Chapter 55 Horseback Riding.
Lingyi hummed in agreement, then became sad again. Her family was scattered, and even Yinshuang and Aoxue refused to return to the manor with her. She had no close relatives by her side.
She was naturally unaware that Qin Lie was behind all of this, preventing her from having any familiar people around her.
She never forced anyone, so she figured that Yinshuang and Aoxue must have their own reasons for not wanting to come.
Yinshuang did it for the sake of the child. In the past, no matter how much Consort Guo and the Crown Prince fought, they would never touch ordinary palace servants except to eliminate dissidents.
However, when Geng Qing and his soldiers from the prefectures stormed into the palace, they saw the magnificent imperial city, adorned with gold and jade, and the elegant and sophisticated palace maids. They immediately felt like rats entering a granary, and for a time, the imperial city was filled with cries of despair.
In chaotic times, women shed the most tears, even princesses, let alone palace maids.
In comparison, Yinshuang was a relatively lucky person, because she met a kind-hearted minor official who took her out of the palace and started living with her.
However, when the Seventh Prince returned to the capital, the minor leader died in the chaos of battle, leaving only her and her child behind.
In such chaotic times, she, a woman with a child, almost starved to death on the streets. Fortunately, she encountered Aoxue and several eunuchs.
It turns out that the palace had been in turmoil several times, and many palace people had escaped. At first, it was just a few eunuchs who got together. They were looked down upon by others and had no choice but to live together. Later, more and more palace people escaped and gradually gathered together. Now there are dozens of them.
While in the palace, they may have been serving different masters and scheming against each other.
Once outside, they spontaneously started helping each other out.
Now, the place is inhabited only by eunuchs, defiled palace maids, and their children.
They were looked down upon and could only take low-paying menial jobs, such as eunuchs carrying goods and palace maids washing clothes, earning meager wages through hard work.
Some of the matrons from the Imperial Clothing and Food Bureau were hired by other households, and they would occasionally send some silver to help them out.
That's how I've managed to survive until now.
For Yinshuang, if she were to become a servant in the Prince's mansion, even if she were to become rich and powerful, her child would become a slave.
Moreover, the two of them received a lot of care from those palace servants. Once they entered the Prince Duan's mansion, they might not be able to get out. How could they enjoy their wealth and status while leaving others to continue to suffer?
Remembering their kindness and generosity, Lingyi asked shyly, "Could Your Highness trouble you to have someone send some silver to my two palace maids?"
Yin Shuang and Ao Xue both said that Prince Duan held a high position and great power, and doted on her greatly, so it was only natural that she would ask him for help for the sake of her family.
But because of the previous servant, and the unlucky person that everyone else avoided like the plague, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Qin Lie said, "Princess, there's no need to be so polite with me. If there are any expenses, just draw from the public funds. Besides, I've already instructed Qin Xiaoshan on this matter, and he will definitely arrange it properly."
Lingyi felt slightly relieved, paused for a moment, then looked at him again and asked awkwardly, "Your Highness...do we have a child?"
She only thought of this because she remembered that Yinshuang was planning for the children. Marriage is for the purpose of having children and continuing the family line. Since they are so loving and have been married for seven or eight years, they should have a son and a daughter by now.
Having witnessed Emperor Jiahe's cold-heartedness during her time in the palace, she no longer trusted romantic relationships.
Besides, she doesn't remember anything. No matter what others say, her "loving marriage" with Qin Lie is like a reflection in water or a flower in the mist, too illusory and unreliable to put her at ease.
But the child is different. Even though she has amnesia, she is still bound by blood to no one and is her family whom she is destined to be inseparable from.
Qin Lie clenched his fist beside him, but his expression remained nonchalant. "Not yet."
Disappointment showed on Lingyi's face, but Qin Lie said softly, "I was often away fighting in the past, and we rarely saw each other, which is why I felt this way. From now on, I will be more often in the capital, and we will have plenty of time. We will naturally have children..."
Although she didn't understand matters of marital intimacy, Lingyi still instinctively felt shy when she heard him say that they would have many children in the future. Her ears immediately turned red, and she quickly lowered her head for fear that he would notice.
