Chapter 44: Horse Farm Practice
Shen Yanshu wore a black riding costume to Weng's mansion, her long hair was tied up high, and she looked exceptionally clean and neat, which made people shine.
"You can make me wait!" Ruan Leyao was already waiting at the gate of Weng's mansion, and when she saw her, she stepped forward and said, "I thought you were going to release my pigeons!"
Shen Yanshu was about a quarter of an hour later than the agreed time, although it was not too long, but after all, it was rude, so he apologized first and explained: "There was a delay this morning, so you have been waiting for a long time." β
"What's polite between the two of us, is Shen Yuyan making trouble for you again?" asked Ruan Leyao.
Shen Yanshu shook his head and said, "It's not her, it's a more difficult person than her." β
Yan Qinghan, that guy, every time he meets it, there is nothing good, and he feels hateful when he thinks about it.
Ruan Leyao saw her angry appearance like this, and became curious: "I want to know, who can please you in your hands?"
"A bastard who is dying and dragging people into the water, let's go to the training ground early. Shen Yanshu didn't want to continue this topic.
Ruan Leyao nodded, turned over his horse very skillfully, and led a team of guards in the direction of the training ground.
There are not many people in the training ground on weekdays, because the children of military generals have their own special venues, such as the military department, the patrol battalion and the Shenji battalion, which have their own training places, so the training ground that Shen Yanshu and the others came to is in a relatively remote place in the north of the city.
There is no place to practice riding and archery in the ordinary Wenchen's house, and those sons and brothers will occasionally come here to practice riding and archery.
Ruan Leyao said that if it is time for the school examination in Zhaodetang, there will be more people, after all, female students in the school are usually far less attentive to the two subjects of archery than other subjects, and they can only practice before the school examination.
Today is not a day off, so the other female students are still in class, and Ruan Leyao lied and asked for sick leave in order to come out with Shen Yanshu to practice equestrianism.
"Yan Shu, look!" Ruan Leyao and Shen Yanshu walked side by side, pointed to the wide field and said, "Not bad, right?"
Shen Yanshu looked at the past, this horse farm is really very wide, and all kinds of facilities are also very complete, the horse trainers arranged around will watch the situation in the horse farm from the side, but there is no need to be bad from the official family.
She nodded, it was really good here, and turned her head to ask Ruan Leyao, "You often come here?"
"Of course, this is a good place to practice riding and archery, and my maternal grandfather is a civil official, so naturally the house is not interested in building a horse farm or anything, so he can only come here for recreation. Ruan Leyao said.
Shen Yanshu smiled: "It seems that I met a master today." β
"I remember that your previous performance in imperial archery was not good, it must be because you haven't practiced. β
Although Ruan Leyao couldn't remember too much about Shen Yanshu's past, she felt that with her withdrawn nature, she would not come here to practice equestrianism with others, and her results were naturally not good.
Shen Yanshu smiled, but didn't say anything.
I think when she walked sideways at the border pass, the ladies of the family in Chang'an City hadn't ridden a horse yet!
A steward about forty or fifty years old stepped forward: "Miss Ruan, I'm really sorry, I didn't know you were coming today, the place you usually use is already there, can you change it?"
Ruan Leyao has a fixed field in this racecourse, and the racecourse knows that she will come over every once in a while, so it will set aside it for her in advance.
"Forget it, I didn't tell you in advance that I would come over today, so it's okay to change it. "Ruan Leyao has never embarrassed others very much.
The steward's eyebrows also stretched when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, what I recommend to you is also a good field." β
Ruan Leyao said again: "By the way, I still use my horse, but my friend didn't ride a horse over, so let's pick one in your horse farm." β
The steward had already noticed Shen Yanshu who was with Ruan Leyao, and thought that the identity with Ruan Leyao would not be bad, but when he heard that she was going to pick a horse, he immediately responded.
"We have a lot of horses here, and there must be one suitable for this young lady. β
In the end, the steward chose a relatively docile black horse for Shen Yanshu. Shen Yanshu looked at it, had no objections, and turned over on his horse with the bow and arrows on his back.
Shen Yanshu and Ruan Leyao rode parallel horses and came to the designated field, where three targets were hung on the wall not far away, and there would be obstacles on the runway.
This is done according to the rules of the Zhaodetang school examination, when taking the two subjects of imperial archery, they are divided into groups of four, and then run around the track three times on horseback at the same time, and within three laps, the five arrows they bring will be shot at the target, and the best three times will be taken as the final score.
It sounds simple, but it is not easy for these official ladies, so every year many people strive to be safe and choose the most docile horse, so that it is not easy to get hurt.
"You come first. Ruan Leyao turned her head and said to Shen Yanshu.
Shen Yanshu was not pretentious, he rode his horse and galloped directly towards the horse road, the speed was not too fast, but this speed still made people a little worried about the obstacles in the horse road.
