Chapter 68 Chapter 68 No escape this time.

On the other side, Zhang Jingxian had no idea that they were talking about her so-called status. She was still feeding the foal with millet.

Perhaps out of curiosity, the yellow warbler also flew out of the carriage, circled around the chestnut horse, and finally landed on its back.

The foal shook its head and did not chase away the bird on its back as if it were a dark horse.

"Little colt, you're indeed a docile mare." Zhang Jingxian smiled lightly, looking delighted. She knew she would soon have another straightforward and pure friend. Although he couldn't speak human language, he was very understanding of human nature.

However, they may not be able to spend too much time together. Once she learns to ride a horse, she should go to Changling County.

If Prime Minister Xie had made his decision faster, she might have been able to return to Xishan Village with her cousin. As time passed, the villagers would not have been able to find Wang Buluixing, and the subsequent disturbances would probably have been smaller.

As she thought about it, she finished feeding the corn and wheat in her hand.

When the yellow bird spread its wings and flew away, her attention was drawn back. When she looked up, she saw a tall man standing in front of her, staring at her intently.

The moment she looked into Xie Yun's eyes, Zhang Jingxian felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her whole body shivering.

In that short period of time, she didn't know what had happened, but he gave the impression that he had completely torn off the mask he wore before people, revealing nothing but gloom, indifference, and a strong desire, all rushing towards her.

"Are you done feeding her?" Perhaps noticing her nervous look, or perhaps realizing that something was not right with him, Xie Yun pursed his thin lips and revealed a somewhat gentle smile.

Zhang Jingxian clenched her fingertips and nodded silently.

She subconsciously wanted to have wings like the oriole and fly away from his gaze, but it was obvious that she was just an ordinary human being, so she pretended to be calm and took the foal to the woods nearby to graze.

Xie Yun's dark eyes stayed on her. Seeing that she was still very defensive, he explained in a calm voice that Gong Chengyue had said something that displeased him and reminded him of some unpleasant past events.

He paused and said, "It has nothing to do with Ah Xian."

"Yeah." Zhang Jingxian didn't ask what he said or what past event could make him lose his composure. She just responded casually.

In her previous life, she would have cared deeply, but now she just wants him to be safe and sound.

Seeing that she was focusing on leading the horse with her head down, Xie Yun narrowed his eyes slightly and grabbed the reins of the foal with one hand.

Of course, Zhang Jingxian could not match his strength. She was forced to stop and looked up at him confused and awkwardly.

"My dear, the colt wants to go to the forest to eat grass." Why would he stop her? He had already said that it was Gong Chengyue who made him in a bad mood, not her.

"We've fed you enough just now. A horse that's too full can't carry people." Xie Yun thought she was playing dumb again, so he raised his lips calmly and asked her to sit on the horse now.

They wouldn't be stopping for long, and she had to take advantage of these brief breaks to learn how to ride.

"If Ah Xian can't learn it, and you've failed me in cultivating you, how can you have the face to continue being my guest?" Xie Yun's ordinary tone contained a strong threat. If she couldn't learn to ride a horse before arriving in Changling County, she would not be able to be a female guest.

Zhang Jingxian took a deep breath and forced a smile, "Please rest assured, my dear. I will not let you down."

She had never ridden a horse before, but she had watched people ride horses many times and knew some techniques.

Holding the saddle carefully with one hand, she swung her other hand in a neat arc in the air and climbed onto the horse's back.

The colt was shorter than the black horse, but this was convenient for Zhang Jingxian, as she successfully rode the horse on her first try, and she was very stable.

Their positions were switched, she was on top, and even with his extraordinary stature, he was no match for her on horseback!

With this thought, Zhang Jingxian's chest tension subsided, and she looked ahead with excitement at the vast horizon ahead. As long as the colt started running, she, too, could be as free as the wind.

Xie Yun raised his eyes and saw the sincere smile on the peasant girl's face. He suddenly curled his lips and casually held her ankle with his hand.

His fingers were long and slender, with hard joints, and when he grabbed her, it was like an inescapable cage.

Suddenly, Zhang Jingxian's smile froze on her face. She lowered her head and stared blankly at the hand that completely grasped her ankle, with a slightly forbearing expression, "My dear, can you please not always..."

It always comes suddenly when she is off guard, strangling her lifeline and disrupting her breathing.

Xie Yun replied calmly, "No."

After kneading her ankle with his long fingers, he forcefully twisted her ankle in one direction and ordered, "Here, sink down."

He was teaching her how to handle the feeling of being on horseback.

After understanding what he meant, Zhang Jingxian's breathing calmed down. She honestly did as he said, changing the angle of both feet and sinking the heels backwards.

I thought it was over, but his hand didn't let go of her at all. Instead, it meandered upwards, moving inch by inch to her calf.

The strange touch made her scalp tingle. Then, his big palm paused and patted her tense calf lightly.

"Ah Xian, relax a little here, don't hold it too tightly."

Xie Yun looked up and smiled at her, but there was no trace of laughter in his bottomless eyes. The flesh of the woman's calf, which he could grasp with one hand, was warm and soft. Even through the dress, he could still outline the curve of the calf in his mind.

It was graceful and smooth. If he applied a little more force, his fingers would leave a few marks on it.

The sound of the wind seemed to die away, and he moved closer to her.

The two people were too close, especially the male's body, which was too oppressive. The foal felt uneasy and raised its hoof.

Zhang Jingxian lowered her eyes and saw an expressionless handsome face. She pretended to be calm and told him that she had learned it and wanted to try to move forward.

The breeze blew her hair, Xie Yun's eyes moved, and she replied "OK".

