The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 189 You Are Different (Second Update)

Chapter 189: 189 You Are Different (Second Update)

Yelu Yan carried Li Xianyun slowly down the stone-paved road, the indigo sky ethereal and distant, tinted with moonlight.

Li Xianyun gently wrapped her arms around Yelu Yan’s warm neck, "Husband, are you tired? Let me get down."

As she spoke, she struggled to dismount.

Yelu Yan hurriedly stopped her, "Don’t move, don’t get down; your husband isn’t tired."

Yelu Yan looked up ahead at the horse ground, and before he knew it, he had arrived there unintentionally.

"Ahead is the horse ground, do you want to ride a horse?"

The Khitan, truly a nation of horsemen, adored horse riding, having carved out a large area within the Imperial Palace for a horse ground.

"Good, I just wanted to see Xiaoxue."

At the entrance to the horse ground, Li Xianyun struggled to get down.

Yelu Yan did not stop her this time, steadying her as she dismounted while holding her little hand, his fingertips gently exploring her tiny fingernails.

It felt so comfortable.

The two guards at the horse ground were dozing off near the gate, only noticing Yelu Yan and Li Xianyun when they approached. The guard who recognized his own Khan almost bit his tongue in shock, hurriedly kneeling to salute: "My respects to the Khan, my respects to the Princess."

Yelu Yan responded indifferently with a "Hmm," leading Li Xianyun into the horse ground.

Soon, the horse ground’s Chief hurried over upon receiving the news. After respectfully greeting them, he asked, "Khan, should I bring over the Khan’s cherished blood-sweat horse?"

Yelu Yan’s voice was as cool as usual, "Your Khan and the Princess will go to the stables personally."

It was only when facing Li Xianyun that he would show a smile; at other times, he was quite indifferent, which made everybody fear him.

Coming up to the stable, Li Xianyun instantly spotted "Xiaoxue" amidst all the horses, its whiteness outshone only by snow.

Just as Li Xianyun was about to walk inside, Yelu Yan held her back.

Li Xianyun turned her head, looking at him with puzzled eyes.

Yelu Yan bent down and scooped Li Xianyun into his arms, carrying her towards the white horse.

Li Xianyun glanced unnaturally at the accompanying maids, palace servants, and horse ground guards, lowering her voice, "Husband, put me down, there are so many people."

Yelu Yan looked at her, his mouth full of smiles, "The stable is full of weeds, I don’t want your shoes and socks to get dirty."

"But aren’t you walking yourself? Aren’t you afraid of getting dirty?"

"Your husband has thick skin and rough flesh, what is there to fear from a bit of dirt?"

That same phrase again.

"I’m not afraid either."

Yelu Yan leaned in to nuzzle Li Xianyun’s little head, "You are different."

Perhaps due to the many people around, the horses inside the stable stirred slightly, their hoofbeats and snorts becoming audible.

One of the horses near Li Xianyun suddenly let out a loud snort, startling her, her body trembling, she cried out, "Husband."

As she spoke, she wrapped her arms tightly around Yelu Yan’s neck, burying her little face deep into his warm nape.

Yelu Yan chuckled, "Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, your husband is here."

After a moment, Li Xianyun lifted her head, her eyelids downturned, biting her lips somewhat embarrassingly.

Actually, she wasn’t afraid of the horse’s neigh; it was just that the sudden sound by her ear had made her a little scared.

Arriving at "Xiaoxue’s" side, Yelu Yan set Li Xianyun down.

"Xiaoxue" snorted happily upon seeing its owner.

The horse ground’s Chief brought over a bag.

Yelu Yan grabbed a handful of corn from it and gave it to Li Xianyun.

"Xiaoxue" ate merrily from Li Xianyun’s hand.

Li Xianyun, meanwhile, gently stroked it.

After feeding "Xiaoxue," Yelu Yan had someone bring out his mount—a red-brown blood-sweat horse.

Li Xianyun looked at him puzzledly, "Won’t Xiaoxue be led out?"

