Chapter 366 – Polo Match (1)
Out of all those who knew Ye Zhen and Chen Jinru had become imperial physicians, none was happier than Sun Wen.
“Well, you two are going to enter the palace in the future, what am I going to do then?” Sun Wen cried out once her happiness for his friends abated, for it was only now that she realized she was going to lose two of her companions in the future.
Chen Jinru smiled and said, “We are not going to be in the palace every day. We still have to go to school to continue with our study.”
“Nevertheless, it’s still different. We can’t meet every day in the future,” Sun Wen said, stomping her foot childishly. “Had I known this would happen, I would have accompanied you to the exam. Perhaps, I could have passed like you two.”
Ye Zhen looked at her and smiled. “Then take the exam next year, that is, if you still want to become an imperial physician in the palace.”
Sun Wen sighed and said helplessly, “I don’t know if I can pass the exam. After all, I don’t have your talent. However, even if I can’t pass the exam, it doesn’t matter. I can still go to the border and become a physician in the military.”
Chen Jinru didn’t know how to comfort the other, so she turned to Ye Zhen and whispered, “Princess, do you know when we will enter the palace?”
Ye Zhen said, “It’s better for you to call me Yaoyao in the future. I’m really not used to being called princess. Anyway, we will have to wait for more than half a month before we can enter the palace. In any case, we just need to be patient, time will pass by in a flash.”
Although they had been admitted to the palace, it didn’t mean that they could enter it just like that. They would’ve to first report their names and have their backgrounds investigated one by one. It was only after they were determined to be innocent that they would be allowed to enter the palace. This entire process would take at the very least half a month.
At this time, Ye Zhen did not go back to the Lu Mansion. Anyway, the news that she had become an imperial physician would not bring any surprise to the people of the family. After all, in the eyes of the Lu Family and anyone else, she was already a princess. So, her identity as a newly admitted imperial physician was merely icing on the cake. There was no need to be too happy over it.
Time passed by and a few days later it just happened that the school was closed for the holiday. Even so, Ye Zhen did not have a chance to return to the Lu Family as Mo Rongyi had sent someone to bring her to the palace. It turned out the polo match he was going to play in was going to be held tomorrow, and the little prince wanted her to watch the game.
The game was held in front of Daming Hall in the palace. Not only that but the emperor and empress dowager were going to act as the umpires. Out of all sides of the field, three were surrounded by low walls – approximately around a thousand feet in length each – to protect the people. Furthermore, the surface of those low walls was as flat as a whetstone and as smooth as a mirror.
There were two ways to play the polo game. A single goal and a double goal. And the method that Mo Rongyi and his opponent chose was a double goal game. However, this required the players to have superb skills in order for them to hit the ball into the goal and score. The goal line was simply too small for unskilled scoring.
Ye Zhen followed Empress Dowager to the Daming Hall. On the top step, there were two seats already prepared for Mo Rongzhan and the empress dowager. On either side of these seats, quite a lot of children from the imperial family were gathered. It seemed that many people were concerned over today’s game.
Ye Zhen didn’t find this strange. After all, this match between Mo Rongyi and Prince Shun was not only a matter of their respective faces but also related to the matter of the newly emerging forces that Mo Rongyi represented. Therefore, it made sense to her that the children of those forces were in the audience. The imperial family and those old-fashioned families certainly did not want to see the little prince growing. After all, his growth represented Mo Rongzhan’s strength.
Mo Rongzhan had not seen Ye Zhen for several days. Therefore, when he looked back and saw her standing beside Empress Dowager, his eyes unconsciously fell on her fair as jade face and stayed there. “Yaoyao, I heard you passed the imperial physician’s exam?”
“Replying to Imperial Brother, I was lucky to pass the exam”, Ye Zhen politely and respectfully said.
Mo Rongzhan frowned, not liking the tone she used to speak to him, but there was nothing he could do. So, he simply ordered Eunuch Fu, “Fu de, prepare a seat for the princess.”
“Imperial Brother, there’s no need for that. I’ll just stand next to Imperial Mother.” Ye Zhen politely declined, not willing to accept Mo Rongzhan’s affection.
“The sun is strong today. Won’t you be tired if you stand?” Mo Rongzhan knew that she was still angry, so he softened his voice appeasingly.