After being severely humiliated by Su Yuanyuan just now, Yan Wenqi still didn't learn his lesson. Seeing that it was Wei Linlang who came out to compete, he sneered again,
"It seems that there's really no one in the Duke Yong's Mansion. Sending a frail woman like this to compete in horse - riding skills. With such a small stature, I'm afraid she can't even climb onto the horseback. Aren't you guys ashamed?"
Not angry at being underestimated, Wei Linlang imitated Su Yuanyuan. Hands on her hips, she said to Yan Wenqi with a smile, "If the helper you've found, Young Master Yan, can't even beat a little woman like me, that would be truly embarrassing."
Choked by her words, Yan Wenqi regretted his own loose - tongued behavior. He had walked into another awkward situation and had his sore spot hit again.
At this moment, someone led in several lean and strong horses. These were the racehorses specially prepared for this competition.
Cheng Da had already walked towards the horses first, planning to choose a suitable mount on the spot.
However, just as Wei Linlang was about to move to choose a horse, Su Yuanyuan grabbed her.
"Yuanbao, what's wrong?"
When the horses entered the arena, Xiao Ba had already sent a reminder to Su Yuanyuan.
[Little Yuanbao, among those horses, except for one that's fine, the rest have all been fed beans that will cause diarrhea. Riding them will be dangerous!]
Eating the beans that cause diarrhea will make the horses restless during the race. At best, they'll throw the rider off; at worst, they'll run amok and hurt the common people.
Unexpectedly, in order to win, Yan Wenqi had resorted to such despicable means!
No wonder he had said such disgusting things before the competition. There was such a malicious intention behind it!
Anger welled up in Su Yuanyuan's heart. Her gaze slowly swept over the horses.
Each horse prepared by the Piaoxiang Winery looked shiny - coated and full of energy. Without Xiao Ba's reminder, she would never have noticed anything wrong with them.
At this time, the soldier named Cheng Da had already chosen his mount. The one he picked was the only horse without any problems.
As expected, the person chosen by Yan Wenqi to participate in this competition was just as despicable as him!
Su Yuanyuan showed a smile to Wei Linlang and said, "Yuanbao will help sister - in - law choose a horse, okay?"
Wei Linlang doted on this younger sister - in - law very much and immediately agreed, "Okay! Sister - in - law's horse will be chosen by Yuanbao."
Seeing the two women walking hand in hand towards the remaining horses, the maid beside Yan Wenqi couldn't help but worry, "My lord, Miss Su Si deliberately changed seats during the tea - tasting competition. Will she notice something this time?"
Although Yan Wenqi hadn't gotten the better of the argument just now, he was confident about this competition. With his arms crossed, he raised his eyebrows and watched Su Yuanyuan approaching the horses. His eyes were full of pride.
"Don't worry. I specifically instructed them to feed the kidney beans just before the competition. Even if this fool has extraordinary abilities, she will never be able to tell."
So what if they won the tea - tasting and the lute - playing competitions?
He didn't believe that they could win this horse - riding competition!
In front, Su Yuanyuan and Wei Linlang had come to the horses. Pretending to carefully inspect the horses, Su Yuanyuan tentatively reached out her hand to them. No one noticed that there were a few pieces of maltose hidden in her palm.
Those pieces of maltose were the sugar - painted rabbits that Su Huaisheng had given to Su Yuanyuan on their way to Foxing Temple.
After breaking off some for Mrs. Tong to eat, Su Yuanyuan had stuffed the remaining sugar - painted rabbits deep into her pocket. Now, to resolve Wei Linlang's crisis, she had dug them out again.
The horses didn't resist her approach. Instead, they showed affection for her and actively put their heads in her palm.
Sensing an alluring smell from her palm, the horses stuck out their tongues and licked her palm. Then they let out a comfortable snort, and their hooves kicked excitedly.
The other horses nearby seemed to know that there was something delicious with Su Yuanyuan. They all crowded around her, vying for the sugar from her hand. Even the horse chosen by Cheng Da was startled and trotted over to join in the fun.
For a moment, there was a strange sight of many horses surrounding Su Yuanyuan.
Finally, Yan Wenqi noticed something was wrong. He immediately stood up and shouted, "Hey, what are you doing? What are you feeding the horses?"
The maltose had already been snatched away by the horses. Su Yuanyuan stretched out her hands and said innocently,
"I didn't feed them anything."
Yan Wenqi said, "Impossible! You must have fed the horses something. Otherwise, why would they all surround you?"
Wei Linlang immediately retorted, "It must be because the horses know that our Yuanbao has a kind heart, so they like her so much."
Looking Yan Wenqi up and down, Wei Linlang grinned,
"Young Master Yan, you're so sure that our Yuanbao fed the horses something. Could it be that it's actually you who secretly sent someone to feed the horses something dirty, trying to frame us?"
Once again, she had hit Yan Wenqi's sore spot.
Choked for a moment, Yan Wenqi quickly retorted, "How could that be? I've been sitting quietly on the chair from beginning to end. Don't slander me!"
Su Yuanyuan said with a smile, "If you're not confident about these horses, Young Master Yan, and you're worried that it will affect the fairness of the competition, how about replacing all these horses with a new batch?"
How could Yan Wenqi agree to change the horses at this time? So he just snorted and said, "I bet you don't dare to play any tricks behind my back."
However, when he sat down, he always felt something pricking his buttocks, and he felt more and more uneasy.
It was so strange. Why did this fool from the Duke Yong's Mansion seem to be born to thwart him? Why did it seem like she could see through every one of his tricks?
Had she really not done anything to those horses?
The maltose in Su Yuanyuan's hand was mixed with the medicine solution given by Xiao Ba. After the horses took it, they could get rid of the effects of the kidney beans and return to their normal state.
Gently stroking the horse's mane lovingly, Su Yuanyuan chose the horse that had first actively put its head in her palm. She said to Wei Linlang with a smile,
"Sister - in - law, shall we choose this horse?"
Wei Linlang trusted Su Yuanyuan extremely and had no doubts about her choice. She immediately said, "Okay! If Yuanbao says this horse is good, then sister - in - law will choose it as her mount for this round of the competition."
Seeing that Wei Linlang had chosen her mount, several inquisitive gazes were cast on her. Everyone was speculating whether she could successfully mount the horse. After all, this horse was extremely tall, and Wei Linlang's height didn't even reach the saddle.
Knowing that everyone was waiting to see her make a fool of herself, Wei Linlang snorted. She grabbed the reins and lightly leaped onto the horse's back in a very graceful posture.
The speed and the posture immediately drew cheers from the crowd, "Bravo!"
"What a neat move!"
A look of surprise flashed across Cheng Da's eyes. He didn't expect Wei Linlang to be so skilled.
Wei Linlang clasped her fists at him and said, "Sir, in today's competition, let's both rely on our own strength to win. Don't underestimate me just because I'm a woman."
The words "rely on our own strength" aroused Cheng Da's competitive spirit. He immediately replied, "Then let me see what kind of skills you have, miss."
Du Zhong stepped forward with a gong and said to Wei Linlang and Cheng Da, "The fifth round of the competition is horse - riding skills. Both sides will ride around the Shengjing City once. There are several signal flags set up on the way. You must return to the front of the Piaoxiang Winery within the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn. Whoever grabs the most signal flags will win this round of the competition."
"The incense has been lit. The competition begins!"
With the sound of the gong, the two horses rushed out like arrows off the string, their speeds evenly matched. Many curious and nosy common people chased after them, while the others stayed in the Piaoxiang Winery, waiting for the final result of the competition.