Yun Chaorong finished expressing her views eloquently.
For a moment, the entire hall fell into silence.
The Fourth Prince’s eyes sparkled with admiration, thinking his eldest sister spoke with such imposing presence.
He wanted to clap, but seeing no one else react, he only dared to tap his chubby fingers together, applauding quietly.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Loud applause suddenly echoed from the back of the hall.
The Fourth Prince turned to look, his eyes widening in surprise.
Good heavens! It was actually the Second Prince clapping!
Not only the Fourth Prince, but everyone else was shocked as well.
The Second Prince, Yun Cangyue, was fourteen years old and known as the Hall of Thoughtful Learning’s foremost sleep deity. The western corner of the last row was his exclusive throne.
Without fail every day, he would lie down and fall asleep.
If the teacher made him stand up, he would continue sleeping while standing.
When the teacher punished him by making him write large characters, the submitted paper bore the imprint of his face and even traces of drool!
The teacher complained to the Emperor.
The Emperor smiled and said, “This child resembles my younger self. Let him be.”
The teacher: …
From then on, the Second Prince became a nearly invisible yet uniquely distinct presence in the Hall of Thoughtful Learning.
“Eldest Sister speaks wisely,” the Second Prince praised while clapping, his face still stained with ink from his recent nap.
Just as everyone thought he would also share his insights, he lowered his hands, lay down, and went back to sleep.
Everyone: …
Yun Chaorong was astounded: “There’s someone even more of a slacker than me.”
“Ahem,” Master Sun drew everyone’s attention back. “Although the Grand Princess’s choice of words was straightforward, her reasoning was sound.”
“All of you are descendants of Da Yu’s influential figures, surrounded by no shortage of flatterers. Those in power should listen with caution, remain composed, and not be misled by empty words, lest they commit grave errors.”
After speaking, Master Sun looked at Yun Chaorong with affectionate eyes:
“The Grand Princess truly lives up to her Rong family lineage—wise and reasonable. This is most commendable.”
Back in the day, the Rong family patriarch held the highest official rank, his granddaughter became Empress and bore a prince. As the Rong family’s influence in the capital grew too prominent, and to prevent the future dominance of maternal relatives, he voluntarily retired and returned to Lingnan.
Such integrity earned the admiration of scholars across the land.
Master Sun was a devoted admirer of the Rong family patriarch.
Now, having the honor to teach the Rong patriarch’s great-granddaughter was a great fortune for him.
“Thank you for your praise, Master.”
Yun Chaorong smiled, her inner thought unchanged: Just because you praise me a few times doesn’t mean I’ll suddenly become refined and cultured.
Yun Jingshan’s expression stiffened, her eyes fixed on the inkstone on her desk.
Praise? For a fool like Yun Chaorong.
She spoke so crudely, yet Master Sun still praised her.
What wisdom, what Rong family lineage—it was all just because of her status as the Grand Princess.
“Shan’er, what’s wrong? Are you unwell?”
Yun Chaorong’s face suddenly appeared magnified before Yun Jingshan’s eyes, startling her so much she nearly fell backward.
“Sis… Grand Princess, I’m fine, just a little tired.”
Yun Jingshan hastily replaced her expression with one of docile obedience.
Yun Chaorong teased with a playful wink: “That’s good. We’re about to head to the riding grounds. It’s horsemanship and archery class next, so there’s more exhaustion to come.”
“Rong’er, why bother with her?” Shen Qingzhi urged Yun Chaorong. “Let’s go ahead.”
“Yazhi, come, let’s go change,” Yun Chaorong linked arms with Shen Yazhi.
“Princess, this is unbecoming of proper decorum,” Shen Yazhi tried to pull her arm away but failed… She had no choice but to let Yun Chaorong cling to her.
Yun Jingshan watched Yun Chaorong’s departing figure, her eyes clouded with gloom.
A plan began to form in her mind.
…………
The riding ground was located in the southwest corner of the palace complex—a vast expanse of grassland broader than a small hill.
The founding emperor of Da Yu had won the empire on horseback, and thus established this riding and archery ground for his descendants to train.
At the entrance to the riding ground, there was a changing room.
Students of the Hall of Thoughtful Learning kept their riding attire stored here, changing into it before entering the grounds.
Yun Chaorong changed into her riding outfit, removing all hairpins and ornaments and tying her hair up with a single jade crown.
The jade crown was flawless and translucent, crafted from the fine piece of jade Yun Canglan had acquired some time ago.
Shen Yazhi noticed the new jade crown and casually asked about it.
Yun Chaorong replied, “What I’m wearing isn’t a jade crown—it’s my imperial brother’s heavy, heartfelt affection.”
