The spring hunting expedition was hosted by the imperial family.
No matter how disrespectful the great aristocratic clans might be toward the emperor, they still had to show him due respect and make proper preparations to attend.
The young masters and ladies of the Shen family began preparing luxurious riding outfits, fine horses, and bows and arrows decorated with precious feathers and jade.
The Shen matriarch was a kind and generous elder who did not wish to neglect any of the younger members of the household. Not only did she send hunting supplies to the young ladies from the extended family staying in the outer residence, but she also gave Yun Ni a gentle-tempered chestnut gelding.
In terms of appearance, the horse was nothing particularly rare. It had an ordinary reddish-brown coat and mane and could hardly be considered a prized breed.
What made it valuable was its temperament. Usually, mares were gentler than stallions, but this particular chestnut stallion had an unusually mild disposition. It was calm and obedient, neither arrogant nor temperamental, and did not require a special trainer to tame it.
Yun Ni knew that the Shen matriarch was taking her disability into consideration. She did not want Yun Ni to embarrass herself at the hunting banquet, which was why she had sent her such a docile horse.
Yun Ni happily accepted it.
After all, people in the countryside usually rode donkeys or mules. Few families could afford to raise a horse.
Whenever Yun Ni went hunting in the mountains, she had often thought that once she saved enough money, she would buy a cheap mixed-breed horse. That way, she could try hunting on horseback instead of relying on traps and hunting tools.
Wenchun had assumed that seeing the horse would remind Yun Ni of her injured leg and make her feel miserable every day.
Who would have thought that Yun Ni did not take her ankle condition to heart at all?
On the very first day she received the horse, Yun Ni happily tried to mount it.
With Wenchun supporting her, she held onto the saddle and slowly climbed onto the horse’s back.
Once she was seated, her head rose above the courtyard wall, and her view suddenly opened up.
She could see the soft white clouds drifting across the horizon, the emerald willow trees hanging over a distant bridge, and the magnificent Tingyu Tower with its carved walls and elegant roofs.
The cool spring breeze brushed against her face, lifting the damp strands of hair clinging to her cheeks.
She gently squeezed the horse’s sides and urged the chestnut to trot around the courtyard wall.
Breathing in the faint fragrance of apricot blossoms, Yun Ni thought that once she improved her riding skills, she would be able to ride very, very fast.
Then she would never again have to worry about people staring at her disabled leg with strange looks.
At that moment, for some reason, Yun Ni’s nose suddenly stung, and a fine, needle-like ache spread through her heart.
Her eyes burned as a grievance she had deliberately buried long ago suddenly surged to the surface.
She was only an ordinary person, after all.
She, too, wanted to walk properly and gracefully like everyone else.
But even if Yun Ni could foresee her fate, even if she could return to that day when she stole the offerings from before a memorial tablet because she was starving…
Compared with freezing to death by the roadside from hunger and cold, she would still reach out for that plate of flower cakes without hesitation.
This was a calamity she could not escape.
She had no choice.
For the poor and powerless, a tragic life like this was often decided from the moment they were born.
As she dismounted, Yun Ni suddenly remembered something and finally understood, at least in part, why she had been unable to let go of Shen Tinglan.
A long time ago, she and Shen Tinglan had shared an intimate moment.
Shen Tinglan had held her ankle, refusing to let go.
His beautiful, mesmerizing phoenix eyes had remained fixed on the old scar covering her ankle.
Yun Ni had never experienced such an intense gaze before.
She had felt sensitive, uncomfortable, frightened, and even wanted to run away.
She knew how ugly that scar was.
She also knew how much suffering it had brought her.
It was one of the few weaknesses she desperately wanted to hide.
She was afraid of seeing even the slightest trace of disgust in Shen Tinglan’s eyes.
But Shen Tinglan had not been disgusted by her.
He merely lowered his eyes, his long, thick lashes casting a shadow over them, and then bent down and gently kissed the scarred top of his wife’s foot.
The soft, tingling kiss felt like a mark burned into her very bones.
It had been so beautiful that even now, when Yun Ni thought back to it, she could instantly remember the warmth and tenderness of that intimate moment, as well as the gentle care with which Shen Tinglan had touched and cherished her.
Yun Ni rarely possessed anything that truly belonged to her, so whenever she did have something of her own, she treasured it dearly.
She was not very literate, but she still racked her brains to give the chestnut horse a beautiful name.
“Let’s call her Cai Xia.”
Wenchun paused halfway through biting into a pastry.
“Miss Yun… I think it’s a male horse.”
Yun Ni smiled.
“That’s all right. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen is the evening glow. I’ll give the name to him. It suits him.”
“All right, then.”
