The horses of the younger lords and ladies had all been carefully selected by their families for their gentle and docile temperament — perfectly adequate for riding through the city, but not especially impressive when it came to a true gallop in the open countryside. The older young men had used the excuse of a horse-run to shake off the younger group.
Xie Yuzhang, however, had followed them.
Her horse was a fine thoroughbred. Though it had been kept “too comfortably,” it was nonetheless superior to the companions’ mounts by a measure, and she managed to keep up.
What astonished everyone was her horsemanship.
Those who knew her as well as the Fifth Prince and Yang Huaishen could not help but find a thought rising in their minds: when had Zhuzhu’s riding become this good?
Li Gu was unlike the others, who galloped at full abandon. He stayed half a horse’s length behind Xie Yuzhang at all times, watching over her attentively, and so he had a clearer view. The technique by which Xie Yuzhang controlled her horse left him surprised.
The group ran for more than ten li without stopping before they drew in their reins, letting the horses slow to a walk to rest their strength.
Li Gu reined in beside Xie Yuzhang, and when he raised his eyes, Xie Yuzhang had already fallen into step alongside Li Weifeng and was talking with him.
“Shiyi!” Li Weifeng turned and called back, “Come here.”
Li Gu paused, then drew his reins to catch up, positioning himself to Li Weifeng’s left while Xie Yuzhang rode in the center.
“I was just asking whether Your Highness’s riding instructor came from the north.” Li Weifeng said.
Li Gu looked at Xie Yuzhang. Xie Yuzhang smiled faintly and said, “I couldn’t say. I don’t really know.”
A princess could hardly be expected to concern herself with where a riding instructor came from — this was entirely reasonable. Li Gu nodded and said, “Your Highness’s technique for controlling a horse is closer to the Hu method. It is not the style commonly seen in the Central Plains.”
Xha’erdan and Wuwei had both taught her. From their perspective, instructing her in horsemanship and archery was much the same as scholars of Da Zhao being accompanied by a fair beauty as they studied — an elegant pastime of a different kind.
That Li Gu and Li Weifeng, both being military men, would see through it was no surprise to Xie Yuzhang.
“I have not learned it well. When jumping over obstacles, I often cannot clear them.” She seized the opportunity to seek guidance from the future Emperor and Great General. “What is the reason for that?”
Li Weifeng gave Li Gu a look, then quietly reined in slightly to slow his pace — being very perceptive — and graciously ceded the opportunity to Li Gu.
Li Gu asked Xie Yuzhang some details, then said, “Before the jump, does Your Highness find that you yourself have already grown fearful?”
“Indeed.” Xie Yuzhang admitted. “I always worry I won’t clear it and will be thrown off.”
“A horse has a spirit, and can sense the confidence in its rider. If Your Highness’s own courage fails first, the horse will follow your lead and grow fearful and hesitant.” Li Gu said. “Your Highness must first overcome this fear.”
He then went on to explain in detail the key points of the approach, the leap into the air, and the landing.
He was not a person of many words. His explanations carried no excess ornamentation, spare in expression yet pointed and precise, yet they were remarkably clear and easy to understand. Xie Yuzhang had only offered this as a pretext to draw close to him, yet she found herself genuinely learning a great deal.
“I understand. Once I have time, I will practice properly.” When Li Gu had finished, Xie Yuzhang smoothed back a strand of hair at her temple. “Once I reach the grasslands, there will likely be plenty of time to ride.”
Li Gu suddenly went still.
That feeling of being choked, of something pressing uncomfortably against his chest — it filled him again.
He found himself tightening his grip on the reins against his own will, and said, with words that did not reflect what was in his heart, “The grasslands and the desert are different from here. They are also… quite beautiful, in their own way.”
Xie Yuzhang was taken aback. She thought of the time he had told her “Princess Baohua is very beautiful,” and asked with genuine exasperation, “What are you trying to compliment? Is ‘beautiful’ the only word you know?”
Having said this, she shot him a sideways glance, tugged on her reins, and rode forward.
Had he made her angry?
Li Gu was dumbfounded. He had entered the military ranks in his youth and had very little experience in dealing with young women, and he had absolutely no ability to gauge what was going on in a young woman’s mind.
Li Weifeng had been trailing behind the two of them all this time, and now spurred his horse forward, furious enough to want to give Li Gu another kick. “What were you even saying!”
Li Gu pressed his lips tightly together. “What else was there to say?” He gave his horse a slap and rode forward too.
Li Weifeng said in irritation, “And now you’re sulking at your elder brother!” He rode after them.
Xie Yuzhang caught up with the Fifth Prince and Yang Huaishen ahead. “Wait for me, elder brothers.”
The two reined in to wait for her.
The Fifth Prince asked, “What were you talking about with the Seventh and the Eleventh?”
Earlier, when they had seen Xie Yuzhang drawn in close with those two, the Fifth Prince had said to Yang Huaishen, “Zhuzhu seems quite interested in the Seventh and the Eleventh, doesn’t she?”
The banquet at the palace had only been attended by the Crown Prince among the princes, and the Fifth Prince had not been present. The incident of Xie Yuzhang teasing Li Gu had been buried beneath the news of her marriage alliance, and everyone had talked only of the alliance — no one had brought up the matter of the princess playfully toying with a young general. The Fifth Prince did not know there had been any such episode.
Yang Huaishen was close to Xie Yuzhang, but that did not mean he was close to the Fifth Prince. In truth, the Yang family had a closer association with the Crown Prince.
From the moment Xie Yuzhang had said she wanted to join them for a ride, and had taken the initiative to ask Li the Eleventh for guidance, Yang Huaishen had understood that she was simply looking for an opportunity to get closer to Li Gu. He sighed inwardly.
But Xie Yuzhang’s manner was open and forthright, without concealment. Had he made a deliberate point of blocking her, he would have drawn attention. So he said nothing and simply watched quietly from the side.
In broad daylight with so many people present, beyond deliberately seeking to be near Li Gu, Xie Yuzhang had not done anything particularly out of the ordinary.
Especially given that she was about to be sent away in a marriage alliance — in everyone’s heart there was already a measure of pity for her, and they were inclined to indulge her. During the horse ride, everyone had been consciously lenient with her. Yang Huaishen was even less likely to say or do anything in particular.
In response to the Fifth Prince’s question, he sighed and said, “Zhuzhu is about to go to Mobei. She is probably trying to learn more about the situation beyond the frontier from the Eleventh and the others, is she not?”
The Fifth Prince also sighed. “Why did it have to be her of all people?”
Yang Huaishen thought the same: why did it have to be her?
He had been born into a powerful noble family, raised in an age of prosperity. In the past he had also lived a life of riding through the pleasure quarters, cock-fighting, and dog-racing. As a second son, though he could not inherit the title, there was a hereditary grace appointment to come to him. His family had also arranged a post for him early on. His troubles, such as they were, amounted to little more than a young woman who had become a nuisance after being led on.
As for affairs of state — there was the Emperor, there were the Chief Ministers, there were the Six Ministries and Nine Courts. No matter what happened, even when it came to their own family, there were still his father and elder brother to deal with it. Such things always felt far removed from him.
This time, however — Xie Yuzhang, a proper princess born of the Empress, his own beloved cousin, was being wed off to Mobei. It struck him like a blow to the head, leaving this formerly carefree nobleman in a daze.
For the first time, he came to understand that there were things his father was completely powerless to do anything about.