The horse's hooves kicked up a fine dust. Bai Linxi looked up at the girl on horseback and said, "Songyi's riding skills remind me of when Brother Yihuan first tamed Yanzhi."
Jiang Dinglian stroked the jade pendant at his waist and suddenly thought of what would happen if his daughter was raised in the Marquis' Mansion from childhood. She could surpass Jin Zhao in literature and Yi Huan in martial arts. The position of the Young Master of the Black Tiger Cavalry would probably have to be taken by another girl.
The old locust tree at the east end of the training ground rustled its leaves. As Jiang Songyi rode past the target, he happened to see the prince and his entourage turning around the corridor. Su Sheng's eyes widened, and his folding fan clattered to the ground. "That's rouge?"
Xinyi Daoyi paused to take in the scene. The July sun was blazing. A white horse, carrying a girl in red, swept past the wooden fence, her clothes fluttering like fire. Suddenly, she reined in the horse's hooves, sparks grazing on the bluestone, and it stopped just three steps away.
"Your Highness, what do you think of my riding skills?" When Jiang Songyi leaned over, the pearls hanging from the golden hairpins on her temples brushed across her rouge-colored snow-white mane.
The prince looked up. The tip of the girl's nose was beaded with sweat, but her eyes were surprisingly bright. He suddenly remembered the red fox he had seen during last year's autumn hunt. It was also so cunning and flamboyant. "Very good." He realized it was too simple before he added, "Better than Su Sheng."
"Cousin!" Su Sheng's face flushed. Last year, he was trying to show off his horse training, and Yanzhi was carrying him and crashed into three trees as thick as bowls. This incident had been circulating among the young men in Beijing for more than half a month.
Jiang Songyi chuckled softly, and Yanzhi, as if sensing her master's thoughts, suddenly raised her hooves and turned westward to the racetrack. Jiang Jinzhao stared at the receding white shadow and suddenly caught a glimpse of his father's thoughtful expression.
"It took Yihuan three days to tame Yanzhi back then." Jiang Dinglian suddenly asked, "How long did Songyi take?"
"About." Jiang Jinzhao's Adam's apple rolled. "Half a cup of tea?"
The weapons rack beside the horse farm was scorching hot from the sun. Bai Linxi took off the water bag from his waist and threw it to Jiang Songyi: "Where did you learn this horse training skill?"
As the clear water flowed down her chin and into her collar, Jiang Songyi gazed at the undulating rooftops in the distance. Suddenly, a flash of her past life's master, holding her wrist and teaching her to draw the bow, flashed through her mind. That master had said, "To tame a horse is like taming the heart," but she had never been able to tame her father's suspicious heart until her death.
"Maybe Yanzhi and I hit it off." She threw the water bag back, shook the reins, and rushed back into the arena. This time, she deliberately circled in front of Jiang Jinzhao, and Yanzhi's snorting brushed against his clothes, startling him and making him stumble back.
Bai Linxi laughed her heart out, but Jiang Dinglian stared at his daughter's back as she rode her horse, lost in thought. That day in the ancestral hall, she had knelt before the ancestral tablets and said, "I wish to serve the Jiang family at every turn," her eyes as piercing as they were now as she rode.
As the sun set, the heat from the training ground gradually dissipated. Jiang Songyi dismounted, and Yanzhi nuzzled her palm affectionately. Su Sheng leaned over to touch the horse's mane, but was sprayed with spit all over his face.
"Does this beast still recognize its master?" He retreated in anger, just in time to see the smile in the prince's eyes. Xin Yidao coughed lightly and said, "Miss Jiang, can you borrow my horse for a look?"
Jiang Songyi raised an eyebrow and handed over the reins. As the prince's fingertips touched the leather, Yanzhi suddenly raised her head and neighed. Amidst the exclamations, Xinyi Daoyi gripped the bridle with one hand and caressed the horse's neck with the other. The violent white horse gradually calmed down.
"Your Highness, you have a good way." Jiang Songyi had barely finished speaking when Yanzhi suddenly turned and bit the prince's sleeve. Xinyidao took a misstep to avoid it, but the sleeve was still torn.
Bai Linxi burst out laughing, and Jiang Jinzhao hurriedly apologized. The prince waved his hand, looking thoughtfully at the torn cuffs. "It seems Yanzhi only recognizes you as her master."
As dusk crept over the eaves, the horseman arrived to lead Yanzhi back to the shed. The white horse pawed its hooves, refusing to budge. Finally, Jiang Songyi personally escorted it back. Passing the weapons rack, she casually pulled out an unsharpened sword.
"Will you come to compete in swordsmanship tomorrow?" The tip of the sword lightly touched Su Sheng's clothes.
"Let's fight!" Su Sheng stiffened his neck to accept the challenge, not noticing that the prince's face suddenly darkened.
Jiang Dinglian watched his daughter walk away and suddenly said to his eldest son, "Let Yihuan return home tomorrow."
"My third brother is still in the camp."
"Let him go back." The Marquis turned and walked towards the study. "It's time someone taught Song Yi how to use a gun."
The evening breeze blew up the dust in the training ground, hiding the complex look in Jiang Jinzhao's eyes.
Jiang Jinzhao stood aside, watching his sister's heart and eyes completely focused on Crown Prince Xinyi Daoyi, completely ignoring her own brother. His heart felt as if it were filled with cotton. He glanced at the pale Crown Prince and the noisy Su Sheng, and found them even more annoying.
"This trip to Mount Li and Xia Miao is ready. I wonder why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Young Master Su suddenly came to visit?" Jiang Jinzhao had a gentle smile on his face, like a young master from an aristocratic family, but the distance between his words was as obvious as the morning frost in autumn.
Su Sheng scratched the back of his head: "My cousin the Crown Prince and I are also going to Mount Li for hunting, and it just so happens that he is in need of a horse that suits his taste. Thinking that your mansion is the best at raising horses, I came here to ask for one." As he spoke, he stole a glance at Xin Yidao's thin figure. In fact, he didn't want to take this sickly person out with him at all, but he couldn't disobey the emperor's order.
Jiang Jinzhao's eyebrows twitched slightly when he heard this. How dare the Crown Prince, a frail man with a weak constitution, go hunting? Perhaps he's just craving for life.
"Most of the war horses in the Marquis' Mansion are of fierce temperament. We can't afford to scare the prince's precious body." He turned to Su Sheng and suggested, "The horse market in the east of the city has just received a batch of docile Yunnan horses. Why don't you go there to pick some?"
"My cousin the Crown Prince, look..." Su Sheng turned around and was about to persuade him to leave, but was suddenly interrupted by Jiang Songyi.
The girl jumped off the white horse and swiftly led a small chestnut pony from the stable. The horse was shiny and had snow-white hooves. It was the mount Jiang Jinzhao had chosen specifically for her.
"Try this?" Jiang Songyi stuffed the reins into Xin Yidao's hand, completely unaware of his brother's face that suddenly darkened.
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