Chapter Sixty: Slipping Out for a Horseback Ride

  Three days passed quickly, and the Xu family finally welcomed another happy event in twenty years. The groom was still that person, but the bride had already changed.

  Xu Mingjin was not interested in going out to join the excitement at home in the Emerald Garden, but Chun Xing excitedly ran out early. After a while, Chun Xing ran back and told Xu Mingjin: "The bride is almost here, Master has already gone to Ye's house to welcome her, our gate is crowded with people watching the excitement, it's so lively!"

  Xu Mingjin smiled slightly.

  "Miss, I'll go and gather some information!" With that, Chun Xing swiftly ran out again.

  Xu Mingjin shook his head and stopped paying attention to her.

  She didn't need Chun Xing to say anything, she knew that Xu Ruoyi's wedding this time was due to the emperor's sake, and could only be done with great fanfare, not one bit inferior to the scene of Ye Niang's grand marriage back then. This wasn't Xu Ruoyi giving his new wife face, but rather doing it for the emperor's benefit.

  From the past few days, the mansion had been filled with joy and festivity. No matter where Xu Mingjin went, all he saw was the vibrant color red. As a result, Xu Mingjin refused to wear red or green in the Emerald Garden. One day, Xu Ruoyi came to visit Xu Mingjin in the Emerald Garden and saw that it still looked the same as before, which made him furrow his brow. Xu Mingjin noticed this and burst into tears: "Father, ever since Mother bled profusely due to poisoning, the color of her blood was so bright red... From then on, I've been afraid of seeing big red clothes..."

  Xu Ruoyi comfortingly patted Xu Mingjin and said, "If you don't like red, then let the Emerald Garden remain as it is." He thought for a moment, looking troubled, and said, "On the day of my wedding, the wedding hall must be decorated with bright red to look festive..."

  Xu Mingjin said with a smile: "Dad, I won't go out that day, but I still wish you a happy new marriage and an early birth of a noble son."

  Xu Ruoyi heard this and felt that it could only be so.

  So Xu Mingjin didn't intend to go to the front yard at all today.

  The new madam's current residence is quite interesting, it's actually a long-abandoned house next to the main house. Xu Ruoyi spent a lot of effort renovating it, and now it looks similar, but compared to the main house where Ye Niang lives, Yu Pingyuan, it's not on the same level. Xu Ruoyi doesn't know what he's doing, letting a concubine live in the main house, while the mistress lives in a side house. I'm sure those noblewomen in Beijing will find out and spread the word. The imperial censor will definitely seize this opportunity to make a big deal out of it, and Xu Ruoyi will be accused of favoring his concubine over his wife... Hehe, Xu Mingjin thought with ill intentions.

  Xu's family gave this new daughter-in-law a betrothal gift, which was also quite meager. However, compared to ordinary families, it was still quite a lot, but compared to what Eldest Madam Xu had received in the past, it wasn't even half as much. What were prices like ten years ago? And now they're what? It's actually less than half of what it was ten years ago; this must be another piece of evidence for the censor to attack Xu Ruoyi for being overly indulgent towards his concubine and destroying her spirit.

  Xu Mingjin was calculating how many handles would be left for the imperial historian if Xu Ruoyi got married, when Chun Xiang suddenly rushed in and said: "Miss, Princess Jinglin is here!"

  Xu Mingjin jumped up in surprise and asked anxiously: "Where?"

  Chun Xing said: "The princess sent her maid to tell me, the princess is waiting for Miss at the back door, and asked me to come in and ask if you want to go out."

  "Of course I'll go," said Xu Mingjin. Then he rummaged through his trunk, changed into going-out clothes, and combed his hair again. Only then did he sneak out of the back door with Yuzhu.

  As expected, Xuan Yuan Jinglin's carriage was indeed parked there. Xu Mingjin happily boarded the carriage and saw that Xuan Yuan Jinglin was leisurely drinking tea.

  "How did you come to find me today?"

  "I thought you didn't want to see that wedding." Xuan Yuan Jinglin said: "Did I guess wrong? You actually wanted to see your father marry another woman?"

  "Whichever woman he marries has nothing to do with me." Xu Mingjin said calmly.

  "Alright, let's not talk about those unhappy things anymore. I'll take you horseback riding."

  Xu Mingjin said fearfully: "I don't know how to ride a horse."

  Xuanyuan Jinglin smiled slightly: "That's perfect, I'll teach you how to ride a horse."

  The carriage soon drove out of the city and stopped in a spacious place. The two got off the carriage, and indeed there were three horses tied up on the trees beside them.

  Xu Mingjin looked puzzled and asked: "How can there be three horses?"

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin said: "Bring one more, you can have another choice."

  Xu Mingjin heard this and looked at the three horses, but she couldn't make up her mind which one to choose after a long time. Xuan Yuan Jing got impatient and walked over, pointing to a small chestnut mare: "You can choose this one, it's a female horse with a gentle temperament, you'll be just fine riding it."

  Xu Mingjin nodded and said, "Good." She looked up at the horse led by Xuan Yuan Jinglin, and even though she didn't understand horses, she could tell that this was a rare and exceptional steed. Its coat was glossy, its body robust, and its spirit was high-spirited. Xu Mingjin couldn't help but feel envious as she looked at it, but she knew that with her complete lack of skills, she could only ride the little red horse that Xuan Yuan Jinglin had chosen for her.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin had already jumped onto the horse with ease, while Xu Mingjin looked on enviously before slowly preparing to mount. Although the little red horse was very gentle, this was her first time riding a horse, and Xu Mingjin's heart was racing with anxiety and a bit of fear. However, not wanting Xuan Yuan Jinglin to think she couldn't even get on a horse and mock her, Xu Mingjin recalled Xuan Yuan Jinglin's previous movements in her mind, reached out to grab the reins, placed her left foot in the stirrup, gritted her teeth, and started to climb up. The little red horse shifted its body slightly, and Xu Mingjin fell off.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin didn't mock her, but instead said: "Your previous action was correct, try again, don't be afraid, you can do it."

