Qin Ying swallowed the rest of his words instantly. Meeting Princess Chunhui's angry face, he abandoned his desire to watch the drama unfold. He stood up, smoothing the wrinkles in his robes; leaving first might save his life.
With the sound of a gong, the first half ended in a draw.
Fu Yunning glanced at the two people talking on horseback and her brow twitched: "Miss Yan Yan plays polo really well. I heard that the Crown Princess was famous throughout the capital before she got married. Although Miss Yan Yan is the Crown Princess's cousin, family members are still alike."
Her voice was as light as exhaling mist, but when it landed on Princess Chunhui's heart, it seemed to transform into a thousand sharp blades: "Shiyue, Shiyue... The Emperor's bestowal of the name Yan Yan is truly thoughtful."
"What family? Just a cousin from some poor, remote village."
Princess Chunhui's expression grew even more unpleasant. If it weren't for the palace rules she had learned over the years, she probably wouldn't have been able to contain her anger.
Before Fu Yuning could react, she heard the rustling of clothes beside her. Looking closely, she saw that Princess Chunhui, who had been sitting beside her, had already stood up and walked off the stage. A gloating smile gradually appeared on her lips, and her dark eyes, filled with a coldness, looked at the sullen woman next to her, finding her extremely offensive.
Li Shiyue was facing the viewing platform, so she was the first to see Princess Chunhui rushing down the platform in a fit of anger. Her lips moved, but in the end, she only looked at Xu Yunci. As if sensing something, Xu Yunci's brow twitched, and she felt uneasy.
"Brother Lizhe!"
Xu Yunci recognized the voice immediately, but the way it was addressed in the current situation was suspicious. His eyes were icy cold, and his low sigh was so soft that only he could hear it.
Princess Chunhui saw him about to dismount, and lifted her skirt to walk over, but then she heard the Crown Prince on the other side calling out, "Qin Yi!"
Qin Yi was Princess Chunhui's given name. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes instantly welling up with tears as she looked at the Crown Prince. Her lips moved like a child who had done something wrong: "Royal brother..."
Li Shiyue and Xu Lingyu, who was on horseback, exchanged a glance, and the two sisters dismounted together in tacit agreement.
Crown Prince Qin Zhao, with a hint of warning in his eyes, walked up to Qin Yi and said, "Chunhui, this is not the palace. The heir is an outsider. You are a princess, so you should address him as the heir."
How could Prince Xu be as close to his elder brother, Li Ze?
Qin Yi almost instinctively wanted to shout out those words, but when she looked up at Xu Yunci's cold face, the words stuck in her throat, and under Qin Zhao's warning gaze, she couldn't utter a single word.
Qin Zhao knew how willful his only younger sister was. Seeing that she was no longer speaking, he softened his tone and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Qin Yi sniffed: "I want to have a match with Miss Li."
"Nonsense." Qin Zhao didn't hesitate at all. When Xu Yunci told him about it on the Lantern Festival, he was still skeptical, but now it seemed to be quite true.
"How is this nonsense? I just saw that Miss Li played well and got a craving for a game. It's just a polo match, what am I going to do to her? Even Prince Xu didn't say anything, why is Your Majesty in such a hurry?"
Qin Yi originally wanted to call Li Ze "brother", but the warning in the Crown Prince's eyes made her feel very uncomfortable, so she quickly changed her address to "Prince Xu".
Qin Zhao hesitated, then turned to look at his wife. He saw her shaking her head almost imperceptibly, and was about to reprimand her.
“If the princess wishes to have a contest with me, I will gladly oblige,” Li Shiyue suddenly spoke, her voice as gentle as apricot blossoms in the spring, lightly brushing against the hearts of the group.
She seemed oblivious to the surprise on the faces of the Crown Prince and the others, stepping out from behind Xu Yunci and standing before Qin Yi. With her hands placed in front of her, she was unpretentious, her brow relaxed: "However, please wait a moment, Your Highness. Let me finish this match with Her Highness. Afterwards, I will have another match with Your Highness, how about that?"
"Princess, rest assured, I will never break my promise."
After speaking, Li Shiyue's gaze swept over the group of people and then landed on the many officials' wives on the viewing platform. Their commotion was not small; they had already attracted most of the attention when Princess Chunhui rushed down from the platform.
Princess Chunhui looked around, her teary eyes instantly turning haughty, like a delicate little peacock about to spread its tail feathers: "Alright, I'll decide the prize."
After she finished speaking, she bowed to the Crown Prince and his wife and returned to the viewing platform.
"Cousin, why did you agree so readily?" Xu Lingqing's serene face showed a hint of nervousness and worry. Princess Chunhui clearly disliked her cousin, yet her cousin still went ahead and agreed. If she won, all would be well, but what if she lost?
Xu Lingzi pulled Xu Lingqing back and shook her head slightly. Xu Lingqing's eyes flickered, and she said nothing more.
The group huddled together, but the atmosphere had lost its previous ease. Li Shiyue, however, thought differently. She raised her eyes and finally fixed her gaze on Xu Yunci's cool face: "Does my cousin also think I shouldn't have agreed?"
Xu Yunci stood with his hands behind his back, his left hand constantly stroking the patterns on the thumb ring ever since Li Shiyue spoke. The cool, smooth feel of the jade did not disturb his calm and composed state.
“Chunhui is spoiled. This was her rudeness. If you are unwilling, Yuanniang is here, and I will take the blame for you.”
Li Shiyue bowed to Crown Prince Qin Zhao: "Thank you for your kindness, Crown Prince, but we must go to the horse farm today."
When Crown Prince Qin Zhao heard "Brother-in-law of the Crown Prince," he was overjoyed. If the occasion hadn't been inappropriate, he would have taken Li Shiyue to the Imperial Household Department and let her choose whatever she wanted in the palace.
Xu Lingyu was clearly unaware of her husband's feelings. She took two steps forward and grabbed Li Shiyue's hand, a hint of worry on her brow: "If you really want to compete, it's just a matter of a woman falling for her husband, it has nothing to do with you."
To put it bluntly, this whole affair was caused by his own younger brother.
"I really want to fight her, and I want to beat her."
Li Shiyue smiled slightly: "The princess has feelings for my cousin, so she treats me as an enemy. This is undoubtedly because my background is not as noble as the princess's. She feels that no woman in the world is as good as the princess herself."
“But I am also a person, and I have my own emotions. Even if the princess is noble, there is no reason for her to bully others. I cannot disobey the rules of etiquette, but on the polo field, strength speaks for itself. Therefore, I would like to ask Your Highness and Her Majesty to sit back and watch the next match against the princess and simply relax on the viewing platform.”
Her back was straight as she spoke to the crowd, her back to the blazing sun. As she spoke, a faint smile played on her lips, and the golden rays of the sun shone upon her, adding a touch of imposing presence to her slender and delicate figure.
"If I don't respond, the princess will think I'm afraid of her and will only hide behind my cousin, which will only make her dislike me more. So, I have to play this polo match today, and I have to win."
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