“Don’t you talk nonsense, you brat!”
Yu Long pointed at Xie Yuantang and cursed, “We didn’t come here to give you money!”
“Then did you come here specifically to crash into our carriage?” Xie Yuantang asked with her head tilted to the side.
Yu Long: “…”
Si Tu Ye glared at Yu Long in annoyance and said, “Shut your mouth.”
Xie Yuantang blinked, looking at Yu Long and then at Si Tu Ye. “Fourth Imperial Brother, of those two possibilities, you have to choose one, don’t you?”
Si Tu Ye took a deep breath. For the first time, he felt utterly stifled.
But in front of so many commoners, he truly couldn’t afford to lose face!
“I am, of course… here to deliver the Gift Money.”
Xie Yuantang could feel him gritting his teeth as he spoke those last few words.
But that was exactly right!
The more stifled the enemy felt, the happier she became!
Xie Yuantang pulled Si Tu Yan’s hand and said, “Husband, hurry and thank Fourth Imperial Brother. He’s the first person to bring us Gift Money!”
Si Tu Yan nodded obediently. “Thank you, Fourth Brother.”
Qu Pei suddenly shuddered. “…”
This Little Imperial Consort’s mouth certainly didn’t let her take any losses.
The first person to give Gift Money…
Wasn’t that openly stating that the other members of the imperial clan and the various officials hadn’t shown any courtesy yet?
This, this, this…
He feared that after today, countless people would be rushing to the Fifth Prince’s Estate to make up for the Gift Money!
Just thinking about that scene, and then thinking about those difficult people in the palace, Qu Pei felt that the peaceful days of the Fifth Prince’s Estate were likely over.
However…
Qu Pei looked at Si Tu Ye, who was obediently pulling out Gift Money, and felt that with this clever little monster of an Imperial Consort around, who knew who would be the one suffering in the future!
On the other side, it wasn’t just Qu Pei who understood Xie Yuantang’s meaning; everyone present, except for Si Tu Yan, understood it.
Si Tu Ye, who had been unhappy, suddenly paused, and his mood inexplicably brightened!
He was the first!
Haha!
At the thought of his elder brothers and sisters gritting their teeth as they shelled out money in the future, Si Tu Ye felt… well, this money was worth spending!
At the same time, the surrounding people began to gossip again.
“So it turns out none of those princes and princesses gave any Gift Money!”
“Tsk, is the imperial family really that stingy? They don’t even show any courtesy when their own younger brother gets married. They’re not even as good as us farmers!”
“They probably look down on the Fifth Prince. Sigh, the Fifth Prince and the Little Imperial Consort are so pitiful.”
“Isn’t that the right! Those people are truly going too far!”
Hearing these discussions, Si Tu Ye felt that this wouldn’t do; he had to find a way to make those other fellows suffer a heavy loss!
He couldn’t be the only unlucky one!
Thinking of this, Si Tu Ye, who had originally intended to just give a jade pendant as a perfunctory gesture, paused. Instead, he pulled out a stack of silver bills he carried with him.
There were at least five thousand taels.
Hmm…
Si Tu Ye thought for a moment; it still didn’t seem like enough.
Looking around, a flash of inspiration struck Si Tu Ye. He jumped off his horse and said, “I said I didn’t come to cause trouble. I originally came to… give a horse.”
“Give a horse?”
This time, not only was Xie Yuantang stunned, but even Yu Long was dazed.
Others might not know, but he knew that Si Tu Ye’s horse was the Wu Zhui, one of the ten legendary steeds. They had gone through immense hardship to get it from a horse merchant, and today was the first time he had ridden it out of the city.
And yet, in the blink of an eye, he was… giving it away?
What Si Tu Ye was thinking, however, was that he had plenty of precious horses, but being able to make the Crown Prince and Second Imperial Brother bleed money made him feel refreshed!
Si Tu Ye looked provocatively at Si Tu Yan and Xie Yuantang. “However, my Wu Zhui Horse isn’t something just anyone can ride. I’m willing to give it to you, but you must have the ability to tame it.”
“That’s easy to say.”
Xie Yuantang’s eyes swept over the Wu Zhui Horse, and her eyes lit up. She pulled Si Tu Yan and said, “Husband, let’s go for a ride.”
Si Tu Yan was about to say he didn’t know how, but then he saw Xie Yuantang blink at him, so he pursed his lips and remained silent.
