CH 74
Horsemanship- Your Horsemanship is Really Lacking (2)
No matter how sluggish the people around her were, some of them understood her intentions. After all, most of the girls learned to ride horses for outings, but very few can be called superb. In terms of riding skills, almost none of the ladies in Changan could compare to her, the daughter of a general. She obviously wanted to take this opportunity to make a name for herself in front of the Emperor and leave a good impression.
Zhao Yue was not shy about it at all and continued, “If Your Majesty doesn’t know which girl to choose, it’s better to let everyone compete first. Whoever comes out on top is naturally the best in horsemanship.”
Xiao Kezhi didn’t answer but suddenly glanced at Chu Ning and said solemnly, “What does my niece think? I remember Guoer saying that she wanted to learn to ride with you.”
Chu Ning raised her head in response, met his sharp eyes, and immediately understood that he didn’t want her, the Crown Prince’s Consort, to teach his cousin at all.
“This niece’s riding skills are not good, so I was afraid of delaying Lady Wei. It would be best if a lady with superb riding skills came to teach her. Everything is up to Your Majesty.”
Xiao Kezhi hummed and raised his hand, “Then let a few ladies have a match.”
After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked to the viewing platform, ignoring the others. The girls below became nervous and looked at each other. Even if they knew they couldn’t compare to Zhao Yue, no one wanted to lose face on such an occasion.
The Emperor only asked for a competition, and the servants went to set it up immediately. After a while, the girls were led to a black flag. From this point, a bunting flag was planted on the ramp in the distance. The one who pulled the bunting flag first was the winner.
Chu Ning didn’t go. She simply took Guoer to the stands, planning to watch the game with great interest.
Several ministers and clan leaders sat down and chatted and laughed. Xiao Kezhi was sitting on the high seat in the middle and glanced at Chu Ning, who was holding Guoer, and asked, “Is my niece not going?”
“Your niece doesn’t dare to show her inability.” Chu Ning turned her head and smiled at him with a natural expression, but there was a bit of resentment in her eyes, as if she were saying, “It was clearly your intention to not let me go.”
Xiao Kezhi looked at her beautiful face and his heart thudded inexplicably. He pursed his lips without saying a word, slowly looked away, and squeezed the railing silently.
“Your Highness,” Guoer said in a low voice, pulling Chu Ning’s sleeve with a bitter face, “Guoer wants Your Highness to teach her horseback riding…”
Just as Chu Ning wanted to comfort her, a deep voice came from behind them, “You are my cousin, and if you want to learn to ride, you should naturally be taught by the person with the best riding skills.”
Chu Ning felt that he was mocking her poor riding skills.
She glanced back at him lightly, turned her head, and said nothing.
He took another step forward, stood side by side with them a few inches away, lowered his head, patted Guoer, and said solemnly, “Don’t worry, not one of them will dare to bully you.”
Guoer raised her head, looked at Chu Ning, and then looked at Xiao Kezhi. Although she was reluctant, she still nodded and did not dare to refuse.
Xiao Kezhi didn’t move anymore and just stood quietly beside Chu Ning.
The cold wind blew from time to time, blowing the robes of the two up, and from time to time they bumped together, entangled in the air.
The two were silent, but the atmosphere was somehow strangely harmonious.
The girls below competed extremely quickly, and amid the applause of the young men, Zhao Yue came out on top without any surprise. Holding the bunting flag, she rode back immediately.
She held her head high and smiled. The riding outfit on her body was a little tight, and it was pushed against her even tighter by the wind, which showed her particularly eye-catching mature charm.
Chu Ning watched for a moment, then said softly, “Guoer, look, Lady Zhao’s riding skills are so good. If you learn from her, you will definitely become good.”
Guo Er nodded uneasily, but Xiao Kezhi, who had been silent all the time, suddenly glanced at her inexplicably.
After a while, Zhao Yue came to the front, dismounted, walked onto the stage, held the colorful flag to the eyes of the crowd and handed it over to the guards on the side. When she saw Chu Ning standing side by side with Xiao Kezhi, she was stunned for a moment, and then she fell to the ground in front of Xiao Kezhi, saying “Lady Yu is ashamed, she showed off in front of an expert, Your Majesty.”
Xiao Kezhi didn’t even spare her a glance, just patted Guoer on the shoulder and said, “Okay, since you have won, I will hand over my cousin to you. I hope you can teach her well.”
It was a lukewarm attitude, which made Zhao Yue a little disappointed. But this was an opportunity she won by herself, and she couldn’t take it back, so she could only say with a smile, “Your Majesty, rest assured, Lady Yu will not hold back and give her all.”
Seeing that the matter was settled, Xiao Kezhi seemed to have lost interest in her and waved to everyone, “Alright, everyone should go their own ways. No need to stay in front of me. I should go back to the palace.”
When everyone heard this, they all mounted their horses consciously and dispersed in all directions, no longer gathering around the stands.
Chu Ning glanced at Guoer, who followed Zhao Yue, and instructed the maids beside her to look out for them from a distance. Then, she left and returned to the stable, brought out her mahogany horse, and trotted along the edge of the course alone.
There was no one here, only the north wind blew from time to time. She could hear the crunch of withered grass and broken branches as the hooves fell on the ground.
Although the weather was cold, it was comfortable for exercise.
She didn’t pull on the reins and just let the horse trot freely, relaxing in this rare tranquility and freedom.
It was just that the comfort didn’t last long. The sound of horses’ hooves came closer, followed by a deep, familiar voice.
“Your horsemanship is really lacking.”
As soon as Chu Ning turned her head, she saw Xiao Kezhi riding a horse beside her.
She raised her eyebrows and smiled at him, then clamped on the horse’s belly. Before he could react, her horse suddenly galloped away quickly.
