Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 247 - 245

"How dare you, you..." Princess Ling’er’s face turned as many colors as a palette upon hearing that - red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, each color appearing on her face once.

Just at this moment, the horn sounded...

The woman in red shouted, "Go!"

Her chestnut-colored horse, along with her matching red garb, shot out like a ball of fire.

Others reacted, realizing this was the start of the race and hastily followed suit.

"Just you wait for me...Go!" Leaving this sentence behind, Princess Ling’er spurred her horse and took off as well.

When the horn sounded, Xiao’er signaled for her white horse to run, but it remained immovable.

Xiao’er’s face darkened in frustration. It had chosen the worst moment to rebel!

She tried one more time to get it to run, but it remained as immovable as a mountain.

Watching this from the sidelines, Di Shaowei asked Shangguan Xuanyi, "Did you tamper with that girl’s horse?"

Shangguan Xuanyi glanced at Di Shaowei disdainfully: Do I look like such a person? fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Before Longevity Festival, he had already noticed that his girl’s horsemanship was good.

Di Shaowei touched his nose, muttering to himself: definitely!

But he didn’t dare let Shangguan Xuanyi know what he was thinking.

For that girl, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do.

Shangguan Xuanhao, on the other hand, burst out laughing, "Does the horse listen to commands? Tell it to be first and it wouldn’t dare to be second. I knew that girl was bluffing!"

"Who was the one shamelessly following her just now in the hopes of securing those two Listen command? Di Shaowei shot a glance at Shangguan Xuanhao, who was as mercurial as a weathervane, always swaying with the wind!

Jinghao tugged anxiously at Jingrui’s clothes, "Brother, what’s wrong with sister’s horse?"

Jingrui shook his head, he had no idea either.

Seeing this, the ladies who had been envious and resentful of Xiao’er from the start began to laugh.

"Farmers will always be farmers, she’s not trying to ride the horse as if it were a bull, is she? It wouldn’t move that way!"

"Her posture when mounting the horse looked rather impressive, but turns out, it was all pretense!"

"Didn’t you see the horse she chose? It’s the perfect embodiment of the term ’weak, sick, and disabled’. That horse probably even forgot how to trot."

"Isn’t it true that the Rui’an family only got rich in the past year or two? For a horse that costs at least a hundred taels and can reach up to a thousand, it’s perfectly normal for her to have had no prior exposure. But it’s best for a person to know their limitations before they make a spectacle out of themselves, become a laughingstock, and end up disgracing their family!"

"Absolutely, the Sixth Prince’s plight is such a pity, having to marry such a vain woman."

...

"Silence!" Shangguan Xuanyi coldly glared at the chattering women and spat out two words.

In an instant, the whole place was silent!

The Sixth Prince was angry!

All thanks to Rui’an County’s mistress wanting to show off!

The girls knew Shangguan Xuanyi was angry, but they thought he was upset because Xiao’er had embarrassed him. Little did they know that it was actually their comments that upset him.

"You’re all mistaken. Not only is Rui’an County’s Lady good at horsemanship, but she’s also skilled in archery. During Longevity Festival, she hit the bullseye from horseback! She is an exceptional woman who excels both in literature and the martial arts." Li Yunning finished speaking and stole a glance at Shangguan Xuanyi.

She was aware of the real reason why Shangguan Xuanyi was upset and was concerned that he might think she was the same as the other ladies. So she spoke up to defend Xiao’er, despite the pain it caused her to speak favorably of her love rival in front of the man she loved.

But she had no choice. This was the only way she could think of to draw his attention - it was a roundabout way of achieving her goal.

Earlier, seeing a few princes and Di Shaowei helping Xiao’er choose a horse, chatting, and laughing, she had wished she could be part of that group. Because of this, she decided she would get closer to Xiao’er, make friends with her, infiltrate their social circle, and gradually draw his attention to herself.

It was only then that the others realized that the young man was actually Rui’an County’s Lady in disguise. No wonder they hadn’t seen her before.

Shangguan Xuanyi seemed not to hear Li Yunning’s words. He was focused entirely on Xiao’er’s actions.

At that moment, Xiao’er, who had been at the start line, whispered something in her horse’s ear, and the horse took off.

It didn’t just take off, but surged forward at a great speed, almost leaving a trail of afterimages behind it.

Shangguan Xuanhao’s mouth hung open wide enough to fit a goose egg.

"What did that girl say to the horse just now?" Did she tell it to be the first?

"She must have definitely told it to be the first!" Di Shaowei watched her receding figure, unable to comprehend how he didn’t notice the explosive power of those two horses!

Unlike the others, Xiao’er on horseback didn’t need to repeat the command "Go" or whip the horse at intervals. The horse ran faster and faster without any prompting.

Quickly, very quickly!

The scenery on both sides blurred, Xiao’er could only see the linear shapes of the objects forming a line of shadows in her peripheral vision.

A moment ago, the other racers were far behind, but in the blink of an eye, she surpassed them all, leaving nothing but a gust of wind and a fading silhouette behind her.

Who was that?

Was it Rui’an County’s Lady?

How could that be possible!

The woman in the red dress heard the fast-approaching hoofbeats, felt someone approaching from behind, tried to look back, but before she could turn her head, a white figure whisked past her!

She was taken aback by the speed, it was terrifying! But it stoked her competitive spirit. She forcefully whipped her horse, speeding up considerably.

Time ticked by every second...

Soon enough, Xiao’er came into everyone’s line of sight.

This time, the cheers from the men in the crowd were even louder.

"Rui’an County’s Lady, go faster!"

"The future Imperial Consort, you’re amazing!"

...

Seeing the familiar figure appear, Shangguan Xuanyi breathed a sigh of relief.

When he heard someone call Xiao’er the future Imperial Consort, he shot a glance at the man. That was a good title!

Shangguan Xuanyi arrived at the finish line, ignoring the public’s gaze, and with his hand reached out, helped Xiao’er down from the horse.

"I won first place! The horse I picked was amazing, wasn’t it?"

"Hmm." Shangguan Xuanyi answered with a smile tugging at his lips.

"Hmph! I’d like to see who dares say I’m not worthy of you now!" She had always ignored those who said such things, but hearing them often was annoying nonetheless!

"Even if you had come last, you would still be worthy of me!" Shangguan Xuanyi told her sincerely, his hands on her shoulders upon hearing Xiao’er’s words.

Xiao’er’s comment was off the cuff, she hadn’t expected Shangguan Xuanyi to take it so seriously.

She laughed, a laugh that seemed to have the power to melt the harshest winter chill, "Of course! No one else is worthy of you!"

At this moment, the woman in red came up to them, "Rui’an County’s Lady truly doesn’t judge a book by its cover. You have extraordinary skills, Li Mingfang! Let’s race again next time!"

She had lost by just a horse’s length earlier and was not willing to accept the defeat.

Xiao’er glanced at the spirited lady and nodded.

"Would the Sixth Prince join us?" Li Mingfang asked Shangguan Xuanyi.

Shangguan Xuanyi nodded.

Xiao’er was curious now! Who was this woman?

Shangguan Xuanyi actually agreed to her!

When Li Mingfang received Shangguan Xuanyi’s confirmation, she left.