spoiled brat

Chapter 106 105. It’s hard to calm down (5)
Zhao Zhao followed, started a fire on the spot, and skinned and processed the rabbit by the river. Her methods were too rough, and Xiu Yi couldn't bear to watch, so he took the dagger and did it for her.

He was truly skilled with the knife; the rabbit died without pain, and its skin was peeled cleanly. Zhao Zhao suspected that the dagger had become a gentle hand in his grasp, and with a light touch, the rabbit fell asleep.

"Are you...?" Zhao Zhao had recently heard many rumors about Xiu Yi, such as his illustrious military achievements, his arrogance that even Prince Ning couldn't control, his disregard for the law, and his refusal to hand over his spoils of war. "Are you good at killing people?"

Xiu Yi lowered his eyes and hummed in agreement.

Zhao Zhao recalled his superb archery skills and asked, "Aren't you very good at leading troops into battle? Everyone says you are a peerless general."

"One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers. What's there to brag about?" Xiu Yi pointed to the bow on the horse's back and said, "In battle, I don't need to draw my sword. I can just shoot arrows. Guess why?"

"Because you're good at archery?"

"No, because countless people will die protecting me, the enemy can't even get close to me, and no one can kill me," Xiu Yi said calmly, "including myself."

The night wind howled, making his black hair fly and his robes flutter. Zhao Zhao noticed that he was really thin, thin but resilient, and when he stood there, he looked like a mountain forest facing the wind and rain.

She couldn't help but take a second look, thinking that Yuan Zhen was right. Anyone who got a man like that should be strutting around, he was just too damn good-looking.

Seeing Zhaozhao remain silent, Xiuyi had no idea she was harboring lustful thoughts. He assumed he had spoken too intimately with her and created an awkward atmosphere. He quickly prepared the rabbit and handed it to Zhaozhao: "You grill it."

Xiao Duo used to roast quail and field mice in the backyard. Zhao Zhao, having eaten so much of it, naturally learned how to do it too—building a frame, starting a fire, and roasting. Xiu Yi, seeing her use the three arrows he had shot to stab a rabbit, was amused and exasperated: "You think you can use my arrows like that?"

His arrows were specially made by the army's armory. Zhao Zhao, unaware of this, was engrossed in roasting the rabbit, her mouth watering as she stared at the sizzling oil: "Just make do with these, I don't have time to trim the branches."

Although Master Yuan was not present, the spices he left behind came in very handy. Sprinkling them on the rabbit meat released a burst of cumin flavor mixed with the aroma of oil, making one feel as if they were ascending to heaven just by smelling them.

The autumn night was damp and cool, perfect for a bite. Before it was even fully cooked, Zhao Zhao took a dagger and cut off pieces of rabbit leg meat. She ate several pieces while breathing on them to keep warm, before finally remembering to cut off a piece for Xiu Yi: "Young Master, would you like some?"

She only called him "Young Master" when she needed something from him. Xiu Yi looked at the few freckles on her cheeks and shook his head.

Zhao Zhao was overjoyed, and Mei Mei started eating in silence. The rabbit meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the cumin seeds mixed with the oil burst in her mouth, making her feel dizzy with the aroma.

Zhao Zhao choked while eating too quickly, tears welling up in her eyes. Xiu Yi wanted to pat her back, but then reached out and pulled his hand back, instead taking the wine jug from the horse's back and tossing it to Zhao Zhao.

Zhao Zhao tore open the cork and gulped down the wine. She was half-drunk when she stopped choking, and her face was flushed even more in the firelight.

This appearance seemed somewhat simple to Xiu Yi. He looked at Zhao Zhao, whose complexion was not as fair as before, her hands were covered with fine marks, and there was a ring of calluses on her ankles. He thought that although her appearance was not outstanding, she was really vibrant, with a burning vitality like the deep grass all around.

"You've become my disciple, so why don't you come to me to learn calligraphy?" he asked.

Zhao Zhao thought to herself, "You're not really trying to teach me. Everyone's busy. Why should I bother with your kindness?"
“Sister Zhen taught me.”

"Can she be any better than me?"

Zhao Zhao frowned and said, "How is she not as good as you? She taught me in just one month."

Xiu Yi tossed a twig over: "Here, write it down for me to see."

