coobybook Chapter 161 The Climax of the Banquet
Chapter 161 The Climax of the Banquet
Jiang Zhi looked around.
The boy in the audience, holding a riding staff, mounted his horse.
The Qionghua Banquet has a rule that before it begins, all the young masters from prominent families who come to participate must play two polo matches.
However, since it was the eldest princess who made the decision, not only could the young men participate in polo matches, but the young women could as well.
In the gentle breeze, the laughter of many women could be heard around Jiang Zhi.
She looked down and saw Jiang Shuyue leading Min You to mount his horse.
Several men, one holding the reins and the other the riding rod, looked at the group opposite them.
Jiang Zhi frowned.
Why did my brother bring Min Youxiang along too?
Before she could even process what was happening, the surroundings suddenly became noisy.
Then, Prince Jing, dressed in gold, took a horse saddle and mounted his horse.
Gu Yuan sat on horseback, looking determined to win.
Gu Yuan's arrival attracted a lot of attention.
This naturally includes the Prime Minister's daughter, Shen Cihuan.
These days, the Imperial Noble Consort has been sending people to the Prime Minister's residence, hoping to summon her to the palace.
However, Shen Cihuan didn't seem to appreciate it, but it was unclear whether she had feelings for Gu Yuan.
Her gaze fell on Gu Yuan on horseback, then quickly looked away.
However, he was drawn to the woman in pink beside Princess Zhaoyang.
"Who is the woman beside Princess Zhaoyang in the audience?" she asked the maid beside her.
"Miss, it seems to be Princess Zhaoyang's daughter. She's also here to see if she's taken a liking to anyone," the maid replied.
Shen Cihuan nodded.
The drumbeats gradually subsided, and the youths on the field were divided into two teams.
Jiang Shuyue, Min Youxiang, and the other three young masters formed a team.
The other team consisted of Gu Yuan, Pei Shangdao, and Shen Siqian, the eldest son of the Prime Minister. The other two were also Gu Yuan's confidants.
Shen Siqian slung his riding staff over his shoulder and glanced at Jiang Shuyue, sneering, "I didn't expect that the eldest lame son of the Marquis of Zhenyuan would also play polo."
"Playing polo is no easy feat; if you're not careful, you might end up with a broken leg too."
Jiang Shuyue tugged at the horse's reins, looking at Shen Siqian, "It's just playing ball, how can it ruin your legs?"
"If you have a head ailment, it will likely become more serious if left untreated."
"you--"
Shen Siqian took a breath and glanced at Gu Yuan beside him.
"Could it be that your polo skills are better than His Highness Prince Jing's?"
Gu Yuan accepted their greetings and said, "The competition hasn't started yet; the outcome will depend on skill."
“Your Highness is right,” Jiang Shuyue said.
The drums sounded again, and the competition officially began.
Meanwhile, in the dense forest to the south, Gu Liang emerged from the woods dressed in purple.
Qinghuai pulled a man in black out of the dense forest and kicked him. "Your Highness, should we kill him or not?"
Gu Liang turned around and looked at him lazily.
"The acupoints have been released."
"Yes."
Before the man in black could even swallow, Qinghuai roughly pried open his lips and teeth, stripped his tongue, and snatched the poison pill from underneath.
Seeing the poison pill thrown on the ground, the man in black stared intently at Gu Liang.
Gu Liang chuckled silently. "Dying like that is so pointless."
As he spoke, he slowly walked over and squatted down beside him.
A sharp dagger was drawn, the man's handsome face remained cold, his eyes fixed on the dagger with a deep, unfathomable gaze.
"How about this? I'll cut off pieces of your flesh, stew them into soup, and feed it to you. How about that?"
A dark fire seemed to burn in his eyes.
The man in black sneered, "Kill me if you want, I have nothing else to say."
Gu Liang sneered, and touched the dagger. Before he could react, a sharp pain shot through him.
He cried out in pain.
Immediately afterwards, piece after piece of flesh was cut off, and thirteen bloody pieces of flesh were neatly cut off.
The man in black only shouted once, then gritted his teeth and stared at Gu Liang without saying a word.
Gu Liang scoffed, "I didn't expect the people Gu Yuan raised to be so tough."
