In the distance, someone raised a yellow flag. The riders in the field noticed it and immediately retreated to the side to wait.

Di Nian also lowered his bow but did not dismount. He gathered the reins and made a circle in place, turning his head toward the female officials, and smiled at Shen Zhili from afar.

In the sunlight, the beads of sweat on his face were crystal clear, and the dark skin on his neck gleamed.

Seeing this, Shen Zhili became embarrassed and annoyed again. She pulled Meng Tinghui to turn around and retreat, saying, “What an audacious fellow!”

Meng Tinghui was no fool. Seeing Di Nian’s attitude toward Shen Zhili several times, she surmised that he must be interested in her. However, given Shen Zhili’s family background and status, she wondered what kind of identity this man had that he dared to be so informal in front of everyone, repeatedly showing his favor to her.

Even with numerous questions in her mind, she understood her position and refrained from asking.

Shen Zhili retreated a few steps before stopping again. She glanced at the yellow flag being held high and whispered, “His Highness the Crown Prince is coming.”

Meng Tinghui immediately looked up but saw that the side gate below Baojin Tower was still closed. After a moment, she curved her lips in a smile, amused at her impatience.

Several women in gold-buckled colorful clothes squeezed over, surrounding Shen Zhili in the middle, smiling and asking her, “It’s said that Lord Shen’s household has deep old connections with the royal family, so you must know the background of this Commander Di. Why not tell us about him?”

Meng Tinghui was slightly surprised, not expecting these female officials to speak so directly.

Everyone understood the thoughts of a maiden awaiting marriage. However, the marriage matters of court female officials were different from ordinary women—only talented young men from the two prefectures, three departments, and six ministries of the court could catch their eye. Yet men like Shen Zhishu were difficult to pursue. It was easier to get along with those promising young officers from the military. Now, seeing a man like Di Nian, these female officials naturally became restless.

Thinking this, she couldn’t help but find it amusing and cast a sidelong glance at Shen Zhili.

Shen Zhili changed her previously embarrassed demeanor and now had a face full of smiles: “If you’re so curious, why not ask the Crown Prince directly? After all, this man was brought back from the old capital Suiyang by the Crown Prince years ago.”

“We’re not like Lord Shen; how dare we ask the Crown Prince?” someone said with a giggle. “I’ve heard that this Commander Di has deep connections with the late Duke of Wu, otherwise the Emperor wouldn’t treat him so specially, placing him in the inner palace guard for less than two years before sending him to the Divine Guard Army. His rank has risen faster than others—without any merit or labor, he’s already a fifth-rank commander. Think about it, even Lord Shen’s brother didn’t rise this quickly, did he?”

Shen Zhili said nothing upon hearing this, only staring at the speaker. After a while, she lowered her eyelashes and said with a cold smile, “You already know he has connections with the late Duke of Wu, so why ask these questions? Just for those three words—’Duke of Wu’—even if the Emperor granted him a noble title, who would dare object? It’s just a fifth-rank commander position, and you’re already so envious—”

The woman who had spoken earlier saw her displeased expression and hurriedly apologized with a smile: “Look, is Lord Shen going to fault us? Who in the court would dare disrespect the late Duke of Wu? It’s just that we haven’t heard of the Duke leaving any heirs, so we wanted to get some clarity from Lord Shen…”

A thunderous drum sound suddenly rang out from the distance, cutting off her words. The group of female officials were all startled and turned their heads to look.

The side gate below Baojin Tower had opened. A single rider shot out like an arrow, swift and fierce, galloping out from inside like the wind.

The golden sunlight spread like a net over everything. The rider wore black armor that gleamed, mounted on a horse that was entirely black as well. His riding was masterful, his galloping godlike. Under the vast blue sky, he was like cold ink blown by the wind, making all the other riders around him pale in comparison.

Swift as the wind, horse, and rider stood tall. Four iron hooves trampled across the sand, raising a cloud of yellow dust. The man drew his bow and nocked an arrow in an instant. In the blink of an eye came the sound of wind and arrows, unceasing, cutting the ears like sharp swords, causing sudden pain.

As the wind settled and the sand fell, he held his bow and reined in his horse, standing among the military officers.

Not far away, the twenty slender willow targets were still trembling violently. The tops of the targets that Di Nian had previously shot at had all fallen off. Twenty snow-feathered arrows were embedded in the yellow sand behind the targets, arranged so neatly and cleanly as if someone had carefully laid them out.

There was complete silence.

Everyone outside the field was stunned and speechless. Even the female officials who had been excitedly chattering earlier were now quiet.

Meng Tinghui stood and watched, her fingertips both cold and burning, her heart tightening wave after wave.

Flowing and magnificent like ink splashed to form a dragon, iron-blooded and stern yet dignified and proud—who could compare even slightly to this man’s unique presence?

He turned and looked around, his gaze resting on her face for a few moments, then slowly lowered his bow and loosened the reins. His long fingers brushed over the raven-black bow, and he called out loudly to the guards and officers: “Shoot again!”

