The Autumn Hunt (Part Two)

Before dawn, horns were already sounding outside the hunting camp. Three long blasts, one short-this was the signal for the hunt to begin. The Imperial Guard had begun forming the enclosure during the fourth night watch. The cavalry split into two wings, sweeping in from the east and west sides of the hunting grounds to drive the water deer, hares, and foxes scattered through the mountain woods toward the encircled area in the middle of the valley. Infantrymen held hunting nets, one man every ten paces, guarding the enclosure as tightly as an iron barrel.

Xiao Huaijin was startled awake by the horns. He rolled over on the camp bed in his little tent, lay muddled for a moment, then abruptly sat up, nearly striking his head on a crossbeam overhead. He hastily pulled on his little leather boots, then fumbled with his belt and tied two dead knots in succession. In the end, Kong Wu came in and undid them for him.

"No hurry, Your Highness. The enclosure has only just closed. His Majesty is still having breakfast."

"No hurry, no hurry-"

Despite what Xiao Huaijin said, he had already shot out through the tent flap.

The morning mist had yet to disperse, and the valley was a sea of white. Standing at his tent entrance, Xiao Huaijin saw Xiao Lin already getting ready in front of the imperial tent. A quiver hung from the black horse's saddle, and a groom was adjusting its girth. Xiao Lin wore a black hunting outfit, its cuffs bound tight with leather cords. Across his back was a steel-backed bow half a foot longer than an ordinary bow. Seeing Xiao Huaijin run over, he lowered his gaze and glanced at him.

"Your boots are on the wrong feet."

Xiao Huaijin looked down. Sure enough, his left and right boots were reversed. He crouched to change them, looking up as he asked, "Father, will I ride the little blue-gray horse today?"

"Yes."

"Can I use real arrows?"

"Blunt-headed arrows."

"Blunt-headed arrows can shoot rabbits too!"

Xiao Lin did not dispute that. He swung into the saddle, his movements just as deft as when he had first climbed onto a horse twenty years earlier. Looking down at Xiao Huaijin, who stood beside the horse with his face tilted up, he said, "Stay with Kong Wu. You are not to leave the enclosure."

Xiao Huaijin nodded firmly.

Xiao Yu ran out of his own little tent, followed by two flustered young eunuchs. He was tying his belt as he ran, and still had not finished when he reached Xiao Huaijin, nearly tripping over the hem of his own robe. Xiao Huaijin caught him, helped him fasten his belt, and straightened the rabbit fur at his collar.

"Second Brother, stay behind me. Arrows have no eyes on the hunting grounds. You mustn't run about. Father said that if you leave the enclosure, no one will be able to find you."

"Yes, yes, yes." Xiao Yu nodded like a pestle pounding garlic, his little face brimming with excitement. The morning breeze had brought a flush to the lingering pallor from his illness.

Xiao Lan did not ride a horse. She sat on a raised platform outside the hunting enclosure-a temporary wooden structure built for members of the imperial clan and female relatives who were not participating to watch the proceedings. The medicine chest rested on her knees, and the young eunuch beside her held a pot of hot ginger soup for her. From afar, she saw Xiao Huaijin and Xiao Yu riding over from the tents and stood to wave at them. Xiao Huaijin waved back, then squeezed his horse's sides, and the little blue-gray horse clip-clopped toward the valley.

The hunt began.

The first round was mounted archery for the adult military officers. More than a dozen sons of noble families and officers of the Imperial Guard charged into the enclosure, their horses' hooves scattering scraps of grass. The hounds were released and bounded into the grass, barking wildly with excitement and flushing out a nest of hares. The hiss of arrows cutting through the air rose one after another. Several water deer leaped from the bushes and raced away, but the hunting nets turned them back, and they ultimately fell beneath the arrows.

Xiao Huaijin sat on his little blue-gray horse on a gentle slope at the edge of the enclosure, watching with transfixed eyes. Kong Wu sat his horse beside him, one hand resting on his saber hilt the entire time as his gaze swept their surroundings. Xiao Yu's little carriage stood below the slope. He lifted the curtain and poked his head out, pointing at the hounds running back and forth inside the enclosure.

"Look, Crown Prince Brother! That dog is so big!"

"That's a hunting hound!" Xiao Huaijin corrected him without turning around.

"A hunting hound is a dog!"

"A hunting hound is a hunting hound!"

The two children argued for a while over whether a hunting hound was a dog. In the end, Xiao Huaijin invoked Zhou Rucheng-"The Grand Tutor said hunting hounds and dogs are different"-as the final verdict, and Xiao Yu accepted it with only a hazy understanding.

The second round was for the children of the imperial family. Besides Xiao Huaijin, there were two young members of the imperial clan, the oldest no more than seven or eight. It was their first autumn hunt, and they sat on their horses so nervously that their palms sweated. Xiao Huaijin took the blunt-headed arrow Kong Wu handed him, drew a deep breath, and squeezed his horse's sides. The little blue-gray horse trotted into the enclosure.

