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Chapter 264 Go together
As Zhu Yu listened to Yan Shu recount these amusing stories, he felt a pang of envy.

Although the Shuo Kingdom did not have many elaborate rules and regulations to restrict women's words and actions, it still held the deep-rooted belief that women could not do anything proper, so they could do nothing and just not cause trouble for men.

It was precisely because of this that Zhu Cheng had never been able to, let alone dote on his daughters over the years. Not to mention his illegitimate daughters who were under Pang Yuzhen's watchful eye, even his only legitimate daughter, Zhu Ning, was at most dressed and fed better. He never considered her as a promising talent to be cultivated.

This kind of thing isn't unusual in the world; most things are pretty much the same.

Surprisingly, in the Jie Kingdom, which has always been considered the most barbaric, women can ride horses and hunt together with the men in their families.

"Is it only because your father dotes on you that he taught you horseback riding and archery, or are all the women of Jie Kingdom like that?" Zhu Yu asked Yan Shu curiously, stopping what she was doing, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"That's pretty much how it is," Yan Shu said, waving her hand as if she noticed Zhu Yu's surprise. "We're different!"

Our Jie Kingdom has many ferocious beasts. There are tigers in the east and wolves in the west. The wolves live in packs. They not only eat cattle and sheep, but they can also kill people with a single bite!
Therefore, people in our area, regardless of gender, all know how to ride and shoot; it's a skill that can save lives.

The women in our area are not only good at archery, but they are also experts at skinning animals. They are even better at using knives than arrows!

During the few days I was away from your Shuo Kingdom, let alone tigers, I did see a wolf in the mountains. It was so thin and small that I mistook it for a fox. It was so hungry that it was skin and bones. It tried to get closer, but I threw stones at it and chased it away.

So the women here really don't need to learn archery or anything like that; it's useless."

Zhu Yu sighed, finally understanding why, for so many years, Emperor Jin had regarded the Jie Kingdom as an object to be guarded against at all costs, while seemingly not paying much attention to the neighboring Shuo Kingdom.

No matter how rugged the folk customs of the northern region may be, they are still just a group of miners and iron smelters, at best craftsmen and artisans.

In the Jie Kingdom, not to mention the men, even the women, who lived peacefully in their daily lives, would draw their bows and arrows to shoot wolves and protect their cattle and sheep, and would wield sharp knives to skin animals and sew fur coats and cloaks for their families.

But if war were to break out one day, the arrows that could kill jackals could pierce the chests of enemy soldiers, and the skill of skinning animals could also sever the heads of enemies.

This might be what they call "everyone being a soldier"!

Zhu Yu looked at Yan Shu mimicking his movements, and thinking about what she had just said, he couldn't help but laugh: "You're someone who can ride and shoot, isn't it a bit of a waste of your time to practice these escape tricks with me?"

“No, each has its own use!” Yan Shu said without hesitation. “I watched your husband teach you the other day and thought these moves were really good. In the past, when I played with my brothers, they always took advantage of their strength to make fun of me.”

If I had learned these things earlier, I would have been like an eel, impossible for them to catch...

Zhu Yu was initially practicing the movements while chatting with Yan Shu, not paying much attention to her reactions. It wasn't until she heard Yan Shu's voice getting softer and softer until she could barely hear it that she realized something was wrong. She quickly looked over and saw that Yan Shu's eyes were red and wet, and she was secretly wiping away the tears that had welled up in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Zhu Yu rushed over, patted himself down, and finding he didn't have a handkerchief, gently wiped away the tears from her eyes and cheeks with his sleeve. "You were fine just now, why did you suddenly start crying?"

"It's nothing, I just suddenly felt a little pathetic." Yan Shu forced a smile, trying to force a laugh, but couldn't. "I just suddenly thought that maybe I'll never have the chance to go back to Jie Kingdom, never see my parents and brothers again, let alone play and joke around with them..." "Don't think like that," Zhu Yu shook his head at her, comforting her gently. "The future is unpredictable. We can't even foresee what will happen tomorrow, so how can we know what will happen much later!"
I thought I'd never have the chance to return to Shuo Kingdom or see my mother again, but look, I'm right here now!

“Isn’t it because you have a reliable husband that you have someone to look after you in Jin Kingdom…” Yan Shu sighed. “My husband, whom I was betrothed to, abandoned me and has disappeared to who knows how far away. How can I expect him to take me back to Jie Kingdom?”

I'd rather he couldn't stand me and just divorce me, or even just abandon me and send me back to the Jie Kingdom!

Zhu Yu understands Yan Shu's feelings, but doesn't know how to comfort her.

A marriage bestowed by the emperor is different from a normal arranged marriage. Even Lu Zhang, under the influence of the Duke of Yan, would probably only dare to secretly sever ties with Yan Shu, and would never dare to actually propose to the Emperor Jin that he divorce his wife.

But this reality is clearly not something that should be emphasized to someone whose mood has already sunk to this point.

So she patted her chest confidently and said, "Don't worry, we're here for you!"
My husband is Lu Zhang's elder brother, so I'm technically his sister-in-law.

"We're friends now. If he treats you badly, I'll have his brother teach him a lesson!"

Upon hearing her say that, Yan Shu burst out laughing.

She wasn't a three-year-old child; she already knew that Lu Qing and Lu Zhang's relationship wasn't close, and in fact, it wasn't very good.

Given the relationship between their two families, it would be difficult for Lu Qing to interfere in Lu Zhang's family affairs.

But Zhu Yu wanted to comfort herself, and she wouldn't be so tactless as to take it seriously. She nodded, wiped away her tears, and said, "You should continue practicing. Let's not talk about that annoying and disgusting person anymore!"

Just after breakfast, the steward of the Prince's mansion suddenly ran over and said that the Prince had something to say to the Second Miss and her husband directly.

Fu Wen led him to the small classroom in the chestnut garden, and then invited Zhu Yu over.

"Second Miss, the Prince said that the head of the Pang family has arrived. He just arrived at the manor and is having tea in the guest hall. The Prince hasn't gone there yet. He wants you and your husband to get ready and go find him."

He said it would be better if you were there at this time.

The steward looked bewildered, as if he couldn't quite understand. The prince had clearly told the whole family not to let the news of the young lady and son-in-law's return leak out, and even the Pang family had forbidden them from visiting.

So the eldest son of the Pang family has already come to inquire twice, but both times the prince was not home and he was not allowed to come.

Why did the Prince specifically ask Miss and her husband to go together today?