She addressed the Empress and Crown Prince sarcastically, “Sister and Crown Prince, don’t worry. I’ll tell Yin’er to go easy on Yun Xiang Junzhu.” Si Yi’s expression changed slightly at this, but the Empress replied, “Why be lenient? Once she’s on the field, she should know polo is not child’s play. Winning and losing depend entirely on skill.” The Marchioness laughed, “Indeed.”
“Alright, I need you to go on the field to help Princess Yunxiang in the competition.”
Don’t focus on ball control; control a few of the enemy’s minions, and ensure Princess Yunxiang’s safety.” “Yes.” Si Zhan nodded and said, “Go.” “Yes.”
Just as the fourth round was about to begin, the referee shouted, “Yellow team, substitution.” Ning Wanwan turned her head in surprise. It was Yuan Zhu, who hadn’t changed out of her tight-fitting horse attire. She rode over, smiled, and waved at Ning Wanwan.
Recovering, Ning Wanwan smiled back. However, Shao Yin frowned at Yuan Zhu and shouted, “Who are you?” Yuan Zhu replied, “I’m just someone who admires Princess Yunxiang’s elegance and has come to help her in this battle.” Shao Yin scoffed, “A nobody like you has no right to compete with me, the princess.” Yuan Zhu retorted, “The right to compete is proven by ability, not words. Are you afraid of me?”
Shao Yin, provoked, raised her polo stick and pointed it at Yuan Zhu, “Hmph! Who’s afraid of whom? Let’s fight!” The Marquess leaned toward the Empress and asked, “Sister, do you know who that yellow team player is?” The Empress looked at Yuan Zhu and frowned, “She seems to be a maid around the Fifteenth Prince, called Yuan Zhu.”
The Marquess, rarely exposed to gossip, was unaware of Yuan Zhu’s background. She mistook her for a simple maid admiring Ning Wanwan and assumed she lacked skill, thus ignoring her.
As the fourth round commenced, the red team focused solely on surrounding Ning Wanwan, neglecting Yuan Zhu. Watching from the sidelines, Yuan Zhu seized a ball that flew from under the horses’ hooves, skillfully controlling it and riding into the red team’s territory.
Suddenly, the sound of a drum echoed, catching the red team’s attention. They turned to find Yuan Zhu near their goal, stick on her shoulder, smiling broadly. They hadn’t noticed the ball being taken, and the yellow team scored, leaving Shao Yin furious. Ning Wanwan expressed her gratitude with a knowing smile, which Yuan Zhu returned.
The score stood at two-all. Before the fifth round began, Shao Yin instructed teammates to focus on Yuan Zhu, planning a double-team on Ning Wanwan. With the strategy outlined, the fifth round commenced.
In the final ball, Shao Yin and Ning Wanwan fought for control, but the ball soon rolled out of reach. Shao Yin and her teammate flanked Ning Wanwan to prevent her from getting it, hoping their other teammates would recover the ball.
When Shao Yin looked again, she noticed the two teammates surrounding Yuan Zhu had fallen from their horses, and Yuan Zhu was ready to grab the ball. Panicking, Shao Yin signaled her remaining teammate, who turned to block Yuan Zhu.
Seeing her chance, Ning Wanwan turned her horse and quickly hooked the ball with her stick, heading towards the red team’s territory. Shao Yin, realizing the situation was slipping away, felt frustrated and considered swinging her stick at Ning Wanwan.
Si Yi suddenly stood up, while Si Zhan gripped the fish-shaped token bag tightly, focused on Shao Yin. Meanwhile, Yuan Zhu, having toyed with her opponent, narrowed her eyes and flicked a snowflake dart between her fingers.
Ning Wanwan sensed a sharp wind approaching and leaned forward as Shao Yin’s stick swept empty, nearly throwing her from her horse. In that moment, Ning Wanwan drove the ball straight to the red team’s goal and scored.
Bang— The drum sounded, and the yellow team scored again.
