Chu Qiao's heart skipped a beat, thinking that what was supposed to happen had finally happened, but then she heard Zhuge Yue say, "Go down with Zhu Cheng later and find a capable guard to teach you how to ride a horse."
"Ah?" Chu Qiao and Zhu Cheng were both stunned and shouted at the same time.
Zhuge Yue raised his eyebrows, knitting his sword-like brows slightly, and said in a deep voice with an impatient look: "What? Is there a problem?"
“No problem, no problem.” Zhu Cheng was seventeen years old this year. He had been Zhuge Yue’s follower since he was young. He naturally knew that his master was a man of his word, so he quickly said flatteringly, “I will take Miss Xing’er with me right away.”
Zhuge Yue raised his head in confusion and frowned at Zhu Cheng, “Xing’er is only eight years old, what’s the point of being a girl or not?”
"Yes, yes, I'll take Xing'er with me right away... Xing'er..." Zhu Cheng, who was usually smart, couldn't find the words to address the child for a moment. He was tongue-tied for a long time and still stammered and couldn't express himself clearly.
Zhuge Yue waved his hand impatiently and said, “Come on, get out of here, straighten your back and walk again, don’t let outsiders think that all the servants in our Qingshan Court are hunchbacks.”
"Yes, yes."
Chu Qiao stood there. She was small in stature, wearing a light yellow skirt with a fox fur vest on top. She looked pink and cute. Seeing this, she bowed to Zhuge Yue and said softly, “Xing’er thanks the Fourth Young Master.”
Zhuge Yue did not even raise his head, but simply waved his hand gently.
Chu Qiao and Zhu Cheng left the pavilion. Zhu Cheng looked up and down at the child suspiciously, and when he saw Chu Qiao looking up at him, he immediately said with a smile on his face: "Xing'er girl, shall we go?"
Chu Qiao smiled, ignored him, and left Qingshan Courtyard first.
"Miss Xing'er, these are the people I chose for you. They are all good horse riders. You can choose one from them."
Chu Qiao, Zhu Cheng and others stood at the foot of Paomashan Mountain. The eight-year-old child raised his head slightly and looked at the group of burly men standing in front of him. The Zhuge family guards who usually yelled at the little slaves now had smiles on their faces and looked respectful. If someone didn't know them well, they would think they were very kind.
Chu Qiao took small steps and walked past the men one by one. Suddenly, the child's eyes lit up, and he looked at her meaningfully. A faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He pointed at one of the panicked men and chuckled, "I want him."
"Miss Xing'er." Song Lian smiled flatteringly, his smile full of worry that could not be concealed.
An eight-year-old girl stood on the hillside, wearing a snow-white fox fur vest, with sparkling eyes, looking cute and adorable.
"Please choose your horse."
Chu Qiao took a look at the ten or so horses in front of her. She saw that they were all ponies that had not yet had horseshoes on. Their coats were clean and it was obvious that they had been raised at home and had never even left the house. The child stepped deep and shallow in the snow, waving the whip unsteadily, and said in a pretentious manner: "I don't want these, I want to ride a big horse."
The guards nearby stepped forward awkwardly and were about to speak, but Song Lian quickly stopped them and said with a nod and a bow, "Miss Xing'er wants to ride a big horse, which is naturally a small matter. You guys, go down and get some good horses. Remember, they have to be big ones."
Song Lian deliberately emphasized the word "big". The two guards understood and went down to lead the horses. After a while, five tall horses were led out.
Chu Qiao only took a quick look and could tell that these were a group of old horses. It was questionable whether they could run. She did not say anything at the moment, but turned to Song Lian and said, "These horses look strong and sturdy. I am young and have never ridden such big horses. Why don't you let Guardian Song practice with them first to broaden my horizons?"
Song Lian's brows suddenly furrowed tightly, and his face quickly fell.
Zhu Cheng urged doubtfully, "Go quickly, you don't know how to ride a horse, do you? Why were you so eager to come just now?"
Song Lian, however, felt bitter but could not express it. He thought to himself, if I had known that I would be serving this ancestor, I would never have come even if I were beaten to death. He walked to the old horse awkwardly, reached out to touch the old horse's sleepy head, patted it twice, and then stepped carefully on the stirrup, as if the horse under him was made of paper, and he was afraid that it would collapse with the slightest force.
The horse was very good. Although its four legs were trembling, it did not fall down. Song Lian breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "It's snowing heavily today, and Miss Xing'er is still young. Let's learn to ride a horse first, and then learn to run tomorrow."
Zhu Cheng was about to nod and speak when Chu Qiao suddenly stepped forward, patted the horse's butt hard, and said with a smile: "Stop talking so much, run a lap first and see!"
There was a loud bang and the horse's butt was hit. Not only did it not run, but its hooves went soft and it fell to the ground. Song Lian was thrown to the ground and fell headfirst into a pile of snow.
The guards immediately ran forward in panic. Zhu Cheng frowned as he looked at the horse lying on the ground, breathing in more than out, and said unhappily, "Is this the best horse? I think you don't take the fourth young master's instructions to heart."
"I don't dare," Song Lian ran up and said hurriedly, "I definitely don't have this idea, but Miss Xing'er is young, we dare not lead a strong war horse!"
Zhu Cheng nodded and said, "That does make some sense. Xing'er, you're still young, why don't you ride the pony first?"
"Brother Zhu Cheng said that we should ride a pony, so Xing'er rode a pony." Chu Qiao looked up, her pink little face and a pair of curved eyes, so adorable.
