Chapter 30 Polo Jinjiang First Release
The polo match started quickly. On the princes' team, the leader was naturally the crown prince, but the second prince and the ninth prince also seemed eager to join in and wanted to compete.
No matter how ambitious the Ninth Prince is, his age is a factor, so at most he can only participate for the sake of participation. His companion, Luo Xing, is old enough, but unfortunately, his status means he would never dare to compete with the Crown Prince.
Therefore, the Ninth Prince could only retreat behind the Crown Prince and the Second Prince in resentment, and whispered to Luo Xing for a long time, not knowing what he was thinking. Luo Xing looked very obsequious and just nodded.
Fu Mingzi leaned close to Zhou Xiaoyan's ear and said with a smile, "I think the Ninth Prince probably wants Luo Xing to feed him the ball."
He was too close, his warm breath washing over Zhou Xiaoyan's neck. Zhou Xiaoyan stiffened, his heart clenching as if something had struck him, making him restless and uneasy.
He didn't dare look at Fu Mingzi, his mind a complete mess. He only subconsciously hummed in response, not hearing a word Fu Mingzi said.
Fu Mingzi didn't notice his strange behavior and continued to speak close to him: "But Luo Xing can't compare to me. I'll help you snatch it then."
Zhou Xiaoyan's ears turned red from the tips to the roots, his hands gripping the reins tightly, and he bit his lower lip.
"Your Highness?" Fu Mingzi asked, somewhat puzzled.
Zhou Xiaoyan was panicking. He slammed his stirrups on the ground and said, "Just focus on the game." With that one sentence, he fled in panic.
Seeing Zhou Xiaoyan's slightly disheveled figure, Fu Mingzi was a little stunned. Then she frowned and hurriedly chased after him. She wanted to say something more, but she saw his bright red ears. Fu Mingzi's heart skipped a beat and she suddenly understood something. A smile flashed in her eyes, but thinking of Zhou Xiaoyan's personality, she quickly suppressed it.
However, he put on a serious expression and said in a gentle voice, "Your Highness, why are you running? We should cooperate well in this polo match."
Zhou Xiaoyan didn't dare to look at Fu Mingzi at all. He was very flustered, but he didn't know why he was flustered. He just pretended to look elsewhere and his tone was a little guilty: "After all, he is just a foil for His Highness the Crown Prince. There is no need to care too much about him."
Fu Mingzi couldn't help but laugh: "This time, your attempt to curry favor with His Highness the Crown Prince is also an opportunity to show your abilities. You can't just remain too quiet."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaoyan felt reassured and his emotions finally calmed down a bit. He turned to look at Fu Mingzi and said, "You seem to see things clearly."
Fu Mingzi just smiled: "You may not understand at first, but you will understand after thinking about it. Now that the situation in the court and the harem is so tense, if you want to get through this safely, you should indeed find a backer for yourself."
Zhou Xiaoyan's thoughts were exposed, but he was not angry at all. Instead, he curled his lips and looked at the Crown Prince and the Second Prince in the center of the room.
“The Second Prince is arrogant and ungrateful, and he is also ambitious and not a wise ruler. The Fourth Prince is deep and scheming. Although we want to recruit him, he makes us uneasy. His Highness the Crown Prince always presents himself as gentle and kind, and he is the legitimate heir. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to pledge allegiance to him?” Zhou Xiaoyan spoke calmly and logically.
Fu Mingzi simply smiled after hearing this: "Your Highness is absolutely right. I just thought Your Highness was ambitious, but now it seems I was wrong."
Zhou Xiaoyan stared at Fu Mingzi, a slow smile curving his lips. After a long while, he said, "Fu Qing is confused. I am just an unfavored prince. What ambitions could I possibly have? I only wish to survive." After saying that, he spurred his horse and rode towards the Crown Prince.
