Jiang Yunshu had a slight face-blindness and had met Duan Jinxing only a handful of times, so she didn’t have a strong impression of his appearance.
The person who stepped forward looked like Duan Jinxing, but somehow also looked uglier.
His face was haggard, and he was noticeably darker.
Uh… was this really Duan Jinxing or not?
Jiang Yunshu immediately glanced at Xie Lin, hoping to read the answer from his expression.
She saw that Xie Lin’s face remained calm as he instructed the stable master, “Follow right behind us.”
“Whichever horse we choose, you clean it thoroughly, put on a new saddle, and bring it over for us to ride.”
Hearing Xie Lin’s usual tone, Jiang Yunshu thought she must have mistaken the man for someone else; this person must just look similar to Duan Jinxing.
But when she turned her head again, she noticed the stable master trembling slightly, unable to hide the humiliation in his eyes…
Oh, this really was a darker, rougher Duan Jinxing.
Jiang Yunshu looked at Duan Jinxing a few more times.
With this sun-darkened skin, she immediately noticed that Duan Jinxing’s features were far from flawless. His refined gentlemanly charm and gentle grace all relied on his fair complexion.
Now that his skin was tanned, his flaws were exposed, and his appearance had taken a serious hit.
Jiang Yunshu then glanced at Xie Lin again. Xie Lin’s complexion was pale and cool, as pure as moonlight. She studied his features carefully and couldn’t find a single flaw.
She tried imagining Xie Lin with a slightly darker complexion in her mind and found that it didn’t diminish his beauty in the slightest—it just transformed it into a different kind of allure.
For some reason, Xie Lin felt a little uneasy under Jiang Yunshu’s gaze. “Look at the horses,” he said.
Jiang Yunshu pressed her lips into a smile, withdrew her eyes, and turned her attention to the nearby stable.
A horse like Benxiao, a steed capable of traveling a thousand miles, tall and magnificent with an imposing presence, naturally appealed to Jiang Yunshu.
But since she didn’t know how to ride yet, it was more appropriate to choose a gentle mare as her first horse.
She ignored the tall stallions and went straight to the mares.
Although she couldn’t read horses like an expert, she could tell from their eyes which ones were more gentle. The moist eyes of a mare melted her heart.
She pointed at a few horses whose coat colors and expressions she liked.
Duan Jinxing bent over, head lowered, leading a few horses out to be cleaned.
Xie Lin pointed to one of the horses and asked, “What mare and stallion was this horse bred from?”
Duan Jinxing was tongue-tied and couldn’t answer a single word.
He had been at the horse ranch for quite some time but regarded it as a great humiliation. He would never shirk the tasks assigned to him by his superiors, but he absolutely refused to learn about horse breeding on his own initiative.
So when Xie Lin asked this question, Duan Jinxing was completely clueless.
The officer in charge of the ranch, seeing this, immediately wanted to answer for Duan Jinxing.
Xie Lin shot him a cold glance: “Let him answer.”
The officer immediately fell silent.
Duan Jinxing broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead. “Your humble servant… your humble servant does not know.”
Xie Lin switched to another horse and asked a much simpler question, “How old is this horse?”
Duan Jinxing still couldn’t answer.
The higher-ups dared not answer on Duan Jinxing’s behalf. Carefully gauging the intentions of the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord, they snapped at Duan Jinxing, “You don’t even know this? How do you expect to do your job properly?”
Xie Lin said nothing.
Immediately, the higher-ups realized they had correctly read the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord’s thoughts, and they unleashed a storm of harsh reprimands upon Duan Jinxing.
“In your position, you must fulfill your duties! How can a top scholar like you not even know this and still hope to be a competent horse keeper?”
“If you can’t learn these things, then all you’ll ever do is brush horses and shovel manure!”
The higher-ups poured all their fear of the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord into their scolding, directing it squarely at Duan Jinxing.
Within the horse stables, some had once felt sympathy for Duan Jinxing, a top scholar who had achieved the highest honors.
But now, no one felt sorry for him. Everyone secretly resented Duan Jinxing’s inability to answer the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord’s questions. They feared the lord’s wrath and dreaded being implicated because of Duan Jinxing.
Duan Jinxing didn’t dare utter a word in protest. He bowed his head low, enduring the higher-up’s harsh words.
He hung his head deeply, hiding a face full of humiliation.
Hiding behind a tree, Jiang Zhaohua couldn’t help but inch forward slightly, stealing a glance at her husband’s current state.
Duan Jinxing was bowing and kowtowing. The man she had once believed to be proud and upright now appeared so humble and subservient before the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord, even cowed by a minor official of seventh rank, unable to speak back...
Jiang Zhaohua wished she could disappear into the ground.
Back when she was in her boudoir, she had been certain her husband was a man of noble birth and extraordinary talent.
Not a spineless weakling who nodded and kowtowed like a servant.
Jiang Zhaohua shifted her gaze from Duan Jinxing to Xie Lin.
