"Moon Stepping! Moon Stepping is the counterpart to Zhuri, just like you and I are a pair. Hehe, my lord, isn’t that a great name?"
After the excitement of horse training had passed, An Jing furrowed her brows in discomfort, "My lord, training this horse has left my hands and feet sore and achy. Tonight, you must give me a proper massage."
"Mm." He paused, "Are there any other places that are uncomfortable?"
Xiao Changyi then stopped asking, and even though he stopped speaking, the fingers intertwined with An Jing’s tightened and tightened again.
An Jing knew that her lord must have been especially worried about her while she was training horses, so she also tightened her grip on his hand and even smiled at him more brilliantly.
And her smile, like the warm sun in winter, not only made Xiao Changyi’s heart feel a warm glow but also slowly brought a smile to his lips.
Three days later, the Emperor of Xiyun sent someone to Prince Yi’s Mansion to find Xiao Changyi and An Jing, saying that Dongfang Tianyang would be setting off back to Dongqing in two days, and asked Xiao Changyi and An Jing to show Dongfang Tianyang around the Imperial Capital.
An Jing asked the messenger, "Why do I have to go too?"
Showing a foreign envoy around was a normal duty for her husband, Prince Yi.
But why include her, a woman of the household?
The person replied, "It was the Seventh Prince of Dongqing himself who requested this from the Emperor. He said he wished for the Prince and Princess to accompany him on a tour."
An Jing frowned, sent the messenger back to the palace, and then asked Xiao Changyi, "My lord, what is Dongfang Tianyang up to, that he has asked for us to show him around? Are we that close to him to begin with?"
Xiao Changyi said, "I don’t know." After a pause, he added, "When the enemy advances, we must defend; when the flood comes, we must dam it."
"That’s all we can do," she agreed, since she had no idea what Dongfang Tianyang was up to either.
That day, as An Jing and Xiao Changyi were getting ready to leave home to find Dongfang Tianyang at the post station, they had not yet stepped out when the servants informed them that Dongfang Tianyang had already arrived at Prince Yi’s Mansion.
"Presumptuous of me to come uninvited, I hope the Prince and Princess will forgive me," said Dongfang Tianyang with a smile upon seeing An Jing and Xiao Changyi. "Tianyang was just too eager to have the Prince and Princess show him around, so he didn’t wait for you to find him and came here on his own."
When he saw the four adorable little ones behind An Jing and Xiao Changyi, Dongfang Tianyang immediately expressed his envy, "The Prince and Princess are truly blessed, to have four sons in one go."
After a pause, Dongfang Tianyang continued, "I heard that when these four children were born, there were signs in the sky, Jing Xingqingyun, which surely means these children are destined for great things."
An Jing politely responded, "The Seventh Prince is jesting. These four children of ours are just ordinary kids, certainly not destined for greatness."
Without waiting for Dongfang Tianyang to speak again, An Jing turned and ordered the maidservants, "Take the young masters out to play."
"Yes." The maidservants hurriedly took the four little ones out of the main courtyard to play elsewhere in the mansion.
Before the four little ones were taken away, they each gave An Jing and Xiao Changyi a hug.
The family of six was so warm and happy that it left no room for others to intrude.
Dongfang Tianyang watched, feeling somewhat unsettled. Actually, he wanted An Jing to show him around alone, but for the sake of propriety and reason, he could only tell the Emperor of Xiyun that he wished for both Xiao Changyi and An Jing to accompany him.
Yes, he had fallen for An Jing.
When he saw An Jing, valiant and splendid in her horse training, he thought she was different from any other woman he had met; and as he watched, captivated, he found himself falling for her.