Chapter 178 Riding Horses in Nanyuan Cheng Qianyue originally thought Nanyuan was the same as Changchun Garden...
Cheng Qianyue originally thought that Nanyuan was about the same size as Changchun Garden, but she realized that it was not like that when she actually came here. Nanyuan was much larger than Changchun Garden. There were several palaces alone, and apart from the palaces, there were vast hunting grounds with grasslands, forests, and lakes. It was practically a small wilderness. Standing on the observation platform of the palace and looking into the distance, the view was boundless.
Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but gasp inwardly. She'd been in the palace for so many years and had never even heard of Nanyuan; it was far more spacious than Changchun Garden. She usually felt smug about being able to visit Changchun Garden—wasn't this just mistaking a stone for a treasure?
So as soon as she entered Nanyuan, Cheng Qianyue couldn't wait to go out for a stroll. She had heard that Nanyuan not only had vegetable gardens and orchards, but also raised wild animals such as deer and roe deer, and even tigers for people to hunt. The former was fine; experiencing farm life and a zoo would be nice. But she wouldn't go to the place where tigers were kept. Given the guarding conditions in ancient times, it probably couldn't compare to the moats and barbed wire of a modern zoo. If a tiger escaped, well, that would be... well, you know.
Cheng Qianyue went out for a happy stroll and picnic, but Yinreng was extremely busy. He was preoccupied with important matters; just a few days after arriving, he summoned the Eight Banners army for inspection. Every day, the drill ground was filled with the resounding shouts of the uniformly disciplined soldiers. After the inspection, he took the soldiers on a two-day hunting trip, and upon returning, they set up a bonfire for a barbecue. Cheng Qianyue would go out for a walk in the morning, return in the afternoon to rest and play with Hongyao, and then enjoy a delicious meal with Yinreng in the evening.
After finishing his business, Yinreng gradually relaxed and soon said he wanted to take Cheng Qianyue out for a horse ride. Horse riding? Alas, Cheng Qianyue couldn't do that, because she didn't know how to ride. So Yinreng took her to the horse farm and taught her how to ride.
The horse ranch was a vast meadow surrounded by many fences, where many horses were kept. Cheng Qianyue enthusiastically commented on the horses. Before long, the fine horse that Yinreng had specifically requested was brought over. Yinreng said, "Look at this one, it's a rare and excellent horse." Then he launched into a long and detailed explanation of horsemanship.
Cheng Qianyue nodded in agreement from time to time, watching the horse in front of her with great interest. Wow, this was the first time she'd ever been so close to a horse. The horse wasn't very tall, only a head shorter than her, and was brownish-brown all over with a tuft of white hair on its head. There were no fences separating them, and being so close to the horse, she felt a mix of excitement and fear, so she didn't dare reach out to touch it.
Yinreng chuckled at her expression, taking her hand and stroking the horse's mane. The moment her hand touched it, Cheng Qianyue's eyes widened in surprise: the sensation was truly magical. Especially as she repeatedly stroked the horse's mane, the horse slowly swished its tail. She felt the horse must feel very comfortable being stroked like this!
Yinreng didn't rush her, waiting for her to rub against the horse for a long time before telling her to try riding it. Cheng Qianyue nodded vigorously and eagerly stepped on the stirrups to mount the horse. But once she was on, she was dumbfounded because she felt it was a bit high, and she didn't know where to put her hands and legs.
Yinreng instructed her, "Keep your legs tighter and lean forward slightly." He pulled on the reins, leading her in circles on the horse. After a few circles, Cheng Qianyue felt her body stiffen and hurriedly said she wanted to get off the horse. But as soon as her feet touched the ground, her legs went weak and she almost fell flat on her face.
Yinreng caught her with lightning speed, shook his head teasingly, and said she was too nervous.
Cheng Qianyue let out a breath and said, "Is this the first time a young lady has ridden in a sedan chair?" When she was on horseback, there was only one stirrup under her feet, and she was always worried that she would fall off.
Yinreng said, "You'll learn it slowly."
Cheng Qianyue nodded, and then watched as he mounted the horse in one smooth motion. With a shout, the horse galloped off.
This was the first time Cheng Qianyue had ever seen someone ride a horse like this, and she couldn't help but think to herself: Wow, this horse is really agile, it's comparable to a motorcycle.
In the blink of an eye, Yinreng was far away. Cheng Qianyue watched with bated breath as Yinreng rode around the riding arena. But as she watched, something felt off. Why did the horse look like it was running so erratically? Look at those four hooves, they looked like propellers. This wasn't right, weren't horses supposed to run with wide, sweeping strides? Why was it running like this with such small, shuffling steps?
Cheng Qianyue squinted and observed carefully, and after a long while, she suddenly realized why the horse was running so strangely—it was walking with its legs in the wrong direction!
After running a lap, Yinreng let out a "whoosh" and got off, asking, "How was it? How's the horse?" He wanted to encourage her, saying that if she practiced often, one day she could control the horse as well as he did. But to his surprise, Cheng Qianyue stared at him with wide eyes and pursed lips, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
Cheng Qianyue held it in for a long time but couldn't help bursting out laughing. She quickly grabbed a handkerchief to cover her mouth. But it was still so funny, hahaha.
Yinreng was puzzled, not knowing what she was laughing about.
After Cheng Qianyue finished laughing, she said softly, "Why does this horse run like that? It looks so strange."
