The autumn hunt

The autumn hunt was tomorrow. The moment the imperial decree came down, the entire palace sprang into motion.

In previous years, the autumn hunt had been for adult princes, noblemen, and military officers; the imperial harem and the younger princes and princesses never accompanied them. This year, an exception had been made-the emperor had personally named Crown Prince Xiao Huaijin to accompany him, then added Second Prince Xiao Yu and Fourth Princess Xiao Lan. When word reached the various palaces, some rejoiced and some worried, while still more watched and waited. The crown prince's inclusion was no surprise-everyone in the palace had seen the emperor's attitude toward him over the past six months. But the second prince and fourth princess being on the list led some to discern another meaning.

In the Palace of Nurtured Elegance, Shen Mingzhu laid the clothes for the journey out on the couch one by one, personally checking every stitch. Xiao Yu stood beside her with his arms outstretched while his mother tried his newly made riding outfit on him. It was sapphire blue, with close-fitting cuffs and a ring of rabbit fur around the collar that made his fair little face look all the more lively.

"Mother, are there really deer at the hunting grounds?"

"Yes." Shen Mingzhu crouched to fasten his belt, her hands moving at an unhurried pace.

"Are there foxes?"

"Yes."

"Are there rabbits?"

"Yes." Shen Mingzhu finished fastening his belt and looked at her son. "Once you get there, stay close to your crown prince brother. No running off. You've only just recovered, so you mustn't stay in the wind too long. I've packed a thick cloak for you. If you get cold, have the young eunuch attending you put it on you."

Xiao Yu nodded obediently, then pressed her with another question. "Are you going too, Mother?"

"No. I'll wait here in the palace for you to come home."

Shen Mingzhu smoothed the hem of his riding outfit, then stood to look him over. Xiao Yu looked down at his new clothes, then up at his mother, and suddenly said, "Mother, it would be nice if you could come too."

Shen Mingzhu's hand paused. Then she smiled faintly without answering. She adjusted Xiao Yu's collar again and turned to pack his medicines-she had prepared ginger slices to ward off the cold, mint ointment for carriage sickness, and a small bottle of wound medicine. Though the hunting grounds would hardly require a three-year-old child to charge into battle, she packed it anyway.

Things looked quite different in the Eastern Palace.

Xiao Huaijin's nurse had dug out his bow and arrows, riding clothes, and little leather boots, spreading them all over the room. Seated beside a low table, he drew the arrows from his quiver one by one and tested their heads with the pad of his finger. These were specially made arrows, their heads ground blunt and round for the princes to practice with. He separated the blunt arrows from the real ones, putting the blunt ones in his traveling quiver and leaving the real arrows in their case.

"Your Highness, will these clothes be enough?"

His nurse came in carrying a stack of folded clothes, topped by a thick navy-blue cloak.

"Enough, enough."

Xiao Huaijin did not even look up. "Nurse, don't pack that cloak. Father said you can't wear too much at the hunting grounds. It gets in the way when you run."

"It's windy there. What if-"

"Nurse." Xiao Huaijin put down his arrow and turned around, imitating Zhou Rucheng's tone as he enunciated every word. "I'm going hunting, not strolling through a garden."

His nurse laughed at his little grown-up manner, folded the cloak, and returned it to the cupboard, then tucked a thinner cape into his bundle. Watching Xiao Huaijin crouch on the floor arranging his quiver, muttering as he counted his arrows, she suddenly felt he was growing up too quickly. Last year he had still been chasing butterflies in the Imperial Garden; this year he was off to ride and shoot at the hunting grounds. She turned her face away to dab at the corners of her eyes, pretending to arrange his bundle.

Xiao Lan came that evening.

She carried a small medicine chest, setting it on the table as soon as she entered and opening it for Xiao Huaijin to see.

"Mother told me to bring this. There's wound medicine, gauze, mint ointment-and a packet of dried tangerine peel. She said to hold some in your mouth if you get carriage sick."