The two of them moved from the carriage to the horse. Qu Pei looked at them with great concern. “Your Highness, Imperial Consort, how about waiting until we return to the estate to try?”
“No need.”
Xie Yuantang waved her small hand. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, a silver needle silently pierced the Wu Zhui Horse’s neck.
In the next instant, the Wu Zhui Horse suddenly began to neigh, its front legs rearing up into the air.
“Wife, be careful!”
Si Tu Yan was sitting right behind Xie Yuantang. Seeing this, he hurriedly hugged her tight, his hand instinctively pulling the reins taut.
At the same time, he clamped his legs firmly against the horse’s belly, forcing the Wu Zhui Horse to settle down.
Si Tu Ye, who had been watching the show from the side, was slightly stunned when he saw this scene.
That fool… how could he have such skilled horsemanship?
“Whoa~”
Xie Yuantang pulled the reins tight. Looking at the now-submissive Wu Zhui Horse, she smiled sweetly and patted the horse’s head. “The horse is so good. From now on, I’ll name you Xiao Guai.”
Si Tu Ye and Yu Long both stumbled at the same time.
At the thought that the precious horse he had bought for a high price would henceforth be called a name like “Xiao Guai,” Si Tu Ye felt his heart bleeding.
“Thank you, Fourth Imperial Brother, for giving us Xiao Guai.” Xie Yuantang sat on the horse and smiled at Si Tu Ye.
Si Tu Ye, however, could not smile. Firstly, he hadn’t expected the two of them to actually subdue the Wu Zhui Horse, and secondly, the scene of Si Tu Yan controlling the horse just now had raised his suspicions.
His gaze darkened as Si Tu Ye suddenly said, “If Fifth Brother and my sister-in-law really want to thank me, then remember to participate in the Royal Hunt the day after tomorrow. Don’t let such a fine horse go to waste.”
“Royal Hunt?”
Xie Yuantang was stunned for a moment. Si Tu Yan frowned slightly. “But…”
“What, does Fifth Brother not want to go?”
The corners of Si Tu Ye’s mouth curled into a provocative arc. “Or do you not dare to go?”
Yu Long snorted from the side, “It’s only normal for the Fifth Prince not to dare. After all, you’ve never participated before. You’d probably be scared stiff just by seeing a rabbit!”
Si Tu Yan lowered his head and instinctively looked at Xie Yuantang.
Xie Yuantang was also looking at him. This time, she didn’t make the decision for him. Instead, she looked up at him with a smile. “If Husband wants to go, we’ll go. If you don’t want to, we won’t.”
Si Tu Yan was stunned. “I decide?”
Xie Yuantang nodded. “Mm, Husband decides.”
In her dark, bright eyes, there was no cold mockery or disdain; there was only encouragement.
It was as if no matter what decision he made, it would be the right one.
Si Tu Yan remained silent for a moment, then slowly took a deep breath. He turned his gaze and stared straight at Si Tu Ye without blinking. “Don’t worry, Fourth Brother. I will be there for the Royal Hunt the day after tomorrow.”
As soon as he said this, Qu Pei was both surprised and delighted, while Xie Yuantang slowly smiled.
Si Tu Ye’s eyes flickered, and he said in a low voice, “Fine. Then I’ll see you at the Hunting Grounds the day after tomorrow. Don’t be late, Fifth Brother.”
After saying that, he leaped onto his subordinate’s horse and galloped away.
Yu Long glared at Si Tu Yan and Xie Yuantang, gave a cold snort, and then led the men to follow.
Once they were gone, Xie Yuantang called out to Qu Pei, “Eunuch, you take the carriage. Husband and I will ride the horse back to the estate.”
“Your Highness and Imperial Consort, please be careful,” Qu Pei urged worriedly.
Xie Yuantang waved her hand at him and began to ride slowly back with Si Tu Yan.
On the tall horse, Xie Yuantang’s small body was mostly shielded by Si Tu Yan. One was tall and the other short, one large and the other small.
While they seemed mismatched in every way, they were strangely harmonious.
At a tea table by a window on the second floor of a building…
A deep gaze lingered on those two receding figures for a long time. After a while, a low murmur suddenly broke the silence.
“She is the Xie Yuantang who saved Fifth Brother through the Chong Xi?”