Chapter 13

won Young Nobleman’s heart He left seven years ago without returning home, but when he came back, he was very close with Little Moon. Could it be that they had been exchanging letters these past seven...Vol. 1 Smiling at the Bustle Chapter 13

Seeing Li Yun agree readily, Ye Qingran was delighted and pulled her quickly to stand before a horse. He sized up her horse from top to bottom; when he noticed that the horse turned around upon seeing its owner, displaying an expression of joy mixed with reluctance, he forced himself to smile and said, "Indeed, this is Moon Sister's style—this horse is too…" When he saw Li Yun raise her eyebrows at him, he swallowed back the words 'pitiful' and changed his statement: "This horse is indeed proud to be chosen by you."

Li Yun looked up at the sky; one would think this person wasn't afraid of choking on their lies.

"I heard that Moon Sister's equestrian skills are excellent. Shall we compare our horsemanship" Ye Qingran walked to his own horse, untied its reins, and with a smooth motion got onto the horse. His movements were fluid and very impressive. He sat upright on his horse, his spirit shining as he looked at Li Yun.

"Why not" Li Yun thought that it was fortunate she wasn't incompetent. During busy times when she needed to relieve stress, her best way of doing so was playing various games—like racing cars, horse races, mountain climbing, diving, parachuting… the list went on and on. Riding a horse came naturally to her.

"Then hurry up and get on!" Ye Qingran urged, his phoenix-like eyes brimming with excitement.

Li Yun nodded; she untied the reins of her own mount, pulled back any decorations from the horse's head, and imitated Ye Qingran by lightly touching her foot to the stirrup. In an instant, she was seated gracefully on top of the horse. Her movements were proficient though less sharp and flashy than his, but rather soft and swift like a breeze or floating clouds, momentarily capturing everyone's attention.

Everyone was thinking about how they had never noticed Miss Qianyue's beauty before! Her appearance didn't fall short of the first beauty of Heavenly Saint, Miss Yuling from the Chancellor's Manor. Even her movement to mount a horse was more graceful than Miss Yuling’s. The disdainful looks that everyone had earlier quickly vanished.

"Good!" Ye Qingran praised without hesitation. Just by observing how someone mounts a horse, one could understand their horsemanship skills. Her horsemanship skills were undoubtedly excellent.

Li Yun raised an eyebrow proudly, thinking to herself that being as light as a swallow must be what it feels like to have martial arts abilities. It’s great! She asked Ye Qingran, "Shall we start"

"Let's begin!" Ye Qingran also raised an eyebrow.

The two simultaneously urged their horses forward, galloping out as swiftly as arrows from a bow. As soon as they started, Li Yun regretted it. No matter how good her horsemanship skills were, she still didn't recognize the way...

Li Yun felt extremely depressed inside but could only slightly pull back on the reins to slow down and let Ye Qingran take the lead, no matter how unwilling she was. Ye Qingran was in high spirits, naturally not noticing Li Yun's slight movements. The two horses ran out of the palace gate one after another and onto the street.

After leaving the road leading directly to the imperial palace, turning left led them to a bustling main thoroughfare. At this moment, the streets were teeming with people, bustling and noisy. Ye Qingran paid no mind to it all and urged his horse forward at full speed. The tall steed galloped through like a gust of wind, causing loud exclamations from the crowd, but everyone remained firmly in place, clearly unharmed.

Lǐ Yún followed closely behind, watching the figure in front of her riding with great skill. She secretly praised her horsemanship skills as excellent. She didn’t rein in her horse either and galloped through the crowd, causing more screams but without hurting anyone.

Yè Qīng Rǎn glanced sideways and noticed Lǐ Yún was only half a horse length behind him. He too praised silently. Although he had heard that this little girl knew nothing except for her excellent lightness kung fu and horsemanship, he previously didn’t think much of it, thinking female riding skills were merely decorative. Now, however, his previous thoughts seemed to be incorrect. Her horsemanship truly was impressive and lived up to its reputation.

The two horses passed through the bustling main street and went further down a wide thoroughfare lined with large mansions. Yè Qīng Rǎn spurred his horse forward without stopping, passing by several estates until he reached the gate of the Cloudy王府 (Yun Wang Fu). He reined in his horse and turned to look at Lǐ Yún, saying cheerfully, "You did well, little girl!"

Lǐ Yún thought to herself that if she couldn’t find her way, she would have to outshine him. She smiled noncommittally as she observed the Cloudy王府 (Yun Wang Fu) in front of them. The estate was imposing with two large iron gates tightly shut. There were lifelike stone lions placed before each gate. The wall of the estate was over ten meters high, preventing any view inside. She tightened her grip on the reins, hoping to somehow sneak past.

"From my memory, the Cloudy王府 (Yun Wang Fu) has always been like this for a hundred years; it hasn’t changed at all! I wonder if the people within have changed" Yè Qīng Rǎn looked at the Cloudy王府 (Yun Wang Fu), his clear voice filled with some sort of sentiment.

"If you want to know, just go in and see!" Lǐ Yún said coolly.

