After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

The afternoon sun shone warmly on the pear blossom slope, giving the white flowers all over the mountain a faint, sweet fragrance.

After half a day of training, Shen Jingque's riding skills have improved from being stiff all over to being able to trot slowly.

Although his posture was still swaying from side to side, at least he no longer looked like a wooden stake stuck on the horse's back.

The physical education students were very cooperative, patiently leading her around in circles. Occasionally, when she lost her balance, they would slow down and wait for her to adjust.

In comparison, Xiao Jingshu was much more exaggerated.

This little princess could already get the horse to trot at a steady pace, but she still wasn't satisfied and squeezed her legs together to make the horse speed up.

Tian Jiu, expressionless, grabbed the reins of her horse and abruptly stopped it from running.

Xiao Jingshu was thrown forward by inertia and her face was caught by the horse's neck. She groaned as she lifted her head from the horse's mane.

"What are you doing! I haven't run enough yet!"

Tian Jiu's expression remained unchanged, and his tone was flat.

"Your Highness has not yet mastered emergency horse control; you must not accelerate."

"I'll slow down!"

"Won't."

How do you know I can't!

"Because you just tried three times, and each time you had to pull it to stop."

Shen Jingque laughed heartily beside him.

It's time for someone else to experience Tianjiu's "straightforwardness".

Xiao Jingshu puffed out her cheeks and glared at him, then angrily buried her face back in the horse's mane.

On the other side of the slope, under the pear trees, Xiao Mingyue and Shen Yan sat side by side on a carpet.

Tea sets and snacks were laid out on the long table. Occasionally, flower petals would fall into the teacups, which Shen Yan would then scoop out with bamboo tongs.

He held a book in his hand, but his gaze kept following Shen Jingque, who was riding a horse in the distance.

Every time Shen Jingque jolted on his horse, he would grip the corner of the book tightly, his whole body tense.

Xiao Mingyue glanced at him, then reached out and placed her hand over his hand holding the book, gently pressing it.

"It won't fall, I'm watching."

Shen Yan lowered his eyes and looked at the hand that was covering the back of his hand. It was long and strong, with thin calluses on the knuckles from years of holding a gun.

This hand always quietly supports him, giving him peace of mind.

His ears turned red again, but his clenched hands slowly loosened, and the creases he had made on the book gradually smoothed out.

"I know, it's just..."

"What is it?"

Shen Yan pursed his lips, his voice very soft.

"It's just that her body sways a lot when she's riding a horse, what if she loses her grip on the reins..."

Xiao Mingyue smiled and rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb.

"She's twelve years old already, she's not made of clay, a couple of falls won't hurt her."

Looking at Shen Jingque's giggling figure on horseback in the distance, Shen Yan finally revealed a relaxed smile.

On the other side, Xiao Changqi brought over a large plate of freshly roasted lamb leg, squatted down next to Xiao Changgeng's wheelchair, tore off the tenderest piece, and handed it to him.

"Come on, big brother, try your brother's cooking."

Xiao Changgeng took it, took a bite, chewed it a couple of times, and his expression remained unchanged.

"It's too salty."

Xiao Changqi's eyes widened, and he tore off a piece himself, unwilling to accept defeat, and chewed it.

"I specifically asked them to use half the amount of salt!"

"So even half of what you have is still too much," Xiao Changgeng said calmly.

"It's clearly because you're picky."

"You can say I'm picky..." Xiao Changgeng placed the half-eaten meat on a handkerchief and wiped his fingertips with it, "to cover up your poor cooking skills."

Xiao Changqi pouted as if he had suffered a great injustice, picked up the plate, stood up, and turned to leave.

"Fine, don't eat it then. I'll give it to my sister; she'll definitely say it's delicious."

"She thinks everything tastes good when she's hungry," Xiao Changgeng's voice came slowly from behind, "It has nothing to do with your cooking skills."

"Dude! Did you put poison in your mouth today?!"

Xiao Changgeng picked up his teacup, took a sip, and smiled.

As the sun gradually sets in the west, twilight slowly creeps in from the horizon.

Everyone was getting tired.

Tianjiu was sent by Shen Jingque to pick chestnuts, while Shen Jingque and Xiao Jingshu rode horses and strolled around the top of the hill.

The two horses walked slowly side by side, their hooves treading on a thick carpet of fallen flowers.

The wind blew petals onto their heads and bodies. Xiao Jingshu reached out to catch a petal that drifted over, looked at it with her open palm, and then let it drift away with the wind.

Neither of them spoke, enjoying the rare peace and tranquility.

Suddenly, Xiao Jingshu sat up straight, pointed in the direction of the forest and called out.

"Look! What kind of butterfly is that! It's huge!"

Shen Jingque looked in the direction she pointed.

Beside the bushes at the edge of the woods, an exceptionally beautiful swallowtail butterfly was fluttering about.

The gold and blue patterns on its wings shimmered in the afterglow of the setting sun, and with each flap of its wings, it was as if a small piece of brocade was being unfurled in the air.

Xiao Jingshu became excited and squeezed the horse's flanks with her legs, ready to charge in that direction.

"I'm going to catch it!"

"Wait for me! Don't run too fast!"

Shen Jingque quickly urged the PE students to follow, shouting as they chased, "Tian Jiu said no speeding, didn't you forget!"

Xiao Jingshu wouldn't listen to any of it.

She lay sprawled on the horse's back, excitedly chasing the butterfly. The foal carried her nimbly around a bend on the slope and galloped toward the path at the edge of the woods.

The swallowtail butterfly seemed to be deliberately enticing, sometimes flying high and sometimes landing, always maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far, before drifting into the edge of the mixed forest.

Shen Jingque followed closely behind, and the two horses turned into the path one after the other.

The miscellaneous trees on both sides began to grow denser, blocking out most of the sunlight, and the road was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves that rustled underfoot.

The butterfly flew higher and higher, finally disappearing into the canopy of the trees high above.

Xiao Jingshu reined in her horse, looked up at the treetop, and sighed with regret.

"It flew away... What a pity."

Shen Jingque also stopped, reined in the reins, and looked around.

The villa on Pear Blossom Slope is no longer visible.

The surrounding area was a sparse mixed forest, with overlapping shadows of trees.

The evening breeze rustled through the branches and leaves, and the air was filled with the damp scent of humus.

A subtle unease rose in her heart.

"Jing Shu, we should go back, it's getting dark..."

A very faint whooshing sound came from afar.

Shen Jingque's pupils contracted sharply as she saw an arrow hurtling straight toward Xiao Jingshu's back.

"Be careful!"

Without saying a word, she pounced on him.