Emperor Yuanyou led everyone down the platform and came to the side of the chestnut horse.
This horse is indeed fierce, but it has been captured by the Tatars for several months, so its wildness has been somewhat restrained. It refuses to let anyone ride it, but it is okay to touch it a few times.
The more Emperor Yuanyou looked at it, the more satisfied he became.
The Tatar envoy wanted to instigate Emperor Yuanyou again, but Emperor Yuanyou remained calm, smiled and said "respect the wise and humble", thus shutting the other party up.
After admiring this peerless horse that could not be ridden for the time being, Emperor Yuanyou ordered someone to bring the ten top-quality horses over.
These ten fine horses symbolize the face of Tatar, and each one is worth a thousand gold.
Emperor Yuanyou looked around and said to Huayang who was walking beside him, "Does your sister like anything?"
Huayang said modestly: "A BMW is a gift for a hero. It would be a waste of talent for my sister to have it."
Emperor Yuanyou joked: "If you are worried about this, just give the good horses to the heroes around you."
As he said this, he glanced with a smile at Chen Jingzong who was standing among the military officers.
Chen Jingzong: …
Some friendly laughter was heard around him, and Chen Jingzong looked at Huayang.
Huayang pretended not to hear the low noise from the other side, thanked her brother for his kindness, and started to choose carefully.
These ten horses are actually equally matched. They are of similar height, and are equally agile and powerful. The only differences are their hair and faces.
Huayang took a fancy to a horse that was completely black but had a tuft of snow-white hair on its forehead. The tuft of white hair was a round ball with wavy edges, like a wave or a white peony that had not yet fully bloomed.
Just based on this "peony", Huayang also likes it.
Huayang stroked the horse's forehead with his slender white fingers, turned around and smiled at Emperor Yuanyou: "This one, I think it's very congenial."
Of course Emperor Yuanyou agreed.
The court also wanted to hold a banquet to entertain the Tatar envoys. After seeing the horses, Emperor Yuanyou took his ministers and left.
Huayang took his mother's arm, and the mother and daughter walked towards the Qianqing Palace.
Empress Dowager Qi: "How did Panpan come up with such an explanation?"
Huayang: "I was afraid that if the imperial guards could not subdue the horse, it would be too dangerous for my brother to try it himself. If he didn't try, he would be laughed at by the Tatar envoys. I thought of this in a hurry."
Empress Dowager Qi patted her daughter's hand with satisfaction and said, "I underestimated you before. I didn't expect you to be so eloquent."
Hua Yang smiled and said, "It's just a little cleverness for a moment. You are the real wise one."
Empress Dowager Qi was in a good mood.
All parents hope that their children will become successful. Her two children, one is the emperor and the other is the eldest princess. The merits and demerits of the former will be determined by future generations based on the records of historians. As for the daughter, her merits in accompanying the army last year and her remarks on the benevolent monarch at the racecourse today are enough to leave a virtuous name in the history books. As a mother, she is also proud that her daughter's virtuous name will be passed down through the generations.
After Huayang had lunch with his mother, he returned to the Princess's Palace with the horse worth a thousand gold coins bestowed by the emperor.
Huayang really liked this horse, and had someone bring it to Qifeng Palace to look at it again and again. Then he stayed in the study, drawing and thinking about making a custom-made saddle for it to match its heroic appearance.
If Huayang rode the horse herself, she would definitely inlay some gems on the saddle, but this horse would be given to Chen Jingzong, and he probably wouldn't like these fancy things.
After some revisions, Huayang handed the finished drawing to Wu Run before sunset and asked him to arrange for the craftsmen to work on it.
She had just come out of the shower and was sitting in the yard to let the cool autumn breeze dry her hair when she saw Chen Jingzong coming from the corridor. He was wearing a crimson robe and his hair was slightly wet, obviously he had taken a bath in Liuyun Palace.
She asked, "Why did you come back so early today?"
Chen Jingzong said, "At noon, I accompanied the emperor in entertaining the Tatar envoys in the palace. After the banquet, the envoys insisted on dragging us military officers to compete in archery and wrestling, so we did not go to the garrison in the afternoon."
Huayang looked over his shoulder: "Did you wrestle with them?"
Chen Jingzong nodded.
Huayang knew that he was an excellent martial artist and had a tall and straight figure, which was rare in the Central Plains. However, compared with those Tatar envoys, he was not as strong as his long sword and broadsword.
"Did you suffer any loss?"
Chen Jingzong: "I am not as good as them in terms of strength. They left several handprints on my arms, but I used some cleverness and won two games."
Huayang tried to squeeze his arm.
Chen Jingzong looked at her silently, only frowning slightly and taking a breath when Huayang's hand moved to his upper arm.
Huayang took him to the inner room and asked him to take off his shirt.
Chen Jingzong did as he was told. His arms were quite white, which made the purple hand marks more obvious.
Huayang asked Chaoyue to bring the blood-removing ointment.
Chen Jingzong gathered his robe and waited until Chaoyue left before he exposed his shoulders again. He looked at Huayang and then at the porcelain vase that Chaoyue had placed aside.
Huayang: "Just wipe it yourself. It's not like you can't move."
Chen Jingzong resigned himself to opening the porcelain bottle and staring at her as he dug out the medicine: "Now when I think back to you in the tent last year, it feels like a dream."
Huayang: "It's better than nothing, and I don't like the smell of plasters."
Chen Jingzong was about to apply the plaster on his arm, but when he heard this, he paused and said, "Then I won't use it. I'm not that delicate anyway. It would be more troublesome if I could fumigate you at night."
