The two men argued endlessly, and Zhu Yanyu’s heart pounded as she finally mustered the courage to step forward. “Can I take a look at this horse?”

As soon as she said this, both men turned to look at her. Awang noticed that Master Fu’s entire brow was furrowed and silently cursed to himself.

Damn it! He had forgotten to warn Miss Gu that Master Fu was an old stubborn man who especially disliked women meddling in his affairs. She must not anger him!

“Who are you?” Master Fu asked gruffly.

“Greetings, Master Fu.” She bowed respectfully. “I am Miss Gu, the stable hand responsible for taking care of Flowstar.”

“You are Miss Gu?”

“Yes.”

Master Fu looked her up and down with a stern expression. He had heard that the Commander’s new stable hand was a young girl, and he privately did not believe that a mere girl could have much skill in taking care of horses. He had always disapproved of the Commander using her as his personal stable hand but had not shown it openly.

“I heard that Master Fu was inspecting horses here, so I came to have a look and learn from your expertise,” Zhu Yanyu explained with a smile, not realizing that she was stepping on the old man’s toes.

Learn from his expertise? Just because she was a mere girl? How presumptuous!

“This is not a place for you. Go back!” Out of respect for the Commander, he decided to give her some face and not argue with her.

Zhu Yanyu had expected that this experienced old master might not look highly upon her, a mere woman. However, she truly did not want to miss out on a good horse. If this horse’s illness was not treated in time, it might really become useless.

She summoned her courage and said, “Master Fu, please let me take a look at this horse. It won’t take long.”

“Miss Gu…” Seeing that the old man was about to lose his temper, Awang hurriedly tried to pull her back, but a strong arm held him back. He turned around and almost fainted.

“Commander…”

Fu Yuncheng signaled him to be quiet and looked stern.

Awang dared not say another word and quickly stepped aside, wishing he could disappear.

However, Zhu Yanyu began to examine the white horse’s bones in front of Master Fu. Eighteen ribs, six lumbar vertebrae, eighteen caudal vertebrae—it was indeed an Arabian horse.

She smoothed the mane of the white horse, which stood obediently and let her touch it, and sighed softly, “Your temperament is much better than that of Flowstar.”

“Are you done?” Master Fu’s face was ashen.

“Yes.” She tried to appear humble. “This is indeed a good horse, a purebred from… um, from Arabia.”

“So what?”

“Master Fu, can you buy this horse?”

“What!” Master Fu was furious. “I just said I won’t buy a lame horse!”

Seeing Master Fu’s face turn ashen with anger, Zhu Yanyu felt a pang of regret.

She had decided to keep a low profile, so why did she have to be so meddlesome? But she couldn’t bear to see this valuable horse die without trying to save it…

She took a deep breath and looked up resolutely. “Its leg can be treated.”

“You can treat it?” Master Fu asked sarcastically.

She hesitated. “We can ask the horse doctor…”

“This is our horse doctor.” Master Fu pointed to a tall, thin young man standing behind him.

“He said it can’t be treated, so what makes you think it can?”

Based on her experience from her past life, she knew that this horse was suffering from laminitis and still had a chance of being treated. But how could she explain this?

“I…”

“Get out of here!” Seeing her hesitation, Master Fu lost his patience and shouted angrily.

She stiffened, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips. She was about to retreat when she glanced at the white horse and saw its eyes filled with pain and pleading, almost as if it were shedding tears.

Her heart ached as she remembered a horse from her past life that had all four hooves infected with laminitis and had to be euthanized. The helpless look on its face as it died was heartbreaking, and its owner wept bitterly.

She could save this white horse if she was brave enough…

“I’ll give it a try!” Before she knew it, the words had already left her mouth.

Master Fu and the young horse doctor both looked shocked, and even the bearded Western merchant looked uncertain.

“Nonsense!” Master Fu angrily rebuked. “Do you know how much money it would cost to buy a horse like this? You think the horse farm should waste money just because you say so?”

“Master Fu, please give me a chance. This horse can really be treated.”

“Get out of here!”

“Master Fu…”

“Let her try.” A cold voice interrupted.

Everyone was stunned and turned to look at the source of the voice. They saw Fu Yuncheng standing there, looking dignified and handsome in his dark blue cotton robe.

“Commander.” Master Fu bowed respectfully.

Fu Yuncheng calmly glanced at him and then casually looked at Zhu Yanyu, whose face had turned pale. “Since Miss Gu says this horse can be treated, let her try. I’ll pay for it.”

Since he had personally spoken, even if Master Fu was unwilling, the matter was settled.

Zhu Yanyu tried her best to calm her nerves and gently patted the white horse, leading it slowly to Fu Yuncheng. “Thank you, my lord.”

Fu Yuncheng watched as she bowed her head, forming a beautiful arc in front of him. Then, she carefully looked up—was it his imagination, or did the birthmark on her face seem to be fading day by day, making her skin even more tender and fair?

“No need to thank me,” he said coldly. “If it turns out that you’ve made me waste my money, you know how to make amends.”

As soon as he said this, several mocking gazes fell upon her, and Zhu Yanyu’s heart, which had just begun to calm down, started racing again.

She had gotten herself into trouble with this stern lord. What bad luck!