Chapter 40
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The four horses rushed out together like arrows and ran off. Although Daili was not in the first place at the beginning, she ran faster and faster under Zhao Yuan’s urging, and even seemed to surpass the two horses in front of her.
Qin Wang Shizi and Jin Wang Shizi knew that things were not good, and looked at each other with great understanding. They slightly pulled the reins and the two horses under their hips suddenly moved towards the middle and converged, almost blocking Daili’s path of overtaking.
In the midst of the rush, the two horses attacked from both sides and the middle path became narrower and narrower. The two horses attacking from both sides pulled the direction gradually away from the original path.
Everyone looked ahead and saw a ditch in front of them, which was intended to force Daili in the middle to fall into the ditch.
Li Yi looked at the galloping horses with his eyes fixed on them and his fingers clenched, unconsciously forgetting to breathe.
One zhang, two zhang… As the two horses were about to leap and block the way, Zhao Yuan unexpectedly raised his whip and urged his horse, Daili, to jump early. The trench in front of him was deep and long, and even if he managed to avoid the attack from the front, he would have fallen into the trench behind.
Many of the students couldn’t bear to watch, especially the classmate who lent him the horse, who shouted in shock and pain. Falling like that, the horse would be injured or killed, and so would the rider.
However, there was no expected sound of a horse neighing in pain.
For a moment, Li Yi felt like the world had stopped for that moment, as Zhao Yuan, with his remarkable skill, jumped up into the air just as Daili leaped.
The horse, carrying less weight, just managed to clear the long trench, while Zhao Yuan’s body remained suspended in the air like a swallow, only returning to the saddle when the horse landed.
In just a few breaths, Zhao Yuan spurred Daili to charge across the finish line, and the crowd erupted into thunderous cheers. All the youths forgot their past conflicts at that moment and rushed down from the high ground to the finish line to watch.
Zhao Yuan had already walked slowly over, holding the reins of his horse, and in the crowd’s cluster, he suddenly walked in front of the Crown Grandson and respectfully requested, “Your Highness, please mount the horse.”
This horse was given by the Crown Grandson, and the Shizi wants to give the glory to the higher-ups.
Li Yi looked at the crowd and heard various noises. “Please mount, Your Highness,” someone said.
Li Yi was surrounded by enthusiastic classmates. When Zhao Shen stood before him, Li Yi couldn’t refuse, so he slightly lowered his head and smiled, handing his hand to Zhao Shen.
The Shizi led the horse, and a group of young men followed him. Rarely having the opportunity to see a good show during their boring studies, the boys became even more excited. Especially the classmate who lent the horse, he gathered several friends and shouted, “The Crown Grandson is wise and brave, with sharp eyes to recognize talented people.”
The Chamberlain saw that this situation was too improper and ordered the palace servants to call everyone back.
Zhao Yuan whistled with his hand, and the clear whistle echoed far away. Bai Yucong flashed through the green grass and came to Zhao Yuan.
Zhao Yuan was about to leave with the horse when Qin Wang Shizi reached out to stop him and said with a grim face, “Hand over Bai Yucong. Although it’s not guilty of death, it’s hard to escape punishment for its actions.”
The people who were about to disperse stopped and gathered around again to watch the excitement.
Li Di turned to the Crown Grandson and the Chamberlain, with a fair and impartial tone, “Your Highness, Chamberlain, last year, this horse injured someone, and today it almost caused me to lose my life. It’s clear that the Shizi is incapable of raising and managing such a mount. Allowing such a fierce beast to run rampant in the Palace will only cause trouble.”
Li Yi looked at Bai Yucong, but he couldn’t see the word “ferocious beast” in it.
Li Di continued, “We were all worried about our fellow scholars and classmates, so we wanted to take down this beast. However, Jin Wang couldn’t bear to do so and gave the horse a way out. But if it keeps its life, it can’t be trained by Zhao Shizi again.”
This statement directly indicated that they wanted to take Zhao Shen’s horse.
Li Yi looked at Zhao Shen and saw that his face was as calm as water, but he remained silent. “Your Highness, Chamberlain, last year, Bai Yucong injured someone because a horse thief mistook it for an ordinary horse and tried to feed it and lure it away. But Bai Yucong saw through the scheme and bit the thief’s arm.”