Shen Yazhi was about to laugh when Yun Chaorong added:
“Next time my imperial brother gets his hands on good jade, I’ll have him make one for you too.”
“Your Highness, please don’t speak nonsense.” Shen Yazhi’s cheeks flushed, and she fell silent again.
Yun Chaorong thought: Found a good way to keep Shen Yazhi from nagging!
Once changed, everyone went to claim their bows, arrows, and horses.
Yun Chaorong also received her bow and arrows.
At first glance, the bow was adorned with so many gemstones it nearly dazzled the eyes.
And the fletching on the arrows was extravagantly colorful.
It looked incredibly expensive, but could one even aim properly with something like this?!
“Rong’er, are you really going to shoot arrows today? Didn’t you always dislike riding and archery the most?”
Shen Qingzhi, now changed, arrived as well. Dressed in a lake-blue riding outfit with a sturdy curved bow on her back, she had the air of a heroic young figure.
Shen Yazhi encouraged, “Her Highness was frail in the past, but now that her health is improving, she’s sure to master archery as well.”
Yun Chaorong thought: Was the original host really that weak?
But her own constitution was excellent!
Before transmigrating into the book, there had been special attribute bonuses to choose from—intelligence, emotional intelligence, beauty, and so on.
When Yun Chaorong first transmigrated, considering the hardships the empress and guards endured to maintain their “lip-service friendship,” she hadn’t chosen anything else. Instead, she’d maxed out her stamina stat by +100!
Now, it seemed that choice had unexpectedly come in handy.
“My body is in top shape now! It’s time to show you all my true abilities.”
Having transmigrated so many times, she had practiced horseback riding and archery countless times. Even if she’d been utterly useless at first, she should have honed her skills to perfection by now.
With high spirits, Yun Chaorong slung her bow and arrows over her shoulder and went to fetch her horse.
A palace attendant, spotting Yun Chaorong, had already led out a snow-white pony.
This horse was even whiter than the one Tang Sanzang rode, but it was small and undeniably cute.
“Is this my horse?” Yun Chaorong’s eye twitched.
While others rode tall, majestic steeds, why was hers so small and pitiful?
“Your Highness, this is your Snowball. There’s only one like it in all of Da Yu—it was a tribute from the Kingdom of Nansang two years ago.”
The eunuch leading the horse was puzzled. Hadn’t the princess always adored Snowball the most?
During previous riding and archery lessons, while other young nobles rode their horses, the princess would leisurely stroll around on Snowball, letting it graze. It had been the picture of ease and contentment.
Yun Chaorong asked, “Do I have any other horses?”
“Your Highness, you have three more horses, kept in the stables at the back.”
“Take me to see them.”
“Yes.”
Led by the eunuch, Yun Chaorong went to the stables and saw that the other horses were nothing like Snowball.
They were deep black or chestnut in color, robust and well-cared for by the palace attendants.
“They’re well tended. You shall be rewarded!”
“Thank you, Grand Princess.” The eunuch’s face lit up with joy as he knelt to express his gratitude.
Yun Chaorong selected the tall, chestnut-red horse in the middle and had it led out.
“Grand Princess, this is your Red Courser.”
After emerging from the stable, Red Courser seemed thrilled to see its long-absent owner, nudging its head eagerly toward Yun Chaorong.
Yun Chaorong stroked its smooth coat and rubbed its ears. “Red Courser, I’ve brought you out of the cold palace. You must perform well.”
Red Courser nuzzled its head against its owner’s hand, as if in response.
“What a fine horse.” Yun Chaorong was quite fond of it.
When she rode Red Courser back to the riding grounds, she happened to encounter Yun Jingshan. The latter was also riding a red horse, though it was smaller and not as robust as Red Courser.
Seeing Yun Chaorong on Red Courser, a flicker of surprise crossed Yun Jingshan’s eyes.
“Sister, why have you switched from Snowball today?”
Now that they were no longer in the Hall of Thoughtful Learning, Yun Jingshan had reverted to calling her “sister.” Her shameless persistence was indeed remarkable.
“I have many horses. I just like to show them off,” Yun Chaorong replied with a smug expression.
“…Since you’ve switched to Red Courser, does that mean you plan to showcase your skills on the riding grounds today?”
Yun Jingshan intended to goad Yun Chaorong into racing today. On the way, she had already prepared her strategy of provocation.
Unexpectedly, it wasn’t needed at all.
Yun Chaorong replied readily:
“Of course. I’ll let you all see my majestic riding.”
Yun Jingshan: …Let’s see how long your arrogance lasts.