Chapter 401 Double Ninth Festival Banquet

Under the gaze of the crowd, the three children slowly walked into the imperial garden and found an empty corner to stand.

"Why do I feel a little weird?"

Princess Ankang frowned and muttered.

The three children all felt the same unusual atmosphere.

How to say it?

It was that the originally hidden malice became clearer.

It was so clear that it was hard to ignore.

"What's wrong with these bastards?"

Li Xuan glanced at the unfriendly people with a cold look.

It's a bit late to do this now.

At this time, someone greeted them and walked towards them.

"Sister Ankang."

The three children turned around and found that it was Princess Yuanan who came with her attendants.

They hadn't seen Princess Yuanan for a long time.

During the last autumn hunting competition, except for a meeting at the beginning, they didn't meet during the competition.

Princess Yuan An did not achieve any good results either. She must have been eliminated by others in the middle of the competition.

After that, because of the renovation of Jingyang Palace, the three little ones stayed outside the palace, so naturally there was no chance to meet.

Princess Yuan An came over, her eyes locked tightly on Princess Ankang's arms.

To be precise, it was Li Xuan in Princess Ankang's arms.

Looking at Li Xuan's cute little hands in his pockets, Princess Yuan An wished that she had this honor.

But no matter what, it was not easy to see Li Xuan again, which made Princess Yuan An very satisfied.

"Ah, Xuan..."

Princess Yuan An called silently in her heart, venting her longing.

"Yuan An, long time no see."

Princess Ankang smiled and greeted.

In the palace, there were not many brothers and sisters who had a good relationship with her, and Yuan An could barely be considered one.

But her sister's covetousness for Li Xuan was too straightforward, which made Princess Ankang difficult to ignore.

Although Princess Ankang believed in Li Xuan, she was always stared at by Princess Yuan'an with drool, which always made Princess Ankang a little conscious.

"Yuan'an, did anything happen in the imperial garden today?"

"Why do I feel something is wrong?"

Princess Ankang immediately asked her doubts.

"This..."

Princess Yuan'an was a little embarrassed, as if she knew the reason, but she didn't know how to say it.

"Actually, it's like this..."

Princess Yuan'an was about to explain in detail when someone came over.

"It's not a big deal, but everyone has drawn the battle line and is going to work together to deal with you."

The eighth prince came leisurely and said casually.

It's already autumn, and this guy is still shaking a folding fan, not afraid of blowing himself cold.

"Hey, myna."

Seeing the eighth prince also coming over, Princess Ankang greeted him happily.

Then she asked worriedly, "Is it because of the points?"

Princess Ankang was not stupid. She had won so many games before and had known that there would be such a day.

However, her mentality had been changing all the time.

To be honest, the renovation of Jingyang Palace this time also gave Princess Ankang a lot of ideas.

It would be a lie to say that she had no expectations.

Princess Ankang also hoped that Jingyang Palace could take off the hat of the cold palace, not for other reasons but to give the late Concubine Xiao a name.

Princess Ankang did not want the record of Concubine Xiao in the history books to just die in the cold palace in obscurity.

It must be said that Emperor Yongyuan used the renovation of Jingyang Palace as a means to move the minds of countless people, even including Princess Ankang.

At this time, the Eighth Prince answered Princess Ankang's question:

"There is no other reason except this."

"Now you are in first place with five points, the eldest is in second place with three points, and the remaining fourth, sixth and I each have only one point."

"But now there are only four months left until the New Year next year, which means there are only four games left."

"Although the others can be said to have no chance, the ones on the scoreboard, even I with only one point, have a chance to catch up."

"In this case, it is natural for each of us to stick together and pursue the final victory."

After saying that, the Eighth Prince looked back at everyone in the Imperial Garden and smiled disdainfully.

"In other words, those who have no points are going to start supporting their substitutes?"

Princess Ankang was not stupid either, and immediately understood what the Eighth Prince meant.

"My dear brother, where are your little allies?"

"Don't they support you this time?"

Princess Ankang joked with a smile.

"Hey, they got in with me last time and got beaten up a lot when they got back."

"Even though they are all children, they are all bound by their mothers, so how can they really do whatever they want?"

"As for me, because of what happened in the last competition, I have been listed as a target on par with you."

The Eighth Prince did not forget to make fun of himself.

Last time in the autumn harvest competition, he tricked many little kids into forming an alliance with him, and then together they swept away many other contestants.

This also caused a lot of floods to wash away the Dragon King Temple.

