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"You're shy!"
More than 20 miles south of the capital, there is the Yi River. Although it is not as famous as the Luo River that runs through the capital, it is also a good place for people nearby to go for an outing and have fun, especially attracting elegant guests who like quietness.
The nine-year-old princess chose Yihe not for elegance. She had too many things she wanted to play with, and needed fewer people around. The more people there were nearby, the easier it would be to expose her identity. Once exposed, the princess would have to maintain the noble demeanor of a princess to avoid being laughed at by the people and losing the dignity of the royal family.
This was what her father taught her when she was a child. Her father said that ordinary people can curse and say rude words to others, but the royal family, as the most noble family in the world, must be dignified and elegant in their words and deeds when they are outside, so as to set an example for the people of the world. Only when they are happy, angry or extremely sad and occasionally lose their composure, will they avoid being criticized by officials and the public.
The emperor's father also said that he was a commoner emperor who ascended the throne halfway, and he had not received the royal family's speech and behavior education when he was a child, which led to him often saying some rude words after becoming emperor. She was different. She was a princess born in the palace and had a nanny teaching her royal etiquette since she was a child. Her eldest brother, second brother, and third brother were stupid and could not learn it well, but she was smart and had to do her best in manners.
At that time, Qingyang felt that everything his father said was right, so of course he did as he was told. After all, learning those etiquettes was not that difficult.
As she grew older, until she was nine years old, Qingyang realized that what her father said might not be entirely right. For example, his belief that she could not race horses was wrong. But Qingyang had learned the proper manners of a royal child. Thinking about her eldest brother who would always shrink his head, her second brother who would wipe his sweat with his sleeves, her third brother who would yawn randomly, and other behaviors that she would find somewhat disliked, Qingyang made up her mind not to let anyone see her ugly appearance, and not to let any outsider see her doing the "naughty" things that ordinary children often do.
Of course, the third brother and Zhang Su were not outsiders, and the Jiuhua Palace servants such as Jie Yu who came to serve them were not outsiders. The eight guards who came to protect them and did not dare to disobey her orders were not outsiders either.
The carriage traveled at a steady pace for more than half an hour and arrived at the Yi River. There were some tourists on the bank. Qingyang asked the driver to go upstream along the path along the bank until no one else was in sight.
Qin Ren was curious: "What does my sister want to do? Why are you so afraid of being seen?"
Qingyang: "My second brother said we can go fishing in the river here, I want to go fishing too."
Zhang Su lowered his gaze even lower. Qin Ren tilted his head to look at his sister's small feet, clad in white silk socks, which were exposed outside her skirt. He asked worriedly, "It's not summer yet. Will the river water still be very cold?"
Qingyang: "I want to play too, even if it's cold."
Qin Ren: "Okay, I'll try it for you first."
After walking east for another two or three quarters of an hour, there was finally no one around. A river more than twenty feet wide was gurgling under the warm sun. The water was shallow in the middle, only up to the calf. The several feet wide section near the north and south banks should be able to submerge an adult's knees. The deeper the water, the muddy it looked and the faster it flowed.
Zhang Su helped the little princess get out of the car first. Qin Ren put on his shoes and walked out. He looked at the water by the river and said anxiously, "The water is too deep. Don't go in, sister."
Qingyang: “…”
After Jie Yu and two palace maids moved the felt mats and other items from the second carriage to a nearby old locust tree and spread them out, Qingyang asked the coachmen to drive the carriage to a place where she could not see them, and then asked eight guards to stand on both sides of the river where she could not see them either, with their backs to the river and patrolling everywhere to prevent any civilians from approaching.
At this time, the only people left by the river were the few people that Qingyang was most familiar with since childhood.
She turned and walked to the shore. When she was still two or three steps away, Qin Ren suddenly grabbed his sister's left wrist, fearing that she would slip and fall.
Qingyang: "Third brother, you are really a coward."
Qin Ren: "This is called being cautious and reliable."
