But he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he walked ahead with a stern face, though he was furious inside. Half an incense stick's time had passed since he boarded the carriage, and no one had followed. Already annoyed, Ah Yu, completely oblivious, foolishly asked him, "Where's the young mistress?"
This ignited a powder keg. Lu Huai glared at him, his tone stern: "Why are you bothering with her? She has her own place to go! Drive, let's go!"
Even the slow-witted Ayu sensed something was wrong. He hesitated, "This...this is the young mistress..."
However, upon seeing Lu Huai's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot, he immediately changed his mind: "Giddy up!"
He didn't want to go back to that Night Forest to feed the mosquitoes again; the young mistress should pray for herself.
...
Qin Xi stood there for a while, thinking, before slowly taking a step. When she reached the door, she met Steward Lu again. Minister Lu and Lu Chuan had gone to the palace early in the morning to arrange the welcoming banquet, and since Lu Huai never interfered in matters, the steward could only turn to her.
As the matriarch of the household, it was perfectly reasonable to report to her.
However, as soon as she finished dealing with her business and looked up, she saw A-Yu driving away in his carriage.
"This..." Butler Lu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said somewhat awkwardly, "This A-Yu is really ignorant. I'll have to give him a good talking to when we get back."
Even though he defended Lu Huai, Qin Xi knew that A Yu always listened to his young master. If he hadn't spoken up, why would he have suddenly driven away?
Qin Xi stood at the door, with Butler Lu's incessant chatter beside her. But she seemed not to hear anything, her eyes darting around in confusion, a sense of emptiness in her chest, as if something was missing.
She stood there waiting for half an incense stick to burn, but Lu Huai didn't return. In the end, it was Steward Lu who arranged for a carriage.
Qin Xi lowered her eyes and forced a smile: "I want to ride a horse."
"W-what?!" Butler Lu rubbed his ears, thinking he had misheard, and leaned closer: "Young Madam, you just said... you wanted to ride a horse?"
"Mm." Qin Qi nodded.
She knew how to ride a horse. When she was still a young lady, Prime Minister Qin had her learn to ride. Although she wasn't very skilled at it, she could ride over such a short distance.
She had once asked Prime Minister Qin why she wanted to learn horsemanship, but he simply stroked her hair affectionately and said nothing. Looking back now, it seems that having more skills is never a bad thing.
Suddenly, she wanted to ride a horse. The feeling of galloping on horseback was actually very good. A gentle breeze brushed her face, blowing away all the unhappiness in her heart.
However, she disliked riding horses, not because it was something a lady of a respectable family should do, but because the skin on her inner thighs would chafe after each gallop. Except for when she first learned, she hadn't ridden a horse in a long time.
Oh, no, the last time was when she married Lu Huai. To symbolize a peaceful and smooth marriage, Lu Huai held her and sat on the saddle for a while.
Qin Xi suddenly realized that so much time had passed. Coming back to her senses, she smiled at Butler Lu: "Uncle Chang, please find me a horse."
She was smiling, but there was no sign of happiness. Butler Lu looked at her with heartache, and finally sighed, personally leading a horse over: "Young Madam, this is one of the more docile horses in the manor, but you should still treat it with care."
Qin Xi looked at the dark brown horse in front of her. As soon as she reached out her hand, she saw it obediently lower its head, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of fondness for it.
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