Chapter 16
On her first day of riding, Qi Yu had to be helped onto the horse by her female instructor, and the horse was led by someone to help her get used to it.
Wu Shiyun had already nimbly mounted his horse, pulled on the reins, and started running at a slower pace, his eyes fixed ahead.
Despite being such a delicate woman, she stood tall with her back straight, her arms taut, and the tendons in her hands clenched so tightly they turned white, exuding an indescribable air of elegance.
Qi Yu looked at Wu Shiyun, her eyes revealing admiration and longing.
She lowered her head and became even more serious.
Never let anyone leave you behind.
Even if it's something you're not good at, as long as you're interested in it, you must learn it to excel at it.
Just like palace affairs, once you actually get started, you realize that it's not that difficult.
That day, Qi Yu studied until late at night and left under the cool moonlight.
Back in the courtyard, after a simple bath, a palace maid brought her some ointment to apply. She lay on the bed, the cool ointment on her slightly bleeding skin, and she unknowingly fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, Qi Yu showed no signs of fatigue. After shaking hands with Xiao Jin, she went horseback riding with great enthusiasm.
After several days and nights of practice, Qi Yu finally managed to catch up with Wu Shiyun's progress.
Wu Shiyun said, "Sister-in-law, this is the result of my studies over several years. You caught up in just a few days. It's really displeasing."
Qi Yu smiled and pinched her cheek: "I'll take this as Shi Yun praising me."
Wu Shiyun muttered, "It's bad timing. There are several people with such exaggerated talents... but I'm not one of them."
The emperor's elder brother was naturally one of them. Before leaving the capital, his martial arts skills were only considered above average among the princes. Back then, the emperor did not groom him as his successor and naturally spoiled him. But who could have imagined that the one who was most underestimated was the seventh prince who would eventually be able to quell the rebellion?
My elder brother's original fiefdom was in the prosperous south, but due to the power struggles among various factions and my father's old age, it was eventually relocated to a harsh and cold land.
But ironically, it was under those circumstances that my elder brother honed himself, and he managed to build a fearless army.
In addition, Pei Jin and Zhao Wanyi were also exceptionally talented individuals. Both were eloquent, quick-witted, and had photographic memories.
Pei Jin is a well-known high-ranking official, while Zhao Wanyi is less famous because she is not from the capital and prefers to stay at home, not liking to show off, which is why the world is unaware of her talent.
However, Wu Shiyun had met this Madam Pei twice and keenly realized that Zhao Wanyi's talent was no less than that of famous scholars.
Of course, there are other exceptionally talented individuals in the capital.
Now, there's another one, Qi Yu.
Qi Yu was focused on her horse, pulling on the reins to start running again, and did not hear Wu Shiyun's words.
The wind blew against me, making my sleeves flutter.
She was riding a large horse, which ran swiftly, displaying its power to the fullest. Every bone and muscle on the horse's body was extremely beautiful, making it a work of art.
This also accentuated Qi Yu's cool and aloof demeanor as she rode the horse.
Upon seeing this, Wu Shiyun quickly put aside his distracting thoughts and caught up with Qi Yu.
The two women loved to race each other on horseback, and since the manor could no longer accommodate them, they left the manor with their guards and rode off into the nearby deserted mountains.
That mountain road was the same area that Qi Yu had passed through when she entered the capital. Although it was a mountain road, it was very flat, with lush trees on both sides and sunlight pouring down through the gaps in the branches.
Qi Yu and Wu Shiyun agreed to drive around the mountain in opposite directions for two laps, and then see who would return to the manor first.
After Wu Shiyun said "Start," Qi Yu pulled on the reins and rode off.
The two drove off in opposite directions like arrows released from a bow.
Because she couldn't see Wu Shiyun and didn't know how fast she was moving, Qi Yu didn't dare to stop for a moment.
After circling around for the second time and passing by Wu Shiyun again, the two of them tacitly increased their speed.