Qingyang ignored him and insisted on walking to the water's edge to look at the river scenery in the distance.
Qin Ren tilted his head and said to Zhang Su, who was standing on the other side of his sister, "The water is so fast, it makes me feel dizzy."
Before Zhang Su entered the palace at the age of six, he was a little afraid of the third prince, whom he had never met. He was afraid that the emperor's son had a bad temper and it would be inconvenient for him to fight back if he was beaten or scolded. After studying together as classmates for so many years, the third prince only had a noble status in Zhang Su's heart, and no dignity at all.
He glanced at the Third Prince's slightly pale face and said, "I will guard Your Highness. You can step back a few steps and enjoy the view."
Qin Ren: "Then keep a close eye on her and don't let her fall into the water."
Zhang Su nodded.
Qin Ren then let go of his sister and stood a few steps away, daring only to look at the shallow water in the middle.
Looking at the green mountains and clear waters, Qingyang stood there for a long time before taking a deep breath, slightly lifting the hem of her skirt, and squatting down.
Zhang Su touched the ground with one knee and then squatted down. He watched the little princess curiously put her hand into the water, and then watched the little princess turn to him in surprise: "It's so cool."
There was a shimmering light in the little princess's black eyes. Zhang Su habitually avoided them and looked at the water.
Qingyang: "You can try it too, it's cool and comfortable."
Zhang Su also put in a hand, and the clear river water coming from the east first passed through the little princess's small hand, and then through his big hand.
Qingyang played in the water for a while, and when he had enough, he started looking for fish. It took a long time before he saw a thin fish as long as a little finger swim into the rapids on this side, swim for a while, and then rush back to the shallow water from the front.
Qingyang: "I'm going to go in there and catch some fish."
Unless the emperor is around, the little princess will eventually do what she wants. Zhang Su knew he couldn't dissuade her, so he could only compromise: "...The water is too cold. Your Highness might catch a cold if you go down now. It's better to wait until the sun is higher and the water temperature rises."
Qingyang didn't want to be sick, because if she was sick it would become a reason for her father to refuse her from leaving the palace.
"Okay, then I'll ride the horse first, and you go and get your horse." Qingyang stood up and said.
Qin Ren, who had already chosen a flat place to sit on, reminded him, "Let Zhang Su lead you for a slow stroll. Don't run. Zhang Su, you must keep a close eye on him, otherwise we will both be punished to kneel when we return to the palace!"
As indulgent as his father was to his younger sister, he was also cruel to him and his second brother. It was only because his eldest brother was thin-skinned and had red eyes easily that his father restrained himself a little.
Zhang Su understood.
After the mount was brought over, Zhang Su helped the little princess adjust the height of the stirrups, and then held the reins tightly.
Qingyang glanced at his brother and directed Zhang Su to go upstream.
Zhang Su walked slowly and lightly, with only the regular clatter of horse hooves and the sound of flowing water.
In order to prevent his third brother and Zhang Su from being punished by his father to kneel, Qingyang had given up the idea of riding alone and his eyes were always on Zhang Su.
As he turned around, Qingyang suddenly noticed that the top of Zhang Su's head was actually level with the top of the horse that his father had rewarded him with!
"How tall are you?" Qingyang asked enviously.
Zhang Su turned around to make sure he heard correctly and said, "Seven feet nine."
During the Chinese New Year, his mother asked his eldest brother to measure the amount for him.
Qingyang was surprised and said, "My eldest brother is also this tall, but he is about to get married, and you are still not grown up."
In the eyes of the nine-year-old princess, married men and women are considered adults.
Zhang Su did not refute.
Qingyang continued to stare at him, smiling and praising him, "You haven't grown up yet, but your body has grown up. Third brother is not good at horse riding, and father is worried about letting him take me to race, but father said you can do it. Come on, get on."
The little princess moved forward in advance to make more space on the saddle.
Zhang Su stopped and said to the horse's neck in front of him, "I dare not. Please don't embarrass me, Princess."
