Chapter 30: Into the Woods
The man's fingers hooked a strand of her hair and played with it, "Du Qiyue intends to marry you to Li Zixian."
Du Huaizhi really didn't know that Li Zixian was the crown prince of the current dynasty. How could she, a concubine's daughter, take on the responsibility?
He guessed her thoughts and continued, "Du Qiyue wants to make a gamble, but the chances of winning are slim. There are people watching behind the scenes, so he naturally doesn't dare to use a legitimate daughter. He can only choose you, a concubine's daughter."
Du Huaizhi's heart was not moved. After all, she was not here to recognize her ancestral roots. "What should my subordinates do?"
"I want you to do as Du Qiyue wants and get along with Li Zixian."
Du Huaizhi narrowed her eyes and gave him a meaningful look. "How do we get along? Like you and me?"
The man's face darkened instantly. He deliberately left her some room to think, but he didn't expect that she couldn't guess what he was thinking at all.
His tone was extremely cold. "Don't forget who you belong to. If you dare to..." He paused, as if he thought of something. "You remind me. If I were here..." His voice stopped abruptly.
After breaking free, Du Huaizhi felt guilty and didn't dare to look at him. Although it was not very moral, it was still very useful at the critical moment. He looked at her without any reaction and lay down beside her.
Du Huaizhi frowned and kicked him, "Get out, this is not the place for you to sleep."
"I can't leave. I'm tired." The man's voice was lazy, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.
Seeing that he didn't move, Du Huaizhi was furious, but he knew he was in the wrong, "Okay, if you don't leave, I will."
Du Huaizhi put on an outer robe and left the room.
…
Du Ruozhi turned over and felt someone beside her. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and saw who was next to her. She was startled and asked in confusion, "Sister?"
Du Huaizhi closed his eyes and said, "Don't talk, go to sleep."
Du Ruozhi didn't understand how her sister got in. But she was really sleepy, so she responded and went back to sleep.
The next morning, after breakfast, Du Qiyue and Du Huaizhi got on the carriage together.
"Huaizhi, I still remember that when you were little, you loved pestering your father to teach you horseback riding and archery. You mastered them at such a young age. I wonder if you can still do it now?"
Du Qiyue recalled the past with a smug look in his eyes. Everyone in the capital laughed at him for not having a son, but most people's sons were not as good as his daughter.
This statement contained a lot of information. It turned out that Du Huaizhi could ride a horse. She was just thinking about how to pretend so that it would be foolproof.
"My maternal grandparents' home is located in the southeast, and the soil and water there are not suitable for raising horses. My daughter has been idle for several years and I am not sure about it. I am afraid that I will disappoint my father."
"It's okay, I'll teach you when the time comes."
Du Huaizhi nodded. Her riding and archery skills were indeed not very good. She had the royal stable at her disposal, so it would be a waste not to practice.
Du Qiyue laughed heartily and looked at Du Ruozhi who was silent beside him. His smile faded slightly. "Ruozhi girl, you should learn too. Although you are a girl, you are still the daughter of a general. You don't have to listen to your mother in everything. There are some things you should learn."
Du Ruozhi didn't know what she was thinking, her face looked unhappy, and she just lowered her head and responded weakly when she heard it.
Du Huaizhi then noticed that Du Ruozhi looked different than before. Her eyes were dull and lifeless. Moreover, she had been quiet since she woke up in the morning. She didn't call her "Sister" every day like before. Du Huaizhi was puzzled, but because Du Qiyue was present, he couldn't ask directly.
The carriage bumped along the way and finally arrived at the horse farm.
The horse farm was vast, covered in green grass, and in the distance, several horses were leisurely grazing. Du Qiyue got out of the car first and enthusiastically pointed in a direction to his two daughters. "Go over there and play by yourselves first. Come over after I say hello to the prince."
Du Huaizhi looked in the direction Du Qiyue pointed, and saw a pavilion standing at the edge of the horse farm, with guards standing solemnly around it. It was obvious that there was a distinguished person here.
The wind blew up the bamboo curtains hanging in the pavilion, revealing that there was no one inside. Du Huaizhi calmly withdrew his gaze and said to Du Ruozhi and An Nian who had followed him, "Let's go and check on the horses first."
Du Ruozhi suddenly grabbed Du Huaizhi's sleeve nervously, "Sister, can we not go over there? There are too many people over there."
Du Huaizhi glanced around and saw that there were indeed a lot of strangers here. There were also a few young men and women gathered at the shooting range. They must have been brought here by their parents to play. It seemed that they were here for a game today.
It's still a blind date. Li Zixian's recipes are not limited to the Du family, but considering the current situation of the prince in the court, the purpose of other families coming should not be just for this prince.
Many young talents in the capital gathered here. Putting aside the hot potato of the crown prince, it would not be a disadvantage to make friends with other young masters of famous families. It all depends on which unlucky guy will be favored by the crown prince.
Du Ruozhi found a place with few people, pulled Du Huaizhi over there, and said, "Sister, let's go over there."
Du Huaizhi didn't care about her and glanced at the direction Du Ruozhi was heading. He was going to take her into the woods.
There was a forest beside the horse farm lawn. Du Ruozhi walked a little further in with Du Huaizhi and suddenly covered her stomach. "Sister, I suddenly have a stomachache. I'm going to go there first. You wait here for me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Du Ruozhi left, looking back every few steps, and the words "there is something wrong with her" were almost written on her face.
Du Huaizhi wanted to take a look in the mirror at this moment. Did she look like someone who could be deceived?
"Is she taking you for a fool?" An Nian asked this soul-searching question. She was forcing herself not to expose her poor acting skills.
Du Huaizhi: “…”
She didn't understand, but she respected him. Mainly, she also wanted to know what Du Ruozhi wanted to do by bringing her here.
"Go and see her." Du Huaizhi said.
An Nian looked at her, "Are you sure?"
"Go ahead. You're here for me. You can't help much here." Du Huaizhi waved his hand and sent her away.
An Nian didn't say much, "Then be careful."
On this side, Du Ruozhi walked to a distance, hid behind a tree, and secretly looked into the woods. From this angle, Du Huaizhi's figure could be vaguely seen.
The scene of talking with Lin appeared in my mind.
"Just take her to the woods, and don't worry about anything else."
"But...but, won't my sister be in danger?" Du Ruozhi didn't want to hurt her sister, but she didn't dare to disobey her mother.
"Of course not." Lin comforted her, "I just wanted to scare her. If your father finds out about hurting her, it won't be good for us."
Du Ruozhi then agreed hesitantly.
It wasn't until she saw several men in black with knives rushing towards Du Huaizhi that she suddenly panicked. She just wanted to scare them, why did they have to hold knives?
Du Ruozhi realized something was wrong and cried anxiously, "Sister!"
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