Chapter 16 Chapter 16 is indelible.

At a horse farm on the outskirts of the city, a woman in a red tight riding suit was riding a horse forward. A confident smile was on her face, and her eyes were shining as she looked at the man outside the fence.

Seeing the man approaching, she stood up, pulled out the long arrow from her back, and aimed at the target in the distance.

At this moment, the horse suddenly roared and ran wildly under control. When Jiang Yuchang wanted to tighten the reins, it was too late. Before she could react, her whole body was hanging sideways on the horse, and her feet were hooked in the stirrups, unable to move forward or backward.

Seeing the situation, Ji Wei quickly led a horse out from the stable nearby, climbed on the horse and ran straight towards Jiang Yuchang.

When he approached the out-of-control foal, he leaned over and picked up Jiang Yuchang from the horse, and cut off the stirrup on her foot with a dagger.

Jiang Yuchang was pulled onto Ji Bai's horse and rode with him. She was still holding the bow and arrow that had just been shot.

As Ji Sui rode his horse forward, he lowered his eyes to glance at the bow and arrow in her hand. After a low chuckle, he reached out and took the bow and arrow from Jiang Yuchang's hand and aimed at the target.

Jiang Yuchang only felt a "buzzing" sound beside her ear, and then saw that the arrow had hit the center of the bull's eye.

"Is this what Miss Jiang wants?"

The horses gradually slowed down, and for the first time, Jiang Yuchang felt her ears burning. She knew Ji Rui had been fighting outside the Great Wall, and because of what he had said to her before, she wanted to teach him a lesson and show him what she could do.

She wanted to let Ji Rui know that she was not as delicate and weak as ordinary women, but unexpectedly her goal was not achieved and she got into trouble instead.

But it is undeniable that at that moment, she was really moved.

After the two men dismounted, Jiang Yuchang went to check on the frightened horse. It had been subdued by the horse slave and tied back to the stable.

Jiang Yuchang patted the horse's mane gently, as if she was talking to the horse, or explaining to Ji Sui: "I've cherished you for so long, and today I finally brought you out. I wanted you to help me show off, but you're so disappointing."

Ji Sui stood not far away with his arms folded, speaking calmly, "A young horse like this is very shy. Miss Jiang deliberately cleared the stables today, but that also made the surroundings even quieter, which frightened it even more. The slightest movement will cause it to lose control."

At this moment, a horse slave suddenly stepped forward to plead guilty: "Miss, please spare my life. A new boy just now was ignorant and accidentally bumped into a wooden box while cleaning the stable. It seems that your horse was startled at that time. I will capture him now!"

"Forget it, forget it. He just bumped into me by mistake. I'm not that unreasonable. I'll just teach him to be more careful next time."

Jiang Yuchang sent the horse slave away, and her beautiful eyes returned to Ji Bai again, with a little more light in them.

Seeing Ji Sui's eyes, she turned away awkwardly. After a moment, she seemed to recall something and turned back to ask, "I didn't expect the general to mount his horse from the left."

When ordinary people ride horses, they are accustomed to mounting the horse from the right side, especially those who are marching or fighting. They wear swords on the left side of their waist, so they naturally mount the horse from the right side.

Ji Wei didn't expect Jiang Yuchang to ask such a question. He looked stunned and didn't answer for a long time.

The first time he rode a horse was actually taught by Lin Zhen.

At that time, even her own riding skills were not very good, but she had mastered a lot of riding knowledge.

Although she was about the same age as him, she told him the story tirelessly like an elder.

The man's handsome sword-like eyebrows slowly wrinkled, and those things that he thought he had long forgotten would inadvertently surface again.

Time can indeed fade memories, but those that are deeply engraved in the heart cannot be erased.

For example, now, when he was in a hurry, he would subconsciously get on the horse from the left side, and that was only because he inherited Lin Zhen's unusual habit.

*

During this period, Jiang Yuchang and Ji Sui often appeared in various places in the capital, such as restaurants, horse farms, and theaters...

There were even rumors in the capital that the new general in the court was going to be the son-in-law of the Duke of Rong.

Beauty and heroes have always been a beautiful story since ancient times.

This day was the birthday of the old Duke Rong, and the Jiang family held a grand banquet. Ji Sui was naturally among the invited guests.

Jiang Yuchang arranged Ji Bai to sit in the upper seat next to her without any hesitation.

"You're on my turf now. If you need anything, you can only tell me!"

Jiang Yuchang was wearing a gorgeous brocade robe today, with pearls and jade on her head, looking more radiant and beautiful than usual. She turned sideways to Ji Bai, her cheeks half lifted, and there was a coquettish tone in her voice that she herself was not aware of.

"The guest should follow the host's wishes. I dare not trouble Miss Jiang." Ji Bai smiled and cooperated with her.

During the banquet, Jiang Yuchang either brought up topics or raised her glass to toast, and Ji Sui responded to each one of them readily.