Zhao Zhao wrote out a few of the most difficult characters; the strokes were correct, but they didn't look good. She stubbornly said, "Your liquor was too strong, it made me dizzy, and besides, who writes with a twig..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiu Yi used a twig to copy the characters beside him. His handwriting, like his appearance, was slender and elegant, making Zhao Zhao's look like it had been scratched by a dog's paws. The difference in skill was immediately apparent, like heaven and earth. Zhao Zhao blushed instantly: "You've studied for so many years, how can I compare to you?"

She felt a pang of sadness as she tried to make amends. Her enemy had passed the imperial examination and entered officialdom, so his learning and talent were naturally exceptional. She wanted to catch up, but would her enemy remain complacent? If they were to meet again in the future, would she also say such things?
"I'm not trying to embarrass you." Xiu Yi raised an eyebrow. "Don't these words look familiar?"

Zhao Zhao, touched by his words, indeed realized that the style and form of the characters seemed familiar: "This is..."

"Imperial calligraphy." Seeing her tipsy, Xiu Yi casually said, "My first teacher was the current emperor."

Zhao Zhao was taken aback. She only knew that the Ning Prince's Mansion was now a major threat to the court, but she had never heard of the story of the emperor and the Ning Prince being brothers and respectful to each other. She also did not know that the person in front of her had been raised by the emperor as half a son when he was young.

"So? Want to learn?" Xiu Yi tossed a branch into the fire. "Am I better, or is your real sister better?"

"Hello! You're the best!" Zhao Zhao's expression changed instantly as she smiled and leaned closer, "From now on, I'll come to see you every day, please teach me!"

They were so close that he could see his own reflection in her eyes. Xiu Yi turned his head away and said coldly, "It's not like I taught you for nothing. You have to give me something in return."

Zhao Zhao was bewildered and said, "But I don't have anything."

"I want you to tell me the truth." Xiu Yi still didn't believe her. "Why did your family die? What were your plans when you entered the Prince's mansion?"

The cold wind dispelled Zhao Zhao's drunkenness, and her dizzy mind instantly cleared: "...What I said last time was the truth."

Xiu Yi looked away and spurred his horse to leave.

Zhao Zhao chased after him and grabbed his sleeve, saying, "If you really want to know, then let's make a bet."

"What are we betting on?" Xiu Yi asked, glancing back.

"Horse racing!" Zhao Zhao pointed into the distance. The night was drawing to a close, and a sliver of cold blue tinged the sky. "I'll ride your horse, and you'll ride the guard's. Let's see who gets to the maple forest outside the pasture first!"

"If I win, will you be completely honest with me?"

Zhao Zhao nodded: "But if you lose, you have to teach me to write and shoot arrows." Her greed piqued Xiu Yi's interest, and he nodded in agreement, having a servant bring over a horse and giving the mount to Zhao Zhao.

Zhao Zhao mounted her horse, stroked its black, glossy mane, and said, "Little Black, when I compete with your master, you must not show favoritism and must conserve your strength."

"You really know how to waste things. You used the fine iron arrows to roast rabbits, and you called the best Northwest breed 'Little Black'."

In the storybooks, the generals' mounts all have names. Zhao Zhao asked curiously, "If it's not called Little Black, what is it called?"

"It has no name." Xiu Yi tossed his usual riding whip to Zhao Zhao. "When it goes to the battlefield, who knows when it will be shot by an arrow and die. What's the point of me naming it?"

Zhao Zhao scrutinized him closely and found that he was indeed aloof. His bow was an ordinary bow, and his horse was only a slightly better one. He truly had no materialistic desires whatsoever.

Putting everything else aside, Zhao Zhao patted the sword strapped to the side of the horse's back and laughed, "The young generals in the storybooks all have a majestic sword, how come yours is exactly the same as the guard's?"

"Swords and blades are easily broken; it doesn't bother me much if an ordinary knife gets damaged," Xiu Yi said calmly.

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Zhao suddenly cracked his whip, and his black horse galloped forward, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

What a shameless girl, asking him all sorts of questions to distract him. Xiu Yi spurred his horse to catch up, but every step he took slowed him down, and Zhao Zhao left him far behind, victory assured: "Don't try to cheat if you lose!"

The wind whistled past her ears, and Zhao Zhao heard Xiu Yi's voice carried away by the wind: "Where do you get the confidence to take me by the nose?"

