SEHE Chapter 66

Startled Horse

Amidst a chorus of cheers and welcoming cries, the Emperor and Empress boarded their palanquin.

Pei Yanci, having received Gu Jiuqing’s special favor, rode in the same carriage with him. Chunsheng, Shuangjiang, and the other servants from the Crown Prince’s Mansion could only walk alongside and behind.

The journey passed without incident. Upon arriving at the hunting lodge’s polo grounds, Pei Yanci instructed the servants to organize the luggage. After a flurry of activity, evening had arrived. Exhausted from the day’s travel, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

A dark shadow drifted through the window into the room, sat by the bedside for half the night, then departed as silently as it had come.

The next day was the polo match.

Early summer had just arrived in Anjing City, but in the mountain forest hunting lodge, the morning air was particularly cool.

Pei Yanci rose early to practice for a while, working up a sweat that left him feeling refreshed and invigorated. After washing up, he went to the front hall to find Gu Jiuqing had nearly finished his morning meal.

“Why did Your Highness rise so early?” He bowed respectfully. “It is this humble one’s fault for rising so late.”

“It’s fine for you to sleep a bit longer.” Gu Jiuqing didn’t mind, though a trace of worry appeared between his brows. “I haven’t ridden a horse in a long time—I’m quite rusty.”

The previous Crown Prince had only shot the first arrow during autumn hunts. Gu Jiuqing was competitive and wanted to do everything better than others, so this year he’d declared he would participate. Now that the time had come, he finally felt it might be inappropriate.

“Your Highness needn’t worry. The horses this humble one has prepared all have exceptionally gentle temperaments. Your Highness needs only focus on watching the ball,” Pei Yanci said with a detached air, not paying much attention to him as he offered casual comfort. “Your Highness will surely triumph.”

These words failed to ease Gu Jiuqing’s mind.

After the morning meal, he led his entourage to the polo grounds.

All around the field were seats for the officials. In the Jiangwu Pavilion at the front center, many princes and princesses were already seated. Gu Jiuqing brought him there, and Fifth Prince Gu Wanchong was the first to stand upon seeing the two of them.

“Fourth Brother.” He called out distantly, his gaze briefly sweeping over the person behind him before quickly looking away.

“His Majesty arrives—”

The distinctive sharp voice of the palace eunuch rang out, and everyone in the venue promptly withdrew and bowed.

From the corner of his eye, Pei Yanci caught sight of a familiar figure.

Tang Xizhui.

It seemed like it had been a very long time since he’d seen him.

Actually, thinking carefully, it had only been a little over a month, yet it felt like decades had passed.

In that moment of distraction, Gu Jiuqing had disappeared.

Soon after, he saw him already on the field below, dressed in form-fitting attire and riding a white horse. His shoulders and elbows were bound with red protective gear, and he held an exquisitely crafted polo mallet in his hand. Three military generals followed behind him.

On the other side of the field stood four people in a row, led by a third-rank general who looked imposingly strong.

Each polo match lasted half a shichen, with teams competing in pairs until a victor emerged three days later. The winning team would receive generous rewards from the Emperor. In previous years, those who gained His Majesty’s favor often rose rapidly through the ranks.

This year appeared to be no different.

The match soon began.

Gu Jiuqing took the lead, swinging his mallet. The brightly colored ball was struck and sent flying. Both sides’ horses competed for possession, and soon the field was filled with flying dust and grass clippings—quite a lively scene.

In less than a quarter-hour, Gu Jiuqing had successfully scored a goal.

“Excellent!” The Emperor on the imperial throne applauded repeatedly, so excited he coughed several times.

Pei Yanci wasn’t worried about this match at all. Anyone with the slightest understanding of social protocol knew that this match must be won by the Crown Prince.

But just as he thought this, an accident occurred on the field.

The white horse beneath Gu Jiuqing suddenly let out a long neigh. Stimulated by something unknown, it went mad, rearing up on its front hooves as if to throw Gu Jiuqing from its back.