Zhao Shen spoke as if he was casually glancing over Qin Wang Shizi and his two attendants. He said, “Today’s incident was caused by Qin Wang Shizi who refused to listen to my advice and insisted on riding Bai Yucong. The horse didn’t cooperate and he even tried to beat it, which almost caused him to be trampled by the horse.”
“Your Highness, Chamberlain, listen to this! This beast is so vicious that I almost lost my life just by being near it. If it was someone with less skill, they might have already been killed!” Li Di exclaimed with indignation. He then turned to Li Yi and said, “These animals may look beautiful, but they are not good creatures. If someone with a kind heart wants to spare their lives, they should first hand them over to someone who can train them well before releasing them.”
Li Di’s words had a hidden meaning, as he looked at Zhao Shen from time to time.
Before Li Yi could speak, the Chamberlain, said, “This horse is indeed very vicious.”
As a school administrator, the safety of the students and teachers was the top priority for him. This horse was a potential threat to their safety. They didn’t want to kill it, but they couldn’t let Zhao Shizi keep it either. They decided to take it away and have someone else look after it until the Shizi returned to Dian Nan.
The Chamberlain had already made up his mind to agree with Li Di and the others, but he chose to speak more diplomatically. He also planned to find another horse for Zhao Shen.
After hearing the Chamberlain’s opinion, the students started discussing what to do with the horse. Some suggested keeping it at the school, while others suggested sending it away. No one mentioned letting Zhao Shen keep it.
Li Yi was anxious and angry, but he realized that this situation was different from the one with the dining hall. Bai Yucong had already harmed someone, and the safety of the students had to be taken into consideration. He also remembered that Zhao Shen had mentioned earlier that someone had tried to steal the horse. As for today’s incident, Li Di had tried to force the horse but failed.
Li Yi had a sudden realization and looked at Qin Wang Shizi, who was looking at Bai Yucong as if it was already his. Li Yi suspected that this was a premeditated plan, but he couldn’t confirm it with Zhao Shen at the moment.
While Li Yi was deep in thought when the Chamberlain had already started to take away Zhao Shen’s horse.
Zhao Shen had to argue rationally, “Bai Yucong is not an ordinary steed. In my land of Dian Nan, it is regarded as a descendant of the heavenly dragon. This horse recognizes its master and will not allow anyone else to ride it. Its current fierceness is not intentional harm.”
“You, Zhao Shen, what did you say?” Li Di grabbed onto his words and shouted, “This horse is a descendant of the heavenly dragon, then can you ride it? Chamberlain, listen to me. Why don’t you make Zhao Shizi give up, otherwise who knows what rebellious words he will come up with.”
After being stirred up by Li Di, the Chamberlain also lost patience and turned to signal a servant from the stable to come.
Soon, several strong servants waiting around rushed over, ready to forcefully drag Bai Yucong away.
Zhao Yuan protected Bai Yucong tightly, his face showing a determined look of a desperate battle. His palms were even squeezing blood, feeling like all of his patience up until now was about to be ruined.
Li Yi, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke up, “Since Bai Yucong is a descendant of the heavenly dragon, and Zhao Shizi cannot ride it, can I?”
Once this was said, not only did Qin Wang Shizi and Chamberlain become stunned, but all the onlookers were as well. Li Yi turned his head and ordered the eunuch, “Go ask if Zhao Shizi is willing to let me take care of Bai Yucong.”
Just one sentence decided whether Bai Yucong would stay or go.
Zhao Yuan was shocked and then suppressed his elation. After a moment, he led the horse directly to Li Yi and asked, “Your Highness, would you like to ride with me?”
There was a commotion once again, and everyone thought: how bold does he have to be to dare ask the Crown Grandson ride with him?
However, Li Yi understood Zhao Shen’s meaning. Without Zhao Shen’s company, Bai Yucong would probably not let him ride. Now that it was Li Yi’s horse, he had to be able to ride it to make it worth it.
Bai Yucong was already taller than an average horse, but under Zhao Shen’s heavy gaze, without care about his status, he kneeled down, supporting Li Yi as he mounted the horse.
Once Li Yi was seated, he fell into Zhao Shen’s arms. He felt the young man’s almost imperceptible breath on the back of his neck, making his thoughts waver. In a daze, Bai Yucong had already taken off, leaving everyone behind, carrying the two of them away into the distance.
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