No matter how sluggish the people around her were, some of them understood her intentions. After all, most of the girls learned to ride horses for outings, but very few can be called superb. In terms of riding skills, almost none of the ladies in Changan could compare to her, the daughter of a general. She obviously wanted to take this opportunity to make a name for herself in front of the Emperor and leave a good impression.
Zhao Yue was not shy about it at all and continued, “If Your Majesty doesn’t know which girl to choose, it’s better to let everyone compete first. Whoever comes out on top is naturally the best in horsemanship.”
Xiao Kezhi didn’t answer but suddenly glanced at Chu Ning and said solemnly, “What does my niece think? I remember Guoer saying that she wanted to learn to ride with you.”
Chu Ning raised her head in response, met his sharp eyes, and immediately understood that he didn’t want her, the Crown Prince’s Consort, to teach his cousin at all.
“This niece’s riding skills are not good, so I was afraid of delaying Lady Wei. It would be best if a lady with superb riding skills came to teach her. Everything is up to Your Majesty.”
Xiao Kezhi hummed and raised his hand, “Then let a few ladies have a match.”
After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked to the viewing platform, ignoring the others. The girls below became nervous and looked at each other. Even if they knew they couldn’t compare to Zhao Yue, no one wanted to lose face on such an occasion.
The Emperor only asked for a competition, and the servants went to set it up immediately. After a while, the girls were led to a black flag. From this point, a bunting flag was planted on the ramp in the distance. The one who pulled the bunting flag first was the winner.
Chu Ning didn’t go. She simply took Guoer to the stands, planning to watch the game with great interest.
Several ministers and clan leaders sat down and chatted and laughed. Xiao Kezhi was sitting on the high seat in the middle and glanced at Chu Ning, who was holding Guoer, and asked, “Is my niece not going?”
“Your niece doesn’t dare to show her inability.” Chu Ning turned her head and smiled at him with a natural expression, but there was a bit of resentment in her eyes, as if she were saying, “It was clearly your intention to not let me go.”
Xiao Kezhi looked at her beautiful face and his heart thudded inexplicably. He pursed his lips without saying a word, slowly looked away, and squeezed the railing silently.
“Your Highness,” Guoer said in a low voice, pulling Chu Ning’s sleeve with a bitter face, “Guoer wants Your Highness to teach her horseback riding…”
Just as Chu Ning wanted to comfort her, a deep voice came from behind them, “You are my cousin, and if you want to learn to ride, you should naturally be taught by the person with the best riding skills.”
Chu Ning felt that he was mocking her poor riding skills.
She glanced back at him lightly, turned her head, and said nothing.
He took another step forward, stood side by side with them a few inches away, lowered his head, patted Guoer, and said solemnly, “Don’t worry, not one of them will dare to bully you.”
Guoer raised her head, looked at Chu Ning, and then looked at Xiao Kezhi. Although she was reluctant, she still nodded and did not dare to refuse.
Xiao Kezhi didn’t move anymore and just stood quietly beside Chu Ning.
The cold wind blew from time to time, blowing the robes of the two up, and from time to time they bumped together, entangled in the air.
The two were silent, but the atmosphere was somehow strangely harmonious.
The girls below competed extremely quickly, and amid the applause of the young men, Zhao Yue came out on top without any surprise. Holding the bunting flag, she rode back immediately.
She held her head high and smiled. The riding outfit on her body was a little tight, and it was pushed against her even tighter by the wind, which showed her particularly eye-catching mature charm.
Chu Ning watched for a moment, then said softly, “Guoer, look, Lady Zhao’s riding skills are so good. If you learn from her, you will definitely become good.”
Guo Er nodded uneasily, but Xiao Kezhi, who had been silent all the time, suddenly glanced at her inexplicably.
After a while, Zhao Yue came to the front, dismounted, walked onto the stage, held the colorful flag to the eyes of the crowd and handed it over to the guards on the side. When she saw Chu Ning standing side by side with Xiao Kezhi, she was stunned for a moment, and then she fell to the ground in front of Xiao Kezhi, saying “Lady Yu is ashamed, she showed off in front of an expert, Your Majesty.”
Xiao Kezhi didn’t even spare her a glance, just patted Guoer on the shoulder and said, “Okay, since you have won, I will hand over my cousin to you. I hope you can teach her well.”
It was a lukewarm attitude, which made Zhao Yue a little disappointed. But this was an opportunity she won by herself, and she couldn’t take it back, so she could only say with a smile, “Your Majesty, rest assured, Lady Yu will not hold back and give her all.”
Seeing that the matter was settled, Xiao Kezhi seemed to have lost interest in her and waved to everyone, “Alright, everyone should go their own ways. No need to stay in front of me. I should go back to the palace.”
When everyone heard this, they all mounted their horses consciously and dispersed in all directions, no longer gathering around the stands.
Chu Ning glanced at Guoer, who followed Zhao Yue, and instructed the maids beside her to look out for them from a distance. Then, she left and returned to the stable, brought out her mahogany horse, and trotted along the edge of the course alone.
There was no one here, only the north wind blew from time to time. She could hear the crunch of withered grass and broken branches as the hooves fell on the ground.
Although the weather was cold, it was comfortable for exercise.
She didn’t pull on the reins and just let the horse trot freely, relaxing in this rare tranquility and freedom.
It was just that the comfort didn’t last long. The sound of horses’ hooves came closer, followed by a deep, familiar voice.
“Your horsemanship is really lacking.”
As soon as Chu Ning turned her head, she saw Xiao Kezhi riding a horse beside her.
She raised her eyebrows and smiled at him, then clamped on the horse’s belly. Before he could react, her horse suddenly galloped away quickly.
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