“Sit straight.”

Horses have extremely keen hearing; to avoid startling it, Cui Yiyu tried to keep his voice as light as possible.

He saw that although Lin Yuanjin had straightened her posture, she had stiffened from being overly tense. He had intended to reach out and steady her, but his hand stopped halfway, and he instead used the handle of his riding whip to lightly press against her lower back.

Lin Yuanjin did not notice the change in Cui Yiyu’s expression. She only felt a ticklish sensation at her waist and instinctively tried to avoid it, which instead made her lift her chest and draw in her abdomen, truly sitting properly.

What followed was the dizziness brought on once again by the excessive height.

The lower one’s center of gravity, the steadier one stands. When a person is suddenly elevated to an unfamiliar height, and moreover is not standing on a firm, solid ground, unease is inevitable.

On the way here, Cui Yiyu had reminded her that the most dangerous part of riding a horse is not being on the horse, but what comes after falling—being trampled to death, or, in panic, getting entangled in the reins and being dragged across the ground by a frightened horse until death.

Lin Yuanjin wanted to do well, yet it was difficult to control her body’s instinctive fear of the unknown. Subconsciously, she wanted to rely on Cui Yiyu at her side.

Cui Yiyu said, “Look straight ahead,” and the handle of the whip pressed against Lin Yuanjin’s wrist bone like a ruler.

He had intended to guide the direction of her force, but in the next instant realized that even the whip handle was too rough for her, already rubbing out a red mark.

Cui Yiyu’s gaze faltered, and he instinctively looked away.

To cover the unease in his heart, he set the whip aside and replaced it with his hand, cautiously pressing along Lin Yuanjin’s wrist bone upward, freeing her stiff fingers from the iron handhold and placing them onto the reins in his hand.

Lin Yuanjin trusted him. She knew that even if something went wrong by accident, there would at least be someone to catch her, so she only watched seriously as he adjusted her fingers.

Fingertips touched, held—like the restraint at her pillow the night before.

This was clearly proper equestrian instruction, with no other meaning, yet Lin Yuanjin found it hard to control the stray thoughts that arose the moment their fingers touched, and a trace of shame unconsciously welled up in her heart.

She had never been this distracted in class before.

Lin Yuanjin looked at the meticulous boy beside her and steadied herself.

Not wanting to waste his seriousness, Lin Yuanjin forced herself to focus on learning.

A deliberately averted gaze, a brief silence.

A breeze brushed past their interlaced fingertips, as though it could dispel the unusual flutter in her heart.

“Curl three fingers on both hands, pull outward.” Cui Yiyu lowered his eyes; his well-defined fingers pressed against her fingertips, guiding her to wrap around the reins. “Then turn inward, press with the thumb, little finger against below.”

He very clearly did not know how to be a teacher, let alone instruct a girl. His movements were stiff and full of unfamiliarity, trying as much as possible to minimize contact with her, every motion seeming to resist instinct.

When Cui Yiyu’s fingers brushed across her palm once again, he seemed to frown slightly in vexation.

Lin Yuanjin’s heart stilled, and then a bitter, tea-like astringency surfaced.

She did not know that when one likes someone, even the smallest things would be magnified a hundredfold, endlessly speculated upon in the heart, giving rise to baseless unease.

“Are you… unwilling?” Lin Yuanjin spoke abruptly, looking at Cui Yiyu’s cold brows and eyes, feeling as though they had returned to the earlier distance he kept from others.

Cui Yiyu paused. Seeing Lin Yuanjin’s hesitation, she said, “When Father Emperor gave the order yesterday, you also…” looked unwilling.

Her eyelashes lowered, as though her gaze dimmed.

Lin Yuanjin did not want to make things difficult for him.

“If you’re unwilling, then… forget it.”

Lin Yuanjin truly liked and was grateful that Cui Yiyu was willing to spend time accompanying her and teaching her, but she did not want all of this to be done under external pressure, forcing him to do something he was unwilling to do, something he did not like.

If that were the case, how would she be any different from the Crown Prince and the Empress?

“No.” Cui Yiyu spoke decisively, cutting off Lin Yuanjin’s increasingly heavy thoughts. He let out a silent sigh and looked straight at her. “It’s not about willingness. This matter does not conform to propriety.”

Willingness? Thoughts?

To a tool, these were the things that should least exist, and were the least important.

Cui Yiyu had never understood where Lin Yuanjin’s unusual consideration and empathy came from. She clearly did not need to take into account the feelings of servants, let alone the feelings of a substitute no different from a vessel.

He was not the Crown Prince.

But—

“Propriety?” Lin Yuanjin tilted her head.

Between the two of them, what proper rules were left now?

“Precisely because of that.” Cui Yiyu slowly lowered his eyes, avoiding her gaze. The corners of his eyes were tinged with a faint flush as he said very softly, “I am afraid that if I am not careful, my strength may be improper, and I might offend you.”

A person who had always been indifferent to emotions now felt a sense of dejection, almost self-abandonment.

After all, no matter how unwilling he had been last night, he had already crossed the line and offended her.