A litter of specially raised white rabbits had been released inside the enclosure. They were large and not particularly fast, meant specifically for the young princes to practice on. Xiao Huaijin saw a white rabbit dart out of the grass, its ears flattened against its back as it raced desperately toward the edge of the enclosure. He drew his bow and aimed for a moment-the wind direction, the distance, the rabbit's speed: Zhou Rucheng had covered all of these in lessons, but being out in the field was another matter entirely. He released the string. The blunt-headed arrow flew out, missed by half a foot, and stuck in the grass. The white rabbit ran off without looking back.

"Go, Crown Prince Brother!"

Xiao Yu shouted at the top of his lungs from the slope. Xiao Lan stood up too, holding the railing as she looked down.

Xiao Huaijin bit his lip and did not turn back. He drew a second arrow from his quiver, urged his horse a few steps forward, and spotted another white rabbit crouching beside some bushes. This time, he did not rush to loose the arrow. Holding his breath, he recalled how his father had held his hands as they drew the bow in the Eastern Palace courtyard-Don't release it. Take half a breath. Lift the bowstring a little higher. The arrow left the string, its blunt head striking the white rabbit squarely in the hind leg. The rabbit tumbled, struggled twice, then lay still. Several nearby Imperial Guards cheered.

Xiao Huaijin did not hurry to collect his prey. Seated on his horse, he turned toward the imperial tent. Xiao Lin sat on his black horse at the highest point of the gentle slope, watching him. From dozens of paces away, he could not make out his father's expression, but he saw him give a slight nod. Xiao Huaijin's heart gave a fierce leap in his chest, harder than it had when he hit the rabbit.

He swung down from his horse, picked up the white rabbit, and held it up by the ears for Xiao Yu to see on the slope. Xiao Yu was so delighted that he nearly jumped out of the carriage, only for the young eunuch beside him to hold him down.

"Crown Prince Brother hit it! Crown Prince Brother hit it!"

It was Xiao Yu's turn.

Xiao Yu climbed out of the carriage and ran swiftly on his short little legs, only to stop at the edge of the enclosure. He glanced back toward the imperial tent-Xiao Lin was watching him, as were the guards around him and the Imperial Guards on the slope. Three-year-old Xiao Yu stood among people who towered over him. The excitement slowly faded from his face, replaced by a nervousness that did not belong to a child his age. His hand trembled a little around his bow.

Xiao Huaijin walked over and crouched before him.

"Second Brother, don't be afraid. The rabbits don't run fast. Aim properly before you loose your arrow. It doesn't matter if you miss. I missed the first time I shot an arrow too."

"...Really?"

"Really." Xiao Huaijin said it without so much as a change in expression, completely forgetting that he had hit the target on his very first attempt at archery when he was four.

Xiao Yu took a deep breath. His bow and arrows were specially made: the bow was only as long as a forearm, and the arrows were short and blunt-headed, their tips even blunter than Xiao Huaijin's-almost round balls. He drew the bow. Though his movements were awkward, the nervousness in his eyes gradually gave way to concentration. The arrow flew out, grazed the rabbit, and embedded itself in a haystack. Xiao Yu's shoulders slumped half an inch. Then he turned and saw Xiao Huaijin smiling at him.

"It grazed it! A graze counts as a hit! Come on, let's collect your rabbit!"

Xiao Yu's little face lit up again. He followed Xiao Huaijin through the grass at the edge of the enclosure, searching for a long while before they finally found a gray rabbit dazed from being chased by the hounds-it was not the one he had shot, but Xiao Huaijin said, "This is Second Brother's catch," and carried it into the carriage with them. Xiao Yu hugged the gray rabbit. It kicked him, but he would not let go, his smile carving two deep dimples into his cheeks. Suddenly, he looked back toward the imperial tent and saw Xiao Lin on his black horse, looking his way. Xiao Lin offered no words of praise, but neither did he look away. Xiao Yu did not know whether that counted as praise, but in his heart, he felt it was enough.

The hunt reached its climax in the afternoon.

A scout reported that a full-grown stag had been found deep within the enclosure, enormous in size, with five-branched antlers. Xiao Lin took down his steel-backed bow and rode into the enclosure. The entire hunting ground fell silent; even the horns dared not sound. Xiao Huaijin sat on his little blue-gray horse, his palms slick with sweat around the reins. He watched his father gallop across the grass, faster and faster, the black horse's mane streaming into a straight line in the wind. The stag burst out of the woods with a length of vine hanging from its antlers, running hard and fast, the muscles of all four legs taut. Every stride seemed to shake the ground.

Xiao Lin drew his bow on horseback. The instant the steel-backed bow reached full draw, its string gave a deep, muffled sound. The arrow tore through the air and struck the stag squarely in the throat. It staggered two steps and collapsed on the grass, its antlers striking the ground with a heavy thud. The Imperial Guard gathered around it. Some shouted, "Your Majesty's archery is divine!" Others blew horns, while the hounds barked wildly with excitement.

