Chapter 119: Misfortune Follows Extreme Joy

"Why are you hiding from me?"

"When have I ever hidden from you? You wrong me..."

"If you weren't hiding, why did you run the moment you saw me?"

"My dear lady, when did I run? I truly didn't notice it was your honorable self gracing us with your presence. Besides, I am on horseback, and you are on a donkey. If I really wanted to run, do you think you could catch me?"

"Hmph, your tongue is sharp enough. Tell me, why were you detained by the Inspection Bureau?"

"..."

"Speak up! Why are you silent? Are you mute? Hmph, guilty conscience, are you? I'd like to see how you explain yourself."

In a bustling market in Kaifeng, the capital of the Song Dynasty, a young man and woman stood arguing incessantly. The young man was tall and handsome, comparable to Pan An, while the young woman was delicate, beautiful, and possessed a graceful figure.

Passersby watched them with great interest, savoring the rare spectacle of such a talented and attractive pair.

"Hey, hey, Qing... that thing, how about we find another place to talk? This is hardly the spot for such a conversation," Li Sanjian said hurriedly to Li Qingzhao as the crowd grew larger.

"What do you mean by 'that thing'?" Li Qingzhao persisted, undeterred. "Where do you want to go? What is it you want to say?"

"Let us find a quiet place, and I shall explain everything to you in detail," Li Sanjian replied.

"Hmph, let's go then. I want to see what flowery words you have to say." Li Qingzhao, realizing the location was indeed drawing too much attention, snorted, "Well? How are we going? I have my donkey and you have your horse. Once we reach a secluded area, won't you just ride off again?"

"Haha!" Li Sanjian laughed. "How about you ride the horse and I take the donkey?"

"Oh... but... I don't know how to ride a horse..." Li Qingzhao stammered.

"This... how about we ride together?" Li Sanjian didn't overthink it; he just wanted to leave before they became a public curiosity.

"Is that really appropriate?" Li Qingzhao hesitated, looking bashful.

"Are you coming or not? If not, I'm leaving," Li Sanjian said impatiently. *You were the one who stopped me in the street, and now you're worried about propriety?* he thought to himself.

Li Sanjian was no rigid gentleman; he hadn't been raised with strict notions of gender separation and saw nothing wrong with sharing a horse.

"Hmph, fine. But... you must help me up." Before the rise of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, the Song Dynasty inherited the freer customs of the Tang. The boundaries between men and women were not so strictly guarded. It was common to see lovers strolling in public or whispering in quiet corners, and sharing a horse was not considered scandalous. Thus, blushing, Li Qingzhao agreed.

Li Sanjian nodded and helped her onto the sturdy steed, then stepped into the stirrup, swung himself up behind her, shook the reins, and gently nudged the horse forward.

"Wait! My donkey! My donkey... it's gone!" As the horse moved away, leaving the donkey behind, Li Qingzhao cried out in despair.

"Haha!" As they left the market and the horse picked up speed, Li Sanjian laughed, holding the reins. "It's just a donkey. I'll buy you another one, what does it matter?"

"Bah! I raised that donkey from a foal. Wuwuwu, can you afford to replace it? Even if you sold yourself, you couldn't replace my donkey..." Li Qingzhao sobbed, heartbroken.

"Alright, alright, I'll go back. Honestly, it's just a donkey!" Li Sanjian sighed, turning the horse around to return to the market.

But the donkey, which had grown up with Li Qingzhao, was nowhere to be found; someone had already led it away.

"Wuwuwu, my donkey! You must compensate me! If you don't, I won't let this go!" Li Qingzhao refused to relent, crying and demanding compensation.

"Don't move, you'll fall!" Li Sanjian leaned his arm gently against her and said helplessly, "It's my fault. Today, I am at your disposal. Punish me however you like."

"Really?" Li Qingzhao shook her head. "That won't work. My Little Blackie was raised by my own hands; we've been together since I was small. How could you ever compensate me?"

