Traveling through time and space to become a lady of a noble family, but she only wants to escape

Chapter 222 (Extra Chapter) Chu Yunchuan of the Past

The west is a mountain.

The deeper they ventured, the more towering the ancient trees became, crisscrossing and intertwining. Chu Yunchuan walked among them, his steps extremely light. He wore a half-black, half-gold robe with both civil and military sleeves. The outer robe, with its wide, dark black civil sleeves, tightly wrapped around the inner robe, which had a brilliant gold military sleeve. The hem of the dark black robe was embroidered with a freehand crane in gold thread, the same color as the inner robe. A bundle was attached to his wide, gold-trimmed belt, ready to be used to wrap prey.

Both layers of clothing were now damp with sweat, and his hair was clinging tightly to his cheeks.

He suddenly stopped, slowed his breathing, raised the bow he had already drawn, and with considerable effort, drew it open, the arrow swaying as it pointed at the fawn ten paces away.

The fawn was grazing on the fresh grass, completely oblivious to the cold glint of light nearby.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle pierced the air, and a wild goose fluttered down from above, landing right in front of the fawn. Startled, the fawn tried to run away, but Chu Yunchuan, seeing his prey about to escape, released the arrow without hesitation. The arrow flew softly, barely grazing the fawn's tail before falling to the ground.

"Don't run!"

Chu Yunchuan took off after him, frantically nocking his bow and shooting arrows, but his strength was too weak, and the arrows fell to the ground before they even reached the fawn. He clicked his tongue and threw the bow on the ground.

Fortunately, we didn't put all our eggs in one basket with bows and arrows.

As he chased after them, he kept an eye on the markings on the trees along the way, cleverly leading the fawn in the direction he had prepared beforehand.

Before long, the fawn suddenly got its leg stuck and couldn't break free no matter how hard it struggled. To an outsider, the fawn's hoof looked as if it were glued to the ground.

By this time, Chu Yunchuan was panting heavily as he chased after the fawn. He slowly approached it, but when he reached out, he found nothing. Only then did he realize that he had just thrown away his bow.

The fawn struggled in fright when it saw someone approaching, but it was too weak and its hooves were restrained. It fell down after a few struggles, which saved Chu Yunchuan a lot of trouble.

Changfeng descended from the sky carrying the goose from before, and said expressionlessly, "Your Highness, you're cheating."

"We agreed that if you catch it, you're good to go." Chu Yunchuan squatted down and patted his prey with satisfaction. "How is that considered cheating?"

"Let the Empress judge this matter when we get back."

Chu Yunchuan, having just exhausted his strength, readily agreed, "Alright, let's go back now and see what Mother has to say."

Afternoon, Prince Jing's residence.

Several maids and servants were sweeping at the entrance when suddenly two snorts of horses came from the doorway.

Changfeng dismounted and rushed in. The servants called out, "Oh, Changfeng, you're back so soon? Her Majesty said His Highness wouldn't be able to practice archery for more than two hours, and she was right."

The servants burst into laughter. Chu Yunchuan was just about to step over the threshold when he heard this, his foot froze in mid-air for a moment, and then he silently stepped in.

Changfeng asked, "Where is the Empress?"

"Her Majesty has gone out to handle official business." The maid pointed to the ground. "Her Majesty guessed that you and His Highness would return early, so she specially set some homework for you two."

The two looked down and saw several pieces of wooden track, dozens of odd parts, and a dozen targets on the ground. The maid explained, "These are the tracks for the movable target mechanism. Her Majesty said that His Highness is not allowed to study politics today, so Changfeng will assemble the mechanism, and then His Highness will practice archery."

The two of them twitched their cheeks simultaneously.

Chu Yunchuan was in a slightly better mood. Although he didn't want to practice archery, he could still shoot at a few targets. Changfeng, on the other hand, knew nothing about mechanisms. Lou Mingyue personally taught him for a month before he could even open one mechanism lock, and he still couldn't open it two out of three times.

