The Crown Prince Chases His Wife
Chapter 129 Preparation for the Match
On the fourteenth day of the third lunar month, an inauspicious day marked by the presence of ominous signs and various taboos.
At the polo field in the Shanglin Garden west of the Imperial City, flags fluttered and music filled the air.
Today, the Great Xia held a polo match against the Turks and the Western Rong, as previously agreed upon.
In the northern stands of the polo field sat members of the Great Xia imperial family, while the western stands hosted envoys from various nations. The eastern stands were occupied by civil and military officials of the Great Xia holding the fourth rank or higher, but due to the nature of today’s match, no official families were invited.
Everyone presents wore a serious expression.
The border conflicts between Great Xia and the Turks as well as the Western Rong had only recently come to an end after lasting nearly a decade, and this match was instigated by the ninth princess of the Turks, Ashina Mingzhu, challenging the Taizifei of Great Xia. The princess even went so far as to declare, “Life and death are irrelevant.”
At this moment, at the northern end of the field, there lay a life-and-death contract, stamped and witnessed by envoys from various countries, already signed by the participating players.
Thus, it was clear to all that this polo match held no entertainment value whatsoever, in fact, it was highly likely that blood would be shed.
———–
As the drums began to beat, players from Great Xia and the Turks and Western Rong entered the field from opposite ends.
Leading the Great Xia team was the Taizifei, Qin Yan, dressed in a narrow-sleeved, dark black robe adorned with silver-thread embroidery, her hair tied up with a jade crown, presenting a masculine appearance. Following her were nine other players, all similarly attired in narrow-sleeved black riding gear.
The Turks and Western Rong, on the other hand, were all clad in red riding outfits, led by the ninth princess of the Turks, Ashina Mingzhu, and the eldest son of the Western Rong emperor, Jiang Shang, each accompanied by four strong and formidable subordinates.
In terms of attire, Great Xia was designated as the “Black Team,” using the eastern goal as their target, while the Turks and Western Barbarians formed the “Red Team,” targeting the western goal.
As both teams rode around the field to the sound of drums and music, their gazes met with hostility. When Qin Yan glanced at Ashina Mingzhu, she quickly averted her gaze, showing a dismissive indifference.
This slight infuriated Ashina Mingzhu, igniting her fury.
“Qin Yan, I will make you pay for this!”
Afterward, both teams took their places on the sidelines to regroup and prepare.
———-
At that moment, a Turk hurriedly ran the ninth princess’s horse and whispered something to her.
Hearing this, Ashina Mingzhu furrowed her brows and looked across at the calm-faced Qin Yan.
After a moment, Ashina Mingzhu dismounted and strode up to the western stands, approaching the Turkic Khan, Ashina Qigu, and whispered a few words in his ear.
Upon hearing her, Khan Ashina Qigu turned his cold, piercing gaze toward the striking woman seated gracefully on a black stallion on the eastern side of the field.
The lord of Gu City, it was none other than Taizifei Qin Yan!
Gu City was originally located beyond the borders of Great Xia, the Turks, and the Western Rong, not belonging to any nation.
However, a few years ago, it was forcibly occupied by a group claiming to be the “Silver Armored Guards,” transforming it into a commercial hub, and last year, they handed over the management to officials from the Ministry of War of Great Xia.
Great Xia had stationed troops around Gu City, claiming to protect the trade caravans, but in reality, they had pushed their northwestern defense line out by over a hundred miles, posing a significant threat to the Turks and Western Rong.
Both the Turks and the Western Rong had long suspected that the one who led the Silver Armored Guards to occupy Gu City, known as the “Living King of Hell in the Northwest,” was from the Pingxi Army.
It turned out to be the granddaughter of the commander of the Pingxi Army, Shen Changshan—Qin Yan!
There was no time to verify the truth of this news now, but if the lord of Gu City really was Qin Yan, then many of the pieces of information they had received before suddenly made sense.
The Khan of the Turks, Ashina Qigu, had first seen Qin Yan’s stunning beauty in the grand hall just days ago and had entertained the thought of abducting her back to the Turks as his concubine.
However, if the rumors were true, he felt compelled to confront this legendary “Living King of Hell in the Northwest.”
Ashina Qigu rose from his seat and, together with Princess Ashina Mingzhu, descended from the stands.
——-
As the players circled the field, Jiang Quyi, the emperor of the Western Rong, and his eldest son, Jiang Shang, both recognized a familiar face among the Great Xia players.
Adding to their certainty was the fierce look that the player shot at Jiang Shang. They knew immediately, this was Jiang Xun!
The late emperor of the Western Rong’s younger son!
He was also the emperor’s nephew and Jiang Shang’s cousin!
