horse riding
"You madman!" Song Zhimin exclaimed as he saw Zi Yuan's grave destroyed by the masked man, her cold bones carelessly laid on the ground.
“Dead people still have value.” The masked man ordered his men to place Zi Yuan’s body in an ice coffin. “I need you to capture another trump card, otherwise her body will never be able to rest in peace.”
"Who else could possibly influence Lou Xuan and Jiang Jin now? It's only Zhai Wan, but she's either in the palace or in the capital, and she's accompanied by secret guards. We can't possibly take such a big risk to kidnap her!" Song Zhimin looked at Zi Yuan being sealed in the ice coffin, the blackened bloodstains on her neck making it even harder for him to accept.
"My lord, there is news from the capital!" The letter sent by Jiang Jin through the clothing workshop fell into Song Zhimin's hands.
"It seems to be an assassination attempt, but his life should be safe. We'll talk again if we get any further news." These few lines put Song Zhimin at ease.
"It seems the capital hasn't received Ziyuan's letter and doesn't suspect us yet." Song Zhimin pondered how to increase his leverage.
"Alright, now you should make amends instead of giving me that long face." The masked man looked coldly at Song Zhimin. "It's quite interesting that you, like me, have family grudges and yet you still fall in love with Jiang Jin."
"No matter what, we are both people of the Great Yan. His Majesty may be incompetent and his family arrogant, but what do these things have to do with the common people?" Song Zhimin never felt that the affairs of the Song family were related to the common people.
"Good officials are framed and condemned by everyone; these foolish people deserve to die!" The masked man turned to look at Zi Yuan's ice coffin. "You should be glad it's winter; if it were summer, you'd have to endure the stench and watch your rotting corpse." The masked man let out a sinister laugh. Song Zhimin couldn't bear it any longer and left the back mountain.
Back in his room, he looked at the letter Jiang Jin had sent him. It still had that familiar feel to it: "Jin, if you knew everything, you'd probably want to tear me to pieces."
"My lord!" The servant who always followed Song Zhimin ran up and pushed open the door, holding a wooden box like a precious treasure.
"What's the rush?" Song Zhimin glanced at the letter and then put it back in the box.
"My lord, what great joy! I've heard that there's a Gu worm in the Southern Frontier that can make the person who ingests the offspring Gu eternally love the person who possesses the mother Gu. So I used some means to get it for you." The servant opened the wooden box, inside which crawled two white worms.
"That's just nonsense." Song Zhimin glanced at it and then ignored it.
“My lord, you are mistaken. If Lady Jiang is willing to leave the capital, then Wei Shu and Lou Xuan will have no choice.” The servant respectfully placed the wooden box beside Song Zhimin.
“If the fact that you forced Ziyuan Niangzi to her death is exposed, then we won’t even have a chance to do it.” The servant said anxiously. “People are always selfish. Jiang Niangzi also loves you. Otherwise, why would she protect you? She was just temporarily misled by Wei Shu.”
"This matter needs careful consideration." Song Zhimin was somewhat tempted, but the matter was difficult to handle, and it was essential to proceed with caution.
"Madam, Lady Zhai has arrived." Jiang Jin opened her eyes; Zhai Wan was sitting by the couch, taking her pulse.
"Why are you here so early? It's not even dawn yet. Have you had breakfast?" Jiang Jin had her hair down and was only wearing a cotton-padded jacket.
"His Majesty's secret guards have reported that the Mother-Child Gu has been delivered to Song Zhimin." Zhai Wan tucked the blanket around Jiang Jin. "His Highness intends for Yi Yi, Yi Er, and Er Yu to accompany you."
"How dare I use His Majesty's secret guards?" Jiang Jin just felt that His Majesty seemed to be being overly lenient with her.
"His Majesty ordered you to seize the opportunity to kill the person behind the scenes; otherwise, why would he send his own guards to protect you for no reason?" Zhai Wan took off her outer robe and slipped into Jiang Jin's warm quilt.
"It's so cold, stay away from me!" Jiang Jin, who was still a little dazed, was startled by Zhai Wan and immediately woke up.
"Then let's wait until His Highness's wedding before taking any action." Jiang Jin yawned, her eyelids growing heavy again.
"Aren't you going to tell Wei Shu?" Zhai Wan asked, taking advantage of Jiang Jin's drowsy state.
"Tell me, let me think about what to say." Jiang Jin was just about to take a nap when she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to take Gu Si Niangzi to pay respects to her master today. She then grasped Zhai Wan's somewhat cold hand.
"You're quite thoughtful, knowing to warm my hands." Zhai Wan was about to say something more when she saw Jiang Jin step over her and lift the bed curtains. Abei was holding thick clothes, waiting to help Jiang Jin undress.
"You're treating me like a crowing rooster!" Zhai Wan's warm heart instantly turned icy cold.
"Don't worry about it so much. How could our relationship be affected by these things!" Jiang Jin gave Zhai Wan a look and then left Abei to take care of her.
"Madam." Gu Si Niangzi, who was sitting in a chair, immediately stood up and bowed upon seeing Jiang Jin arrive.
"Will you find it difficult to work at the exact hour from now on?" Gu Si Niangzi shook her head upon hearing this. "It's much easier than working at home. Here, there's a hot breakfast and a warm brazier."
"Madam." A woman stood outside the door; though somewhat thin, she exuded an air of refinement.
"This is Madam Hu. Her calligraphy and painting skills are exceptional. If you study diligently under her guidance, you'll be more than capable of surpassing those young men." Jiang Jin smiled and led Gu Si Niang by the hand to Madam Hu.
