NOVPUBOne reason was proximity; there was no need to waste a lot of time on the road.
Another was for safety considerations. 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Last time, in order to kill him, someone did not hesitate to send out eight Fourth Realm experts.
In Chang’an City, they were so bold; once outside the city, the unsafe factors would greatly increase.
Of course, although convenient, the Horse Field within the city was much more expensive.
But for the Li Family and the Song Family, anything that could be solved with silver naturally wasn’t considered a problem.
The Horse Field in the city belonged to Yunmeng Academy.
Students from Yunmeng Academy could use this Horse Field for free by showing their academy’s Identity Card.
Non-Yunmeng Academy students who wanted to use the Horse Field would have to pay ten taels of silver per two-hour session.
Most of Daxia’s commoners couldn’t earn ten taels of silver in a whole year.
Naturally, they couldn’t afford the fees for learning riding skills.
Having lived two lifetimes, Li Nuo knew nothing about horseback riding.
He didn’t even know how to mount a horse.
Song Jiaren had no choice but to start teaching him from the very basics.
She first taught him how to mount and dismount the horse in place, and once Li Nuo could do it proficiently, they’d ride slowly around the Horse Field to cultivate the feeling of riding a horse.
Of course, she was by Li Nuo’s side the whole time.
Even though he had successfully entered the realm of Legalism, he was still in a mortal body.
If he were to fall from a galloping horse or be trampled under hooves weighing hundreds or thousands of pounds, he would at least be gravely injured if not killed.
Under his wife’s patient instruction, Li Nuo quickly mastered the techniques.
His movements went from initially awkward and stiff to progressively more skilled and relaxed; he even started to consciously increase the speed.
However, while riding slowly around the Horse Field, he could still control his body.
But once the horse’s speed picked up, riding on it, he felt uncomfortably jolted, his center of gravity became unstable, and his body began to shake violently.
At that moment, a figure descended from the sky and sat down steadily behind him.
Song Jiaren leaned close to Li Nuo’s body and whispered, "Lean forward, squeeze the horse’s belly with your legs, don’t be afraid, I am here..."
With his wife by his side, Li Nuo was of course not afraid.
He believed that even if he fell off the horse now, he wouldn’t land on the ground, but instead in his wife’s arms.
Following his wife’s instruction and changing his body posture, he indeed became much more stable.
Moreover, with his wife right behind him, he could operate without worry, boldly taking control of the ride.
At this moment, there were still quite a few people on the Horse Field.
Most of them were students from Yunmeng Academy.
The pair, the man and woman, had attracted everyone’s attention since they entered the Horse Field.
It was actually very common to see women at the Horse Field.
Students from Yunmeng Academy often used teaching horseback riding as a pretext for intimate interactions with daughters of noble families.
In this circle, no matter how indulgent things got in secret, appearances still had to be maintained in public.
Under the public eye, even husbands and wives couldn’t be too intimate.
But horseback riding was such a dangerous activity; a moment of carelessness could lead to serious injury or even death, so of course, someone needed to be beside them to guard them.
In the face of life and death, concerns over male-female interactions could be temporarily set aside.
The Horse Field, perhaps, was the only place where young men and women could openly have close contact.
But usually, it was the men teaching the women—a reversal was happening here.
Such a scene was a first for everyone.
...
Song Yu and his group had just entered the Horse Field when they saw Song Jiaren and Li Nuo getting all lovey-dovey on the horse.
On the Horse Field, for a man and woman to ride a horse together, bodies pressed tightly against each other, if not taking the opportunity to be affectionate, could it be for learning horseback riding?
Who would actually come here to learn horseback riding?
Under his wife’s protection, Li Nuo raced around the Horse Field and had already adapted to the rhythm of a fast horse.
Seeing Song Yu and the others standing on the side of the Horse Field watching, he pulled on the reins in advance, and the horse approached Song Yu and his party, coming to a slow stop.
Song Yu looked at the two on the horse and tentatively asked, "Brother-in-law, Jiaren, what are you two doing..."
Li Nuo took the initiative to explain for his wife, "I’m preparing for the Imperial Examination; Jiaren is teaching me riding skills."
Song Yu looked at the two on the horse, thought of the scene of them racing around the Horse Field earlier, stayed silent for a while, but still couldn’t help asking, "Brother-in-law, you don’t really think the Horse Riding examination is about who can ride a horse faster, do you?"
Song Jiaren was slightly startled and asked, "Isn’t it?"
Song Yu quietly lowered his head.
The "Horse Riding" among the Six Arts refers to driving a horse-drawn carriage, not riding a horse.
These were two completely different things.
When driving, one would not be riding on the horse at all.
Pursuing riding skills excessively could even negatively affect one’s Horse Riding examination score.
After a moment, he led them to another side of the Horse Field, pointing towards several crisscrossing roads with many obstacles upon them, and said, "The Horse Riding in the examination refers to driving a chariot; it’s a different matter from horseback riding..."
Song Jiaren lowered her head slightly; this was the first time she had heard of such things.
She had thought that Horse Riding meant literally riding a horse and that the examination was about who could ride the fastest, but it seems that wasn’t the case...
Li Nuo glared at Song Yu.
He, of course, knew that "Horse Riding" meant driving a carriage.
Did he really need to say more?
If Song Yu hadn’t spoken out, he could have continued clinging to his wife under the pretext of preparing for the examination, instead of standing here listening to him explain what the Horse Riding examination was...
Song Jiaren’s gaze turned towards Li Nuo.
On Li Nuo’s face first appeared a look of bewilderment, then he said with great surprise, "So that’s how it is..."
Song Yu shook his head as he listened.
Truly, it was like them.
Among the noble offspring of Chang’an, there were really not many who didn’t know what "Horse Riding" in the Six Arts referred to.
