96: Chapter 75 Thrilling_2 96: Chapter 75 Thrilling_2 Zheng Huchen slightly frowned.
Jiang Li had already mounted her horse, the quiver heavy on her back, she pulled on the reins, the summer breeze caressing her face warmly, much like Xue Huaiyuan’s caring admonitions, Xue Zhao’s jesting remarks.
A hint of tears suddenly appeared in Jiang Li’s eyes.
However, those tears quickly disappeared as the starting drums had begun, and with a “swoosh,” six horses galloped off simultaneously!
To call it a gallop was, to be honest, an exaggeration, as Nie Xiaoshuang and Zhu Xiner were almost trotting; they didn’t even whip their horses much, only carefully maintaining a “galloping” posture.
Kong Liu wiped his face, his tone full of exasperation: “Such a waste of good horses.”
Jiang Youyao and Jiang Yue were somewhat better than those two, at least their whipping motion was quite dashing, but the equestrian skills they displayed were very simple, more about looking elegant.
This drew the onlookers’ attention to the riders rather than the horses.
Zheng Huchen also shook his head secretly, clearly dissatisfied with the young ladies’ trivial behavior.
But there was nothing he could do; Mingyi Hall’s Imperial Archery was never their strong suit, or rather, there were few young ladies willing to endure the hardship, to learn a skill that was hardly ever used in daily life.
On the Inspection Field, the one leading the pack was Meng Hongjin.
She was like a blaze of fire, her fiery red riding outfit making her look proud and beautiful, her sleek figure clearly that of a heart-stirring young girl.
As her horse moved, her hair fluttered behind her head, creating a beautiful picture.
Although Meng Hongjin’s looks could not compete with Jiang Youyao’s, on horseback, she was indeed more eye-catching.
“Miss Meng is very impressive,” someone said, “At least in Imperial Archery, no one can beat her.”
“What about Miss Jiang the Second?” someone beside joked, “Didn’t she overtake everyone from behind and win by a narrow margin in the previous four events?”
“Look, now Miss Jiang the Second is falling behind,” the first person replied, “Moreover, it seems Miss Jiang the Second is not that determined to push forward; it’s probably impossible for her to take the lead over Miss Meng.”
On the Inspection Field, Jiang Li’s dark brown horse was also running.
Unexpected yet somehow expected, Jiang Li’s riding was not as rusty as one might have imagined; it seemed she must have ridden before.
But compared to her leading status in achieving three levels of examination, the brilliance of her Zither Music, “Hu Jia Eighteen Beats,” her equestrian skills seemed quite average.
She did not perform any stunts on horseback, and her skills in equestrianism did not seem particularly impressive.
However, one thing that might show that she was earnestly racing was that right after Meng Hongjin, Jiang Li was the second in line.
This was not hard to understand; Nie Xiaoshuang and Zhu Xiner were plainly a bit scared to gallop, their movements cautious.
Jiang Youyao and Jiang Yue were busier showing off their beauty and charm.
Compared to them, only Jiang Li and Meng Hongjin were earnestly competing.
The distance between Jiang Li and Meng Hongjin was not vast, roughly such that if Jiang Li whipped her horse a bit more forcefully, she could surpass Meng Hongjin.
Yet Jiang Li seemed determined not to exert her full strength, even making others feel she was somewhat leisurely in her pace.
Kong Liu, gripping his hair in frustration: “What’s with Miss Jiang the Second?
She could overtake the Meng Family with just a bit more effort; why won’t she move?
Ah, it’s driving me mad.”
Zheng Huchen: “Calm down a bit…”
“I can’t calm down, you tell me if this isn’t infuriating?
She could have overtaken already…”
With a “snap,” someone beside clapped their fan shut.
Kong Liu stiffened, immediately falling silent, turning his head to see Jih Heng not even glancing at him, her tone cold: “Too noisy.”
Kong Liu no longer spoke.
Although Kong Liu was anxious that Jiang Li hadn’t overtaken Meng Hongjin, those more concerned for Jiang Li were relieved.
People like Liu Xu, Ye Shijie, and Jiang Jingrui.
Jiang Li seemingly knew how to ride, as she rode very steadily, and there shouldn’t be any problems.
With today’s final two events, once Imperial Archery was over, as long as Jiang Li maintained her pace, she would win the bet with Meng Hongjin, who would then lose and wouldn’t need to be expelled from Mingyi Hall, a result everyone was happy to see.
What everyone else was pondering, Jiang Li did not know.
The reason she stayed some distance from Meng Hongjin was simply to watch what Meng Hongjin would do.
Maybe it was having faced death once before that made her instincts for conspiracy particularly sharp; she had noticed something off about Meng Hongjin early in the morning.
After much deliberation, she guessed Meng Hongjin would probably pull some tricks, or perhaps she had already done so; Jiang Li was still unsure of the specifics.
All she could do was stay as far away as possible.
If Meng Hongjin had not yet succeeded, she would inevitably try to close in on her.