Chapter 25 (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
Chapter Twenty-Five
After rescuing the scraggly horse, Lin Rong did not immediately go forward to tame it.
Instead, he cautiously approached the scraggly horse, gently calming it down while raising the shears and saying, "I don't want to hurt you, I just want to cut that rope. You have to be patient and don't kick me... If you suddenly attack, they know you're unruly and will kill you."
Whether the mongrel was exhausted or intelligent, the foal merely snorted and shook its head, making no other aggressive moves.
Lin Rong breathed a sigh of relief. She inserted the scissors into the blood-stained hemp rope and pulled hard.
The horse's harness rope broke in two.
It is free.
Lin Rong smiled with relief and subconsciously touched the black mane of the scraggly horse.
Once the foal had caught its breath, Lin Rong gently grasped the reins and helped it stand up.
The little girl led the injured horse step by step toward the stable not far away.
The mixed-breed horse belongs to Lin Rong.
She named it Sesame.
Because of its messy coat color, and the black and white spots on its belly, it looks just like black sesame seeds used to decorate a sugar cake.
Lin Rong couldn't ride a horse yet. Knowing that sesame seeds are fiery, she didn't dare risk her life to force her to tame a horse.
For the first few days, Lin Rong asked Zheng Huiyin to accompany her, riding another gentle mare.
However, she didn't practice for long before she felt sore all over again.
Lin Rong suddenly remembered what happened that night.
She was forced to spread her knees and cling to Pei Zan.
To prevent Pei Zan from becoming pregnant and giving birth, they prevented him from entering.
Lin Rong could only do as he wished, and reluctantly squeezed the boiling water in place.
Lin Rong was suddenly scalded and was somewhat at a loss.
Pei Zan held her soft waist, forcing her to grind against him, not letting her escape at the last minute.
After Pei Zan's energy was fully released, he finally took pity on Lin Rong and allowed her to stop.
Lin Rong simply couldn't bear this kind of torment.
She even secretly applied ointment to the swollen area several times.
Lin Rong was feeling unwell, but dared not let Zheng Huiyin notice, so she could only coax her to go on patrol while she slowly practiced riding the horse while holding the reins herself.
Fortunately, two days later, the blue finger marks faded completely, and this time riding the horse, she finally didn't feel tormented.
Lin Rong rescued the scraggly horse not only out of pity for it, but also out of her own selfish motives.
Lin Rong had seen Uncle Wang train horses, and she knew that the warhorses trained in the military camp could understand the cavalry's commands.
Once the soldiers blow the bone whistle on the warhorse, the warhorse is very likely to turn against them and run back to the camp, or expose Lin Rong's escape.
If she wanted to escape, she absolutely could not leave such a huge hidden danger behind.
Lin Rong knew that sesame was different from others; it was wild, intelligent, and had not been tamed.
If Lin Rong could ride it to escape, perhaps she wouldn't be so easily found.
Lin Rong rode her mare against the strong winds of the grassland. She lowered her body and charged forward recklessly... The horse's back was too bumpy, but she tried her best to balance her body, put her feet in the stirrups, and finally successfully completed two laps around the grassland.
Lin Rong was very eager to learn these miscellaneous tasks. She was also bold and diligent, not afraid of falling or getting hurt. In just three to five days, she mastered the skills of riding a horse and was no longer prone to falling off.
For a while after that, Lin Rong still delivered steamed cakes to Zheng Huiyin every day, but she no longer needed Zheng Huiyin to accompany her in horseback riding practice.
At the same time, Lin Rong also began to quietly hoard food, dried meat, and sheepskin water bags.
Fortunately, Pei Zan was not in his tent. Lin Rong usually took advantage of his power and ate in his tent, secretly keeping some naan bread and dried meat. No one dared to offend her, so they would not discover her intention to escape.
Lin Rong was careless; she didn't care much about other people's opinions or ridicule, and she only thought about her own affairs.
Recently, Lin Rong has been personally cutting grass and kneading grass cakes to feed the horse, and her relationship with this scraggly horse has progressed rapidly.