But she was indifferent, her eyes were staring ahead, seeing that she was about to reach the position of the tripping horse, the speed was still not reduced, and even faster and faster, the people couldn't help but sweat, but they saw Shen Yanshu driving the horse and jumping over, easily letting the horse jump over the tripping rope.
She rode forward and continued to gallop forward, when she suddenly reached out and took out an arrow from the quiver on her back, quickly put it on the bow, drew the bow, and took aim, all in one go!
Ruan Leyao's eyes lit up, she didn't expect her to be so powerful, even herself, a person who often comes to practice riding and archery, is not so skilled, which makes her feel itchy, and she also rode forward.
At this time, Shen Yanshu had already reached the second obstacle, and unlike the tripping rope just now, which was placed in a low place, this was a light bamboo pole, which was about the neck of a person, and the rider had to bend down and hold the horse to pass.
The speed of the horse was still unabated, and when it was almost to the crossbar, Shen Yanshu held the reins tightly and leaned directly on her back, looking extremely relaxed! When she got up, she directly pulled out two arrows from the quiver behind her back, and when she sat up straight, she shot the arrows in her hand, and the two arrows shot in two different directions, and actually hit two different targets at the same time.
This amazing archery skill even amazed the horse trainers on the sidelines, they had been in this training ground for a few years, and there were really few people like this, let alone a woman!
"Phewβ"
Shen Yanshu tightened the reins, let the horse stop slowly, turned around, and saw Ruan Leyao also coming, smiling slightly, in the warm sun, her face and smile were particularly amazing.
"You can't give anyone else a way to live, you are even so good at archery on a royal horse!" Ruan Leyao couldn't help but exclaim.
Shen Yanshu didn't intend to hide in front of Ruan Leyao, and said with a smile: "I'm not sure, how dare I challenge Qi Huan casually?"
"I decided to go back later, and I want to take all my belongings to the gambling house and press on you, one to five, that must be how much money you make!" Ruan Leyao was excited when she thought about it!
Shen Yanshu couldn't help laughing, she was a self-aware person, and she had already put all the money on herself......
The two of them were chatting happily and continued to play around the remaining runway.
Not far away, a few people were staring at them.
"Cousin, do you know which family those two ladies are?" asked a man in a royal blue brocade robe with interest.
The person he called his cousin was Gu Ziyi, the second son of the Hengguo Mansion, at this time, his eyes had been following Shen Yanshu's figure, and when he heard the people on the side calling him, he hurriedly came back to his senses.
He bowed his head and replied: "Back to Your Highness, the one wearing blue is Ruan Leyao, the granddaughter of Yushi Weng Jin, and the one wearing black is Shen Yanshu, the third granddaughter of Taichangqing Shen Jun. β
Who else can be called His Royal Highness and call Gu Ziyi as his cousin, except for Ning Wang Yanxiao?
"Shen Yanshu?" Yan Xiao turned his head and looked at Gu Ziyi suspiciously, "Isn't that your previous fiancΓ©e?" I heard that you went to the Shen family to retreat by yourself?"
Yan Xiao's words made Gu Ziyi a little unsure of how to answer, but he just said "um".
After getting his answer, Yan Xiao hooked his lips and curled an arc: "This king looks at this Shen Yanshu is okay, could it be that the fifth lady of the Shen family is even more shocking?"
Gu Ziyi's eyes flashed slightly, and he just said, "It has nothing to do with appearance." β
When Gu Ziyi withdrew from his family, King Ning and Heng Guogong also knew, and Heng Guogong rejected his words at that time, and he had no choice but to say that he would go to marry the fifth lady of Shen Mansion after retiring from Shen Yanshu's marriage, which was the same, which blocked Heng Guogong's words.
With Shen Yuyan's obsession with him, if he went to ask for marriage, there would naturally be no problem.
Where would he have thought that Shen Yanshu would regain his appearance......
"With Shen Kangzhi's character, he may not agree to you asking to marry another young lady of the Shen family. Yan Xiao continued to look in Shen Yanshu's direction and said, "The father intends to raise him to the position of the ministry, and when the time comes, the status of the Shen family will rise, and the two young ladies of the Shen family will inevitably be targeted by King Yu and King An." β
Yan Xiao's words made Gu Ziyi stunned for a moment, he knew that his withdrawal from Shen Yanshu's family affairs had disrupted King Ning and his father's plans, if he asked to marry Shen Yuyan, Shen Kangzhi would definitely not agree so easily.
"I will go to the Shen family again and restore the relationship with Shen Yanshu. Gu Ziyi said.
When Yan Xiao heard his words, he just chuckled lightly and said, "Don't worry, I won't lose you in the future." However, this Shen San didn't seem to be so easy to agree. β
Gu Ziyi looked at the black figure in the distance, and said imperatively: "Your Highness, just rest assured, Shen Kangzhi's line cannot be broken no matter what." β
Before he regained his appearance, Shen Yanshu was very fond of him, he didn't believe that she could forget about herself in such a short period of time, so he believed that it would not be difficult to marry the Shen family again.