Chapter 13 What Kind of Behavior Is This?
Xiao Yanran was young and spoke without restraint: "Brother, do you want this sick woman to be your sister-in-law? What if she goes crazy and hits Yanran?"
"Don't talk nonsense." Xiao Yu was only three years older than his sister, but he still tried to act like a little adult: "It's not that this woman is crazy, but I'm afraid she has ill intentions. Otherwise, why would she want to marry my brother?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu realized he had said the wrong thing and looked at Xiao Jue with a face full of guilt: "Brother, I'm sorry."
"let's go."
Xiao Jue withdrew his gaze and replied calmly.
Over the years, his image as a good-for-nothing has become deeply ingrained in people's minds. Even his closest relatives have never doubted him in the slightest. He has long been used to this, and outsiders may say even harsher things.
However, Xiao Jue didn't take it to heart. The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was in turmoil, and he only hoped to protect his younger siblings and nephews until they grew up.
As for this woman, he wouldn't want her.
Thinking of this, Xiao Jue unconsciously turned around and glanced at the woman squatting by the pond, a strange feeling creeping into his heart.
Aunt Liu searched the Imperial Garden for a long time before finally finding Xie Qingran. She scolded her unhappily, "What's wrong with Miss? Why aren't you going to the front hall? Do you expect everyone to wait for you?"
Is this how you talk to me?
The moment Xie Qingran saw Aunt Liu, all the expressions on her face vanished, leaving only coldness and sternness.
"you!"
Aunt Liu instinctively wanted to scold her again, but the burning sensation on half of her face made her swallow her words.
"Miss, this way please."
Aunt Liu walked ahead in a strange voice, almost grinding her back teeth to powder.
Today's crabapple blossom banquet, although mainly intended for Xiao Jue and Xie Qingran to meet, was still very well done in terms of appearances. In addition to inviting all the prominent young men and women in the capital, they even put on a variety of activities, such as poetry recitation, flower arranging, pitch-pot, and ball games.
The entire lotus pavilion was bustling with activity. Xie Qingran followed behind Aunt Liu until she reached Madam Wang's side, where she bowed her head and said, "Mother."
"You still know to come over?"
"Running around like a madman as soon as you step out the door, have you no manners at all? You're a disgrace to the Xie family, you..."
Wang was about to say something, but then she suddenly remembered that Xie Qingran was the main focus today, so she immediately shut her mouth.
"You've always said you wanted to get out and about, so now, go ahead and do whatever you want." Wang changed the subject, urging Xie Qingran to showcase herself.
Even after arriving for so long, Xie Qingran had not seen Xiao Jue, but she knew that Xiao Jue must be watching her from somewhere she couldn't see him.
Since deciding to marry this man, Xie Qingran had carefully inquired and investigated. This man was no ordinary man, and he didn't like the kind of delicate young girl from the inner chambers. After all, the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion was a mess. He had a widowed sister-in-law and nephew, and younger brothers and sisters. Moreover, Xiao Jue was a useless person who couldn't make any achievements. The Zhenguo Duke's Mansion had only a name but no real power, and it was uncertain whether it would have a future.
Under such circumstances, what Xiao Jue wanted was definitely not a noble lady who could compose poems and write couplets, but rather a girl who was resourceful and shrewd, capable of upholding the prestige of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and who could fight alongside him.
Since that's the case, Xie Qingran naturally had to cater to his preferences.
She didn't choose to compose poetry, nor did she choose to play the zither, chess, calligraphy, or painting; instead, she went to the racecourse.
On the racetrack, most of the men were young masters from noble families, trying to tame a wild horse. But the horse was unruly and refused to be controlled, already throwing several young masters off!
"This horse is truly a fine horse, but its temperament is so wild and untamed that even the palace horse trainers are unable to tame it!"
Someone said something, and before the words had even finished, another person was thrown off the horse, which then began to frolic wildly in the racetrack.
"Xie Qingran, what are you doing here!"
"You wouldn't...you...shameless, going to such lengths to marry me?"
When Lu Jinzhi saw Xie Qingran at the back of the crowd, his expression immediately changed. He quickly walked over, grabbed Xie Qingran's sleeve, and scolded her.
Xie Qingran quickly withdrew her hand and looked at him coldly: "Young Master Lu, please have some self-respect!"
"You! What kind of game are you playing with me? Let me tell you, even if you chased me all the way here, I wouldn't give you a second glance, much less marry you. Just give up on that idea!"
Everyone around was drawn to Lu Jinzhi's voice and turned to look. When they saw that it was Xie Qingran, they all started pointing and whispering.
"I'd heard that Miss Xie was determined to have Young Master Lu, but I never imagined she'd be so shameless?"
"She grew up on the country and has never seen the world. She doesn't know that the most important thing for a young lady from a noble family is to save face."
"What kind of good girl is she who dares to talk back to the imperial concubine at such a young age?"
Despite the comments, Xie Qingran remained unfazed, not even glancing at Lu Jinzhi, her eyes fixed on the frolicking horse.
Sure enough, after a short while, the horse suddenly became aggressive and started charging wildly in this direction.
Lu Jinzhi was startled and quickly dodged, but Xie Qingran seized the opportunity and grabbed the horse's reins.
"Xie Qingran, are you out of your mind? Let go!"
"Don't think that just because you're acting like this, I'll even glance at you!"
Lu Jinzhi shouted, his words filled with disparagement towards Xie Qingran.
The next moment, Xie Qingran nimbly mounted the horse, gripping the reins tightly. The horse, used to its freedom, naturally didn't want to be restrained and galloped even more wildly.
Xie Qingran was not afraid at all. She lowered her body and pressed herself tightly against the horse. No matter how the horse struggled, she was not shaken in the slightest.
The horse began to gallop wildly, desperately trying to throw Xie Qingran off its back.
Xie Qingran's face darkened. She pulled out a short knife from her boot and stabbed it viciously into the horse's rump.
"hiss!"
The horse let out a long neigh and started galloping wildly again.
Xie Qingran remained calm and composed, her eyes resolute. She gripped the horse's reins tightly, giving it no chance to breathe, and relentlessly exerted pressure.
Finally, the horse felt suffocated and had no strength left. It could only slow down and run around the racetrack a couple of times with its head down and eyes downcast.
"This...this...how is this possible?"
"The eldest daughter of the Xie family can actually train horses?"
"What kind of young lady knows how to train horses? This is outrageous!"
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