Shen Che remained silent, not one to gossip. He knew that Ji Cheng would continue to “sincerely flatter” Shen Qian as long as she held value. In Shen Che’s view, Shen Qian would always be valuable to Ji Cheng. Besides, if Ji Cheng dared to hurt Shen Qian’s feelings, he had countless ways to deal with her and the Ji family.
“What nonsense are you talking about? That’s the Third Aunt’s niece. How can I say whether I like her or not?” Shen Che said.
Shen Qian pouted, “Hmph. You only like those improper women outside. When have you ever spoken well of anyone around me? Even someone like Sister Si Niang, you don’t appreciate.”
Hearing this, Shen Che smiled, “It seems Ah Qian has grown up and started caring about these matters. I’ll go talk to Mother and tell her to hurry up.”
Shen Qian was at a loss for words, her cheeks flushing red. She stomped her foot, making a “thump thump” sound. “I’m not talking to you anymore.”
As Shen Che walked out, Shen Qian stopped him again, “Don’t go. You took my things, you should compensate me, right?”
“Tell me, what do you want this time?” Shen Che had already walked out the door but turned back.
“Si Niang sent an invitation for us to go horseback riding. Can you find me a good horse?” Shen Qian said, “Brother, don’t just appease me. I don’t want a docile horse that always ends up last.”
“Mm,” Shen Che agreed.
This time when Fourth Miss Wang invited Shen Yuan and the other girls to the Wang family villa, she didn’t leave out Ji Cheng.
Wang Yue Niang still disliked Ji Cheng and glanced at her before turning to Shen Yuan, “Sister Yuan, you’ve finally come this time.”
Shen Yuan smiled faintly without responding.
Fourth Miss Wang, like a dutiful host, welcomed everyone. Besides the Shen sisters and Ji Cheng, they had also invited the daughter of Minister Han and the young ladies from the Xue family of the Ping Jing Marquis.
For a gathering of young ladies, there were only so many activities to enjoy. They first composed poetry together, but under the blazing sun, the poetic mood was somewhat lacking. Moreover, the Xue family had a military background, and their two young ladies weren’t particularly skilled in poetry. Fourth Miss Wang then suggested doing something else.
Lu Yuan, already bored with the poetry, quickly said, “We’ve been sitting for so long, my back is sore. Why don’t we go horseback riding?”
Han Lingze frowned with concern, “But the sun is too harsh right now.”
“Then how about we play chuiwan?” Shen Qian suggested. Chuiwan wasn’t too strenuous and was said to “calm the mind, nourish the blood, and refresh the spirit.” Moreover, chuiwan was known as the “polo of the ground” – a walking ball game. With polo being so popular now, the young ladies also enjoyed playing chuiwan.
“Yes, yes!” Lu Yuan was the first to agree, as long as it involved movement, she was happy.
“But I didn’t bring any equipment,” Han Lingze said, still hesitant.
“Don’t worry, we didn’t bring any either. Sister Si Niang, how many sets of equipment do you have here? If it’s not enough, I can send a servant back to Jing Yuan to fetch some. I have three sets there,” Shen Qian said.
Among the young ladies here, there were eleven who could play chuiwan, making it quite a large gathering. The Wang family villa only had four sets of equipment, which was not enough. Fortunately, Jing Yuan wasn’t far, and it wouldn’t take long for a servant to go and return.
While the servant went to fetch the mallets, everyone started choosing the playing field, designating the holes, and preparing the tallies. Han Lingze volunteered to be the referee, and the remaining ten naturally split into two teams of five.
With the three Shen sisters, Ji Cheng, Su Yun, and Lu Yuan, the numbers were already over, and it wouldn’t be fair to exclude anyone. So they had to draw lots to decide the teams.
The result was that Shen Yuan, Shen Qian, and Shen Cui ended up on the same team, with Ji Cheng and Wang Yue Niang joining them. Wang Yue Niang was immediately displeased and looked at Ji Cheng, asking, “Miss Ji, do you know how to play chuiwan?”
While she couldn’t say for certain, Ji Cheng had been playing chuiwan, polo, touhu, slingshot, and even taju when Wang Yue Niang was probably still a toddler.
Ji Cheng smiled slightly and said, “A little bit.”
Wang Yue Niang looked at Fourth Miss Wang with a sour face, “Fourth Sister, you must go easy on us.”