Xiao Huaijin rode over. His right leg caught on the stirrup again as he dismounted, but this time he steadied himself without Kong Wu's help. He walked over to the stag and saw the arrow lodged squarely in its throat-a single, clean, decisive killing shot. He reached out to touch its antlers. They split into several branches and were even larger than the divine deer's antlers in Xiao Lan's drawing.

"Father." He looked up.

Xiao Lin dismounted and stood beside him.

"Does this count as a divine deer?"

Xiao Lin looked down at him. His son's upturned face was full of expectation. He was silent for a moment, then said, "It does."

Xiao Huaijin took the neatly folded "battle plan" from his sleeve, opened it, and pointed to the divine deer whose antlers had been drawn larger than the trees. "Sister Lan said whoever shoots the divine deer can make a wish. But you shot this one, Father-your wish belongs to you. I won't make one."

Xiao Lin looked at the crumpled drawing. The little figures' arms were still out of proportion, the antlers were still absurdly large, and everyone's fingers were still five matchsticks. He took the drawing from Xiao Huaijin, folded it again, and placed it in his own sleeve.

"I have already made my wish."

Xiao Huaijin blinked. He wanted to ask what his father had wished for, but did not. He remembered his father saying, "If you say it aloud, it won't come true," on the day they released sky lanterns for the Qixi Festival. So he merely nodded hard.

"Then we'll shoot another divine deer next year, and I'll make a wish then."

Xiao Lin did not answer. He simply reached out and picked a blade of grass from Xiao Huaijin's hair. Just then, Xiao Yu's little carriage caught up from behind. Xiao Yu poked his head out, saw the stag lying on the grass, and his mouth formed a circle. Xiao Lan had come down from the platform too. She paused at the sight of the antlers, then turned to Xiao Huaijin and said they were not quite like the drawing. Xiao Huaijin agreed: a real deer's antlers were smaller. Xiao Yu chimed in that Father had shot it, so it was a divine deer. The three children stood beside the dead deer, each offering their views. None noticed that Xiao Lin had already mounted his horse and was heading back through the dusk.

The Mid-Autumn Festival evening banquet was a bonfire feast in front of the tents. It was even grander than the night before-whole roasted sheep, roast venison, mooncakes, osmanthus wine, and all kinds of fruit filled the long tables. Imperial Guard soldiers sat around the bonfires, singing and playing finger-guessing drinking games. The military officers had taken off their armor for once and exchanged toasts with the civil officials accompanying them. Xiao Huaijin sat behind a low table beside his father, with a plate of mooncakes and a bowl of warmed realgar wine before him. He took a bite of a mooncake. It had a sweet bean-paste filling, the same flavor as the rice dumpling he had eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival. He turned to tell his father how good it was, saw that he was speaking with the Minister of War, then turned back and quietly finished it on his own.

After the banquet ended, Xiao Lin and the three children admired the moon outside the tents. The moon over the grasslands was larger and brighter than the one in the palace. Hanging above the dark mountain woods at the far end of the hunting grounds, it bathed the grass in silver. The embers of distant bonfires still flickered. Nearby, there was only the wind and an occasional insect's call.

Xiao Huaijin leaned against his father, so sleepy that his eyelids were fighting each other. Xiao Yu had fared even worse: he had fallen asleep with his head on Xiao Huaijin's lap, covered by the thick cloak Shen Mingzhu had packed for him, his hand still clutching a bird feather he had picked up somewhere. Xiao Lan, however, was wide awake. She sat quietly beside them, gazing at the moon, occasionally reaching out to stir the embers. As sparks drifted up, she gave a soft "Wow."

"Father." Xiao Huaijin suddenly spoke, his voice already blurred with sleep.

"Yes?"

"Will you bring us hunting every Mid-Autumn Festival from now on?"

Xiao Lin looked down at the two children resting beside his legs, then glanced at Xiao Lan, who sat quietly stirring the fire by the bonfire. He was silent for a moment.

"Yes."

Xiao Huaijin closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth curved upward. In his dreams, Xiao Yu mumbled something indistinct that sounded like "Crown Prince Brother."

The night breeze blew in from the valley, carrying the fresh scent of pine resin and grass. The bonfire flickered, and the distant mountains' outline looked as gentle as a reclining giant beast in the moonlight. Xiao Lin took off his cloak and laid it over Xiao Huaijin, then remained seated without moving. He gazed at the full moon, his thoughts unknown.

Faint calls from a finger-guessing drinking game drifted over from the tents. The Imperial Guard soldiers were clearing up the remains of the bonfire feast, and an occasional neigh came from the stables. Xiao Lan leaned against Xiao Huaijin and gently closed her eyes. Outside the tents, the Mid-Autumn night flowed quietly past.