Suspicion
Liang Ping and Du Mao rushed forward. The two of them dismounted at the end of the line and saw He Yan joyfully quenching her thirst whilst Ma Da Mei pondered.
This didn’t seem like Ma Da Mei had won.
The two of them thought to themselves: No way. How could Ma Da Mei lose to He Yan?
Liang Ping went to Ma Da Mei. Without hesitation, Ma Da Mei admitted, “I lost.”
Did he really lose?
Liang Ping was surprised, “How could that be? How could you lose to him?”
Ma Da Mei was the best equestrian among all of the instructors. If Ma Da Mei couldn’t beat He Yan, wouldn’t that mean that there was no equestrian better than He Yan in the entire Liang Zhou Guards? Then, what archery or equestrian skills could they still teach He Yan when he could be his own instructor?
“Did that kid cheat?” Du Mao whispered, “Did you fall for his tricks?”
Du Mao was really angry when he thought about how He Yan threw away his arrows with a roll of his horsewhip. Looking at this, was this something that recruits could do?
Ma Da Mei glared at him, “I’m not as good as I was before, okay? He tottered to He Yan’s side, asking, “Little doll, I have something to ask you.”
“Does the instructor want to ask what I said to your horse to make it obedient?” He Yan tightened the cap of her water bag, “If the head instructor wants to ask about this matter, then forget it. It’s an ancestral craft, it cannot be told to outsiders.”
She winked at Ma Da Mei and turned to Liang Ping, “Instructor Liang, if there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first. I still have to train at the martial arts arena.”
Liang Ping dismissed her with a wave of his hand but she was already out of his sight.
Du Mao looked at her retreating figure, still somewhat dismayed, “He ran all this time but still has the energy and strength to do further training at the martial arts arena. What kind of person is this?”
“He Yan is different from you and I.” Liang Ping replied irritatedly.
……
“General, look at this joke.” Shen Han embarrassingly exclaimed. All of his instructors lost to He Yan despite the tactic used. It was a bit unreasonable.
“That doesn’t matter. You did a good job,” Xiao Jue lowered his eyes and drank his tea, “The riding and archery test wasn’t initiated to put He Yan in his place, but rather, to observe him.”
“Does the general still think there’s something wrong with him?” Shen Han asked.
“Yes.”
“Was it because He Yan was too outstanding?”
If it was because of that, this could only be considered a suspicion. After all, there was no evidence.
“The last move he made at the end to calm down the horse originated from barbarians.” Xiao Jue placed the teacup down from his hands.
“Barbarians?” Shen Han stood up in an instant.
The Southern Barbarians were from Western Qiang, or the present-day Utoh Kingdom. Back then, the Western Qiang Rebellion was put down by General Fei Hong (He Yan in her previous life) and the Southern Barbarians were personally expelled by Xiao Jue. Now it seemed like the Utoh people were on the move. The barbarians and the Wei people had always been equal in strength, but even the Western Qiang Kingdom were on a delicate thread with the Southern Barbarians. They did not dare to be bold.
“Could he be a barbarian?”
“Not necessarily,” Xiao Jue shook his head, “Have you brought the military register?”
Shen Han presented the register, “Here is He Yan’s.”
“Since this person is suspicious, don’t startle the snake. Pay attention to his every move and act cautiously.”
“What is the general trying to do?”
“Put a long line to catch a big fish. It’s important to catch the fish from behind.” He replied unhurriedly.
After Shen Han left, Xiao Jue flipped through the military register and lingered on He Yan’s page for a long time.
“Fei Niu.” Xiao Jue called out.
A mysterious figure as silent as a shadow appeared behind him and whispered, “Young master.”
“Have someone check if there is a son named He Yan in Commander He’s family at the Capital City Gate.”
Fei Niu accepted the order and was about to leave when Xiao Jue gave another command, “Check if the He family has any secret dealings with Xu Jing Fu.”
…..
When He Yan returned to the martial arts arena, a large group of people gathered around. They had been eagerly waiting for a long time.
“Well, well. What’s the result?”
“Why don’t I see the head instructors? Did you win or did the instructors win?”
He Yan cheekily smiled, “It’s a secret.”
The answer did not satisfy everyone’s curiosity but He Yan was so tight-lipped that they could not pry it open. The crowd left resentfully, speculating and discussing on their own.
“It should be a win right? He Yan doesn’t look like he lost.” Said the people who believed in her.
“Since he’s won, why didn’t he say it openly? If he didn’t say it, he must’ve lost and was afraid of losing face.”
Those words were said by those who didn’t believe in her.
“You can’t argue with each other. You can always ask the instructors if He Yan won’t talk.” The people who were neutral to the situation replied.
When the instructors came, they were swarmed by the recruits. Several instructors were confused initially but when they were asked about the results of the competition, they stared at He Yan. This kid was still kind and knew when to leave some face for the instructors.
The instructors waved their hands, “Don’t be nosy. Scatter, scatter!”
No one got a satisfactory answer.
Mak was still thinking about the results when He Yan collapsed at bedtime, “Ah He, how did the competition turn out?”
“The results are not important,” He Yan patted Mak’s head, “The point is that I’m going to bed now.”
She rolled over and faced the wall, the back of her head faced Mak. Mak could only give up in inquiries.
He Yan could not sleep. Her mind kept wandering on what happened at the racecourse earlier today. In any case, the three instructors insisted on a riding competition out of nowhere which was too strange. The three of them teamed up against her.
If she was an ordinary recruit, she would not be able to stand up to them. However, they did not seem to consider whether she was a match to compete with them. It was not a kick-off but rather like a… test or confirmation of some sort.
The art of horse taming she learned came from a barbarian captive when she was in the army. The captive specialized in horse taming and his skills were out of this world. So, she ate a lot of bitterness at the time.
After He Yan captured him, the man was greedy for life and feared death, so he wrote down his clan’s precious horse-taming skills and gave them to He Yan.
Even then, this kind of horse taming skill was too complex and He Yan was only able to scratch the surface. No matter, it was enough to calm down normal horses. If she did not use this skill today, she would not have been able to win against Ma Da Mei.
On the other hand, if this was really a test, the one who could give such a command in Liang Zhou Guards could only narrow it down to the Chief Instructor or Xiao Jue. If Xiao Jue had really given this command, what was his motive? Could he be picking candidates for his Nine Banners Battalion? Was that why he had hastily ordered the Head Instructor to test her qualifications and skills?
Is this really the case? He Yan vaguely felt that she might be thinking too much outside of the box, but she really couldn’t find any other reason. After deliberating it for a while, she simply stopped thinking about it.
She would be at ease as long as she doesn’t lose the game.