Fields of Gold

Yu Xiaocao spurred her little red horse on. Her steed had seen a bunch of other horses around it, so its thirst for competition rose. It stretched out its legs and bolted off like a red whirlwind. In a wisp, it quickly left the other horses far behind it. Since Fierce Wind was a Ferghana horse, it wasn’t difficult for it to keep up with Little Red. However, after spending a lot of time with Little Red, the black horse always allowed the little red horse to do anything it wanted. Thus, it kept half a horse head’s distance from Little Red and ran neck to neck.

Yu Xiaocao turned her head around to look at the confident and calm Zhu Junyang and grinned at him. Fierce Wind was like his owner and always did little tricks to get the other horse to like him. Suddenly, Xiaocao heard the sound of another horse’s hooves from behind and curiously turned around to look. She saw the elegantly handsome Ning Donglan, who was dressed entirely in white, riding a white steed that glided over quickly. His white sleeves billowed around him and his coal-black hair floated in the wind. His ethereally handsome face along with his heroic figure seemed to make him resemble a celestial immortal coming down to earth…

“Hmph!” Zhu Junyang had noticed that his little lass had her attention taken away by another man, so he felt quite unhappy. He couldn’t stop himself from glaring at Ning Donglan with daggers in his eyes. Everything was good about his little lass. The only problem she had was that she was ‘horny’! Of course, the type of ‘horny’ that he meant was that she really liked looking at beautiful things, which included handsome and good-looking men.

In fact, he recalled that when the little lass was only around eight to nine years old, she also regarded him with a stunned look on her face. Now that he remembered that scene, he felt quite pleased and self-satisfied. However, when the little lass revealed an admiring expression at other men who were good-looking in front of him, that good feeling rapidly changed into something else!

After he saw that the little lass hadn’t noticed his jealousy, Zhu Junyang threw another look at the tactless Ning Donglan, who had caught up with them, and remarked in a very aggrieved tone, “Lass, what are you looking at so intently for?”

Yu Xiaocao finally stopped staring and sensed his displeased expression. She rubbed at her nose self-consciously and quibbled, “I wasn’t looking at anything! I was just a bit amazed by Young Master Ning’s horse. It was actually able to catch up with Little Red and Fierce Wind. I don’t know what kind of horse it is!”

Who was she trying to fool?! Earlier she was staring blatantly at that handsome guy’s face so much that the drool almost fell out of her mouth, yet now she claimed she was looking at the man’s horse instead. He obviously wouldn’t believe that excuse! However, Zhu Junyang had a good understanding of Xiaocao’s personality and didn’t bother to argue with her over this. Instead, he played along, “Older Brother Ning’s beloved horse looks lively, has large intelligent eyes, a tall arched neck, delicate ears, strong sturdy limbs, and a light gait...it should be a very good example of a Yili horse——a very good breed!”

Ning Donglan, who was already neck to neck with Xiaocao, heard what Zhu Junyang said and revealed a gentle smile, “Royal Prince Yang is very knowledgeable. I spotted this horse in the middle of a herd of wild horses on my most recent journey. It took me quite a bit of effort to tame it! However, Falling Snow is probably the most lively and intelligent horse I’ve had…”

Everyone knew that Yili horses were incredibly beautiful, so Xiaocao couldn’t help but glance at the horse a bit more. Little Red, on the other hand, was quite unhappy about this. The most lively and intelligent horse was this little white horse? That was an utter lie! The most lively and intelligent horse was right here!

Little Red thought that Falling Snow looked more and more like an eyesore, so it bunched up its muscles and sped forward in an effort to leave the little white horse behind. Although Little Red wasn’t a famous breed, it had been fed with mystic-stone water by its master since it was young. Thus, most famous and good steeds couldn’t beat it! Consequently, it leapt forward and left Fierce Wind and Falling Snow behind it by more than a horse length!

When they almost reached the fork in the road that led to the Imperial Plantation, Yu Xiaocao pulled on the reins and began to comfort Little Red. She was planning on waiting for the rest of her friends here before they entered the Imperial Plantation.