Only then did Lin Yuanjin realize where his earlier restraint had come from. The tips of her ears reddened, and she softly let out an “oh.”

The tangled thoughts in her heart just now vanished without a trace.

The atmosphere became uncontrollably awkward.

After a brief silence, the two of them gradually resumed the lesson as if nothing had happened.

Only now, there was a little less of the previous awkward restraint.

“Grip tightly.” Cui Yiyu tapped her wrist bone with his fingertip, signaling her to apply force.

After repeating the motion of loosening and tightening three times, Lin Yuanjin was able to steadily hold the reins.

Cui Yiyu, meanwhile, held the other lead rope and slowly walked forward, letting Lin Yuanjin clamp her legs against the horse’s back to adapt to the sway of the horse’s slow movement.

As the horse swayed, Lin Yuanjin looked at the grass ahead at an angle, occasionally turning her head to glance at the tall figure of the youth, and could not help but think of the slightly swaying carriage during their wedding.

One sitting on the horse, one leading it in front, as though there were no taboos at all.

Not far away, Sheng Bingying stood at the back of the crowd, clearly noticing the movements of the Crown Prince and his consort, her expression growing increasingly gloomy.

Yesterday, in full view of everyone, who did not know that she had a dispute with the Crown Princess? Yet that very night, at the banquet, she had received a subtle reprimand from the Emperor, losing great face, and after her parents found out, they even scolded her for being shallow-minded.

If the Emperor had ignored it, the one who would have lost face would have been the Crown Princess!

“She really forgot herself the moment she gained favor—now she even dares to have His Highness personally lead a horse for her.” Shen Qingci let out a light scoff; though her words were mocking, there was a faint trace of envy in her eyes.

“Let’s see if she has the fortune to remain so pleased with herself.” Sheng Bingying said coldly.

It’s not as if becoming Crown Princess means she will become Empress.

“Even if it’s only temporary favor, it is still something that was once possessed.” A voice suddenly came from the front. Cui Xinyi turned around, glanced at them, and smiled indifferently as she asked in return, “What does it have to do with you?”

“That’s still better than you, a defeated loser who can’t even become the proper wife.” Sheng Bingying retorted rudely.

Cui Xinyi found it amusing and raised her brows. “At least I didn’t lose to someone like you, who was publicly rebuked by His Majesty and lost face. What exactly are you shouting for?”

Sheng Bingying’s face darkened. Unable to swallow this insult, she looked toward the Crown Prince and Crown Princess and strode over.

Cui Xinyi watched her aggressive posture without concern. She glanced at Shen Qingci, who no longer dared to speak after leaving Sheng Bingying’s side, then looked again toward the Crown Prince and his consort.

Just in time, she saw Lin Yuanjin wholeheartedly gripping the reins, looking straight ahead, while Cui Yiyu occasionally raised his head, appearing absent-minded, yet the glances he cast at Lin Yuanjin from time to time were especially focused, as though he was constantly paying attention.

When Cui Yiyu turned his back, Lin Yuanjin would pretend not to notice and carefully glance at the youth’s back.

Back and forth, as though they had never confessed their feelings, yet were an especially restrained pair of young lovers.

Falling petals have feeling, flowing water has intent.

Cui Xinyi’s eyes froze, a sense of loss washing over her.

She had prided herself on admiring the Crown Prince for many years, yet had never seen him care for someone in this way. Her once unwavering heart suddenly showed signs of retreat.

She did not dare think further, only turning around and leaving in a daze.

—  .  ୨  ♡  ୧  .  —

After walking for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Lin Yuanjin gradually grew accustomed to being on horseback.

“If you want to stop, pull the reins back. If you want the horse to move, kick it lightly with your foot to give it a signal.” Cui Yiyu spoke slowly. Noticing the movement of the horse shaking its head beside him, he turned and saw Lin Yuanjin pulling the reins, wanting to use force yet not daring to.

Cui Yiyu sensed the restraint unique to a beginner in Lin Yuanjin, and his expression softened slightly. “The art of controlling a horse is not easy. Horses understand human nature—if you are strong, it yields; if you are weak, it becomes strong.”

“With your strength, even if you use force, you won’t hurt it.” As he spoke, he pressed down on Lin Yuanjin’s elbow while pulling back.

Feeling the pull from behind, the horse stopped accordingly.

But Lin Yuanjin felt that it stopped because of Cui Yiyu, not because of whether she pulled the reins or not.

Yet Cui Yiyu did not withdraw his hand immediately as usual. He simply looked steadily at Lin Yuanjin and said, “People are the same.”

Lin Yuanjin’s hand gripping the reins paused. She slowly turned her gaze; from this angle, the rope in her hand seemed to loop around his pale neck from afar.

Her face still carried her usual faint smile, but her eyes quietly darkened.

Of course Lin Yuanjin understood this principle—no matter the era, it was always the same. Only now, in this environment, everything became more brutally apparent.

Weakness meant death.

In the days after marrying the Crown Prince, she had once been gloomy and sleepless, even wanting to give up struggling, yet her instinct to survive would from time to time push her to endure the suffering.