Yan Miao glanced at her casually, raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't think that just because your father is the Minister of Revenue you can slander people at will."
"You... how come you're mimicking my speech?"
Yan Miao made a face and said, "What, is this your house?"
The two argued until their faces turned red, and they separated only after the teacher spoke. Yan Miao strode off to ride her horse, while the daughter of the Minister of Revenue was so angry that she jumped up and down in place.
Li Wan looked at the person who was walking further and further away from her cousin, her lips curled into a sneer.
The young lady asked, "Miss Wan, aren't you worried?"
Li Wan raised her head arrogantly, "What are you worried about? My brother would fall for a country bumpkin like her?"
Everyone thought about it and agreed. Prince Rong hated people who deliberately approached him. He couldn't help but feel disgusted, let alone like them.
"Forget it, let's go. She's just a country bumpkin; she'll be crying later."
An Ran followed Li Jingchen to the side, and her head, which had been lowered, was forced to be raised by the intense gaze.
The silence almost made An Ran roll her eyes, but the man in front of her finally spoke, "Can't you ride a horse?"
An Ran paused for a moment, then nodded. "No."
After she finished speaking, the man, with an inscrutable expression, touched the saddle and asked, "Do you recognize this?"
An Ran decided to continue feigning ignorance, so she shook her head again, "I don't know her."
The man let out a cold, mocking snort, the meaning of which was unclear.
Then a man's cool voice rang out, introducing the horse's accessories and precautions for riding.
Do you understand?
An Ran looked confused, as if she understood but didn't quite.
Li Jingchen told her to try, but she couldn't get up no matter what she did, which made the people around her laugh.
"Haha, everyone look! The young lady of the Dali Temple doesn't even know how to mount a horse."
Anzhi couldn't help but laugh at his sister's terrible movements. He could already imagine what his sister's image would be like in the Beijing social circles after today.
After struggling for quite some time, An Ran finally managed to get on the horse with the help of the maid beside her, but she was so unsteady that she could fall off at any moment.
The ladies learning new equestrian skills were laughing so hard they were doubled over, completely forgetting about etiquette.
"Look at her, isn't she funny?"
Yan Miao couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her new friend swaying precariously on horseback. She had just glanced at the man next to her and couldn't help but marvel at his impressive figure, wondering how such a remarkable brother could have such a... sister.
The equestrian lesson ended quickly, and then the boys and girls switched classes. Anran still couldn't do anything; it wasn't just a matter of missing the target.
Not only were arrows flying everywhere, but one almost hit the teacher.
This naturally caused a burst of laughter from the crowd. After the teacher sternly reprimanded everyone, he handed her over to Li Jingchen.
"You can't even do this?"
An Ran sighed deeply, "Didn't you see it?" She spread her hands, indicating that she was also helpless.
An Ran couldn't even hold a bow and arrow properly until the end of the day's lessons, and amidst the laughter of the crowd, she finished her class.
Anzhi was waiting at the door early, and when he saw Anran return listlessly, he had a relaxed smile on his face.
"What's wrong?"
"It's better not to go to school at all!"
Anzhi raised the corners of her mouth and teased, "I just saw you learning to ride a horse; your equestrian skills are pretty good."
An Ran clearly didn't think it was a joke, and proudly said, "Yes, I think it's good too. Father will definitely praise me when he finds out."
"Let's go, wait to get praised when we get back."
Anzhi naturally took Anran's book bag and put it on his back. After they went outside, their respective servants came up to take the things from them. The two chatted and laughed as they got into the carriage and left.
In a corner, a man sat upright in a carriage, engrossed in a book, until someone knocked on the carriage window.
"master"
"You found out?"
"Master, what do you think?"
The man lazily took it; it was filled with writings about An Ran.
Because of her poor health, she was sent to Jiangnan to recuperate. Her grandfather passed away, and she only returned to the capital when she came of age. Her parents did not have any expectations of her, which resulted in her not knowing anything.
"Hmph," Li Jingchen sneered, and the guards outside hurriedly asked, "Master, is there a problem?"
Li Jingchen shook his head, "It's nothing. Let's just drop this matter and there's no need to investigate it further. Go back."
When Su Jia and An Zhi returned home, the family had already prepared food. Since they were still in mourning and could not eat meat, the food was all made of flour.
After dinner, Su's mother asked with concern, "Are you settling in well with your studies?"
The two exchanged a glance, suppressed their laughter, and replied earnestly, "It's fine."
Mother Su was relieved. "That's good, that's good. From now on, you won't have to eat vegetarian food all the time. The child is still too young to handle it. His grandfather would also be uneasy if he saw this."
When talking about her recently deceased husband, Su's mother couldn't help but shed tears again.
After some persuasion from the crowd, the two calmed down. They said goodbye to their grandmother and were then summoned to Su Yi's study. The news about their time at the Imperial Academy had been relayed to him without reservation.
“An Ran, you…”
He wanted to say that there was no need to hide his talents; Su Yi's daughter could do whatever she wanted.
As her father, he would clear all obstacles for her.
"Father, what is it?"
Su Yi thought for a moment but didn't say anything, only saying, "It's nothing. If you're unhappy, remember to tell your father."
An Ran nodded obediently, "Don't worry, Father, no one can hurt me now."
Looking at his daughter's sly smile, Su Yi felt a pang of sadness, his eyes filled with affection. "I believe in An Ran."
Even after going back to sleep, he was still talking about this with Liu Huan, saying, "An Ran is showing more and more signs of growing up, and as her father, I'm very afraid that I won't be able to protect her."
"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Your daughter is very smart, and besides, she has her brother. She won't be wronged."
Anran was completely unaware of the emotions of the two men. What troubled her was that she had to study, learn to play the piano, paint, and embroider every day.
If you said that riding, archery, and playing the zither were just an act, then you really couldn't paint or embroider.
She was simply not cut out for embroidery; after a few lessons, she couldn't even embroider simple patterns.
Those nearby whispered among themselves, "Is this Miss Su a fake? Otherwise, how come she can't do anything?"
"Perhaps she was born to a woman who was not respectable in public, so Lord Su had no choice but to raise her under Madam Su's name."
The news spread like a long-legged dandelion, reaching every corner of the world in a single day.
There were even rumors that An Ran was an incompetent fool who knew nothing.
The Su family was in mourning and should not move around, so Anran paid no attention to these gossips.
But how could parents tolerate others insulting their daughter?
Liu Huan wrote a letter to his old friend, Princess Li Jiao.
The princess was furious after reading it, saying, "What's wrong with these people? Why are they so gossipy?"
It just so happened that her third sister-in-law, Xie Nan, was also there and overheard the conversation between the master and servant.
Xie Nan's eyes darkened as she said, "Since there are so many rumors circulating outside, why doesn't the princess arrange a meeting so that the ladies and young women in the capital can see her and clear the young lady's name?"
The princess thought it made sense but also felt it was inappropriate. "No, Old Master Su has only recently passed away, this matter cannot be rushed."
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