"Why is it you?" Qingchen, carrying a bundle, looked up at the person on horseback. "Didn't you say you were sending someone?"
Xu Silin still held out his hand to her, "This horse is hard to tame, not many people can ride it. The best rider is sick, so I have to do it."
Qingchen looked at his hand, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I think I'd better not go."
His doubts about her gender had just subsided, and she should avoid any possible physical contact. Besides, given his past temperament and behavior, she really didn't want to get too close to him.
"...Thank you for your kindness." With that, she turned and walked towards the Daming Gate.
"Why? Because of me?" He watched her retreating figure, then had to withdraw his hand and sit up straight. "Am I more important than the people of Huairou?"
The slender figure paused for a moment in the sunlight.
He rode slowly alongside her, saying, "With the flood, hundreds of thousands of people were scattered like ants, struggling to survive. Can you bear to do that?"
The man didn't speak, but then he said, "Didn't you want to be a good official?"
A moment later, the elegant black boots finally came to a stop. A long, faint shadow stretched across the ground.
Qingchen turned to look at him, her brows furrowing slightly, a little angry at his spying on others' wishes.
"...I didn't do it on purpose. Lin Mo and Luo Yuanhao dug up your bamboo slips. I only glanced at them." He looked down at her, his eyes dark and bright, sunlight streaming over his high nose. "You can hold it against me, but you'll have to wait until we get back. It's getting late. If you don't get on your horse soon, you'll really only be able to take one last look when we get to Huairou."
After saying that, he stretched out his hand again.
Qingchen's eyelashes twitched slightly.
Xu Silin added, "If you're still uncomfortable, just treat me like a servant. I can be as proper as a servant. Really, I promise."
"...And this horse is definitely faster than you can imagine. In no time at all, you will be able to reach Huairou."
Qingchen's gaze fell on the horse. Its coat was shiny black, and its body was well-proportioned and agile. It was clearly a fine steed carefully raised by the Xu family, and it would probably be able to reach Huairou soon.
The journey won't be long.
"Could you move aside?" She adjusted her bundle, looked up at him, and gestured to the spot behind him.
Xu Silin was stunned for a moment before realizing that she had agreed. He was a little excited and reached his hand forward a little more. "Grab my hand and I'll pull you up."
Qingchen shook her head, "No need, I can do it myself."
In the end, he withdrew his hand and made room in the stirrups for her to mount. The horse was quite tall, and Qingchen didn't mount easily. He subtly helped her arm, but she avoided it.
Once she was seated, Xu Silin took off the silver-gray silk cloak from behind him, turned around, and handed it to her. "Tie this on, backwards. My mother made it by hand; it's very warm."
Shen Qingchen looked at his profile softened by the sunlight and paused for a moment. "No need, you can wear it yourself."
She felt a little uncomfortable with him like this.
But before she could even utter a word of refusal, he had already stuffed the cloak into her arms.
The person in front turned back and picked up the reins. "I'm sitting in front, so the cloak is useless. I already put on a thick cotton coat inside when we came. You should fasten it; it's a waste not to."
The cloak in her hand was made of the finest silk satin, and the silver fox fur felt very delicate to the touch. The dark lotus pattern subtly exuded a sense of luxury. Most importantly, every stitch of it was made by a mother who loved her son.
Qingchen had to admit that the cloak had a certain appeal to her. After thinking for a moment, she put it on as he had instructed.
Even just an extra cloak between her and him would give her a greater sense of security.
"Are you all seated? We're about to go." Xu Silin said, adjusting the reins.
"Um."
"Aren't you going to hold on to me?" He turned his head slightly. "You'll fall."
After looking him over, Qingchen felt a little unsure of what to do, so she could only gently put her hand on his shoulder and say, "Okay."
"Huh?" If he hadn't seen her hand out of the corner of his eye, he would hardly have felt her supporting him. Xu Silin pursed his lips, thinking to himself, well, he'll naturally hold on tighter when we run, and he can't hold onto her shoulder anyway, so he'll naturally move to another spot.
"Alright, let's hurry up and go." Looking at the setting sun on the horizon, Qingchen urged.
"Hmm." Xu Silin responded, tightened the reins, turned the horse around, and then squeezed his legs tightly, and the black horse immediately started running.
