Wasn't he supposed to be beaten to death? Why did this powerful cousin love him so much?

Jiang Sese took a deep breath and tried her best to remember every key point that Madam Feng had explained.

Keep your back straight like a pine tree, look straight ahead, relax your legs but keep them slightly tucked between your legs, and hold the reins at a moderate position...

Jiang Sese carefully rode her horse around a few times.

It's called running, but it's really only a little faster than a bicycle.

After running two laps, Jiang Sese felt as if her body no longer belonged entirely to her, and she found it very difficult to control the reins.

After a few laps, Jiang Sese's breathing became slightly rapid, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her temples. Her originally fair face, like fine rouge being spread by warm water, revealed a delicate and luscious blush from the bottom of her skin.

Jiang Sese breathed heavily with her mouth slightly open. Her full, rosy lips appeared even more vibrant and luscious against her flushed cheeks, like rose petals glistening with morning dew.

A few strands of dark hair, damp with sweat, clung unintentionally to her smooth forehead and flushed cheeks, not looking disheveled at all, but rather adding a touch of languid and alluring charm.

Jiang Sese pulled on the reins, stopping the horse, and looked at Madam Feng with some trepidation.

Madam Feng approached gently, indicating that Jiang Sese did not need to dismount, and reached out to massage Jiang Sese's waist and shoulders through her clothes.

"Here, and here, do you feel any soreness or tightness?"

Jiang Sese nodded honestly: "Yes, and my legs too... It was especially difficult to mount the horse."

Madam Feng withdrew her hand, nodded slightly, and her eyes showed understanding.

Looking at Jiang Sese's slightly flushed cheeks and her clear yet resolute eyes, Madam Feng smiled and said:

"Miss Jiang, in the art of riding, a light and agile boy naturally has an advantage, like a new willow branch that is easy to shape. However, everything in the world has its time. Although Miss Jiang is now a little older, there are advantages to being older."

"Miss Jiang is calm and quick-witted. Although her control of the reins was a little clumsy just now, she always followed the rules and did not exert any force recklessly to startle the horse, which is especially commendable."

Many beginners are either overly excited or panicked.

She heard from Lord Xie that his cousin had just startled her horse a few days ago.

Upon hearing this, Madam Feng assumed that Jiang Sese would develop a fear and aversion to horseback riding because of this incident, but she did not expect Jiang Sese to be so calm.

Madam Feng had originally come to teach Jiang Sese out of respect for Xie Jue, but now she felt a genuine appreciation for Jiang Sese.

"Madam, you flatter me..." Jiang Sese was a little embarrassed, thinking that Madam Feng was only praising her because of Xie Jue.

"This is not false praise."

Madam Feng's expression was solemn. "The art of horsemanship is easy to learn but difficult to master. The initial difficulties are simply the inevitable adaptation of your muscles and bones. With your temperament, given time and diligent practice, you will surely gradually improve."

Jiang Sese nodded emphatically, looked at Madam Feng earnestly, and thanked her, "Thank you for your guidance, Madam Feng."

Every time Jiang Sese thanked someone, she looked them in the eye and spoke earnestly, as if the other person had done her a tremendous favor, rather than just saying it casually as usual.

Madam Feng couldn't help but be slightly taken aback, and smiled, "Miss Jiang looks a lot like an old friend of mine."

At first, I just thought they looked alike.

However, Madam Feng, having come from the palace, was used to seeing beauties there, and since many beauties looked alike, she was not particularly surprised.

Now, however, I feel that the girl in front of me has some similarities to that one.

Jiang Sese followed up by asking, "Is he a friend of Madam's?"

Madam Feng couldn't help but shake her head with a smile: "She was a former mistress of the palace."

Jiang Sese immediately wisely stopped asking further questions. As for such matters of the palace, the other party would take the initiative to tell her what they could, and if she continued to ask, it would only put the other party in a difficult position.

After resting for a while, Jiang Sese tried to transform the upright posture that Madam Feng had emphasized into a more natural one, in order to adapt to the bumpy rhythm of the horse.

Soon, Jiang Sese felt she had grasped the rhythm and subconsciously looked towards where Xie Jue had just been standing.

He shouldn't have left yet, right?

She hadn't been riding very well before, but now she was starting to look like she was riding a horse. Jiang Sese didn't know why, but she inexplicably hoped that the other person could see it.

A quick glance revealed that Xie Jue was still standing in the same spot.

Jiang Sese's eyes, which were originally as clear as a deer's, now appeared exceptionally bright due to the moisture from exercise, and as her gaze shifted, the corners of her eyes seemed to be tinged with a very faint blush.

The man simply stood there quietly, yet he possessed an aura of profound and unfathomable majesty.

It wasn't an intentional arrogance, but rather an aura that had settled down from being in a high position for a long time.

In the distance, Xie Yihua and Chu Shaoyuan, who had just returned from a ride, happened to see Jiang Sese jogging slowly on horseback again under Madam Feng's guidance.

I also vaguely heard Madam Feng's comments.

Xie Yihua's fingers tightened suddenly on the reins, and the coldness in his eyes almost solidified.

Why should an orphan girl receive such high praise and regard from Madam Feng?

Chu Shaoyuan looked at that exceptionally beautiful figure and his heart skipped a beat. He raised an eyebrow. He had originally thought she was a shameless woman who only knew how to climb the social ladder, but he didn't expect her to be so serious about riding horses.

Xie Yihua's nails dug deeply into her palms, and only when she felt a sharp pain did she manage to suppress the turmoil in her heart.

Xie Yihua followed Chu Shaoyuan's gaze and saw Jiang Sese.

Xie Yihua's expression froze for a moment, then he smiled, as if he were genuinely happy for Jiang Sese.

"Brother Shao Yuan, look, Cousin Se Se is studying so diligently."

Xie Yihua paused, his cold gaze sweeping over Jiang Sese's beautiful profile, the thin blush on her face almost translucent in the sunlight.

"Moreover, Cousin Se Se looks absolutely stunning riding this horse; I can hardly take my eyes off her. Isn't that right, Brother Shao Yuan?"

Xie Yihua spoke softly.

As Xie Yihua spoke, she kept a close eye on Chu Shaoyuan's expression out of the corner of her eye.

Upon hearing this, Chu Shaoyuan quickly withdrew his gaze from Jiang Sese, his Adam's apple bobbing as he said, "Madam Feng was merely offering a few words of encouragement out of respect for Brother Xie. As for Miss Jiang..."

Chu Shaoyuan couldn't help but glance at Jiang Sese again, but immediately looked away, saying coldly, "That's all there is to it; she's far from being a skilled horsewoman."

Although Chu Shaoyuan's words were clearly meant to belittle Jiang Sese.

But Xie Yihua's heart suddenly sank, plunging into an icy abyss.

They grew up together, and she knew Chu Shaoyuan all too well.

He is an extremely proud person at heart.

Previously, Jiang Sese deliberately fell into the water to try and get back at him, but he immediately lost his temper, only letting Qingping go into the water to save her, and then turned around and left without saying a word.

That's what it's like when he truly hates someone.

But now...

Xie Yihua's smile could barely be maintained.

"Brother Shao Yuan is right." Xie Yihua's smile was forced, and his voice sounded somewhat unsteady.