all the more precious.

“Okay,” she replied, “we’ll take our time climbing.”

It was indeed strange; although they were of different statuses and not very familiar with each other, there was no awkwardness at all when they were together. Instead, it felt remarkably natural.

Peach Blossom pondered the reason all the way up, finally concluding that perhaps she and this little prince were simply fated to meet.

“This mountain is my father’s favorite. Occasionally, he would come here in plain clothes to enjoy the greenery.”

Getting out of the carriage, Mu Wuxian introduced while walking, “The highest point on the mountain is a temple. In spring, a peach blossom festival is held there, and many nobles from the capital go up to watch—it’s very lively.”

Tao Hua nodded, taking a deep breath, feeling the air outside was much fresher than in the Prime Minister’s residence.

“What is that over there?” Passing by a lush, verdant forest, Tao Hua asked curiously, “Other places along the road are quite crowded. That place looks so comfortable, why doesn’t anyone go there to rest?”

Mu Wuxian glanced over and replied, “That’s the Snake Forest, an area personally designated by my father the Emperor. Only imperial relatives are allowed inside. It’s filled with all kinds of poisonous snakes that my father loves.”

What? Jiang Taohua was astonished. “The current emperor likes venomous snakes?”

“That’s right,” Mu Wuxia said with a slight curl of his lips. “I don’t understand why Father Emperor would like such sinister and terrifying creatures, but if you’d like to take a look, we can sneak in through the side path. There’s no one guarding it over there.”

“No, no, I’m terrified of snakes!” Taohua’s lips twitched as she glanced at the snake forest, her tone peculiar as she asked, “The emperor must also be quite fond of Prime Minister Shen, right?”

“Naturally,” Mu Wuxia replied. “Father Emperor relies heavily on Prime Minister Shen. At times, he treats him even better than he treats my elder brother, the Prince of Jing.”

No wonder, Shen Zaiye was a big poisonous snake himself, exactly the kind the emperor would like! Tao Hua curled her lips and followed the little prince up the mountain.

As they got closer to the temple, the crowd grew larger. Many people around recognized Mu Wuxia and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

“Once we get past the front, it’ll be better,” said the little prince as he returned the greetings. “The peach grove behind the temple is only open to the imperial family, so there won’t be as many people there.”

“Yes,” replied Tao Hua, keeping her head low and walking behind Prince Nan in the respectful posture of a servant, trying not to draw attention.

Having finally made her way through the crowded front temple, she was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when she suddenly heard a familiar voice:

“Wuxia has come over too?”

The Prince of Nan turned around and, seeing the person approaching him, smiled and nodded. “Prince Jing.”

Mu Wuyin had come out today to enjoy the greenery while the weather was nice, never expecting to run into the Southern Prince. He was full of schemes towards Prince Yu, and did his utmost to suppress Prince Heng, but for this young Southern Prince who posed no threat at all, he occasionally showed a bit of fraternal affection.

Jiang Taohua felt a chill run through her entire body. Without any time to explain anything to the Southern King, she turned and fled before the Prince of Jing could get a clear look at her face!

If we were to run into each other now, wouldn’t that be the end of me? I had thought I would never have the chance to see Mu Wuyin again, but thanks to this stroke of bad luck, I must have forgotten to check the almanac before stepping out!

“Who’s there?”

Upon seeing someone run, the King of Jing immediately shouted sternly, “Halt!”

The King of Nan was taken aback, turning his head to gaze in confusion at Tao Hua’s fleeing figure, momentarily unsure why she was running.

“Wan Feng, seize her and bring her back to me!” the King of Jing commanded in a deep voice. “Sneaking around like that—she’s definitely not up to any good!”

“Yes!” the guard beside him responded, quickly giving chase.

Mu Wuxia stood still, thought for a moment, and then asked with a smile, “What’s wrong, Brother? Why are you so nervous? Isn’t it normal for people to run around at a temple fair? Don’t scare that young lady.”

Staring at the fading figure for quite some time, Mu Wuyin finally turned his gaze to him and said, “I feel that person is somewhat familiar. Do you know her?”

With a slight pursing of his lips, Mu Wuxia shook his head. “I don’t. She probably just followed me into the courtyard by mistake, thinking she had committed a grave offense, which is why she ran.”

Is that so,” Mu Wuyin nodded, patting his shoulder. “Go ahead and enjoy yourself. I’ll go take a look—maybe she’s the one I’ve been searching for all along.

Mu Wuxia nodded slightly. Watching as Prince Jing hurried after them, she then calmly instructed the person beside her, “Find a way to stop them.”

“Yes.”

Originally, it was Taohua pulling Qingtai along as they ran, but the pursuers were moving too fast. Qingtai simply hoisted her master onto her shoulders, leaping over walls and scaling rooftops to escape the temple.