The Western Rong emperor had sent people to search for Jiang Xun far and wide, never expecting him to be hiding in Great Xia!
Jiang Shang rode forward a horse length, raised his mallet, and pointed towards the eastern side of the field with a threatening tone, “The one over there doesn’t seem to have the right to be part of Great Xia’s team!”
Everyone turned to the direction Jiang Shang was pointing. At that moment, a young man from the Great Xia team casually shook his reins and rode forward.
Jiang Mu faced Jiang Shang and called out loudly, “May I ask why I cannot appear in Great Xia’s team?”
Some recognized him as the adopted brother of Taizifei Qin Yan.
Why would the Western Rong prince specifically point out this individual? Did he have another identity?
Could it be that he had some old grudge with Jiang Shang?
Jiang Shang was about to speak but hesitated. He looked up at his father in the stands and saw the emperor shake his head slightly, prompting him to swallow back his words.
He licked his back teeth, slowly raised his hand, and made a gesture across his throat toward Jiang Mu before turning his horse around to return to the sidelines.
Jiang Xun, a Western Rong, had appeared in Great Xia’s camp.
It seemed his father’s intent was to keep Jiang Xun’s identity under wraps.
Heh, if Jiang Xun hadn’t died before, then today, on this polo field, would be the day he lost his life!
———–
At this moment, among the Red Team, the Turkic Khan, Ashina Qigu, appeared unexpectedly, having come down from the stands, and a Turkic player stepped aside to leave the field.
The crowd gasped in surprise, this meant…
The Khan was personally entering the fight!
It seemed the Taizifei of Great Xia was in grave danger!
On the main stand, Taizi Feng Zhan narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low voice, “Bring my horse here.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Song Zhi complied and went to fetch the horse.
Taizi Feng Zhan rose and dismounted the stand, vaulting onto a horse at the sidelines, replacing one of the soldiers from the Black Team.
Qin Yan turned to glance at the handsome man seated on a white horse, wearing a golden crown and a dark black robe embroidered with gold trim, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Ashina Mingzhu, the ninth princess of the Turks, watched Taizi Feng Zhan and Taizifei Qin Yan with intense jealousy in her heart.
Once the Turks vanquished Great Xia, she would take the Taizi Feng Zhan captive as her personal possession.
———–
As the drums sounded, both teams of players galloped onto the field, taking their positions.
Leading the Black Team was Taizifei Qin Yan, while the Red Team was led by Princess Ashina Mingzhu of the Turks.
At the back of their respective teams were Taizi Feng Zhan and Khan Ashina Qigu, both poised like two lurking wolves ready to pounce.
A soldier at the sidelines began to announce the rules of the match set by Princess Ashina Mingzhu,
“In this match, players are free from any restrictions on their actions.”
“Except for the participants and the ball guards, no one is allowed to enter the field.”
“The first team to score three points wins. If neither side achieves victory, the match cannot be artificially terminated.”
As the soldier finished reading the rules, a sense of unease washed over the crowd in the stands.
No restrictions on actions, no way to declare a winner, and the match could not be stopped…
This was bound to lead to trouble!
————-
As the drums sounded, the soldier on the sidelines called out loudly, “Start the match!”
A ball guard jogged into the center of the field, holding a small red ball, and with a strong toss, sent it soaring into the air before quickly retreating from the field.
As soon as the ball was thrown, Qin Yan and Princess Ashina Mingzhu of the Turks spurred their horses and raced towards the center. Just as they reached the spot beneath the descending ball, Qin Yan yanked on her reins, raising her horse’s front legs high while the hind legs pushed powerfully against the ground.
Stepping into the stirrups, Qin Yan stood tall in her saddle, raising her mallet to swiftly strike the ball. The polished sphere was sent flying with force.
Princess Ashina Mingzhu was only a moment behind Qin Yan, missing the chance for the first hit. Her eyes narrowed, and instead of aiming for the ball, she swung her mallet directly at Qin Yan’s face.
Ashina Mingzhu’s intentions were clear, and everyone, both players on the field and spectators on the sidelines could see her move.
A tense silence fell over the crowd.
The Turkic princess was making her move already!
At that moment, Qin Yan had just struck the ball and was pulling back. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Ashina Mingzhu’s attack. Leaning back, she narrowly avoided the mallet that had come within an inch of her face, then swiftly raised her right leg and aimed a powerful kick at Ashina Mingzhu.
“Ah!”
Ashina Mingzhu was caught off guard and felt the full force of Qin Yan’s kick to her cheek, causing her to tumble off her horse.
“Princess!”
“Princess!”
The Turkic players dismounted and rushed to help the ninth princess up.
Meanwhile, the ball that Qin Yan had just struck flew straight through the goal of the Red Team.
