During this imperial tour to the north, the eldest prince was left in the capital to oversee the country. Consort Yu originally wanted Chu Yun to stay and assist him as well, but the emperor specifically requested that he accompany the emperor.
Consort Yu didn't seem to mind the outcome, since the emperor's decree was difficult to disobey.
However, the eldest princess's opinion differed from her mother's.
She believed that Chu Yun was two-faced, scheming, and would never genuinely assist the eldest prince in the future; sooner or later, he would compete with his brother.
The eldest princess had not yet told her mother this, but He Yao knew it, which inevitably affected her impression of him.
"My father has assigned me a task, to be in charge of the defense of the north side of the camp. I'll head over there to join the soldiers now." Chu Yun answered neither humbly nor arrogantly, seemingly oblivious to the sarcasm in He Yao's words. He even asked the two of them with concern, "By the way, you must be very tired after traveling all day."
He Yao turned his face away and did not answer.
Yu Xiangxiang was quite delicate. As soon as she was asked the question, she hurriedly complained that she was tired: "That's right. Although I have been sitting and haven't exerted much effort, the space in the car is so small that I can't stretch my arms and legs out. Now my body is as stiff as a stone."
"I have a maid in my household who is skilled in massage. I'll have someone take her to Seventh Sister's tent later so you can get a good massage. Otherwise, the pain will be unbearable tomorrow," Chu Yun said with a smile. His tone revealed him to be a caring and loving older brother who was generous with his knowledge of massage.
"That's great." Yu Xiangxiang had no guard against others and naturally accepted Chu Yun's kindness in its entirety.
"Ha, have your concubine give your aunt a massage? What kind of rule is that?" He Yao scoffed.
Chu Yun said without changing his expression, "A Yao, you misunderstand. She is just a maid. I have not yet married the princess, so how could I take concubines first?"
“That’s right.” Yu Xiangxiang spoke up for Chu Yun. “We all know that Fifth Cousin is a man of integrity. Let’s not wrong him.”
He Yao rolled her eyes and stopped talking.
Chu Yun smiled and said goodbye to the two of them: "Then it's settled. I have something to do, so I'll take my leave first."
Watching his departing figure, He Yao muttered to himself, "A weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken is clearly up to no good."
Yu Xiangxiang shook her head and said, "We're all family, why are you saying that about him?"
“What family? He wasn’t born to my maternal grandparents,” He Yao retorted.
"Your calculation is wrong. Does that mean that illegitimate sons and legitimate sons and daughters are not from the same family?"
He Yao, impatient with arguing about this, changed the subject and asked, "Didn't a guard just say that there's a forest behind the camp, and beyond the forest there's a big lake? Not only is the scenery beautiful, but you can also watch the sunset. Let's go take a look, and we can even ride horses around it."
"Oh dear, spare me!" Yu Xiangxiang said. "I'm exhausted after a long day, I can't ride a horse. I need to go back to my tent and wait for my fifth cousin to bring someone to give me a massage."
He Yao was furious with Yu Xiangxiang for not listening to her and not playing with her, and she didn't want to remind her about Chu Yun anymore.
The two then parted ways.
He Yao led his horse out, whipped it, and galloped into the woods, only to encounter several young ladies from the Jun family along the way.
Seeing Chu Yao and Wang Hongbo flanking Wushuang in front, while Wu Hui was alone behind, she caught up and asked, "Why did you come out with her?"
Wu Hui understood what she meant, but since they were on horseback and there were other people around, it wasn't the time to explain in detail. He simply said vaguely, "We're just out here to enjoy the scenery together."
He Yao was already in a bad mood, and when he heard Wu Hui's words, which were not to his liking, his anger intensified. His eyes lit up and a bad idea came to him.
"You don't have a husband yet, how about I help you find one?"
Without waiting for Wu Hui's reply, he raised his whip and lashed it hard across the rump of Wu Hui's horse.
The horse, startled and in pain, immediately went out of control and began to run wildly.
Chapter 89 | Table of Contents
Chapter 89:
True horsemanship isn't just about knowing how to ride; it also requires someone to accompany you on a short, flat journey to maintain control of your mount.
At this moment, the horse was suddenly frightened, and apart from screaming for help, she had no other way to deal with it.
The sunset views by the lake here are particularly famous. There were many young people like He Yao and his group who were planning to go there to enjoy the scenery along the forest path. Wu Hui's cries for help made everyone rein in their horses and stop.
A young girl was in danger, and a young hero came to her rescue—this should have been a beautiful story.
However, one cannot simply save someone indiscriminately.
If, in full view of everyone, one were to have physical contact with a woman while saving someone, there's a 99% chance one would have to marry her; otherwise, one could only watch helplessly as the young woman chose to die to preserve her chastity.
Therefore, no one was willing to help without clearly seeing whose daughter was in danger and what she looked like.
Of course, there are also hot-blooded and impulsive teenagers who don't care about so much, but they are often stopped by their thoughtful companions before they can act.
With no eyes, Wu Hui watched as the horse galloped towards them. Whether it was because of the speed or the uneven road, Wu Hui was jostled so much that he was almost thrown off the horse.
Although she and Wu Hui had some disagreements in their early years, they were merely minor squabbles between girls, nothing more than deep-seated hatred, and certainly not to the point of wanting each other dead. Moreover, Wu Hui had recently changed her temperament and was getting along better with her family. Wu Shuang naturally wouldn't stand idly by and let Wu Hui follow in her father Jun Shu's footsteps from his previous life, suffering a fall from a horse, paralysis, or even death.
"Brother Bo, Chu Yao! You must find a way to save her." Wushuang was skilled in riding, but not nearly enough to save someone, so she could only plead for help from the two people protecting her.
In the blink of an eye, the frightened horse had rushed up to the three of them.
Wang Hongbo turned his horse around and rode towards Wu Hui.
Unfortunately, the horse was too fast. His hand had just slipped through the reins around its neck and he hadn't even had a chance to grip it when the horse galloped past him.
Chu Yao's attack was even more ruthless; he swung his longsword and cleanly severed the horse's head.
Due to inertia, the horse continued to surge forward.
As the horse's head touched the ground, Wu Hui, who was gripping the reins tightly, was also pulled forward and slid down.
Seeing that Wu Hui was about to die under her hooves, Wu Shuang was terrified and cried out in alarm.