Some little kids unknowingly eliminated their brothers and sisters who were closely related to their interests, and when they returned, they were pulled by their ears and scolded by their mothers for being used as knives.

The little kids were only concerned about their own happiness at the time, and they didn't think so much.

As for whether the Eighth Prince was intentional or unintentional, it is hard to say.

After all, judging from the results of the competition, he didn't get much benefit.

And he owed these little kids a lot of favors for nothing.

If the Eighth Prince wants to continue to be the king of children, he may have to slowly repay it for a long time.

"What about Yuan An? She shouldn't be targeted, right?"

Princess Ankang asked.

"Yuan An is special. No one targets her, and no one tries to win her over."

The Eighth Prince replied with a smile.

But after hearing this, Princess Yuan An suddenly felt unhappy and felt that she was excluded and isolated.

It was okay to be excluded and isolated by others, but she did not have the treatment that this small group had, which made her very dissatisfied.

But Princess Yuan An also understood that she had a special status and her own position, and her mother had always been low-key in the harem in recent years, which naturally attracted this kind of treatment.

Others would not take the initiative to provoke her, nor would they take the initiative to approach her.

After all, Empress Wu had been promoting the matter of making Princess Yan Zhao the empress in the court with the influence of the Wu family.

If there was no direct interest relationship in such a matter, no one would dare to get involved.

It was a serious matter, and if you were implicated, you would have to pay a heavy price.

Princess Yuan An, who felt unhappy, pouted and muttered: "I don't even know what the project is, but I just blindly formed a group. I don't know what the situation will be in the end."

Princess Ankang and the Eighth Prince just smiled at each other, and they both saw the reason why Princess Yuan An was unhappy.

At this moment, Zhao Feng walked in front of everyone and began to announce the competition items for this month.

"Your Highnesses must have been waiting for a long time, so I will not waste any more words."

"This month's competition items are..."

Zhao Feng said, unfolding the scroll in his hand, and saw two big characters written on it.

People with eyes have recognized that it is written by Emperor Yongyuan himself.

[Cuju]

"Cuju!"

All the nobles in the Imperial Garden couldn't help but read it out loud, and some were happy and some were sad.

The three little ones also looked at each other silently, not knowing how to react.

The three of them have never experienced the sport of Cuju since they were so old.

After all, this sport is difficult to get started, and it also has considerable requirements for equipment and venues. It is not a sport that can be played with the conditions of Jingyang Palace in the past.

Therefore, for the three little ones, they are all real Cuju novices.

"Meow, how did you kick the ball?"

Li Xuan complained in his heart.

He has always been fearless, but he has a strong fear of ball sports that require footwork.

After all, Li Xuan comes from a country that is weak in such sports.

"I remember that this sport is quite difficult."

In Li Xuan's impression, Cuju is very different from the football of his later life.

And according to his rough understanding, the rules of Cuju in Daxing are that the ball cannot fall to the ground, and the goal is set very high, only the size of a round ball, which can barely let the ball pass.

And as expected, the rules of the game announced by Zhao Feng later were exactly the same as what Li Xuan remembered.

It's just that the scale of the game was reduced and changed to a three-person Cuju game.

In addition to the participating princes and princesses, each can bring two attendants.

However, there are some strict requirements for the strength of the attendants, that is, they are not allowed to exceed the seventh rank.

For the princes and princesses, it is also strictly required that they cannot use their true qi during the game, and can only rely on the strength of the flesh, and only the power of qi and blood can be used within the scope of use.

It seems that the strength is deliberately controlled at the lower third level, and the true qi is not allowed to affect the game.

But this rule is actually only aimed at the third prince who has reached the sixth level of the Qi Sensing Realm.

The others are still in the lower third level, and even Princess Ankang has no cultivation at all.

The rest of the rules are similar to ordinary Cuju games, and even simplified a lot.

Six people compete for the ball in the center of the field, and then shoot the ball into the opponent's Fengliu Eye, that is, the goal, to get one point.

The game time is two quarters of an hour, divided into the first and second halves, each lasting a quarter of an hour, with a short break in between.

During Cuju, except for the hands and arms, other parts can be used to touch the ball.

The rules of their game this time are that no one can touch the ball continuously, otherwise the ball will be transferred.

The opponent can also choose to intercept the pass, but they must not make contact with the opponent during the game, otherwise they will be sent off after three fouls.

The rules sound similar to Li Xuan's later football, but the difficulty is much higher.