Wenchun stuffed the rest of the pastry into her mouth, rinsed her hands with water, and then helped Yun Ni undress and prepare for bed.
The next day, Yun Ni took out the money she had left and planned to go into town to buy Cai Xia a new saddle, along with a soft saddle blanket to place underneath it.
She also wanted to buy a red tassel bell that could be fastened around the horse’s neck.
When they went hunting in the mountains, the bell on the horse’s chest would sway in the wind. The sound would surely be beautiful.
Yun Ni and Wenchun were still choosing a decorative breast collar for the horse when a familiar male voice suddenly came from nearby.
“Which bell is Miss Yun choosing? What a coincidence. I was just buying some horse ornaments for Fourth Sister and Fifth Sister. I’ll buy one for you as well.”
The man’s voice startled Yun Ni.
She looked up and saw Shen Jichuan’s smiling face, and for a moment, she was dazed.
She quickly realized what was happening.
Shen Jichuan had simply mistaken her for one of his younger sisters from the family, which was why he wanted to pay for her.
Yun Ni shook her head.
“No need to trouble Third Young Master.”
She then pulled Wenchun toward the counter to pay herself, hurriedly leaving as though deliberately avoiding him.
Shen Jichuan watched her retreating figure with a helpless expression.
Back when he bought things for his female cousins, every one of them had been sweet enough to thank him profusely.
Only Yun Ni reacted like this, panicking and keeping her distance as though he were some kind of ferocious beast.
But when he thought about it, it made sense.
Those young ladies from the extended family lived in the Shen residence specifically to “borrow a little of the Shen family’s prestige.” They hoped the Shen matriarch would help find them suitable husbands so that when they eventually married, their husbands’ families would hold them in higher regard because of their connection to the Shen family.
The Shen family was extremely prestigious, and Shen Jichuan was still unmarried.
To those young ladies, he was naturally an ideal husband. The closer they could get to him, the better.
Yun Ni, however, was merely a guest staying temporarily in the Shen residence.
She had no intention of seeking a husband or getting married, so naturally, she avoided Shen Jichuan at every opportunity.
Shen Jichuan vaguely understood.
Yun Ni was a serious-minded woman who did not treat relationships as a game.
If he had no intention of marrying her, it would be better to keep his distance.
Otherwise, if he deliberately charmed her and then became cold toward her later, Yun Ni might become so heartbroken that she would do something drastic, leaving him with a huge mess to deal with.
For the imperial hunting banquet, each household had a fixed number of maids and servants that they were allowed to bring.
Fourth Miss Shen and Fifth Miss Shen could still bring several personal maids, but a girl like Yun Ni, who was merely staying as a guest, had to travel alone.
Even so, the young ladies staying in the outer residence were terribly envious.
After all, none of them had received an invitation from the imperial court.
Only Yun Ni had.
As an honored guest of the Shen household, Yun Ni was allowed to share a carriage with the Shen family’s young ladies while traveling. At night, however, she was given her own tent.
The servants took out oilcloth and moisture-proof mats to construct the tents.
When the carts carrying the supplies arrived at Wuwang Mountain, they also brought several low couches and daybeds for the ladies to sleep on and placed them inside the tents.
Yun Ni was about to help the servants with the work when Wang Ruodan suddenly arrived with a group of richly dressed young nobles, looking for her.
“Miss Yun, we’re about to practice archery and horsemanship. Why don’t you come with us?”
Wang Ruodan invited her with a bright smile.
Yun Ni glanced at the young men and women following Wang Ruodan.
They were riding fine horses presented as tribute from foreign lands and carrying powerful bows decorated with green feathers.
Their arrogant expressions made it obvious that they did not want to play with Yun Ni.
However, since Wang Ruodan had warmly invited her, they could only pretend not to mind.
Yun Ni shook her head.
“Miss Wang, you all go ahead. I’m not good at archery. I’m afraid I’ll spoil everyone’s fun.”
Wang Ruodan smiled.
“What’s wrong with that? Everyone has something they’re not good at.”
Seeing that Yun Ni remained unmoved, Wang Ruodan pursed her lips and put on a slightly pitiful expression.
“Did I do something wrong and offend you, Miss Yun? Is that why you dislike me so much and don’t want to play with me?”
She was clearly referring to the lantern incident from the previous banquet.
And today made the second time Yun Ni had rejected her.
Yun Ni opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.
But Wang Ruodan had already taken her arm familiarly and gave her a playful wink.
“It’s all right. Come on. Whatever you don’t know, I’ll teach you.”
Unable to refuse such an enthusiastic invitation, Yun Ni could only let Wang Ruodan drag her away.
…
Wang Ruodan had completely set Yun Ni up.
