Denghuangtai

Suddenly, she remembered something Yun Zheng had just said, and looked up at him with hopeful eyes, "You should take responsibility for what you just did? What responsibility do you have to take?"

"Naturally, it's to seek justice for the soldiers of Yixiantian and your father and brothers."

Hearing the affirmative answer, her dark eyes brightened even more. "You really want to?"

Yun Zheng nodded. "Why wouldn't I be willing? The Grand Marshal has spent his life on the battlefield, protecting the Great Zhao for decades. I would never believe he is a traitor who colludes with the enemy. Of course, he is not the kind of person who would make a mistake that would cause the entire army to perish."

As he spoke, he looked down at Pei Qingyan's face, his brows softening further, and smiled, "Of course, it's also because he has a daughter who hates evil as if it were her enemy. Like father, like son, so one can glean some of the General's traits from you. Besides, if he truly harbored evil intentions, why would he put his children in danger?"

Listening to his detailed analysis, Pei Qingyan sincerely exclaimed, "You've really thought things through."

"Um?"

Yun Zheng looked at her in confusion, not understanding why she suddenly felt so emotional. Shouldn't she be feeling touched or happy at this moment?

Pei Qingyan sighed and said slowly, "After listening to your analysis, I feel both happy and sad."

These words confused Yun Zheng even more. He could understand being happy, but where did this "bitterness" come from?

Pei Qingyan gazed into his eyes, her fingers constantly digging into the subtle floral pattern on his chest.

"I'm happy for my father. He's been framed and his reputation is ruined. But you've managed to break free from hatred and believe in him, which is truly admirable. From you, I guess there might still be someone in this world who believes in him as firmly as you do."

"It definitely will," Yun Zheng said firmly.

Pei Qingyan nodded and smiled, but then his expression became somewhat troubled. "But it's precisely because your analysis is so logical and reasonable that I feel inexplicably uncomfortable. I thought that given our relationship, if you trusted my father, it would be unconditionally..."

Her voice trailed off, and she slowly lowered her head from looking directly into Yun Zheng's eyes. "I know this idea is a bit childish and ridiculous, but I just can't control my heart. It wants to think this way, and there's nothing I can do about it."

After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and waited for Yun Zheng's reaction, but after waiting for a long time, she did not hear a single word from him. She looked up in confusion and met Yun Zheng's smiling eyes.

She pouted and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Yun Zheng remained silent, only continuing to smile at her. His smile made her a little uneasy, and she playfully punched him in the chest.

"Is that funny?" she said angrily.

Pei Qingyan was still not satisfied after hitting him, and angrily struggled out of Yun Zheng's arms. "You're no fun, I'm ignoring you." With that, she was about to walk inside.

"Don't go, don't go."

Yun Zheng patiently stopped her, placed his hands on her shoulders, leaned down slightly, looked directly into her eyes, and patiently explained, "My smile has two meanings."

He couldn't help but laugh again. "First, I heard you say the phrase 'the relationship between you and me'."

Pei Qingyan was puzzled. What was wrong with that sentence?

As she pondered this, Yun Zheng's voice continued to ring in her ears—"So, A-Yan, in your heart, what is the relationship between us?"

Pei Qingyan was taken aback at first, then, seeing the mischievous glint in Yun Zheng's eyes, she realized what was happening. Her face instantly flushed red, and she kicked Yun Zheng "hard," scolding, "You're so unserious!"

Yun Zheng accepted it with a smile, and he sighed from the bottom of his heart: "I was just too serious, which is why we missed so many years." Over the years, he regretted it every moment. If he had confessed to Pei Qingyan earlier and asked the late emperor to grant him a marriage, he could have followed Pei Qingyan with a legitimate reason after the battle at Yanran Mountain.

Pei Qingyan became embarrassed by Yun Zheng's barrage of sweet words. She broke free from Yun Zheng's embrace, burrowed into the quilt, covered her face, and said, "I'm going to sleep. You can go now."

