Chapter 80 Year After Year Wild Geese (Part Two) Who Wants Him?
Zhi Rou remained silent, turned her back, and her boots rustled as they stepped across the grass.
Enhe tossed the yarrow stalks aside and strode after him, saying, "Actually, it was Mother who sent me to call you."
The radiance bathed the girl's figure, and her current attire increasingly resembled that of a grassland person. The long, flowing robe of Northern Glass clung to her, slender and straight, with a dark embroidered belt cinching her waist, adorned only with a short knife.
With the rhythm of her walk, the short knife rose and fell below her waist. Enhe's eyes followed its movement, and he thought to himself that when he first met Song Zhirou, it was on her, as if it were something she cherished deeply.
Upon hearing "Urentuya," Zhirou stopped and glanced at him, asking, "What happened?"
“Your princess isn’t eating and is dying.” Eun-ho subtly averted her gaze.
Zhi Rou's lips curled up, and she scoffed, "Nonsense, I just saw her yesterday."
After the incident with the snake, Huai Xian felt somewhat guilty when she saw Zhi Rou. She had been away from the capital for two and a half years and had spent nine seasons on the grasslands, yet her status among the noblewomen was not high, and she was far less popular than Zhi Rou.
The Khan did not cherish her either; apart from the people and property he brought from the capital, she had nothing of value. She wanted to find someone to talk to, but she was unwilling to lower herself and confide in those maids.
A few days ago, when the Khan was drunk, Huai Xian mustered up her courage and asked the Khan to allow her to go home.
In terms of politics, the two countries have just finished fighting. In fact, it was the other side that broke the agreement first. If the Han emperor had not refused to start a war, the flames of war would probably have spread to us this year.
Therefore, the attitude of the people on the grasslands towards this princess, who was both a decorative object and a hostage, was very indifferent. Most of the time, they just left her hanging, occasionally coaxing her and keeping her in the royal court. Whether she was happy or not, no one cared.
Last night, Huai Xian knelt in the royal tent for half an hour in front of many ministers. The Khan thought she was just being temperamental again, laughed it off, and even sent someone to add clothes for her, fearing she would catch a cold.
Huai Xian was so angry that she felt dizzy and refused to eat this morning. Urentuya and the seventeenth prince's birth mother both went to see her. Jiwa talked for a long time, but she nodded perfunctorily without listening to a single word.
"Who's talking nonsense?" Enhe frowned, his tone contemptuous. "She drove out all the female slaves that Father Khan had given her, and threw away the food. What a waste."
Zhi Rou parted the half-height weeds and understood somewhat: "Wurentuya wants me to persuade her?" She added with certainty, "She won't listen to me."
It's strange that Huai Xian's temperament seems to never change, even after being in Bei Li for so long.
Zhi Rou considered herself neither petty nor magnanimous; she held grudges somewhat. Huai Xian treated her unkindly, and she responded coldly in return. Over time, their friendship, though based on shared nationality, deteriorated into a state of indifference.
Enhe chuckled softly, his voice as pure and clear as the water flowing in a sacred lake, and his words were rather childish: "You can just go and scold her."
After several clashes between his father and the princess, he realized that this Princess Yan responded to force, not gentleness. Speaking softly to her was useless; he needed to teach her a lesson.
Upon hearing this, Zhi Rou couldn't help but laugh. Her delicate eyebrows arched slightly, and her eyelashes fluttered. The beautiful color on her face was so bright and alluring that it was almost bewitching.
"She's a princess, I wouldn't dare to scold her."
Eun-ho stared intently at Ji-yoo, as if it were second nature; he didn't understand what was impolite.
He didn't want to hear what she said; in his eyes, Princess Yan was nothing more than an ordinary person. He scoffed, "What are you afraid of? Has Song Zhirou ever been afraid of anyone?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhi Rou slowly stopped in her tracks.
Under the sunset, her eyebrows appeared particularly thick, as if layered with pink ink. Her eyes were deep, sparkling with starlight, and as the twilight swayed, her appearance was truly beautiful, and at this moment, she also showed a rare gentleness.
What Enhe had just said sounded familiar to Zhirou, as if someone had said it to her before, but she couldn't quite place it. For a moment, she felt like she had returned to her childhood, but the environment wasn't like this, and the people around her weren't Enhe.
A long-forgotten melancholy welled up in her heart, and Zhi Rou's silence was taken as an agreement.
The wind rustled through the grass, carrying the scent of nature from all directions; the sky seemed low. Enhe walked behind Zhirou; he was so tall and broad-shouldered that he almost completely hid her.
"So, who is the person you love?" he asked again.
Seeing that he was going to keep going, Zhi Rou casually said, "You don't know him."
Enhe wondered to himself, were there still people on the grasslands he didn't know?
After a moment, his gaze fell to the waistband in front of him, but he could not see her dagger for the time being.
He paused for a moment, then spoke: "They are from your Yan Dynasty."
The shadow in front didn't speak or stop, and walked straight towards the horse next to the wooden stake.
Enhe smiled, whether with relief or something else, but her words were sarcastic: "What kind of man can you still miss after two or three years apart?"
Zhi Rou was somewhat surprised to hear this; she probably wouldn't use such words to express her feelings.