Qin Lie had been paying close attention to her expression; how could he miss it?
He hadn't seen her blush in a long time, and his heart skipped a beat. Before he could think, he pulled her into his arms, grabbed the back of her neck, forced her to look up, and lowered his head to find her lips.
As it fell, it only grazed the corner of her lips—at that moment, she turned her head away, her face no longer showing shyness, only fear.
As if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, he stiffened and let go of her hand.
As soon as Lingyi was free from his control, she stood up and fled the room as if escaping.
.
Qin Lie's actions that day made Lingyi very embarrassed.
But this embarrassment is nothing compared to the immense grief of losing a loved one.
For the next few days, she stayed in her room, either silently weeping or sitting in a daze. Even when Qin Lie sent her her favorite food from afar, she barely ate a few bites. She was already slender, but now she became even thinner, clearly not in good health.
Qin Lie knew she was heartbroken, but he couldn't bear to see her ruin her health like this, and he was even more afraid that her prolonged grief would damage her mental well-being.
I've given her food, toys, and rare treasures, but to little avail. So I decided to take her horseback riding to relax.
After riding around on horseback for a few laps, Lingyi's mood indeed improved.
She knew in her heart that no matter how sad she was, it would be of no use, especially since these things didn't happen in the present, but several years ago.
All efforts are in vain except to accept.
She was also trying to pull herself together to avoid falling into a terrible loneliness from which she could not escape.
Although she had lost her memory, Lingyi felt familiar with the horse as soon as she mounted it. After a short while, she said, "I should be able to ride. Why don't you get off first and let me try?"
Qin Lie, who was sitting behind her, stiffened as he held the reins.
I almost forgot, sitting in front of me is such an ungrateful little thing.
She only doesn't resist his touch when she's sad.
He finally managed to hold her in his arms while riding a horse. Like a naive young man who had never seen a woman before, he was distracted by her every unintentional touch. Just as he was secretly enjoying himself, he was suddenly jolted back by her betrayal.
He dismounted as if nothing had happened and said to her, "Be careful, ride slowly."
Lingyi did ride very slowly at first, she was nervous and uneasy, and she only moved according to Qin Lie's commands.
Gradually, her fear subsided, and she no longer followed his instructions rigidly. Instead, relying entirely on her familiarity, she instinctively straightened her back, gently squeezed the horse's belly, and the horse trotted forward with small steps.
After circling twice, she was no longer afraid. With a flick of her whip, the horse began to trot.
This is an estate bestowed upon Qin Lie by the Emperor on the outskirts of Beijing. The horse ranch is located within the estate, and it is not very large.
Once she got going, the horse paddock was simply not enough to maneuver. She gave a light shout and spurred her horse out of the paddock. Outside was the rammed earth road of the estate, wide enough for four horses to run side by side. She ran faster and faster, the wind rushing past her ears more and more rapidly. She felt increasingly exhilarated, as if she had shed something and gained something else.
She couldn't quite say what she had shed, but she clearly sensed what she had gained...
—It is freedom.
Since she was already in the village, she didn't need to know the way and could roam freely.
Lost in her own world, she didn't hear the approaching hoofbeats behind her until another horse galloped up, a man jumped off and landed behind her, yanked the reins hard, and brought the horse to a sudden stop, its front hooves rearing up. She fell backward into a warm, broad chest.
Then, he was helped off the horse, and when he looked up, he saw Qin Lie's ashen face.
Qin Liehan stared at Lingyi with cold eyes.
He hadn't yet recovered from that moment—the image of her riding away on horseback overlapped in his memory with the image of her leaving him behind.
In that instant, his blood almost turned to ice, and he froze on the spot before remembering to grab her back.
She's leaving again.
Why? Even though she has lost her memory and has no family, why does she still want to leave?
Or perhaps she was lying to him from the very beginning.
The amnesia was all a scheme between her and the Fifteenth Princess, designed to lower his guard so they could escape.
So, she still had to escape.
The veins on his forehead throbbed as he looked at her feet.