Fu Mingzi watched his retreating figure, a meaningful smile on her face. She really hadn't expected that the Fifth Prince, who was so quiet, would have such lofty ambitions.
The polo match was officially started by the emperor himself. The moment the polo ball was tossed high into the air, both the guards and the princes fought fiercely for it.
Fu Mingzi kept his promise and kept feeding the ball to Zhou Xiaoyan. He thought that someone as frail as Zhou Xiaoyan would not be good at this sport, but he was wrong. Zhou Xiaoyan's polo skills were not much worse than his. While feeding the ball to His Highness the Crown Prince, he also scored a few goals himself. Fu Mingzi, on the other hand, became a mere decoration and could only help them block the opponent's tackles.
When the polo match ended, the Ninth Prince was so angry that his face turned red, while the Second Prince had a gloomy face and looked at Zhou Xiaoyan and Fu Mingzi with a very unpleasant gaze.
Fu Mingzi didn't take it seriously at all, and even stepped forward with a smile to block the Second Prince's view for Zhou Xiaoyan.
However, she still felt a little wronged and couldn't help but mutter in Zhou Xiaoyan's ear, "Your Highness plays polo so well, why didn't you tell me?"
There was a hint of grievance in her voice. Hearing this, Zhou Xiaoyan couldn't help but smile slightly and said softly, "I'm just a bit more agile. If you hadn't blocked the other side, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to score so easily."
Fu Mingzi was easy to coax. Upon hearing this, he instantly became happy again, feeling that he was indeed very heroic.
Unable to resist, she moved closer to Zhou Xiaoyan again. Looking at his ears, which were gradually turning red, Fu Mingzi felt happy. He was shy because of her approach. Did he have different feelings for her?
Thinking of this, Fu Mingzi's smug smile almost reached the sky. She felt that she was indeed incredibly charming and could even win over a cold person like Zhou Xiaoyan. So she moved closer to him, almost like a peacock spreading its tail feathers at Zhou Xiaoyan.
Zhou Xiaoyan felt increasingly uncomfortable as he approached, and tried to move away with his head down. However, there were people in front and behind him, so he had no room to hide. He could only stiffly prop his arms up to block him, afraid that he would stick to him regardless of the occasion.
Because the princes' team won a great victory, the emperor was very pleased and actually came down from the stands. When the princes saw this, they all hurriedly dismounted and went to greet the emperor.
Zhou Xiaoyan breathed a sigh of relief; on the ground, they were finally separated by the horse.
"Good, you all performed very well, especially the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince. I hadn't noticed before, but the Fifth Prince is really good at polo, it's just that he's a bit too thin." The Emperor actually gave Zhou Xiaoyan special praise.
The Ninth Prince and the Second Prince's gazes grew increasingly hostile, especially the Second Prince, whose sinister aura almost overflowed. It was one thing that he couldn't defeat the Crown Prince, but he even paled in comparison to his younger brother, whom he usually looked down upon. How could such a narrow-minded person as the Second Prince tolerate this?
However, Zhou Xiaoyan seemed oblivious to the gazes of his brothers, and calmly bowed to the emperor, saying, "It was just a fluke. Your son will continue to work hard in the future."
"Good! You are not arrogant in victory and not discouraged in defeat! You are truly my good son!" The emperor seemed to have taken some kind of medicine at this moment, and he looked at Zhou Xiaoyan with admiration, as if his indifference over the past ten years had been a lie.
Fu Mingzi stood to one side, unable to help but frown.
However, the Second Prince and the Ninth Prince looked at Zhou Xiaoyan with eyes that were almost bloodshot. The princes had been fighting for so long, and now Zhou Xiaoyan, who had no reputation, had suddenly stood out. Anyone would feel aggrieved in this situation.
The Crown Prince was momentarily surprised by the Emperor's high praise, but then put on a gentle smile, walked over and patted Zhou Xiaoyan's shoulder lightly, saying softly, "Fifth Brother did perform very well today."
