Upon hearing Wang Youbao speak thus, Li Wuyu, knowing full well that Wang Youbao had no intentions towards her and was only taking special care of her on account of her master An Jing, pursed her lips and said listlessly, "I will go back, as soon as I’m well, I will return."
Without waiting for Wang Youbao to respond, Li Wuyu immediately smiled again and said, "Youbao, I will find an opportunity to visit Hecheng County again... to see you and my master, my foster father!"
Wang Youbao merely smiled politely and said nothing, nor did he take Li Wuyu’s words seriously.
After a brief chat, Wang Youbao was ready to leave, but hesitated before asking, "Miss Li, besides the necessities for traveling back to the Capital, is there anything else you need? I’ll have someone prepare everything in the next few days."
Li Wuyu felt a sudden bitterness in her heart, always feeling like Wang Youbao was rushing her back to the Capital, and blurted out, "If you’re so eager to help, then gift me a horse. Riding back will be much faster than traveling by horse-drawn carriage!"
Wang Youbao actually nodded and said, "That’s reasonable," then paused, "But can Miss Li ride a horse?"
"Can," she squeezed out the word through clenched teeth.
Wang Youbao didn’t inquire further but instead bowed respectfully and said, "Then, I will take my leave first."
After Wang Youbao left, Li Wuyu grabbed a pillow and threw it heavily to the ground, cursing, "Blockhead! Big blockhead!"
As soon as Wang Youbao stepped out of the residence where Li Wuyu was staying, he took Yu Daming to the horse traders in the county.
He was there to buy Miss Li a horse, which he had just promised to do.
The horse trader introduced many horses, ranging from a few dozen taels to hundreds of taels, even up to a thousand taels each.
Wang Youbao believed that the more expensive something is, the better it is, and so, he spent three thousand taels on a horse for Li Wuyu.
The horse looked quite sturdy, and even though he didn’t think it could compare to Xiao Changyi’s steed, it was still much better than the ones he had at home; he bought it thinking it wouldn’t cause any problems on the road.
Seeing that this young master, Wang Youbao, was actually ’again’ willing to spend three thousand taels on a horse for Li Wuyu, Yu Daming was silent for a long time but still couldn’t help asking, "Young Master, wouldn’t it be alright to buy a cheaper one? The two horses at our home cost only a few hundred taels each."
Wang Youbao had a well-reasoned rationale, "This is for someone else; naturally, I should buy a better one to give away."
Yu Daming found himself speechless.
When An Jing and Xiao Changyi came to visit Li Wuyu again, her cold had already healed, and she was packing her belongings, preparing to return to the Capital the next day.
Seeing a brown, tall-headed horse tied up in the yard, An Jing was quite surprised and began, "That horse..."
Before An Jing could finish her question, Li Wuyu said irritably, "That blockhead finds me annoying and wants to send me off sooner, so he bought me that horse to let me return to the Imperial Capital earlier."
An Jing understood and sighed, "I never thought you could ride a horse."
Li Wuyu said, "There’s a horse at my home, and my father occasionally rides, but no one taught me how to ride; I learned secretly by myself. I fell many times, and once even broke my leg, which infuriated my father so much he nearly broke my other leg."
An Jing was instantly amused, feeling that Prime Minister Li having such a mischievous daughter must have given him his fair share of frustration.
Li Wuyu continued, "The doctors all said that my leg was beyond saving, but my father wouldn’t believe it, and he pleaded with the Emperor to let the Imperial Physician look at me. In the end, it was Doctor Fang who healed me."
Pausing for a moment, Li Wuyu went on, "This time I left, I originally planned to ride out on our family’s horse, but I thought that if I did, my father wouldn’t have one to ride. If that caused any delay in my father’s important matters, I’d be guilty of a great crime, so I didn’t ride out."