In the prime of youth, laughing freely and galloping on horseback, Qian Shengyan couldn't help but laugh as she watched.
Hongzhou was also riding outside when he heard Foerguochun's voice and came over, laughing, "Shall we have a match?"
"Let's race!" Folgorchun raised an eyebrow, flicked his whip, and squeezed his long legs tightly around the horse's belly. "Giddy up!"
Dust billowed as the two disappeared into the distance. Qian Shengyan glanced back with a smile, then heard Hongshan's anxious urging: "Chase after them! Hurry! My fifth brother and sister have run away, oh dear!"
Urged on by him, Er Rong'an said helplessly, "Brother, we can't run so fast..."
Hongshan was furious: "Erong'an! Are you impotent?!"
E Rong'an: ...
Fortunately, Hongli rescued him. Hearing his younger siblings' voices, Hongli lifted the carriage curtain and saw Hongshan wriggling and making a fuss on the horse. He said, "Hongshan, come to your fourth brother."
"Fourth Brother!" Hongshan was actually a little afraid of Hongli. Every time he saw this fourth brother, he was forced to recite his lessons. However, he also listened to Hongli and had E Rong'an escort him to Hongli's carriage.
Hongli took the chubby boy and put him back in the seat. He then looked at E Rong'an and said with a smile, "Why don't you go and compete with them too?"
E Rong'an bowed to Hongli, grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, flicked the reins, and spurred his horse towards the spot where Folgochun had just disappeared.
Qian Shengyan watched the young men and women galloping on horseback with great interest, feeling that the sky was vast and the scenery was wonderful.
Just then, a young eunuch came to deliver a message, saying that the Emperor summoned her.
The carriage that Yinzhen rode in was incomparable to the other carriages. It was spacious and stable, like a small house on wheels. When Qian Shengyan got into the carriage, she saw that he was also sitting by the window, looking out with a calm expression.
She then said directly, "Actually, it's quite nice to go out for walks like this often."
"Yes, I saw Hongzhou and Foerguochun racing horses?" Yinzhen grasped her hand, a smile appearing on his lips. "The children have really grown up."
On this trip, Yinzhen only took Qian Shengyan and Consort Yu with him. Consort Guo stayed in the palace to oversee the Palace Administration Office. However, Consort Yu was a little carsick and was still asleep. With no one to restrain him, Hongzhou was already quite unrestrained, and he was even more relaxed now.
Qian Shengyan smiled and said, "Yes, we're all adults now."
Adults race horses; children can only ride on horseback.
However, when Qian Shengyan arrived at the imperial carriage, she saw the nanny beside the Fifth Prince Consort Wu Zhaku, who had been married for less than half a year, hurrying back. She probably saw Hongzhou racing horses and wanted to report to Consort Yu.
Perhaps because the scenery at the end of summer was so beautiful, and since it was a rare opportunity to be out and about, Yinzhen also became interested and laid out paper and inkstone to prepare to paint a picture.
Qian Shengyan rarely saw him paint, so she followed him and watched. But she didn't just watch for nothing; she went around grinding ink for him, rinsing his brush and pouring water, never idle.
Before the landscape painting was finished, it was time to set up camp and rest. Su Peisheng ran up and down to serve his master. Yinzhen was in high spirits and did not get out of the carriage. Qian Shengyan naturally accompanied him, but she was worried about the two young children and asked someone to bring them to be looked after.
Xiao Qi and Xiao Ba are now eight months old. Although they are not as robust as Hong Shan, who is the same age, they are still chubby babies. They love to laugh and can make simple syllables. The imperial physicians check their pulses every day and say that they are in good health, which puts Qian Shengyan and Yinzhen at ease.
When she was born prematurely, Yinzhen did not tell Qian Shengyan about his suspicions. He secretly investigated for three months, but found no trace of her, so he had no choice but to believe the imperial physician's words that twins are prone to premature birth and no one can predict the timing.
Little Seven and Little Eight sat on the soft carriage seat, leaning against the carriage wall. Little Seven was biting her finger and staring at her mother and father with her round eyes. Although she couldn't speak yet, she could still utter an "ah".
Before Yinzhen could finish his painting, he suddenly heard a commotion outside. Qian Shengyan's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively lifted the carriage curtain, only to be met with Su Peisheng's anxious face: "Your Highness, something has happened to the princess!"
"What?" Qian Shengyan exclaimed. Yinzhen's hand trembled, and a drop of ink fell, but he no longer cared about the painting in his hand. He only looked at Su Peisheng: "Speak!"
"The princess and the fifth prince were racing horses, and the guards followed. But unexpectedly, there was a large ditch on the road. The fifth prince was a skilled rider and stopped in time, but the princess couldn't hold onto her horse and fell into the ditch..."
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen flew into a rage: "How could there be such a large pit on the official road? What are the imperial patrol team doing here?"
“No, it’s not the main road. The Fifth Prince and the Princess ran down a side road…” Su Peisheng sighed.
Qian Shengyan had no interest in listening to any of this. She threw back the curtain and jumped off the carriage: "Where are they?"
"Mother, don't worry, your son will go and see." With the sound of horses' hooves, Hongli was already in front of her. Qian Shengyan waved her hand: "Go quickly, go quickly!"
One guard followed Hongli toward the direction that Fuerguochun and the others had gone, while another guard stayed behind to explain the situation to Qian Shengyan and Yinzhen.
The two had heard the whistle signaling the start of the camping break and decided to race one last time before turning back. Folgochun suggested running to the big tree in the forest, but there turned out to be a hunting pit dug by hunters, which tripped Folgochun.
"I wonder how badly she was injured..." Qian Shengyan bit her lip. Just thinking about how Foerguchun fell off the fast horse in the game made her feel unbearable. At this moment, she began to regret, "I shouldn't have agreed to let her go riding."
"You just said you're all grown up now, how can you blame your mother for something like this?" Yinzhen's voice was low and somber. "It's just a fall. Our Manchu Qing dynasty was conquered on horseback. Even our daughters have fought on the battlefield. What's wrong with a fall?"
Despite saying this, he could no longer continue painting. He waved for someone to pack up the scroll, told Su Peisheng to quickly summon the imperial physician, and then called Qian Shengyan back.
Qian Shengyan was extremely anxious, but she was not good at riding horses and could not rashly go to check. However, she thought that Hongzhou was reliable in important matters, and since Hongli had already gone there, it was possible that he was not too badly hurt.
She could only console herself with this thought, but even after getting into the carriage, she couldn't calm down and wait. She chose to pace back and forth on the ground, which seemed to alleviate some of her anxiety.
Fortunately, Hongli was really reliable. Before long, Qian Shengyan heard a series of loud hoofbeats. She looked up and saw Hongli at the front, along with Ferguchun, who was being protected by Hongli.
She must have fallen pretty hard; she was covered in mud from head to toe, her clothes were filthy, and she must have been injured somewhere, as there was blood on one of her sleeves, which was quite frightening.
Qian Shengyan's voice changed: "Where are you injured? Quickly, let the imperial physician take a look!"
“Mother… I’m fine, it’s not my blood.” Ferguchun must have hurt her leg, because she needed Hongli and Hongzhou to help her get off the horse. Qian Shengyan took two steps forward, but before she could check, she heard her say, “This is E Rong’an’s blood. If he hadn’t helped me, I would have been caught in that animal trap.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
