Chapter 3239 Horse Trial
Early the next morning, the servants in the Commandant's Mansion had just started to work when the lights in the courtyard where the King of Han lived were already on. By the time Zhu Feng and Nan Yan got up, washed up and prepared to have breakfast, Zhu Chengjun had already dressed neatly and jumped into their room from outside.
"Father! Mother!"
When Nan Yan saw him wearing neat riding clothes, his hair tied up neatly, and wearing small boots, he looked handsome and capable, and her eyes lit up.
"Oh, whose baby is this? How beautiful!"
Zhu Chengjun smiled so much that his eyes curved up. He walked in and saluted them: "Your son greets the emperor, father, and the imperial concubine, mother."
Seeing him like this, Zhu Feng also smiled and said, "You look quite neat today."
Zhu Chengjun asked, "Father, when are we going to go horseback riding?"
Nan Yan glared at him and said, "What's the rush? Can't you see that your father hasn't even had breakfast yet?"
Zhu Chengjun looked over and saw that, as expected, people from the kitchen were still coming in one by one, setting out porridge, side dishes, and some cakes on the table. He immediately said, "Then, I will wait for Father and Mother to finish their breakfast."
After saying that, he retreated to a corner and stood there. His obedient appearance was very endearing.
Zhu Feng smiled and shook his head. Nan Yan pulled him over, touched his chubby face and asked, "Have you had breakfast?"
"I have used it."
"What are you eating?"
"Well……"
Seeing his bewildered look, Nan Yan knew he must have been so focused on rushing them to go riding that he hadn't even taken the trouble to eat breakfast. So, she said, "You can't skip a good meal. Didn't your father tell you yesterday that riding is very strenuous? If you don't rest and eat well, you won't have enough energy, and you'll be thrown off the horse today."
Zhu Chengjun said obediently: "I understand."
Nan Yan gestured to De Lu to bring another stool over for him to sit on, and said, "Come, have some more food with your father. Once you're full, go riding."
"yes."
So, the family of three finished their breakfast together, and after a short rest, seeing that Zhu Chengjun was already scratching his head anxiously, Zhu Feng smiled and took them to the stable of the Duwei Mansion. As expected, the horses bred here were all good horses from the Western Regions. Each one was fat and strong, and their voices were like thunder. When Zhu Chengjun saw these horses, although the whole stable was full of stench, he still happily ran over and grabbed the reins one by one to look at them, without any fear.
While Nan Yan was telling him to be careful, she turned around and complained to Zhu Feng, "Why does this kid like horses so much?"
Zhu Feng smiled and said, "Isn't it good for boys to like riding horses?"
Nan Yan said: "They were all brought by the emperor."
Zhu Feng, hands behind his back, strolled leisurely while watching his son scurry about the stables. He looked as if he had discovered a treasure and said with a smile, "Just be like me. What's wrong with a boy liking swordplay, horseback riding, and hunting? If my son really likes to put on makeup, huh, I'll throw him into the river and pretend I never gave birth!"
Nan Yan couldn't help but roll her eyes: "What is the emperor talking about?"
The two people were chatting here, while Zhu Chengjun on the other side had already been going back and forth in the stable, looking at those tall horses. He liked every one of them and didn't know how to choose.
Just as he was walking back, something suddenly pulled his collar.
Looking back, he saw a tall horse with a dark body but snow-white hooves. It lowered its head, grabbed his collar and pulled him towards him. It stared at Zhu Chengjun with its big eyes, and its eyelashes were long and curled, revealing a sense of spirituality.
"well?"
Zhu Chengjun was carried back by it, and the man and the horse looked at each other for a long time.
Then he pointed at the horse and said, "Father, I want this one!"
"this?"
Zhu Feng walked over and looked at the horse, then opened its mouth to take another look.
The horse was only about two and a half years old, not yet fully grown, and could not serve in the army, but it was old enough for a child to play with.
At this time, the accompanying horse breeder spoke.
He smiled and said, "Your Highness, would you like to think about this again?"
Zhu Chengjun and Zhu Feng both turned to look at him, and Zhu Feng asked, "What's wrong?"
The horse keeper smiled and said, "This horse looks quite good and docile. The soldiers originally wanted to test its strength. But who knew that this horse was just pretending to be docile? As soon as anyone got on it, it immediately became furious. It has already injured several people here."
Upon hearing this, Nan Yan's expression immediately changed and she said, "Then don't choose this one."
But Zhu Chengjun held on to the reins and said stubbornly, "No, I want it. It's so well behaved, it will definitely listen to me."
Nan Yan looked at Zhu Feng with some embarrassment.
Zhu Feng didn't say anything. Having grown up in the army almost since he was a child, he knew very well that sometimes a horse can stay with a person for a lifetime. There are some tacit understandings that only exist between this horse and this person, and no one else can have them.
So he asked, “Is this what you want?”
Zhu Chengjun nodded firmly: "Yes!"
“…”
Zhu Feng thought for a moment and said, "Well, let's drag him out for a walk first to see how strong his legs are."
The horse keeper had no choice but to go in, untie the reins, and drag the horse out. Zhu Feng said, "If you injure the King of Han, I'll make horse meat dumplings for you tonight!"
The horse passed by Zhu Feng and suddenly snorted loudly.
Nan Yan watched from the side, wanting to laugh but also feeling a little worried. Although she agreed with Zhu Feng that boys should be manly, she was still a mother, and she would feel distressed for a long time if her child got a scratch. Moreover, if this horse really had injured many adults as the horse keeper said, then wouldn't Zhu Chengjun be half dead if he went there?
She followed everyone out of the city with a worried look on her face. The sun had already risen, shining on the lush green grass around her, which was so green that it looked almost oily. As the horse left the city, it couldn't help but raise its neck and let out a long neigh. It was obvious that it had been suffocated after staying in the stable for too long. It kept shaking its head and raising its front hooves, kicking up clouds of dust.
The man leading the horse hurriedly tightened the reins to hold it back.
Zhu Chengjun smiled and said, "Give it to me, I want to ride it!"
The man holding the horse hesitated for a moment and looked at Zhu Feng. Zhu Feng raised his chin and said, "Give it to him."
The man holding the horse could only carefully hand the reins to Zhu Chengjun. Nan Yan's expression became even uglier. She pulled his sleeve and whispered, "Your Majesty, will nothing happen?"
Zhu Feng said, "There are so many people watching, what are you afraid of?"
As he spoke, Zhu Chengjun couldn't wait to jump onto the horse's back, but he was still young after all, and usually only rode some half-grown ponies. At this moment, he couldn't get on even if he tried his best. The person next to him knelt down hurriedly and let him step on his shoulders before he could jump onto the horse.
As soon as he sat down, he immediately laughed: "Look, father!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the horse suddenly let out a long, shrill neigh, raised its hooves and rushed forward like an arrow.
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