After coming out of the princess's mansion, Qin Jialuo raised a determined smile at the corner of her lips, and then instructed the maid beside her:
"Go, spread the news, especially to the Prime Minister's Mansion. Make sure Xie Yunqi knows that tomorrow at the horse race, this princess will compete with Princess Zhaoyang in horseback archery."
The maid hesitated and said, "Princess, if Prime Minister Xie doesn't come..."
"He will come." Qin Jialuo said affirmatively: "Doesn't he care about Chu Qingluan the most? This princess wants to see what kind of expression he will have when he sees his sweetheart defeated by me."
——
The next day, the sky was clear.
At the royal horse farm, flags fluttered and the autumn wind blew the grass into the air.
Outside the fence, many noble sons had already gathered, including some officials from the court.
Obviously, the news released by Qin Jialuo worked.
The most conspicuous person in the stands was Xie Yunqi. He was wearing a dark brocade robe and a jade crown, leaning against the carved railing of the viewing platform, playing with an ebony folding fan with his slender fingers, seemingly tapping the railing casually, but his phoenix eyes were always fixed on the moon-white figure in the field.
Chu Qingluan was dressed in a moon-white riding suit with gold embroidered on the cuffs and collar, which sparkled brightly in the sun. Her black hair was tied up high, and when she rode into the arena, she looked like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath.
Behind her followed several maids, all dressed in ivory-white riding uniforms. They looked heroic and indifferent, as if today was just an ordinary exercise.
Qin Jialuo was wearing a fiery red hunting suit, with the cuffs and collar also decorated with gold thread, which was bright and eye-catching.
She reined in her horse and stopped in the middle of the field, her eyes sweeping over the crowd of onlookers. When she looked in a certain direction, a hint of a triumphant smile flashed in her eyes.
Xie Yunqi came as expected.
She sneered in her heart, today, I will let you see clearly who is worthy of your gaze!
"Gee!" With a delicate shout, Qin Jialuo rode her horse to the center of the racecourse first.
At this time, the ceremonial officer in charge read out the rules of the competition, which was a best-of-three contest.
The first round is a speed test, with the contestants circling the field three times. The second round is a horseback archery contest, with the contestants shooting at targets while moving. In the third round, if there is a tie, an obstacle course horseback archery contest will be added. The winner is the one who reaches the finish line first and hits the most bull's-eyes with his arrows.
Following the order from the ceremonial officer, Qin Jialuo gave a delicate shout, and her fiery red figure rushed forward like an arrow from a bow.
She had been trained at the Qin horse farm since she was young and had superb riding skills. In a blink of an eye, she left Chu Qingluan half a horse's length behind.
The crowd watching was suddenly in an uproar——
"This princess of the Great Qin is such a great rider!"
"Oh no, Princess Zhaoyang might lose..."
On the side of the Qin envoys, everyone looked calm and composed when they saw this. Ge Zhong even picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. He was not worried at all that Qin Jialuo would lose.
After all, Princess Jialuo's riding skills are second to none in the entire Qin Dynasty.
How could she be inferior to the Princess of Great Chu who had been learning music, chess, calligraphy and painting since childhood?
Qin Jialuo slowly raised the corners of his lips and glanced towards the stands.
Xie Yunqi still had a calm expression, but the fan in his hand had stopped.
——He is watching.
Qin Jialuo was very proud, and with a sound of "ji", he whipped the whip to speed up and rushed to the finish line first.
"clang!"
With the sound of a gong, the first competition finally came to an end.
"In the first round, Princess Daqin wins!"
On the side of the Qin envoy, everyone immediately applauded and cheered.
Ge Zhong stroked his beard and smiled, while Meng Ping looked around proudly, as if he had already secured victory.
Chu Qingluan stopped her horse at the finish line. Beads of sweat oozed from her forehead. She wiped it away with her hand, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips, as if she didn't care about the outcome of the game.
"Thank you, Princess." Qin Jialuo turned around on her horse, her bright face full of pride.
"Would you like further instruction on this second round of horseback archery?"
"I couldn't ask for more." Chu Qingluan shook the reins lightly, "But..."
She suddenly raised her eyes, and her clear gaze pierced Qin Jialuo's eyes: "When Princess Jialuo turned just now, the whip seemed to have touched the fence?"
The smile on Qin Jialuo's face froze.
When she was peeking at Xie Yunqi just now, she was indeed a little distracted, causing the whip to touch the fence.
Unexpectedly, this subtle scene was seen by Chu Qingluan.
At this time, the crowd began to whisper, and some young men from wealthy families who were proficient in horse riding whispered to each other, obviously also noticing this detail.
"According to the rules of Da Chu, touching the fence is considered a foul." Someone took the lead in shouting.
"That's right! This round should be ruled invalid." The others echoed.
Ge Zhong and the others instantly looked extremely gloomy. "This is clearly a challenge. Our Great Qin equestrian competition has never had such a rule—"
"But this is the Great Chu, and we should follow the rules of the Great Chu!" The onlookers refused to give in.
Ge Zhong was about to refute, but Qin Jialuo raised her hand to interrupt her and said, "It doesn't matter. Since Da Chu has this rule, this princess will accept it."
She stroked the horse's mane and looked around the audience with her head held high.
"It's just a win or loss, what's the point of talking about it?"
"This princess can still win the second round of horse archery!"
Her arrogant declaration caused an uproar outside the venue.
Xie Yunqi's eyes moved slightly, and his folding fan opened up quickly, hiding the sneer on his lips.
Chu Qingluan smiled upon hearing this, "Princess Jialuo is very courageous. If that's the case, then I will... just wait and see. Please!"
Immediately afterwards, Qin Jialuo took the lead again, stood in the designated position, drew the bow, and put the arrow on it. His movements were smooth and seamless.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Three arrows, three arrows fired in succession, and as expected, every arrow hit the bull's eye!
"good!"
The Qin envoys erupted in thunderous applause. Ge Zhong stroked his beard and smiled. Meng Ping also nodded with a smile, his mouth corners stretched to the back of his ears. He was happier than if he had won the battle himself.
Qin Jialuo turned his horse back and looked at Chu Qingluan with raised eyebrows, "Princess Zhaoyang, it's your turn!"
Chu Qingluan quickly rode forward and stood where Qin Jialuo had been.
However, something unexpected happened at this moment.
The moment she drew her bow—
“Crack!”
The target not far away was strangely offset!
"Look! The target is moving!" the crowd exclaimed.
"Someone must have done something wrong!"
"This Qin man is too abominable, he actually cheated!"
Everyone looked at Chu Qingluan worriedly, wondering how she would solve this game.
In the last round, Qin Jialuo touched the fence and his score was invalidated. What about this round? Qin Jialuo stood far away and did not touch the target, but the target was crooked. It couldn't be that his score was invalidated again, right?
Suddenly, everyone's eyes were focused on Chu Qingluan——
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