Huayang: "You don't have to. You won't even have a chance to smoke me at night."
Chen Jingzong smiled and applied the medicine obediently.
Huayang asked him curiously, "If I ask you to tame the horse that the Tatars presented to the emperor, would you be sure of doing so?"
Chen Jingzong: "We have to try to know, but it is a hard job for anyone to try. Fortunately, you are smart and saved the emperor and us military officers from a lot of trouble."
The Tatars are evil-minded, but they are good at talking. They say that only the son of the dragon in the Central Plains can tame that horse.
With this in mind, if the military officer failed to subdue Ma, he would be incompetent and lose face for the court. But if he did, wouldn't he become the "son of the dragon"? Where would that put the emperor
Hua Yang snorted, "I also don't want to see the Tartar envoys being so arrogant. They offered horses instead of making trouble."
Chen Jingzong said flatteringly: "Now they know how powerful our princess is, they will definitely behave themselves in the future."
Huayang glanced at him.
Chen Jingzong continued to flatter him: "The emperor also recognized your great contribution. No one in the court was given a horse, only you."
Huayang smiled and said, "That horse is indeed a good horse."
Chen Jingzong's expression changed slightly: "Have you tried it?"
Although this black horse should not be as fierce as the bay horse, it was sent from the grassland and I don’t know if it is completely tamed. If it is not, Huayang’s delicate body will be thrown off...
Huayang: "Not yet, let Zhou Ji try first."
Chen Jingzong: "Why should I let him try when I'm here?"
Huayang: "You are my consort, and at least half the master of the Princess's Mansion. How can I let you do the job of testing horses?"
Chen Jingzong: "To help our ancestors relieve their worries, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."
He was so serious that Huayang couldn't stand it anymore and stood up and walked out.
Chen Jingzong chased after her, hugged her from behind, bent down and kissed her neck and earlobes. When Huayang leaned weakly into his arms, Chen Jingzong asked her ear: "Did you choose it for me?"
Huayang: "Isn't your horse still in its prime? It was given to you by your elder brother. Why does it need to be changed?"
Chen Jingzong: "Can his gift compare to yours? I don't want you to waste hundreds of taels of silver in vain. This horse is free. As long as you give it to me, I dare to accept it."
Huayang wanted to laugh. Chen Jingzong was usually so arrogant that he rarely gave in unless it was for sleeping. But now he was asking her for a horse bluntly.
"Go and try it first. Maybe it doesn't like you and won't let you ride it."
Chen Jingzong said nothing, he just turned her around and kissed her hard.
A quarter of an hour later, the couple arrived at the racecourse of the Princess's Mansion.
The racecourse is just behind the stable. Masters can come here if they want to ride horses. If the masters are not interested, the eunuchs who raise the horses have to take the horses for a walk frequently. Otherwise, the horses will get sick if they are kept in the stable all the time.
The young eunuch temporarily put a saddle on the newly arrived black horse given by the emperor.
Huayang stood aside and watched Chen Jingzong touch the horse from head to butt, and finally hugged the horse's neck and put his face against it, seeming to mutter something.
"I'll try it first. If it's obedient, I'll take you with me later."
After getting familiar with his beloved horse, Chen Jingzong climbed on it, said hello to Huayang, and then galloped away.
The horse was agile and ran away quickly like a black wind, and soon returned from the other side of the racecourse.
The golden sunset completely enveloped Chen Jingzong on horseback. It was not until he reined in his horse and stopped a few steps away that Huayang could see his handsome face with a high spirit.
He held out his hand to her.
Huayang didn't move.
Chen Jingzong rode his horse to her side and extended his hand.
Huayang then placed his hand in his broad palm.
Chen Jingzong leaned over, held her hand with one hand and supported her armpit with the other. The next moment, the eldest princess's complicated skirt fluttered in the air like petals and fell into his arms.
Huayang, sitting sideways, instinctively hugged his thin waist.
Chen Jingzong kissed the ends of her hair, and when she got used to it, he rode his horse into a trot.
Facing the setting sun, Huayang felt the wind and saw the blue sky in the distance.
When the horse ran half a circle and turned around, the golden sunset was so bright that she lowered her eyes and saw his slender arms around her.
"All the civil and military officials know that this is a horse given to you by the emperor. If I really ride it, I will be proud. I am just afraid that they will talk about you doting on me too much."
Once again with their backs to the setting sun, Chen Jingzong kissed her on the face.
Hua Yang: "Let them discuss it, this is our private matter, it has nothing to do with them."
Chen Jingzong: "Okay, then you go back home with me tomorrow morning and tell the two elders that the horse was given to me by you, so that they won't think that I stole your horse."
Hua Yang sneered, "Isn't that fox fur coat you wore last time enough to show off?"
Chen Jingzong: "As long as you are willing to give it to me, I will show off every time you give it to me."
Huayang was too lazy to pay attention to him.
After riding enough, Chen Jingzong carried her off the horse.
Huayang also touched the horse's neck and said to Chen Jingzong: "Such a good horse, give it a name."
Chen Jingzong thought for a moment and said, "How about Lao Hei? He sounds so affectionate when he calls him that. It sounds like they are life and death partners who fought side by side and never left each other."
Huayang: …
Her disgust was written all over her face, so Chen Jingzong asked her to help him come up with one.
Huayang looked at the white mass on the horse's forehead and said, "White Snow Tower."
"Peony" is too delicate and he may not be able to call it out loud. Although Baixue Tower is also the name of a peony, it sounds as cold and solemn as flying snow.
Chen Jingzong savored it for a moment, and when he looked at her again, his eyes became meaningful.
(End of this chapter)