Gu Jiuqing hastily grabbed the reins, struggling not to fall off. His upper body pressed tightly against the horse’s back as he endured the white horse’s wild charging while gritting his teeth and laboriously trying to calm it.

In this moment, his astonishing will to survive erupted—not at all like a novice lacking in equestrian skills.

“Your Highness!”

People both on and off the field panicked.

The Emperor’s expression immediately tensed. “What happened? Where are those generals? Why don’t they quickly subdue the horse!”

“Your Majesty, that horse has been stimulated by something and has gone completely mad. If others approach, they too may be seriously injured. Better to wait until the horse’s emotions stabilize somewhat, then we subjects can launch a surprise attack to subdue it in one stroke and rescue His Highness the Crown Prince.”

The speaker was a military general. His words sounded like he was leaving Gu Jiuqing to his own fate. Pei Yanci frowned and looked toward the imperial throne, only to meet the eyes of Tang Xizhui, who sat one position lower.

Tang Xizhui wore a golden mask over his nose and eyes, carved with auspicious clouds, mountain forests, and pine trees in openwork, then shaped with wire into several white egrets of varying sizes. Three-dimensional and lifelike, they immediately brought to mind the fearsome reputation of the Elu Bureau. The egrets’ eyes were inlaid with gemstones of gold, red, yellow, and green—each half the size of a grain of rice. As his face turned, the gemstones inadvertently flashed with different gleams beneath the dazzling gold.

Below the golden mask, a small, bright red tongue tip emerged, licking bloodthirsty red lips.

Pei Yanci was shocked.

Had Tang Xizhui done this?

It made no sense.

Yet that general kept stealing glances at him, clearly standing by and choosing not to help on his orders.

On the field, the screams and shrieks made the white horse even more frenzied. Gu Jiuqing was obviously exhausted, his body beginning to tilt.

A flash of anxiety crossed Pei Yanci’s eyes.

If Gu Jiuqing died at this moment or was left disabled, he would be completely cut off from the throne.

The fragile network of relationships built by relying on him would instantly collapse.

“Do you want this lord to save him?”

A secret voice transmission suddenly reached his ear.

Pei Yanci looked at Tang Xizhui again. The latter was lazily leaning against the armrest and back of the sandalwood chair, propping up his head as he watched him.

“Beg this lord.”

Pei Yanci coolly turned his head back.

Tang Xizhui’s hand on the armrest instantly clenched into a fist.

That expression—it was the same as a month ago.

That expression mixed with coldness, indifference, and disgust, impatiently saying to him, “Can’t you act normal?”

“Your Majesty,” at this moment, someone stepped forward from the crowd. “His Highness’s health is indeed sound, but he cannot compare to the generals. He cannot hold on much longer. Please, Your Majesty, issue an order for the generals to help.”

“Prime Minister Zheng should sit back down,” Tang Xizhui’s eyelids lifted slightly as he looked at him with a half-smile. “They are all military generals and naturally understand the current situation better than Prime Minister Zheng—whether it’s truly urgent or not. Since they all feel that His Highness can control the situation alone, Prime Minister Zheng need not worry excessively on purpose. His Majesty wishes to use this to test His Highness’s courage and mettle. Would Prime Minister Zheng obstruct even that?”

At these words, several generals who had wanted to rescue him pulled back their feet and resumed watching.

Prime Minister Zheng glared at Tang Xizhui. “His Highness is my nephew. How is my concern for him excessive or intentional?”

“He is also the Crown Prince.” Tang Xizhui replied. The Emperor, his own father, hadn’t even spoken—what was an uncle doing worrying like this? “Prime Minister Zheng is far too indulgent of His Highness.”

“Ah!”

Another scream rang out from the field.

Tang Xizhui turned to look out over the railing, only to find that Pei Yanci, who should have been standing not far ahead, had disappeared.

He immediately stood up and rushed to the railing in a few steps.

Pei Yanci had leapt down from the Jianwu Pavilion. With several bounds, he reached the front of the horse. In the wild wind and sand kicked up by the horse’s hooves, he seized the right moment, vaulted onto the horse, and seated himself behind Gu Jiuqing.

