Emperor Yan was eager to see his Zhaoning galloping across the field, so he discreetly slipped out of the palace, accompanied only by Wu Liang and Qi Liang.
Wu Liang stayed close to protect him, while Qi Liang guarded from a distance.
When the three arrived at the racetrack, they found the usual crowd who should have been eating instead gathered around the fence, shouting with fiery enthusiasm.
Emperor Yan’s eyes lit up with curiosity. He stepped forward and, blending in naturally, squeezed into the front row.
Suddenly, the view opened wide before him. Across the open field, his Zhaoning was fiercely competing for the polo ball against the Eastern Yue Crown Prince.
At this moment, Yue Ling was gripping Abao tightly, charging toward the goal behind Jiu Yue.
Typically, polo is played in teams, but since today was a friendly duel between just the two, no one else was pulled into the game. Instead, they made some adjustments to the rules, adding weights to their saddles.
Even with the added weight, Abao’s speed was still blistering fast.
The goal was drawing closer, and a hint of pride flickered in Yue Ling’s eyes as he tightened his grip on the mallet.
The guards had fallen silent, no longer daring to cheer. Even Emperor Yan was growing tense, quietly grabbing the arm of a nearby guard and whispering, “Why isn’t Her Highness moving?”
The guard’s gaze was fixed intently on Jiu Yue’s side, ignoring the question’s source as he replied, “Her Highness’s horse isn’t as fast as Abao and tires more quickly... But don’t worry, she definitely has a plan!”
Emperor Yan was anxious.
He wished he could turn back the clock twenty years and ride out to block that polo ball himself.
Wu Liang stood silently by, shielding Emperor Yan, but he couldn’t help glancing toward Jiu Yue on the field... He certainly didn’t believe that Her Highness would just sit there and do nothing.
Following Yue Ling’s request, several obstacles had been added to the field.
Abao wasn’t much affected by them, but the horse Jiu Yue had chosen, burdened with the extra weight, couldn’t always navigate smoothly.
To minimize risk, Jiu Yue hadn’t yet pushed her horse into a full gallop. After the opening rush to seize the ball with Yue Ling, she had only shifted her position.
Now, she was somewhere between the center of the field and the goal behind her.
Watching Yue Ling charge forward on Abao, Jiu Yue’s eyes were fixed solely on the polo ball.
In this match, it was forbidden to collide with the opponent’s horse, strike the ball with hands or feet, or use the mallet to attack either person or horse.
She was silently waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Yue Ling misunderstood her stillness for a loss of fighting spirit, but he remained cautious.
Pulling sharply on the reins, he steered Abao slightly to the left, ensuring that even if Jiu Yue was barely hanging onto her saddle by her feet, she wouldn’t be able to reach out with her mallet to block the ball. Then, summoning all his strength, he swung the mallet and sent the ball hurtling toward the goal!
A sharp whoosh cut through the air between them.
The guards fell utterly silent, eyes wide as they watched the ball fly past Abao, just about to skim past Jiu Yue’s side—
And then, she moved.
She threw her mallet aside.
The crowd gasped!
“Is Her Highness about to concede—”
But before anyone could finish the sentence, the scene changed.
With a swift squeeze against the horse’s flank, Jiu Yue finally shed her earlier hesitation and sudden wandering. Her chestnut steed let out a long, sharp neigh, and as the mallet flew from her hand, it charged forward like a tiger unleashed, fiercely leaping over the obstacles on the field.
The polo ball, originally destined for the goal, was knocked off course by the mallet Jiu Yue had thrown.
Yue Ling’s eyes snapped wide open, instantly catching on to Jiu Yue’s intent. He quickly urged Abao to turn around and block her.
If he could just knock her mallet away, she’d be helpless!
Yue Ling’s heart pounded like thunder. He wished he could hang from Abao’s saddle, stretching his mallet far ahead to swat away the falling mallet.
But Jiu Yue was even faster.
The mallet had barely touched the ground before her chestnut steed galloped past it, and Jiu Yue was already prepared to scoop it up.
In that split second as she passed the mallet, she flipped upside down on horseback, grabbed the mallet, and even glanced sideways at Yue Ling with an innocent shrug.
Yue Ling: “…”
His face instantly flushed hot. Without hesitation, he spurred his horse to chase after Jiu Yue.
With Abao’s speed, catching up wasn’t a problem!
The momentum of the game flipped in an instant. What was once Jiu Yue blocking Yue Ling’s shot from the left side now became Yue Ling hot on her heels, trying to snatch the mallet from her grasp.
Emperor Yan gripped Wu Liang and the polo field guards tightly beside him. “Why is that Crown Prince Dong Yue so hard to deal with!”
The guards were anxious too. “Your Highness, he’s almost caught up!”
But Wu Liang could see that Jiu Yue was already gathering her strength.
He couldn’t help but join the conversation, “Don’t worry, Your Highness, she’s strong.”
She didn’t even need to be close to the goal to strike.
Emperor Yan and the guards dismissed it.
But on the field, Yue Ling belatedly realized what was about to happen. When he saw Jiu Yue was still at least half a field away from the goal, he vaguely sensed her intention to swing the mallet. His eyelids twitched.
She *was* strong, yes, but surely not in the way he imagined?
Jiu Yue answered his doubts with action.
Just as Abao was about to snap at the tail of the chestnut horse, Jiu Yue finally gathered her strength and swung the mallet with all her might.
The polo ball ahead was struck perfectly!
Like a shooting star streaking across the sky, the ball spun rapidly and soared across half the field—
By the fence, the crowd’s gaze followed the ball, turning almost simultaneously toward the right-side goal.
The fierce ball sailed steadily through the goalposts, even smashing heavily into the fence behind the goal before rolling to a stop at the feet of the scorekeeper.
Staring at the shattered ball, the scorekeeper was speechless.
Then he leapt up with excitement.
All the guards on the field jumped up with him.
Cheers erupted along the fence. Even Emperor Yan was caught up in the pure thrill, bouncing along with the guards several times.
Meanwhile, Jiu Yue stood tall on her horse, gazing into the distance. Seeing the scene, she smiled and glanced back at a completely broken Yue Ling. She blinked and asked, “Convinced?”
Yue Ling wasn’t just defeated—he was utterly crushed.
“Not convinced! Not convinced! Rematch! One more round!” He twisted fiercely atop his horse.
Jiu Yue raised an eyebrow, still patient. “Alright, alright, we can race again, but shouldn’t the stakes be—”
“Raise them! This prince has plenty of money!” Yue Ling swallowed his pride.
He couldn’t possibly lose to a woman!
He was the racing prince of Eastern Yue! Where would he put his face?
Jiu Yue’s expression grew even gentler, her gaze on Yue Ling as indifferent as if she were looking at a bank teller. “Sure, sure, no problem.”
Yue Ling now felt that every extra glance at her beautiful face was just another mockery of himself. With a heavy heart, he looked away, unwilling to meet Jiu Yue’s eyes again.
He tugged on the reins, trying to turn around, but Abao was busy chewing on the tail of the chestnut horse and refused to cooperate. Yue Ling couldn’t help but take out his frustration. “Giddy up! Get back here now!”
Abao stood lazily in place, utterly unmoved.
Yue Ling’s temper snapped. He couldn’t resist giving Abao a sharp pat on the rump.
Jiu Yue had just dismounted and heard the commotion beside her. She peeked over—and then saw Yue Ling sitting on Abao’s rocking horse.
Jiu Yue froze for a moment, then couldn’t help but say, “We agreed to keep racing. If you fall and break your neck, I’ll count that as my win.”
Yue Ling: “…”
Does this woman have a heart at all?