Song Yaozhu laughed in anger, looking at Yongle and saying, "Does the princess intend to humiliate me today?"
Yongle raised her chin. "Isn't it obvious? I, a princess, am inferior to a woman from the countryside like you. How could you marry Brother Xie? It's a disgrace to me!"
Song Yaozhu understood what she was thinking. She felt that she was of noble birth and superior to others, and she really couldn't accept that someone she couldn't have was easily taken by someone else.
Song Yaozhu had no idea how much she liked Xie Liwei. In any case, from her perspective, Xie Liwei's marriage to a woman from a less privileged background made her lose face.
Um......
If the woman she marries has a better family background than her, wouldn't she lose face? She just thinks she's a pushover and wants to take advantage of her.
"Has Your Highness ever promised the Princess that you would marry her?"
Yongle was taken aback by her question. She was asking her to compete with her, how did it escalate to the topic of love?
"No!" she pouted.
"Has the prince ever expressed his feelings to the princess, or said that he loves her?"
Yongle screamed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: "How dare you, woman, humiliate this princess!"
Song Yaozhu: "......"
She hasn't even started yet...
"You must have a match with me today, or I, the princess, will not be able to quell my anger!"
Before Song Yaozhu could speak, Song Wenyue, who had returned, spoke up for her: "Princess, please don't be angry. My sister grew up in the countryside and is not skilled in any of the arts, let alone riding a horse. Please, Princess, be forgiving and don't..."
"Shut up! You have no right to speak here!" Yongle shouted angrily, pointing at her with his riding whip.
Song Wenyue, who was already frail, fainted after being yelled at by her.
Song Yaozhu couldn't bear to watch. Wasn't Song Si's acting going too far? He was even using her as a stepping stone to act.
"Fourth Miss! Fourth Miss! What's wrong with you!" Her maid cried out in fright.
Yongle's trouble for Song Yaozhu had already attracted a large crowd, and now that one of them had fainted, the number of onlookers had increased even more. Even the young men and women racing on the horse track reined in their horses and looked over.
Yongle never expected that simply yelling at a little girl would frighten her into fainting. Was she really that terrifying?
But this situation put her in an even more difficult position. If she just left like this, wouldn't it mean she was afraid?!
She's not afraid!
"Song Yaozhu, are you going to compete with me or not!"
Even a clay figure has a temper, let alone the free-spirited Song Yaozhu.
What do you want to compete in?
Yongle chuckled and, in a show of great mercy, said, "Whatever you want to compete in, this princess will compete with you!"
Song Yaozhu said coldly, "Fine, if I win, the princess must apologize to my maid!"
Upon hearing this request, Yongle stared at Song Yaozhu in disbelief.
"You're utterly ridiculous! She's nothing but a servant!"
"Oh." Song Yaozhu turned to leave. "Then I won't compete."
"Stop right there!" Yongle stamped his foot in anger. "You're just afraid of losing too badly, but you don't need to use a maid as an excuse!"
"If there's no prize at all, why should I waste my time with you?"
Yongle bit her lip. "Fine, this princess will compete with you!"
Caiyin looked anxiously at her princess, "Your Highness, we shouldn't..."
Before she could even utter a word of advice, the princess had already taken off her cloak and tossed it into her arms.
"Let's have a horse race. We'll ride around the racecourse five times, and whoever reaches the finish line first wins."
When Yongle heard about the competition she mentioned, he exclaimed in surprise, "Didn't your sister say you couldn't ride a horse?"
Song Yaozhu smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
"I've never ridden a horse in the countryside, but I have ridden a pig. Princess, don't lose too badly later."
Yongle was so angry that he almost slapped her face with the whip, but was stopped by the maidservant on his body.
Song Yaozhu hadn't expected to go out on horseback today and hadn't brought any riding gear. This competition was too sudden, and none of the noble ladies wanted to offend Yongle, so they didn't dare lend her their riding gear.
However, the flamboyant girl in red, upon hearing about the incident, seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold and lent her her spare riding outfit.
Song Yaozhu thanked her and then went to change her clothes.
She is tall and slender, and because of years of hard work and lack of food, she has almost no excess fat. Even though she eats and drinks well now, she insists on practicing Baduanjin and Tai Chi every day, and she does a handstand for a stick of incense before going to bed. Her physical condition cannot be said to be particularly good, but it is certainly not bad.
She emerged dressed in a striking crimson outfit, her elaborate hairstyle transformed into a long ponytail, exuding a heroic and spirited aura that rivaled any man's. The onlookers were momentarily stunned.
They all knew she was fairly good-looking, but considering her background and recent public opinion, they all thought she was a vulgar, vain, and opportunistic woman. Therefore, her current appearance was a pleasant surprise, and they changed their opinion of her.
"Hmph! All show and no substance!"
Seeing her upright posture and confident stride, Yongle felt a little guilty and couldn't help but wonder what he would do if he lost.
That's how people are; once they have the intention to back down, they will only retreat further if others take even a small step forward.
For the sake of the two players' match, everyone playing polo gave up the field to cheer them on, all for Yongle, of course.
"Hey! Yongle! You absolutely can't lose! If you lose, you'll never be able to face your brother Xie again!" a young man laughed loudly.
Yongle spat at him.
The servants from the First Prince's residence brought over two horses for the two men to inspect and choose from.
"You go first! So others won't say I'm bullying you!" Yongle raised his chin, his tone arrogant.
Song Yaozhu didn't hold back. She walked up to the horses, touched their heads one by one, whispered something in their ears, and finally chose a horse that was mostly black with white spots.
This horse was clearly a crossbred; its coat color wasn't pure. Everyone secretly thought she really didn't know anything about horses.
Watching the two women choose their horses and prepare for the race, the First Prince walked to Xie Liwei's side and said with a smile, "Speaking of which, my cousin insisted on competing with the Princess Consort just to gain Brother Xie's favor. Aren't you worried about your wife, Brother Xie?"
Xie Liwei glanced at him, put his hands in his pockets, remained expressionless, and showed no intention of paying him any attention.
He knew that the Crown Prince's close relationship with him was for the sake of the Xie family's Nanshan Academy.
Over the years, Nanshan Academy has produced many talented individuals. In fact, eight or nine out of ten talents in each imperial examination come from Nanshan Academy, which has made Yuwen Wuji very dissatisfied.
However, the Xie family was renowned throughout the land, and they withdrew from the imperial court, avoiding factional strife. The clan members were extremely cautious, and even when the local prefect, at Yuwen Wuji's behest, tried to find fault with them, he failed to eradicate the family.
The eldest prince thought that it would be a real pity not to bring such a family under his control.
"Seeing how confident Brother Xie is in dealing with the Princess, how about we make a bet on who will win?"
Xie Liwei found him too noisy and said, "According to seniority, you should call me 'little uncle'."
The eldest prince: "..."
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