Seeing that Lady Changping was about to erupt, the Crown Princess coughed twice, covering her mouth: "His Highness and several princes will be coming over later. Speaking of which, last year, the young master of the Jiang family was the best at polo."
Upon hearing this, the woman sitting at the tea table below Madam Yang remained calm and replied with a smile, "Your Majesty flatters me. My son is nowhere near as outstanding as Prince Xu. I wonder if Prince Xu will still be able to win the final prize at this year's polo tournament."
Madam Yang smiled faintly: "Don't say that. It was His Highness who let him win. If His Highness had been more serious, it would have been difficult for Erlang to win the final prize."
Li Shiyue took a bite of the osmanthus cake and looked at Yang Shi with a puzzled expression.
Madame Chiang explained gently, “Every year at the polo tournament, the final prize is prepared by the Imperial Household Department. Whoever wins it will be very proud. I think you play polo quite well. Why don’t you give it a try today? Maybe it will be the prize you want.”
The Crown Princess's eyes lit up, clearly showing her interest: "Why don't you and I meet His Highness and Erlang today and see if we sisters can win this prize, or if they can take it away?"
No one mentioned the final prize, and Li Shiyue felt a mix of excitement and unease, though she hesitated to try. She glanced instinctively at Madam Yang, meeting her encouraging gaze, and smiled gently, "Then please don't mind my clumsiness, cousin."
The Crown Princess stood up: "Then I will go change my clothes first. I will trouble Mother to accompany you all."
With the head of the household gone, who would dare say no? As the matriarch of the Xu family, Madam Yang was naturally adept at handling social interactions.
"Aunt, I want to go change my clothes."
Saying it was to change clothes was really just a way to get some fresh air. Madam Yang naturally agreed: "Chunling, stay close and don't go south. Erlang is with the Crown Prince and those other men, and they're all facing south."
Li Shiyue agreed and led Chunling to the east wing, a place specifically for people to rest.
In front of the side room was a long corridor with brownish-red railings, and on one side, willow trees swayed on the emerald green lake. In the center of the lake, there was a well-arranged rockery, and a red carp cat was beside it, occasionally swimming with its companions to the railing under the corridor.
She wanted to take a step forward, but a young man was already standing in front of the railing. Li Shiyue stopped and wanted to turn around and leave, but the young man had already turned around, his eyes full of doubt.
Li Shiyue did not enter the pavilion connected by the long corridor, but stood in the long corridor: "I did not know that you were here, and I have disturbed your peace of mind. I will leave now."
Since he was a man from out of town, Li Shiyue was unwilling to linger. Just as she was about to turn around, she suddenly heard the young man behind her ask, "Whose daughter are you? I've never seen you before."
Li Shiyue glanced at the young man briefly and said in a nonchalant tone, "It is understandable that a noble person does not recognize a woman like me; we are just strangers who met by chance."
Having said that, without giving the man a chance to ask questions, she took Chunling and fled as quickly as if she were escaping.
When she slowly returned to the viewing platform, the Crown Princess was already standing beside the Crown Prince, wearing a bright yellow riding outfit with light silver and white peony patterns, which was almost identical to the Crown Prince's robe.
When Xu Lingyu saw her return, she pulled her along and said, "Let's have a competition today. We sisters are better, or you two are the better ones."
Xu Yunci stood silently beside the Crown Prince with his hands behind his back, giving a barely perceptible nod when he looked at Li Shiyue. However, while the Crown Prince wanted to fight Xu Yunci, ultimately it was Xu Yunci and Li Shiyue who faced the Crown Prince and his wife.
Li Shiyue mounted her horse and gripped the reins, but then heard Xu Yunci ask in her ear, "Thinking about the prize?"
To be honest, I want it, because I've never seen it before or ever had it.
Although he didn't say anything, Xu Yunci saw the answer in his little cousin's eyes. He sat on his horse, and as soon as he heard the gong, he charged off almost instantly.
Having scored a goal, Xu Yunci tightened the reins, sat on his horse, and looked back at Li Shiyue from a distance. A faint smile played on his lips, unlike his usual aloofness. Especially today, on the open horse field, the sun shone on his grey robe, making it seem as if it were coated with a layer of golden light.
On the viewing platform, Fu Yunning sat beside Princess Chunhui, her hands hidden in her sleeves almost digging into the flesh beneath her skin. The Xu Yunci she remembered had always been cold and aloof; this was the first time she had ever seen him like this. It turned out he wasn't without a warm side, just depending on who he was showing it to.
Princess Chunhui gritted her teeth, her expression displeased, and the young man sitting to her left was the same person from the long corridor just now.
Wearing a navy blue brocade robe with gold python patterns, he leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowed as he stared intently at the petite, light blue figure on the field, and sank the ball into the hole with a single shot.
He was the third son of the emperor, and his birth mother was only a concubine, Prince Qin Ying of Yan.
"Who is this young lady? She plays polo quite well and coordinates well with Xu Lizhe."
As soon as she finished speaking, the two maids beside her changed their expressions. Unlike Princess Chunhui, whose face was clearly filled with anger, Fu Yunning's face was somewhat pale, and she clenched her hands even tighter, as if afraid that she would lose control of her emotions.
Princess Chunhui almost gritted her teeth: "Your Majesty has said too much today. Why not just watch the game? What can you possibly learn from that? In my opinion, the game wasn't very good at all. Anyone could have played as well as Brother Lize."
Qin Ying sensed something unusual. He glanced at Chun Hui, whose face was filled with anger, and then at the snow-blue figure on horseback who had just scored another point. He then turned his eyes and said meaningfully, "That's not necessarily true. If you ask me, this young lady and Xu Li are quite a good match."
"Crack!" Princess Chunhui's teacup shattered into pieces.
Qin Ying seemed oblivious to Princess Chunhui's fiery eyes, continuing to watch the scene unfold.
Fu Yunning seemed oblivious to the pain, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and calmly said, "Your Highness, you cannot speak so carelessly. Miss Yan Yan is not yet married, and besides, they are cousins."
So this was Li Shiyue, the cousin of the Xu family who had come to the capital before the New Year and whose given name was bestowed by the Emperor. Qin Ying understood immediately. Glancing at the fiery look in Chunhui's eyes, he decided to add fuel to the fire; he figured there would be a good show to watch today.
"Cousins can still get engaged. Maybe they'll develop feelings for each other over time, and perhaps Madam Xu, who dotes on her granddaughter, will actually approve of the marriage."
As he expected, his words were like the last spark that ignited Princess Chunhui's anger to its peak.
Princess Chunhui's eyes were cold and sharp: "How dare she even dream of Brother Lizhe! A cousin who has come to the Duke's mansion, what makes her worthy of being the wife of the Duke of Rong's heir? She should take a good look at herself."
Qin Ying raised his hand and scratched his brow: "That's not necessarily true. What if Xu Li likes it himself?"
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