A Figure on Jade Steps in the Wind and Snow 65

Chapter 65: Grassland

The suburbs of the capital were indeed not far from the General’s Manor. It took only half an hour to get there on horseback.

At this moment, the sky was bright. Jiang Yu was sitting in front of Shen Zhishu, hunched over, and was covered by a wide robe, with only the top of her head exposed. The tassels on her white jade hairpin were a little dazzling in the sunlight.

Shen Zhishu stared at it for a while and suddenly asked, “Is Your Highness hungry?”

The tassels swayed, and Jiang Yu said, “Not hungry.”

The moment her voice came out, both of their stomachs rumbled.

Shen Zhishu smiled, “Isn’t Your Highness always honest? Why are you lying now?”

“I didn’t feel hungry originally,” Jiang Yu said in a faint voice. “Who knew it would rumble on its own and expose me.”

An attendant on horseback by her side hurriedly said, “Your Highness, General, there is a restaurant just ahead. Would you like to go and have a bite? Or we just passed by a porridge shop, it’s just half a li back.”

Shen Zhishu lowered her head and asked, “What does Your Highness think?”

“A good horse doesn’t eat the grass it has already passed.”

“Alright,” Shen Zhishu said. “Then let’s go to the restaurant.”

Jiang Yu changed the subject, “But it will take a long time to go to the restaurant. Isn’t that a waste of time? Look, there are rice cakes for sale on the street.”

Shen Zhishu frowned and said, “This looks a little unclean. I don’t mind, but if Your Highness gets a stomachache, wouldn’t it be my fault?”

“I’m not that delicate,” Jiang Yu said to Shen Zhishu’s attendant with a blank expression. “Go and buy three pieces.”

The attendant was a little hesitant and turned to look at Shen Zhishu for her opinion. Shen Zhishu said, “Oh,” and smiled, “The sky is big, the earth is big, and Your Highness is the biggest. Alright, you can go and buy a few pieces. Tell the stall owner to pick the ones on the inside that are not covered in dust.”

But after eating, Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu were both fine, but the attendant’s stomach was in a turmoil. Shen Zhishu asked after her with concern and told her to go to the latrine. She also had someone go to the pharmacy to get some medicine and send it to her.

After everything was settled, another half an hour had passed.

That attendant was a little embarrassed, “I’ve disturbed the General and Your Highness’s morning exercises.”

“It’s alright, it can’t be considered morning exercises anymore. Morning exercises only feel right when the sky is gray and the sun has not yet risen,” Shen Zhishu said. “Alright, you can rest here. Her Highness Huai’an and I will go to the grassland for a few rounds. We’ll be back to find you in about an hour.”

Shen Zhishu insisted on not letting the attendant follow, and the attendant had no choice but to hand over the other horse to Shen Zhishu as well.

Shen Zhishu raised an eyebrow and smiled, “What am I going to do with two horses? Am I going to ride one and lead one?”

The attendant gestured with her chin towards Jiang Yu, “Her Highness Huai’an can ride it.”

“I’m afraid she doesn’t want to ride,” Shen Zhishu turned to ask Jiang Yu. “Does Your Highness know how to ride a horse?”

Jiang Yu said frankly, “A little.”

The attendant was inexplicably proud, “I told you so. The imperial family must have learned. Have you forgotten, General? We once ran into the First Highness, and the First Highness said she had just come back from practicing horsemanship and archery.”

“I haven’t deliberately learned it,” Jiang Yu paused. “My Imperial Sister won’t let me learn this, saying that riding a horse is dangerous. If I want to go out, there will be a carriage to pick me up, so there’s no need to ride a horse.”

The attendant became curious, “Then why does Your Highness ‘know a little’? Did you learn it secretly?”

Jiang Yu’s voice was faint, “I suppose so.”

Shen Zhishu raised her hand and gave that attendant a punch, her expression a half-smile, “You’re talking a little too much. You have so much energy, why don’t you do five hundred squats?”

That attendant immediately closed her mouth and made a zipping motion on her lips.

