"Shen Yunjiao".

Xiao Huaijin suddenly called out to Shen Yunjiao, his voice deep and magnetic.

"Thank you."

Shen Yunjiao paused for a moment, but her gaze didn't leave the book. "If you want to thank me, then come to see me less often."

Xiao Huaijin immediately fell silent. He could agree to other things, but he couldn't do this.

These words elicited a compliant silence from Xiao Huaijin, and the surroundings immediately fell into tranquility.

Shen Yunjiao then ignored the person on the bed.

Looking at Shen Yunjiao's figure reading diligently under the window, Xiao Huaijin felt very at ease.

A long-awaited drowsiness washed over him, and Xiao Huaijin's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. He had wanted to take a few more glances at Shen Yunjiao, but before long, he drifted off to sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Yunjiao also felt sleepy.

She put down her book, took the lamp, and walked to the bedside. Xiao Huaijin was sleeping soundly, his brows were relaxed, and there was a faint smile on his lips.

He looks like a peaceful, sleeping beauty.

Shen Yunjiao was speechless. It turned out that her bed was much more comfortable than the two-and-a-half-meter-long bed in the East Palace.

"Sigh, I'll let you sleep tonight. We'll have to rely on you to keep our whole family safe from now on."

Shen Yunjiao made do and lay down on the chaise lounge behind the screen opposite the bed.

Her breathing gradually calmed down, and she soon fell into a deep sleep.

I slept soundly through the night, with only the occasional croaking of frogs and the occasional chirping of birds in the summer air.

—

When Shen Yunjiao opened her eyes, it was already the morning of the next day.

Xiao Huaijin left silently, without even waking her.

Moreover, she didn't know when Xiao Huaijin had carried her back to bed to sleep.

"Miss, it's time for you to get up." Granny Lin brought in a basin of warm water, opened the door, and walked in. "Fuxia has already prepared a hangover soup and a bowl of chicken porridge for you. Please get up and drink them."

"Okay, I understand." Shen Yunjiao stretched her arms and legs lazily, and just as she was about to turn over, she noticed a jade pendant on her pillow.

Shen Yunjiao held it in her hand and examined it closely with a puzzled look.

This jade pendant is made of mutton fat white jade, and its surface is smooth and warm. It is engraved with dragon patterns and auspicious clouds, and also has the character "谨" (jǐn, meaning cautious).

This is clearly Xiao Huaijin's jade pendant. Why would he deliberately keep this jade pendant for himself?

After pondering for a moment, Shen Yunjiao put the jade pendant away.

I'll pay him back at another time.

Shen Yunjiao put the jade pendant back under her pillow and then slowly got out of bed.

Today, she went to Shen Qinghuai's courtyard to have dinner with him. Shen Qinghuai first repeated what he had said yesterday to Shen Yunjiao, and during the meal, he brought up the polo match hosted by the Princess of Guangping. "Speaking of which, this is the first time the Prince of Guangping has hosted a polo match for the Princess, and he has invited almost everyone in the capital who is famous or well-known. Would you like to go, sister?"

"I want to go, brother." Shen Yunjiao's eyes lit up when she mentioned going out to play.

“But Prince Pei might also go, and I’m afraid you’ll be upset if you run into him.” Shen Qinghuai awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

Shen Yun laughed, "Don't worry, brother, it won't happen."

She hadn't told her brother that she had met Pei Zhixuan yesterday, and that Pei Zhixuan's behavior yesterday was fairly normal.

At least he didn't act like he was before, going crazy and trying to take her back to the Pei residence.

"Alright," Shen Qinghuai said with a smile, "Then your brother will have to watch your performance again."

"???" Shen Yunjiao asked in confusion.

Shen Qinghuai was amused by her confused look. "You silly girl, you love horse racing and polo the most. You win the championship every year at the Beijing Polo Tournament. Don't be modest."

Shen Yunjiao felt a wave of embarrassment.

Haha, let alone playing polo, she's never even ridden a horse. The only time she almost learned, Shen Qinghuai called her back.

It doesn't matter whether you play well or not, it's nice to go for a walk and stroll around.

The day of the polo match arrived quickly.

As soon as Shen Yunjiao arrived at the venue, Jiang Rong excitedly waved to her: "Over here!"

Shen Yunjiao left Shen Qinghuai and went to greet Jiang Rong. The two were very affectionate when they met, and chatted for a while with their hands linked. Jiang Rong then said, "Sister-in-law, you are good at polo. I used to play against you several times and always lost. Now that we are close, you have to teach me. We will definitely crush the other side."

Shen Yunjiao paused for a moment, then smiled awkwardly: "Actually, I didn't come here to play polo today. I've been feeling too weak lately, and I'm afraid I'll faint if I'm jostled around on horseback like this."

Jiang Rong looked disappointed: "Oh, I was hoping to have some fun with my cousin-in-law."

"I'll watch you play," Shen Yun said with a charming smile.

As they walked towards the edge of the arena, they bumped into Pei Zhixuan and Fang Ziyu, who were also walking in their direction.

When Pei Zhixuan saw Shen Yunjiao, he was stunned for a moment and involuntarily wanted to go forward, but Fang Ziyu grabbed his sleeve.

Pei Zhixuan turned his head and saw Fang Ziyu smiling shyly, "Husband, can you teach me to ride a horse?"

Shen Yunjiao's gaze also drifted over from that direction, but the bright smile on her face quickly disappeared when she saw Pei Zhixuan.

Shen Yunjiao pulled Jiang Rong along, not even bothering to greet him, and simply took a detour.

Pei Zhixuan's heart sank as he watched her leave.

Has she really come to hate herself this much now?

"Husband?" Fang Ziyu asked again, unwilling to give up, when she saw that he did not respond.

Pei Zhixuan snapped out of his reverie and gave a curt "Okay."

Jiang Rong accompanied Shen Yunjiao to sit down in the tent specially set up for watching the competition next to the field. She then led a chestnut racehorse back to the training ground. Jiang Rong was a daughter of a military family, and she looked even more heroic and spirited when riding a horse.

Yan Shiman drank his wine and said to Yao Zhan with a smile, "Brother Yao, look, General Jiang's daughter is truly a heroine among women."

Unexpectedly, after chugging a glass of wine, Yao Zhan stood up and said, "I'm going to team up with her to play together."

Yan Shiman immediately became interested: "Then I'll go ride a horse too."

The tall and imposing general walked into the training ground and stood beside the equally spirited young girl. The two looked like a perfect couple, instantly attracting the attention of many people.

Seeing Jiang Rong's happy yet shy demeanor, Shen Yunjiao was genuinely happy for her.

It seems that Yao Zhan and Jiang Rong are making good progress.

As more and more people entered the stadium, the polo match officially began.

To Shen Yunjiao's surprise, Xiao Huaijin also participated in the competition.

Today he was dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, making him look elegant and upright like a pine tree.

Xiao Huaijin and Yan Shiman formed a team, Yao Zhan and Pei Zhixuan formed a team, and the remaining men also formed teams.

Polo is usually played in mixed teams of men and women, but today there are more unmarried men than married men present, so the Prince of Guangping immediately decided to change the polo match into an all-men's polo match.