Xie Lin stood there, embodying the image of the husband she had dreamed of in her chambers.
Beside him, Jiang Yunshu was an eyesore. Though her jewelry was modest in quantity, each piece was a rare treasure that made Jiang Zhaohua’s eyes sting.
Jiang Zhaohua was mesmerized. She couldn’t control herself, inching her head out a little more, then a little more...
Until Jiang Yunshu looked over in her direction, and she snapped back behind the tree in a flash.
Did Jiang Yunshu see her? Jiang Zhaohua’s heart pounded wildly...
After a moment passed without incident, she secretly exhaled in relief.
It seemed Jiang Yunshu hadn’t noticed her.
—
Jiang Yunshu was the first to sense Jiang Zhaohua, relying on her nose.
The aroma of chicken soup wafted faintly in front of her. At first, she thought it was the meal from the Ministry of Imperial Stables, but the scent grew increasingly familiar.
Following the scent’s trail, she caught sight of the edge of a skirt.
Jiang Yunshu raised an eyebrow. Could it be that someone was hiding behind the tree? What a coincidence.
She discreetly glanced toward the tree from time to time, and soon, she spotted Jiang Zhaohua’s face peeking out slightly.
Their eyes met briefly. Jiang Zhaohua looked like a frightened mouse, quickly retreating her head back behind the tree.
Though it was only a fleeting moment, Jiang Yunshu clearly saw Jiang Zhaohua’s face.
Her face was powdered, but still somewhat sallow, with dark circles under her eyes that no makeup could conceal... What surprised Jiang Yunshu most was her sister’s gaze—exhausted, lifeless.
Even dressed in bright clothes and adorned with luxurious jewelry, her sister’s life looked anything but comfortable.
Curiosity stirred in Jiang Yunshu’s heart. Her legitimate elder sister had insisted on swapping their marriages back then, surely because she knew that entering the palace meant a death sentence as a sacrificial victim. But Jiang Yunshu didn’t have to enter the palace; she could have married someone else. So why was she so determined to marry Duan Jinxing? Was it because her sister’s so-called “golden finger” had told her that Duan Jinxing was a good man?
Now it seemed that her sister’s golden finger wasn’t all that reliable after all.
Duan Jinxing finished brushing the first horse spotless and led it over to Jiang Yunshu. Just as she was about to step into the stirrup herself, Xie Lin scooped her up into the saddle.
Xie Lin walked beside Jiang Yunshu, holding the horse’s reins, guiding her around the stables protectively.
The Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord was leading a horse for a woman like a servant… or even like a groom…
Not even when the late emperor was alive had the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord ever served someone like this.
Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to steal a glance.
Jiang Yunshu sat tall and proud on horseback, and from her elevated vantage point, she clearly saw a corner of a skirt hurriedly hiding behind a tree.
Jiang Zhaohua bit her lip hard; she almost forgot to stay hidden. The scene she had just witnessed made her jealous to the point of breathlessness.
Why was Xie Lin so good to Jiang Yunshu? Why were the two of them so sweet together?
Jiang Yunshu, riding the horse, looked so beautiful and noble—like a lotus flower nourished by rain and dew, blooming freely and confidently.
In her past life, she had also been taken back by Xie Lin, but Xie Lin had lifted her bridal veil only to turn away and never come to see her again, leaving her to serve as a lowly maid in the Xie residence for her entire life…
Why was it different with Jiang Yunshu?
A sudden thought flashed through Jiang Zhaohua’s mind. Xie Lin treated her and Jiang Yunshu completely differently. Would Duan Jinxing treat her the same way he had treated Jiang Yunshu in the past life?
She was frightened by the thought.
No… no… it would definitely be the same…
Even if it wasn’t, Duan Jinxing would treat her better than he had treated Jiang Yunshu!
Because she was better than Jiang Yunshu!
Jiang Zhaohua bit her lip until it bled, oblivious to everything else.
After Jiang Yunshu finished riding one horse, she switched to another. Xie Lin tirelessly helped her lead the horses, circling the stables again and again.
Duan Jinxing repeatedly brought freshly brushed horses before them.
His arms ached so much from brushing horses that he could barely lift them.
Enduring the soreness, when he brought another horse over, he quickly stole a glance at Jiang Yunshu and Xie Lin whispering together.
If Jiang Zhaohua hadn’t switched marriages with her sister, if he had married Jiang Yunshu instead… Duan Jinxing couldn’t help but imagine: would his career be going smoothly, with a beauty in his arms?
—
After switching horses several times, Jiang Yunshu increasingly felt that horses really were different from one another!
There truly was a natural harmony between a horse and its rider. Perhaps because she was still inexperienced at riding and couldn’t skillfully communicate with the horses, some horses didn’t understand her commands and relied entirely on Xie Lin’s control.
But the horse she was riding now—she felt as if it understood her heart perfectly!
She gently flicked the reins, giving commands, and the horse obeyed every one—running faster or slower, turning, stopping—following her will exactly.