Is that right? Is locking her up the only way she'll behave?
He didn't say a word, but Lingyi sensed danger.
She knew she was in the wrong; it had indeed been too dangerous just now. If Aunt Liu Cui were here, she would definitely have given her a good scolding.
She tilted her fair, jade-like face up and tugged at his sleeve. "It was my fault. Please don't be angry anymore, okay?"
His gaze first fell on her hand, her thumb and forefinger pinching a bit of fabric from his sleeve, swaying it back and forth.
Then it landed on her face. What? Did she think that by pretending to be pitiful, he would let her off the hook?
He thought to himself that he wanted to reprimand him severely.
But his body moved faster than his mouth. The next moment, he pulled her into a tight embrace, so tightly that it seemed he could break her waist.
He bent down, burying his face in the back of her neck, "No...no more..."
His voice trembled, but he never finished speaking.
The two men, each leading a horse, silently returned to the horse farm.
Qin Lie's face was gloomy. Lingyi was already afraid of him, and today she had done something wrong again. He didn't say anything, so she didn't dare to speak either. She hung her head and looked dejected.
Originally intended to cheer her up, Qin Lie suppressed all his emotions and explained softly, "I'm not blaming you, it was just too dangerous just now. If you want to ride a horse, I need to accompany you to avoid any accidents."
She lowered her head and said, "I know you're worried about me. I'm not blaming you. I'm just... afraid of making you angry."
Qin Lie paused for a moment, then asked, "Why do you think that?"
A gentle southern breeze stirred the stray hairs at Lingyi's temples, perhaps the departure from that small, confined space had lifted her spirits, or perhaps the exhilaration of riding had lessened her inhibitions. She murmured, "I've never ridden a horse before. Every time we went out of the palace, I was never included. I could only hear them talk about how exciting the hunts were and how majestic riding was. I clearly loved it and envied them, but I dared not show it. I was afraid of being ridiculed, afraid Aunt Liucui would be heartbroken, afraid Sixteenth Sister would feel guilty, and even more afraid that Crown Prince would be disheartened. He's already been so good to me, yet I still expect more. Will he think I'm too greedy?"
She looked up at him cautiously. "I can ride a horse now, you must have taught me. You must be very good to me, otherwise how could I dare to tell you what I like? Now I have amnesia and don't remember you at all, but you've always been with me, and even brought me here to cheer me up—you're so good to me, but I've done something wrong, I... I'm afraid you'll be angry, that you'll ignore me..."
Her voice was low and fragile, and her face was pale, revealing a pitiful fragility.
Qin Lie felt a lump in his throat and remained silent for a long time.
At this moment, the princess only had memories of the time before her marriage. He only remembered that she always tried to maintain the demeanor of a princess on her wedding night, and he never imagined that she was such a cautious and anxious person.
He didn't even dare tell anyone that he liked horseback riding.
Thinking about it carefully, apart from matters concerning the Crown Prince and Huan'er, she had never made any demands on him.
She never mentioned to him what she liked or disliked.
He thought he had created a world for her that would be impervious to wind and rain, and where she would live a life of wealth and worry-free existence.
But it turned out that she had never believed him from beginning to end and had always lived in unease.
The princess before me has such a simple mind that one can read it from her face at a glance.
A little flattery was enough to make her feel flattered.
Wasn't she the same when she first married him?
But what was he doing at that time?
They were obsessed with her body and imprisoned her freedom, but did they ever care what she was thinking or what she wanted to do?
He stood there, looking back at himself eight years ago, and was instantly overwhelmed by overwhelming regret, powerless to resist.
Forcing himself to calm down, he asked, "There's anything else you like to do. You can tell me. I'll do it with you, one thing at a time."
Lingyi was somewhat surprised, then tilted her head and thought for a moment, finally feeling a little embarrassed, and asked him, "What else have we done?"
What else did they do besides what happened in bed? They took their anger out on others, used others, argued, endured, deceived, poisoned others, ran away, intimidated others, and coerced others.
He said there were only two things he could be seen in public: "Soaking in hot springs and hunting."
