Yuwen Xian was summoned to the palace, where Yuwen Wuji brought up the polo match.

"You are skilled at riding horses. Consort Shu has given you a month's notice. During this month, select some women who can ride horses and train them well. This competition can only be won, not lost!"

Yuwen Xian silently accepted the imperial decree and left the palace, her heart heavy. Outside the palace gates, she saw Princess Tuoba Hongyun of Beiqing.

The other person's appearance is very typical of northerners: deep-set brow bones, deep-set eyes, and thick eyelashes. Their nose is slightly upturned and straight, and their lips are thin, appearing mocking when they are curled at an angle.

She wore a navy blue short skirt embroidered with red vines, looking both refreshing and capable. Her jet-black hair was braided into small braids, with silver ornaments hanging from the ends, jingling as she walked.

"Your Highness, I heard that my opponent is you?" She went up to her, her smile arrogant and provocative.

Yuwen Xian looked at her, and because of the other's tall stature, she had to raise her chin.

"Not yet," Yuwen Xian said calmly. "It will be in a month."

Upon hearing her words, Tuoba Hongyun burst into laughter, a hearty and confident laugh.

"Alright, alright, Your Highness, see you in a month!" With that, she waved to Yuwen Xian, mounted her horse, and rode away.

Yuwen Xian watched her light and nimble figure as she walked away, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

The news of the upcoming polo match against Beiqing quickly spread throughout the capital, and many families with daughters who played polo were extremely excited.

If they participate in this competition and win, their family will definitely be remembered by the Emperor. Even if they lose, it doesn't matter, because their daughter has done her best. Even if the Emperor is angry, he won't take it out on their family.

Therefore, in a short time, many people came to the Grand Princess's residence, all of them ladies bringing their daughters for interviews.

With the competition just a month away, time was extremely tight. Yuwen Xian naturally knew that he should finalize the selection as soon as possible so that training could begin quickly.

However, the noble ladies in the capital were all too delicate. Even those who could ride horses couldn't control them. If something happened during the competition, they wouldn't even be able to save themselves. How could Yuwen Xian dare to choose them?

Losing the game is not a big deal, but if someone dies, that would be difficult to explain.

They spent several days choosing, but still couldn't decide on a person.

Yongle volunteered, "I learned my riding skills from my aunt. Although I didn't master them, I'm still better than those people, right?"

Yuwen Xian reluctantly added Yongle's name to the list of names.

"If my aunt weren't pregnant again, I really would have wanted to bring her over. If she were here, our chances of winning would be much higher," Yongle said indignantly. "It's all Xie Liwei's fault! If it weren't for him, how could my aunt have gotten pregnant at this time! Men really are just a hindrance!"

Yuwen Xian gave her a cool look. "I think you're just bored out of your mind since Shen Qingque isn't here."

Yongle immediately cupped her face in her hands, looking embarrassed, and said, "Don't expose me!"

"Each team has four people, and now with you, we're still short two." Two is already a small number; we need at least four more as backup members, just in case.

Yuwen Xian rested her chin on her hand, looking somewhat melancholy. It wasn't that she looked down on those noble ladies; it was that she genuinely didn't dare let them take any risks.

"Oh, don't worry, let me go ask Song Yaozhu. Maybe she has a solution?"

Yuwen Xian looked at her and silently added his maid's name to the paper.

“Mok-sai has been learning equestrianism with me since she was a child, so her ability goes without saying. We are still missing one person.”

"How about you find a man to dress up as a woman?"

"......"

The two were embracing each other in distress, feeling depressed, when the gatekeeper of the Princess's residence came to report: "Princess, a chivalrous woman has arrived outside, saying she wants to sign up for the polo match!"

The two were taken aback, thinking how could such a coincidence happen, but they still let someone in to take a look first.

The moment the girl entered, her efficient demeanor made Yuwen Xian and Yongle breathe a sigh of relief.

"Sister Cao!" Yongle ran towards her quickly, and Cao Jing caught her with a big laugh.

"It's been so long! Sister Cao, you're actually back!" When Yongle got married, Cao Jing was out working as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort). Although she missed the wedding, she received a generous gift from Cao Jing—a whole box of erotic pictures.

“I only arrived in the capital last night. The Princess Consort sent me a message asking me to come today to see if the Princess has any instructions.”

Cao Jing, with the air of a chivalrous woman, clasped her hands in a respectful greeting to Yuwen Xian, showing no restraint whatsoever.

Yuwen Xian was overjoyed, "With you here, I believe we can win!"

She had previously sparred with Cao Jing on horseback. Although Cao Jing was no match for her, Cao Jing had traveled all over the country and spent most of her time on horseback, so her riding skills must have improved considerably over the years.

Cao Jing smiled shyly, "Your Highness thinks too highly of me, but I will definitely practice harder!"

Having finalized the four candidates, Yuwen Xian began preparing the training plan. She also selected another maid from among her own maids as a backup, so that if anything happened to one of them, she could immediately fill in.

There was a horse farm in the Princess's residence. After the first day of training, Yongle collapsed in the Princess's residence and didn't even want to go home.

Yuwen Xian arranged a room for her and had a maid massage her shoulders and legs, fearing that she wouldn't be able to get out of bed the next day and would miss her training.

"I can't train anymore!" Yongle roared, tilting his head back, thinking to himself that he shouldn't have joined in the fun.

She now understood the complicated look in Yuwen Xian's eyes when she said she wanted to join. It was as if he felt she couldn't handle the hardship.

Waaah, I'm so tired!

"For the sake of Dachen, we cannot give up!"

She was, after all, a princess of the Great Chen Dynasty, and now it was her turn to make a contribution!

"Beiqing is really coming on strong."

"Yes, Tuoba Hongyun said he just wanted to have a friendly match in polo, but actually he wanted to test the strength of our Great Chen." Xie Liwei rested his chin on his hand as he ground ink for Song Yaozhu. Song Yaozhu said she would paint his portrait, and he was really looking forward to it.

Song Yaozhu held the pen and sketched lines on the paper. "The men's polo team has been selected, but the team leader is the Fifth Prince."

Speaking of the Fifth Prince, Song Yaozhu couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Although the princes all learned the Six Arts, they all did so in a rather conventional way, and the fifth prince probably didn't learn riding and archery properly.

When he was young, Song Yaozhu originally wanted to find a general to teach him. However, Consort Shu was afraid that her son would be sent to the battlefield in the future, so every time the general came to teach, he would either have a stomachache or a headache.

Martial arts training requires laying a foundation from a young age. If the foundation is not solid, what you learn later will only be superficial.

"Hopefully he won't lose too badly."

Xie Li glanced at her menacingly, feeling a sense of satisfaction despite her sarcastic tone.