That feeling was simply wonderful!
She reached out to stroke the chestnut mare; the little horse seemed to sense her affection, its hoofbeats growing lighter and more spirited.
After completing a lap, Jiang Yunshu was reluctant to dismount. She pleaded with Xie Lin, “Master of the Stables, can we go for one more round?”
Xie Lin reached out to grasp Jiang Yunshu’s ankle, adjusting her position slightly so that her foot rested squarely in the stirrup.
“Already forgotten how to sit properly so soon? Sit up straight.”
Xie Lin’s voice carried the stern tone of a strict instructor. Jiang Yunshu hurriedly adjusted her posture with care. For some reason, sitting atop this chestnut mare made her feel especially at ease, as if the horse would never let her get hurt. She found herself sitting more casually than usual.
The moment Xie Lin held Jiang Yunshu’s ankle to help her adjust her posture did not escape the eyes of the secretly watching Jiang Zhaohua and Duan Jinxing.
Duan Jinxing bowed his head deeply, lost in thought.
Jiang Zhaohua felt as if a spice jar had been overturned inside her heart, a bitter mixture of sourness, saltiness, bitterness, and sweetness swirling together.
Was this really how Jiang Yunshu and Xie Lin usually interacted?
She saw Xie Lin leading the horse for Jiang Yunshu, his gaze unwaveringly fixed on her, constantly concerned for her safety...
Jiang Yunshu’s riding was undeniably awkward and inexperienced. Jiang Zhaohua knew her second younger sister’s nature well—idle and unambitious in the inner chambers, she had naturally never learned to ride.
Yet now, the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord was patiently teaching the unskilled Jiang Yunshu to ride, letting her freely choose her favorite horse from the Imperial Stable.
Jiang Yunshu was an excellent rider, but the Duan family neither kept horses nor had time for riding.
Moreover, her husband was serving Jiang Yunshu like a humble servant, attending to her every need before and behind the saddle...
—
Jiang Yunshu had originally intended to pretend not to notice Jiang Zhaohua, but Jiang Zhaohua’s intense scrutiny was impossible to ignore.
If a fly buzzed past her once, she wouldn’t bother reacting. But if a fly kept circling around her, she would want to swat it away!
Jiang Yunshu had chosen her horse—the chestnut mare that seemed to understand her heart—and was about to lead it back to the palace.
The clever little mare seemed to know it was going home with Jiang Yunshu, happily stepping in place.
“This one, then. Let’s go.” Jiang Yunshu led the horse toward the main gate.
Hidden behind a tree, Jiang Zhaohua secretly exhaled in relief. Finally, Jiang Yunshu and the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord were leaving. She was both nervous and frightened, afraid of being discovered while hiding.
But unexpectedly, just as Jiang Yunshu neared the gate, she suddenly turned back and headed straight toward the tree where Jiang Zhaohua was hiding.
Jiang Zhaohua was struck with panic, having nowhere to hide.
Jiang Yunshu approached her sister and broke the silence.
“You clearly saw me, so why didn’t you even say hello?”
“Hiding here like a mouse, sneaking around.”
In an instant, the color drained from Jiang Zhaohua’s face.
“When did you... when did you...” she stammered, unable to finish her sentence.
Jiang Yunshu smiled lightly. “I saw you as soon as I came in.”
“I’ve been waiting for my sister to come out and greet me, but she never did… so I have no choice but to say goodbye to her myself.”
At that moment, Jiang Zhaohua wished she could just disappear into the ground. Her most embarrassing side had been seen by Jiang Yunshu—every bit of it, from beginning to end.
Jiang Zhaohua felt completely drained. The food basket she had been holding suddenly slipped from her hands with a thud, spilling all the food and soup onto the ground.
Jiang Yunshu glanced down and smiled, teasing, “Sister, you must be worried that brother-in-law is working too hard shoveling horse manure, so you came to deliver some food… but how did it all end up on the ground?”
On the way back to the palace, Jiang Yunshu still couldn’t bear to get off the horse. She rode slowly, while Xie Lin walked beside her, holding the reins.
After a while, Jiang Yunshu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Xie Lin asked, “Your Highness, what’s so funny?”
Jiang Yunshu recalled the moment she had approached Jiang Zhaohua, watching her face change expression over and over again…
Tsk tsk tsk, she was definitely going to lie in bed tonight and savor that moment at least three more times!
=
Since the last time she had injured her skin while riding, Jiang Yunshu no longer dared to be reckless. After riding for a short distance, she got off and climbed into the carriage.
Xie Lin accompanied her into the carriage and asked, “Your Highness, have you decided on a name yet?”
Jiang Yunshu pondered thoughtfully, thinking of the horse’s beautiful chestnut color, and said, “Zao Ren? Zao Gao?”
Nowadays, people named horses with grandeur, elegance, or poetic flair. This was the first time Xie Lin had heard such food-inspired names, and he looked at Jiang Yunshu in stunned disbelief.
