You should have said so earlier. If you had, I wouldn't be sleepy anymore.
Looking at the white pony, Yun Duoduo was instantly wide awake, happily gazing at the pony with its big, bright eyes.
"I chose a Mongolian horse for the princess because Mongolian horses are relatively short and have a gentle temperament," Ji Nan said, patting the white horse's head.
"The perfect horse for starting to learn riding and archery."
[Ahem, saying it's short in front of the foal, doesn't the foal have any pride?]
This little pony is quite big in other ways, except for its short stature. It has big eyes, a big nose, and big ears.
It's just that her face... is really a bit long.
Overall, however, Yun Duoduo was quite satisfied with the little pony.
"Your Majesty, I originally did not want the Ninth Princess to learn riding and archery, fearing that she might fall and get seriously injured. However, the Empress Dowager instructed me to teach the Ninth Princess all the skills I have learned in my life."
"The Empress Dowager said that our Nanyang was conquered on horseback, so the princess must learn riding and archery." Ji Nan looked into the distance, her thoughts seemingly drifting away.
Yun Duoduo nodded; she understood that some hardships were inevitable.
Horseback riding was the only mode of transportation in this era.
Ji Nan led the horse forward, with Yun Duoduo following behind him.
Sun Huohuo, Jin Zhuangzhuang, and Guan Guan each had a teacher to guide them in learning horseback archery.
Sun Huohuo's horse was much taller and bigger. It seemed to have a bad temper, with its nostrils constantly flaring out and its mouth pouting high, looking very unapproachable.
[Erhuo, it seems you're in for a rough time from now on!]
Yun Duoduo could almost picture Sun Huohuo howling in pain as the horse threw him to the ground.
Jin Zhuangzhuang was quite interesting. After being lifted onto the horse by his master, he lay down on the horse's bridle, hugged the horse's neck tightly, and simply fell asleep on it.
No matter how much the horse shook, it couldn't shake Jin Zhuangzhuang off its body.
Jin Zhuangzhuang was stuck to the horse's back like a plaster.
Guan Guan stood beside Xiao Ma, not daring to go up. Only after his master's earnest and incessant persuasion did he agree to give it a try.
In this warming weather, four little ones were sweating it out on horseback at the archery range.
...
The next morning, Yun Duoduo and Jin Zhuangzhuang went to school, with Sun Huohuo following behind carrying a box of books.
Yun Duoduo was sore all over; she had exercised too much yesterday. She even fell off the horse once, but luckily, Ah Xiang had the foresight to put thick cotton pads on Yun Duoduo's knees and elbows, so Yun Duoduo didn't feel much pain when she fell to the ground.
In contrast, Sun Huohuo was not so lucky. He was bruised and battered from the fall, and he walked with a limp.
"Erhuo, our F4 is missing one person today?"
Yun Duoduo frowned and patted Sun Huohuo on the shoulder.
At this moment, Sun Huohuo kept looking in the direction of the palace gate, seemingly deep in thought.
"Guan Guan, why haven't you arrived yet?"
"Erhuo, I think you're practically turning into a statue waiting for your wife!"
Guan Guan is usually the first to arrive, never late or leaving early, but today is quite unusual.
"Let's wait a bit. I was too tired yesterday. I'll be in class soon, and the security guard might be here."
When it was time for class, Yun Duoduo still hadn't seen Guan Guan.
Hmm, that's strange.
After finishing a class with her head bobbing and swaying, Yun Duoduo lay on the table.
Just as she was about to close her eyes and take a short nap, she felt someone pat her shoulder.
"Huh? Who is it? Don't move."
Yun Duoduo muttered to herself, reluctantly turning her head to look at the person who had patted her shoulder.
"Princess, Grand Secretary Guan has sent someone with Guan Guan's book box and a change of clothes, saying that Guan Guan is staying in the palace and that he is troubling you, Princess."
A palace maid from the school handed a box to Yun Duoduo.
[Guan Guan's book box and change of clothes?]
Living in the palace?!
Yun Duoduo's mind went blank, and her heart clenched suddenly.
[Last night, Guan Guan didn't stay in the palace?!]
Could it be that Guan Guan didn't return home last night?!
Sun Huohuo was stunned when she heard this and didn't understand what was going on.
She suddenly grabbed the hand of the maid who had delivered the message, "Has the messenger left? Are the people from the Guan residence still here?!"
The palace maid's arm was gripped so tightly it hurt, and she was stunned for a moment.
Before the palace maid could react, Yun Duoduo quickly ran out.
[I hope nothing bad happens to Guan Guan.]
"Wait a moment!"
Yun Duoduo ran to the palace gate, and Sun Huohuo followed behind her with a limp. Jin Zhuangzhuang saw that his older brother and sister had run out, so he also wiggled his short legs and chased after them.
On the palace road, three children ran around, attracting the attention of the palace maids and eunuchs.
Upon seeing Yun Duoduo, the guards at the palace gate knelt down on one knee and performed a grand salute.
"Wait a minute!" Yun Duoduo called out again. The servants of the Guan family stopped and turned around when they heard the voice behind them.
"Princess?" Because Yun Duoduo had lived in the Guan residence for a period of time, the servants there recognized her.
"Thank goodness you didn't leave."
Yun Duoduo, panting, stopped in front of the servants of the Guan residence.
"Guan Guan..."
She opened her mouth, about to say that Guan Guan did not live in the palace, but then she thought that if Grand Secretary Guan knew that her granddaughter was missing, he would be so anxious that he might even fall seriously ill and lose his life.
"Grand Secretary Guan, how are you?"
The servants of the Guan residence were somewhat bewildered by this seemingly random question and could only nod blankly.
"Guan Guan..."
"The news that I'm staying in the palace... uh, when did the news arrive?"
"This princess wants to see if these servants are doing their jobs diligently." Yun Duoduo made up a reason so as not to arouse the maid's suspicion.
“Last night, I was waiting for Miss to return to the mansion when I received this note.”
"It was just getting dark then."
"Is that note still there?"
"Ah, it's still here. I put it in the sachet yesterday."
The maid took out a note from the sachet she carried and handed it to Yun Duoduo.
Yun Duoduo opened the note and saw that it read, "Guan Guan is staying in the palace. Don't worry about him."
Yun Duoduo clutched the note tightly. "Okay, thank you for making the trip. Tell Grand Secretary Guan to rest assured."
"Your Highness is too kind to me. It is only right that I come to deliver these things." The maid's face was flushed.
"Thank you, Princess. I will certainly pass on the message."
"Okay, go ahead."
Yun Duoduo looked at the note again; she didn't seem to recognize the handwriting.
Where exactly did Guan Guan go?
Who delivered this note to the Guan residence?
Could it be that Guan Guan has been kidnapped? But who could have kidnapped her?
Why was Guan Guan arrested?
...?
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