When the messenger carriage arrived at Fourth Master's estate, Lanqin didn't have time to see Geng's letter. She was currently being taught horseback riding by Fourth Master!
The eldest prince, Honghui, could already gallop on horseback, and the third prince could even trot along by himself, holding the reins. Lanqin, seeing such young children already riding horses, truly admired the Manchu people for teaching horsemanship and archery from such a young age!
As for her, she hasn't even managed to sit still on the horse yet!
"Straighten your back, don't hunch your back, tuck in your stomach and straighten your chest, squeeze your legs tightly against the horse's belly." Fourth Master rode up from behind Lanqin on a dark, magnificent horse.
Lanqin pouted and, following the Fourth Master's instructions, straightened her back and sat upright on the horse. The horse she was riding was a whole size smaller than the one the Fourth Master was riding; it must be a mare. A young eunuch held the reins, and the horse slowly circled the pasture.
After about an hour of riding like this, Lanqin had long lost her excitement for horseback riding and only felt soreness in her back and waist. However, she dared not say that she didn't want to learn anymore, since she was the one who insisted on learning.
The Fourth Prince and his two young princes had already galloped around on the grassland for a while, and now they were tired. They had dismounted and were sitting to the side drinking cold tea.
"Father, I want to go catch grasshoppers with my third brother." The eldest prince had no interest in continuing to teach with his father here, so he took the initiative to ask to leave.
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince immediately became interested and wholeheartedly agreed.
"Go ahead, but a eunuch must accompany you." The Fourth Prince was very pleased to see that the eldest prince's playful nature had finally come to the fore.
The two young princes left happily.
Lanqin finally couldn't stand it any longer and said loudly, "My lord, I'm thirsty too. Let's get down and rest for a while."
"Ride for another quarter of an hour, and judging from your posture, you'll have almost mastered it," Fourth Master said sternly.
She finally understood: her grandfather's teaching obsession had been completely unleashed. His earnestness made Lanqin too embarrassed to cheat!
Just like the math teacher in my senior year of high school, the one with the black-rimmed glasses! He forced Lin Mengyao, who was only 18 at the time, to redo all the problems she got wrong and explain them to her before he would stop.
Lanqin had no choice but to muster her spirits and patiently walk for another quarter of an hour on the grassland.
At the Fourth Prince's instruction, the eunuch released the horse's reins, and Lanqin held the reins herself to control the horse's direction.
"Master, I can control the horse to turn now!" Lanqin gripped the rope tightly, squeezed the horse's belly, and trotted excitedly around the riding arena.
"Don't get carried away, focus on feeling the horse's feelings!" Fourth Master got up from the long bench, grabbed the reins of his own horse, and then nimbly flipped himself onto the horse.
"Would it kill you to give me a word of encouragement?" Lanqin muttered to herself.
"We Manchus have great respect and love for horses. They are indispensable contributors to our conquest of the Han people. At all times, horses are our most loyal friends. Therefore, we cannot treat them with brute force alone. We must communicate with them and let them feel our hearts. Only in this way can horses willingly serve you and become a sharp sword under your feet, charging forward without hesitation on the battlefield." When the Fourth Prince said these words, his expression was unusually calm.
Lanqin was intimidated by his solemnity and composure. She simply nodded obediently, no longer arguing or slacking off. She straightened her body and transferred her will to the tightness of the reins in her hands.
Sure enough, the horse gradually seemed to understand Lanqin's meaning. It could sense almost every subtle change in her movements.
Fourth Master ordered someone to bring over some herbal tea, and Lanqin drank two bowls on horseback before continuing her practice.
The two walked one after the other across the meadow. A gust of wind blew, drying the thin layer of sweat on Lanqin's back. Fourth Master walked ahead of her, and as she looked at his back, a scene from "Princess Pearl" suddenly flashed through her mind: Xiaoyanzi and Yongqi were galloping on horseback when Xiaoyanzi nearly fell off. Yongqi rushed forward, reached out a hand, and pulled Xiaoyanzi onto his horse. The two embraced, sharing a romantic moment on horseback.
At the time, this scene made Lin Mengyao fantasize for several days, thinking that it would be great if her future true love could also have such a romantic equestrian experience.
Suddenly, Lanqin spurred her horse, raised the whip in her right hand, and flicked the horse's rump, causing it to gallop forward. Lanqin stumbled, quickly grabbed the reins, and charged towards Fourth Master.
"Don't hunch your back, straighten up, pull the reins back." When Fourth Master saw Lanqin run past him, he thought the horse had suddenly been startled, so he immediately kicked the horse's belly and chased after it.
The wind whistled past my ears, and behind me came the anxious voice of the Fourth Master.
“Pull the reins back and the horse will stop.” Anxious voices drifted on the wind across the vast grassland.
Lanqin hunched over and gradually crawled onto the horse's back. Her mind was filled with the romantic scene of Fourth Master rescuing her later, and she was completely unaware of the danger that was about to befall her.
The horse ran faster and faster, beyond Lanqin's control.
Damn, something seems wrong, I have to stop right away.
Lanqin saw a grove of trees ahead. If she were to get caught by those tangled branches, she'd be hanging there.
"Hey, stop! Stop!" Lanqin was terrified and for a moment forgot the sitting posture she had just practiced, only busy pulling on the reins. But the horse at this moment seemed no longer the docile horse it had been before; it was like a demon, running ahead frantically.
As soon as the Fourth Prince looked ahead, he immediately started kicking the horse's belly wildly.
The dark, sturdy horse seemed to sense its master's anxiety and immediately galloped away like a whirlwind.
"I've forgotten everything I taught you." Fourth Master galloped up, almost reaching the same level as Lanqin, and reached out his left hand to pull her horse's reins.
"Master, what you taught me doesn't work." Lanqin was so frightened that she was no longer in the mood to think about the romance on horseback.
"You must concentrate when riding a horse. If you are distracted, the horse will be distracted as well," Fourth Master continued to teach.
Lanqin Jiong ==……
"Master, please save me! If you keep talking, I'm going to die!" Lanqin saw that the woods were right in front of her, but the master beside her was still happily teaching her.
"Give me your hand!" Fourth Master finally extended an arm.
"Can you catch me?" Lanqin asked with some doubt.
"Stop talking nonsense. If you don't reach over now, you're really going to run into a tree." Only then did Fourth Master show his worry and anxiety.
Lanqin closed her eyes, stretched out her arm, and grabbed Fourth Master's large hand.
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