Chu Feiyan had brought her own personal horse, a pure white Western Chu steed without a trace of any other color. Its frame wasn’t large, but its body was sturdy, its limbs firm—short-legged, yet bursting with explosive power.

As for Ziqing’s horse, it was none other than Jun Beiyue’s most famous warhorse, the Blood-Sweating Horse! This treasure among horses, hailing from the Kingdom of Western Jing, was entirely crimson red. After a long gallop, it would sweat what looked like beads of blood, hence its name.

This horse had been personally raised by Jun Beiyue since it was young, following him wherever he went—truly a devoted, personal companion.

Aside from Jun Beiyue, no one else had ever sat upon its back.

Countless women across the realm would gladly have traded their lives for just one chance to ride this horse—and that had once been Chu Feiyan’s dream as well!

The moment this horse appeared, Chu Feiyan’s white steed was instantly overshadowed!

Watching the Blood-Sweating Horse from afar, Ziqing thought it looked as magnificent as an iron-blooded warrior, and she fell in love with it at first sight. Of course, she also knew that such a treasured horse was extraordinarily intelligent and difficult to tame.

“Don’t worry, it knows you,” Jun Beiyue said quietly, gently squeezing Ziqing’s hand in silent support.

Only then did Ziqing step forward, carefully touching the horse’s head, murmuring, “Blood-Sweat, today is like a battlefield. We cannot lose.”

With that, she was about to mount when, to her surprise, the horse suddenly turned its long face toward her and blinked at her three times!

Ziqing was overjoyed and couldn’t help affectionately stroking its chin. Such a coldly composed woman, whom no one had ever seen display such warmth toward another person, seemed to let her guard down entirely when it came to animals.

Jun Beiyue took in every bit of this, greatly looking forward to the contest. With the Blood-Sweating Horse adding to her strength, he was certain this woman would once again win completely.

“What are you dawdling for? Afraid of losing already? Better not disgrace such a fine horse!” Chu Feiyan called out impatiently from atop her own horse, nearly driven mad with jealousy at the sight of Ziqing’s easy familiarity with Jun Beiyue’s warhorse.

For these three contests, she needed not just to win, but to win completely, to wash away her earlier humiliation! Once the contest ended, she intended to personally cripple Han Ziqing’s hands and legs with her own hands, so she wouldn’t even have the ability to crawl away!

This equestrian contest was similar to the one at the Imperial Training Grounds—a test of speed. But compared to that earlier contest, this time, along the five-li course, the obstacles were far more perilous and refined.

There were three obstacles in total: a raised barrier higher than a horse’s legs, a trap fitted with iron spikes, and a stretch of mud. These obstacles wouldn’t just slow the horses down—they could genuinely endanger the lives of both horse and rider.

Ouyang Xun led a group from the training grounds to watch from a distance, full of anticipation.

“Captain, can Her Highness win?”

“Of course she can. You’ve seen her skill with your own eyes, and now she has the Blood-Sweating Horse backing her up—this time she’ll definitely make Chu Feiyan admit defeat completely!”

“Captain, didn’t you always say only the Princess Imperial is worthy of our Prince?”

“Did I? When did I ever say that? Don’t go making things up!”

…

Hongyi and Shiliang, who had come along, exchanged anxious glances upon overhearing this—only they knew that their mistress’s legs had no strength in them at all! And yet their mistress absolutely forbade them from speaking of it.

With the contest about to begin, what were they going to do?

Suddenly, with a sharp whistling sound, Emperor Tianhui personally waved down the flag!

The two magnificent horses shot forward almost simultaneously, like arrows loosed from a bow, vanishing from sight in an instant!

Jun Beiyue was the first to give chase, followed closely by Chu Tiange, and only then did the rest of the crowd come back to their senses, mounting their horses and galloping after them—no one wanted to miss a single moment of the spectacle!