"Changfeng." Chu Yunchuan walked over slowly, coughed twice with feigned seriousness, "How about we switch? I'll assemble the mechanisms, and you practice your archery, what do you say?"

Changfeng refused without hesitation: "The Empress wants you to practice archery."

“That’s right!” The maid raised her head and put her hands on her hips. “Her Majesty told me to keep an eye on things, Your Highness, you’re not allowed to slack off.”

"..." Chu Yunchuan thought for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and said, "Mother didn't say that I had to practice in the manor, did she?"

"This...this wasn't mentioned..."

Chu Yunchuan pulled out a bundle and bent down to wrap up all the mechanisms on the ground. He gave the maid a mischievous smile and said, "Then let's go outside to practice. Changfeng, let's go!"

Before the maid could react, the bundle was securely hung on the saddle, and Chu Yunchuan and Changfeng mounted their horses together, heading towards the busiest part of the city.

The sun was high in the sky, and the two of them were sweating profusely after wandering around the street for a short while, so they quickly found a shady spot to escape the heat.

As soon as the horse's reins were tied, Changfeng asked, "Your Highness, you insist on leaving the manor. You don't really not want to practice, do you?"

"What if someone gets hurt while practicing archery in the street?" Chu Yunchuan said seriously. "It would be better to throw stones with the children in the street. If my mother asks when we get back, I can just say that I'm having fun with the people."

Changfeng: "..."

A moment later, a young boy with his hair in a bun saw Chu Yunchuan and skipped over to greet him: "Young Master! What good things have you brought this time!"

Chu Yunchuan pulled out a section of the track to show him and laughed, "A moving target, how about playing with me?"

"Target practice isn't fun, I'd rather go listen to storytelling." The boy shook his head and turned to leave. An old man running a dessert stall nearby laughed heartily, "Your Highness! Has the Empress made you practice archery again? The kids don't like it, I think you'll have to practice by yourself!"

Chu Yunchuan fluttered his eyelashes: "...I don't like playing either."

"Your Highness, you're already sixteen and an adult. Who knows, you might have to take over the throne in five or six years!"

The mention of taking over caused Chu Yunchuan to swallow hard, a nervous urge creeping in, but he forced a calm expression to save face. Changfeng, seeing Chu Yunchuan's bewildered expression, gave a short, expressionless laugh.

A few shop assistants who were free nearby joined the conversation: "Time flies so fast. It seems like just yesterday that His Highness was just learning to walk, and now he's almost ready to take over the Prince's position."

"You're thinking too far back in time. Look at the present, look at the policy essay the young master wrote last month, how excellent! How fluent!"

Chu Yunchuan straightened his back a little.

"Come on, you've only learned a few words. How can you understand policy essays? Yesterday, when I heard the storyteller say 'His beauty is unparalleled, unmatched in the world,' you asked me what it meant."

"Hey, I was just asking casually. Every word used to describe the young master is a good word. How could I not guess what it means?"

Chu Yunchuan was taken aback: "You mean me?"

Seeing that Chu Yunchuan was still unaware, the two men eagerly began recounting the story. The lyrics, written by someone unknown, practically lauded Chu Yunchuan to the heavens. Phrases like "A bright and handsome young man, with a heart of pure jade," and "His beauty is unparalleled, unmatched in the world," filled Chu Yunchuan with a blush that spread across his cheeks and ears.

Some passersby, without any ill intent, started to tease him. Changfeng led his horse forward to defuse the situation and simply pulled the man away.

As I passed by the storyteller's stall, I heard him drawling out, "Your Highness—you are known as a handsome young man!"

Changfeng quickened his pace past the storytelling stall and suddenly chuckled softly.

Chu Yunchuan immediately turned to look at him: "Changfeng, you're laughing at me."

“Your Highness has won the hearts of the people, which is a good thing,” Changfeng said. “The Prince has instructed Your Highness to study politics and the Six Arts of a Gentleman so that Your Highness can become a good prince loved by the people.”

