Shocking! The actress was dragged to the regent's bedchamber every night.

Yu Chen pulled her away from Chu He and reached out to tuck the stray hairs that were falling down her temples behind her ears.

"I'm gone."

"Mm." Su Wuli nodded.

The horses are ready.

The dark saddle and bridle were embossed with subtle patterns; they belonged to Yu Chen.

The two dark brown saddles beside them are simple and undecorated.

Shadow Falcon stood beside the dark black horse, holding the reins in his hand.

Feng Xi stood behind, his gaze sweeping over Su Wuli for a moment before quickly returning to his own.

Yu Chen stepped onto the horse using the stirrups, his movements swift and the sound of his armor clashing was very soft.

The metal pieces touched each other with a clanging sound.

He sat on his horse, looking down at Su Wuli, and asked, "Can I manage on my own?"

"Yes, you can." Su Wuli nodded. "You taught me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Chen chuckled, "Yes, I taught you that."

Upon hearing this, she felt a flush rise to her face for some reason, even though she knew she was telling the truth.

"Follow me."

Su Wuli was stunned for a moment, and then she saw him turn his head and glance at Shadow Falcon.

Shadow Falcon nodded and led a horse over.

Su Wuli gripped the reins handed to her by the Shadow Falcon, looking at the horse in front of her that was much taller than her.

He took a breath and climbed up using the stirrups.

She sat on the horse, her hands gripping the reins.

A hint of surprise flashed in Yingjun and Fengxi's eyes. They really hadn't expected that the girl, who looked so delicate and frail, could actually ride a horse.

……

The assembly point for the team.

The armor gleamed dimly in the morning light, and no one spoke.

The only sounds were the snorting of horses and the fluttering of banners in the wind.

Yu Chen rode his horse past the front of the procession, with Su Wuli following behind, flanked by Yingjun and Feng Xi on either side.

The soldiers' gazes shifted from Yu Chen to her, lingered on her face for a moment, and then looked away.

No one whispered among themselves, and no one dared to look twice.

That one glance was enough to shock people.

The shops on both sides of the street were open.

The army marched through the street, their horses' hooves clattering on the bluestone slabs.

The wheels made a rumbling sound as they rolled over the cracks in the stones.

A child was squatting by the roadside playing marbles when the marbles rolled into the middle of the road and were trampled by a horse's hoof.

The child looked up at the horse, and then at the person on the horse.

His mouth was open, but he forgot to cry.

His mother rushed out of the shop, picked him up, bowed repeatedly, and then retreated behind the threshold.

Seeing this, Su Wuli suddenly remembered the first time she met Xiao Junyi.

She sat in the carriage, looking out through the gap in the curtains.

Xiao Junyi rode his horse through the street, his silver-gray robe glowing in the sunlight.

The sides were packed with people.

Some people shouted "General Xiao," while others shouted "He's back victorious!"

Those sounds and those images overlapped with everything she was seeing at that moment.

The man's back was straight, and the horse's hooves trod steadily on the bluestone slabs.

No one called his name, no one bid him farewell, no one watched or waited; it was as if everyone had hidden themselves away.

There wasn't a single person walking on the bustling street.

Su Wuli looked at the shadow stretched long by the morning light, and the cold white light on the armor.

Suddenly I felt a dull, heavy pain in my heart, a dull ache radiating from the deepest part of my chest.

It's like something's stuck there, you can't swallow it or spit it out.

Yu Chen was clearly going to resist the invaders and protect the people of Nanhuai.

But no one came to see him off.

Yu Chen didn't turn around, as if it were a common occurrence.

Su Wuli felt her heart tighten even more as she looked at it.

She forced herself to look away from his back.

Looking down at her hand gripping the reins, she loosened one and shook it.

Shadow Falcon turned his head and glanced at her.

Su Wuli gripped the reins tightly, lowering her head to suppress the surging emotions in her heart.

A gust of wind blew her stray hairs onto her face, but she ignored it.

The procession walked out of the city gate, which slowly closed behind them with a muffled thud that carried far through the empty streets.

Su Wuli looked back, but the city gate was already closed and she couldn't see anything.

She turned her gaze away and looked at the rising sun.

The light was so bright it made her eyes sting.

…………

The marching troops had already been going on for a whole day.

Su Wuli rode on horseback behind Yu Chen, with Yingjun and Feng Xi on either side of her the whole time.

The jolting on horseback was more intense than she had imagined, and it was definitely different from filming.

She only needed to complete the scenes required for filming, and she could even take breaks during filming when Yu Chen was teaching her.

The dull pain of my bones being pushed against me spread from my tailbone down to my lower back and then to my thigh.

Su Wuli bit her lip and remained silent, straightening her back.

Just as he taught her, she squeezed her legs tightly against the horse's belly, and her body leaned slightly forward with the horse's rise and fall.

I was tense all day and didn't dare to relax. My back went from aching to painful, and then gradually became numb.

Later, she lost all feeling in her waist and only knew that she was still sitting on the horse and moving forward with the group.

She looked at the dark figure ahead, the armor gleaming dimly in the sunlight.

His back remained straight, just as it had been when he set off.

She followed behind him, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

Until the sun set behind the mountains, only the last trace of orange remained on the horizon.

The line finally slowed down, and someone in front shouted.

"Set up camp."

The sound traveled along the empty official road and was dispersed by the wind.

The soldiers dismounted swiftly and decisively.

Some were leading horses to tether them, some were unloading supplies, and some were driving wooden stakes into the ground to set up tents.

No one spoke; only the clanging of metal and the dull thud of shoes on the sand could be heard.

Shadow Falcon and Feng Xi also dismounted.

Yu Chen rolled off the bed and threw the reins to the soldier next to him.

He turned around and glanced back.

Su Wuli was still on her horse; it wasn't that she didn't want to get off.

She tried; her left foot got out of the stirrup, but her right foot was still stuck.

My legs felt like they were filled with lead, heavy and stiff.

She tried to pull her right foot out as well, but she couldn't lift her leg; it was as if those muscles no longer belonged to her.

She sat on the horse for a moment, gripping the reins, and several ideas raced through her mind.

Should I jump off while holding onto the saddle? Slide down sideways? Or should I pull my right foot out first...?

Yu Chen saw that she was still riding on her horse.

He walked straight over to her and looked up at her.

Su Wuli pulled her wandering thoughts back and looked down at him.

Before she could say anything, Yu Chen reached out and grabbed her waist, lifting her off the horse.

My legs buckled as soon as they touched the ground, and I tumbled forward.

Yu Chen took the opportunity to pull her into his arms, lift her up by the waist, and then walked a few steps to place her on the grass beside him.

The grass was dry, and she braced herself to sit up.

He looked at her hand still gripping the reins, then pulled the reins away from her and handed them to the Shadow Falcon behind him.

People around were unsaddled and others were carrying firewood.

Those people's gazes drifted this way for a moment, then drifted back.

No one dared to look too closely, yet they couldn't help but steal glances.