With three beats of the drum, the guard announced, “The Taizifei of Great Xia scores the first point!”
Gasps echoed among the spectators.
Qin Yan had struck the ball from the center of the field, a position where very few could take a shot like that, let alone score directly into the goal.
This…
It wasn’t at all what they had predicted…
The Taizifei’s skills were amazing!
Cheers erupted from the Great Xia crowd as they applauded, invigorated by Taizifei’s successful shot, which boosted their morale.
Qin Yan calmly returned to her horse, casting a relaxed glance at Ashina Mingzhu, who was sitting on the ground, glaring fiercely at her.
The Turkic and Western Rong players on the field wore looks of skepticism, Qin Yan’s move had been so quick that the chaos had caused them to miss the ball that had been hit out.
However, there were other Turks and Western Rong on the sidelines who had clearly seen the red ball fly into their goal. This outcome was indisputable.
Great Xia had scored the first point, and that was a fact.
Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, Ashina Mingzhu grimaced in pain, as it seemed that Qin Yan’s kick had loosened a tooth. Gritting her teeth against the agony on her face, she glared up at Qin Yan, who was sitting high in her saddle.
“Let’s do this again.”
——–
Ashina Mingzhu remounted her horse, and everyone took their positions once more.
As soon as the ball was tossed into the air, both Qin Yan and Ashina Mingzhu spurred their horses toward the center of the field. But before Ashina Mingzhu’s horse had even taken a few steps, she sprang up, using her feet on the horse’s neck to propel herself into the air, reaching out with her mallet toward the ball.
The crowd on the sidelines erupted in surprise and discussion, “Isn’t it against the rules to leave the horse while playing polo? That’s a foul!”
“Don’t forget, it was stated at the start that there are no fouls in this match.”
“But this…”
Just as Princess Ashina Mingzhu’s mallet was about to make contact with the ball, another mallet suddenly flew in from below, striking the red ball away with a loud “thud.”
As Ashina Mingzhu began to descend, she watched helplessly as the ball was knocked out of reach. Looking down, she spotted where the mallet was coming from. Not far away there was a woman sitting on a black horse, and her hands were empty.
Ashina Mingzhu seethed inwardly, It’s Qin Yan again!
The spectators continued to murmur…
“Can you really hit the ball with a mallet you’ve thrown?”
“Today, there are no rules, so let’s just watch in silence.”
……
“Taizifei!”
Qin Yan turned at the sound, reaching out to catch the crescent-shaped mallet Xie Zhao had thrown at her.
The moment she made her move, Xie Changyuan quickly assessed the trajectory of the ball. He spurred his horse forward, dodging two blocking Red Team players, and returned the shot that Qin Yan had made.
As the ball approached, Qin Yan held the reins with one hand and swung the mallet with the other, striking the ball decisively. It soared toward the Red Team’s goal and scored!
“Dong! Dong! Dong!” The drums on the sidelines sounded again.
The guard announced, “The Taizifei of Great Xia scores again!”
Cheers erupted from everyone in the stands and on the field for Great Xia.
No one could have predicted that the match would unfold this way, with Great Xia quickly leading 2-0 over the Turks and Western Rong.
Although the polo match was far from over, the excitement had already set the hearts of the Great Xia people ablaze.
Taizifei Qin Yan was bringing honor to Great Xia!
On the main stand, Feng Yuyao jumped up without regard for decorum, waving her arms and calling out loudly, “Yan Yan! Yan Yan!”
Emperor Hui didn’t reprimand Feng Yuyao for her lack of decorum. He was in high spirits, smiling as he sipped his tea contentedly.
The Empress and Feng Yunchao exchanged glances, both recognizing excitement and admiration in each other’s eyes.
The second prince, Feng Xian, was restless, filled with regret for not insisting on signing up for the match yesterday.
In contrast, Empress Dowager Xiao remained dark-faced throughout, irritated by Qin Yan’s repeated successes.
On the eastern stand, Prime Minister Qin was receiving compliments from his colleagues, his gaze fixed on the figure of his daughter on the field, struggling to contain his excitement.
That was his daughter.
The players from Great Xia were now filled with fighting spirit. If they had felt uncertain before the match began, the fact that Taizifei Qin Yan had scored twice from what seemed an impossible distance had given them newfound confidence.
In a match that everyone had assumed they would lose, perhaps they could actually win!
Meanwhile, the Turks and Western Rong were tense and uneasy. They had thought victory was assured, merely waiting for the right moment to humiliate the people of Great Xia, but now, humiliation seemed unlikely, and they might even lose.
Princess Ashina Mingzhu fixed a sinister glare on the still-composed Qin Yan, leaning over to whisper a few words to someone nearby.
Who would emerge victorious was still up in the air!