Chapter 73 Making Ambiguous Moves

Chapter 73 Making Ambiguous Moves

Shen Nanzi held Wei Jizhou protectively against her chest, her arms passing under his small body. "Let's ride a bike first and get used to it, okay?"

Wei Jizhou was visibly nervous, but he still forced himself to nod.

Shen Nanzi gently pulled the reins, and the horse slowly began to walk.

"Sixth Imperial Uncle, are you as formidable as Cheng'er's mother?"

Xie Chengze's eyes sparkled. He had just witnessed his mother's true abilities; she could not only pick up objects immediately but also use both hands simultaneously.

Xie Yu glanced at Shen Nanzi, who had already ridden to the center, and tapped him on the head. "You're still trying to cause trouble? What? Don't you trust your Sixth Imperial Uncle?"

"A little." Xie Chengze smiled slyly.

Xie Yu's smile remained unchanged. He gripped the horse's belly with his legs and cracked his whip. "Come on, your sixth uncle will show you around."

In an instant, the black steed galloped across the racetrack.

The sky was clear and blue. Dust swirled on the archery range in early spring, and tender buds sprouted, emitting the fresh scent of grass.

Wow! Sixth Imperial Uncle, you're amazing!

Xie Chengze faced the wind, his small forehead full and round, his eyes filled with surprise and admiration, his little hands tightly holding the horse's neck.

"You can even leap onto a horse! Wow! Cheng'er wants to learn."

With Xie Chengze by his side, Xie Yu's smile never faded, and he had no choice but to bring out all his best skills.

"You little rascal, your mouth is as sweet as honey."

After the performance ended, the horse slowed down.

Xie Chengze turned his head, his face showing lingering interest, "Sixth Imperial Uncle, you are truly amazing! Cheng'er really wants to learn."

Xie Yu: "This is the Sixth Imperial Uncle's secret skill, and it is never passed on to outsiders."

Xie Chengze: "Sixth Imperial Uncle, you watched me grow up. Don't you think it's a pity that you don't pass on your family's skills to Cheng'er? Once Cheng'er learns them, he will definitely spread the word that you taught him."

"If you want to learn, bring the apprenticeship gift."

"My mother will provide the apprenticeship gift, so from now on, Sixth Imperial Uncle can come and teach Cheng'er often!"

"You little rascal, you've already found yourself a master in no time," Xie Yu said with a laugh, his gaze fixed on Shen Nanzi and Wei Jizhou.

"Your mother is quite capable."

Xie Chengze also looked over and saw that not far away, Shen Nanzi was leading a horse, while Wei Jizhou was already able to sit on the horse's back by himself.

"Of course, that's why Cheng'er lent his mother to the Wei family boy for a while."

"Indeed, Cheng'er is also exceptionally intelligent."

"Sixth Imperial Uncle, shall Cheng'er take you for a run?" Xie Chengze asked with great interest.

"Alright! Let Sixth Imperial Uncle see if Cheng'er's riding skills have improved."

…

A gentle breeze blew by, lifting the silk gauze draped over Shen Nanzi's temples. The sunlight shone brightly on her profile.

"Princess Jing, why are you here at the archery range to instruct Cheng'er?"

Shen Nanzi turned around, the wind blurring her vision. Through the fluttering silk gauze, she saw who it was, and her expression instantly turned sour.

The visitor was the emperor's younger brother, the twelfth imperial uncle.

He was around thirty years old and had a fairly good appearance. Because he had no fiefdom and no real power, he was granted the title of Prince Ding.

This person has a fairly good reputation outside, but Shen Nanzi thinks it's just that he hides it very well.

Because during the years that Shen Nanzi was married to Xie Yan, he appeared by her side countless times without any apparent reason.

He said some trivial things, seemingly showing great concern for her relationship with Xie Yan, but in reality he was subtly offending her.

However, because he was an elder and had not actually overstepped his bounds, there was no way to find fault with him, and the emperor was also extremely lenient with him.

Moreover, in such matters, regardless of who wins or loses, it is always the woman who suffers in the end.

She couldn't bear to see Cheng'er suffer criticism outside.

Each time, I could only pretend I didn't understand and brush it off.

"It's really not easy for you, a woman. Prince Jing doesn't know how to cherish people and lets you come and go among a group of men."

His tone was full of pity, "If she were my principal wife, I would never allow her to show her face in public like this and be talked about behind her back."

He sighed again, "It's a pity that my queen is unlucky and doesn't give me the chance to cherish her."

Shen Nanzi rolled her eyes inwardly, having heard such disrespectful words about seniority once again.

I glanced at it and saw that the horse he was leading was empty.

"Where is the Crown Prince? Why isn't he here?"

"He went to change his clothes."

Shen Nanzi turned to look at Wei Jizhou behind her and said in a deep voice, "Do you need to go to the washroom?"

However, Wei Jizhou was still young and failed to understand Shen Nanzi's intentions, so he simply shook his head slightly.

Shen Nanzi looked around and saw that there were many people and many eyes around, so she figured he wouldn't do anything out of line.

So, suppressing her impatience, Shen Nanzi led the horse, gazing ahead, hoping in her heart that it would move forward quickly.

"Is this Consort Wei's nephew? Why are you teaching him?"

"My niece-in-law and my sixth brother have switched professors."

"You have a rather close relationship with Xie Yu?"

"We can chat for a bit." Shen Nanzi glanced around; Xie Yu seemed to have taken Cheng'er to another side.

Prince Ding nodded, his tone amiable, "We are indeed of similar age. There's something I must say: every time I speak with you, you seem reserved and uneasy."

"Actually, I am not much older than you. You can relax and not stand on ceremony. Just chat with me freely."

“I know you and Prince Jing are at odds. If you have any complaints, you can tell me.”

"As a man, perhaps I can offer you some advice."

As he spoke, he kept staring at her face, a behavior that made Shen Nanzi feel extremely uncomfortable.

She closed her eyes, suppressing the urge to curse him, and forced a smile.

"Presumably the Crown Prince has already come out and is searching for the Twelfth Imperial Uncle."

Prince Ding's eyes, seemingly concerned, were actually fixed on her like those of a jackal.

"Look at you, are you worried about what others will think? Even Prince Jing doesn't care about your reputation, why should you remain a widow for him?"

Shen Nanzi shut up; she truly couldn't understand.

"Have you looked at the book I showed you last time?"

"I didn't have time to look." The first two times, she was naive and thought that Prince Ding was concerned about her, so she specially bought them to look at.

He recommended stories that were easy to understand and told extraordinary love tales between men and women.

Therefore, I always enjoy watching it and feel like I haven't had enough.

Later she realized that the relationships he recommended were all forbidden, subtle, and tender.

In addition, he would deliberately try to get closer to her each time, saying things that seemed plausible but were actually misleading.

She then realized that Prince Ding's intentions were not pure, and that he seemed to be intentionally leading her into ambiguous relationships.

“You…you’re truly heartless!” he said with a hint of reproach, “preferring to cling to a hopeless ending.”

"Rules are set for those who abide by them. As long as you dare to break them, nothing can restrain you."

Shen Nanzi looked up and saw Xie Yu bringing Cheng'er over. Her eyes seemed to see a savior, and she silently counted the words in her mind.

"one two three……"

Seeing that she was acting this way again, the Prince pretended not to hear and said, "You are so beautiful, you shouldn't live such a difficult life. You should live under the care of a man. That is the comfortable life you deserve."

"Can you understand me?"

"Whether she understood or not, I don't know, but I certainly understood! Twelfth Imperial Uncle!"