After being forced into a marriage with a wealthy family, the virtuous wife caused a huge uproar.

"Since the princess has said so, then you can all go together. Qingya, take good care of your sister-in-law." Su Jingyi was thinking of Rong Yingluo.

Knowing that she was new to the Gu family and had only been to the palace once, and had not yet truly integrated into the powerful circles of the capital, they specially arranged for Gu Qingya to accompany her, so that she could be looked after.

However, when Yingluo heard the word "take care of," she somehow sensed something else.

Could it be that she's overthinking it?

"Then thank you very much for Mother's arrangements." Rong Yingluo smiled brightly. "Second sister, we will depart on time tomorrow. The princess said we will meet at the city gate."

Gu Qingya gave a soft snort, seemingly quite displeased.

After Rong Yingluo left, Su Jingyi led Gu Qingya into the inner room. The mother and daughter talked for a long time, but no one knew what they talked about.

On her way back, Rong Yingluo kept pondering the word "take care".

"Yinghong, you said Mother knew that Gu Qingya didn't like me, so why did she still let her accompany me? Princess Jinyang didn't invite her." Rong Yingluo asked, voicing her doubts.

"Miss, there's usually an unwritten rule when someone hosts a banquet: you can bring one person as a companion. Only when it's the Emperor's banquet would you dare not bring more than one person." Yinghong knew this basic common sense.

"I know that. What I mean is, do you think that your mother-in-law sent Gu Qingya there because she wanted to do something bad to me?" Rong Yingluo knew that Yinghong had misunderstood.

"Miss is now paranoid, but your concerns are not unfounded. None of the four wives the young master married before lived more than a month."

Today is already the fifth day of the ninth lunar month, and there are only three days left in a month. Are they going to unleash a big move? Yinghong was shocked and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Why are you crying? I won't die." Rong Yingluo cupped the maid's face and wiped away her tears.

Back at Silver Willow Courtyard, Rong Yingluo wrote a letter and asked Wu Dali to deliver it to her four guards.

The next day.

Gu Ce got up early to go to court.

Rong Yingluo wore a smart black and red riding outfit, which was convenient for riding a horse.

As he walked out of the mansion, he attracted the attention of a group of maids.

"The young mistress looks very energetic in this outfit, and she looks especially like a chivalrous woman from the martial arts world."

"Yes, don't you all think that the young mistress walks with a swagger, more like a general on the battlefield?"

Rong Yingluo appeared at the gate of the Gu residence like a beautiful sight, making Gu Qingya envious.

They were only a year apart in age and both wore riding outfits. How come Rong Shi had such a curvaceous figure, while she was flat-chested? It infuriated her.

No wonder her older brother protects her; she's a seductive vixen reincarnated.

"Hurry up and get in the car." Gu Qingya shouted irritably, slamming her foot on the footstool.

Rong Yingluo and Yinghong were a little confused, but they didn't pay much attention to Gu Qingya's attitude.

When they arrived at the city gate, several young ladies had already arrived.

Two of them were people I had seen before; they were the young ladies who had been with Princess Jinyang in the palace that day.

One is Yu Qiannian, the niece of Consort Yu. The other is Fang Yuening, the daughter of Consort Yu's cousin and a companion of Princess Jinyang.

Both of them were the same age as Princess Jinyang.

"Mrs. Gu, over here." Two little girls waved to Rong Yingluo.

The two were in awe of Rong Yingluo's pitch-pot skills.

Upon seeing the two girls, Rong Yingluo responded that Gu Qingya simply didn't like those two.

Princess Jinyang won the Ferghana horse from Prince Xuan's son, so Gu Qingya harbored resentment towards Princess Jinyang and disliked even those around her.

"Get out of the carriage. I don't want to ride in the same carriage as you," Gu Qingya said coldly.

Before Rong Yingluo could react, the two girls had already run over.

"Mrs. Gu, come and ride in our carriage. I want to ask you how to play pitch-pot to your level." Yu Qiannian enthusiastically lifted the carriage curtain for Rong Yingluo.