Only after Yun Ni arrived did she realize that Wang Ruodan and the others were holding an archery competition.
She had merely been dragged over to make up the numbers.
Yun Ni was assigned to the same team as Wang Ruodan and Fourth Miss Shen.
Each person could shoot three arrows. The closer an arrow landed to the center of the target, the higher the score.
The prize was a gold filigree butterfly hairpin.
Fourth Miss Shen was already poor at archery, and unfortunately, her third brother Shen Jichuan, who was skilled at both archery and riding, had been assigned to Fifth Miss Shen’s team.
She was even more frustrated.
Yun Ni was the last person to take her turn.
Fourth Miss Shen had already given up hope. She could only glare viciously at Yun Ni.
“We’re going to lose! It’s all your fault!”
As though Yun Ni alone were responsible for embarrassing her in front of everyone.
Yun Ni had been forced into the competition.
At this point, running away would only make things even more embarrassing.
She could not be bothered to respond to Fourth Miss Shen.
Instead, she helplessly weighed the longbow in her hands, then tugged at the bowstring to test its strength.
After all, a bow should never be drawn without an arrow. Doing so could easily damage a powerful bow. At best, the string would snap; at worst, the bow itself could break.
Yun Ni’s amateurish action immediately drew a few scattered snickers.
Fourth Miss Shen’s face flushed with embarrassment and anger.
Everyone knew that this village girl was staying as a guest in the Shen household.
How humiliating!
Yet Yun Ni remained calm, completely unaffected by the laughter around her.
After feeling the tension of the bowstring, she estimated the maximum range of the black-feathered arrows.
Then she seemed to settle herself.
She slightly adjusted her stance, pulled an arrow from the quiver beside her, and nocked it onto the bow.
Because of her disability, Yun Ni had once trained extensively in archery to make a living.
Her stance was nowhere near as graceful as those of the young nobles.
But she had worked incredibly hard.
The moment she gripped the bow, it was as though she had stepped onto a battlefield.
Even her normally delicate features seemed to change. A powerful, determined aura emerged from her brows and eyes, making her unexpectedly captivating.
The mountain wind swept through the area, stretching the flames of the oil lamps into long, crimson banners.
Brilliant firelight illuminated Yun Ni’s face, making her plain cloth dress seem bathed in the glow of sunset.
She looked almost sacred and beautiful.
Seeing Yun Ni take up the bow with such confidence, everyone gradually stopped laughing and waited for her to embarrass herself.
Yun Ni narrowed her almond-shaped eyes and focused completely on the straw target.
Then she released the arrow.
Whoosh!
The black-feathered arrow shot forward with tremendous force.
It flew from Yun Ni’s longbow like a streak of falling fire, striking toward the target with terrifying speed.
A sharp sound rang out as the arrow struck.
A bronze gong sounded.
The judge responsible for scoring shouted at the top of his lungs,
“An arrow cutting through the air—dead center! What incredible archery!”
The arrow had struck the bull’s-eye.
Yun Ni had turned the tide at the very last moment, pulling her team’s score back into contention!
The entire field erupted.
The mocking smiles vanished from everyone’s faces.
They stared incredulously at Yun Ni as she casually adjusted the arrow in her hand and prepared to fire her second shot.
“How… how is that possible?!”
“Even Third Young Master Shen, who has the best archery skills among us, can’t hit the bull’s-eye every time! Does her family have some master archer secretly teaching her?”
“I thought she came from the countryside! How could she possibly have such incredible archery skills?”
Even Shen Jichuan, who had been watching for quite some time, could not hide the flash of admiration in his eyes.
Yun Ni had always seemed quiet, timid, and almost painfully shy.
Who would have thought she was actually playing the fool to catch the tiger?
Now that he had seen her true skill, Shen Jichuan found her rather fascinating.
On a nearby hillside, the evening light was dimming as waves of grass swayed in the wind.
Li Yi wore a dark crimson military robe and held the reins in his hand, watching the archery competition with great interest.
“That skilled young lady over there—is she the great benefactor whom Chancellor Father has been hiding from me and refusing to let me reward?”
The young emperor’s lips curled into a smile as he asked Shen Tinglan beside him.
Shen Tinglan’s fingers tightened slightly around the reins.
His cold phoenix eyes swept briefly over Yun Ni’s face before he calmly looked away.
He flicked his flowing wide sleeve and said coldly,
“She merely got lucky and happened to hit the target. It is hardly worth Your Majesty’s praise.”
Li Yi’s smile grew even brighter.
“Then Chancellor Father is being far too harsh. I think Miss Yun is quite impressive. For all we know, her archery might even be better than mine.”