She took the items out one by one, then finally fished a small cloth packet from the bottom of the chest. Inside were several pieces of osmanthus candy. "These are mine. Half for you and half for Second Brother."

Xiao Huaijin took the osmanthus candy, unwrapped a piece, and popped it into his mouth. His cheeks bulged as he asked indistinctly, "Sister Lan, which horse are you riding tomorrow?"

"I'm not riding. I'm taking a carriage." Xiao Lan closed the medicine chest and sat beside the low table. "Mother said girls can't ride horses. She told me to follow behind in a carriage."

"Who says girls can't ride horses?"

Xiao Huaijin swallowed his candy, quite unconvinced. "Consort Xian can ride. Last time she took Fifth Brother over to Taiye Lake, I saw her riding a chestnut horse. It was even taller than the Imperial Guard's horses."

Xiao Lan considered this and thought he had a point, but then remembered that she could not even draw a bow, so she probably could not ride a horse either. Rather than pursue the subject, she took a charcoal pencil from her sleeve and drew a deer on the handwriting practice paper Xiao Huaijin had spread out. She drew its antlers especially large, with several branches, and added spots to its body.

"This is the deer we're hunting tomorrow."

Xiao Huaijin leaned over to look and frowned. "Those antlers are too big. Can the deer even run?"

"It's a divine deer," Xiao Lan said solemnly. "Whoever shoots it gets to make a wish."

"Then I want Father to shoot it." Xiao Huaijin picked up a brush and drew a little figure beside the deer, holding a bow. "Once Father shoots it, I'll wish-I'll wish I could practice archery with Father every day."

Xiao Lan propped her chin in her hand and thought, then drew three even smaller figures beside the first. "This is you, this is Second Brother, and this is Fifth Brother. We'll all stand behind Father and hand him arrows."

The two children drew for a long while, their heads together over the low table. Only after the nurse came in to call them to dinner three times did they reluctantly put down their brushes. The paper was covered-deer, horses, bows and arrows, little people, and a tree drawn even larger than the deer, with an animal crouching in its branches that might have been a rabbit or a fox. When Xiao Lan left, she gave the drawing to Xiao Huaijin, saying it was tomorrow's "battle plan." Xiao Huaijin folded it and put it in his sleeve, promising to carry it with him.

Early the next morning, before daylight, the ceremonial escort was already assembled outside the Northern Hua Gate.

Xiao Huaijin had only ever seen the procession for an imperial journey from afar. Today was his first time standing among its ranks. He rode a gentle little gray horse with a specially made saddle, much lower than an adult's, and short stirrups. Gripping the reins, he straightened his back and tried his best to look like a seasoned rider. The little gray horse snorted, startling him into hastily tightening his legs around its belly. He immediately realized that this was hardly the reaction of a "seasoned rider" and stole glances to either side to see whether anyone had noticed. Behind him, Kong Wu followed on horseback, expressionless, pretending he had seen nothing.

Xiao Yu rode in a small carriage drawn by two short-legged horses behind Xiao Huaijin's mount. With the curtain raised, he poked half his head out to look ahead, gazing longingly at Xiao Huaijin's back on horseback. Then he turned to the young eunuch riding with him. "When I grow up, I'm going to ride too. I'll ride a horse even taller than my crown prince brother's."

Xiao Lan's carriage followed behind. She sat quietly enough, a book open on her lap-the Book of Songs she had brought herself, which Consort Jing had said she could read if she grew bored on the road. But she had not turned a single page, keeping the curtain lifted to watch the scenery outside. Beyond the city gates, broad fields stretched along both sides of the road. The rice had been harvested, leaving golden stubble glinting in the morning light. The distant mountains were still shrouded in thin mist, and rows of tents were faintly visible at their foot-the hunting grounds.

