Chapter 92: Martial Arts Competition
At the palace banquet, Jiang Ran and his elder brother sat close to each other.
She knew it must have been arranged by Lu Weiqing, and her heart warmed.
The two hadn't seen each other for a long time, so Jiang Yi asked if Prime Minister Lu was treating her well. Jiang Ran said he was treating her well, and her sweet expression made him feel a little relieved.
She also asked if her father and brother were safe in the frontier and if they had received the clothes and shoes they had sent.
"Everything is fine. I received everything. Don't worry." Jiang Yi said everything was fine without thinking.
Jiang Ran knew that they always reported good news but not bad news, so he also showed a happy expression and said, "Now that we have reached peace, maybe we can be reunited as a family soon."
Jiang Yi smiled and nodded, but immediately raised his head and drank another glass of wine, as if trying to hide something.
Soon, the emperor, empress and concubines all took their seats.
Because she was a distinguished guest who came from afar, Princess Nanchu also sat at the top seat.
Jiang Yi could feel Princess Nanchu's gaze looking at him from time to time, but he could not and dared not respond.
After three rounds of drinks, they began to talk about peace talks, and the most nervous person was Princess Le'an.
She looked nervously at Chu Li, who was sitting at the last seat, and he gave her a reassuring look.
Princess Nanchu stood up and saluted, then presented the letter from the credential. The Minister of the Ministry of Rites took it and presented it to the emperor.
After reading it, the emperor was very pleased.
It turned out that Southern Chu was willing to demarcate its territory and govern itself separately with Great Zhou, sign a 100-year peace agreement, and open five counties on the border to promote trade between the two countries.
To show his sincerity, he presented the most beautiful princess of Nanchu, hoping that the Emperor of Da Zhou would take her into his harem.
After the letter of credence was read, the emperor and his ministers raised their glasses to celebrate the hard-earned peace.
Only a few women from the aristocratic families at the banquet cast sympathetic glances towards Princess Nanchu.
I heard that the Emperor of Nanchu had many children, and this princess must have been the least favored one, so she was easily sacrificed.
The emperor immediately appointed her as Concubine Ning, which meant long-term peace and stability for the two countries and peace and harmony for the people.
Concubine Ning no longer looked at the general who escorted her, but lowered her head to accept the order and express her gratitude.
Then there was singing and dancing, and both the guests and hosts were very happy.
The emperor summoned Concubine Ning to sleep with him that night.
The Empress was indifferent and even gave her some gifts. Concubine Ru was so angry that she had heart attacks in the middle of the night and sent for the Emperor.
Although the emperor knew that she was deliberately being petty, he could not bear to blame her and sent someone to comfort her.
For the sake of the two countries' affairs, he finally stayed at Concubine Ning's place.
The next day, a martial arts competition was held at a martial arts field outside Beijing.
In the arena, the flashes of swords and the shadows of sabers are all real competitions.
At first, there were ladies in the stands cheering, but later it became so bloody that many people couldn't help but vomit, and some even fainted from fright.
Jiang Ran never liked scenes of fighting and had no intention of joining in the fun. He slept until dawn and had some free time to embroider a purse for Lu Weiqing.
When she heard the news that Jiang Chuan won fifth place, she realized that he had even signed up for the ring competition, and she rushed to the scene in a hurry.
Looking at the bruises on his face and his torn clothes, Jiang Ran's heart leaped into his throat and he rushed over to check his injuries.
Fortunately, Jiang Chuan was not seriously injured, and Chen Que was already waiting by the side and treated him in time.
Jiang Chuan was fine after taking a few pills, except for some minor skin injuries, which made him look miserable.
When Jiang Ran saw that her elder brother and Lu Weiqing were there, she knew that they had teamed up to hide the secret from her, and she felt a little depressed.
"Little sister, don't be angry. Aren't I afraid that you will worry?"
Jiang Chuan pretended to stand up swiftly, not daring to cry out in pain.
"Worried? I'm not worried." Jiang Ran said stubbornly.
"If anything happens to you, I will find Roujia another companion in no time."
"I think the third one is good. He is the son of the Marquis of Pingjin, and he is still unmarried. Although he is older, he is more caring and suitable."