Chu Yunchuan fell silent. He wanted everyone to praise him for being a good prince, yet he didn't want to be that prince. He couldn't even explain the source of this complex feeling.

Changfeng led Chu Yunchuan to the next street. There was a shallow lake there, and on the north side of the lake was a large open space where many children, both big and small, were playing.

"It's right here."

Chu Yunchuan took the bundle down and spread it out by the lake, then taught Changfeng how to assemble the mechanism's tracks. The tracks left by Lou Mingyue weren't difficult, and Changfeng quickly got it in place.

"Yun Chuan!"

Chu Yunchuan's gaze passed through the children and saw Fu Yao standing up and walking towards him, holding his little sister in one arm.

Changfeng: "Perfect timing, Your Highness, you can practice target shooting with Fu Yao."

Chu Yunchuan rubbed his hands together eagerly: "Perfect timing, you can hug his sixth sister."

Changfeng: "Okay... Your Highness, what should I hold?"

Before Changfeng could react, a chubby little baby was in his arms. Fu Yao, rolling up his sleeves, asked worriedly, "Changfeng, have you ever held a baby before?"

Chu Yunchuan set up the target and said with a half-smile, "Don't worry, Changfeng even hugged me when he first entered the palace."

Fu Yao nodded: "That's fine then."

Changfeng: "..."

Although the target practice wasn't very fun, everyone loved playing with slingshots. Chu Yunchuan gathered some branches and slingshot rope and made a few slingshots on the spot. He then divided the children watching into two groups, one led by himself and the other by Fu Yao.

Chu Yunchuan raised his slingshot and announced loudly, "We'll take turns shooting at targets. The side that hits the most targets wins. The winning side will each receive a small contraption. Just name what you want!"

The children gasped in surprise.

Chu Yunchuan stepped on the ground, activating the mechanism, and then his vision suddenly blurred.

The moving targets were moving at a speed comparable to a swift wind, and Mars could be faintly seen in their orbits.

Chu Yunchuan took a deep breath and looked at Changfeng. Changfeng hugged the baby in his arms tightly and silently turned away.

Immediately, a child shouted, "Your Highness! You're cheating!"

Fu Yao patted the child and corrected him, "That's not cheating. Don't be fooled by how good the young master is at mechanics; he's completely clueless about martial arts and archery, hahaha!"

Chu Yunchuan: "..."

He ground his back teeth, a rare display of competitiveness stirring within him.

The open space was covered with pebbles of all sizes. He bent down, picked out the largest one, put it into the slingshot rope, pulled the slingshot, and almost simultaneously let go.

At this speed, aiming is impossible; might as well gamble on luck.

Unfortunately, as soon as I let go, I heard a splash – I'd fallen into the lake.

"Hahahaha! So many targets, and you didn't hit a single one!" Fu Yao shouted, mocking Chu Yunchuan mercilessly. Then, after aiming for a while, he shot a pebble with a loud thud.

Chu Yunchuan raised his eyebrows and retorted verbatim, "So many targets, and you didn't hit a single one?"

Fu Yao didn't care at all: "With so many targets, I'll run into one sooner or later. Next one!"

Most of the children behind Chu Yunchuan thought the same way: they didn't aim at all, just picked up stones and threw them. Occasionally one or two would get lucky and catch a dead mouse, but most of the time there were continuous thuds.

But the frustration of never hitting the target was infuriating. Eventually, one child grabbed a handful of pebbles and started scattering them like a shower of flowers. Chu Yunchuan sensed something was wrong, but it was too late. A large pebble was launched from the rapidly moving target and flew straight towards Chu Yunchuan's face.

He tried to raise his arm to block it, but his hands and feet were no match for his brain, and the pebble hit him hard on the forehead.

After a sharp pain, the world spun around her, and she could only faintly hear the shouts of Fu Yao and Chang Feng.

I was dizzy and when I woke up it was already evening.

Chu Yunchuan opened his eyes and saw a dim yellow light. Lou Mingyue was sitting at the low table by the bed, intently fiddling with the mechanism in her hands.

