Chapter 333: A has been.
The afternoon air at the Royal courts stables and racing track smelled like strawberries and sunflower oil. This was because there was a field of strawberries behind the racing track which belonged to the Jun family. There was also a sunflower field over the hill which was owned by the Grand Emperor.
All these scents assaulted Mei Mei’s nostrils but all she smelled was the musk of horses and all she heard was the distant thunder of hooves as riders raced for glory in preparation for the Vermillion Derby.
It felt like a lifetime since Mei Mei last took the reigns of a horse to train for a competition. She felt like an invader in this sacred place. Once, her images had been everywhere on these grounds, her name was spoken with reverence. But now, no pictures of her remained, except on the wall of former champions.
She had left abruptly. No farewell. No retirement party. No interviews. No passing the reigns to a successor. Just silence. Some papers had claimed that she left because she was too old to keep up with the younger racers.
It had not helped that she came in second in the last Vermillion Derby she raced. Claims had been made that she was bitter and jealous.
Now, at twenty nine, Mei Mei had returned not as the legend she once was but, as a relic.
"You are not that old." C4 said and sighed.
Mei Mei also sighed. She was twenty nine and most of her competitors were in their late teens and early twenties. As for those that were older than her, they were familiar faces and regular names in the horse racing community.
"Must you wear your age like a hat?" C4 asked her.
Mei Mei pursed her lips as some of the younger trainers passed by her, eyeing her with a cocktail of curiosity and mockery.