"You’ll ride with me on the same horse."

Yelu Yan helped Li Xianyun onto the horseback, and after she was seated securely, he swung up behind her, settling in stably. He then wrapped his arms around her, enclosing her in his embrace.

Yelu Yan fiercely squeezed the horse with his legs, and the steed pranced forward, picking up speed as it ran. Both bounced along to the rhythm of the galloping horse, feeling an indescribable exhilaration.

After a few laps, Yelu Yan turned his head to look at Li Xianyun. She was gently stroking the horse’s mane, and he spoke in a soft voice, "Do you want to run another lap?"

Li Xianyun shook her head with a smile.

"Then shall we head back to the Khan Palace?"

"Mm."

Yelu Yan gently kissed her cheek and spurred the horse towards the Khan Palace.

...

The next morning, Li Xianyun woke up from her sleep and lazily lay in bed. Last night, Yelu Yan had playfully kissed her for a long time; she didn’t even know how she fell asleep in the end.

Indeed, a man who hasn’t experienced the pleasures of the flesh certainly has boundless energy. Despite the late hour of their antics last night, he was up as usual at the crack of dawn.

After lounging in bed for a while, Li Xianyun got up to wash up, dress, and put on her makeup.

Once everything was in order, she took Zhuo Ma and the rest, a group of four, and headed out of the palace.

Today was the opening day of Ruyi Square. She wanted to see if she could be of any help, and if things went smoothly, Li Xianyun planned to visit Shitoutun.

As they approached the street where Ruyi Square was located, they heard the sound of gongs and drums. Following the sounds, sure enough, they were coming from right in front of Ruyi Square.

Many performers were invited to the entrance—there were those playing gongs and drums, lion dancers, jugglers—but there weren’t many spectators, and even fewer were entering the store.

The performers were enthusiastic at first, but as time went on, they felt that playing up to an empty street was rather meaningless and began to slack off.

Luckily, Ali stepped up to manage the situation, using their wages as leverage to motivate the performers to put in effort again.

Zhuo Ma began to worry, "My lady, if this continues, we’ll incur losses."

Li Xianyun was confident, "That won’t happen."

"What won’t happen?"

A man’s voice suddenly came from behind her.

That voice was very familiar, having just heard it yesterday.

Li Xianyun turned her head to look, and sure enough, it was the Ninth Prince, Yelu Qi.

If this continued, Yelu Yan would be provoked by him sooner or later, which would also play right into his hands.

Yesterday, Yelu Qi had been waiting in another palace for the decree from Yelu Yan to banish him, but no matter how long he waited, it didn’t come.

He knew then that the issue lay with Li Xianyun, who must have advised against it. Given Yelu Yan’s infatuation with her, it would have been possible for him, in a moment of passion, to act irrationally had she not intervened.

Therefore, he decided to stoke the flames further, to thoroughly enrage Yelu Yan.

Yelu Qi looked down at Li Xianyun, "We meet again today. What a coincidence."

"A coincidence? Or is it someone’s deliberate doing?"

Li Xianyun’s words were pointed, like a little hedgehog warning others to keep their distance.

Yelu Qi pretended not to understand, looking at the bustling scene in front of Ruyi Square, "How come you have the leisure to join in the festivity today?"

"Aren’t you also here at your leisure to join the fun?"

Seeing that Ruyi Square was progressing well, Li Xianyun wanted to leave.

With such a person of ill intent by her side, if he discovered her connection with Ruyi Square, who knew what he might do to harm the establishment.

Li Xianyun looked at Yelu Qi, "I have other matters to attend to; you enjoy the view."

Saying so, she led Zhuo Ma and the others onto the street, planning to make a couple of rounds in the West Market to shake off this tail, Yelu Qi.

Yelu Qi stepped forward and followed, looking at Li Xianyun, "Why stop watching the spectacle?"

Li Xianyun gave Yelu Qi a cold look. Since he insisted on following, she wouldn’t feel sorry for being rude to him.