Yinreng finally understood what she was laughing at. She thought the horse's running posture was unsightly. He said helplessly, "This is called a trotting horse. There are no more than ten horses like this in the entire Nanyuan."
"A galloping horse?" Cheng Qianyue asked.
Yinreng nodded and ordered someone to pull the horse down and replace it with his own favorite tall horse. Then he explained to her, "It's specially trained, so it runs more steadily than a regular horse, and the rider won't feel any bumps."
Oh, I see.
Cheng Qianyue nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Then his servants changed his horse again, this one much larger and taller than the previous one. Yinreng said, "I'll run another lap."
This time, his movements as he spurred his horse were far more impressive than before. Cheng Qianyue couldn't help but sigh, "Even an old Ferrari is still a Ferrari!" Of course, Yinreng was not yet fifty and well-maintained, so he couldn't be considered old at all.
When Yinreng dismounted, Cheng Qianyue immediately started cheering him on. It's laughable; she doesn't know what riding a horse is, but does she not know why Yinreng had to run it a second time?
Yinreng was much more satisfied this time, especially when he saw Cheng Qianyue looking at him with bright eyes, praising his heroic appearance.
In the following days, Cheng Qianyue began learning to ride a horse. After several days of persistent effort, she was finally able to trot along by herself, holding the reins. And you know what? Riding a horse was a completely different experience from walking on foot. As the saying goes, the higher you climb, the farther you see; she felt a sense of vastness, as if she had been released into the wild. However, Yinreng always felt she was too slow. They wouldn't ride together for long before he galloped off, waiting for her to ride past in the distance.
If they rode too far, they would simply set up camp in the distance. Sometimes Cheng Qianyue found it a bit disappointing; having guards following behind was one thing, but if they decided to have lunch outside, the cooks and such had to come along too. The result was that they rode ahead on horseback, while people pulled carts loaded with pots and pans. This shows that the cheap labor force of the Chinese people had already begun to take shape as early as the Qing Dynasty.
However, setting up a tent in the wild was still quite fun. The two of them lay facing each other in the tent, and soon they were embracing and kissing.
Cheng Qianyue found it incredibly exciting. Although she was inside a tent, she felt as if she were under the open sky, which stirred up her wild instincts. However, even the wildest instincts had to be restrained at this moment. At most, she could be intimate with Yinreng, but she dared not do anything else. Because there were guards nearby, and if she made too much noise and they heard her, she would lose all face.
Yinreng said the tents here were too simple and not good. He chuckled softly in her ear, "I'll take you to the frontier, to a yurt on the vast grasslands. The ground will be covered with cashmere blankets, and I'll play pranks on you there."
Cheng Qianyue felt hot all over from his words, thinking, "Forget about another day, there's no time like the present. I'll push him down tonight!" As a result, they both overslept the next day. Although they woke up in the morning, they were both too lazy to move, clinging to each other.
Several leisurely days passed, but gradually Yinreng reduced the frequency of his horseback riding outings, and it seemed he was unhappy about something. Cheng Qianyue was quite puzzled. What was wrong? Hadn't he been having a good time lately? Could something have happened in the outer court? But she hadn't heard a word about it.
In the end, Cheng Qianyue couldn't figure it out, so she simply stopped thinking about it. If something really happened, she would find out sooner or later.
That morning, Cheng Qianyue and Yinreng had breakfast together. One of the dishes was stir-fried baby pumpkin, which was particularly delicious. It was crisp and sweet. The servants said that the baby pumpkin was freshly picked from the melon and fruit garden.
Having just finished breakfast and rinsed his mouth, Jing Shun came in from outside and said, "Your Majesty, the First Prince sent someone to submit a memorial early this morning."
Yinreng wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and said, "Bring it here so I can take a look."
Jing Shun acknowledged and presented the memorial with both hands.
Cheng Qianyue saw Yinreng's gaze fixed on the memorial, but he hesitated to pick it up. After a long while, he seemed to take a deep breath and finally picked it up to read. However, the more he read, the more his brows furrowed, to the point that one could easily crush a walnut between them.
After a moment, Yinreng closed the memorial and shut his eyes. It took him a while to calm down before he said to Cheng Qianyue, "It's nothing, it's just that Hongxi submitted a memorial saying he wanted to come and accompany me on the hunt."
"I see," Cheng Qianyue replied softly. Although she herself didn't quite believe the contents of the memorial about such a trivial matter, since Yinreng didn't tell her, she didn't ask.
Yinreng let out a long sigh, then stood up and said, "I'll go to the front to look at the memorials."
Cheng Qianyue hummed in agreement, got up, and saw him out. After returning and sitting down, she couldn't help but wonder if something had happened to Hongxi again. After a while, she shook her head and said, "Bring Hongyao over here."
Hongyao is almost ten months old and is currently learning to crawl. She sat on the tatami mat and played with the little boy for a while, then teased him with a cloth tiger, saying, "Come on, crawl to Mother and I'll give it to you."
Hongyao was rather lazy, but he liked the doll, so he wiggled around a few times before finally snuggling into her arms. Cheng Qianyue hugged him and swayed gently, saying softly, "The weather's been nice these past few days, so Mother will take you outside for a walk."
Yinreng had also arrived at the front. He sat on the couch, staring at Hongxi's memorial for a long time, and finally picked up his brush and wrote a bright red "Approved" on it.
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