Zhu Cheng was very happy, but turned around and glared at Song Lian, "Go get the horse!"
Song Lian limped over to lead the horse, and helped Chu Qiao onto the horse as Zhu Cheng kept shouting "Be careful". The child lowered his head and said with a smile: "My dear security guard, I don't know how to ride a horse yet. Please help me hold the reins and let's walk around slowly."
Song Lian was looking forward to this and nodded rapidly. The little horse was very well-behaved and walked slowly behind Song Lian. After a while, the two walked about a hundred steps away. Song Lian looked up and said with a flattering smile, "Xing'er, this horse is pretty good, isn't it? It was born not long ago. Miss Qi asked me for it a while ago, but I was reluctant to give it to her. If you like it, I'll give it to you."
"How can Xing'er take something that Miss Qi likes? This is against the rules."
Song Lian grinned and said, "What are you talking about, young lady? Although Miss Seven is the biological daughter of the master, her status is far inferior to that of the fourth young master. Young lady is a favorite of the fourth young master, and her status is much higher than theirs."
"Really?" The child smiled and said, "I really didn't know I had such a high status. After all, not long ago, I let you, Guardian Song, beat and scold me."
Song Lian's face suddenly turned pale.
Chu Qiao's eyes turned cold, and she pulled out the arrow from Song Lian's arm, and stabbed it into Xiao Ma's butt crack with lightning speed. The pony was startled, neighed loudly, kicked Song Lian away, and ran forward wildly!
The child panicked and shouted, "Guardian Song! What are you doing?"
Zhu Cheng and others saw the pony running away in fear from afar. Everyone was horrified and ran forward shouting, but they were no match for the beast's four legs. Chu Qiao pretended to be panicked, but her eyes were looking around, looking for a safe place to stay.
At this moment, a yellow horse suddenly fell from the sky. Zhuge Yue had a fair face, eyes like lightning, lips with a hint of red that was unusual for ordinary people, and he was dressed in a dark purple robe with dark patterns and embroidery. He rode his horse at full speed, drew his sword like lightning, and stabbed the pony between the eyes. The pony screamed in pain when he was attacked, and immediately stood up with his feet raised, shaking his head wildly!
At the same time, a soft whip flew forward, immediately wrapped around Chu Qiao's small waist, and rolled her down!
“Haha, that was a close call.” Yan Xun, dressed in a lake green brocade robe and with a handsome face, was holding Chu Qiao with a smile on his face, and there was a hint of cunning in his voice as if he knew everything.
Zhuge Yue pulled out the hidden arrow from the pony's hip, turned his head and looked coldly at Song Lian, and said to the servant beside him: "Drag him away and send him to the Director's Office and hand him over to Zhu Qi."
Two guards immediately rushed forward and tied up Song Lian in a few seconds.
The man shouted: "Fourth Young Master, it's not..."
In an instant, there was a bang, and Yan Xun, in a light robe and loose belt, flashed forward and kicked out, instantly breaking all of Song Lian's teeth, leaving him speechless. Zhuge Yue frowned slightly, turned his head, and looked at Yan Xun with squinted eyes.
"Such a servant would have been dragged out and chopped off in my Prince Yan's Mansion long ago. How could he be given the opportunity to quibble?" Yan Xun smiled and said, "Fourth Young Master is too kind. Yan Xun has stepped in to do the work for me. Please don't be offended, Fourth Young Master."
Zhuge Yue said calmly, “No, Master Yan is very skilled. I was really shortsighted when I was selecting the generals.”
Yan Xun waved his hand and said with a smile: "They are just some fancy moves, how can they compare to the Fourth Young Master's full belly of armor and weapons."
Zhuge Yue did not say anything. He waved his hand and his subordinates took Song Lian, whose mouth was bleeding, away.
"Prince Yan, thank you for returning the lost horse today. I will let my servants do this kind of thing in the future. There is no need to bother you. I wanted to invite you to have a simple meal at my mansion, but I know you are very busy, so I will not bother you. Zhu Cheng, send you off."
Yan Xun smiled indifferently, exchanged a few polite words with Zhuge Yue, and turned to leave. Before leaving, he passed by Chu Qiao and suddenly whispered in her ear, "You cruel little girl, you've hurt another person."
Chu Qiao was stunned and looked up, only to see Yan Xun walking away with a faint smile as if nothing had happened. He had an upright posture, the demeanor of an adult, and a calm expression. How could he look like the playboy with a grin in front of her?
"Xing'er," a deep voice suddenly sounded behind him. The child turned around and saw Zhuge Yue with an unpleasant expression on his face. He said slowly, "Come back with me."
Chu Qiao sighed slightly. She was so unlucky to be caught red-handed. She should first think about how to deal with this little fox.
The eight-year-old child followed Zhuge Yue dejectedly, and began to quickly compile his miserable and bullied past in his head, but he did not see the look in Zhuge Yue's eyes, which were gloomy but with a bit of childish pride, but he did not know what he was proud of. The room was quiet for a long time. The wind was blowing gently outside the window, and the black orchid that had just been placed on the flower stand gave off a faint fragrance.
The child had been standing quietly below, but it had been so long that she almost thought the person above had fallen asleep. She couldn't help but raise her head and glance upward secretly, only to fall into a pair of inky black pools.
Unable to pretend she didn’t see it anymore, Chu Qiao licked her lips and whispered, “Fourth Young Master.”
"Have you made up a lie to deceive me?" The young man picked up the teacup beside him, took a sip slowly, and said in a soothing and light voice.