Zhao Zhao thought to herself: You're afraid your sword will break, so you don't have a beloved sword; you're afraid your horse will die in battle, so you don't name it to avoid it being too memorable. You're so cold-hearted, yet you're willing to talk to me so much. How can you be so genuinely disgusted with me? What makes me so sure of you? It's because you're willing!

She laughed into the wind, unrestrained and triumphant, as if she had already won: "You were the one watching me that night!"

The two raced one after the other, so close yet so far. The sun was rising, and golden light burst forth at the horizon. Zhao Zhao was immersed in it, and suddenly felt that she must have been a bird in her past life, free from all constraints, and never having to bow to anyone, able to catch the wind and soar through the clouds.

She rarely acted so recklessly, forgetting all her schemes and grudges, and said without turning her head, "Why don't we just keep running until we reach the ends of the earth!"

There seemed to be a response in the wind. Zhao Zhao glanced to the side and saw that Xiu Yi had already caught up to her.

She urged her horse on, but to no avail. Xiu Yi's voice rang in her ears: "Quickly think of a lie to make up."

Zhao Zhao turned the whip slightly and lashed it at the horse under Xiu Yi's crotch.

Ordinary horses would be frightened and rear up, but this one ran even faster and faster, reaching the maple forest in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Zhao lost.

Xiu Yi led his horse forward and said casually, "Little liar, I wonder how much of your honesty is genuine?"

"Of course it's absolutely true." Zhao Zhao refused to believe it, smiling and revealing her two little tiger teeth: "What I said before was the truth, I didn't lie to you at all."

Xiu Yi's eyes turned cold: "Are you playing me?"

Zhao Zhao repeatedly said she wouldn't dare, but her words sounded to Xiu Yi as "So what? I'm just messing with you."

Seeing that she was about to turn the reins and run away, Xiu Yi whistled, and the black horse reared up at the sound, causing Zhao Zhao to fall to the ground without any warning.

Even with the soft, dry autumn grass and fallen leaves as a cushion, Zhao Zhao still cried out in pain, struggling to sit up. Xiu Yi pressed his whip against her forehead, tapping her with just the right amount of force.

"I must have been bewitched to keep someone like you around. It's a waste of my energy and only disturbs my peace of mind."

Zhao Zhao clutched her sore shoulder, hissing as she explained. Xiu Yi, not wanting to listen, led his horse away. Seeing he was angry, Zhao Zhao said urgently, "If you really want to know, I'll tell you!"

Xiu Yi stopped and looked back, waiting for Zhao Zhao to come up with a fresh explanation.

Despite having so many lies to tell, and being a former prostitute with a silver tongue, Zhao Zhao, gazing at his proud and handsome profile, inexplicably blurted out, "Because of you."

These three words weren't spoken by her; just as when she walked up to Xiu Yi, it was only her feet that led her.

"You're so beautiful, I want to see you every day." In all her years, Zhao Zhao had never lied so fluently.

Even knowing it was a lie, Xiu Yi was still taken aback. Zhao Zhao remained unfazed, but he turned his head away, refusing to look into her bright eyes, and said coldly, "Now that you're no longer a prostitute, you should change your ways of seducing men. You can let others treat your body like that, but can you let your heart be treated like that too?"

He thought her past was so filthy that everyone wanted to trample on it. But she was too lazy to explain, and laughed lightly: "I've been ridden by a thousand men and slept with ten thousand men, so what's so precious about a heart that can't be seen or touched?"

Zhao Zhao looked at Xiu Yi, trying to see if mockery and disgust would surface on his face, but she heard him say in a very soft voice:
"The past is set in stone. You are so young, and there will be many people who will treat you well in the future. Don't belittle yourself, lest those who care about you feel sad."

Zhao Zhao was stunned, like a gambler who was destined to lose but got a good result when the dice were drawn... If he won, why was he so confused and unhappy? If he lost, what was the point of this self-destructive pleasure?
Before she could figure out her feelings, something fell into her arms—it was Xiu Yi's bow, made of willow branches and strung with ox sinew. She looked up in bewilderment: "You're willing to teach me?"

Xiu Yi nodded: "Let's build up our strength first, see you in ten days." He then mounted his horse and rode away.

As Zhao Zhao watched his retreating figure disappear through the brilliant morning sun and the vast expanse of wild grass, she faintly heard the sound of a crack opening in her heart. It was hard to tell whether it was an old wound that had never healed or a wild grass that should have been suffocated long ago sprouting.

It grew wildly.

It grew wildly.