“Yan… Yanci?!” Gu Jiuqing looked at him in disbelief.

Pei Yanci’s expression was cold and severe, his short hair flying across his forehead unable to block the cold stars bursting from his handsome eyes and brows. The ink-black hair partially down his back danced wildly in the wind, bold and unrestrained.

“Your Highness, leave it to me.” He seized the reins and pressed down Gu Jiuqing’s head as he lifted it to look at him, attempting to control the horse beneath them.

The horse had gone completely mad and couldn’t tolerate anyone’s control. With another person on its back, the entire horse began to shake and writhe violently.

“Ah!” Many women shrieked and covered their faces, hiding against others’ shoulders.

The youth seated behind was suddenly flung from the horse’s back, one hand barely managing to grasp the reins. But this made things even worse—his entire body was dragged by the horse, his feet scraping two trails as he was dragged along.

At this point, several generals saw their opportunity and surrounded them, trying to rescue Gu Jiuqing from the horse.

Pei Yanci’s crescent moon eyes turned cold. Gripping a hairpin in his hand, he mercilessly stabbed it toward the white horse’s neck.

Blood immediately spurted out, drenching his head and face.

The white horse neighed once, made a final struggle, and crashed thunderously to the ground.

Gu Jiuqing quickly jumped from the horse’s back, caught him, and rolled toward the ground on the other side from where the horse’s body was falling.

The entire polo ground fell silent for several breaths.

“Why don’t you quickly go see how they are!” The Empress urged anxiously from the side, then calmly exchanged a glance with Prime Minister Zheng.

Pei Yanci’s head was buzzing, and there seemed to be warm liquid in his ears. As he turned his head, it flowed out—he realized after a moment that it was the horse’s blood from earlier.

“Your Highness…”

He was pressed underneath, and the person protecting him was mentally confused for a moment before gradually becoming clear-headed.

Gu Jiuqing’s crown hairpin had been pulled out by Pei Yanci at some point, and now his disheveled black hair was tangled with Pei Yanci’s. He rubbed his head and, seeing Pei Yanci staring at him in a daze, couldn’t help but laugh.

“Your Highness?” Had this person been knocked senseless?

The corners of Gu Jiuqing’s mouth curved up in delight. As he laughed, tears slid down from the corners of his eyes.

Pei Yanci quietly assessed himself—aside from his hands being scraped bloody by the reins, everything else was fine. He struggled to get out of his embrace. But with this push of his hands, Gu Jiuqing fell right over.

“Your Highness!”

At that moment, the crowd that hadn’t dared approach earlier surged forward in a mass, surrounding Gu Jiuqing with concerned urgency.

“Summon the imperial physician.” The Emperor commanded. “Clean up the grounds. We’ll continue with the rest this afternoon.”

With that, he left the Jianwu Pavilion without looking back.

Pei Yanci was also carried back to Gu Jiuqing’s sleeping quarters, where he bathed and changed clothes. After the imperial physician examined Gu Jiuqing, he also bandaged several of Pei Yanci’s wounds.

“Little brother, you’re truly brave—absolutely remarkable.” The old physician stroked his graying beard in praise. “Fortunately, these are all minor injuries. With some rest, you’ll be fine.”

“How is His Highness?”

“His case is much more serious. He protected you when jumping off the horse, using his flesh and blood as a cushion. His head was injured, he has several wounds on his body, a broken rib, and a sprained ankle.”

Pei Yanci saw off the old physician, then after a moment’s thought, went next door to check on him.

Gu Jiuqing had recently regained consciousness and was staring blankly into space, lost in thought. When he saw Pei Yanci approach, his dark brown glazed eyes finally moved.

Pei Yanci thought he’d truly been knocked senseless. He sat by the bedside, tilting his head inquisitively. “Your Highness, are you all right?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, his body tilted—he was pulled into an embrace.

“Yanci, I want to marry you as my secondary consort.”

TL/N:

(側妃 / cèfēi) literally means “secondary consort,” a formal rank below the main wife (正妃 / zhèngfēi) in noble or royal households.