Li Sanjian felt a bit exasperated and blurted out, "This is absurd! Am I really not worth as much as a donkey?"

"Giggle." Li Qingzhao burst into laughter through her tears. "You... you are indeed not worth as much as a donkey... heehee."

"Giddy-up!" Li Sanjian, speechless, glared at her, kicked the horse's flanks, and galloped off.

...

"Giddy-up! Giddy-up!"

In the open fields outside the city of Kaifeng, Li Sanjian raced the horse. The wind whistled, billowing their garments. It was late autumn, the season of maple leaves. The maple forest had laid a red carpet across the earth. As the autumn wind blew, the leaves rustled as if applauding the young couple.

The horse's hooves crunched against the fallen leaves.

Li Qingzhao, who had kept her eyes tightly shut in fear, finally opened them to see trees, flowers, and rocks flashing past.

"A thousand years of mountains and rivers, yet no heroes to be found, not even like Sun Zhongmou. Pavilions and stages, the romance of the past, all washed away by wind and rain. The setting sun, the trees, the ordinary lanes—they say the hero Jinu once lived here. Think back to those days, with golden spears and iron horses, his spirit swallowing ten thousand miles like a tiger."

This was the first time Li Sanjian had galloped on horseback, and he hadn't expected it to be so exhilarating. With a beautiful woman in his arms, he felt a sense of conquering both "mountains and rivers and the beauty," so he recited the poem "Yong Yu Le."

"Golden spears and iron horses, spirit swallowing ten thousand miles like a tiger..." Li Qingzhao murmured, leaning against his sturdy arm.

"Magnificent and heroic," Li Qingzhao, a master of poetry herself, praised softly. "Your composition is not bad at all."

*It's not mine, though,* Li Sanjian thought, amused.

Long ago, the previous Li Sanjian hadn't understood poetry, but he had loved this specific piece for its grandeur and bold spirit. Since he loved it, he had memorized it by heart.

Encouraged by her praise, Li Sanjian grew even more emboldened and spurred the horse to go faster.

But misfortune often hides in good fortune, and joy often gives way to sorrow.

"Splash!" With a loud sound, the horse stepped into a stream. Water sprayed everywhere as the horse's hooves sank into the mud. The horse lurched forward, startling Li Qingzhao, who had been lost in the poem; she clutched Li Sanjian’s arm, her body swaying like a willow in the wind.

Li Sanjian had only been riding for a few months, and his skills were far from refined. Panicked, he lost control, and with a cry, they both tumbled into the stream.

However, having practiced physical training for years, Li Sanjian was agile. As they fell, he turned his body to catch Li Qingzhao and lifted her above himself...

"Plop!" They landed in the water, one after the other.

"Ouch!" Li Qingzhao cried out, landing face-down on Li Sanjian. Fortunately, the water was shallow, reaching only to their thighs. Because Li Sanjian had protected her, she wasn't soaked through, and her face remained above water.

She scrambled to stand up, her hands flailing in panic. In her confusion, one hand landed on Li Sanjian’s mouth, and the other on his neck. Her hand on his mouth forced him to swallow a mouthful of stream water. Her hand on his neck slipped on his smooth, wet skin, causing her to lose her balance and plunge face-first into the water again.

In the chaos, Li Sanjian, having spat out the water, felt something soft press against his lips—Li Qingzhao’s cherry lips.

Under normal circumstances, he would have seized the moment, but he was struggling to breathe. If he stayed there much longer, he would drown.

*If I die from a beauty's kiss, I'll be the laughingstock of the underworld,* he thought.

With his last bit of strength, he let out a muffled sound, grabbed Li Qingzhao, and surged up from the water.

"Hahahaha!" They looked at each other, both looking like drowned rats, and burst into laughter.

"Linjiang Chicken..." Li Qingzhao recalled his ridiculous appearance on the Gan River, and she laughed until she was breathless.