Shen Zhishu helped Jiang Yu onto the horse and watched as the horse carried her forward slowly. Jiang Yu did not seem to be uncomfortable on it, so she was relieved.

She rode her horse to catch up and rode by Jiang Yu’s side, smiling, “That attendant is my trusted subordinate. She’s a little talkative, so don’t mind her, Your Highness.”

Jiang Yu glanced at her and said in a faint voice, “The General’s trusted subordinate is quite lively.”

“That’s just her personality,” Shen Zhishu shook her head. “She’s also a pitiful child. Her parents both died when she was five, and she had nowhere to go, so I picked her up and brought her home. She’s sixteen now and just had her birthday a few days ago. I often tell her to be more composed, otherwise, will she still be like this after she gets married? But she says she won’t get married for the rest of her life and is happy to be carefree.”

Jiang Yu’s eyes were clear and light, and her back was very straight. She said slowly and methodically, “It is the General who has led her astray. The General is unwilling to get married, so her subordinates naturally follow her example.”

Shen Zhishu’s eyes widened, “Don’t you slander me. My subordinates get married every year, and I go to their wedding banquets every year.”

Jiang Yu nodded and said nonchalantly, “Alright.”

She pulled on the reins, suddenly kicked the horse’s belly, and shouted, “Giddy-up.”

Her voice was very pleasant to listen to, like a cold stream in a forest hitting a moss-covered pine stone.

So much so that Shen Zhishu was stunned for a moment. By the time she came back to her senses, Jiang Yu had already run far away with her horse.

Shen Zhishu frowned slightly, spurred her horse to chase, but she only caught up at the grassland.

The person on horseback was panting heavily. After a few breaths, she returned to her motionless as a pine demeanor, held the reins, and gracefully entered the horse farm, showing no sign of her previous behavior.

—This made Shen Zhishu almost suspect that the scene of Jiang Yu riding her horse like the wind was her own illusion.

She lowered her head and let out a low laugh, quickly followed, and rode her horse shoulder to shoulder with Jiang Yu, saying, “Your Highness is always belittling yourself. How is this ‘knowing a little’?”

Jiang Yu was noncommittal, “I always have to be a little modest in front of the General. Otherwise, if I say my horsemanship is very good, wouldn’t I be showing off in front of an expert?”

Shen Zhishu became curious, “Since the Emperor won’t let Your Highness ride a horse, how did Your Highness become so good at it? Could it be that you are a natural talent?”

“Maybe,” Jiang Yu said. “I’ve practiced before.”

“When was that?”

“Many, many years ago.”

Many, many years ago?

Shen Zhishu smiled and shook her head, “I know Jiang Wuya is twenty this year. Where did ‘many, many years’ come from?”

Jiang Yu glanced at her, did not answer, and changed the subject, “This grassland is quite large.”

“It is large,” Shen Zhishu said. “What’s rare is that it’s very flat, and half of it has trees and half of it doesn’t. You can hunt animals in the woods, and you can set up targets and practice horsemanship and archery where there are no trees.”

“Is the General very familiar with this place?”

“I’m alright,” Shen Zhishu said frankly. “I often came here to practice before I left the capital.”

Jiang Yu nodded slightly and suddenly said, “I want to compete with the General.”

Shen Zhishu’s eyebrows rose, “Are you serious?”

“Mm,” Jiang Yu changed the subject. “But I definitely can’t beat the General if we just compete like this. Why don’t you give me a handicap, General?”

“What handicap?”

“The General can let me run for ten breaths first,” Jiang Yu raised her arm and pointed forward. “And then we’ll see who gets to that patch of woods first.”

**

The State Preceptor did not accept Jiang Chu’s invitation to have lunch together, but instead went straight home.

A’Shui hurriedly welcomed her in, and as she was dusting off the non-existent dust on her outer robe, she asked in a low voice, “Master, what are we having for lunch today?”

Actually, her master had already stopped eating grains and would only taste the food every time she ate.

Master seems to be in a good mood today, A’Shui thought. Then she should have something sweet.

Thinking this, she indeed heard the State Preceptor say in a faint voice after a moment:

“Did you make some plum blossom crisps yesterday?”