At the head of the procession, Xiao Lin rode a black horse, his bright yellow hunting outfit especially striking in the morning light. He wore no dragon robe, only a neat riding and archery outfit, its cuffs cinched with leather cords, the emperor's sword hanging at his waist. He glanced back at the procession-the little apricot-yellow figure on the gray horse was striving to sit straight, and two little heads poked out of the carriages beside him. He withdrew his gaze, the corner of his mouth moving slightly, then squeezed his horse's flanks and rode on.

They reached the hunting grounds.

The Northern Park Hunting Grounds were reserved for imperial hunts, enclosing vast stretches of wooded hills and grassland for dozens of li around. Tents had been pitched along the edge, the imperial tent the largest, with smaller tents for the accompanying imperial relatives, military officers, princes, and princesses arranged beside it in turn. Bonfires had already been built before the tents. Imperial Guard soldiers carried equipment back and forth, hunting dogs paced restlessly in their cages, and horn calls rose one after another, near and far.

As Xiao Huaijin swung down from his horse, his right leg caught in the stirrup and he nearly fell, but Kong Wu caught him with quick eyes and hands. The moment he regained his footing, he let go of Kong Wu's hand, straightened his collar, and strode toward the imperial tent as though nothing had happened. After two steps, he stopped and turned to wait for Xiao Yu and Xiao Lan to climb out of their carriages, then all three went together.

Xiao Lin was speaking with several military officers outside the imperial tent. Holding a map of the hunting grounds, he pointed to a valley and said that it was a newly enclosed hunting area this year, with plenty of water deer, and instructed the Imperial Guard to push the cordon that way. The officers withdrew with his orders. He turned and saw the three children behind him. Xiao Huaijin clutched a sheet of paper covered in crooked drawings.

"What is that?"

"A battle plan." Xiao Huaijin unfolded the paper and solemnly pointed things out to him. "This is the divine deer. Father, you have to shoot this one. If you hit it, you can make a wish. This is me, this is Second Brother, and this is Sister Lan-we'll all hand you arrows."

Xiao Lin looked down at the drawing. The deer's antlers were larger than the tree, the little figures' arms were absurdly long, and everyone's fingers were drawn as five matchsticks. He took the "battle plan" from Xiao Huaijin, examined it from beginning to end, then handed it back.

"Keep it. Once I shoot that divine deer, you may make your wish."

Xiao Huaijin nodded vigorously, folded the drawing, and put it in his sleeve.

Xiao Yu stood beside them, watching longingly as Xiao Huaijin talked to their father. He wanted to step forward but did not dare, twisting the rabbit fur at his cuff between his fingers and scuffing his little boots back and forth over the grass. Xiao Lin tilted his head to glance at him. He was dressed in sapphire-blue riding clothes, the rabbit fur at his collar fluttering gently in the wind. His face still bore some lingering pallor from his illness, but he looked much livelier now.

"Xiao Yu."

Xiao Yu jolted and hastily stepped forward, giving a proper bow. "Here, Father."

"You've recovered."

"Yes, Father. I have."

Xiao Yu's voice was a little tight, but he deliberately raised it on "I have," as though bolstering his courage.

"Follow your crown prince brother during tomorrow's hunt. No running off."

"I obey your decree!"

Xiao Yu answered crisply and swiftly, his little fists clenched tight as though this were a task of immense importance.

Xiao Lan stood at the back. Only after both her younger brothers had finished speaking did she step forward, offer a poised bow, and speak of her own accord. "Father, Mother had me bring a medicine chest. If anyone gets hurt at the hunting grounds, I can help bandage them."

Her voice was steady as she spoke, quite unlike her usual self drawing flowers in the Eastern Palace.

Xiao Lin looked at the medicine chest carried by the young eunuch behind her and nodded.

"Consort Jing is thoughtful."

Xiao Lan lowered her eyes with a small smile and stepped aside.

