Chapter 21 Two Hearts Turned Away
I've seen her eyes sparkle, I've seen her smile and whisper, but I've never seen her smile so brightly. Yet, this smile is for the boy leading the horse. The Prince of Jin stood frozen in place. A thousand troops had never moved him, but at this moment, displeasure surfaced between his brows.
Youde came up from behind and asked in surprise, "Your Highness, why have you stopped?"
Upon hearing the voice, Cui Jiu turned around and, seeing it was Prince Jin, quickly came over and bowed: "Your Highness, what brings you here?"
The Prince of Jin withdrew his gaze and said listlessly, "Didn't you say that you were feeling unwell every day? I'll have Youde come and take a look."
Youde said loudly, "Yes, where is Zhuri? Don't worry, anything that passes through my hands will immediately become lively and energetic."
Cui Jiu said respectfully, "Then let Youde come over. How could we possibly make the Prince make the trip?"
The Prince of Jin said, "Since I have nothing else to do, I might as well come and take a look."
Youde glanced at him sideways, then looked at Ruan Bi in the arena, and chuckled.
The Prince of Jin glared at him, but he turned his head away, still chuckling, his mustache trembling incessantly.
Cui Jiu was baffled by the laughter and didn't dare to ask any questions. He turned around and raised his voice, saying, "Young Master, Prince Jin has arrived."
Startled, Gu Xiaobai snapped out of his daze, awkwardly releasing his grip on the reins. Not daring to look at Ruan Bi, he turned and walked to Prince Jin's side, saying absentmindedly, "Cousin, you've arrived."
The Prince of Jin gave a faint "hmm".
Gu Xiaobai was stunned and looked at him in surprise. He and Prince Jin had always had a good relationship, and he had never seen him so indifferent.
Prince Jin couldn't help but glance at Ruan Bi in the middle of the riding arena. She sat on her horse, her bright smile gone, and was also looking in his direction. But when her eyes met his, she turned away slightly, a hint of wariness in her expression. A surge of anger suddenly rose in Prince Jin's heart. What had he done? Every time she saw him, she was so cautious and guarded, yet she smiled radiantly at others.
Seeing that he was looking at Ruan Bi in the arena, Cui Jiu quickly waved and said, "Miss Ruan, come over and greet Prince Jin."
Xiuzhi ran over, and Ruanbi helped her by the shoulder to dismount. She walked over, lowered her eyes, and curtsied, saying, "This humble woman greets Your Highness."
The Prince of Jin remained silent, watching her lowered head. Her long, black hair cascaded over her shoulders, revealing a sliver of her neck, white as jade. A golden flower ornament adorned her twin buns, trembling slightly.
Gu Xiaobai, Cui Jiu, and Anping were all surprised to see that Prince Jin was just staring blankly at Ruan Bi's head and didn't say "no need for formalities." Only Youde vaguely knew what he was thinking and smiled slyly.
Gu Xiaobai couldn't help but speak up: "Cousin..."
He had barely uttered a call when Prince Jin glanced at him, his eyes sharp and seemingly filled with murderous intent. Gu Xiaobai hesitated, swallowing the rest of his words. Ruan Bi also sensed the murderous aura, and slightly startled, repeated, "This humble woman greets Your Highness."
She was just a thirteen-year-old girl, and not particularly beautiful. Since she didn't want to talk to him, should he, a grown man, just go up to her and let her look down on him? Thinking of this, Prince Jin withdrew his murderous intent, suppressed the anger in his chest, and said stiffly, "No need for formalities."
Ruan Bi straightened up and led Xiuzhi to stand next to Cui Jiu.
For a moment, silence fell, and the atmosphere was tense. Everyone noticed that Prince Jin was behaving strangely, but apart from Youde, no one understood why. Even Ruan Bi was puzzled; Prince Jin's behavior today was nothing like his usual calm and composed demeanor. Sigh, high position and power truly make one capricious; it's best to stay away.