Although Qingchen was somewhat prepared, the hand gripping the other person's shoulder still tightened involuntarily.
Finally feeling some weight, Xu Silin couldn't help but raise his eyebrows smugly.
He knew this would happen.
At this moment, two people walked out of the Great Ming Gate: Lin Mo, a junior official, and Luo Yuanhao.
Luo Yuanhao was dazzled by the black horse's glossy sheen and was about to marvel at its incredible quality when he suddenly noticed that the two people on the horse looked familiar. He nudged Lin Mo beside him with his elbow, "Look at those two, aren't they...?"
Lin Mo shielded his eyes from the sunlight, squinting as he looked in the direction the man was pointing. He saw two people sitting on horseback, one taller than the other by half a head, both with neat sideburns, handsome eyes, and fine eyebrows. Although their faces were different in style, each possessed its own charm, and together they were quite pleasing to the eye.
The horse they were riding was a tribute horse presented to the Ming emperor from the Western Regions. The emperor gave it to Xu Yan, who then gave it to his son. Back then, when he visited Xu Silin's house, Xu Silin wouldn't even let him touch it, let alone ride on it.
Luo Yuanhao exclaimed excitedly, "It's Young Master Xu and Shen Qingchen! How come they're together, and even riding the same horse!"
Riding a horse together is nothing; the cloak Shen Qingchen was wearing was sewn by the Prime Minister's wife herself, a privilege even her daughter-in-law wouldn't dare to dream of.
Lin Mo could only shake his head at Luo Yuanhao's question. He had clearly returned to normal after his unusual behavior a few days ago, but now it seemed like he was about to become abnormal again.
This morning, Young Master Xu was still asking them at the outhouse entrance how to win people's hearts, casually mentioning "personal charm." This afternoon, this wonderful scene unfolded, showing that he didn't want to waste a single moment.
"Where is Young Master Xu going? Why did you only bring Shen Qingchen and not us?"
Lin Mo glanced at Luo Yuanhao and said, "Are you stupid?"
...
The horse galloped at its master's command and soon left the Daming Gate. As it rode onto the official road leading out of the city, it brushed past an oncoming carriage.
The person inside the carriage was lifting the curtain, looking out the window, the crimson sleeves of their robes subtly gleaming at their wrists.
Upon unexpectedly spotting a familiar face, his gaze flickered slightly, then followed them for a moment until they disappeared from sight.
The coachman's voice came over, "Lord Song, the person sitting behind that black horse just now seems to be a student who went to Tongzhou with you. It looks like they are going out of the city."
The coachman, having followed Song Yue for so long, could tell that the master valued that student highly, probably because the student was exceptionally talented and the master intended to nurture him well. For example, the day the master went to pay respects to his revered teacher, he barely spoke to his teacher's daughter before rushing back to teach. Later, upon learning that the student had been injured, the master immediately went to visit him. And then there was the trip to Tongzhou…
"It's so cold at this hour, and they're still young. They probably don't realize they'll catch a cold running like this... Sir, should we go after them?"
Song Yue lowered the curtain, his handsome, indifferent face devoid of any sunshine. "No need."
That horse was a tribute horse from the Western Regions, capable of traveling a thousand miles a day; they couldn't catch up with it. Besides, he had recently drafted some new tax reform policies, which he had already presented to Emperor Zhu Rui, who had only just agreed to discuss them with him today.
"Keep going. Run faster, I still need to get to the palace."
The driver shook his head slightly and replied, "Yes."
Inside the carriage, a sliver of light seeped in from under the curtains.
Song Yue glanced at the seat next to him; it was empty. Only tiny specks of dust swayed gently in the air.
At the same time, Shen Qingchen, on horseback, turned his head in the wind, holding the silver rat fur around his neck.
Just now, as the carriage passed by, she was so captivated by the black mole behind Xu Silin's ear that she didn't notice anything around her. It wasn't until she heard a familiar driving sound behind her that she noticed the carriage.
In the bleak winter, the horse beneath her galloped away, its hooves pounding, while the carriage moved swiftly on its own. After passing each other, separated by a cloud of dust and fallen leaves, she couldn't make out whether it was her teacher's carriage.
