Chapter 44: Riding Donkeys and Driving Horses

Chapter 44: Riding Donkeys and Driving Horses

"Look at this! I told you back then not to spend all day buying clothes and jewelry for those two girls, but you just wouldn’t listen!

We’re just country bumpkins who’ve worked the mud all our lives—what’s the point of dolling the kids up so fancy? If they catch someone’s eye again, you’ll cry till there’s no tomorrow and have nowhere to turn!"

Old Wang Shi knew nothing about the refined upbringing of noble young ladies from wealthy families; she simply relied on her lifelong, practical experience to teach her daughter-in-law how to manage a household.

Xu Shi nodded obediently, as she had all these years. The old lady nagged her daughter-in-law while grudgingly rolling up her sleeves.

On her thin wrist hung a pair of solid gold bracelets, clearly heavy.

"I figured you must be strapped for cash—buying so many clothes for the kids every day. When will they ever wear them all?

Now you can’t even afford to buy me a storage vat. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing if word got out?

As the old saying goes, you can’t live beyond your means forever; you have to pinch pennies. You young wives are far too free with your money! Here!"

She slipped off one of the large gold bracelets and shoved it into her daughter-in-law’s hand, wincing with every move.

"Let me make this clear—I’m just lending this to you for now to help you out. When you have money again, remember to pay it back.

This was given to me by the Prince of Huai himself—he said it was specially for me, his old godmother. This is my nest egg for my funeral!"

"Mother, I have money."

Xu Shi blinked back the emotion in her eyes, smiled, and moved closer to her mother-in-law, slipping the bracelet back onto her wrist.

This was why, even though her mother-in-law always picked fights, she still respected her. There was no denying that her mother-in-law was a bit scatterbrained, but she was also a loving one. Despite her countless flaws, her genuine care for her descendants made her a decent family elder.

Jiang Wan, who had been sent away by her mother, briskly helped her younger siblings into the carriage. She instructed the Jiang family guards to ride ahead on their tall horses (and donkeys) as the group headed straight for the outskirts of the city.

Once outside the city, with fewer pedestrians on the road, Jiang Wan hopped down from the carriage.

"Second Brother, Third Brother, both of you, get down."

"Sis, aren’t we still far from our destination?"

After getting off the carriage, Jiang Han looked back and was immediately taunted by Jiang Yaozu, who had followed right behind.

"Second Sister, are you stupid? Big Sister means for us to ride horses from here."

"Who asked you? I can see that for myself! Jiang Laosan, you’ve been getting ahead of yourself lately, you know that? Do you want Big Sister to discipline you again?"

"Hmph, hiding behind Big Sis’s skirt!"

Jiang Yaozu turned away in a huff and headed toward his beloved horse. As he passed his eldest sister, he snorted again.

"Hmph, playing favorites!"

Then, in a flash, he dashed over to guard Ma Fei, and with the latter’s help, nimbly mounted his horse, giving the reins a firm shake.

"Giddy up!"

He took off, galloping off into the distance.

Now that they were outside the city, the roads were mostly empty, so he could confidently grip the reins, urge his horse on, and run freely.

Ma Fei quickly kicked his horse to give chase. Before they left, the eldest young lady had specifically instructed him to keep an eye on the young master today.

With someone watching Third Brother, Jiang Wan wasn’t too worried. She turned her attention to Second Brother.

"What are you still staring at? Where’s that mule-headed donkey of yours? Hurry up and bring it over!"

"It’s Windchaser!"

Jiang Han retorted angrily, running to the guard at the back of the carriage to take her mount. She tugged and hauled, managing to drag it forward a few steps.

"Windchaser, Windchaser, good Windchaser, let’s hurry up and go! Big Yellow has already run ahead. What if Ru Hua leaves us behind later?

Come on, really, get a move on! Otherwise, Big Sister will come over and whack you! Let’s go, please, good Windchaser…"

Wang Bao, the guard driving the carriage, watched as the second young lady tried everything, both kind and harsh, yet failed to coax the donkey. It made him so anxious he felt his own teeth hurting.

Thinking he might as well step in, he took a step forward but was immediately pulled back by another guard.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

Cheng Zhuo stared at him expressionlessly, making Wang Bao shiver under his gaze.

"I’m going to help the second young lady. What’s your problem?"

"How do you plan to help? Don’t forget what the eldest young lady said before we left—our main task today is to protect the second young lady and the young master."

"I know, why are you so worried? Just watch me!"

Wang Bao bent down and pulled out a ready-made trick from the carriage’s crossbar, then eagerly trotted over to his young mistress to offer his assistance.

"Second Young Lady, try using this."

"What is it?"

"A little trick!"

Indeed, for a donkey, a carrot was truly a wonderful thing. Finally seated on Windchaser’s back and moving forward, Jiang Han wholeheartedly agreed with this assessment.

A carrot dangled on a stick, swaying enticingly and luring the stubborn donkey forward with its occasional brays.

Seeing this, Jiang Wan praised, "Wow, quite clever."

Jiang Han blushed in embarrassment.

The two sisters rode one after the other, while the guards followed not far behind with the carriage.

Over the past few months, Jiang Wan had successfully overcome her motion sickness and had also become quite skilled at horseback riding. Even though her mount was a tall dappled gray horse, she sat steadily in the saddle as it galloped.

The horse bore a rather unfortunate name and was by no means a rare, priceless steed—just an ordinary-looking mixed-color horse.

But it had once been a warhorse and was remarkably intelligent.

It had previously been Jiang Huailiang’s mount and had followed its master through life-and-death battles on the battlefield. Later, after suffering a leg injury, Jiang Huailiang left it behind to recuperate, and it gradually turned into a rather cranky old nag.

If Jiang Wan hadn’t strong-armed it, it would never have agreed to return to work, let alone allow its perfectly fine name to be lost. Why was a male horse called Ru Hua, anyway?

Frustrated, the large horse kept plodding along. Although it knew it couldn’t shake off the little troublemaker on its back, running at least made it feel a bit better inside.

"I’m back again! Big Yellow, run faster, giddy up!"

Jiang Yaozu rode over to his destination and then returned along the same route, mainly wanting to show off his impressive equestrian skills in front of his sisters.

It must be true that sons take after their fathers—this child’s academic studies were all over the place, but his riding, archery, and martial arts training were pretty impressive.

Moreover, after several months of training, Jiang Laosan finally realized that he was actually quite strong. Though he couldn’t compare to his eldest sister, he felt immensely proud when measured against the useless Jiang Laosan!

"Second Sister, you might not be great at riding horses, but you sure have some tricks when it comes to riding a donkey. I wonder if Master Zhao would even allow you to use a carrot to lead a donkey around the riding field during the end-of-month competition? Hahahaha..."

"Laosan, go ride somewhere else by yourself!"

"Hmph! Eldest Sister, always playing favorites, always favoring you, Jiang Laosan! Let’s go, Da Huang, giddyap!"

The troublemaking Jiang Laosan, seeing that his eldest sister seemed about to chase after him, panicked and turned his horse around to flee.

Jiang Han grew anxious and shouted from behind, "Sis, wait for me! Windchaser, Windchaser, hurry up! Ru Hua and Da Huang are leaving us in the dust!"