After the midday meal, the accompanying military officers went to scout the hunting enclosure first. They returned to report that water deer and hares were plentiful this year, and that they had also found traces of a herd of deer. The afternoon was free time, and everyone in the various tents was making final preparations. Unable to sit still, Xiao Huaijin took Xiao Yu and Xiao Lan to watch fish in a little stream at the edge of the grounds. The water was so clear that they could see little fish darting among the gaps in the stones. Xiao Yu crouched beside the stream and reached in to catch them, but after several unsuccessful grabs, he stamped his feet in frustration. Xiao Lan taught him to lower his hands slowly into the water and hold them still, then close them once a fish swam over. Xiao Yu did as she said. After a long wait, a fish the length of his little finger finally swam into his palms. He snapped his hands shut, but the fish slipped between his fingers, splashing water all over his face. All three children burst out laughing.

At the edge of the woods across the stream, several military officers were adjusting their bowstrings. One young thousand-household commander drew his bow fully. The arrow whistled out and struck a dead tree fifty paces away. Xiao Yu stared, spellbound, then turned his head.

"Crown Prince Brother, can you shoot that far too?"

Xiao Huaijin looked at that bow, then at the little horn bow in his own hand, and answered truthfully.

"That's a grown-up's bow. I'll be able to when I grow up."

Xiao Yu nodded vigorously.

"Then when you grow up, I'll hand you arrows."

Xiao Lan smiled beside them, her lips pressed together.

At dusk, bonfires blazed before the tents.

Xiao Lin was discussing affairs with several accompanying ministers in the imperial tent. The three children sat around a bonfire, where several wild rabbits and ears of corn were roasting. The Imperial Guard soldier tending the meat handed the first cooked rabbit leg to Xiao Huaijin. He took it, blew on it, and passed it to Xiao Yu.

"Second Brother should eat first. You've only just recovered. You need to build up your strength."

Xiao Yu took a bite and hissed at the heat, but still mumbled that it was delicious. Xiao Lan took the packet of dried tangerine peel from her medicine chest and gave each of her younger brothers a piece.

"Mother said to hold a piece in your mouth after eating lots of meat, or your stomach will feel uncomfortable."

Xiao Huaijin put a piece in his mouth. Its sourness made him squint, but he kept it there without spitting it out.

The bonfire crackled, its sparks drifting skyward to mingle with the stars overhead until it was impossible to tell sparks from starlight. The distant wooded hills were pitch-black. Now and then came a cry, perhaps a wolf or perhaps a wild dog, its final note drawn out long. Xiao Yu huddled closer to Xiao Huaijin. Xiao Lan, however, was bold. She said it was a wolf, and that Mother said wolves feared fire and would not dare come near.

Xiao Huaijin looked up at the distant wooded hills. He was not thinking about wolves, but about whether Father could shoot that divine deer tomorrow.

At that same moment, in the Forbidden City.

Shen Mingzhu sat alone in the courtyard of the Palace of Nurtured Elegance. A pot of tea stood before her, long since gone cold. She had barely spoken all day after seeing Xiao Yu off. When a palace maid came to invite her to eat, she waved her away and said she would do so later. Gazing in the direction of the hunting grounds, she wondered where the child would sleep tonight, whether he had kicked off his covers, and whether the wolves' cries had frightened him. From her sleeve, she took the piece of osmanthus candy Xiao Yu had pressed into her hand before leaving-the last piece remaining from the packet Xiao Huaijin had given him before. She looked at the candy without unwrapping it, merely setting it beside the tea tray before rising and walking into her bedchamber.

In another corner of the imperial harem, Consort Xian was coaxing Xiao Yue to sleep. He had fussed all afternoon, demanding to know why he could not go to the hunting grounds. Consort Xian explained that it was too cold there and he was too young, but he would not listen. In the end, only after she promised that the emperor would personally take him to practice archery when he grew up did she manage to soothe him to sleep. Patting her son's plump little arm, she told the palace maid fanning them, "With His Highness the crown prince away, Yue'er is more miserable than anyone. He really is attached to his brother."

The maid smiled.

"It's a wonderful thing that the fifth prince is close to His Highness the crown prince."

Consort Xian smiled too, then sighed.

"Let us hope so."