Firstly, he shouldn't have physical contact with the little princess, and secondly, accompanying the little princess in horse racing is too much of a responsibility. If the princess gets hurt, their family can't afford it.
Qingyang pouted: "You are the one who didn't listen to me, even though the emperor agreed!"
Zhang Su looked at the Third Prince behind him and said, "This matter is of great importance. I need to confirm with His Majesty the Third Prince."
Qingyang: "Okay, go ahead and ask."
She was waiting for Zhang Su to leave her here and go back alone, but she didn't expect Zhang Su to want to lead the horse back. Qingyang hurriedly stopped him and glared at him angrily.
Zhang Su lowered his eyes and stood quietly, waiting for the little princess's next instructions.
Qingyang snorted: "Keep going forward, walk faster."
Zhang Su cooperated by quickening his pace.
The wind was stronger at high altitudes. Qingyang held the saddle with both hands and raised his head to look at the blue sky. Zhang Su saw this and said nervously, "Your Highness, be careful."
Qingyang smiled: "I was just being careless. If you were afraid I would fall, come up and ride with me."
Zhang Su: "I will not mount the horse, but if Your Highness continues to do this dangerous thing, I would rather offend Your Highness and carry you off the horse."
The little princess bit her lip and sat up straight.
The riverside was covered with green weeds. Qingyang found a small white flower and asked Zhang Su to help her pick it.
Zhang Su led the horse over, holding the reins in one hand and breaking off the flower stem with the other, and handed it to the little princess.
Qingyang sniffed it, but found no fragrance at all. Just as he was about to throw it into the water, he suddenly had an idea and called out to the boy who had returned to the front: "Come here."
Zhang Su had no choice but to walk to the little princess again.
Qingyang: "Close your eyes."
Zhang Su glanced at the wild flowers in the little princess's hand, paused, and closed his eyes obediently. As long as the little princess no longer thought about horse racing, everything else would be a small matter.
Qingyang smiled and inserted the small white flowers into the young man's hair. She was just teasing him on purpose. She thought Zhang Su would be embarrassed and take off the wild flowers in a panic, but this man seemed to be unaware that there was a flower in his hair and continued to lead the horse.
Qingyang: "...There's a yellow one over there, can you pick it for me?"
Zhang Su did as he was told.
This time, Qingyang didn't let him close his eyes. She directly inserted the small yellow flower into Zhang Su's right ear. While inserting the flower, she paid attention to Zhang Su's expression. She saw that his long eyelashes were still drooping, but his fair face suddenly turned red. The more she stared at him, the redder his face became.
Qingyang knew what was going on. Sister Lu would blush every time she saw her eldest brother. His mother said that she was shy and that was because Sister Lu liked her eldest brother.
"You're shy!" The little princess unconsciously imitated the tone of her second brother teasing her eldest brother.
Zhang Su: "...Your Highness forced me to wear the flower. I was very embarrassed. It had nothing to do with shyness."
Qingyang: "...If you don't tell me, how do I know you don't like it?"
Zhang Su stopped talking.
Qingyang took off the flowers on his head one by one and put them on the horse's head.
After walking for a while without paying any attention to each other, the little princess couldn't hold it in any longer and coaxed the boy who was leading the horse: "Okay, I won't bully you anymore. But if I ask you to do something again and you don't like it, tell me. I will never force you."
Zhang Su whispered, "Okay."
In fact, over the years, he listened to the little princess and did a lot of things. Some of them he did because he was afraid of violating etiquette, some of them he was nervous about hurting the little princess, and some of them he could not refuse because he was afraid of disappointing the little princess, but there was never anything he didn't like to do.
Including just now, he used the word "force" because he was afraid that the little princess would tell everyone about his blushing as a funny thing.
【Author’s words】
Eat it, [dog head]
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
ps: Assuming 1 foot = 23cm, Zhang Su is now just over 181cm tall, and the ultimate goal is 190cm tall [milk tea]
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