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

Shen Jingque's body moved faster than her mind. She grabbed Xiao Jingshu's waist and pulled her off the horse.

The two tumbled and fell into a pile of fallen leaves.

An arrow whistled past the top of her hair and embedded itself straight into a tree trunk three feet behind her.

Xiao Jingshu was pinned down by Shen Jingque, her face blank with confusion. Her round eyes reflected the still-swaying arrow shaft, and she was about to scream.

"Someone...someone wants to kill me?!"

Shen Jingque quickly covered her mouth, whispering urgently, "Don't make a sound!"

Before he could finish speaking, two more piercing sounds came from different directions at the same time.

One shot missed and embedded itself in the bushes, while the other pierced the rump of the brown pony that Xiao Jingshu had just been riding.

The pony let out a mournful neigh and reared up on its forelegs.

The physical education students were so startled by this sudden turn of events that they spun around in place, pawing wildly and kicking up fallen leaves.

Shen Jingque rolled on the ground, tightly hugging Xiao Jingshu, barely dodging the brown pony's front hoof.

When the hoof lifted up for the second time, Shen Jingque had only one thought in her mind.

It’s over.

The wind suddenly stopped beside my ears.

A tall, slender figure descended from above, like a swallow skimming across the water.

With both hands, he precisely grabbed her and Xiao Jingshu by the back of their collars, and using the momentum of their fall, he pushed off the ground and flipped the two girls back three zhang away.

Almost at the same instant.

Tianjiu rushed out from another direction, kicked the frightened brown pony away, and pulled the reins to control the PE student.

After turning around and seeing who it was, he hesitated and stopped drawing his sword.

It was nothing more than a matter of three breaths.

Shen Jingque was placed on the ground like a chick.

It took me a while to catch my breath.

She looked up, and the first thing that caught her eye was a glimpse of a dark blue robe.

Above that was a pair of slender, long hands, slowly loosening her collar.

Rong Jing.

He stood in the afterglow of the setting sun, not a single leaf clinging to him, leisurely watching the two disheveled little creatures on the ground.

He was laughing nonchalantly.

Before Shen Jingque could even speak, Xiao Jingshu beside her had already exploded first.

The little princess scrambled to her feet, her grape-like, bright eyes fixed on Rong Jing.

Shen Jingque's heart tightened.

Afraid that the girl would be frightened by Rong Jing, he subconsciously wanted to stop her.

Xiao Jingshu rushed forward, grabbed Rong Jing's sleeve with both hands, and hung on him, shaking him wildly.

"Wow! Are you a god?!"

"Did you fly down? How did you fly? Teach me!"

Shen Jingque: "..."

Her heart, which had been in her throat, finally settled.

This girl, with the most handsome man in the capital standing in front of her, was actually thinking about how he flew up?

Shen Jingque suppressed the inexplicable tension in her heart and cursed herself for overthinking.

They're only twelve years old, what are they thinking?

Rong Jing clearly hadn't expected this reaction.

Although he remained perfectly still while being tugged at by the little princess's sleeve and swayed back and forth, his expression clearly revealed a hint of helplessness at being unable to resist.

He turned his head and gave Shen Jingque a look, the meaning of which was very clear.

You don't care?

Shen Jingque quickly stepped forward, grabbed Xiao Jingshu, and pulled her off Rong Jing's sleeve.

"Your Highness, that's called 'lightness skill,' not flying."

"Lightness skill!"

If Xiao Jingshu's eyes could glow, they would probably be a 100-watt light bulb by now.

She turned to look at Shen Jingque, her face radiating a thirst for knowledge.

"How do you learn light-body skills? I want to learn too! That way I can fly away someday..."

Shen Jingque covered her mouth again.

Xiao Jingshu is leaving the palace incognito today; the fewer people who know, the better.

Why does this brat tell everyone everything?!

Tian Jiu had already calmed the two horses, then knelt down in front of Shen Jingque, looking warily in the direction from which the arrow had come.

"They got away." He turned to look at Shen Jingque. "Should we chase after them?"

Shen Jingque nodded.

She pointed to the arrow embedded in the tree trunk, then to the one still stuck in the brown pony's rump, lowering her voice.

"Chase him! I want to see which bastard shot an arrow at me!"

She was so angry that she started saying things she shouldn't have.

Tian Jiu nodded, immediately got up and walked towards the depths of the woods, but stopped after taking a step.

His gaze fell on Rong Jing, filled with undisguised wariness.

Rong Jing chuckled as he looked at Rong Jing's expression, which seemed to be on high alert.

"What, are you afraid I'll harm your young lady?"

Tian Jiu didn't reply, but just looked at Shen Jingque.

Shen Jingque nodded to him, her tone resolute: "It's alright, go ahead, be careful."

Tian Jiu clasped his hands in a fist salute, and his figure flashed into the shadows of the forest.

After he walked away, Shen Jingque turned around, crossed her arms, and looked Rong Jing up and down, tilting her head.

What are you doing here?

Rong Jing straightened the cuffs that Xiao Jingshu had tugged at, smoothing out the creases, his expression calm and composed.

"The weather's nice, let's go out and ride horses." He gestured with his chin towards the south, "The main road is three miles south of Pear Blossom Slope, it's just a short ride."

Shen Jingque tilted her head and thought for a moment.

That makes sense. This isn't the Princess's back garden; it's possible we were just passing by.

But she noticed the key point: "Where's your horse?"

Rong Jing glanced at her, raised his hand, placed two slender fingers to his lips, and blew a sharp, short whistle.

The whistle echoed through the woods.

Taking advantage of this moment, Xiao Jingshu tugged at Shen Jingque's sleeve and whispered a question.

"You know him?"

Shen Jingque asked in confusion, "You don't recognize him?"

Rong Jing was a hostage of the Great Yan, and he supposedly stayed in the palace for a while when he first arrived.

Xiao Jingshu was four years old eight years ago, so surely she has no memory of it at all?

To everyone's surprise, Xiao Jingshu blinked in confusion: "Why should I know him? Who is he?"

It seems I've never seen it before.

"Rong Jing, the hostage prince of Great Yan, is a senior student at Qishan Academy," Shen Jingque introduced briefly.

Xiao Jingshu frowned and thought for a moment, a look of understanding or not appearing on her face. She muttered softly, "From the Great Yan."

Then he tilted his head back, a subtle hint of disdain in his expression.

Are you very familiar with him?

There was a hint of bitterness in his tone.

"Are you more familiar with me than I am?"

He's just like a little kid who's afraid his beloved playmate will be taken away.

Shen Jingque's lips twitched, and just as she was about to explain, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar.

It surged forward with vigorous force, like a muffled thunder rumbled in a strong wind.

A tall, magnificent horse emerged from the forest, its body as black as ink spilled in the night, except for a ring of long, snow-white hair covering its four hooves.

Its gait was as nimble as a flowing shadow, its mane fluttering like a flag in the setting sun.

Shen Jingque glanced at the PE student, then at the horse, and her eyes lit up.

Wow! A mount with the same skin!