Yun Zheng returned to the guest courtyard and casually picked up a book from the antique shelf, sitting alone by the west window. His eyes were on the book, but the image of Pei Qingyan lying on the bed with pale lips and light breathing kept flashing through his mind.

In his memory, Pei Qingyan was always a vibrant, bright, and dazzling presence. He had only seen him in such a sickly state a few times in his life, and each time it terrified him to the point of being unable to sleep.

The first instance was in the seventh year of the Jianyuan era, when Dayuan presented a batch of Ferghana horses as tribute. The late emperor felt that these younger generations studying in the Imperial Study should not always be engrossed in books; their literary and military talents should also be emphasized.

So, while ordering the Imperial Stables to train the horses, they also had a racecourse built in the Western Inner Garden. Once the horses and the racecourse were ready, they appointed a skilled horseman, the Commander of the Imperial Guard, and ordered him to train the imperial princes and nobles who were studying in the Imperial Study.

After the commander taught them a lesson on horsemanship in the Imperial Study, he took them to the racetrack and said that he would choose suitable horses for each of them according to their size.

Everything went smoothly when choosing horses for others; everyone happily accepted the horses chosen by their master. However, when it came to Yun Zheng, Pei Qingyan, who had been quiet all along, suddenly started making a fuss, insisting that the commander give her the horse that was supposed to be given to Yun Zheng.

The commander tried to pressure her by invoking her status as his master and by bringing up her and Yun Zheng's identities, but he refused to change his mind.

The commander was stubborn, but Pei Qingyan was even more stubborn. Seeing that he couldn't reason with the commander, he turned to find Yun Zheng.

By then, Yun Zheng had already been "tamed" by Pei Qingyan, so he agreed to this request without even asking why. Pei Qingyan happily took away the horse that was originally meant for him, while he took the horse meant for Pei Qingyan.

However, what happened later made Yun Zheng deeply regret his decision not to ask.

The commander, unable to argue with Pei Qingyan, lost his smile and coldly reiterated the precautions for riding a horse before summoning the eunuch from the Imperial Horse Administration.

Except for Pei Qingyan, it was the first time for all the people in the Imperial Study to ride a horse. Each of them carefully climbed onto the horse with the help of eunuchs. Although it was called riding a horse, in reality, the eunuchs led the horses and took them for a stroll in the racetrack.

Pei Qingyan was an exception. She grew up in the army with her parents since childhood, and riding a horse at full speed was no problem for her. When the commander told them to start riding, she led her horse to a distance, looking like she was going to urge it on at full gallop.

But later... no one saw Pei Qingyan's dashing figure galloping on horseback—the horse went berserk.

Pei Qingyan had only driven the horse halfway around when it suddenly neighed and raised its two front hooves high. If Pei Qingyan hadn't gripped the reins tightly, he would have been thrown off.

Seeing their classmate in such a dangerous situation, the people in the Imperial Study panicked and cried out for help. The eunuchs at the racetrack, while trying to keep the "little nobles" on horseback, also tried to find an opportunity to reach the raging horse and rescue Pei Qingyan. However, the horse repeatedly kicked over several eunuchs who tried to approach, carrying Pei Qingyan headlong into the woods outside the racetrack.

The commander quietly left amidst this chaos. Later, Pei Qingyan was found in the woods covered in blood, and his horse was shot dead by the arriving guards of the inner palace.

Afterwards, the late emperor ordered a thorough investigation and discovered that the commander had harbored malicious intentions and had tampered with Yun Zheng's horse.

The horse had a long nail in each of its four hooves. When it ran, the nails dug into its flesh, causing the horse pain and making it go berserk. Pei Qingyan noticed the horse's abnormality, which is why he insisted on switching horses with Yun Zheng. Otherwise, it would have been Yun Zheng who was dragged into the forest covered in blood.

Yun Zheng lacks Pei Qingyan's experience and skill, and might not even last until the horse leads him into the woods. There's a high chance he'll be thrown off when the horse's front hooves are in the air...