Qi Yu was concentrating when, as she passed a clump of bushes, she suddenly spotted a piece of light purple fabric.
This wasn't there on the first lap, and the shape resembled a person.
The horse was still running forward with all its might. Qi Yu frowned and thought for a moment, then finally pulled on the reins, turned back, dismounted, and went to check.
As she got closer, she realized that it was a person lying on the ground, and judging from the figure, it was a woman.
Qi Yu suddenly felt a sense of familiarity, but the women she had met were unlikely to be here.
She stepped forward to help the unconscious woman up and brushed her hair away.
It's Zhao Wanyi!
Qi Yu was stunned.
Without thinking about why Zhao Wanyi was there or why she was unconscious, she picked up the white handkerchief that Zhao Wanyi had dropped to cover her face and hurriedly called for Lin Qi.
Lin Qi appeared silently.
Qi Yu turned her head and saw Lin Qi, asking Lin Qi to lend a hand in helping her get Zhao Wanyi onto the horse.
Then she mounted her horse, held Zhao Wanyi in her arms, and galloped off towards the manor.
Wu Shiyun arrived at the villa before Qi Yu. Before she could even feel happy, she saw the person in Qi Yu's arms, and her expression immediately became serious.
Qi Yu ignored Wu Shiyun, ordered someone to notify the imperial physician to wait, and had palace servants help Zhao Wanyi inside.
Wu Shiyun was somewhat confused. Clearly, the Empress Dowager's sister-in-law and Madam Pei should be rivals, but obviously, the Empress Dowager's sister-in-law knew Zhao Wanyi and was just as familiar with her.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be so anxious.
Wu Shiyun wisely took his leave first.
After Qi Yu nodded to Wu Shiyun, she entered the courtyard.
She was still holding the handkerchief she had just picked up in her hand. She looked down at it and noticed that it was stained with several large drops of blood.
Seeing this, Qi Yu folded the handkerchief and put it aside.
The imperial physician quickly determined that Zhao Wanyi was in a simple coma and would be fine once she woke up.
Pei Jiu sent the imperial physician away.
Qi Yu sat on the edge of the bed and saw that all the palace servants had lowered their eyes and kept their heads down. So she quickly checked the marks on Zhao Wanyi's outer clothes. Fortunately, apart from some dirt, there was no blood.
Moreover, Zhao Wanyi had no external injuries and her face was not pale.
This indicates that the blood on the handkerchief belonged to someone else.
The place where Zhao Wanyi stayed could only be located down from the mountain, but it was a desolate mountain with nothing special about it except for the lush vegetation.
What about Pei Jin, who is inseparable from Zhao Wanyi?
Where are Zhao Wanyi's bodyguards?
Even the maid named Yuelu was not by Zhao Wanyi's side, leaving Zhao Wanyi alone here.
However, these questions will be answered one by one once Zhao Wanyi wakes up.
The most important thing now is to inform Pei Jin that Zhao Wanyi is with her.
Qi Yu summoned a palace servant and asked him to ride a horse to the Pei residence to inform Lord Pei Jin that Madam Pei was with her.
After the palace maid left, Qi Yu thought of Wu Shiyan's generosity towards her, so she called another palace maid and asked him to take her waist token and ride back to the palace at full speed to tell His Majesty about it.
The palace servants did not understand the meaning, but they still obeyed and quickly went to deliver the message.
Qi Yu thought to herself that this was all she could do to help Wu Shiyan. If Pei Jin beat her to it, she couldn't be blamed.
Qi Yu stayed by Zhao Wanyi's side, propping her chin up and waiting for Zhao Wanyi to wake up.
About two hours later, Qi Yu had drunk two bowls of beauty soup, and Zhao Wanyi finally woke up.
Qi Yu observed that the moment she opened her eyes, her eyes showed vigilance, and she suddenly grabbed the quilt. Perhaps because of the soft feel of the quilt, the wariness in her eyes slowly disappeared, and she returned to normal, looking to the side.
