Gu Moran stood up, pulling his bamboo hat down low.
"Return to the residence."
Boss Zhao was taken aback.
"Your Highness isn't going to finish reading?"
Ye Qingyun will not be going on stage today.
Gu Moran lifted the back curtain, and the aroma of porridge wafted in from the alley outside.
"The real crisis will begin after he goes back."
When Gu Moran returned to the Prince's Mansion, her knees were still covered in mud from the south of the city.
Uncle Fu asked the servant to bring water, but he waved his hand and didn't wash it.
The sweat stains on that wall in the south of the city are still stuck in my mind.
Ye Qingyun has already gone astray.
As Gu Moran stepped across the corridor, the muffled thud of horses' hooves echoed from the Azure Wolf Courtyard.
He stopped in his tracks.
Murong Xue led the chestnut horse, holding a horse brush in her hand. The sleeves of her riding clothes were rolled up to her forearms, and a bit of grass was stuck to her wrist.
She glanced at the mud on Gu Moran's knees.
"Tomorrow's training session will be on hard court."
Gu Moran touched his back molars with the tip of his tongue.
What can you develop on hard courts?
How to master the procedures for a royal funeral?
He glanced at the horse brush in Murong Xue's hand, then at the stable behind her.
The stable door was not closed.
The door, which is usually only half-open, was pushed open to its fullest extent today.
The hay inside was neatly laid out, the manger was washed clean, and the brushes on the hooks were arranged in a row according to size.
Gu Moran pulled her foot back after taking a step.
"Has the princess tidied up today?"
Murong Xue looked at him.
You saw it.
"I saw it."
"Then come in and take a look."
Batuer stopped biting into the jerky.
The stables smelled of grass, leather, and the heat emanating from the Northern Territory horses, even more intense than that of the Central Plains horses.
When Gu Moran stepped inside, he neither touched the door frame nor the horse.
Murong Xue walked ahead and put the horse brush back in its place.
This is a horse brush.
Gu Moran nodded.
"I know."
"Brush the big ones' backs, and the small ones' legs."
"Does the princess take me for some young nobleman from the capital who has never seen a horse before?"
Murong Xue turned around.
"You're not?"
Gu Moran silent for a moment.
"I've seen it, especially when they fall down."
Batuer coughed at the doorway, his shoulders trembling noticeably.
Murong Xue tossed her a small brush.
"What are you laughing at? Go brush off the Gray Wind."
Batuer walked toward the horse with the brush in his arms, not forgetting to add a comment as he did so.
"Your Highness, this is the very horse that nearly cost you your life."
Gu Moran looked at the horse.
Ma also looked at him.
It flicked its tail and exhaled a puff of hot air from its nostrils.
Gu Moran frowned.
"It's all your fault for making such a sharp turn yesterday."
Murong Xue spoke up from the side.
It doesn't understand the Central Plains dialect.
Gu Moran switched to the awkward Northern Territory Language.
"Slow down."
The grey and white horse snorted.
Batuer immediately gave a thumbs up.
"Your Highness, it's insulting you."
Gu Moran turned her head.
"Can you understand what horses are saying?"
Batuer nodded.
It said it was because you were sitting crookedly.
Gu Moran swallowed her words.
Arguing with a horse is dishonorable if you win, but even more shameful if you lose.
An old horsewhip hangs in the corner of the stable.
The whip handle was wrapped with a dark leather cord, the leather surface polished to a shine, and at the end was a small copper buckle engraved with the pattern of Northern Territory wolf.
It hung high, and there was no dust around it.
Gu Moran's gaze paused for a moment.
He pointed to the riding whip.
"A good whip."
Murong Xue looked at his hand.
Aren't you curious about its origin?
Gu Moran withdrew his hand.
"I will listen when the princess wants to speak."
Murong Xue did not answer.
The stable was quiet for a few moments.
Gray Wind scrambled its hooves across the ground, rustling the dry grass.
Batuer lowered his head to brush the horse, his mouth tighter than usual.
Murong Xue walked to the old horsewhip and touched the brass buckle with her fingertips.
"This belongs to my father."
Gu Moran stood still, not moving closer.
"Um."
"He used this when he taught me to ride my first horse."
"Then it should be hung higher."
Murong Xue tilted her head.
"Why?"
"So that Batuer won't knock it over when he's grooming the horse."
Batuer looked up.
"Your Highness, I'm very good at controlling horses."