Ning Donglan waited until Falling Snow came to a stop and then leapt off his steed. He regarded his beloved horse, which looked exhausted, with a tender look on his face and then looked with astonishment at Little Red, who was currently being fed mystic-stone water by its master. He asked curiously, “Miss Yu, your precious horse truly has some unusual legs and can actually run faster than Falling Snow. I really can’t find many horses that can do that! Perhaps...your horse is the descendant of the legendary Red Hare [1] ?”

Yu Xiaocao shrugged her shoulders and gently stroked Little Red’s soft and silky mane as she casually replied, “I don’t know much about horses. Little Red was given to me by my godfather when I was young and it was only a small yearling then, so I couldn’t see anything special then. I never would have expected that it would become more amazing as it got older and that it has quite a bit of stamina. It's a bit hot-blooded in temperament though and always likes to bully Fierce Wind and other horses.”  

“Good horses all have bad tempers! When I was taming Falling Snow, I almost got kicked or stepped on multiple times. It was quite dangerous. Your horse actually runs faster than Royal Prince Yang’s Ferghana horse, which is a top-notch horse. It must have some blood-line of Red Hare!” Ning Donglan noticed that his beloved horse, which was usually quite proud and aloof, was currently doing its best to curry favor with the little red horse. He was quite surprised by this turn of events. 

Fierce Wind was not happy by this at all. It stubbornly inserted itself between Little Red and Falling Snow and even jostled the white horse away. Falling Snow also had a temper and opened its mouth to snap at Fierce Wind. Fierce Wind had a similar temperament as its owner. Other than acting gentle and sweet around Little Red, it was vicious and temperamental to all other horses. The two horses actually started to come to blows and began fighting. It was quite a thrilling sight!

Zhu Junyang could tell that his beloved steed had the advantage here and slanted a look while he crossed his arms around his chest and a cold smile appeared on his face. From time to time, he would throw a provocative look at Ning Donglan.

Ning Donglan saw that his beloved horse had almost been kicked a few times by Fierce Wind and frowned in worry as he said, “Although Falling Snow has an arrogant temperament, it’s not the type to cause trouble for no reason. What’s going on today? Miss Yu, is your Little Red a female horse?”

Yu Xiaocao naturally could tell that Fierce Wind was jealous and glanced at its master. Argh...this horse was truly too petty; it must have learned this from its master. After hearing the question, she laughingly led Little Red forward to avoid getting injured and nodded, “Yes ah! My Little Red is a mare and it’s a very attractive female horse!”

“Hmph! Only knows how to attract outside bees and butterflies!” Zhu Junyang huffed coldly and had a displeased look on his face.

“Who are you talking about ah?” Yu Xiaocao immediately became a bit upset and her large eyes had a hint of danger in them.

“I was talking about the horse, who else would I be talking about?” Zhu Junyang immediately backed off and stared at the cause of all this trouble——Little Red.

Yu Xiaocao was still not happy, “That’s also not okay! My Little Red is so sweet and obedient and didn’t start this trouble. It was clearly the fault of someone else who shamelessly came forward. So shameless and brazen ah!” It wasn’t as if she didn’t know how to say things in a roundabout way. 

Zhu Junyang was helpless against her onslaught and could only admit defeat now. He ordered Fierce Wind, “Fierce Wind, it’s about enough, alright? It’s not as if you have a blood-feud right now. Are you really going to fight until the other can’t anymore? Come back!”

Fierce Wind resentfully turned around. As it turned, it took one last bite at Falling Snow’s neck. Falling Snow’s reactions weren’t fast enough so it ended up with a bloody bite mark on its neck. However, Fierce Wind was still going easy on the other horse. Otherwise, the white horse would be missing a bit of flesh right now.

Falling Snow let out an anguished whinny and Ning Donglan hurriedly took out a handkerchief to treat his poor horse. Yu Xiaocao, who had been watching all of this, quite liked that pretty white horse so she wet her own handkerchief with some mystic stone water and offered it over, “Young Master Ning, use this to wipe Falling Snow’s wound ah.”

Ning Donglan didn’t refuse her good intentions and took the offered handkerchief as he washed the wound on Falling Snow’s neck. He complained out of love, “That horse really bit down hard. Clearly the horse is like its master; both are irritable and bad tempered!”

