Chapter 571. Reasons for Marriage (2/2)

The horse breeder had said that the little fellow was still young but had the same arrogant temperament as his father. Other than his personal assigned groom, no one else was allowed to get close to him. Every time the stud farm’s veterinarian came around to inspect him, they needed to expand a lot of effort for this fellow to cooperate. Later on, they discovered that as long as they gave him some of that special fodder, this little colt would obediently allow them to do whatever they needed to do.

Truly this fellow resembled his mother as they were both little foodies. Xiaocao took out another sugar cube while the little colt watched her avidly. Then, when she was adding some mystic-stone water to it, the little fellow even stretched his head over and used his tongue to drink the water out of the pouch with a satisfied expression on his face!

Xiaocao hugged the little horse’s neck. The colt was so small and was even smaller than Little Red when she first got her. However, it wasn’t surprising as the horse had only been born about three months ago. The reason why he was able to grow so fast and so strong was probably related to the special fodder that she had sent over here under Royal Prince Yang’s name, right?

After Little Red was done having her tantrum with Fierce Wind, she noticed that her son was currently being groomed by her master and felt jealousy rise. She rushed over and pushed her son away before stretching her head forward towards her master. Xiaocao felt helpless at the sight of her horse’s jealous actions and could only first groom this jealous vat of vinegar’s sleek and soft fur first to sooth her feelings.

Zhu Junyang burst into laughter when he saw this, “Little Red is still so strong-willed. Look, Fierce Wind has been injured from head to toe from her tantrum but he’s not even willing to bare his teeth at her. Everyone says that a horse takes after his master’s temperament. This prince’s horse treats his wife so well, so clearly he took lessons from this prince!”

“Pffftt——” Yu Xiaocao comforted Little Red as she interacted with the little black colt. However, she didn't forget to rebuke the self-satisfied man in front of her, “Are you sure you want to compare yourself to Fierce Wind? Are you sure you’re as good tempered as Fierce Wind?”

“When has this prince ever been bad tempered in front of you? All of the rumors in the capital say that this prince is a scary beast but, in front of you, I act like a gentle little rabbit! I have never had a temper tantrum or threatened force against you!” He paused for a moment and then a mischievous smile crossed his face as he slyly said, “If you don’t believe me, then you can also bite this prince a few times. That way you can test just how good tempered I am, right?”

Yu Xiaocao watched as that shameless fellow scuttled over with his lips pouted. Her face felt hot and she glared at him furiously as she snarled, “There is one thing that makes you and Fierce Wind quite similar!”

“Ah? What part?” This was one of the only times when that annoying eyesore, Chief Steward Su, wasn’t around, so Zhu Junyang took advantage of the other man’s absence to monopolize the little lass. He pecked at her red, alluring lips a few times and only backed off once she angrily glared at him.

Yu Xiaocao retreated a couple of steps as she used the back of her hand to wipe her mouth. She glowered at him and hatefully said, “You’re both incredibly shameless and clingy to the extreme. Brazenly shameless!!”

“Everyone always says a fierce woman is afraid of a clingy man. If this prince wasn’t more forward, when would I ever be able to hug the beauty, eh?” Zhu Junyang was usually quite cold and aloof in front of others, but in private he was quite sloppy and sappy. If his subordinates could see him now, they would have absolutely thought that some evil, perverted spirit had entered his body and started controlling him.

Yu Xiaocao coldly huffed and stamped her feet helplessly on the grassy ground. Behind her were two horses, one large and one small, and then another one also came over. It was Fierce Wind, who was begging for favor. If a stranger was here now, they would have thought that the stud farm had an additional groom in the form of a young girl!

“Cao’er, let me remind you that you will be sixteen next year ah!” Zhu Junyang threw a charming look at the little lass in an attempt to change the topic to his liking.

Yu Xiaocao pretended to not understand what he was trying to hint at and casually replied, “That’s right ah! I’ll be older by a year again!”

Zhu Junyang saw that she was deliberately making things difficult and decided to directly address the issue at hand, “Just look, don’t you think this prince should have my lady mother start preparing for the three letters and six rites  [1] ?”

“Wouldn’t starting to prepare now be a bit too early? Didn’t we agree to go with the imperial court’s suggestion to only marry when I turn eighteen?” Yu Xiaocao continued to bait him. In actuality, after all these years of observation and testing, Yu Xiaocao had already accepted this man in front of her. In addition, she felt like she was discovering more and more good things about him every day.

One of his good points was that if she married him, he wouldn’t expect her to act like the typical virtuous wife like the other old fossils in this era. Other men expected their wives to spend almost all of their time in the one mu or so of land in the back courtyard, managing the household and children. Zhu Junyang, on the other hand, had directly said that she could do whatever she wanted to do after she married him. He didn’t expect her to change at all.

The second good point was that he was very lenient and accepting of her, and this was something very important to her. After all, her ways of thinking and interacting with the world were very different from the other people living in this ancient era. Regardless of what shocking things she did or scandalous things she said, he always reacted the same: with a raised eyebrow and a rueful smile.

[1] three letters and six rites (三书六礼) - traditional ceremonial rites for engagements and weddings