Hairanju quickly caught up with her sister to chase the rabbits, and it felt like retuning to their childhood in Khorchin. Back then, little Bumubutai couldn't keep up with her sister while riding horses; now, it was Hairanju who found herself unable to catch up with the sprinting Da Yuer.
As the men's troop dispersed in another direction, Da Yuer finally managed to catch a plump gray rabbit and called out excitedly to her sister, "Sister, I caught it! It's so big."
Hairanju approached and saw that the rabbit was unusually fat, its belly rounded—a pregnant doe. She immediately said, "Let it go, it's about to have babies."
"Really?" Da Yuer took a closer look and indeed, the signs were clear, so she was quick to set it on the ground.
However, worried that the hunters might shoot it, she decided to hold it in her arms and suggested, "Sister, let's take it back with us. Once everyone has dispersed, we can let it go. Otherwise, after escaping a mishap with us, who knows whose arrow it might fall to, how pitiful."
Hairanju agreed, and they took the rabbit back. The young princesses were delighted to see the large rabbit and began plucking grass and leaves to feed it.
Da Yuer had intended to follow Hong Taiji again, but Atu was sleepy and fussy, clinging to her mother, and Da Yuer couldn't leave her. So, she returned to their tent to soothe her daughter.
Meanwhile, the children around the big rabbit began squabbling over it. The little ones cried and the bigger ones shouted, causing a commotion.
Their mothers had to intervene to separate them. Jeje, growing impatient, instructed Hairanju, "Let it go. If we keep it here, they'll just fight over it. The kids don't understand."
Hairanju looked back for her sister but learned that Da Yuer had gone to soothe Atu in their tent. Left to handle the situation herself, Hairanju picked up the rabbit and, along with Baoqing, headed towards the back, where there were no hunters. Hoping the rabbit could cleverly avoid the hunters' arrows, they walked far enough to see a grove of trees ahead—a rare sight on the grassland. The autumn breeze stirred the leaves, revealing a vibrant display of yellow and red in the maple grove, strikingly beautiful.
"How did I not notice this yesterday?" Hairanju mused to herself. She then told Baoqing, "Let's release the rabbit in the woods. They are all hunting over there, they won't come this way."
Baoqing responded, "It looks close, but it's a longer walk than it seems. I'll go fetch the horse for you."
Hairanju nodded, "Go ahead, I'll walk slowly with it."
Thus, she walked alone towards the woods with the large rabbit, while Baoqing went back to find a horse.
However, by the time Hairanju and Da Yuer had returned, their horses had been lend to the younger consorts and princesses from another residence, who had all gone down to the field. The available horses were needed for patrols and could not all be lent out.
After much searching and finding no horse, Baoqing looked towards the woods and saw that Princess Lan had already entered. She couldn't delay any longer, so she decided to follow on foot.
Meanwhile, Hairanju reached a deep part of the forest and found a spot with thick, soft fallen leaves. She set the fat rabbit down, stroking its fur and whispering, "Be smart, stay hidden and don't come out again until these people have left in a few days."
The rabbit stayed by her feet, not running away when suddenly a shadow darted over. Hairanju was forcefully pushed down and pinned against a tree trunk, a masked person gripping her neck, leaving her mind blank with shock.
However, slow footsteps approached from behind the assailant, and to her surprise, it was none other than Hong Taiji himself, dressed in riding attire. The person gripping her neck wore clothes designed to blend into the steppe.
"What are you doing here?" Hong Taiji frowned, but then gestured, "Let her go."
"Great Khan?" the masked person hesitated.
"It's fine, she won't talk," Hong Taiji said coldly, then ordered the masked person, "Do as I instructed, leave immediately, and don't let anyone else see you."
"Yes," the person complied obediently, displaying impressive agility and disappearing into the woods in the blink of an eye.
Hairanju, still shaken, realized she had stumbled upon something secretive involving the Great Khan, and had she been anyone else, she might have ended up dead beneath a tree.
She slowly got up, leaning on the trunk, avoiding looking at Hong Taiji, and started to walk away. But the man spoke from behind her, "Why do I always encounter you?"
Shengjing wasn't large, the palace was even smaller, and the hunting grounds were limited in size—it was inevitable they would meet.
Hairanju thought this but dared not say it aloud. She didn't even dare to respond, only wanting to get away.
Hong Taiji's voice followed, colder now, "You don't respond when spoken to, and you ran when I told you to stop yesterday. I thought Dayuer was stubborn, but it seems the elder sister is even more so."
Hairanju, now infuriated, turned and glared at Hong Taiji, saying, "Didn't the Great Khan see me holding Atu yesterday? What did you want me to stop for? Atu is still so young. Does the Great Khan want his daughter to see that? To see a naked woman climbing on top of her father?"
She finished breathlessly, her face flushing red as her voice softened with a mix of embarrassment and defiance, "Please forgive me, Great Khan, but please... think of the children."
Hong Taiji asked, "Did you tell Yuer about yesterday?"
Hairanju shook her head, "I couldn't bring myself to say it; I didn't want to upset her." She bowed slightly, "Great Khan, I must go now. Baoqing will be looking for me. Please, don't let her see you either."
She walked a few steps on the thick carpet of leaves when suddenly her shoulder was forcefully pulled back, and she was slammed against a tree trunk, the tall man restraining her movements.