“Indeed,” A’Shui said hurriedly. “Would you like some, Master?”

“I’ll have some,” the State Preceptor nodded, and as if she had suddenly remembered something, she ordered, “Later, have someone send some to the Emperor as well… forget it, I’ll send it myself tonight.”

A’Shui blinked and asked, “Is Master going to the palace again tonight?”

“Mm,” the State Preceptor gracefully passed through the long corridor and slowly and methodically took off her outer robe. “I’m staying at the Hall of Mental Cultivation tonight.”

“Master…”

“What does A’Shui want to say?” The State Preceptor suddenly turned around and smiled, shaking her head. “I know your concerns. Don’t worry, I’m just sleeping there, not doing anything.”

A’Shui said, “Oh,” sullenly.

A’Shui turned to prepare the meal for the State Preceptor. She was really a little absent-minded, so much so that she almost cut her hand when she was cutting a long strip of plum blossom crisps into small pieces.

She had been with the State Preceptor for two hundred and thirty-one years and had never seen the State Preceptor so devoted to anyone. The current Holy Majesty was a very special one.

The special thing was not only the State Preceptor’s attitude towards her, but also her appearance—

A painting hung on the wall in the State Preceptor’s inner room, and Jiang Chu was the person she had seen who was most similar to the painting.

Was it a reincarnation? Or something else?

She shook her head, came back to her senses, placed the plum blossom crisps on a plate, and turned to a young attendant who was waiting by her side, “Take this to Master.”

The young attendant lowered her head and kicked the threshold with her toes, looking a little reluctant.

A’Shui frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

The young attendant stammered, “Yesterday, when Sister A’Shui was in the small kitchen, Master was sitting in the inner room and called for someone to serve. I saw that Sister was not around and was afraid that Master was in a hurry, so I went in to ask what Master wanted. But who knew that Master flew into a rage, shouted at me to get out, and even docked my monthly salary for three months. I haven’t dared to show my face in front of Master these past few days, for fear that Master will get angry when she sees me.”

A’Shui’s brow furrowed even more, “Haven’t I told you not to enter Master’s inner room? If Master calls for someone, you can just come and find me. Why did you act on your own? If you ask me, three months’ worth of monthly salary is still too little. You should have been punished for half a year to teach you a lesson.”

The young attendant was about to cry, “It was an emergency, I didn’t think that much… by the way, it was my first time seeing Master get angry yesterday. I was almost scared to death, and I thought my little life was going to be buried here.”

A’Shui sighed, “Forget it, go and get some water. I’ll take this plum blossom crisp to Master myself.”

That young attendant hurriedly took the order and left.

When A’Shui came out with the glass plate of plum blossom crisps, the State Preceptor was gone.

She circled around the courtyard several times, from the long corridor to the garden, and finally found the State Preceptor standing in the middle of the inner room.

The State Preceptor stood with her hands behind her back, looking up at the painting on the wall.

The person in the painting had a smile in her eyes and was looking back with a lantern in her hand. Behind her was a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd.

My master is somewhat similar to the current Highness Huai’an in some ways, A’Shui thought.

Both of them were equally emotionless. It was just that Huai’an never smiled, and when Master smiled, the smile did not reach her eyes.

But… the expressionless State Preceptor at this moment looked a little sad.

The State Preceptor often pretended to be sad—she had followed the State Preceptor into the palace a few times and had seen Master pretending to be melancholy in front of the Holy Majesty—

Because she lowered her eyes, the corners of the State Preceptor’s eyes would be slightly raised, the corners of her eyebrows would be drooping, and the corners of her lips would also be slightly drooping.

But at this moment, the State Preceptor’s eyes were clearly raised, and the corners of her eyes and lips were straight, but the skin on her face was trembling slightly as if it couldn’t hold on.

She suddenly raised her hand and brushed over the scroll.

A’Shui stood by with her head down, not daring to make any sound. A few breaths later, she heard the State Preceptor let out a sigh—

“You two are really too similar,” she said. “A’Chu, I almost thought you had come back.”