Along the five-li course, the obstacles began at the two-li mark, arranged in this precise order: the raised barrier, the mud, and the spiked planks—an order designed with cunning precision!

The raised barrier stood as high as a horse’s legs, meaning that clearing it safely required a certain minimum speed—but not too fast, either, or the horse wouldn’t be able to raise its legs in time, defeating the purpose.

The muddy stretch came right after the barrier, forcing riders to slow down—first because the mud itself created heavy resistance, and second because failing to slow down risked a dangerous slip. Speed had to be carefully calibrated here.

Not far past the mud lay the spiked planks—a full seven feet long, far longer than a horse’s body. Clearing this obstacle wasn’t as simple as leaping over the raised barrier; the entire horse had to clear it in one soaring leap through the air! This demanded more than enough speed to build up real momentum.

This equestrian contest was no child’s play—it was a genuine test of skill!

And yet, both Chu Feiyan and Ziqing proved to have real, hard-earned ability. The two of them arrived at the raised barrier almost simultaneously, one white horse and one crimson horse rearing up together!

Chu Feiyan, after all, had grown up on horseback. The moment she mounted, her usual restlessness vanished, replaced by total focus and concentration. By contrast, Ziqing seemed somewhat strained.

Though both horses reared their front legs at the same instant, Chu Feiyan’s horse moved with fluid, unbroken grace, like flowing water, drawing an immediate roar of applause from the crowd.

After Ziqing’s horse landed its front legs, it hesitated slightly. By the time it had fully cleared the barrier, Chu Feiyan had already shot ahead like an arrow.

Ziqing should have surged forward to catch up—but instead, her speed only grew slower and slower. Beads of sweat covered her forehead in silence, betraying the bone-deep agony in her knees, a pain as if her bones were splintering apart inch by inch, utterly unbearable.

And yet her pale little face showed not a trace of pain, only her fine brows drawn tightly together.

In truth, she knew better than anyone that winning was simply impossible.

And yet she stubbornly wanted to win—stubbornly wanted a complete, decisive victory.

She didn’t want to fail Jun Beiyue’s earlier show of care and protection; she didn’t want to fail the trust this man had placed in her.

She wanted to show that arrogant, high-and-mighty princess that even though Han Ziqing had nothing to her name, she wasn’t someone to be mocked and humiliated so easily.

“Heh, I thought there might actually be some real skill there—turns out it was just this little bit!”

“Let’s just move on, why bother watching her? The real excitement is ahead!”

“The horse is good, but the rider is what matters—what an embarrassment for Da Zhou!”

…

Amid the idle chatter, nearly everyone had ridden ahead to follow Chu Feiyan. In their minds, whatever drama surrounded Ziqing would come either before or after this contest.

Before: those two staked wagers.

After: the price to be paid in hands and legs.

As for the contest itself, they only cared to watch the most exciting display of horsemanship—the equestrian skill of the only female general on the continent of Longyuan.

Jun Beiyue’s horse was faster than anyone else’s. He caught sight of the two horses clearing the barrier together and didn’t linger, riding straight on to the spiked-plank obstacle—since that, after all, was the true test.

But to his surprise, when he glanced back, he saw Chu Feiyan had already reached the muddy stretch, while Ziqing was nowhere in sight.

What was going on?

He immediately wheeled his horse around and rode back. With the Blood-Sweating Horse beneath her, even if Han Ziqing wasn’t performing at her full ability, she shouldn’t have fallen this far behind.

Soon, he saw Ziqing galloping toward him, her whip cracking sharply through the air—yet her legs showed no movement at all. In riding, the strength of the shoulders, arms, and waist mattered greatly, but so did the strength of the legs!

Never mind mounting the horse—during a full gallop, what mattered most was bodily balance, and the legs, especially the calves, were absolutely critical!

Han Ziqing was thoroughly skilled in horsemanship; how could she possibly not understand these fundamentals? What was wrong with her legs?