The mixed-breed horse was indeed intelligent. Several times, it understood the nickname "Sesame" given to it by Lin Rong and would even twitch its ears in response.
Every time Lin Rong mounted the horse, Sesame would struggle wildly, throwing Lin Rong onto the grass before finally stopping.
Lin Rong slumped down amidst the lush, overgrown weeds, lost in thought.
She sat cross-legged, resting her chin on her hand, pondering the reasons.
She thought about it for a long time and suddenly realized something... Sesame was very careful when throwing her. Every time, she would bend her knees and throw her with her head down, and she would always throw her into the thick haystacks, so she would not hurt Lin Rong.
Lin Rong suddenly realized that Sesame might not want to hurt her; it was smarter than she had imagined!
Lin Rong thought of the lasso that had been tied around Sesame's neck that day, and then glanced at the bit and reins on Sesame's head.
She slapped the mud and grass roots stuck to her buttocks again and tentatively stepped forward.
Lin Rong gently stroked Sesame's head and slowly untied its reins.
Sesame stared intently at Lin Rong with its bright, dark eyes, as if waiting for her next move.
Lin Rong whispered, plotting, "Sesame, do you want to leave this place? I'm riding you not to tame you or take you to the battlefield to die. I want to take you away from here, to stop being enslaved... How about this, let's elope!"
After saying that, Lin Rong flicked the water-filled reins, striking a heroic pose as if she would never force a horse.
She patted the horse's back, indicating that she wanted to try riding it.
"Sesame, stop being stubborn. If you don't carry me, how am I supposed to give you directions, and how are we supposed to make our way out? You have to trust me this once!"
Lin Rong wasn't sure if Sesame had understood.
She removed the reins, left the saddle, and tried again to climb onto the horse's back.
Lin Rong knew perfectly well that the reason she hadn't been injured before, besides the fact that Sesame had recognized its master, was also because she was holding the reins.
This time, the reins are gone. If Sesame doesn't cooperate and throws Lin Rong off the horse again, she'll probably be in pain for two or three days.
Fortunately, Sesame seems to have truly understood Lin Rong's meaning today.
Knowing that Lin Rong meant no harm, it tilted its head and knelt down, allowing her to climb steadily onto the horse's back.
With Sesame on her back, Lin Rong's view suddenly became much wider.
She gazed at the boundless plains, her heart filled with expansive thoughts and surging emotions.
Lin Rong took a deep breath of the fresh, grassy scent, and for some reason, her nose suddenly felt sore.
She gently grasped Sesame's long mane and rode the scraggly horse around the grassland for quite a while.
Even without reins, Sesame carried Lin Rong steadily, preventing her from falling and getting hurt.
Lin Rong's eyes welled up with tears. She climbed off the horse with satisfaction and put the reins back on Sesame's head.
Lin Rong hugged the horse's neck and said confidently, "Sesame, don't worry. If I have a good day, you will too! I'll go prepare hay, biscuits, and provisions now. In a few days, when we win a great victory at the front and the defenses are lax, we'll escape together!"
Lin Rong had made up her mind. She would treat Sesame as a friend and support her. As long as she had food, Sesame would have food too!
She refused to believe it; the world was vast, and there wasn't a place for a person and a horse to find refuge!
Author's Note: A very short bonus chapter for Thursday. The chapter for Friday shouldn't be early Thursday morning, but rather 10 PM Friday night (we'll change the update time and try updating at 10 PM every night from now on =3=)
Normally, I refresh the page every other day if I have any comments.
Regarding the "cloud and rain" part, if you don't quite understand, just get the gist of it: generally speaking, it's impossible to write about Rong'er having sex with Pei Zan. Even in the later stages, it's only Pei Zan who gets to serve Rong'er.
I've also seen a few comments that seem to dislike the writing, which are really not to my liking. I suggest putting it aside for now, because everyone has different writing styles and interests. Let's not dwell on it too much. I'll try my best to write well, and I'll be happy if I can meet a small group of readers who are interested in my writing.
Love you all! I even got a red envelope today! [hugs]
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