Fourth Miss Wang tapped Wang Yue Niang’s forehead, “Do you expect us to let you win a few points?” In Chuiwan, each player now had five tallies. Three successful hits into a hole would earn one tally, with the loser giving their tally to the winner. Whoever lost all five tallies first would leave the game, and when the winning side collected twenty tallies, the game would end.
Hearing the conversation between the two sisters, Shen Yuan’s expression had already soured, while Shen Cui’s face had darkened. The eldest Miss Xue laughed from the side, “We’re just playing for fun, not caring about winning or losing. If Yue Niang minds, she can switch with me.”
Wang Yue Niang said, “Sister Xue is right. I was being petty.”
This exchange of laughter made it so that whoever lost later would have nothing to say, as speaking up would make them seem petty.
Fourth Miss Wang shook her head slightly at Wang Yue Niang, telling her not to behave this way, but Wang Yue Niang ignored her, believing there was no need to consider the Shen family’s feelings.
Shen Yuan and Ji Cheng exchanged a glance, both seeing the determination to win in each other’s eyes. They decided it was necessary to teach Wang Yue Niang how to behave properly. People who suddenly come into wealth often become arrogant and quite dislikeable.
When the servant from the Shen family brought in the mallets, Wang Yue Niang laughed as soon as she saw Ji Cheng’s mallet, “Oh my, your mallet is so old and ugly. Why don’t you get a new set? It’s not like your Ji family doesn’t have money.”
Ji Cheng’s mallet set was made of ordinary wood, and due to its age, it looked dirty and worn, naturally unattractive. But the fact that it could still be used now showed its durability.
People nowadays like everything to be exquisite. The Wang sisters’ mallets were gilded with jewels inlaid on the handles. The mallets of Shen Yuan and the others were no less luxurious than the Wang family’s. However, Shen Qian’s mallet was similar to Ji Cheng’s, just a bit newer.
Before Ji Cheng could speak, Shen Qian’s mallet was brought over, looking almost identical to Ji Cheng’s. Wang Yue Niang was immediately at a loss for words.
Shen Qian said, “This mallet set was chosen for me by my second brother. It’s the most comfortable for me to use. I’m sure Sister Cheng’s set is also the one she’s most comfortable with.”
Wang Yue Niang looked embarrassed, and Fourth Miss Wang spoke up, “Miss Ji’s mallet looks old, so she must have used it for many years. It seems Miss Ji was being modest earlier.”
Ji Cheng ignored Fourth Miss Wang’s sarcasm and smiled, saying, “I haven’t played for many years.” This was true.
Fourth Miss Wang laughed, “In stories, they always say that experts are modest like this. Miss Ji, there’s no need to be so humble.” These words put Ji Cheng in a difficult position, as not winning now would be embarrassing.
As the young ladies were talking, a maidservant came to invite Fourth Miss Wang and everyone else to see the designated holes. This time, eight holes were set up, each with a small flag beside it. These holes were either convex, concave, steep, upward-facing, forward-facing, or obstructed, each with its challenges.
Fourth Miss Wang’s team very “politely” asked Shen Yuan to start the game. Shen Yuan smiled and agreed, scoring a hole in two strokes, making a beautiful start.
Shen Qian also successfully won a tally, but when it came to Shen Cui, she couldn’t score a hole. She looked very frustrated, while Wang Yue Niang also failed to score but didn’t show any displeasure on her face.
On Fourth Miss Wang’s side, Fourth Miss Wang, Lu Yuan, and Su Yun all scored holes. The eldest Miss Xue was slightly worse, unable to score. Ji Cheng’s performance was steady, managing to score a hole in three strokes each time it was her turn.
This score, after several rounds, while not the best, was certainly not bad. Fourth Miss Wang and Lu Yuan’s performances were even more impressive, sometimes scoring in just two strokes. Lu Yuan even managed to score in one stroke once.
After several rounds, Fourth Miss Wang already had fourteen tallies, while Shen Yuan’s side only had twelve, Ji Cheng also had twelve, and Lu Yuan had the remaining thirteen.
The situation was unfavorable for Shen Yuan’s team, and in this round, Shen Yuan failed to win a tally. If Lu Yuan scored, she and Ji Cheng would lose another tally.
The Shen family team placed all their hopes on Ji Cheng. Ji Cheng considered for a moment; winning or losing didn’t matter to her, but the Wang sisters’ words and actions were truly annoying, always wanting to win and making sarcastic remarks. If Wang Shu Fei had such a personality, Ji Cheng wouldn’t have high hopes for the Wang family.