He has always been good at things like this.

However, a white figure appearing on the stage broke his composure.

"I never thought there would be such a woman in the Jiaofangsi, she is actually quite elegant and extraordinary..."

Jiang Yuchang looked at Lin Zhen, who was standing on the stage with his black hair drooping over his shoulders and his head bowed as he played the piano, and spoke slowly. She said this partly out of sincere praise, and partly to test Ji Sui.

Or maybe, she wanted to use that woman to hear Ji Sui praise her from his mouth.

Ji Sui's reply was beyond her expectation: "Miss Jiang actually admires women like this."

For the first time, she saw an unhappy emotion in Ji Sui's eyes, and she immediately felt embarrassed and no longer

Spoken.

Jiang Yuchang felt that she had said something wrong, so after the dinner, she took out the wine she brewed herself and invited Ji Sui to drink with her.

Jiang Yuchang and Ji Sui sat opposite each other in a pavilion in front of the rockery. She sent all the servants away.

A breeze blew, the leaves rustled, and the mottled shadows cast by the moonlight on the ground swayed sparsely.

"Such a beautiful view and fine wine, if accompanied by the sound of the zither, would be even more perfect..." Jiang Yuchang held her chin and nodded at the wine cup in front of her. While thinking, she saw the female musician from the Jiaofang Bureau about to leave the house not far away. She hurriedly called out to her, "Hey, it's you, come here quickly!"

There was a guqin in the pavilion. She originally wanted to find a musician to play it to add some fun, but when the woman turned around, she regretted it.

That person was the woman who played the piano at the banquet. Ji Rui seemed to... dislike this person.

"That's all—"

"Let's just pick her."

Jiang Yuchang and Ji Sui spoke at the same time.

Although Jiang Yuchang was surprised, she didn't say anything when she saw Ji Rui agreed.

Ever since Lin Zhen sat in the pavilion, Ji Sui's eyes always drifted towards that place unintentionally. He seemed to want to see some different expression on Lin Zhen's face.

However, no matter whether Jiang Yuchang was chatting and laughing with him, or whispering intimately with him, Lin Zhen did not show any strange expression.

Ever since their last unpleasant meeting at the Jiaofangsi, Ji Sui has never set foot there again. When they meet again, she is still so indifferent and cold.

She really...

Ji Sui tightened his grip on the wine cup, and a strange thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He asked Jiang Yuchang, "What did Miss Jiang just say?"

By then, after three rounds of drinking, Jiang Yuchang's cheeks were flushed and she became bolder. She reached out and pulled Ji Sui closer, her red lips parted, "I...I want to know, does the general have someone he likes?"

"Maybe it's here right now."

Ji Wei replied solemnly, his dark eyes staring directly at the tipsy Jiang Yuchang, but his ears were always paying close attention to the floating piano music.

The two of them got closer and closer.

With a "clang" sound, the piano music stopped abruptly, and Jiang Yuchang was awakened by the shock. She felt ashamed of her inappropriate behavior just now.

Ji Sui smiled. He raised his head and looked at Lin Zhen calmly, asking knowingly, "Why did you stop?"

Lin Zhen's next words dimmed Ji Sui's smile, which had only lasted a short time.

"A flying insect landed on Miss Jiang's shoulder."

“…What?! Ah—”

Jiang Yuchang exclaimed, then leaned on Ji Bai and put her arm around his.

Ji Rui ignored the frightened man. His eyes were as cold as ice, and he locked them on Lin Zhen, gritting his teeth and saying, "Get out."

Lin Zhen still had a calm expression. He stood up from the piano calmly and turned to leave.

It was almost September, and the draft made people feel a little chilly. Lin Zhen couldn't help but gently hold his arm.

"Miss Lin!"

A woman in red walked quickly towards Lin Zhen from the corridor. Among the women who were saved by Lin Zhen during the last palace riot, some were grateful for his life-saving grace and had become warmer to her since then.

"Where have you been? It's so easy for me to find you. The others have already taken a carriage back to the Jiaofangsi—"

"...Miss Lin, are you okay? Why do you look a little unwell?"

Under the cold moonlight, Lin Zhen raised his cheek slightly, remained silent for a while, and replied lightly: "Is that so?"

*

On the carriage back to the General's Mansion, Shi Zhu saw Ji Sui's gloomy face all the way. After suppressing it for a while, he finally asked cautiously, "...Did Miss Jiang make the General unhappy?"

Ji Sui glanced coldly at Shi Zhu and frowned, "Does this General look unhappy?"

“…”

Shi Zhu naturally didn't dare to refute. After a long silence, he changed the subject: "General, are you going to marry Miss Jiang?"

Shi Zhu also knew clearly that Duke Rong had only one daughter. If he could marry Jiang Yuchang, it would be equivalent to having the support of Duke Rong's Mansion.

Although the general holds great power, his foundation is not deep, so it is very good for him to have such a noble family by his side.