coobybook Chapter 164 Intentional Burns
Chapter 164 Intentional Burns
With so many people watching, Jiang Zhi nearly fell off his horse, while Gu Yuan fell heavily to the ground.
But in order to maintain order, the eldest princess remained unfazed and ordered, "Drag him away!"
After Shen Siqian was dragged away, Gu Yuan was surrounded by a group of people and left the polo field.
Jiang Zhi left the horse farm.
"Be careful," Gu Liang said with concern.
"Don't worry," Jiang Zhi lowered her eyes, a cold glint in them, "Husband, just wait and see the show."
This is just the beginning; his nightmare hasn't even started yet.
The polo match ended inconclusively.
The eldest princess ordered the competition to be stopped and the next round to begin.
When Jiang Zhi was helped to his seat by Gu Liang, no one from the Prime Minister's residence was to be seen.
The eldest son of the Shen family injured Prince Jing and was subdued by Prince Jing's guards. It is unknown how he will be punished.
It seems he's going to plead for leniency.
Gu Yuan's forehead was bruised from being hit by the polo ball. After the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital bandaged his wound, they turned and left.
"Your Highness, are you alright?" the pink-clad woman who had rushed over asked with concern.
Just as she was about to take out the handkerchief, she heard the mocking voice of the eldest princess behind her.
"And who is this young lady?"
The woman in pink turned around, bowed, and said, "Princess."
"I am Princess Zhaoyang's daughter. Since the princess is currently unable to visit Your Highness, she asked me to do so."
The eldest princess laughed heartily, "She's not available, but you are?"
"You are much more interesting than I am to watch plays."
Gu Yuan, standing to the side, sighed, "Imperial Aunt."
The eldest princess narrowed her eyes, thought for a moment, and said, "Young Master Shen injured you. How do you intend to punish him?"
"However, you should be mindful of Miss Shen's feelings."
Gu Yuan took a deep breath, reached out to touch the wound on her forehead, and then withdrew her hand.
Thinking back to what just happened, things happened so fast.
Before he could even react, the ball came hurtling straight at his head; it was utterly absurd.
But he also had to consider the feelings of his father and mother.
Thinking of this, he said, "Let him go back and explain to the Prime Minister. We won't punish Zilan further."
The eldest princess nodded and turned to leave.
The woman in pink helped Gu Yuan lie down. "Your Highness, will you be watching the women's competition?"
"You should focus on your own business first," Gu Yuan said lazily. "For the women's literary competition, I will arrange for someone to win. As for the martial arts competition, you just need to make sure you win."
If she can't win either of the two, she'll have to resort to hunting.
The woman in pink understood and left.
Gu Yuan slowly opened her eyes, her expression changing.
Something felt off. He had a feeling that the ball that hit him on the forehead was inexplicable, even as if it was deliberately thrown by someone. He really wanted to suspect that it was Jiang Zhi.
But Jiang Zhi was almost injured as well. Was this woman so crazy that she would risk her own life?
The polo match ended abruptly.
With the sound of a drum, the cultural competition began.
Before long, they saw Eunuch Wang carrying a plate of food walking towards them from a path in the distance.
The wooden plaque on the plate is for selecting the Wenbi (a type of citrus).
When Eunuch Wang arrived, the drumming stopped.
The eldest princess then announced the start of the women's literary contest.
Immediately afterwards, the maids handed wooden plaques to the ladies in their seats one by one.
A short while later, Eunuch Wang went up on stage and said with a smile, "The women's literary competition shall officially begin."
"Music, chess, calligraphy, and painting."
"Let's start with the zither and chess. Girls who have received the wooden plaques, please come up on stage."
Jiang Zhi stood up and glanced at the women who had also stood up.
They were all young ladies from prominent families in Yanjing, including Shen Cihuan, the daughter of the Prime Minister, and the woman in pink.
However, only five people participated this time. She remembered that each category of the Qionghua Banquet had at least eight people every year.