"Mother," he called out hoarsely.

Lou Mingyue looked over upon hearing the sound, but her hands didn't stop. She smiled, her eyes crinkling, "A pebble has knocked you out like this? You're really lacking in training. Someone! Summon the Prince!"

Chu Yunchuan raised his hand to touch his forehead, and as soon as he touched it, he winced in pain—a bump had formed there, and it throbbed with dull pain when touched.

He said weakly, "Changfeng is the one who lacks training."

“When Ah Feng came back, he admitted his mistake, but he also complained to me about you.” Lou Mingyue shook the mechanism track in her hand. “I told you to go out and practice archery, but you used the mechanism to hunt instead.”

"Mother, we had an agreement: if we catch him, that's fine."

"Oh, so I told you to practice archery this afternoon, but then you went out to play with a slingshot instead, what happened?"

Chu Yunchuan blinked, trying to confuse the issue, and said, "Practicing archery on the street is dangerous. I have to think about everyone's safety."

The door creaked open. Lou Mingyue drawled, "Yulang—come and see your paper-thin son!"

Chu Yunchuan: "..."

Prince Jing, Chu Yu, entered the room carrying a tray in one hand, on which were some medical ointments, gauze, and other items. Chu Yu hurried to the bedside: "A-Chuan, are you still dizzy?"

Lou Mingyue joked, "I think Achuan is perfectly sober." She put down the device, took the ointment, dabbed some on her fingertip, and gently rubbed it in a circular motion. "A dignified prince knocked down by a small pebble, wait until the news spreads throughout the city tomorrow before he faints again."

Seeing that Chu Yunchuan's eyes were clear, Chu Yu sat down at the foot of the bed with peace of mind and said gently, "There's no need for tomorrow, the news has already reached the government office today."

Chu Yunchuan stared wide-eyed in shock: "It's already reached the government office?"

"At that time, I was reading a letter when a yamen runner came to report that Fu Yao had rushed to the government office to ask Doctor Fang to treat the young master who had fainted by the lake. It is said that he shouted very loudly, and all the colleagues in the government office could hear him."

Chu Yunchuan gripped the corner of the blanket tightly, his face flushed red.

After applying the ointment, Lou Mingyue picked up the gauze and wrapped it around the wound, saying, "In my opinion, it would be better to let Achuan learn martial arts from Afeng, so that he can improve his health."

Chu Yunchuan disagreed, saying, "But the world is at peace now, is there any real use for martial arts? You might as well read more books."

Lou Mingyue flicked the gauze with her finger, causing Chu Yunchuan to jolt up from the bed in pain. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Isn't this what we need now?"

"mother!"

Chu Yu smiled and patted Chu Yunchuan's hair: "Since Achuan is awake, he must be getting better soon. I'll have Doctor Fang come and take a look again tomorrow. Yue'er, I'm going back to the government office first. A letter came from the capital today saying that General Gu Feng from the court is coming to inspect the city defenses. The tax matters are not yet settled, and he will be inspecting the city defenses again. There are many things to do, so he may be back later."

Lou Mingyue reached out her hand to him and winked. Chu Yu understood and took Lou Mingyue's hand, pulling her up and humming, "Springtime smiles, I can't bear to waste it."

Chu Yunchuan silently pulled the blanket up higher, avoiding looking at what was improper—these two were about to be inseparable again, handling political affairs together.

His parents gave him a few more instructions about the trivial matters during his illness, then left Chu Yunchuan alone in the room to recover. He was still a little dizzy and couldn't do anything, so he could only turn his head slightly to look out the window to relieve his boredom.

He wondered when he would be able to recover from his injuries and resume his studies in politics. Ideally, he would be as beloved by the people as his father. But the thought of giving up his position as heir apparent and being unable to stay by his parents' side was something he couldn't bear. Why couldn't there be a way to have it all in this world?

The young prince, lost in thought, drifted off to sleep.

Springtime is in full bloom right now.