He loosened his grip on her calf, even though the restlessness in his body was urging him to leave his mark here.

They are all his, how can he let her go so easily?

Xie Yun instructed her calmly and indifferently, "Hold the reins, use your legs to push, and tap the horse's belly with the back of your calves. When turning, use the inside of your calves. Start lightly and then push harder, don't squeeze deliberately."

Zhang Jingxian hurriedly withdrew her gaze and followed the steps he said one by one. Originally, she wanted to ask Yu or Wei to teach her, but now it was Xie Yun herself, and she felt a little uneasy.

The horse's hooves moved forward, very slowly at first, then faster.

But he could always keep up with her by stretching his long legs, and one of his hands would slap her legs from time to time, forcing her to change direction and strength.

Beads of sweat appeared on the tip of Zhang Jingxian's nose. She forced herself to focus all her attention on the colt. After trying again and again, she finally managed to shake him off and felt the whistling wind.

She rode her horse through the open forest. Deep down in her heart, there was no fear at all. There was only panic that made her feel uneasy.

Seeing that people and horses were left behind one by one and the trees in front became denser, Zhang Jingxian's mind suddenly became clear and she had a bold idea.

If she didn't stop riding the pony, could she escape from here, escape from Xie Yun!

Her eyes became brighter and brighter, and the hairband behind her head fluttered wildly. Then, Zhang Jingxian slowed down, tightened the reins according to the method he taught her, and sat back deeply.

The foal received the order and stopped running forward, but obediently stopped.

At this moment, Zhang Jingxian pressed the inside of her calf backwards as if possessed by some mysterious force, and the foal turned around with her on its back. Behind them was only a forest and a track.

No one followed, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Run, run away quickly."

"Where's the oriole? What should we do with it? It's still with the carriage."

As the two voices clamored in her mind one after another, a familiar yellow bird flapped its wings and flew over, then landed on her shoulder with its head tilted.

Is this considered human flight? It’s the first time it sees a human friend with the same speed as it, so how can it not fly to see it?

The woman on horseback watched Huang Ying gasp for air, as if in a fierce struggle. Then, she tapped the horse's belly with the inside of her calf. Just as she was about to change direction, she... gave up.

Zhang Jingxian's hands were trembling slightly, and the short bow and cloth bag containing wooden arrows were all gone.

She had a feeling in her heart, and rode the pony back the way she came. In just a blink of an eye, her guess came true without any warning.

Only a few meters away, Xie Yun was riding a black horse, staring at her quietly.

He noticed that she was slowly approaching him, and a faint laugh drifted in the wind. Xie Yun casually pulled the bowstring of his short bow and shot an arrow into the woods.

The arrow flew through the air, and a large musk deer fell to the ground.

Her short bow and wooden arrows were with him, and when she was hesitating whether to take the opportunity to escape, he was indeed following behind her, staring at her silently.

Zhang Jingxian felt a mixture of fear and relief. She smiled sheepishly at the man who was much taller than her and said, "My dear, have I learned how to ride a horse?"

To some extent, she possesses the same keen intuition as the animals in Yangshan.

This time, she did it right.

Not only that, but perhaps he could also win some of what he called "forgiveness."

Zhang Jingxian thought about it and slowly relaxed her body, but her vision became dark.

The two horses were standing side by side, close to each other. Xie Yun held her shoulders and waist and pulled her from the foal's back into his arms.

"Ah Xian was so good today that she didn't run away." He sighed happily and kissed the headband of the peasant girl in his arms as a reward.

Zhang Jingxian supported her hands on his chest and said nothing.

It didn't matter, she would have other opportunities. In short, she couldn't stay by his side, let alone become his concubine, Madam Zhang.

Female guests were her bottom line, and this bottom line was obviously crossed by him without a care.

Xie Yun's thin lips moved from the blue headband to her soft long hair, and finally intimately behind her ear, telling her about the reward given to her.

"From today on, Ah Xian will be my distinguished guest."

High-ranking guests are treated like local officials.

"Thank you, my dear!" Zhang Jingxian felt a little better as she had more gold to take.

Things are different now. She has made contributions and deserves the treatment of a high-ranking guest. Naturally, she is not afraid of jealousy.

-

"Mrs. Zhang is truly impressive. Not only has she learned to ride a horse in such a short time, she has also become a high-ranking guest of the envoy. She is truly impressive!"

Upon learning that Zhang Jingxian had been promoted to a high-ranking guest, the first person to congratulate her was Wei. Since he had never been to Xishan Village, he was very enthusiastic about Zhang Jingxian in his words and deeds.

Compared to him, Yi Yu and Xie's reactions were much more cautious, and they only expressed their congratulations briefly.

"If Madam Zhang's uncle knew about this, he would definitely be proud of it."

"When we return to Changling, I will carefully arrange Madam Zhang's living expenses."

Zhang Jingxian bowed to them one by one, and her slightly happy expression looked perfectly normal.

Even Gong Chengyue rode up to her with an ambiguous tone and said with a smile, "That's right. In two years, Madam Zhang will be able to take Yangshan under her wing with a wave of her hand."

Hearing this, Zhang Jingxian secretly glanced at his hand, which was empty without the feather fan.

She nodded solemnly to Gong Chengyue and said, "Mr. Gong Cheng is right. Two years is enough time for me to save a large sum of money and food. When I return to Xishan Village, I won't have to worry about anything."

"If Mr. Gongcheng could help me again, I would be very grateful."

On the eve of Changling County, she once again expressed her decision.

While Envoy Xie was sitting in the carriage and they were riding outside, Gong Chengyue looked at her with a deep gaze.

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