Hebei bred strong horses, and those bred in Chengde were the finest of all. With heaven, earth, and men all in their favor, Chengde's cavalry rode their fine steeds into battle with irresistible force, winning renown throughout the realm. The Jingguan they built from piled human heads were their way of flaunting their victories.
After bidding farewell to Daoist Qingyang, Baozhu and her companions turned east, bound for Zhengding, the administrative seat of Hengzhou. Along the way, they passed the northern pastures where the Chengde army raised its warhorses. Thousands of thoroughbred horses galloped freely across the boundless plain, a magnificent spectacle. The Khitan hired to tend them had raised them sleek and sturdy.
Baozhu had adored fine horses since childhood. Seeing the scale of these herds with her own eyes, she could not help marveling in envy, and deliberately stopped to admire them for a good long while.
Though Hebei horses were not as tall and handsome as the Dayuan breed, which looked like celestial steeds descended to earth, they had the advantages of powerful bodies and exceptional endurance. At the sight, Baozhu immediately felt an urge to acquire a few fine breeding horses. Yet after wandering all this way, she had little travel money left.
While they waited for the Shiyi authorities to issue their Travel Pass, she entered the horse market full of anticipation, browsing from east to west, then from south to north.
Baozhu kept saying she wanted to replace their plodding old ox with a horse to speed up their journey, but she had another intention altogether. She wanted to buy Wei Xun an excellent mount. Clothes made the man, just as a saddle dressed a horse. At Pang Liangji's wedding, Wei Xun had worn the red robes of a wedding attendant, his bearing refined