As someone who shielded the short-comings of her loved ones, Yu Xiaocao wasn’t happy, “It wasn’t right for Fierce Wind to bite Falling Snow. I know you love your horse but you can’t just blame other people unjustly.”  

Ning Donglan inwardly thought, ‘If Royal Prince Yang had restrained his horse earlier, would Falling Snow be injured now?’ However, he could tell Xiaocao was protecting Zhu Junyang and didn’t say anything more.

Zhu Junyang was over the moon when he saw his little lass defending him. It was as if he had just drank a cup of ice cold water during the hottest day of the year. It was obviously that his little lass still had him in his heart and she wasn’t bewitched by another pretty face.

After they waited for quite a bit, He Wanning and the others finally caught up with them. He Wanning had a dissatisfied expression on her face as she complained, “Younger Sister Xiaocao, is this how the host should be acting? Leaving the guests behind while you run off in front? Yes, we all know that your steed is amazing. When I get back, I’m going to have my father find me a good horse and leave the three of you guys in the dust next!!”

“Alright ah! This silly animal of mine took control of the situation and insisted on competing with Fierce Wind and Falling Snow. I wasn’t trying to show off my horse. Older Sister He, don’t blame me wrongly!” Yu Xiaocao suppressed the smile on her lips and patted Little Red’s neck as she easily transferred the blame over.

He Wanning stared at Little Red with a covetous gaze. Little Red felt a bit uneasy by this and irritability stamped its hooves on the ground. He Wanning nodded her head, “Younger Sister Xiaocao, your horse doesn't look very impressive and I would have never expected that it would be on the same level as a Ferghana horse. If I’m not wrong, this horse of yours should be a mare right?”  

After Xiaocao nodded her head in assent, He Wanning revealed an expectant expression, “Then, once this horse has a foal, it will go to me. I’ve already spoken and made this reservation. You’re not allowed to give it to anyone else!” 

“Who did you make an agreement with? Did you get this prince’s permission yet?” Zhu Junyang once again felt like the little lass wasn’t taking him seriously. She even agreed to send out Fierce Wind’s and Little Red’s future child out to someone else without even consulting him.  

Yu Xiaocao and He Wanning both looked at him with similar flabbergasted expressions on their faces, “Why do we need to get your permission?”

Strictly speaking, He Wanning was actually considered cousins with Zhu Junyang. Other people were afraid of this devil-like Royal Prince Yang, but she wasn’t, “This is strictly between me and Younger Sister Xiaocao, why are you butting in?”  

Zhu Junyang huffed and said, “The little foal that you’re talking about is also the descendant of Fierce Wind. Why can’t I, as one of the masters involved here, also have an opinion?”

“Who says that Little Red’s kid must be Fierce Wind’s kid?” Yu Xiaocao didn’t expect this fellow to be this aggressive that he wouldn’t even allow other people’s horses to breed with her horse.

Zhu Junyang’s expression darkened even more, “What kind of owner are you? Haven’t you seen the relationship between Fierce Wind and Little Red? Are you going to callously tear them apart?”

‘What kind of eyes do you have to think that Little Red and Fierce Wind are in a loving relationship? Obviously it’s only Fierce Wind who is shamelessly pestering Little Red and my Little Red hasn’t yet agreed to this!’ However, she could tell that Zhu Junyang was truly mad about this so Yu Xiaocao didn’t bother to quarrel with him. The first step hadn’t even been taken yet, so what was the point in arguing over the future of Little Red’s children? There were better things to do!

“In front of us is the Imperial Plantation, do we want to go directly to the back hills or first go to the main building to rest a bit?” As the host, Yu Xiaocao couldn’t spend all of her time soothing the hurt feelings of a certain someone. She needed to make sure she took good care of all of these noble-born misses and young masters.

He Wanning didn't even wait to consider before she said, “Let’s go to the back mountains first! We can all make our own decisions there. Those who want to pick peaches can pick peaches. Those who don’t can go hunting first. At lunch, we can have a barbecue with the hunted game and eat the free fruits as well!”

[1] Red Hare - famous horse owned by the warlord Lü Bu