But there is a saying of cultivation in this world, which is reasonable.

The date of the game is set on the eighth day of this month, which means there are still three days of preparation time.

Today, we just need to complete the drawing and arrange the schedule of the game.

After all, according to the competition system, it may not be completed in one day.

And according to Zhao Feng, the top four will be decided on the first day, and then on the ninth day of September, the Double Ninth Festival, an open competition will be held to decide the first place in the Cuju competition.

At that time, there will be ministers and nobles in the court to watch the game.

It can be regarded as an entertainment program on the Double Ninth Festival.

It sounds like there will be a grand ceremony in the palace on the Double Ninth Festival.

"Ah Xuan, Sister Yu'er, it sounds like the palace will be lively in a few days."

Princess Ankang said excitedly.

At this time, Princess Yuan'an and the Eighth Prince looked at each other silently, not knowing what to say.

"Royal sister, in fact, there will be a banquet in the palace every Double Ninth Festival."

Princess Yuanan looked at Princess Ankang with some distress, but she didn't want to remain silent and let Princess Ankang be kept in the dark.

After hearing this, the three little ones were stunned at the same time.

They have been living in the cold palace and really didn't know there was such a banquet.

But then Princess Ankang chuckled and said a little embarrassedly:

"I'm sorry to make you laugh."

Princess Yuanan saw that Princess Ankang could still laugh, and she didn't know how to react for a while.

After all, in her opinion, this matter has a lot to do with her mother.

Instead, the eighth prince laughed and took over the conversation: "What's there to laugh about, Ankang, remember to come to find my brother, my brother will take you to play fun."

The eighth prince blinked his eyes and showed a mysterious smirk, obviously he was planning something bad again.

"Okay, I'll follow my brother's arrangement."

Princess Ankang had played with the Eighth Prince several times before, and she knew that he would not let people down, so she agreed immediately.

Then Zhao Feng presided over the drawing of lots on the stage. Before Princess Ankang went up, her turn had been decided.

Princess Ankang's opponent in the first round was the Sixth Princess.

Having experienced the autumn hunting competition, they were old rivals.

Obviously, the Sixth Princess had not forgotten the last defeat. As soon as she drew Princess Ankang, she stared at her with a burning look, full of gunpowder.

Soon, the drawing of lots for others was also completed. Zhao Feng was about to announce that the competition would officially start in three days, but someone suddenly asked a question below.

"General Manager Zhao, must the attendants participating in the competition be human?"

Zhao Feng frowned, looked down, and found that it was the Eighth Prince who asked the question, and immediately answered:

"It can also be tamed beasts. Please arrange it as you like, Your Highnesses."

"There is no strength requirement for taming beasts."

At the end, Zhao Feng added another sentence.

Because animal taming is not like human warriors, there is no specific grade division, and it is difficult to define the strength of animal taming.

Hearing this answer, not only the Eighth Prince, but also Princess Ankang showed a proud smile.

Others are not fools, and they immediately understood the intention of the Eighth Prince to ask this question.

Everyone knows that this guy has a Saker Falcon, and it is well-trained.

If the Eighth Prince uses his Saker Falcon to participate in the competition, and then lets this bird guard the goal, the competition will be difficult to say.

With the help of birds, everyone can foresee that the Eighth Prince will have a huge advantage in the competition.

"Tsk, why are you always comparing these things."

In the pavilion, the Third Prince muttered dissatisfiedly, obviously disliking the Eighth Prince.

"Zhan'er!"

Beside the Third Prince, Concubine Zhao Shu frowned and scolded.

The Third Prince immediately lowered his head and dared not speak again.

"Remember, no matter what competition, you just need to perform well."

Concubine Zhao Shu instructed, with no expression on her face.

Because of the defeat in the last autumn hunting competition, the third prince did not have any points, and even theoretically there was no possibility of winning the final standings, after all, there were only four games left.

But the third prince came back halfway to participate, so he didn't need to care too much about it. Obviously, Concubine Zhao Shu also understood this.

Concubine Zhao Shu stood up and pressed the third prince's shoulder, then whispered in his ear: "The Chongyang Banquet is a rare opportunity, you must seize it."

Concubine Zhao Shu didn't say anything more, and left the imperial garden with her attendants.

The third prince stood up silently and said goodbye, expressionless.

He knew that his performance last time disappointed his mother.

But the third prince would not let this happen again.

"Mother, I will seize the opportunity."