It was late afternoon, and the prepared football field was already crowded with people. Emperor Kangxi did not come, indicating that this football match was unofficial.
Lanqin, Lady Nian, Consort Tian, Shuhui, and Consort Chu arrived at the stadium with their prepared cheerleading squad.
Tokugawa Okubo led his "teammates" into the bed. They were dressed in Japanese kimonos, but the hems were tied to their legs. Kawabata Yasumina had changed her clothes, still in a kimono, but not as ornate and formal as when she had met Emperor Kangxi. Today she wore a light green kimono with a hundred flowers, revealing her feet in wooden clogs. Beside her were several samurai-style men and two women in plain-colored kimonos, presumably her maids. She held a folding fan in her hand, and her hair, unlike before, was loose and flowing, making her look more like a young girl.
Lanqin didn't know why, but she particularly liked looking at her and couldn't help but scrutinize her for a while. The other person seemed to notice Lanqin's gaze, returning her gaze several times and nodding to Lanqin from time to time, probably in a Japanese-style manner.
When the Fourth Prince led the royal team onto the field, Si Hua and the other maids, following Lan Qin's instructions, clasped their hands together, held them under their noses, and shouted, "Go! Go! Victory! Victory!"
Fourth Prince knew beforehand that Lanqin was going to set up a "cheerleading squad" for them. When he saw ten maids standing there shouting together, he knew it was Lanqin's doing, and they all turned their gazes towards that direction. Not only Fourth Prince, but the other princes also saw their concubines' maids among them and became interested as well.
The Ryukyuans didn't seem to dare to show weakness either, and sure enough, Ms. Mina and her group also shouted, "He Shou Wu! He Shou Wu!"
Mina raised her fan and waved it in the air a few times, shouting along with several maids and samurai.
Sure enough, Japanese women don't have that many rules! Lanqin heard this familiar Japanese phrase, which roughly means "Victory is certain, victory is certain".
The Eighth Prince's wife also arrived; she was the only principal wife present, presumably because the Eighth Prince had no secondary wives. She refused to come over to Lanqin's side because it was absolutely unbecoming for a principal wife to be with a secondary wife—it would be too beneath her dignity. Instead, she stood with the other principal wives of the imperial relatives she knew, observing the situation. Every now and then, she would steal glances at Lanqin and the others.
With the sound of a gong and drum, the Cuju match began. Lanqin looked at the ball on the field; it wasn't a modern football, but a round sleeve made of cloth, probably stuffed with cotton, ears of grain, or similar things.
Lanqin had seen Fourth Master and the others play ice hockey on the ice, so she figured playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football) shouldn't be a problem. Sure enough, Third Master got the ball first right at the start. The atmosphere immediately heated up, and the crowd watching around the game became restless.
The Ryukyuans were short, but they were surprisingly fast runners. Soon, Okubo and his men caught up, and the twelve of them were locked in a fierce struggle on the Qing side. The small cloth ball bounced and swayed under the men's flying kicks, making Lanqin and the others hold their breath, their eyes fixed on the ball in the arena.
The two sides were locked in a stalemate, the ball being kicked to the Ryukyu players' feet one moment and snatched back by Fourth Master and his men the next. A quarter of an hour passed like this, and the first goal still hadn't been scored.
"Oh dear, will this ball go in or not?" Mrs. Nian couldn't help but exclaim.
“Indeed, it’s really difficult to get in like this. These Ryukyuans are quite agile,” said Madam Tian.
Lanqin drew a few strokes on Si Hua's brush, signaling that they could cheer each other on. Taking the hint, Si Hua immediately led her "cheerleading squad" members to encourage Fourth Master and the others.
"Go! Go!" The shouts rose and fell.
"Master, tactics, tactics!" Lanqin shouted to Fourth Master and the others.
Everyone was stunned by Lanqin's shout and turned to look at her.
In the midst of the chaos, Fourth Master heard Lanqin's voice and was startled, but he dared not relax his footing. Winning this first goal was still crucial.
At this moment, the cloth ball was under the control of Eighth Master. Fourth Master made several gestures towards him. The Ryukyuans' attention was all focused on that direction, so they didn't see Fourth Master's actions.
However, Mina and the others watching from the sidelines could see everything. When they tried to imitate Lanqin and give verbal instructions, it was too late. Eighth Master understood Fourth Master's intention and kicked the cloth ball forcefully at his feet.
All that could be seen was the cloth ball being kicked high into the air, soaring over the heads of the Ryukyuans and flying towards the Fourth Master's position behind them. Sure enough, the Ryukyuans quickly followed the movement of the cloth ball, turning around and running towards the Fourth Master.
Eighth Master made a few gestures to Third Master, Ninth Master, Tenth Master, and Fourteenth Master, who immediately scattered. Fourth Master, observing their positions, understood their mutual understanding.
The cloth ball flew through the air like a sandbag, never landing on the grass. After several minutes of this long, aimless running, the Ryukyuans gradually exhausted their stamina.
While the Ryukyuans were exhausted from running, the Fourth Prince and his men gradually shifted the battlefield to the Qing Dynasty's side. However, the Ryukyuans had also become clever; they began using a man-to-man marking tactic. The six men spread out, each keeping an eye on one person. However, due to the height difference, the Fourth Prince and his men clearly had the upper hand in one-on-one confrontations.
Height determines the battlefield! Lanqin couldn't help but think to herself.
Just as the Ryukyuans were exhausted from running, Fourth Master made a long pass, sending the ball to Fourteenth Master, who was closest to the goal. Then they saw the tall and imposing Fourteenth Master, his face covered in a thick beard, and he was even taller than Fourth Master. The Ryukyuan man staring at him only reached his shoulder, and couldn't possibly outmatch Fourteenth Master.
With a few quick shifts in position, Fourteen pinned the Ryukyu man firmly behind him, then delivered a powerful kick. The cloth ball flew straight into the goal.
Wow! ! !
At Lanqin's signal, the cheerleaders chanted "Victory! Victory!" to Fourteen and his team, and even the spectators joined in. The atmosphere in the stadium instantly became electric.
Lanqin saw Fourth Master wink at her, so she gave him a small tree branch in return. Fourth Master was taken aback, and then imitated Lanqin, stretching out his hand and making a small tree branch as well.
The others didn't understand the meaning of the Fourth Prince's gesture, so the Ninth Prince asked, "Fourth Brother, what does this mean? It seems that Consort Niu made the same gesture just now."
Fourth Master still disliked Ninth Master, and without even glancing at him, said, "I'm not telling you."
Ninth Master gave a helpless look and ignored Fourth Master.
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