Shao Yin glared at her teammates in anger, “You couldn’t even contain a nobody?” “She’s too fast,” her teammates replied. “We’re no match for her.”
“What use are you? Useless!” Shao Yin turned her horse and rode away. The referee announced, “Yellow team wins.”
As they took their positions, Shao Yin shot Ning Wanwan a dissatisfied look and snorted, “Hmph!” Ning Wanwan, uninterested in the confrontation, was focused on finding the fire lingzhi.
Suddenly, her black-brown horse became agitated and rammed into Shao Yin’s horse’s neck. Shao Yin’s horse was startled, throwing her off unexpectedly. She screamed mid-air and tumbled to the ground. Ning Wanwan, shocked, found her restless horse charging towards the red date horse where Shao Yin lay dazed.
As the horse’s hooves were about to step on Shao Yin, Ning Wanwan’s heart jumped.
“Whoa—” She forced herself to pull back on the reins, determined to turn the horse’s head around, willing to overturn it rather than let it step on Shao Yin.
“Neigh—” The black-brown horse raised its front hooves in pain, and Ning Wanwan remained upright on its back.
Si Zhan’s hand holding the teacup trembled.
Shao Yin, half-lying on the ground, stared blankly at the horse’s raised hooves, her face turning pale, momentarily forgetting to scream.
“Ah—” Screams erupted from the viewing platform as some covered their faces, unable to watch the impending disaster.
In an instant, Yuan Zhu leaped off the horse, shooting two snowflake darts that pierced the back of the black-brown horse’s leg. The horse’s hind legs buckled, and its body began to tilt backward, threatening to crush Ning Wanwan beneath it.
In a flash, Yuan Zhu darted like lightning, catching Ning Wanwan just as she was about to fall from her horse and quickly moved her to a safe area nearby.
The speed was breathtaking.
“Boom!” The black-brown horse landed heavily, raising a cloud of dust.
Si Zhan sighed in relief, noticing the hot tea spilled on his hand, reddening his knuckles, which he concealed in his sleeve.
“Are you okay?” Yuan Zhu asked Ning Wanwan, who was still in shock.
Ning Wanwan took a deep breath, shook her head, and smiled gratefully, “I’m fine, thank you, Yuan Zhu.”
Yuan Zhu replied wide-eyed, “Master said to ensure you cannot be hurt. Yuan Zhu is going back to report now.” With that, she vanished.
Yuan Zhu returned to the viewing platform, frowning at Yuan Bi and Si Zhan. “I smelled a strange fragrance on Shao Yin’s horse, somewhat like horse-agitating incense.”
Si Zhan’s gaze sharpened. “Yuan Bi, go investigate!”
Yuan Bi immediately stood and left.
Ma Yi first bowed to the nobles before hastily examining the black-brown horse.
The horse’s hind leg was injured, bleeding continuously, unable to stand, and was lying on the ground, breathing heavily.
Ma Yi lifted the black-brown horse’s eyelids and pried open its mouth, furrowing his white eyebrows.
He stood up and approached the marchioness, saying, “To report to the marchioness, this black-brown horse seems to have been exposed to horse stimulant.”
The marchioness asked, “What is horse stimulant?”
The horse doctor explained, “It is a fragrance used by cavalry during battle to prevent horses from getting tired. A small amount can energize war horses, but too much can make them agitated and uncontrollable.”
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the marchioness asked, “How could there be horse stimulant in the horse field? Where are the grooms?”
The servant replied, “The groom has gone to catch a thief.”
Under the impression that the groom was pursuing an ordinary horse thief, the marchioness stomped her foot angrily and commanded, “At a time like this, he should not be catching thieves! Quickly send someone to call him back!”
The servant rushed off to find the groom, while the horse doctor suddenly sniffed, as if he had discovered a clue.
Everyone looked at the horse doctor, who was slightly hunched, sniffing around, finally stopping behind Shao Yin’s red date horse.