"Good point!" Yè Qīng Rǎn nodded and shouted loudly towards the gate, "Hey there! Open the door for this young prince and your mistress." His voice was clear and loud; not only could it be heard within the Cloudy王府 (Yun Wang Fu), but probably throughout the entire street as well.

Li Yun thought that this person would probably have a good high-pitched voice if he were singing in modern times.

Ye Qingran finished speaking, and not long after, the door creaked open from the inside. An elderly man wearing gray robes walked out. He was about fifty years old with steady and light steps, clearly indicating that he had martial arts skills. Behind him followed a group of guards who were in charge of the gate.

Li Yun saw that the elder wore a badge hanging from his waist signifying that he was the chief steward, and she knew that large households like this one usually have such managers. This must be him then. The chief steward of Cloud Prince Manor would naturally not be an ordinary person, so it wasn’t odd for him to know martial arts.

The steward walked out and saw Li Yun sitting perfectly fine on the horse without any damage. He took a good look at her from head to toe, his face slightly relaxing as he showed signs of joy in his eyes. However, when he shifted his gaze to see Ye Qingran also sitting upright on another horse, he was momentarily stunned. Then, looking past both of them and stretching his neck for a glance down the long street behind them, he did not see the person he was looking for. He thus looked at Li Yun with a puzzled expression.

"Old Chessman, what are you looking for Don’t tell me that you’re not welcoming this little prince" Ye Qingran frowned unhappily.

Upon hearing this, the steward immediately put away his puzzlement and plastered a smile on his face as he stepped forward to greet Ye Qingran. "Cloud Meng greets Prince, Your Highness has indeed matured much through your seven years of traveling for studies; you look even better than before."

"Haha, you old man still have the same talent with words. If I weren’t welcome here, would it be because you fear that I might steal your crystal-white chessboard again Don’t worry, this little prince now has a good set of chess pieces; they are incomparably better than yours, and I no longer yearn for your cherished old chess set." Ye Qingran laughed loudly.

Yun Meng's old face turned red, and he shook his head, "What are the Young Nobleman saying The house just received news from the palace that both the Jingshi公子 and Miss Tong would be returning to the mansion together. We didn't expect it to be you, Your Excellency, hence I was surprised. There is absolutely no intention of not welcoming Your Excellency."

"Oh! You mean him He's still in the palace playing chess with His Majesty Uncle. How arrogant can one be that others have to wait for them I have nothing better to do now and haven't returned to the capital for seven years. Hearing that the old prince is ill, it's natural for me to come and see first." Ye Qingran dismounted his horse, threw the reins to a guard, and started walking towards the mansion while calling out to Li Yun, "What are you still doing on top of your horse Hurry up and enter the house. Miss Yue, this is not how one greets guests."

Li Yun found it amusing inside but dismounted her horse anyway; a guard immediately stepped forward to take the reins from her hand.

"Congratulations on your safe return, Miss!" Yun Meng bowed to Li Yun.

Li Yun nodded without knowing what else to say and followed Ye Qingran inwards.

Yun Meng looked outside again but still didn't see any sign of Rong Jing. He then instructed the guards, "There's no need to close the main gate. I'll accompany the Young Nobleman and Miss inside first; when Jingshi公子 arrives, immediately send someone to inform me."

"Yes, Head Steward!" The guard responded in unison.

"What a stark difference in treatment! Old Chess Master, are you waiting for that weak beauty to play chess with you, or are you hoping to marry her off to your daughter Otherwise, why do you treat him as if he were an ancestor" Night Qingran glanced back at Yun Meng with a sideways look.

Li Yun couldn't help but burst out laughing. This guy had such a poisonous tongue. Hearing him call Yun Meng a "chess fool" repeatedly suggested that Yun Meng was someone who loved playing chess.

"Young Marquis, I haven't wronged you! Furthermore, my family doesn’t have any young ladies suitable to marry to Prince Jing either; even if we did, how many noble daughters would want to marry Prince Jing instead of a mere servant girl from our household Young Marquis, please don’t tease me," Yun Meng was at a loss for words and explained: "Although I am passionate about chess and look forward to playing with Prince Jing, it’s because His Majesty specifically instructed me to treat Prince Jing well upon hearing he would be visiting that I’m acting this way…"

"Humph, Grandpa Yun is clearly favoring one over the other. Why don’t you show as much joy at my arrival" Night Qingran snorted.

"My young marquis, it’s because His Majesty didn't know that you would be coming too!" Yun Meng seemed on the brink of collapse under Night Qingran's antics. He felt like he was in the wrong no matter what he said in front of this notorious Young Marquis.

"Then why are you still dawdling Hurry up and report it!" Night Qingran strode forward confidently, treating his own courtyard as if it were his personal domain.

"Yes, I will go right away," Yun Meng hastened his steps, quickly passing Night Qingran.is wait until Nan Lingrui arrives at midnight and take him back to your family. Ensure his safety before he leaves Peach Blossom Grove.""And what about you" Feng Jin looked at Rong Jing."Do your part...