The wife of Qi Quan, the Minister of War, hailed from the Southern Border. She was the beloved daughter of Zhao Ningshan, the number - one general there, and had learned all her martial arts skills from her father.
Qi Quan had a son and a daughter. The young master Qi had been in poor health since childhood and was unable to practice martial arts. However, he was highly accomplished in literature and was a well - known talent in the capital.
Perhaps because of their son's poor health, Qi Quan and his wife pinned their hopes on their daughter.
Miss Qi was as beautiful as a flower, but her combat strength was off the charts.
Once, she dressed up as a man and accompanied Minister Qi on an inspection of the Five - City Military Commissioner's Office. She challenged and defeated five deputy commanders in a row, making a big name in the capital.
No wonder she was still unmarried at the age of seventeen.
It was no wonder the Second Prince reacted the way he did.
If the Second Prince really married Miss Qi, it would mark the end of his carefree life.
How could he be willing?
The Crown Prince watched the Second Prince's panicked look with great satisfaction. "Cousin is right, Second Brother. You should just stay by my side!"
"..."
After saying that, regardless of the Second Prince's expression, he strode in the direction where Xie Fengran had left.
Seeing this, Qin Junxing also followed. As he passed by the Second Prince, he paused for a moment, tilted his head slightly, gave him a quick glance, and whispered in a low voice, "Cousin, if you don't want to end up like Prime Minister Zhang, don't try to meddle in everything."
After saying that, he straightened up and walked away quickly.
Qin Junxing knew about the Second Prince's secret schemes, but he just didn't want to bother with them. Now the Second Prince was trying to take advantage and act innocent. Hmph, did he really think Qin Junxing had no temper?
After the two of them left, the Second Prince looked up. There was not a trace of panic on his face. He looked thoughtfully at Qin Junxing's back, curled his lips, and didn't take his words to heart.
He was not Prime Minister Zhang, nor was he as stupid as Zhang Yao. His good cousin wanted to control him...
At the riding and archery examination venue, the horses had been assigned in advance. The young ladies could find their exam horses according to their numbers.
There were not many rules for this exam. There was only one invigilator. When the exam started, the young ladies would ride their horses around the racecourse once, and their time would be recorded.
The archery rule was the same. Each person had five chances, and the one with the highest total score would win.
Xie Fengran had learned these skills but was not proficient. She found her exam horse according to the number and went over to stroke it.
The horse was a bit restless. When it saw her, it tossed its head and circled around twice.
Xie Fengran glanced to the side and saw that some of the others were riding their horses around to get used to them. After thinking for a while, she grabbed the reins and mounted the horse.
Unexpectedly, before she could sit firmly, the horse beneath her went wild. Its front hooves reared up high. Xie Fengran didn't hold the reins tightly enough, and her whole body fell backward. She was about to be thrown to the ground.
The feeling of extreme loss of control came over her. Xie Fengran closed her eyes in despair - she had capsized in a shallow ditch. There was something wrong with this horse.
But the next second, her waist tightened, and she fell into a soft embrace. Her body was uncontrollably pulled off the horse. She opened her eyes sharply and saw a pink dress.
"Hey, are you okay? Were you scared?"
The sweet voice of a young girl came into her ears. Xie Fengran came to her senses and quickly sat up straight to thank her. "Thank you, miss, for saving me."
"Don't..."
"Sister Xie!"
"Fengran!"
Before the young girl could finish her words, the Fourth Princess and Sun Yuelan ran over. The two of them had been standing not far away discussing the quality of the horses and hadn't noticed this. It was only when the horse suddenly went wild that they saw Xie Fengran being saved. They were terribly frightened and rushed over!
"I'm fine. Thanks to this young lady."
Only then did the Fourth Princess and Sun Yuelan notice the person standing in front of them. When they saw clearly who it was, Sun Yuelan's eyes widened suddenly. "Yueying, you're here too. Why didn't I see you just now?"
It turned out that this was Qi Yueying, the daughter of Minister of War Qi Quan.
Qi Yueying was a delicate and gentle - looking girl. Just standing there, no one would have thought that she had just saved someone from under the hooves of a crazy horse.
Sun Yuelan introduced them to each other. "Fourth Princess, Fengran, this is the daughter of the Minister of War, Qi Yueying; Yueying, this is the Fourth Princess, and the one you saved is the daughter of the Marquis of Dingguo, Xie Fengran."
Qi Yueying didn't know the identities of the two in front of her. Hearing this, she quickly bowed to the Fourth Princess. The Fourth Princess waved her hand. "Miss Qi, there's no need for such formalities. You saved Sister Xie. I should be thanking you."
"Your Highness is too kind. Saving Miss Xie was just a small thing. But Miss Xie..." Qi Yueying's eyes fell on Xie Fengran, and her expression was a bit strange, as if she was unwilling and also seemed to understand something. "Seeing is believing."
Her tone was somewhat sour, mixed with a bit of resignation and unwillingness.
Xie Fengran was completely confused. She didn't know where she had offended this young lady.
She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, there was a commotion around them.
"Come here. Surround this place for me. No one is allowed to leave until the truth of this matter is investigated."
As the voice faded, the crowd parted, and the Crown Prince strode over. He was accompanied by Qin Junxing and the Second Prince. Behind them were Sun Jiming and an unfamiliar young man.
The Crown Prince quickly walked to Xie Fengran's side and softened his tone. "Are you injured?"
His tone was as gentle as could be, making all the young ladies around jealous.
In the eyes of outsiders, the Crown Prince was a high - ranking god, cold and out of this world, spotless. Even those who had feelings for him mostly just admired him from afar.
But now their god had come down to earth and could be so gentle. However, the object of his gentleness was not themselves.
How could they not be jealous?
Xie Fengran frowned imperceptibly and took a step back without being noticed. "Thank you, Your Highness, for your concern. I'm fine."
The Crown Prince nodded and looked at the Fourth Princess. "Zhaoyue, you take Miss Xie back first. There's no need for her to participate in the riding and archery competition."
"Your Highness, that's not possible!"
Xie Fengran didn't expect the Crown Prince to want to cancel her riding and archery competition. She quickly said, "My matter was just an accident. Please ask someone to check the remaining horses. If there's nothing wrong, the exam should continue. My matter is a small one. We mustn't delay the important event."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the young ladies present were extremely interesting.
Was Xie Fengran crazy? She dared to refute the Crown Prince's words. She was really getting carried away with the Crown Prince's favor. Everyone was waiting for the Crown Prince to get angry.
Sure enough, the Crown Prince pursed his lips, and an unhappy look appeared on his face. The atmosphere around them suddenly dropped.
The young ladies all showed expressions of looking forward to a good show, waiting for Xie Fengran to be scolded by the Crown Prince.
Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince raised his hand and gave instructions to the people around him. "Ask someone to check the horses. Temporarily detain the people in the racecourse. We'll interrogate them later."
"…?"
He didn't even get angry?