Chapter 113: Teng Yi

“Lanlan, I have something to attend to, so I’ll go check on it. You continue practicing with Ling Xiao!” Although Haizi didn’t specify what the matter was, Li Rui understood perfectly. Recently, there was only one thing he had been searching for, and it seemed it was ready today. He had to go see it immediately.

“I wouldn’t dare call it practicing; it’s more like asking Ling Xiao to teach me a few self-defense moves. Brother Li, you should go ahead if you have something to do!”

Li Rui left with Haizi. Haizi didn’t dare linger either; otherwise, he’d get mercilessly tormented by Zhang Xiaolan again. Just coming by to report would earn him a beating—truly unlucky.

In fact, the thing Li Rui specially went to see was a gift for Zhang Xiaolan, intended as a token of affection, a sort of pledge between them.

He had it meticulously crafted by artisans from the southern Liang-Min region: two exquisite seals made of Shoushan stone, yellow Wenyang stone carved with intertwined chimerical tigers in a ring design, shaped into flat square stamps. They had already been delivered to Li Rui’s study.

“I wonder if Lanlan will like it,” he murmured, holding the two small Shoushan stone seals in his hand. He liked them very much himself but wasn’t sure if Zhang Xiaolan would appreciate this style.

“Master, Tengyi has suddenly stopped eating his feed,” a young servant approached to report. Tengyi was Li Rui’s cherished steed, a magnificent horse known for its endurance across a thousand miles. The messenger was the stable hand, Liang, who took special care of Tengyi in the prince’s estate.

“What! Go check immediately!” Li Rui’s heart sank upon hearing that his beloved horse refused to eat. He hurried over at once.

The Shoushan stone seals he had been holding just moments before were casually placed on the desk, showing how urgent the matter was.

“What’s going on?” Li Rui asked as he walked. Tengyi was not only his prized horse but also his battle companion, so he cherished him deeply.

“Tengyi suddenly stopped eating the feed. He ate some last night but hasn’t touched any since this morning,” the servant said with a puzzled expression, though anxiety was clear in his voice. He had cared for the horse for some time and had never seen this before.

As they reached the stable, Li Rui could hear the horse snorting frequently from a distance. Approaching closer, he saw Tengyi restless, pacing back and forth. Li Rui called out its name even before getting near.

“Tengyi!”

A horse’s eyesight is a rather poor sensory organ, but its hearing is highly developed and sensitive. So before drawing close, Li Rui’s call quieted the horse somewhat. Tengyi turned its head and lifted it toward Li Rui.

“What’s wrong, Tengyi? Are you sick since you’re not eating?”

Li Rui gently stroked the horse’s glossy, smooth coat. The soothing touch calmed Tengyi noticeably, though it still snorted occasionally, its large eyes looking at Li Rui as if burdened with some grievance.

“Liang, has there been anything unusual with Tengyi’s droppings?” Li Rui asked the stable hand, knowing he was most familiar with the horse’s condition through its excrement.

“Oh! Tengyi’s droppings are a bit soft today. But we’ve been feeding him well, and last night, fearing the chill, we even covered him with a thin blanket,” Liang recalled carefully. The only abnormality seemed to be the softer droppings. Otherwise, Liang was confident that he had done everything properly. Yet if anything were to go wrong, he would be the first to face responsibility, which made him even more anxious.