The Winter Hunt lasted a full three days before finally drawing to a close.
The entire process went smoothly. None of the melodramatic incidents like bandits showing up in their faces or enemy armies launching an attack occurred.
Lu Xingshi could only sigh that without a protagonist's halo, one truly ran into far fewer troubles.
As for Princess Catherine, she remained taciturn throughout the entire Winter Hunt and barely said a word.
She merely exuded a certain deathly stillness from time to time, and as the hours passed, even the temperature seemed to drop.
Only then did Lu Xingshi realize that she was the chief culprit behind the palace's falling temperatures, yet no one present had noticed the issue.
Naturally, he had no intention of pointing it out.
What would pointing it out accomplish? He had no evidence at all, and even evidence needed to be verified.
Verify the kingdom's princess? Lu Xingshi might not have much social finesse, but his mind was perfectly sound. He would have to be insane to do that.
Not only would there be no benefit in it, it would also run contrary to his interests.
Still, this revealed one thing: Princess Catherine was likely far from as simple as she appeared.
Her disguise was exceedingly convincing.
After the Winter Hunt ended, the king commended and rewarded the three nobles who had hunted the most prey during this Winter Hunt.
The process was rather brief. He merely offered a few words of encouragement before having someone lead them to the treasury to choose an item.
It was not as though they were valued particularly highly. After all, these enfeoffed nobles had neither territory nor real authority. At most, they would leave an impression.
It was equivalent to a stepping stone. Whether they could climb upward