Xu Silin sensed something and called out worriedly to those behind him, "Qingchen, don't turn around, it's dangerous. Keep your eyes on the road ahead and hold on tight to me!"
She turned around and gripped the robe on his shoulder. "Mmm."
“Not tight enough,” he added. “We’re about to leave the inner city; we can run a little faster.”
Qingchen tightened his grip even more.
"It's still not enough."
Sensing that the man was probably up to a prank, Qingchen glared at the mole behind his ear and shouted, "Enough!"
The wind whistled past his ears, and Xu Silin smiled, spurring his horse along the road. He felt that this winter wasn't so cold after all. He unconsciously squeezed his legs together, urging the horse to run even faster.
...
Before long, the two arrived at the city gate of the inner city.
Something unusual is happening at the city gate today.
Many people crowded under the city wall, including ordinary people of all kinds, some carrying luggage, some riding in horse-drawn carriages, and many more, including the Jinwuwei (Imperial Guards) and other officers and soldiers on patrol, and even the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards).
The city gates seemed to be sealed off, allowing only high-ranking officials to enter and exit. A long row of wooden fences with iron nails stood at the entrance, with guards holding knives on both sides.
Looking at the throng of people at the entrance, Qingchen couldn't help but ask, "What's going on...? Can we still go to Huairou?"
The person in front of him turned around and whispered comfortingly, "Don't be afraid. I have my father's travel permit." With the Grand Secretary's travel permit, there is no place he can't go, except for the inner palace.
Just then, a voice rang out behind them, "Isn't this Young Master Xu?"
Qingchen turned around and saw two tall, imposing figures walking towards them, each holding a brocade spring knife. One of them wore a black cloak and walked with the elegance of a leopard. His handsome face was as cold and sharp as ever. It was Lu Shenyun and Huang Yu!
Lu Shenyun was also stunned for a moment when he met Shen Qingchen's gaze.
He had felt that the figure looked familiar, but he wasn't sure. He hadn't expected it to actually be that person. Seeing her riding a horse with Xu Silin, a tribute horse at that, his brows furrowed slightly, and an indescribable glint appeared in his eyes.
Huang Yu, with his sharp eyes, immediately recognized the person behind him as Lord Lu's savior after calling out "Young Master Xu." He then said, "Oh my, it's two junior officials from the Hanlin Academy. Are you two heading out of the city?"
Qingchen wanted to dismount and pay her respects to the two men, but Xu Silin grabbed her arm. She looked at him with some confusion, but he just shook his head at her, then took out a travel permit from his bosom, bent down and handed it to Huang Yu, "My lords, we have urgent business to attend to outside the city, so please forgive us for not being able to pay our respects. This is my father's travel permit. Please do us a favor and let us leave the city."
“This…” Huang Yu held the travel permit and said softly, “Young Master Xu may not know, but a few days ago was the winter solstice. The Japanese came to pay tribute, but after finishing their business with the court, they refused to leave and caused trouble everywhere. Now that the New Year is approaching, the Emperor summoned Princess Yongchun back to the capital, and she arrived today. Fearing something might happen, the city gates are under martial law.” After speaking, he looked at the indifferent Lu Shenyun beside him.
Lu Shenyun glanced at him, and he immediately returned the travel permit to Xu Silin.
Xu Silin frowned. "Lord Lu, I have my father's travel permit. Am I not allowed to leave the city?"
Lu Shenyun narrowed his eyes, then raised his head, his cold gaze falling on the two of them. "Grand Secretary Xu can certainly do it. You can't."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qingchen felt extremely embarrassed and tugged at the sleeve of the person next to him, "Let's go back."
Xu Silin smiled slightly and said, "I understand."
Immediately afterwards, a commotion broke out at the city gate.
People quickly stepped aside as a magnificent horse galloped towards them. Before the guards could even draw their swords, the gleaming black steed was already in the air. In the blink of an eye, the horse had leaped high over the wooden fence blocking the gate, and when its hooves landed, a cloud of dust billowed up in the air!
Sitting on horseback, Shen Qingchen felt her heart pounding at its fastest. When she came to her senses, they had already passed through the city gate.
Xu Silin turned around and shouted excitedly, "Shen Qingchen, isn't that exciting?!"
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