  Xu Mingjin heard this and finally didn't dare to be afraid anymore, gritted his teeth and followed the previous action, and suddenly got on. Until he sat on the horse's back, Xu Mingjin still couldn't believe that he had actually gotten on the horse's back.

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin gave a shout of approval and started galloping, but only at a slow pace because she was taking care of Xu Ming Jin. As she ran ahead, she said: "Hold the reins with both hands, hold them tightly. Press your feet firmly on the stirrups, with equal force, don't sit too heavily on your buttocks, and let your body sway with the horse's gait."

  Xu Mingjin rode his horse slowly while carefully listening to Xuan Yuan Jinglin's explanation and followed her instructions.

  "Turn left by pulling left rein, turn right by pulling right rein, and stop by simultaneously tightening both reins with both hands."

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin turned her head to look, and indeed saw Xu Mingjin doing as she had asked. She couldn't help but laugh. After riding for a while longer, she said impatiently: "I'll ride a circle first, you ride slowly, I'll be back soon."

  Xu Mingjin knew that Xuan Yuan Jinglin enjoyed the feeling of galloping on horseback, and now she had been slowly accompanying him for a while, but couldn't bear it anymore. Therefore, she nodded in agreement. Feeling thirsty, she ordered Yu Zhu to go find her some water.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin cracked the whip and shouted, "Drive!" The fine horse under him was like a gust of wind, disappearing from sight in an instant.

  Xu Mingjin rode slowly in place. At this time, she sat on the horseback, curiously looking at the surrounding scenery with a different perspective from before.

  Suddenly, she felt her body tremble, and it seemed like there was someone behind her.

  Xu Mingjin was shocked and turned to look, only to find that it was Xuan Yuan Qiyue. He took advantage of Xu Mingjin's momentary confusion and snatched the reins from her hands, giving the horse a whip and making it gallop away. This feeling was completely different from the slow ride they had just been on. Xu Mingjin shouted in fright: "Xuan Yuan Qiyue, get off!" She hastily looked around for Yuzhu's figure, but Yuzhu had been sent to fetch water and hadn't returned yet.

  Xuanyuan said: "You really want me to go down?"

  "Come on, hurry up and get down!"

  "As you wish." Xuan Yuan Qi said, and then actually jumped off the horse's back. Fortunately, it was a small red horse, which wasn't running very fast. That's why he dared to do so.

  Xuanyuan Qi went down, and the little red horse was still galloping. Xu Mingjin sat on the horse's back, shaking and swaying. In the midst of her busyness, she remembered Xuanyuan Jinglin's words: "Hold the reins tightly with both hands." She hastily pulled over the reins and grasped them firmly in her hands. At the same time, she leaned forward, wanting to reduce the feeling of shaking. However, she was a beginner after all. After the little red horse galloped out for a distance, Xu Mingjin still fell off the horse's back. She landed in a nearby clump of grass.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin had already returned at this time, and from a distance, she saw Xu Mingjin fall off the horse's back. She was shocked and quickly rode her horse to hurry over, but it was too late. By the time she arrived in front of him, Xu Mingjin had already fallen into the grass. The little red horse stopped as soon as the person on its back fell off.

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin hastily dismounted and rushed to Xu Ming Jin's side, pulling her up. She found that Xu Ming Jin had only suffered a minor injury on her right leg, and the rest of her was fine, which made her breathe a sigh of relief. She quickly helped Xu Ming Jin bandage her wound. At this time, Yu Zhu also returned, saw the situation, and was shocked, saying with remorse: "Miss, it's all my fault for not protecting you well."

  Xu Mingjin squeezed out a smile: "It's none of your business, who could have predicted that Young Master Wang would come. If I had known he was coming, even if you killed me, I wouldn't let you take half a step away from my side."

  After something like this happened, they naturally didn't have the mood to ride horses anymore, and the two of them returned home.

  On the carriage, Xuan Yuan Jing Lin said with a hint of surprise: "I saw you've been proceeding cautiously and slowly all along, I didn't expect you to actually dare to speed up."

  Xu Mingjin smiled bitterly: "I didn't speed up at all, it was Xuan Yuan Xi Yi, he jumped onto my horse and rode it extremely fast, then jumped off leaving me alone, that's when I fell."

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin said: "This Xuan Yuan Qi Yi! How can his shadow be everywhere, it's so annoying!"

  Xu Mingjin was also very angry.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin said, "When are you going back? If you're not in a hurry to go back, I'll take you out to eat. I recently discovered a new braised meat shop, and the braised beef inside is one of the best in Beijing."

  Xu Mingjin looked at the sky and saw it was still early, really didn't want to go back, so he agreed.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin then instructed the driver to turn into another alley. After seven or eight turns, they stopped in front of a braised meat shop. Xuan Yuan Jinglin slowly helped Xu Mingjin out of the car because she was injured. Xuan Yuan Jinglin and Yu Zhu supported her on either side as they walked, but Xu Mingjin quickly said it wasn't necessary, that her injury wasn't that serious.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin hesitated for a moment, then tried to let go of Xu Mingjin's arm. After seeing that Xu Mingjin was still standing steadily, she finally felt at ease. The few people walked to the front of the braised meat shop, but unexpectedly saw someone who shouldn't be here.

  "Second Brother?" Xuan Yuan Jing Lin asked in confusion.