The weather was wonderful today, beautiful and sunny.

In the previous years, the royal hunting event that takes place annually would usually be accompanied by hundreds of court officials and men of high status, but this time, the Emperor had specifically commanded that only unmarried sons of noble families were allowed to attend. The various families were confused about the special instructions, but there was nothing they could do except to instruct their sons to be careful about everything and not to lose courtesy in front of the Emperor, just in case this event was created to select a future consort for one of His Majesty’s young daughters.

In fact, the family heads were mostly somewhat correct in their prediction, and for a while, a confusing amount of joy and sorrow filled through the aspiring sons of the various noble families, because most of the young men were unwilling to have their futures cut off due to becoming a consort to a Royal Princess.

Meanwhile, the children of declining families were eagerly looking forward to the event, because if they were to be picked, wouldn’t it technically mean a guaranteed lifetime of prosperity and wealth?

Hence, many began making preparations and readying their skills to show off during the hunt, while some were determined to stay low and not be detected throughout the entire event.

As for the Duke and the Duchess, both of them were obviously having the exact opposite thoughts.

As a father, the Duke was almost desperate to the point of begging the Emperor for an imperial marriage decree for his cynical son. In fact, Mu JinYu was already twenty-two years old this year, and being a good-for-nothing, the Duke had long since decided that it was time to arrange for a strong daughter-in-law to take charge and manage his son.

But it was easier said than done, because a family with high status was not willing to marry their daughters to such an unpromising young man, who was only famous for his looks and the number of brothels he visited.

Still, the Duke was extremely confident in Mu JinYu’s looks, and as long as his unscrupulous son was willing to sacrifice his dignity and tone up his seducing game, he was sure that there would definitely be a princess who would cry and beg to be married into their household.

That’s because usually, when a princess picks her consort, the most important virtue would be a beautiful face. Plus even if the man was uninhibited in their personal life before marriage, no consort would dare to take a mistress in a Princess’s household.

The only problem now was that the Duke was unsure of Mu JinYu’s true intentions, hence he had not acted rashly and begged for the royal decree, just in case Mu JinYu did not react positively and was taken to prison for rejecting a royal decree.. What a pity..

As for the Duchess, she was very upset that her own son was too young to participate in the spring hunting event this year, which was why the son of that dead bitch would get a chance to get ahead in life. Furthermore, if Mu JinYu really caught the attention of the Emperor, his position as the next heir would certainly be confirmed, and by then, there would be no place for her and her son in this family.

No! I must plan something to stop this! The Duchess thought hatefully, she would not allow him even a single chance to catch the attention of the Emperor and become a close relative of the Imperial Family. Otherwise, her efforts and hard work all these years would’ve been in vain.

Gu MingYue was standing next to Mu JinYu nearby their carriage, and glancing at the Duke and the Duchess’s gentle and smiley faces, who would’ve thought that their thoughts were completely different from each other?

“Ruo Lan, be sure to take good care of the Young Master.” The Duchess said with a gentle and dignified tone, as if indirectly reminding her of the promised role of being Mu JinYu’s mistress.

“Yes, Madam, Ruo Lan will take good care of the Young Master.” Gu MingYue curtsied respectfully in response. Today, she wore a thick gown that hid her frame well, and a veiled hat with a long drape that trailed all the way to her knee.

“Move along, or both of you will be late.” The Duke said with a wave of his hand, before retracting his gaze from Gu MingYue and glancing at his expressionless son. The Duke seemed as if he wanted to speak to Mu JinYu, but was somewhat hesitant, as if considering whether or not to say it.

Mu JinYu probably knew what his father wanted to say, but not intending to hear the Duke out, he quickly said his goodbyes and hid within the carriage, leading Gu MingYue outside the carriage, who was embarrassingly bidding farewell to the glaring Duke. Instantly realizing his mistake, Mu JinYu reached out a hand from within the carriage door frame and swiftly pulled her into the carriage, before shutting the door close, completely isolating the two of them from the outside.

The quick-witted coachman swung his whip, and in a blink of an eye, the carriage was already taking its leave.

“This stinky boy!” The Duke glared at the leaving carriage, which was swiftly becoming a black spot in the distance, before flicking his sleeves hatefully and returned to his residences hatefully, with the Duchess and the servants following closely behind.

The Duke was actually concerned about Mu JinYu’s decisions for bringing Gu MingYue along. It seemed that the bed-warmer was indeed very precious to his useless son, to the point that even after staying in his house for more than a month, the Duke still did not have a chance to meet her personally. Furthermore, there were plenty of rumors in the capital about his son’s changed behavior because of her unparalleled beauty.

Even bringing her along to the imperial hunting event today! His son was still a bachelor, and it was very rare for a man in this era to take a mere bed-warmer as a permanent woman..

The Duke wondered if it was the right choice, but quickly shook his head to clear out the unnecessary thoughts as he decided not to mess with Mu JinYu’s decisions because he would allow the younglings to choose their own future.

On the other hand, contrary to the Duke, who thought that Mu JinYu was reluctant to let her leave his side, Mu JinYu was sitting in the carriage staring gloomily at the beautiful scenery right in front of him. In fact, if not for the Fifth Prince’s demands, never in his right mind would he bring his woman out to show the entire world.

She was his, and his alone!

Furthermore, those participating in this year’s royal hunt were all young men, wasn’t he technically bringing a tasty young sheep into the den of wolves!? Because, although those young men dared not act rashly under the eyes of the Emperor, it would be unavoidable for some to lay their eyes on his jade, and secretly make a move on her when he was away to hunt!

Come to think about it, this is really a huge troublesome errand. Mu JinYu thought tiredly, before deciding that he would take her along with him at all times. But as he thought more about taking her by his side, a small hint of sweetness filled through his heart, causing his brows to furrow slightly as he frowned at the foreign warmth within his chest.

It was getting weirder and weirder recently.

Site is finally up ;w;historical