Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Yang Wenxu suddenly started clamoring about joining the army.

It was honestly hilarious.

His father was grooming him to be the next Zhuangyuan, yet he wanted to be a soldier? He couldn’t even catch a chicken, and he wanted to enlist?

He wasn’t even at the same Academy as us; he was at the Imperial Academy. Even Emperor Uncle once said that this man’s scholarship was so profound that if he didn’t place as the Zhuangyuan, he would at least be the Bangyan.

And he said he wanted to join the army?

I was stunned.

I was even more surprised when Yang Zeduan came to the Princess Manor. After making small talk for ages, he asked me to go and persuade his son.

My mother was baffled. “What does this have to do with my daughter?”

“A few days ago, Commandant Zhou brought a mad horse under control on Xuanwu Avenue, preventing it from injuring anyone. Her heroic bearing deeply impressed Wenxu…”

Oh, that did happen. I’d almost forgotten.

That day, there were no classes at the Academy, so I went to a teahouse to drink tea and listen to music, where I happened to run into Yang Wenxu.

A scholar’s horse had suddenly gone mad. The groom couldn’t control it, and it was charging wildly through the streets.

Seeing that it was about to collide with a small child buying candied haws by the roadside, I leapt from the window. Stepping on the shoulders of passersby, I flew across and mounted the horse, grabbing the reins and pulling back with all my might.

The horse reared up, its front hooves kicking wildly in the air.

Ye Qing suddenly appeared and scooped the child out of harm’s way.

The horse’s hooves slammed back onto the ground. I gripped the reins tightly, clamping my legs around the horse’s belly to stay firmly in the saddle.

The horse paced restlessly, and I didn’t dare relax. After what felt like a long time, the horse finally calmed down a bit, and cheers and praise erupted from the crowd.

Unexpectedly, the horse took fright again and suddenly bolted.

Fortunately, my reactions were fast. I quickly flattened myself against the horse’s back, clutching its mane as I was jolted nearly senseless.

Ye Qing descended from the sky like a god of slaughter, landing in the middle of the road. His face was frost-cold, his eyes filled with a murderous aura.

He raised his long sword high and sliced through the legs of the charging horse.

The horse crashed to the ground, and I was sent flying, only to slam into the arms of Ye Qing, who had rushed over to save me.

I was fine, but his back hit the pillar of an inn with a heavy thud, and he let out a muffled groan of pain.

“Are you alright?”

“Are you injured?”

We spoke at the same time.

He was strange-he was the one who was hurt, yet he was the first to ask about me.

I took him to a nearby clinic, where the doctor said it was just a flesh wound. I even helped him apply medicinal oil.

But why did his whole body turn so red? Was it because I used too much strength and hurt him while pressing down? But the doctor said I had to rub the oil into the skin with force.

Tsk, these sons of the capital really are delicate.

My mother cleared her throat, snapping me out of my reverie.

She called me outside and said impatiently, “Go, go persuade him. I don’t want to see Yang Zeduan. Seeing him reminds me of my crazy past, and it’s honestly annoying.”

Me: “…”

I thought about it for a long time, even inviting Zhao Yu, Ye Lan, and the others to discuss it.

We considered everything from giving him a beating, to humiliating him, to showing off martial arts to make him retreat, and even preparing to take him to a military camp to experience it for himself.

Then, he suddenly didn’t want to go anymore.

Truly strange.

Later, Ye Lan told me that his brother had gone to persuade Yang Wenxu.

Perhaps it was a case of mutual respect between men of letters.

However, I fully agreed with what Ye Qing said:

“Civil officials and military generals are both indispensable. You need not struggle in a field where you lack talent; instead, you should strive for excellence where your strengths lie. When scholars govern the country and the nation is prosperous, there will be fewer wars, and the generals can also live in peace.”