The man in black was in so much pain that he couldn't bear it any longer. "Your Majesty, you can just grant me death. There's no need to torture me like this."
Gu Liang said impatiently, "Enough with the nonsense. Where are the other guards?"
"Who else do you want to kill after coming here?"
The man in black was in so much pain that beads of sweat dripped from his forehead, but he didn't say a word.
Gu Liang took out a silk handkerchief and wiped the blood off the short dagger. "Even if you don't say it, I know you want to kill my people."
He smiled, but aren't you curious why my men captured you?
The man in black frowned. "What do you mean by this?"
Gu Liang laughed and said, "You're being sold out and you're still counting the money for the seller."
“Your brothers were captured by my men long ago, and they revealed your location to me in order to save their own lives.”
As she spoke, Gu Liang took out a sword tassel.
Do you recognize it?
The man in black's expression changed drastically. "This... how is this possible?"
"How could he possibly betray us?"
Gu Liang stood up and said casually, "Believe it or not."
"killed."
As soon as Gu Liang finished speaking, Qing Huai was about to strike with her long sword when the man in black immediately backed down.
"Please, Your Highness, spare my life."
"If I were to die like this, I would not be at peace with it."
Gu Liang curled her lips into a smile. "Oh?"
"Tell me."
The man in black calmly said, "They...they are hiding below the cliff to the southeast. He said that the fate of the Princess Liang is up to us, and he only wants her to die."
"If Your Highness does not believe me, I can take you there."
Gu Liang's expression changed, a cold glint appeared, and a sharp blade slit his throat.
He slowly sheathed the dagger, not even glancing at him.
Qinghuai thought to herself, "Why did they have to talk about our Princess Consort?"
"Qinghuai," Gu Liang instructed, "clean up the body."
Qinghuai accepted the order.
He stood deep in the forest, looking towards the polo field, his gaze fixed only on Jiang Zhi.
She sat there, quite obediently.
He looked at Qinghuai, "Go and eliminate all of Gu Yuan's hidden guards in the dense forest."
"Don't startle the young masters and ladies who come here to hunt."
A light smile graces my face.
Gu Liang frowned. "What are you laughing at?"
"Your Highness," Qinghuai said, her tone rising, "Are you sure you're afraid of startling the young masters and ladies? Or are you worried about the Princess?"
Gu Liang raised her hand, intending to attack, but luckily Qing Huai ran fast.
He suppressed his smile and looked towards the polo match on the stage.
Jiang Zhi, sitting below the stage, stared intently at the group.
The polo match was very intense.
Cheers echoed across the field. Jiang Shuyue, on horseback, gripped the reins, watching as Ma Zhang prepared to strike the polo ball that Pei Shangdao had thrown.
He suddenly pulled back the reins, nearly falling over.
Someone kicked his horse.
Jiang Shuyue turned around and saw Shen Siqian's lips curl into a sarcastic smile.
Sarcastic remarks followed.
"Young Master Jiang, is this your skill level?"
"If I were your father, I'd be utterly disgraced by you."
Shen Siqian laughed loudly.
"How dare you steal Prince Jing's polo ball! You're truly overestimating yourself. You should just admit defeat now."
Next, Pei Shangdao played ball.
Just as the ball came, Jiang Shuyue saw it coming, so he pulled on the reins, picked up his riding stick, and prepared to hit the ball into the goal.
Unexpectedly, the horse cane in Pei Shangdao's hand suddenly tilted slightly.
The polo ball slammed into Jiang Shuyue's forehead.
The giant ball swept in, and before Jiang Shuyue could dodge, another polo ball landed on his forehead.
The reins came loose, and Jiang Shuyue fell off the horse.
"Young Master!" Min Youxiang saw this and rode over.
He dismounted and helped Jiang Shuyue up.
"Young master, how are you?"
Jiang Shuyue glared at them through gritted teeth.
"I'm so sorry, I lost my grip," Pei Shangdao said, quickly stepping forward.
His tone carried a hint of apology.
Shen Siqian, on the other hand, looked indifferent and even provocative, saying, "You can't blame Shang Dao for this. After all, who knew you wouldn't dodge the ball?"
Even a fool would know to avoid it.