Soon, the literary competition ended, and every year the Qionghua Banquet would select two people for the top two categories and one for the second category. These two people would then participate in the next round of the martial arts competition.
If one excels in both literary and martial arts competitions, then one will be the champion of this Qionghua Banquet.
However, if the top-ranked individuals in the literary and martial arts competitions are not the same person, a third competition—the women's hunting—is required.
After stepping off the stage, Jiang Zhi quietly waited for the competition results.
She picked up a piece of candied fruit from the plate and chewed it slowly.
"The Princess Consort of Liang?"
"Hmm?" Jiang Zhi turned his head to look in the direction of the sound.
"I heard that the princess lived in Liangzhou since childhood, but I never imagined that her painting skills were so exquisite."
Jiang Zhi chuckled lightly, "Of course, it's not as superior as the cultivation provided by the Prime Minister's residence."
"However, your brother's ball skills have truly broadened my horizons."
Shen Cihuan stopped smiling. "Your Highness is joking."
Jiang Zhi didn't want to talk anymore. She picked up another piece of candied fruit, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the woman in pink beside her was staring at her.
A moment later, a maid came over carrying tea.
The maid's expression flickered, as if she was trying to hide something.
She glanced to the side and saw that the woman in pink had shifted her gaze to the little maid.
Jiang Zhi ignored everything, but tilted her body slightly, and the peach blossom hairpin on her head accidentally fell to the ground.
She bent down to pick up the hairpin and deliberately placed it under the table, using her body to hide her actions.
She carefully inserted her index finger into the end of the peach blossom hairpin, took some of the essence from it, pinched it in her palm, and then quickly put the hairpin back into her hair.
I straightened my posture.
All of this was done so naturally that no one noticed.
She had barely looked up when the little maid was already at her table.
The maidservant smiled respectfully at her, then suddenly twisted her ankle, spilling scalding water from the cup directly onto Jiang Zhi's hand, causing Jiang Zhi to cry out in pain.
The maidservant quickly said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Princess Liang, I didn't mean it."
"Please forgive me, Princess Liang."
"Princess Liang, are you alright?" Shen Cihuan, who was standing next to Jiang Zhi, asked as she stood up.
Jiang Zhi lowered her eyes and rubbed the back of her hand.
Shen Cihuan loudly reprimanded the maid, "How can you walk like that? How could you hurt Princess Liang?"
The maid shook her head repeatedly, "Miss Shen, please forgive me, I didn't mean it."
Just then, the woman in pink standing next to Jiang Zhi got up and walked to Jiang Zhi's side.
She glared at the maid and slapped her across the face. "I asked you to pour me a cup of hot water, and you actually scalded Princess Liang."
Shen Cihuan added, "There's a women's martial arts competition coming up, so why prepare hot water in this blazing sun? Is it intentional?"
The woman chuckled, glancing at Jiang Zhi's scalded right hand, and feigned concern, saying, "Princess Liang, I'm so sorry. I haven't been feeling well lately and shouldn't drink cold water, so I had this servant bring you hot water. I didn't mean to accidentally hurt you."
"It's all my fault. I didn't train my servant well. I have some excellent wound medicine here. If Princess Liang doesn't mind..."
Jiang Zhi glanced at his right hand and smiled, "Since this servant girl's mistake was unintentional, let's let it go today."
She looked at the little maid kneeling on the ground and gestured for her to get up.
This time, Jiang Zhi didn't press the issue. Instead, he said kindly, "It's alright. Just be more careful next time. It's fine if I get burned, but it wouldn't be good if someone else gets burned."
The maidservant breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Jiang Zhi was being very polite.
She said, "Thank you, Princess Consort Liang."
As soon as she finished speaking, she couldn't help but stagger, and Jiang Zhi reached out to steady her.
"Be careful."
Jiang Zhi's kindness made the maid feel even more that Princess Liang was very understanding.