Ji Cheng looked up to survey the hole ahead, then glanced at the ball on the field, which was the one Shen Yuan had failed to score with. According to the rules, if Ji Cheng could make Shen Yuan’s ball go into the hole, she would also gain a tally.
However, the angle of Shen Yuan’s ball was very poor, backed against a small mound and stuck in a small pit, making it very difficult to roll out, let alone into the hole.
Ji Cheng spent a long time selecting from her mallet bag before pulling one out. With a light swing, her ball rolled perfectly next to Shen Yuan’s ball.
Shen Yuan’s eyes lit up, already guessing Ji Cheng’s intention. She thought Ji Cheng would first hit her ball into the hole to gain a tally, then hit her ball in to gain another tally.
When Ji Cheng swung her mallet again, her expression seemed very relaxed. Shen Yuan’s ball was already not far from the hole, and everyone knew that getting this ball in was no longer difficult. The most challenging part was Ji Cheng’s first stroke, which managed to roll the ball to its current perfect angle.
However, when Ji Cheng’s second stroke hit the ball, everyone felt they could barely keep up with their eyes. Shen Yuan’s ball was rolling north, while Ji Cheng’s ball was heading straight for the northeast hole. Shen Yuan’s ball, unsurprisingly, fell into the hole, but Ji Cheng’s ball seemed to lose momentum when it was two-thirds of the way there. Everyone held their breath, especially the Shen family girls, who clenched their fists, wishing they could blow some fairy breath to make sure the ball rolled into the hole.
But the ball was too weak, almost stopping as it approached the hole. It was heartbreaking to watch. Ji Cheng, however, remained calm, as if she were the one who didn’t care about winning or losing.
Finally, the ball that was almost not moving slowly, slowly turned at the edge of the hole, then with a “plop” fell into it.
Shen Qian immediately cheered. Now Fourth Miss Wang and Lu Yuan both had to give Ji Cheng two tallies, bringing her total to sixteen.
Fourth Miss Wang smiled and said, “I didn’t expect Miss Ji to be so skilled at playing the fool to catch the tiger.”
In her heart, Ji Cheng replied: Aren’t you just the tigress? But out loud, she said, “It’s just luck.”
If it was luck, Ji Cheng’s luck today seemed a bit too good, as she was the first to reach twenty tallies and win.
Wang Yue Niang couldn’t help but say from the side, “If Fourth Sister hadn’t let us start first, she would have been the first to get twenty tallies.”
Before Ji Cheng could speak, Shen Cui quickly said, “That’s right. Sister Si Niang has always been generous and doesn’t care about winning or losing. She actively let us start first and only lost by half a step. Cousin Cheng was just lucky today, it doesn’t count for much. Let’s just call it a draw today, shall we?”
How could it be considered a draw when there were clear winners and losers? Fourth Miss Wang glared fiercely at Wang Yue Niang. Shen Cui’s words were truly stinging, clearly mocking her for not having the ability to win and pretending to be generous by letting others start first, then complaining after losing.
After speaking, Shen Cui saw Fourth Miss Wang’s expression and couldn’t help but curl her lips in satisfaction, finally finding an opportunity to mock the Wang sisters. She was quite pleased with her words, leaving the Wang sisters with no room to retort.
Ji Cheng, however, shook her head inwardly, knowing that with the Wang sisters’ pettiness, they would surely find a chance to get back at Shen Cui.
Fourth Miss Wang looked up at the sky and said, “The sun is setting nicely now, and a breeze has just started. It’s comfortable and cool. Why don’t we go horseback riding?”
In the capital, young ladies usually traveled by carriage or sedan chair, and only at Le You Yuan could they ride horses outdoors, so everyone enjoyed it. During the previous emperor’s reign, there was an autumn hunt almost every two years, and young ladies would race horses and compete in archery on the great grasslands, which was quite impressive.
Unfortunately, the current Emperor Jian Ping, apart from holding one autumn hunt when he was young, had never held another. This gradually diminished the trend of horseback riding and archery among women, though true aristocratic families still hired riding and archery instructors for their daughters.
Among this group of young ladies, only Minister Han had entered officialdom through the imperial examinations. While his daughter’s talents were quite famous, she was very average when it came to riding and archery. So Han Lingze couldn’t even be considered able to ride a horse; she needed a groom to lead the horse in front of her when riding.
Therefore, Han Lingze smiled and said, “I think I’ll pass. I’m not very good at horseback riding.”