Cui Jiu broke the silence with a light cough and said, "Your Highness, Young Master, Princess Jingyi is still waiting for the Fifth Miss in the side hall to pray for skill together. The Fifth Miss and I will take our leave now."
When the Prince of Jin saw that Ruan Bi refused to look him in the eye from beginning to end, his anger, which he had just suppressed, resurfaced. However, he did not want to lash out, so he pretended not to hear it.
Cui Jiu stood there with his head down, wondering if he had offended Gu Xiaobai if he didn't agree. He didn't dare leave and just gave Gu Xiaobai a look. But Gu Xiaobai's heart was still filled with sunshine, and he was distracted, only stealing glances at Ruan Bi. He didn't even notice Cui Jiu's look.
Prince Jin finally suppressed his anger and said coldly, "Youde, why are you standing there like an idiot? Go and see what's wrong with Zhu Ri." After saying that, he stopped looking at Ruan Bi and went straight to the stable.
Cui Jiu was greatly relieved and quickly led Ruan Bi back to the inner courtyard.
Ruan Bi returned to "Maple Garden," changed her clothes, and then went to the side hall of the Princess's bedroom. Gu Jingyi was playing the zither, with a group of servants standing behind her, carrying all sorts of things. Seeing her enter, she pressed down on the strings and said, "Sister Bi, why did you choose this time to go horseback riding? The sun is so strong, it will damage your skin."
"It's just sunbathing for a while, nothing will happen," Ruan Bi said, sitting down. "I heard your 'Rice Ball' got lost just now?"
Gu Jingyi shook her head, looked at "Mi Tuan" with affection, and said, "No, it just hid secretly, but I still found it in the end."
An old nanny stepped forward and whispered, "Princess, it's time to practice the zither now."
Gu Jingyi pouted unhappily and said, "Didn't we practice for half an hour just now? My fingers are sore, let me rest for a while."
“That’s right, that’s right, let the county princess rest for a while.” Cui Jiu chuckled and leaned in, “County princess, guess who’s here?”
Gu Jingyi opened her eyes wide and asked, "Who's here?"
"It was the eldest young master and Prince Jin; they were both at the racecourse just now."
Gu Jingyi exclaimed "Ah!" and stood up, pushing aside the zither. "Cousin's here? Why didn't you say so sooner? I'm going to the racecourse too." As she spoke, she walked into the house. "Quick, quick, I need to change my clothes. Get out my new bright red riding outfit."
The servants followed her into the house, bumping arms and stepping on each other's feet, making quite a commotion.
Suddenly someone outside announced, "The eldest princess has returned."
Ruan Bi stood up.
A moment later, the sound of hurried footsteps slowly approached.
Princess Huiwen entered, dressed in a magnificent palace gown and surrounded by a large group of servants. She asked Cui Jiu, "The gatekeeper said Fei Yang has arrived. Where is he?"
Cui Jiu said respectfully, "At the racecourse, I was with the young master, checking on what ailment Zhu Ri has developed."
Just then, Gu Jingyi came out of the inner room, already dressed in a bright red riding outfit. Four or five maids surrounded her, some helping her adjust the back of her clothes, some combing her hair, some smoothing out the wrinkles in her sleeves, and some adjusting her belt... The princess frowned and asked, "Jingyi, what are you going to do?"
“My cousin is at the racecourse. I’m going to see him. I haven’t seen him for over a month.”
The eldest princess was somewhat amused and exasperated, saying, "Why ride a horse now? Just call him over; it's been a while since I've seen him." She gestured with her chin toward Cui Jiu, who understood and withdrew.
Gu Jingyi's face fell, and she pouted, saying, "Then all the clothes I changed into were for nothing?"
The eldest princess waved her hand and said, "Go and change it quickly."
So Gu Jingyi grumbled unhappily and went into the inner room to change her clothes, surrounded by a group of servants.
They're all relatives; it wouldn't be right for me to get involved. Thinking this, Ruan Bi said, "Since Your Highness has guests, I'll take my leave now."
