The Ninth Princess quickly sensed something was wrong. Not only was Song Chuyi not as unskilled at riding and archery as she claimed, her level was far beyond what an ordinary martial household’s daughter should possess.
This was all thanks to the conveniences provided by Ye Jingchuan and Zhou Weizhao since her rebirth. Ever since the incident in Tongzhou, she had paid particularly close attention to horsemanship. Later, when she went to Tongzhou to see An’an, she always practiced riding at the estate. Even at home, the First Master and Song Jue had taught her many tricks. She was inherently someone who gave her utmost effort to excel at whatever she did. After several years of practice, her skill level had already improved considerably.
After leaping over another fallen dead tree, Song Chuyi already showed faint signs of overtaking. The Ninth Princess’s gaze turned sharp. She swiftly struck backward from front, viciously whipping Song Chuyi’s horse’s body. The horse, startled, abruptly halted its steps, rearing its head with a whinny. The tremendous momentum nearly threw Song Chuyi to the ground.
Behind them, Xiang Mingzi was shocked, covering her mouth to prevent herself from crying out.
Song Chuyi reined in the horse, rushing forward a good distance before calming the horse down. Her eyes like sharp arrows stared directly at the Ninth Princess who had already galloped far away.
But she was inherently not someone who accepted defeat. After assessing the surrounding situation, she pursued with all her might through a forest path beside them.
The small path was rugged and difficult to traverse, and trees surrounded them everywhere. It was far more dangerous than the main road. Xiang Mingzi was so anxious she was nearly in tears. Seeing the Cui sisters approach without understanding the situation, her voice changed with tension: “Xiaoyi, she’s racing horses with the Ninth Princess!”
Cui Huaying was shocked. After straining to look into the distance for a while, her complexion inevitably paled somewhat: “This is simply absurd! Why race horses when all is well? Today is only the first day at the hunting grounds!”
Cui Huayi grabbed her, also somewhat worried: “Why is Xiaoyi specifically choosing the difficult paths inside? If she’s careless and crashes into some tree, that’s no laughing matter!” After speaking, she turned to look at Xiang Mingzi: “Why would she race horses when all was well? And with a princess no less. Xiaoyi has never been someone who lacks such propriety.”
When she spoke these four words “lacks such propriety,” the surroundings instantly fell silent. Most of those present knew that it was the Ninth Princess who had forced Song Chuyi into this—it wasn’t something Song Chuyi had taken upon herself.
Cui Huaying, being older and more composed than her, glanced at this situation and, recalling the Ninth Princess’s reputation for arrogance, grabbed Cui Huayi’s hand. Coldly watching the two horses running farther away ahead, she said softly: “Enough! Now is not the time for such talk.”
Just then, someone ahead cried out in alarm. Cui Huayi stood on tiptoe to look and saw Song Chuyi’s silhouette in the swirling dust, unmovable as a mountain. She had actually burst out from the forest path onto the main road and begun racing neck and neck with the Ninth Princess!
Ye Jingchuan’s eyes brightened as he took the lead in shouting approval, completely disregarding what the Cui sisters and Xiang Mingzi beside him were saying.
The situation ahead quickly changed again. The Ninth Princess gripped the reins, forcefully causing her horse’s head to crash toward Song Chuyi’s horse. Her horse was a tribute from the Western Regions—robust and powerful. Song Chuyi’s horse couldn’t dodge in time and tilted to the side.
“She’s going to fall!” Shen Huiyi shouted in a shrill voice, not knowing whether she felt more nervous or gleeful: “Your Highness’s horse is too formidable!”
Shen Qingrang had arrived late. Seeing this situation, her heart couldn’t help but leap to her throat, nearly crying out like Shen Huiyi—water ponds had been built beside the hunting grounds to absorb dust. If she fell into one, even if she didn’t injure bones and tendons, she would surely suffer injuries to skin and flesh.
But soon, exclamations rang out from the crowd again. Han Yueheng’s eyes went wide as he pointed at the flying dust cloud that had just dispersed ahead: “No, she hasn’t fallen yet!”
Song Chuyi had actually pressed her entire body tight against the horse’s belly, helping the horse regain its balance. Then with a carp-straightening leap, she settled steadily back onto the horse’s back again. She then reached up to pull out the longevity-character gold hairpin from her hair and viciously jabbed it into the horse’s rear.
“Is Song the Sixth seeking death?!” Han Yueheng’s face paled with fright. Instinctively turning to look at the Cui sisters: “She’s a madwoman!”
It was just a competition after all. If she lost, so what? Moreover, losing to a princess wouldn’t be considered losing face. Why exert herself so desperately?!
Even Cui Huaying, composed as she was, couldn’t help but pale with fright. She pressed both hands to her chest, feeling her heartbeat practically unstoppable. She stared wide-eyed without blinking at the scene ahead.
Relying on this fierce determination, Song Chuyi quickly caught up again, closing nearly two horse-lengths of distance and once more approaching the Ninth Princess. But this time she no longer exerted force. Instead, lying prone on the horse’s back and waiting for the right moment, she swung out her riding crop with her right hand, wrapping it around the right hind leg of the Ninth Princess’s horse and pulling hard.
With one hoof lifted in the air, the horse simply couldn’t support its entire body. It whinnied toward the sky and with a thunderous crash, both horse and rider tumbled into the pond beside them, splashing up enormous sprays of water.
She actually dared?! She actually dared?!
Chen Mingyu leaned forward, involuntarily stumbling before steadying herself. Coming to her senses, she hurriedly followed the Ninth Princess’s personal palace maid, rushing toward the pond.
Song Chuyi had already steadily crossed the last earthen slope, riding back from the finish line. She nimbly dismounted. Though her hair had become somewhat disheveled, hanging by her cheeks, she showed no sign of exhaustion whatsoever. Standing firmly on the ground, the corner of her mouth curved upward as she looked at the Ninth Princess floundering in the pond: “I concede victory to you, Your Highness.”
Immediately, a female official came forward with a cloak, wrapping the Ninth Princess so tightly she was completely covered. The Ninth Princess’s hair was soaked through, plastered to her face and forehead. The look she gave Song Chuyi seemed as if she wanted to devour her.
Song Chuyi paid no attention, reaching with one hand to stroke the horse’s head while looking at the Ninth Princess: “The wager Your Highness made with me—I wonder if it still counts?”
Chen Mingyu supported the Ninth Princess, feeling the Princess’s entire body trembling. Looking at Song Chuyi with complete disbelief—had Song Chuyi gone mad?! Did she actually presume to make the Ninth Princess crawl beneath a horse’s belly?!
Song Chuyi, however, didn’t feel her demand was unreasonable at all. Standing in place, she looked at the Ninth Princess with surprise: “If Your Highness cannot afford to lose, then let it be.”
The Ninth Princess’s whole body trembled, her teeth grinding audibly. She felt that all the face she’d accumulated over these many years had been lost in this single day. Her blood and qi surged upward in that moment, her head spinning with dizziness. Her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Xiang Mingzi wished she too could faint to avoid this completely unsalvageable scene. Grasping Song Chuyi’s hand, she felt even the hand was ice-cold and completely numb—probably from fright.
The Ninth Princess had never been someone who could accept losses. She always stirred up trouble even when she had no reason to. This time, Song Chuyi had made her lose such tremendous face. In the future, the Ninth Princess would absolutely never let her go.