i i found the stables of the royal courts more crowded than they had been the day before. Everywhere she passed, eyes poked her body like needles and people made it no secret that they were taking pictures of her.
She kept her head high and walked like she belonged there. Because she did.
As she reached the Jun side of the courts where the horses owned by her family were, she bumped into Xu Ren and her friends. Six seventeen year old girls who thought they knew better than everyone and were hotter than anything on two legs.
"I told you the ghost would be back." Xu Ren cackled.
Her friends cackled like the supporters of a an little bully.
"You can get plastic surgery for your face but you cannot hide your age in the races. Those knees must be killing you every ti you ride." One scread.
i i did not flinch. As a matter of fact, they did but she did not need to tell them that much. Besides, they were very wrong. They didn’t hurt because of old age, they hurt because they were adjusting to a new position.
It was like returning to the gym after a decade of no exercise. Of course the body would scream in pain!
"Another old tir has also returned, Ji Dapeng.I don’t know why they are all trying to relive their glory days. The future belongs to the the youth."
i i was about to take the reigns of her horse when she heard soone being slapped. Curiously, she turned around.
Surprise trickled down her back when she saw Chen Zhilan rotating her hand and Xu Ren touching her cheek. Two bodyguards were forcefully taking the phones out of the girls hands.
"Chen Zhilan!" Xu Ren scread. "How dare you slap ? I am going to tell my grandfather."
Zhilan moved her hand again and Xu Ren flinched.
Then, Zhilan scoffed and said, "I don’t even have ti for you."
ihua looked at the other girls with Xu Ren, frowning. "You are not familiar. Which families do you belong to?"
The girls looked at Xu Ren or looked down at their feet nervously.
Taiyuan laughed. "From the way they are dressed, they are commoners. They are not even riders, just so brats that sneaked in here. I cannot believe that a group of commoners made their way into these stables. Stupid Xu Ren, don’t you know that this is against the rules of the royal courts stables?"
Zhilan was already on her phone, calling the stable manager and making threats about the stables being contaminated with human vermin.
ihua leaned towards Xu Ren and sneered. "You are going to be banned for three months. The Vermillion derby is in what...two weeks? It looks like you will have to wait another year to get your third win."
Jun Yi strolled in, dressed in riding clothes and Jingzhe’s large cowboy hat. "Who says she must participate ever again? Our Jun family alone is enough to send the Xu family out of business. My mom and aunt are princesses. My sister is the emperor’s best friend. We can even have their nobility removed."
Xu Ren’s face paled.
i i shook her head. She knew the power her family held and that is why she had bothered to respond to Xu Ren. To her, the girl was a foolish monkey jumping around like a clown.
They didn’t need to bother with her.
"Guys, let her be." She said. "When I defeat her in the race, she will understand that age does not dictate victory. As an elder, why should I bother with a foolish kid?"
Xu Ren temper sparked even more. She thought Jun ilin did not dare to say a word back because she was a loser, despite her shiny background. Only now was she realizing that the woman actually looked down on her!!
"Jun ilin what are you so proud of?" She scread. "I am just as good a rider as you are. How dare you look down on ?"
i i reached into the saddle of the mare and retrieved a needle.
She walked to Xu Ren and placed the needle in her hands. In a gentle voice that reeked of condescending she told the girl, "These little tricks of yours, I have seen them before. In fact, to , this child’s play."
She forced Xu Ren’s hand to hold the needle tightly and it pierced one of the girl’s fingers.
As she winced, i i increased the pressure. "I hate people that hurt animals. You placed that needle there so that my weight could drive it into the back of the horse as I was riding. The pain and shock would force it to throw off its back. Maybe we would both be injured or maybe I alone would break my neck."
Zhilan shoved i i out of the way and slapped Xu Ren again.
Jun Yi pushed Zhilan because she wanted to get in a few slaps of her alone.
It was the stable manager and Taiyuan that separated everyone and urged them to calm down. This was because Jun Yi punched Xu Ren on the mouth and the girl was bleeding.
"Let go." Jun Yi kicked and scread. "How dare you hurt an innocent animal?"
Xu Ren was crying loudly, denying it. And she was sure that they had no evidence she was behind it. Much as she portrayed confidence, she was scared to race against Jun ilin.
She had watched all of i i’s old races the night before and realized that there was a 50% chance she would not be able to beat the woman so she opted for harming her.
If she was paralyzed, she could not race.
But she had made sure to place the needle there in the middle of the night and then invited so of her friends over and approached the horse with the them.
This way, even if the needle was discovered, she had many witnesses who would testify that she had gone near the stable but not touched the saddle. They were even recording themselves and taking pictures before Jun ilin arrived.
If she was accused of sabotaging, her plan was to use the videos as evidence and then milk the saga for publicity. She would be the young rider being bullied by a jealous veteran.
Now that she was caught, she decided to bring up the timing for her plan. "It was not ." She sobbed, "I was just taking pictures with my friends. We have evidence to prove that we did not touch the horse or saddle."
More and more people were gathering and more than a few were speaking up for Xu Ren.
i i shook her head. "You won’t admit it until you see a coffin. Do you think that I would accuse you without evidence?"
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