His words brought everyone back to their senses.

In an instant, the crowd erupted, cheers and acclaim rang out everywhere, shaking the heavens, lasting long and unending.

Only then did she slightly lower her head.

Such a man, who could possess him alone?

He was the Crown Prince of millions throughout the land, but he was not her Crown Prince alone…

Shen Zhili watched happily beside her, laughing heartily, “The Crown Prince’s horsemanship and archery skills have been personally taught by the Prince of Ping since childhood. How could those showy performers who don’t know their limits compare?”

Meng Tinghui let out a light sigh, calming the surging emotions in her heart before nodding, “Yes, His Highness the Crown Prince… is indeed incomparable.”

As they spoke, riders on that side began to compete in archery skills again, with occasional shouts and laughter coming from there. On this side, palace eunuchs led smaller palace horses over, allowing the female officials who had been waiting for a long time to play colorful ball games, to also win some prizes.

The female officials became excited again. Knowing that the Emperor had always liked women to ride horses and practice archery, they all wanted to show their grace, to attract the attention of the military officers.

Shen Zhili was the first to lead a horse over. Her fingers traced along the long mane, tugged at the reins, and she stepped into the stirrup, flipping onto the saddle. She lightly urged the horse to walk a few steps, her movements extremely skilled. Then she returned and looked at Meng Tinghui, asking, “Do you know how to ride?”

Meng Tinghui seemed somewhat uneasy. She nodded but said, “I learned when I was at the women’s academy, but I rarely have the opportunity to ride regularly. I’m afraid I can’t be like them…”

Shen Zhili interrupted her with a smile: “As long as you can ride, that’s fine. Hitting those colorful balls isn’t difficult. Just watch what I do and follow. Since you’ve already come today if you refuse to mount a horse, who knows how people will talk behind your back.”

Meng Tinghui was still hesitating when several other female officials led horses over and smiled at her, saying, “Lord Shen is right. If Lady Meng refuses to ride, wouldn’t that be looking down on us?”

A eunuch in yellow robes led a chestnut horse to her and smiled as well, “Lady Meng, please be at ease. These are just things for the female officials to play with; nothing will go wrong.”

She had no choice but to take the reins and thank everyone with a smile.

For nearly four months, she had been working properly in the Hanlin Academy by herself. There had been no rumors of impropriety between her and the Crown Prince, and with Shen Zhili being friendly toward her, these female officials all showed her goodwill. Her reputation, which had been damaged seven or eight parts out of ten, had also recovered considerably.

In this situation, if she continued to be reluctant, others would only think she was proud and unwilling to be friendly with others. Besides, it was a rare opportunity to interact with all these female officials. How could she waste it?

Thinking this, she smiled again at those around her and, gathering her courage, stepped into the stirrup and mounted the horse.

The horse was quite obedient, merely lowering its head and shaking its red mane before docilely allowing her to guide it left and right.

Everyone excitedly urged their horses forward, and yellow-robed eunuchs brought colorful sticks for the female officials. In the distance, colorful balls were suspended from poles, waiting for the command to be given before someone would extend a rope to knock them down.

The horse’s hooves lightly trod the sand. Seeing that it was stable, she relaxed and turned to smile at Shen Zhili, saying, “It’s fine.”

Shen Zhili also relaxed and said, “When you’re free later, I’ll take you riding…” Before she could finish, she saw Meng Tinghui’s horse suddenly raise its neck. Seeing the men riding and shooting in the distance, it became excited, reared up, and without thinking, galloped toward Baojin Tower.

Meng Tinghui hadn’t yet reacted. Her right hand tightly clutched the reins, not knowing why the horse suddenly went wild. Her heart pounded like a drum, and she desperately bent down to grab the horse’s mane.

Shen Zhili’s anxious voice came from behind: “Watch out for the arrows—”

She looked up at the sound and saw that the horse had already charged straight into the area where targets were being shot at. Sharp, cold arrows were flying directly toward her.

In great alarm, she was already trembling with fear. Without much thought, she leaned to the side to dodge, but who would have expected that the horse, seeing the gleam of arrowheads, would become even more frantic, galloping wildly without direction?

She couldn’t hold onto the reins. As her body leaned to the right, she was about to fall, only to feel her left ankle caught in the stirrup, twisted painfully. In the next moment, she felt herself slip from the horse’s back, about to fall straight to the ground—

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain at her waist. Someone had caught her, and in the dizzying moment, she felt the world turn upside down. She was firmly pressed against a hard saddle, her chest burning with pain.

She gasped for breath, and opened her eyes, still in shock. The surroundings were still changing. She was clearly on the back of another horse, held and pressed down in front by someone.

The black warhorse, majestic and spirited, steadily and swiftly galloped outward.

His angry voice came from behind her: “You saw the arrow and knew to dodge—you’re not too stupid after all.”