Gu Moran looked at the brush in her hand.
"You just Gray Wind want to kick you."
Gray Wind lifted its hind hooves slightly in cooperation.
Batuer dodged to the side.
It's not in a good mood today.
Murong Xue smiled briefly, before she could stop herself from smiling.
Gu Moran looked at the manger; the water was clear and the grass was fresh.
"This stable is tidier than my study."
Murong Xue said, "That's because your study is too messy."
Gu Moran recalled the map hidden in the study and the piles of paper money that Uncle Fu burned every day.
"A random selection is good; my kingdom is still developing."
Murong Xue frowned.
"Development?"
It's not fully grown yet.
Batuer interrupted.
"Your Highness, what can a study become?"
Gu Moran looked at her.
"Grow up in a place where you'll get less beatings from the princess."
Batuer immediately lowered his head to brush the horse.
"Then develop quickly."
Murong Xue hung the old riding whip back up and removed her fingers from the brass buckle.
Gu Moran.
"Exist."
"From now on, call me before you go into the stable."
Gu Moran understood.
This wasn't meant to drive them away, but it still showed a stubborn streak.
"Good."
Murong Xue added another sentence.
"Don't come in if I'm not here."
Gu Moran nodded.
"Good."
"Otherwise, if Gray Wind bites you, I won't be responsible."
"If it tries to bite me, I will lodge a complaint with the Eternal Heaven."
Batuer grinned.
" The Eternal Heaven might stand against the Gray Wind."
Gu Moran looked at him.
"Are you Northern Territory gods biased too?"
Batuer answered quickly.
" Gray Wind is Northern Territory horse."
Gu Moran choked.
Batuer quiet words of comfort.
"Your Highness, don't worry. Gray Wind is wary of strangers; you'll get used to it after you've thrown it around a few times."
Gu Moran looked up.
"Say that again, and I'll have Uncle Fu send you Central Plains medicinal cuisine tomorrow."
Batuer's expression changed.
"Your Highness, the grassland girl doesn't need tonic soup."
Gu Moran patted her shoulder.
That's called maintaining health.
Batuer looked at Murong Xue.
"Princess, His Highness is threatening me."
Murong Xue had already reached the courtyard gate.
"Should."
As Gu Moran stepped out of the stable, the system panel popped up in front of her.
[System notification: Murong Xue's favorability +10.]
[Current favorability: +12.]
[Tag Upgrade: Enter Private Domain.]
Gu Moran slowed her pace.
Private property.
These four words are valuable.
Uncle Fu handed Gu Moran a medicinal meal from the corridor.
Just as Gu Moran was about to drink, Batuer peeked out from outside the courtyard gate and beckoned furtively.
Uncle Fu has passed away.
What are you doing now?
Batuer lowered his voice, but his face betrayed his true feelings.
" Uncle Fu, I have something to tell you. The princess has let His Highness into the stables."
Uncle Fu said, "If you're in, you're in."
Batuer became anxious.
"On the grasslands, this is equivalent to letting someone into a tent, which is like your boudoir in the Central Plains."
Gu Moran was stunned when she heard this.
Uncle Fu turned to look at him.
Gu Moran looked up at the moonlight.
Batuer added another sentence.
"There's still the tent with the princess's father's riding whip."
I went to the study.
Uncle Fu scratched his head.
"Your Highness, regarding Madam Lin's stick tomorrow, this old servant will prepare a thicker back brace for you."
Gu Moran looked at him.
"Why?"
Uncle Fu spoke earnestly and sincerely.
"You've been making too much progress with other courtyards lately, and you haven't been treating everyone equally."
A horse neighed from the direction of the Azure Wolf Courtyard outside the window.
Before Gu Moran could reply, the system suddenly lit up with a red border.
[An anomaly detected in Shun'an Lane, south of the city.]
[ Ye Qingyun's left arm numbness worsened after nighttime practice.]
[The potential for conflict between bamboo slip cultivation methods is increasing.]
Gu Moran taken aback.
" Uncle Fu."
Uncle Fu immediately stopped joking.
"This old servant is here."
Gu Moran looked at the line of text on the panel.
"Tell Zhao Si he won't be able to sleep tonight."
Just as Uncle Fu turned to leave, he heard a series of hurried footsteps outside.
The servant ran to the study door, still breathless.
"Your Highness, something has happened! People from the Azure Wolf Courtyard and the Iron Plum Courtyard are fighting at the back well."