She mounted her horse, her gaze sweeping down at her from above, and seemed to smile slightly: "Does the prince still say 'unforgettable' these days?"
She quickly stopped looking at him.
Zhi Rou didn't yet understand true romantic love. She only naively and firmly believed that she had some feelings for Wei Yuanzhan. He was different from everyone else.
To prevent others from understanding his conversation with Zhirou, Enhe learned Su Du's language. He already knew some; his adoptive mother was Han Chinese.
Seeing that she avoided answering, Enhe's lips, which had curled up in mockery, gradually flattened. He mounted his horse and quietly rode behind her.
Spring sunsets are long, and Zhi Rou loves this time of day the most. She can put everything else aside and just talk about the beautiful scenery; she even feels a little nostalgic for it.
A gentle evening breeze caressed her face. Zhi Rou brushed her stray hairs behind her ear, remembering that Jing Yao should be going to her tent to have dinner. Back in Bei Li, the person closest to her was still her.
Zhi Rou slightly turned her wrist, about to tighten the reins, but En He spurred his horse forward. As he approached her, he slightly tilted his body, pulled her reins with his long arm, and the two horses were passively brought close together, their front halves almost touching.
The movement was swift and seamless. Zhi Rou only saw his figure turn to the side, and the next instant, he sat upright on the horse, holding the two reins in his hands.
He always had a way of surprising people. Zhi Rou frowned and listened to him say, "Song Zhi Rou, let's have a match."
The dappled sunlight shimmered on Eun-ho's face. Ji-joo looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
“I won. You will come to the rally with me tomorrow.”
Zhi Rou chuckled inwardly, but outwardly asked him thoughtfully, "What if you lose?"
She and Enhe often competed, and Su said that he treated her like a man, like an opponent.
Zhi Rou deeply agreed.
Enhe thought for a while and said, "I'll have Ao Yun work for you for a month."
Back then, Enhe sneaked into Yan, followed by Ao Yun and Mu Xile. In Liangcheng, it was the first time they had ever met Zhirou.
Ao Yun's prejudice against her began from that time.
In the first few months after Zhi Rou arrived on the grassland, Ao Yun only started talking to her because of En He. The only topic of conversation was their nineteenth prince.
When Ao Yun later learned that she was a girl, he was surprised for a long time.
Later, upon learning that she had infiltrated the military camp and helped the Yan army on the battlefield, his attitude towards Zhi Rou changed drastically. Every time he saw her, he would mutter in the Bei Li language: "Traitor."
Having not seen Ao Yun for half a month, Zhi Rou had almost forgotten about him. When En He suddenly brought it up, she snorted contemptuously, "Who wants him?"
At times like these, it's easy to see that she's still quite naive and hasn't lost her edge despite her long period of dormancy.
Zhi Rou raised her eyebrows, her eyes sparkling: "You lost, and I want you to promise me one thing. If one day I am at a disadvantage and meet you again, please be merciful and let me go."
She still can't forget the feeling of being held hostage in Suyuan City. Last time it was Su Du, but what if next time it's En He?
Although she didn't trust them, a promise was better than no promise at all. She decided to take a gamble, hoping that even Bei Li had people who kept their word.
Enhe gazed at her calmly with his deep eyes, which always carried a hint of danger when he wasn't showing any emotion.
Is she planning to leave again? Enhe couldn't understand it. What was wrong with this place besides the royal court? Whenever she had free time, she would come here to rest and not return until sunset. Wasn't that because she liked it?
On second thought, if war broke out again, and she was on the opposing side, his status would make it absolutely impossible for her to be there.
In truth, if she hadn't followed Su Du when she went south with the army, he couldn't have guaranteed her life. He enjoyed having rivals, but on the battlefield, an opponent's life was less important than that of a comrade-in-arms.
Enhe unconsciously tightened his grip on the reins, his clear brows furrowing slightly: "This is not fair."
All he wanted was for her to show up at the rally. As for anything else, if she didn't want to, would he force her?
Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a long time, Zhi Rou guessed that he wouldn't agree. So when she heard this, she had no expression and just said to him, "You said you wanted to compete with me, but you didn't even ask if I was willing. Is that fair?"
Enhe grew up on horseback, but she didn't.
Comparing equestrian sports is inherently unfair to Zhi Rou.
Enhe carefully considered Zhirou's words. In terms of language, she always seemed to be lively, and he couldn't refute her.
A moment later, a faint smile appeared on his handsome face: "Alright." He loosened the reins and gently adjusted the horse.
Enhe looked eastward, nodded slightly, and said to Zhirou, "The boundary is Lake China; there is no denying it."
Just as they were about to ride into the woods to begin, she suddenly said, "Wait." Her gaze fixed on his mount, "I want to switch horses with you."
Enhe Zhemei, what kind of person is she?
She has a history of cheating him; it's not the first or second time she's done it, and he's learned his lesson.
Unexpectedly, Zhi Rou's provocative skills improved year by year. She straightened her back and raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Didn't you say that horse racing depends not only on the horse, but also on the rider? I heard that it accompanied you to the battlefield and was a warhorse. I want to see if its victory is due to the horse's quality or the rider's skill?"
Enhe smiled, his gaze lingering on the horse for a moment before returning to Zhirou's face, scrutinizing her as he said, "Alright."
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