The eldest princess hesitated for a moment, then said, "Very well, you may leave now."
Ruan Bi returned to Qiuhua Garden with Xiuzhi and Granny Liu. She collapsed onto the couch, feeling sore all over, probably from the bumpy ride. "Xiuzhi, quickly massage me. I was frightened by Gu Xiaobai, and now my whole body aches."
Granny Liu put her finger to her lips and shushed them. She looked outside and said, "Oh dear, young lady, why did you call the young master by his name so directly? If they hear this, they'll know what they're going to say about you."
Xiuzhi pouted and said indignantly, "Mama Liu, you weren't at the racecourse just now, so you don't know how awful that young master Gu is. He almost scared the young lady to death." As she spoke, she sat down on the edge of the couch and gently patted Ruan Bi's back. "Young lady, let's not come to the Princess's mansion as guests in the future. There's no reason for us to come here and let them bully us."
Granny Liu glared at her and said, "You're just saying these petty things to sway the young lady. It's such an honor to be a guest at the Princess's residence. If word gets out, it will only benefit our young lady and not do her any harm."
Xiuzhi retorted, "What glory or not, it looks like I'm just suffering."
Liu Mama ignored her and said to Ruan Bi, "Miss, you must not listen to Xiuzhi's nonsense. People always flatter the powerful and belittle the weak. If you can catch the Princess's eye, people outside will also look at you with more respect, which will be very beneficial for your future marriage." She also said to Xiuzhi, "If you marry well, we will also have a good reputation."
Xiuzhi knew she was right, but she refused to admit defeat. She pouted and said, "I don't care about dignity. I just want the girl to not suffer."
Granny Liu wanted to scold her for being short-sighted, only looking at the present and not the future.
Ruan Bi waved her hand and said, "Alright, alright, stop arguing. Visiting the Princess's residence isn't something I can do whenever I want, nor can I choose not to come if I don't want to. Let nature take its course."
These words silenced both Granny Liu and Xiuzhi. No one understood this better than they did: the lowly must obey the nobles.
Xiuzhi tapped for a while longer and asked, "Miss, are you feeling better?"
Ruan Bi moved her body and felt much better, but her inner thighs still ached slightly, probably from the chafing. "Much better, Xiuzhi. In a little while, remember to sew two more layers of cotton cloth inside the crotch of my riding clothes."
Xiuzhi paused for a moment, then understood and said, "Miss, your skin is so delicate, you shouldn't learn to ride a horse. Otherwise, your skin will become too thick. Besides, what would you do if you learned to ride a horse? We don't have a racecourse in our manor, and we won't allow you to ride a horse outside."
Ruan Bi disagreed, saying, "It's better to be prepared."
Granny Liu brought over some tea and placed it on the small table beside the couch, saying, "Miss, you're going to be praying for skill with Princess Jingyi tonight. You'll be exchanging gifts. Have you thought about it?"
Ruan Bi brought a lot of small embroidery items, thinking of picking one more to give to Jingyi based on her personality. When she heard Liu Mama say this, she got up and said, "I haven't decided yet. Bring all the embroidery items over and let's choose one."
Just as she was choosing, Cui Jiu arrived, smiling and saying, "Miss Ruan, the Princess invites you to have dinner at the Hibiscus Pavilion."
Ruan Bi nodded, went into the inner room to straighten her clothes and comb her hair, and then came out and followed Cui Jiu out of "Qiuhua Garden" and walked towards the garden to the east.
After walking for a while, Ruan Bi couldn't contain herself and asked in a low voice, "What kind of people are there?"
Cui Jiu said, "The eldest princess, the eldest young master, the Princess of Jingyi, and Prince Jin."
Ruan Bi paused in her tracks.
Cui Jiu assumed she was thinking about the strict separation of men and women, so he smiled and said, "The Princess said there's no reason for a guest to eat alone. Besides, the young lady is still young, so there's no need to be so bound by convention."
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