The pursuers caught up, but the bustling crowd outside made it difficult to spot where they had gone in an instant.

“Oh my heavens!” Taohua exclaimed nervously. “This is a matter of life and death! If we’re caught, it’s all over! Qingtai, hurry, run!”

Panting heavily, Qingtai slowly set her down and said, “Have you gained some weight recently, milady? I’ve run out of strength.”

Jiang Taohua: “…”

Lately, I’ve been nourishing my body and indeed feel a bit heavier, not as light and agile as before.

“You go ahead, I’ll find a way to hold them off.” Having taken off and discarded her outer garment, Qingtai, dressed in her inner gown, said, “They didn’t see my face, so they’ll only recognize the clothes. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright.” After a moment’s thought, Taohua lifted her skirt and quickly darted forward.

The mountain was vast, and she didn’t know the way, so she could only rely on her instincts to dodge and hide. Unfortunately, those pursuing her seemed quite determined, as if they wouldn’t rest until they caught her. They began spreading out from the mountaintop, searching carefully in all directions.

Is it necessary to be so ruthless! Peach Blossom was on the verge of tears, desperately searching for a way down the mountain.

“Over there!” Suddenly, a loud shout came from above. Jiang Taohua looked up and saw someone with sharp eyes standing at a higher place, spotting her.

This is going to be the death of me! She gritted her teeth, grabbed her skirt, and plunged into the woods.

The further down the forest went, the denser it became. The sound of pursuit from behind never ceased, and Peach Blossom didn’t dare stop. Before long, a wall appeared in front of her. She glanced left and right, unable to tell at first glance whether it enclosed a courtyard or something else, so she simply decided to climb over it.

Hiding inside the wall, listening to the sounds outside gradually drawing closer, Jiang Taohua didn’t dare to breathe loudly, her eyes tightly shut.

“Where did she go?”

“Not here.”

“Keep chasing further down.”

After the commotion subsided and footsteps gradually faded away, her heart finally settled back in her stomach, and she slowly opened her eyes.

“Hiss—” A black-and-white patterned snake was staring at her with its black, round eyes, flicking its tongue toward her.

Her pupils constricted. Peach Blossom’s eyes widened, her mouth slowly opening as a scream got stuck in her throat!

A snake!

Just as she was about to scream loudly, someone leaped down beside her, scooped her up in one swift motion, and with a swing of his sword, severed the serpent’s spine at its most vulnerable point!

Her vision blurred with terror, Jiang Taohua trembled all over, clutching tightly to the rescuer’s robes. It took her a long moment to swallow the lump in her throat and find her voice again: “Snake… Snake Forest?”

Mu Wujian frowned, letting her cling to him as he sighed, “You certainly know how to run off. Straight into the Serpent Hall.”

The snakes here are all extremely precious; from time to time, the emperor even selects some to take into the palace to admire for a few days. Usually, when members of the imperial family visit, they only view the snakes from the observation platform. Who would have thought she would panic and rush in so heedlessly?

Fortunately, she had chosen a small, unattended path to approach. Otherwise, trespassing into the snake forest would have been a serious offense.

“There… there are more coming over there!” Peachtoss’s mind went blank, her eyes fixed only on the snakes covering the ground as she shrank behind Prince Nan.

At that moment, they couldn’t call for help either. Mu Wujian said gravely, “I’ll protect you. Hurry and climb out.”

The peach blossom nodded, trying hard to turn around and climb the wall, but…

“My legs feel weak… I can’t climb up anymore…”

Sensing their aggression, the other venomous snakes in the courtyard began slithering slowly toward them. A snake with exceptionally beautiful markings suddenly reared up, lunging at Mu Wuxia.

Mu Wuxia pursed her lips, showing no sign of panic. With sharp eyes fixed on the snake’s vital point, she swung her sword with precision.

蛇血飞溅，穆无暇眼神也有些沉重：“你冷静一点，快些出去，不然后果会比被蛇咬还严重。”

“好！”深吸一口气，桃花尽量不去想背后的场景，借着脚下的石头就爬上了墙。

长剑挥舞，听着背后的动静差不多了，穆无暇也就转身，蹭着墙爬了上去。

然而，腰上的玉佩被墙檐一挂，就落在了蛇院墙角的草丛里。

Both of them were on high alert and didn’t notice that they had dropped something. As soon as they left the Snake Court, Mu Wuxia grabbed Peach Blossom’s hand and they took off running.

Stumbling and tripping, they finally found the carriage waiting spot. Qing Tai and the bodyguards around Prince Nan had already been waiting there. The entire group wasted no time and hastily departed.

“Do you know Prince Jing?” panted Prince Nan in a hushed voice.

Peach Blossom, her face pale, sighed and said, “It’s a long story. If you really want to know, you can go back and ask the Prime Minister.”