Qi Yu and Zhao Wanyi locked eyes.
Qi Yu pursed her lips and smiled slightly.
Zhao Wanyi froze, feeling a chill run down her spine as she thought about how her instinctive reaction had been seen by Qi Yu without missing a beat.
Qi Yu didn't want Zhao Wanyi to be too embarrassed, so she asked with concern, "Madam Zhao, why did you faint at the foot of the mountain?"
Zhao Wanyi coughed lightly.
Qi Yu asked a palace maid to bring her water.
Zhao Wanyi slowly finished her water before saying, "There are bandits hiding on that mountain. They kidnapped me from the Buddhist temple and wanted to extort money from Pei Jin. I found some sleeping incense there, so I lit it and knocked them unconscious. I stumbled down the mountain and probably inhaled the incense, which is why I passed out."
"I am deeply grateful to Your Majesty for saving me."
Qi Yu handed the handkerchief to Zhao Wanyi.
After examining the wound, Zhao Wanyi remained calm and said, "When I used the hairpin to stab someone, blood accidentally splattered onto the handkerchief."
"Since it's stained with blood, Your Highness should have it burned to avoid bringing bad luck."
Qi Yu blinked, subtly noticing the loophole in Zhao Wanyi's words.
The handkerchief was hung over the ears to cover the face; if someone were kidnapped, why would they be wearing such a thing when stabbing others?
It's more like he anticipated this and didn't want anyone to recognize him, or he was trying to avoid getting blood on his body, which is why he wore it.
But Qi Yu still had it burned.
How could the female lead be a bad person?
Seeing this, Zhao Wanyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her eyes to quiet down.
At this moment, a servant announced that Lord Pei had arrived and was there to fetch Madam Pei.
Qi Yu had someone invite him in, feeling a pang of regret for Wu Shiyan.
Because Zhao Wanyi lived in the warm pavilion in her courtyard, Pei Jin did not come in directly. Instead, he stood in the outer room, separated by a curtain, and could vaguely see her figure.
Zhao Wanyi then repeated what she had just said.
Pei Jin paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts.
Although they were in a Buddhist temple, what kind of bandits could bypass the personal maid and guards and abduct Zhao Wanyi? Moreover, although Zhao Wanyi had lost her internal energy, she still had martial arts skills, and killing a few petty thieves would be a piece of cake for her.
Clearly, Zhao Wanyi had deliberately left through the Buddhist temple to run errands, but somehow, she collapsed at the foot of the mountain after reaching the top.
Qi Yu asked, "Madam Pei has been kidnapped by bandits. Has Lord Pei taken any men to go up the mountain to investigate?"
Pei Jin replied, "Your Highness, no. Your Highness, I was at a Buddhist temple with my wife. After she went missing, I returned to the capital to gather manpower, but I received Your Highness's message as soon as I entered the palace, so I rode here alone."
Qi Yu pondered and said, "I will lend you the guards around me. Go up the mountain quickly, find those bandits, and bring them to justice as soon as possible."
Pei Jin: "Yes."
Zhao Wanyi painstakingly drew the approximate location of the bandits.
Pei Jin took the blueprints from the palace servants and then dismissed the guards.
Zhao Wanyi looked at Qi Yu and saw that she was thinking slightly. She then considered whether the flaw she had just revealed was significant and whether it would arouse Qi Yu's suspicion.
But if Qi Yu is her sister, it wouldn't be surprising if she noticed something was wrong.
After all, my younger sister is exceptionally intelligent.
The thought that the person in front of her might be her younger sister warmed Zhao Wanyi's heart. She should have left as soon as possible to avoid attracting the emperor's attention.
But isn't Qi Yu living on the imperial estate a perfect opportunity to verify whether she has a birthmark?
If Qi Yu returns to the palace, it will be even more difficult for her to find out the answer.
Zhao Wanyi took a risky move: "Your Majesty, I feel weak and anxious. May I stay for a few days?"
A note from the author:
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