"Great Khan?" Her heart raced in her throat.
"If I remember correctly, Wukeshan sent you here to be my woman, right?" Hong Taiji scoffed coldly.
"Please conduct yourself with dignity, Great Khan," Hairanju held onto her loyalty to her late husband and her pride, "Remember, you saved me from the water. If you hadn't been there, I would have drowned in that river. To become your woman, I would think only of death every moment."
Hong Taiji, his anger stirred, moved closer, unable to hide his irritation. "In your eyes, to be my woman is a shame?"
Hairanju responded, "I am my husband's woman, my children's mother, not something from Khorchin to be given away at will. If my husband and children were dead, I could choose to remarry or remain a widow. But to be sent off as a gift, never."
Her defiance provoked Hong Taiji further, his presence intimidating as he approached the beautiful woman. Hairanju's delicate and soft features reminded him of the beauties in Han paintings.
She stared back at him: "If the Great Khan tries anything, I will bite my tongue and kill myself..."
Her voice, though strong and brave, could not hide her inherent softness, her eyes beginning to cloud with tears, her voice breaking.
Hairanju couldn't last much longer; she was like water, known to her husband as the most tender and timid of women.
Yet water is the softest and strongest element, capable of seeping into any crack and overwhelming any barrier, something Hong Taiji understood well.
"Live well," he finally released her, "Yuer is waiting for you to return. In life, one must have something to hold on to. You may have lost your husband and children, but you still have your sister."
Hairanju hiccupped a few times from the emotion. As she saw that Hong Taiji was no longer restraining her, she timidly moved a few steps away and then, gaining momentum, ran without looking back.
Shortly after escaping the woods, she encountered Baoqing, who was startled to see her in tears.
Hairanju made an excuse, saying, "I was worried about the rabbit's safety, afraid it might not safely deliver its babies. I hope it doesn't end up like me."
Baoqing, feeling sympathetic, quickly said, "Princess, don't overthink it. Otherwise Consort Yu will worry if she sees you upset."
Hairanju let out a forced laugh, "That silly girl."
Baoqing wiped her tears and straightened her clothes, and together they supported each other as they walked back to the main camp. Just as they arrived, Da Yuer, having just settled Atu, burst out excitedly to play. Seeing her sister, she waved happily, "Where have you been? Why is there a grove over there?"
As she approached and scrutinized her sister, Hairanju, anxious not to be found out, pushed her saying, "You go find someone to get horses. Baoqing and I don't carry enough weight around here; we couldn't get any since ours were taken."
Da Yuer huffed, "Don't they know you're my sister? Even if not for me, they should respect our aunt. How audacious of them, they have no regard for us."
Hairanju couldn't help but smile at her sister's indignation. Soon enough, Da Yuer managed to acquire two horses. Although Jeje hoped she would sit quietly for a while, knowing her niece had hardly ever been out in recent years, she turned a blind eye, allowing Da Yuer to run wild across the field.
Da Yuer quickly found her husband, but Hairanju stayed away, not daring to approach. Hong Taiji, however, greeted her casually as if nothing had happened, inquiring if she had encountered any game.
Hairanju felt awkward, and when she finally saw Qiqige, she quickly followed her.
After a lively half-day on the hunting grounds, Da Yuer rode back to the camp with Hong Taiji, the centre of attention and visibly doted on in front of many onlookers.
While Jeje verbally reprimanded Da Yuer for not behaving decorously, she felt reassured in her heart.
Among the brothers, Dodo hunted the most, arriving back dusty from the road. Hong Taiji lavishly rewarded his younger brother, and the one who came in last was tasked with building a fire for the evening's festivities, setting up for a night of roasting meat and drinking wine, complete with merry-making.
For the feast, how could they go without music and dance? Musicians had been brought along, but finding dancing girls at the moment posed a challenge.
The revelry was in full swing, and the crowd was initially indifferent until the music intensified and a tantalizing figure emerged from behind the campfire. Draped in light veils with her face partially obscured, her sinuous movements captivated the audience, her supple waist swaying bonelessly, ensnaring the gaze of every man present.
Da Yuer, unimpressed, stuffed a piece of roasted lamb into her mouth, mumbling, "Did they bring in a dancing girl?"
She then overheard some of the consort's murmuring, "Isn't that Zarut?"
Zarut? The sister of Consort Doutumen?
Da Yuer's brow furrowed immediately. Glancing across the seating arrangement, she noticed the frail figure of Consort Doutumen sitting next to an empty seat, her sister now shamelessly in the spotlight.
"What is she trying to do?" Da Yuer felt a surge of alertness, sensing trouble.
Zarut danced seductively, plucking a palace flower from her hair and placing it provocatively between her lips. She teased the men around her, drawing close only to dart away as they reached out, playing a tantalizing game of keep-away.
Gradually, she moved toward the head of the gathering, her eyes sultry silk as she looked up at Hong Taiji, climbing the steps one by one until she stood right before the Great Khan.
"Great Khan…" Zarut kneeled down, presenting her palace flower.
But at that moment, Da Yuer rushed forward, snatched the flower from her, threw it to the ground, grabbed Zarut by the collar, and in a startling display of defiance, slapped her across the face, sending her tumbling down the steps.
The music stopped abruptly, and a stunned silence fell over the assembly, punctuated only by the crackling sounds from the campfire. Everyone was shocked.