Yu Yi looked towards the doorway, where stood a beautiful woman in a ruyi cloud-patterned embroidered jacket and an embroidered decorative skirt, draped with a fur-lined cloak. She was Yan Mingxu’s stepmother, Tong Wan’yan. Though she had been in the prince’s residence for four years and had given birth to a son two years ago, she had never been officially titled, and was thus not truly the prince’s wife.
Yu Yi saw Yan Mingxu become nervous and quickly stepped forward, deliberately standing by his side, bowing together with Miyin and the others: “Greetings, Princess Consort.”
Yan Mingxu bowed to Tong and stood stiffly in place. Yu Yi suddenly felt something soft touch the back of her hand, and then a small hand slipped into her palm, which she grasped in return.
Tong’s smile deepened as she walked to Yan Mingxu, glancing at the shuttlecock on the ground: “Are you learning to play shuttlecock? In spring, you should come out of the house and get some sunlight.”
Yan Mingxu nodded, his expression unchanged. Yu Yi felt the small hand in hers tremble slightly, and she squeezed it tightly.
Tong, accustomed to Yan Mingxu’s reserved manner, smiled and spoke a few words before leaving.
Since Yan Mingxu had worked up a sweat playing shuttlecock, Miyin and the others prepared to bathe him to prevent him from catching a cold. Yu Yi, having seen Tong in outdoor attire, found an excuse to leave Yan Mingxu’s quarters and head towards Tong’s residence, Ruyi Yuan.
Yu Yi circled to the back of Ruyi Yuan, confirming no one was around. She saw that Tong had taken several servants with her, and the remaining attendants were not present. Putting away her glasses, she silently scaled the wall and landed.
The main bedroom window was open. She peered inside, noticed a treasure shelf near the window, and discreetly attached a bean-sized monitoring device to a landscape ornament.
Returning to Xinghe Yuan, Yan Mingxu had finished bathing, with Miyin drying his hair. Upon seeing Yu Yi, he called out, “Xunqin, where did you go?”
Yu Yi replied, “This servant went to the kitchen to add some dishes. Since the young prince was active today, his appetite will be better, and he might eat more at lunch.”
Yan Mingxu nodded, relieved, and pulled out a paper dog from under his pillow: “Xunqin, teach me to fold a dog.”
The royal prince’s wife’s maidservant cannot manage the prince’s head maidservant; Yu Yi did not even glance at her and turned to Yan Mingxu: “Young Prince, isn’t everything a first time?”
Today, since everyone was already out, Yan Mingxu had no choice but to mount the horse. If he insisted on not mounting or showed any timidity, Tong would surely exaggerate this “weak” performance to the Duke, who would likely feel disappointed in his firstborn son.
Yan Mingxu recalled the first time he practiced shuttlecock when Xun Qin had said something similar, and after listening to her, he had practiced hard and indeed improved his kicks. He nodded slowly.
The horse handler brought a small horse in front of Yan Mingxu, allowing him to step on his back to mount. Yan Mingxu stood on the horse handler’s back but was still a distance from the horse’s back. He looked helplessly back at Yu Yi.
Yu Yi encouraged him with a smile: “This servant has seen others mount by holding the front of the saddle with both hands, with the right leg crossing first. If the Young Prince’s leg can’t reach, just grab the front of the saddle.”
Yan Mingxu stretched out his small hand, gripping the raised front part of the saddle, lifting his small leg high, barely placing his foot on the horse’s back. But the horse’s back was still too high for him, and despite using all his strength, he could not pull himself up.
Tong watched for a while and said: “Why doesn’t the horse handler help push the Young Prince up?”
The prostrate horse handler heard this and suddenly arched his back, standing up. Yan Mingxu was already trying hard to pull himself up, and the handler’s push was too forceful, causing him to flip over the horse’s back, about to fall to the ground on the other side.
Yu Yi’s hand was quick, hooking Yan Mingxu’s waist.
Fortunately, he was holding the saddle tightly, preventing him from falling completely. Yan Mingxu’s small face turned slightly pale, but with Yu Yi’s help, he sat on the horse’s back.
A flash of disappointment crossed Tong’s eyes, and Chun Rou began to scold the horse handler: “You clumsy man are too reckless! What if the Young Prince really got hurt? Your entire family’s lives wouldn’t be enough to compensate…” The horse handler lowered his head and mumbled, but did not appear particularly panicked. Indeed, after Chun Rou’s scolding, there was no further action, and Tong did not even speak.
Tong looked at Yan Mingxu, thinking that although he didn’t actually fall off the horse, that moment was scary enough. Yan Mingxu was usually timid and restrained, and after such a fright, he should be too scared to ride a horse again, right?
But Yan Mingxu surprisingly did not ask Xun Qin to help him down. Instead, Xun Qin pulled the reins, letting the horse walk slowly.
Tong was extremely surprised and signaled to Ting He beside her. Ting He then approached Yu Yi: “Xun Qin, you can’t control the horse. What if the Young Prince falls? Let the horse handler lead the horse.”
Yu Yi raised an eyebrow, speaking with a hint of sarcasm: “Ting He, are you referring to the horse handler who almost caused the Young Prince to fall just now?”
“
Yan Mingxu suddenly spoke: “I want Xun Qin to lead the horse.”
Ting He could say nothing more.
Yan Mingxu was still young, and “riding” a horse didn’t mean truly controlling it. On the first day of learning, familiarizing himself with sitting on the horse’s back was enough. Yu Yi led him around and was preparing to return to the horse carriage.
At that moment, the horse suddenly neighed and jumped, raising its front hooves and shaking its head. Yu Yi was caught off guard and staggered sideways, pulled by the reins. Yan Mingxu felt the horse’s back become steep and instinctively let go of the reins, trying to grab the horse’s neck. But he slid off the horse’s back.
When the horse neighed, Yu Yi rushed to the horse’s side, seeing Yan Mingxu sliding off. Her body was not her original one, and every movement was sluggish. She couldn’t stop him from falling, so she threw herself to the ground, catching him in her arms, protecting his head and rolling away to avoid being trampled.
Although they were covered in grass leaves and dirt when they got up, looking quite disheveled, neither was hurt. The horse jumped a few times and then ran away.
Yu Yi pointed at Ting He, who had hidden in the distance: “Ting He, what did you just prick the horse with?!”
Ting He was stunned.
“
Xun Qin was leading the horse, and she had deliberately walked on the other side of the horse, hiding her hand with her sleeve. Xun Qin shouldn’t have seen her actions. How did she know she had pricked the horse? She panicked and denied: “You’re talking nonsense. I didn’t prick anything. It was clearly you who can’t lead a horse but insisted on doing so, almost causing the Young Prince to be hurt!”
At this moment, Tong, who had seen everything from a distance, approached with others and heard Ting He’s words. She shouted: “Xun Qin, kneel down!”
Yu Yi had no choice but to kneel.
Tong said: “Xun Qin caused the Young Prince to fall from the horse and then falsely accused others. Her crime is doubled. She is fined half a year’s wages and will receive ten strokes of the rod when returning to the mansion.”
Yu Yi argued reasonably: “If I truly caused the Young Prince to fall, I am willing to be punished.”
“Are you saying I punished you wrongly?” Tong coldly retorted.
