"Who said we were going to look for him?" Su Sheng interrupted, stiffening his neck. "The Emperor's uncle asked me to be a close guard for my cousin, the Crown Prince. If you want to chase him away, why not chase him away too?"
Jiang Songyi glanced at Xin Yi who was adjusting her cuffs and said, "Forget it, I'm a coward."
Su Sheng almost laughed out loud. This girl had dared to point an arrow at the Third Prince the other day, and now she was playing dumb. His eyes swept over the Crown Prince's pale face, and he suddenly remembered the rumors in the capital—that the Crown Prince resembled his late mother, a sickly person who would fall at the slightest provocation.
Jiang Jinzhao rolled up his sleeves and squinted coldly at Su Sheng. What about protecting the crown prince? It was clearly an opportunity to get close to Song Yi. Remembering his father's words the other day about arranging a marriage for his sister, he suddenly felt that everything about the young man before him was unpleasant.
Before the morning mist cleared, the foot of Mount Li was already filled with carriages and horses. The silver armor of the Imperial Guards gleamed coldly in the morning sun. Jiang Songyi rode beside his father, his rouge-white mane fluttering in the wind.
"Lord Jiang has taught his daughter well!" The Minister of War stared at the white horse in amazement. "Last month, my son wanted to borrow Yanzhi to ride, but he was thrown over."
Jiang Dinglian stroked his beard and laughed heartily, his wrinkles revealing pride. Suddenly, a horn blew from the front, startling the birds in the forest and sending them darting skyward.
Bai Linxi urged his horse to squeeze in beside Jiang Songyi, but his eyes kept glancing back. Suddenly, he saw a dark figure passing through the shadows of the trees. He immediately waved his whip and shouted, "Brother Yihuan!"
The young general rode up, crushing the morning dew. His dark, narrow-sleeved tunic outlined his muscular figure, his hair tied high in a crown, his brows like sharp blades tempered by frost and snow. He nodded briefly to his father, then turned to Bai Linxi with a scowl, "You're riding a horse just after your leg injury?"
"The imperial physician said he can run and jump now!" Bai Linxi's voice stopped abruptly—a lilac figure appeared behind Jiang Yihuan. Xue Xin's hands, gripping the reins, turned pale as he smiled timidly at her. "Miss Pei, don't blame the general. I just wanted to pick some of the white peony root that's unique to Mount Li..."
"I'm talking to Brother Yihuan, is it your turn to interrupt?" Bai Linxi raised her eyebrows.
Xue Xin's eyes instantly turned red, and she looked at Jiang Yihuan for help. The young general frowned and stood in front of her horse: "Miss Xue saved my life, what's wrong with taking her to collect herbs?"
"You brought someone of unknown origin..."
"Bai Linxi!" Jiang Yihan shouted, "The enclosure is not the Marquis's residence. You won't be allowed to act wildly!"
The arguing drew the attention of the surrounding officials. Jiang Songyi suddenly rode forward, Yanzhi wedging herself between them. "Third brother's saddle is quite unique," she said, her fingertips brushing against the gold threads wrapped around the black iron stirrups. "I hear the war horses in the northern border have their hooves wrapped in wolfskin. I wonder which is better, compared to the iron-clad ones in the Central Plains?"
Jiang Yihan was startled, and his fierce expression eased a little: "Wolfskin hoof wraps are non-slip, but not as durable as iron-wrapped ones." He talked about what he saw and heard in the northern border, and the tension just now dissipated immediately.
Bai Linxi took the opportunity to glare at Xue Xin, only to find the woman gazing intently at Jiang Yihuan's profile. The morning light gilded the young general's features, and a faint blush crept onto Xue Xin's pale cheeks.
Suddenly, the team became agitated. A eunuch's sharp voice came from the front: "The emperor has ordered that young men may enter the forest and try hunting!"
Su Sheng immediately rode his horse to Jiang Songyi and said, "Want a competition? If I win, you will be my stable boy for three days!"
“What if I win?”
"Whatever you say!"
Jiang Songyi was about to reply when he saw Xin Yidao coughing into his handkerchief. A bright yellow tassel of silk dangled from the prince's fingers, swaying in the wind, much like the wisps floating on the medicinal broth his master drank when he was seriously ill.
"If I win..." She pulled the reins and turned the horse's head, "Your Highness, please give me the Eighteen Scholars in the East Palace."
Xin Yidao paused as he wiped the corner of his mouth and said, "Accurate."
When the sound of horse hooves startled the birds in the forest, Jiang Yihuan suddenly grabbed his sister's reins and said, "There is a cliff on the north slope, be careful..."
Before he could finish his words, Bai Linxi interrupted him: "Brother Yihuan, why don't you worry about yourself!" She pointed the whip at Xue Xin, "You're carrying a burden with you, don't lose too badly!"
Jiang Songyi seized the opportunity to slap her brother's hand away, and Yanzhi dashed into the dense forest like an arrow from a bow. Behind her, Su Sheng's strange cries and Jiang Jinzhao's instructions were quickly shattered by the wind.
She was riding close to her horse's back as she pushed through the thorn bushes when she suddenly heard the sound of unfamiliar horse hooves behind her. It wasn't the black horse Su Sheng was used to riding, but rather... She turned around and saw Xue Xin's panicked face. The woman's saddle had come loose during the gallop, and she was thrown towards the mountain stream like a kite with a broken string.
Xue Xin bit her lower lip and looked at Jiang Yihuan, her fingers twisting the reins nervously. "Or... I'd better go back to the tent." She lowered her eyes to avoid his gaze, her voice so soft that it seemed to be blown away by the wind. "It will cause you trouble after all."
As the chestnut horse turned, the black-maned steed blocked its path. Jiang Yihuan held the reins with one hand, his dark wristband gleaming coldly in the sunlight. "Since I've agreed to let you go, there's no reason for you to change your mind midway." He tilted his head to look at Bai Linxi, a deep frown forming between his brows. "I brought them here, so if anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility."
Bai Linxi's knuckles turned white as he gripped the horsewhip, and suddenly he heard a sneer from the side.
Jiang Songyi leaned in the shade of a tree, watching with a cold gaze. Her dark, tight-fitting outfit outlined her slender figure, and a silver bell wrapped with a red string around her wrist tinkled softly as she plucked the bowstring.
[Go ahead, Jiang Yihuan. It's best to get closer to that Southern Xinjiang Gu woman and stay away from Lin Xi, so as not to repeat the same mistake and kill her.]
[You brought spies from the enemy into the enclosure. Are you trying to hunt tigers and leopards, or the emperor?]
Jiang Yihuan clenched the reins fiercely, his warhorse rearing up in pain. He glanced at Xue Xin's downcast brows with a wave of doubt, then gazed toward the bright yellow curtains in the distance—the woman who had bandaged his wounds with herbs only yesterday, whispering softly about her home in Lingnan...
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