klisemfg Chapter 63 Adding insult to injury, nothing could be worse.
Chapter 63 Adding insult to injury, nothing could be worse.
At 9:00 AM, the hunting grounds opened, and riders entered on horseback.
Lin Shiming spurred his horse and followed the group into the nearest woods.
Finding prey in the hunting grounds sometimes depends on luck, but it was easy for Lin Shiming. Not to mention that he himself was highly skilled in martial arts and had excellent hearing and eyesight, his two wolves were also adept at finding prey.
Seeing that Lin Ha and Lin Qi became alert and fierce as soon as they entered the forest, sniffing around everywhere, Emperor Longyun immediately became interested and started a bet with everyone.
“Hunting used to be the same old thing, let’s try something new today.”
The crowd naturally chimed in, and one of the princes chimed in, "I wonder what Your Majesty would like to try?"
Emperor Longyun pulled on the reins. "Alright then. Today we'll follow these two wolves, and we'll hunt whatever they find."
Lin Shiming quietly leaned close to Lu Yuxi's ear and whispered, "It's not that novel!"
Lu Yuxi glanced at him with a light laugh, but did not answer. Instead, she reached out and wiped some of the powder off his collar.
The two of them were exchanging tender glances, which immediately made them stand out from the crowd who were busy supporting Emperor Longyun. This prompted Emperor Longyun to turn around and give them a subtle eye roll.
Lu Yuxi and Lin Shiming: ... ...
After rolling his eyes, Emperor Longyun turned back with disdain and continued speaking.
"That's not exciting enough. Let's set up a betting game. Everyone puts up something substantial as a wager, and we'll guess how much we can hunt with this wolf today. By dusk, whoever guesses most accurately gets all the spoils. How about it?"
This is interesting!
Before anyone could react, Lin Shiming's eyes lit up. He had raised the wolves, and he could sense the surrounding atmosphere. If he quietly directed Lin Ha and Lin Qi, or used some underhanded tactics to drive the prey away beforehand, wouldn't victory be a piece of cake?
This gambling game was practically a scheme designed specifically for him to make money!
Lin Shiming hurriedly pulled out a jade pendant worth a thousand gold pieces and an equally valuable pendant from Lu Yuxi's body. "Father! Your son and the Crown Prince will gamble first!"
"I bet you won't end up like me!" Lin Shiming laughed heartily.
However, to his surprise, Emperor Longyun did not give him this opportunity to make a fortune.
"No!" Before Lin Shiming could finish speaking, Emperor Longyun cruelly refused without even thinking. "The wolves are yours to raise, kept in the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince must be familiar with them as well. It's too unfair for the two of you to participate. Let me and the other members of the imperial clan do it, just for fun."
Money, money, money! My money is gone! Lin Shiming pouted angrily, but Lu Yuxi pulled him back by the horse's reins.
This group of people were just accompanying Emperor Longyun to have fun, and they weren't pursuing any rankings. They were naturally happy to participate in such an interesting activity.
In any case, Lin Shihe had personally ordered the Tingyun Army to clean the area, so there was no need to worry about safety. Moreover, with an expert like Lin Shiming in charge, everyone felt even less concerned.
So after Lin Shiming was reluctantly persuaded to quit, the others gradually took out their valuables and placed their bets. Lu Yuxi and Lin Shiming, who were excluded from the betting, were responsible for recording the bets.
Lin Shiming was filled with resentment at all looking at those wonderful things. If Lu Yuxi hadn't forcibly suppressed him, he would have definitely gone to Emperor Longyun to argue with him.
Once everyone had placed their bets and started following Lin Ha and Lin Qi inside, Emperor Longyun, seemingly unintentionally, rode his horse down to the side of Lin Shiming, who was still sulking.
"If I win, I'll give you 20%."
As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Longyun casually spurred his horse away again.
Lu Yuxi, who was watching from the side, tugged at the reins. Shi Minggang had just had his financial path "cut off" by his father, and he was still angry. They couldn't agree to that, could they?
The next second, he saw Emperor Longyun turn around again and meet Lin Shiming's affirming gaze, which was filled with hidden excitement.
The agreement was reached, and both parties were very satisfied.
Good, good, so willing to bend and stretch for money!
Lu Yuxi, who had witnessed the entire event from Lin Shiming's side, shook his head helplessly, his gaze towards the members of the imperial family turning to pity. But there was nothing he could do; one was his father, the other his "wife," and he couldn't stop either of them, nor could he afford to offend either. He could only pray silently for the victims.
I hope these two troublemakers won't have too much to cry about when they get home tonight.
*
Sure enough, just as noon arrived, the group found a water source to rest and eat something when Lin Shiming reappeared. He and Emperor Longyun chatted and persuaded the group to place even more bets in a daze.
Some people were even tricked into gambling away their entire year's salary.
The honest and kind-hearted Lu Yuxi was exasperated by the cunning and greedy father-in-law and daughter-in-law. Unable to bear watching any longer, he pretended to be dead, just like Lin Shihe usually did.
Question Lin Shihe, understand Lin Shihe, and become Lin Shihe.
As the sun gradually set, this gamble, with its stakes escalating, finally ended in a complete victory for Emperor Longyun, just as expected.
The horns signaling the end of the hunt echoed from all directions. A group of people turned to look at the prey in the guards' hands, and immediately groans of despair filled the air. Emperor Longyun remained calm, seemingly unconcerned about the victory, while Lu Yuxi breathed a sigh of relief, as if finally free from the torment of her conscience.
Throughout the entire scene, only Lin Shiming was beaming with unbridled joy. He happily counted the wealth that was about to be his, his big white teeth almost showing in his grin.
We're rich! We're rich! These are all treasures; even just 20% of them would be worth several thousand taels of silver!
This father-in-law is great! He'll really help you get rich if you're wealthy!
Lin Shiming was so happy that if Lu Yuxi hadn't forcibly pulled him into her arms and dragged him to the nearby woods for a "lecture," everyone would have probably realized that the "father-in-law and daughter-in-law" were cheating.
Some people are happy and reap great rewards, while others suffer heavy losses and feel resentful and jealous.
The "someone" refers to Prince An.
*
Because of Lin Shiming's kindness and the series of events that happened, Prince An, who was not very bright, was able to enjoy a few more good days.
In fact, when everyone heard the order to confine Prince An's officials to stay at home during the morning court session that day, they understood that Prince An was like a grasshopper in autumn, and how many days he could hop around depended on Lin Shiming's mood.
However, Prince An didn't understand this principle, and those around him who did have all been eliminated. As for the others, they were too busy avoiding this impending downfall to risk offending Lin Shiming by reminding Prince An.
Therefore, this dim-witted Prince An thought that he had only suffered a temporary setback and that if he continued to plan, he would surely have a day to make a comeback.
Thus, under the tacit disregard of everyone, Prince An brazenly arrived at the spring hunt, intending to recruit followers. He naturally spent the entire day serving Emperor Longyun. Moreover, he also lost quite a few valuable items.
This is adding insult to injury.
The Prince of An, who had just lost two major sources of income, was trembling as he handed over the huge pile of gifts.
Seeing the Crown Prince and his wife returning to the crowd hand in hand in the distance, he couldn't contain his anger and spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"We have so much prey today thanks to Her Highness the Crown Princess's two wolves. But seeing how ferocious and brutal these wolves are when they tear apart their prey, isn't it inappropriate for Her Highness to keep such dangerous animals in the palace? Aren't you afraid that raising 'wolves' will cause trouble and harm Father Emperor?"