"You always make fun of me." Madam Hu tapped Jiang Jin's nose. "Since you think this young lady is good, then I'll accept her. However, my requirements are very strict. If she doesn't learn well, even if Madam Jiang pleads for you, I won't allow it."
"Don't worry, Master, I will do my best not to disappoint you and Madam Jiang. If all else fails, I'll just start early!" Madam Hu smiled upon hearing this. "You do resemble Madam Jiang somewhat. No wonder she specifically asked me to come here?"
"Was Madam also very diligent back then?" Fourth Madam Gu asked, rephrasing her question.
"Back then, she wasn't good at math, so she stayed up late by lamplight until she finally learned it before resting." Madam Hu stopped talking when she looked at the time. "Alright, I'll take you to the study first. Let's see what you know today."
After the two figures left the house, Jiang Jin returned to the bedroom. Zhai Wan was still sleeping on the couch and refused to get up.
"Why are you so afraid of the cold?" Upon hearing this, Abei placed a few more pieces of charcoal into the charcoal brazier.
“The best thing to do in winter is to stay in bed.” Zhai Wan poked her head out and looked at Jiang Jin. “His Majesty wants you to kill the person behind the scenes when the time is right, but you don’t need to risk your life. Preserving yourself is the most important thing.”
"I know." Jiang Jin let Abei take off her outer robe and squeezed Zhai Wan inside. The two slept soundly until the sun was high in the sky before getting up.
"I haven't slept this well in a long time." Jiang Jin lay on the tatami, smelling the aroma wafting from the table.
"If you could sleep until noon every day, I wouldn't have to worry about your health." Zhai Wan lay down next to Jiang Jin, watching A Bei setting the table.
"By the way, where is Wei Shu? He should have finished court by now." Zhai Wan looked at Jiang Jin curiously.
"He said yesterday that there were matters in the army. I didn't ask him what he was doing for His Majesty, and he didn't ask me what plans I had for His Highness." Jiang Jin took the chicken soup that Abei handed her and took a sip. The sweet taste warmed her up a bit.
"The way you two get along is truly unique." Zhai Wan downed most of her chicken soup in one gulp before shrinking back under the covers.
"Don't you want some porridge or noodles?" Seeing that Zhai Wan wanted to continue sleeping, Jiang Jin pulled her up. "If you don't eat something, you'll harm your health. You're a doctor, don't you even know this?"
"I know, but living by the rules of medical books every day is just too boring." Zhai Wan lay comfortably on the tatami mat; if nothing major happened today, she planned to sleep until late afternoon.
"Stop thinking about it!" Jiang Jin got off the bed, threw back the covers, and pulled Zhai Wan out. "Come with me to the horse farm to ride horses today!"
"I suddenly remembered what kind of elixir His Highness asked me to make, so I'm going back!" Zhai Wan was about to slip away when Jiang Jin grabbed her wrist.
"Come with me!" Jiang Jin, wearing only a thin coat, looked pitifully at Zhai Wan. An hour later, the two boarded a supply wagon bound for the horse farm.
"I don't know why she insists on going horseback riding at the horse farm in winter," Zhai Wan muttered, but still poured Jiang Jin a cup of hot tea.
"Horseback riding is the most carefree thing. I can't go too far right now, so I can only satisfy my craving at the horse farm." Jiang Jin leaned back on the cushions and looked at Zhai Wan.
“Song Zhimin isn’t a paranoid person. He won’t use insect poison on me easily, so I need your help.” Zhai Wan nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll do my best.”
"Actually, it would have been better if I hadn't saved him back then." Jiang Jin felt regret for the first time. "The Song family offended the Dou family, so the entire family was executed. The evidence was so convincing that there was no way to overturn the case, so His Majesty had no choice. It was only after this incident that His Majesty strengthened his control over the Dou family." Jiang Jin understood the resentment in Song Zhimin's heart, but that was not a reason for him to harm the people.
"Do you have any clues about the person behind this?" Upon hearing Song Zhimin's name, Zhai Wan felt an overwhelming surge of murderous intent.
"Based on the clues Ziyuan risked her life to bring back, that number seems somewhat familiar, somewhat like the Fu family case." Wei Shu has been busy with this matter these past few days, and Jiang Jin hasn't been idle either. But only the Fu family fits this number and harbors such deep resentment towards the court.
"The missing twins?" Zhai Wan had heard about them, but she thought that if they were from the Fu family, why would they need to wear masks and hide their identities? Anyway, no one had seen their faces, so even if they looked like their parents, no one would suspect anything.
"Everything is still unclear. I'll go to Song Zhimin's side and find out more later." Seeing that Jiang Jin had made up her mind, Zhai Wan didn't try to persuade her further.
"Then be careful. His Majesty has sent secret guards to infiltrate that man's side in Sangzhou. As long as you don't take any risks, your life should be safe." But seeing the hidden hatred in Jiang Jin's eyes, Zhai Wan didn't believe she would accept the secret guards' protection so readily.
“I know, I will definitely kill Song Zhimin, but I will act according to circumstances as the people behind the scenes do. However, their choice of Sangzhou suggests they are joining forces with the Chen family, and given their past unusual behavior, they might be plotting a rebellion.” Zhai Wan nodded without surprise.
"His Highness also had this suspicion, so he secretly sent Feng Niang with people to be stationed near Sangzhou, so that innocent people could be protected if anything unusual happened."
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