Jiang Chuan was furious. He hid it from her because he was afraid Jiang Ran would worry, and because he was afraid she would tell Roujia that injuries were inevitable in a martial arts competition, and they would be heartbroken when they saw it.
He immediately begged her for help and coaxed her for a long time without caring about his reputation, and swore that he would never hide anything from her again.
Jiang Ran was not completely unreasonable. She forgave him with a pout and promised to speak well of him tomorrow.
After all, if you get a ranking, it’s hard not to be known.
On the second day, Xu Roujia found out that Jiang Chuan had gone to the competition without telling her. However, she was not angry. Instead, she looked at Jiang Chuan on the Cuju field with heartache in her eyes.
Jiang Ran looked her over, then suddenly leaned over and said, "When did you two get together? Tell the truth!"
Seeing that she had seen through everything, Xu Roujia didn't dare to hide it anymore and told her everything with a blushing face.
It turned out that she knew Jiang Chuan had gone to practice martial arts and often wrote to him.
I wrote several letters but received no reply.
She was upset for a while, until her family deliberately let her get close to the third prince. In a rage, Xu Roujia fled the mansion, determined to go to the ends of the earth and never return to Chang'an.
Before leaving, she wrote a letter to Jiang Chuan as a farewell.
"Ah? Ah! Why didn't you write to me?!"
"You wrote to Jiang Chuan but never to me!"
Xu Roujia quickly comforted her, "I did. I was afraid of getting you into trouble, so I gave the letter to a reliable person and asked her to deliver it to you in five days."
Jiang Ran was full of suspicion, folding his arms in doubt, "Then why didn't I receive it?"
"Before the fifth day, I returned to Beijing, so the farewell letter was never sent out."
Jiang Ran's mind raced as he looked at Xu Roujia, whose cheeks were flushed. He was so surprised that he could fit an egg in her mouth.
"My brother, my brother received the letter and went after you?"
She couldn't believe that Jiang Chuan, a man with such a dull mind, could have a moment of enlightenment.
Roujia nodded, and whispered in her ear, as soft as a mosquito's hum, shyly saying, "He confessed his feelings to me and told me to wait for him for another six months."
"Then, we kept exchanging letters. And then, you knew everything."
This news was too explosive. Jiang Ran took a long time to digest it before he went up to him with a playful smile.
"Congratulations, sister-in-law. You've finally gotten what you wanted after years of longing."
Xu Roujia pinched her out of embarrassment and told her not to mention it again.
After seeing the two of them talking, Lu Zhaoyang, who had just walked away on purpose, came over again.
At this time, the battle on the Cuju field became intense. The three people's attention was attracted to it. They had no time to chat and started to cheer.
This Cuju competition was divided into two teams, red and blue. The team with red belts was led by the crown prince, while the team with blue belts was led by the third prince.
The young men running on the field were all agile. The most eye-catching ones were Taizi, Jiang Chuan, and a man from the blue team wearing a colorful headband.
After a fierce fight, the red team got the ball first. From half the field distance, Jiang Chuan kicked the ball towards the prince.
The prince scored a point with a bicycle kick.
The whole audience cheered, and the prince just waved in the direction of Lu Zhaoyang.
Unfortunately, not long after, the man with the colorful headband controlled the ball and passed three people. At the critical moment when he was surrounded, he still did not pass the ball, but scored a header and scored a point in a thrilling way.
"Oh! Who is this?" Xu Roujia exclaimed and leaned forward to see the man's face clearly.
Coincidentally, Jiang Ran had just met him yesterday and replied sullenly, "Pingjin Hou's son, won third place in the competition yesterday."
She remembered the joke she had made casually, clasped her hands together, and prayed silently: Please don't blame me, Bodhisattva. I made a wish for my third brother and Roujia to be together, and I will come to fulfill it.
I don’t know if the wish worked, but Pingjin Hou Shizi was strictly guarded and never scored again.
But the blue team also targeted the prince, guarding him closely every time, even at the risk of committing fouls, to stop him.
When the incense burned out, neither team was able to score and the game ended in a tie.
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