Not wanting to disappoint their enthusiasm, Rong Yingluo got off the carriage.

The two girls were also dressed in riding attire.

"Miss Yu, as expected of someone from General Yu's mansion, you are clearly a woman who is just as capable as any man." Rong Yingluo was generous with her praise.

Everyone loves to hear nice words, so Yu Qiannian smiled brightly: "Mrs. Gu, Yuening is also a daughter of a military family. Her father is one of my father's fierce generals."

"No wonder, Miss Fang also has an extraordinary air about her," Rong Yingluo continued to praise.

Gu Qingya witnessed this scene and felt even more contemptuous.

Flattery and sycophancy—a merchant's daughter is just that—lowly and habitually resorting to such tactics. She lacks even a trace of the arrogance befitting the wife of the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

She's just the daughter of a fifth-rank official and a seventh-rank military officer, yet she fawns over them like this, lowering her own status without even realizing it.

At this moment, several more carriages drove out of the city gate.

It was Princess Jinyang who arrived.

Rong Yingluo was surprised to see that Princess Xiangyi had also arrived.

Gu Qingya has found a like-minded playmate.

As expected, Gu Qingya went up to pay her respects and chatted and laughed with Princess Xiangyi.

At the palace banquet that day, Rong Yingluo had already noticed that Gu Qingya's gaze towards Prince Xuan was unusual, and she knew why Gu Qingya was trying so hard to please Princess Xiangyi.

This was to cultivate a good relationship with Princess Xiangyi, thereby increasing her opportunities to interact with Yuwentai and ultimately achieving her goal of marrying into the Xuanwang Mansion.

She'll have to have her guards find out more about the situation at Prince Xuan's residence later.

Once everyone was present, they set off for the Royal Horse Racing Track, which was about ten miles from the city gate.

Rong Yingluo never came.

"Madam Gu, this royal racecourse was built by order of the founding emperor of Southern Xia."

It was originally a place for the sons of noble families in the capital to practice riding skills.

Later, anyone who wanted to practice riding skills could enter by paying ten taels of silver.

"It's huge inside, with all sorts of horse trails, each with a different level of difficulty. The equestrian competition for the martial arts examinations every three years is held here," Fang Yuening excitedly explained to Rong Yingluo.

"Besides the racecourse, there's also a martial arts arena. The selection of generals in the capital all depend on their martial arts skills, so the Emperor would have the Ministry of War set up martial arts assessments here. Not just anyone can join the Imperial Guards in the palace or the Imperial Guards in the capital; they all need to pass the assessments here before they can become members of the Imperial Guards or the Imperial Guards," Yu Qiannian added.

"That's a really nice place," Rong Yingluo exclaimed.

After getting off the carriage, Rong Yingluo looked up and saw that it was indeed a huge racecourse, seemingly endless.

There are also mountain roads and waterways.

Building such a racetrack is quite a grand undertaking.

Princess Jinyang actually only invited five people, but each person brought a companion, making a total of eleven people including the princess.

Yu Qiannian, Fang Yuening, Rong Yingluo, Yuwen Xiangyi, and Luo Yunqiu, the granddaughter of the old prime minister.

"Young Madam Gu, I, the Princess, have specially invited everyone to ride horses today because you helped me win a fine horse. As I said, I would share a good horse with you, so today you can ride it." Princess Jinyang was especially happy today.

The day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, she went to Prince Xuan's mansion to ask her cousin Tai for the BMW.

As a result, that scoundrel Yuwentai refused to give it to him, insisting that he had only had it for less than a month and wanted to ride it for another half month.

She only got it a few days ago, otherwise she would have shown it off long ago.

"Thank you, Princess. I have never seen a Ferghana horse before. I am very happy to have this opportunity today thanks to your blessing." Rong Yingluo also wanted to see the majestic Ferghana horse.

Just then, a group of young men arrived outside the racetrack, numbering about a dozen, each riding a swift and spirited horse. They rode straight into the racetrack before stopping.

When Rong Yingluo saw the leader, her eyes narrowed, and a strong sense of crisis suddenly overwhelmed her.