"Soaking in hot springs, hunting..." Lingyi murmured, repeating herself with longing in her eyes. "I've actually done all those things."
She was somewhat envious of her former self.
Seeing her expression, Qin Lie felt a pang of tenderness and sadness in his heart. Without hesitation, he said, "The hot spring estate is still under renovation. Come on, I'll take you hunting today!"
.
Two hours later, the two arrived at the foot of a mountain.
Qin Lie lifted Lingyi off the horse, and her legs went weak, almost causing her to kneel on the ground.
Qin Lie grabbed her arm and teased, "Didn't you like riding horses? How come you're so useless?"
Lingyi thought to herself, compared to this rapid journey, what she was doing was hardly riding a horse, but rather like driving an oxcart.
But then she realized how strange it was that she had thought of an oxcart. She had never even seen an ox before.
Qin Lie took the package off the saddle and instructed, "There are many wild animals in the mountains, be careful and stay close to me."
The sun was about to set. There were no tall mountains in the outskirts of Beijing, but even the low hills looked like silent giants in the gloom.
Lingyi's palms were sweating nervously as she asked Qin Lie, "Why don't we come during the day?"
Qin Lie said, "The villagers at the foot of the mountain consider the mountain their property. How can they allow outsiders to come in? Let's hurry up the mountain and hunt some game before it gets dark, otherwise we won't have anything to eat for dinner."
Lingyi had no suspicions and hurriedly followed him forward.
The two soon hunted two pheasants and a rabbit.
At this time, the sky was only slightly darker, not completely black.
Although Lingyi hadn't touched a bow and arrow the entire time, she found it both novel and exciting. Just as she was getting into it, she saw him put away his bow and hurriedly asked, "Aren't you going to hunt anymore?"
Qin Lie said, "Enough to eat is fine; hunting too much is a waste."
Despite being a prince, Qin Lie was surprisingly skilled at plucking feathers and disemboweling animals.
Lingyi dared not look, and sat on a large rock by the river, letting him busy himself with washing, cleaning, starting a fire, and grilling.
When it was completely dark, he handed her the roasted pheasant.
It smelled delicious, and she was already starving, but... looking at the whole, browned chicken, she looked troubled.
Qin Lie chuckled: "I almost forgot."
He tore off a chicken leg and handed it to her.
Lingyi ate her chicken leg in small bites and asked him, "Did we do this before?"
Otherwise, why would he say, "I almost forgot"?
Qin Lie immediately replied, "It's always like this. You used to eat a whole chicken every time."
Lingyi was shocked. Even when it was cut open, she would only eat two bites at most when she was in the palace. How could she have eaten a whole one before?!
Qin Lie originally wanted to coax her to eat more, but seeing her eyes wide open and looking incredulous, he realized that what he said was too exaggerated, so he smiled.
"You lied to me!" Lingyi glared at him angrily.
The lush firelight shone on her face, revealing a face that could be both angry and happy, a face of radiant beauty, yet also one of innocent naivety.
Qin Lie's Adam's apple bobbed several times, and the meat in his mouth immediately became tasteless.
Lingyi couldn't finish even one chicken leg before she couldn't eat any more.
Qin Lie finished the rest.
After cleaning up, Lingyi asked, "Are we going back now?"
Qin Lie asked, "Do you want to go back?"
Lingyi was indeed unusually happy today. If she could continue riding and hunting like this, she wouldn't keep thinking about those sad things, but...
"There's nowhere to stay here, what can we do if we don't go back?"
Qin Lie looked at the mountains and forests behind him and said, "It's too dark to walk at night. We need to find a place to stay temporarily and go back tomorrow."
Lingyi looked at him with her clear black and white eyes: "But when we came, you said that you had been marching and fighting for many years and that traveling at night was commonplace for you, which is why we had to rush over so late."
Qin Lie was speechless. He realized that he hadn't lied enough and lacked experience, which was why he had made such a basic mistake.
Fortunately, he was resourceful and immediately supported his right arm, frowning, "That's true, but my old injury suddenly flared up, and I can't ride a horse. I need to rest for the night and set off again tomorrow."
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