Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

"Where did you get this interest from?"

Wei Wujiu, as usual, didn't answer but instead asked a question, but his expression suddenly froze. "Be careful!"

The moment he spoke, he suddenly grabbed Lin Wantang's shoulder, lifted her up, and carried her onto his horse. Lin Wantang was confused and surprised, and subconsciously steadied herself by gripping his robes tightly.

In the blink of an eye, their breaths, already mingling, became chaotic...

Lin Wantang held her breath, staring at the broad, muscular chest so close to her. Even through his clothes, she could almost feel his well-proportioned muscles and strong heartbeat. She froze, unsure of what to do.

Wei Wujiu held her firmly in his arms, then looked at Xuanli, who was already frightened by the wild beast and was running wildly. He frowned, then lowered his eyes to speak, but froze.

The distance is too close.

He had been this close before when testing her, but his mindset was different then; he only wanted to observe the subtle changes in her expression. But now…

He couldn't see the expression on the person in his arms, but he could see her delicate, fair cheeks, the downy hair of which was faintly pink, and her small, charming red ears. She was truly stunningly beautiful and had a unique charm.

"Scared?"

After a long while, he finally spoke, raising his hand to soothe her back: "I'm here, it's alright."

Lin Wantang gradually came to her senses. She hadn't expected that the sudden appearance of the wild rabbit would startle the horse. She slowly let out a long breath and tried to move again, but the space on the horse's back was not large, so she had to give up with embarrassment: "Thank you, Governor."

She tried to dismount again, but Wei Wujiu grabbed her wrist and pointed in one direction with his chin: "Look over there."

Lin Wantang looked in the direction of the sound with suspicion, and saw a small deer in the withered bushes not far away.

"Will you dabble in it?"

When Wei Wujiu asked the question, he had already picked up the bow that was brought from the stable. Since it was his horse, he had chosen a longbow that weighed a stone, just like he usually preferred. Lin Wantang could not draw it no matter what.

"Not really. To be honest, Governor, I've never even been to this hunting ground before, and this is the first time in my life I've ever seen a live deer..."

She glanced sideways at the deer foraging in the forest, then saw Wei Wujiu pick up the longbow. Hesitating whether to quietly dismount so as not to get in his way while he was hunting, she was already being led by Wei Wujiu to place her hand on the bow.

"I'll teach you," he said, guiding her hand as he drew the bow, instructing her: "Keep your eyes on the deer, keep your hand steady on the bow, and slightly lower your elbow. Your strength is a bit too weak; tighten it a little more."

Lin Wantang adjusted her posture as instructed, tightened her wrist, and bent over, firmly resting her body against her side. Her elegant posture and cold eyes showed no trace of coquettishness.

Wei Wujiu stretched out his arm and firmly gripped the bow, taking her hand as he pulled the bowstring taut until it was fully drawn, their breaths mingling. In that perfect instant, he uttered, "Release!"

Lin Wantang responded immediately, and the arrow shot out with a sharp whistling sound, heading straight for the deer.

One blow kills.

She breathed a sigh of relief, then flexed her aching fingertips. "Thank you, Commander, for helping me successfully hunt my first prey!"

"Consider it a good omen." Wei Wujiu sheathed his bow; someone else would take care of the prey. He spurred his horse and continued on with her. "What reward do you want?"

Lin Wantang's eyebrows twitched, and her bright white teeth gleamed with delight: "You can have anything you want? Then I want..."

As she spoke, she involuntarily turned her head and froze instantly, clearly feeling her heart pounding as if a little deer had rushed in.

Wei Wujiu kept his eyes straight ahead, still riding his horse, and didn't listen to what she was saying, so he just gave a soft "Hmm?"

Lin Wantang didn't understand what she was feeling. It was an experience she had never had in either of her two lives, leaving her momentarily bewildered. She quickly regained her senses and simply said, "I would like to have dinner with the Governor."

"That's it?" Wei Wujiu glanced down at her, noticing her unusual expression, as if she had something on her mind again. He narrowed his eyes slightly: "What are you thinking about?"

"N-nothing." Lin Wantang smiled to cover up her embarrassment, then turned around and cleared her throat. "Well, I'm not good at hunting, so I won't disturb the Governor's leisure. Let me dismount, and I'll go for a stroll with Xuanli by the stream."

She didn't want to say more, so he couldn't force her to.

Finding a relatively flat spot, Wei Wujiu lowered her onto the horse, instructed two Imperial Guards to watch over her, then raised his bow and rode off, his figure quickly disappearing into the mountains.

The wind swept across the wilderness, and snow blanketed the mountains. Lin Wantang led the now-comfortable Xuanli along the stream, occasionally hearing sounds from the mountains and the low neighing of horses. She could almost picture Wei Wujiu's heroic spirit as he hunted.

He... was handsome, tall and upright, and possessed both literary and martial talents, making him an outstanding individual, one in a million.

This man will soon be her husband.

Lin Wantang had no demands for her husband and nothing to complain about, but she never expected that her own heart...

She realized that this was liking, this was infatuation, this was a rare admiration between people of the opposite sex that had nothing to do with each other, and it was a feeling that she had never experienced with anyone, including Shen Huai'an, in either of her two lives.

So she was terrified, truly afraid. She didn't want her personal feelings to ruin things, and she absolutely couldn't let herself be tormented like she was in her previous life, unable to live or die!

She quickly shook her head, took a deep breath to suppress the palpitations that filled her heart, then rubbed Xuanli's sideburns and focused on taking a walk with the horse.

Later that evening, Wei Wujiu returned from his hunt, having caught two roe deer and five rabbits. He rewarded the Jinyiwei with these, keeping only the deer and having it properly prepared, with the deer leg meat cut and sent over.

After the group returned to Jingyuan, he had Jiang Fulu send the remaining wild game to the palace for the emperor to try.

Lin Wantang went back to the courtyard to wash up first, and when she came back, she changed into a light blue casual dress. Seeing that Wei Wujiu had someone set up a charcoal stove on the table, she rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward: "Do you want to grill meat? Then I'll do it."

"No need, sit down." Wei Wujiu didn't subscribe to the traditional notion of a gentleman staying away from the kitchen. After washing his hands, he personally started grilling the meat. Slices of venison were quickly grilled, and he placed the cooked pieces into her bowl: "Try it."

The venison is marinated in advance and then slowly roasted over charcoal, making it neither dry nor greasy.

Lin Wantang took a bite and couldn't help but laugh, "Delicious! Commander, you have excellent skills. Please sit down, I'll grill some for you."

"It's nothing, you can eat." Wei Wujiu continued grilling slowly, glancing at Jiang Fulu who was trotting in. He understood what was going on and said, "Is there some strange activity in the Eastern Palace again? Speak."

"Your predictions are truly insightful."

Jiang Fulu bowed and stepped forward, not needing to avoid Lin Wantang, though his worried expression grew more serious: "I don't know what the Crown Princess is up to, she's already sent an invitation to the Grand Tutor's residence, wanting to summon Miss Lin to the palace. And the Crown Prince, he actually secretly had the Imperial Household Department receive a new batch of counterfeit silver bowls and chopsticks, who... is he plotting to poison?"