CHAPTER 1777: CHAPTER 1784 HANNA (4)

"Wait a moment!"

Before Helan Hao could say a word, Hanna coldly smiled and said, "Even the Queen Consort is here. What’s the hurry to leave? Why not join us!"

She gritted her teeth as she said this, because she saw Helan Hao’s eyes were fixed on Zhao Gui. If she just let her leave, his heart would surely be taken away by her, and the Queen Consort might cause a bit of a stir.

So, she had to keep her nearby, find a way to disgrace her, and sever Helan Hao’s affection for her!

Zhao Gui was utterly unwilling to be with them, but as soon as she was about to refuse, she caught sight of Hanna’s sharp and threatening look and immediately swallowed down her refusal, biting the bullet and agreeing: "Alright!"

Hanna turned around to look at Helan Hao, noticing that he remained silent, seemingly permitting it, which made her feel even more jealous, looking at Zhao Gui with even more venomous expressions!

Zhao Gui felt her scalp prickling from Hanna’s glare, afraid yet not daring to refuse her. She lowered her head, mounted the horse with Dong’er and Xiao Man, and uneasily followed them.

The Xianbei Royal hunting ground was quite similar to the Great Jin’s hunting ground, both located in the beautiful deep mountains and old forests, with distant high mountains and ridges and nearby streams and meadows. Various wild beasts thrived and multiplied here, from tigers and leopards to wild rabbits and pheasants, with a diverse range of species...

"There’s prey ahead in the little grove."

Helan Hao pointed to a nearby area, where hunting often took place, as he often hunted there in the past.

"Alright, let’s have a competition and see who shoots a prey first!"

Hanna took down the bow and arrow she carried on her body, giving Zhao Gui a skin-deep smile and saying, "I wonder if the Queen Consort dares to compete?"

Zhao Gui forced a smile and humbly said, "My horse riding skills and archery skills aren’t good. Afraid I’ll disappoint you!"

"Ha—"

Hanna coldly laughed, saying, "The Queen Consort should not be modest. Since you ride so gracefully, I’m sure you shoot arrows exceptionally well too. Could it be that you only ride but can’t shoot arrows? Then what’s the use of learning horse riding skills? Could it be you specifically learned it to ride for appearances?"

Zhao Gui’s face turned red, never expecting Hanna to say such sharp-tongued remarks. She glanced at Helan Hao stealthily, seeing him earnestly looking ahead, seemingly searching for prey, without noticing what they were saying.

Zhao Gui felt somewhat relieved, fearing that if Helan Hao overheard Hanna’s nonsense, he might misunderstand her, which would be embarrassing for her.

"We Great Jin women learn to ride horses for transportation or sometimes for fun. Riding well does not necessarily mean good archery skills, Hanna. You might be overthinking!"

Hanna sneered and said, "Hopefully, I’m overthinking, otherwise, I might think that since His Majesty didn’t accompany you to the bridal chamber last night, you’re unwilling and came to search!"

"Look quickly, there’s a deer over there!"

Helan Hao suddenly exclaimed, shouting while drawing his bow and aiming an arrow at the deer.

"Whoosh—"

He shot an arrow into the deer’s leg, startling the grazing deer, which then quickly ran away, prompting Helan Hao to urgently spur his horse to chase it.

The guards saw His Majesty chasing the deer and hurriedly rode after him, leaving only Zhao Gui and Hanna, along with their two accompanying girls, at the spot.

Seeing Helan Hao had run off, Zhao Gui candidly told Hanna, "Miss Hanna, I’m not here looking for His Majesty as you imagined, nor am I unwilling. Long before marrying His Majesty, I requested His Majesty to allow me to become a nun and also asked him to let me keep vigil for the spirit of the first emperor, but His Majesty refused both times. If I really intended to vie for favor, I wouldn’t have done that!"