Zhou Xiaoyan remained unfazed, lowering his eyes slightly to the Crown Prince and the Emperor: "Your Majesty, I am filled with trepidation."
The emperor smiled and said to the crown prince, "It is a blessing for the country that the crown prince can be so loving with his younger brothers."
This was blatant lying, but the Crown Prince was also very shrewd, and simply smiled and said, "I have never forgotten your teachings over the years."
These words were quite meaningful, and Fu Mingzi, who was listening nearby, felt a chill run down her spine.
This emperor has imprisoned three of his elder brothers and demoted one of his younger brothers. What experience of brotherly love and respect could he possibly have to teach the crown prince?
However, the emperor still had a smile on his face, and pulled the crown prince aside to praise the remaining princes, but he did not praise Zhou Xiaoyan as harshly. Later, when the emperor left, the second prince could no longer maintain his smile.
Fu Mingzi frowned, walked to Zhou Xiaoyan's side, and whispered, "Your Majesty today..."
“I know what I’m doing,” Zhou Xiaoyan interrupted Fu Mingzi.
Fu Mingzi was taken aback and looked at him, only to find that the gentleness on his face had vanished completely, replaced by a cold expression: "I have long since experienced what the Emperor's favor contains." His words sounded somewhat world-weary, and Fu Mingzi was momentarily stunned.
Before he could even come to his senses, the Crown Prince approached again. He still had a gentle and warm demeanor, but compared to before, there was a hint of weariness in his eyes.
"Fifth Brother, you've truly made a name for yourself today!" His tone was meaningful.
Zhou Xiaoyan, however, was not intimidated at all: "I am honored by Your Majesty's high regard. This is all I am capable of. After all, one must have something to rely on in life."
He spoke these words with utmost solemnity, as if he were not talking about polo, a frivolous pastime, but rather a legitimate skill for making a living.
The Crown Prince did not look down on him because of this, but smiled slightly: "Fifth brother, I only realized today that I had misjudged you before." After saying that, he stepped forward and patted Zhou Xiaoyan on the shoulder: "Fifth brother, don't worry, you are my own brother. In the future, we will naturally be brothers and work together to overcome any obstacle. As long as I have food to eat, I will definitely not let you go hungry."
These words are tantamount to a promise, and a very sincere one at that. If this were said to a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, he would probably be moved to tears.
Zhou Xiaoyan was no ordinary boy, so he didn't burst into tears, but his eyes reddened, and he looked very moved. He said in a deep voice, "Thank you, elder brother. Your subject is willing to serve you like a dog or a horse." This time, he didn't address the Crown Prince, but directly called him elder brother.
Upon hearing this, His Highness the Crown Prince felt somewhat relieved. He smiled and patted Zhou Xiaoyan's shoulder to comfort him, saying, "I know you've had a tough time before, but don't worry. Things will get better in the future. Study hard, and when you leave the palace, that will be the time for you to show your talents."
Although Zhou Xiaoyan was a prince, he had never been valued before, so his daily expenses were only within the prince's quota. If he wanted anything more, he had to pay for it himself. However, if the crown prince was willing, it would only take a word.
Therefore, the first half of the Crown Prince's statement can be considered as a gesture of goodwill that grasped Zhou Xiaoyan's weakness, while the second half of his statement, which looked forward to the future, was just a pie in the sky, giving Zhou Xiaoyan a goal to strive for. In this light, it seems that His Highness the Crown Prince is quite skilled in the art of managing people.
Zhou Xiaoyan, looking moved, nodded with red eyes: "Your subject understands."
After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Xiaoyan watched the Crown Prince leave. However, once the Crown Prince's figure disappeared from the horse field, Zhou Xiaoyan's deeply moved expression vanished instantly, and he returned to his previous indifferent and calm demeanor.
"Your Highness has truly mastered the art." Fu Mingzi stood behind him, clapping softly.
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