vstars Chapter 118 The early bird catches the worm
Chapter 118 The early bird catches the worm
Previously, Yinzhuo had to grit his teeth and get up early every morning because he had to train with the soldiers. Now that he was back with Kangxi, he naturally didn't have to get up early every day to train with the soldiers. However, Yinzhuo, who was finally able to get a good night's sleep, woke up very early the next morning. He lay in bed for a long time but couldn't muster any sleepiness to go back to sleep. He could only get up reluctantly.
"How shameless of you! Before, every morning when I woke up, I couldn't wait to go back to sleep. Now that I have time to let you get a good night's rest, you actually came up here on your own. Is there some reward for getting up so early?"
The early bird catches the worm, and the Sixth Prince, who got up early, was rewarded with a sumptuous breakfast. After many days, he was able to eat such a delicate and delicious breakfast again, and he couldn't help but think that getting up early today was not such a bad deal after all.
After the father and son had breakfast, the army officially broke camp. With the help of Liang Jiugong, Yinzhu put on his armor, went out to take the horse brought by the soldier, and looked at Kangxi, who was also leading a horse.
"Father, your son is ready. Shall we set off now?"
Kangxi glanced at his son, who was dressed in full armor and smiling at him, and nodded slightly. Then, he swiftly mounted his horse. Seeing this, Yinzhuo also mounted his horse with ease. At Kangxi's command, the large army slowly left the camp and moved forward. The morning sun shone on the armor, making it shine brightly.
When the army first set off, Yinzhuo was relatively well-behaved, obediently riding his horse beside Kangxi, at most occasionally going to the back to chat with Yinzhen. But after the army stopped to rest and then set off again, Yinzhuo was not so well-behaved.
At first, he simply rode his horse back and forth between the front and back of the group. Later, seeing that Kangxi didn't seem to want to stop him, he became even bolder. At first, Kangxi just smiled and watched him make a fuss, but as Yinzhu became more and more daring, Kangxi's face gradually darkened. When Yinzhu once again picked up a bow and arrow from the ground with one hand while holding the reins on his horse, the old father finally couldn't hold back and exploded.
"Yinzhen, go to the front and bring that boy back to me. His arm was injured before, and if he falls again, it could be very serious."
At this moment, Yinzhen was also terrified by Yinzuo's constant tricks on horseback. Now that he had received Kangxi's order, he naturally did not hesitate and spurred his horse to gallop towards Yinzuo ahead.
"Sixth Brother, stop fooling around. Father sent me to call you over. He's angry right now, so don't make things worse when you go over, understand?"
Yinzhu was having a great time, and he was naturally unwilling to stop now. But after all, it was Kangxi's order, and he didn't have the guts to disobey the imperial decree in front of everyone. So he could only turn his horse around and ride towards Kangxi.
Kangxi was indeed angered by Yinzhuo's series of dangerous actions on horseback. When he saw Yinzhuo coming over, he immediately raised his riding whip and threw it at him. Yinzhuo obviously did not expect his father to be so uncivilized. He hurriedly turned his head to dodge the whip thrown by Kangxi and then rode his horse away from him.
"Father, I was playing happily by myself and didn't bother you. Why did you hit me with the whip?"
Kangxi glanced at Yinzhu, who was complaining to him with a wronged expression, and reached behind him. Liang Jiugong was very perceptive and immediately dismounted to pick up the riding whip that Kangxi had just thrown out. With the riding whip in hand, Kangxi looked up at Yinzhu again, signaling him to continue.
As the saying goes, a wise man knows when to yield. Seeing Kangxi's attitude, Yinzhuo dared not continue speaking. At this moment, this wise man changed his previous accusatory demeanor and rode his horse toward Kangxi with a smile on his face.
"Look, look, you're getting anxious again. I know you're worried that my actions were too dangerous and that I might get hurt, which is why you're so anxious and angry. But I still want to say that you underestimate your son. When we went to the grasslands before, Altai and I participated in many sheep-grabbing competitions. I don't know how many times I've done this action. I can assure you that even if I run faster, I will never fall off the horse."
Kangxi glanced at Yinzhu, who was smugly boasting to him, raised his riding whip and tapped his previously injured arm before saying coolly!
"Really? You're so amazing, yet you still got knocked off your horse by a tiger's paw back then..."
What a disgrace, what a disgrace! Yet, Yinzhi couldn't refute these words, because he had indeed been slapped off his horse by a tiger. Seeing Yinzhi's sullen and frustrated expression, Kangxi finally felt relieved.
"Ahhhh, a fatal blow! A fatal blow! Father, you know how to kill someone by destroying their spirit! If that tiger hadn't been shot dead by my elder brother's arrow, I would definitely be going to challenge it to a duel now. Can you guys please stop bringing up the fact that I was knocked off my horse by a tiger? Don't I have any pride? But it doesn't matter, I'll definitely have a chance to show you my skills in the future."
Kangxi listened to Yinzhuo's grand words with a smile in his eyes, nodded to him, and spurred his horse forward as he spoke.
"Alright, Father will wait and see what you've got. Let's go, we're about to enter the mountains. The environment there is complicated, so stay put and don't wander off."
The group continued onward, and this time Yinzhi was much more well-behaved. After traveling for a while, just as Kangxi had said, the group entered the mountains. The valley in March still had a wintery look; although the surrounding forests were dense, they were deathly silent. Yinzhi felt nervous and couldn't help but turn to look at Kangxi beside him. Seeing that his expression was also unusually serious, Yinzhi's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that my mouth has been blessed? I'm not going to have to show my father my abilities so soon, am I?
Although the valley didn't seem too narrow, such places were the easiest to ambush. With such a large army, it was unrealistic to expect them to pass through quickly. Since Kangxi was in the group, everyone moved with extra caution. After discussion, Kangxi decided to adjust the formation, dividing the massive army into several smaller teams to pass through the valley in batches. As for Kangxi's own team, Changtai and Qiketaha led one team in front and the other in the back, sandwiching Kangxi, Yinzhen, and Yinzuo in the middle. This way, the team could pass through the valley quickly without being left without support if they encountered danger.
The first few teams passed through smoothly, which made Yinzhuo, who had been on edge, breathe a sigh of relief. Seeing that his team was about to set off, Yinzhuo felt his heart beat faster.
Soon, Kangxi's entourage set off. When the entourage reached the middle of the valley, Yinzhuo suddenly heard a faint rustling sound, as if something was crawling on withered leaves. Yinzhuo immediately gripped the reins tightly and scanned his surroundings to find the direction from which the sound came.