Shen Cui immediately wanted to lunge forward and scratch Wang Yueniang, but thankfully, Ji Cheng saw the situation unfolding and grabbed Shen Cui’s hand. “Miss Wang’s reminder is apt. Everyone in the capital knows the beauty of the Wang daughters. Miss Wang should also be careful when going out,” Ji Cheng said, squeezing Shen Cui’s palm.
Hearing this, Wang Yueniang narrowed her eyes at Ji Cheng. Meanwhile, Fourth Miss Wang chimed in, “Thank you for your concern, Miss Ji, but I doubt anyone in the capital would dare to cause trouble for our Wang family.”
Although Ji Cheng found Fourth Miss Wang’s arrogance somewhat laughable – Wang Shu Fei hadn’t even become Empress Dowager yet, and they were already throwing their weight around as if afraid there weren’t enough people who hated the Wang family – she had to admit that currently, it was indeed the Wang family’s time to shine. After all, one should make the most of life’s moments of glory.
Shen Wan had already learned about the incident from Ji Cheng. She had pestered her mother, Madam Huang, with questions and found out that Wang Yueniang was behind it. As a result, she wasn’t particularly friendly towards the Wang sisters and remained cautious. Hearing Fourth Miss Wang speak so boldly, Shen Wan interjected, “I heard that Consort Zhao recently gave birth to a prince. Sixiang, have you visited the palace to see him? The little prince must be adorable, right?”
Those in the know were aware that Wang Shu Fei and Huang Zhao Yi were sworn enemies. Although Shu Fei had given birth to the eldest prince, Huang Zhao Yi was currently the most favored. The two were constantly at odds, each finding fault with the other. Now that Huang Zhao Yi had also given birth to a prince, it was unclear who would ultimately emerge victorious.
Fourth Miss Wang, upon hearing Shen Wan’s words, didn’t get angry. She merely smiled coldly and said, “I haven’t gone yet. The Fourth Prince is of royal blood, more precious than anyone. Consort Zhao dotes on him fiercely, fearing any mishap. Unlike the Third Prince, who didn’t fare so well.”
The Third Prince had passed away before reaching his hundredth day. Fourth Miss Wang’s words were implying that Huang Zhao Yi’s Fourth Prince might not live to adulthood.
Ji Cheng looked at Fourth Miss Wang, thinking she was foolishly arrogant. If these words reached Huang Zhao Yi’s ears, who knew what trouble it would stir up?
In truth, it wasn’t that Fourth Miss Wang was foolishly arrogant; rather, they had been so pampered over the years that they no longer knew their limits. Huang Zhao Yi was Wang Shu Fei’s mortal enemy, so Fourth Miss Wang naturally despised her as well. Her words inevitably carried emotion. Moreover, the Shen family’s attitude towards Shen Cui’s incident made Fourth Miss Wang believe they were bowing to the Wang family, so she spoke with less restraint.
Hearing Fourth Miss Wang’s words, Shen Wan felt somewhat alarmed. The more high-profile the Wang family became, the closer she felt they were to their downfall. She resolved to discuss with her mother about reducing their interactions with the Wang family in the future, especially given Madam Huang’s distant kinship with them.
The drums signaling the start of the polo match began to sound, forcing the young ladies to set aside their verbal sparring.
Ji Cheng couldn’t find Ji Yuan among the players from the Chuyang Society, but Shen Jing was in the first group to take the field. Chuyang Society was facing off against the Yangqu Society, whose strength was average, so Chuyang Society won quite easily. Until the end of the match, Ji Cheng didn’t see Ji Yuan enter the game.
Ji Cheng was about to go and ask when she heard Shen Qian say, “Let’s go congratulate Fourth Brother on his victorious start. It’s Chuyang Society’s first match today, so we should offer our congratulations.”
Shen Wan stared at Shen Qian and smiled, “I suspect you’re not going just for Fourth Brother’s sake.”
Shen Qian stamped her foot and said, “Third Sister, how can you say that? If not for Fourth Brother, who else would I be going for?”
Shen Wan replied, “I saw your eyes fixed on Player A the whole time. You cheered even louder for his goals than for Qiu Xiaoshuang’s.”
Shen Qian’s face reddened, but she retorted, “So what? I thought his backflip was indeed more impressive than Qiu Xiaoshuang’s, so I cheered for him. Is that not allowed?”
“Of course, it’s allowed. I’m also curious about who Player A is. With such a player, Chuyang Society might have a chance at the top three this year,” Shen Wan said.
“I think so too,” Shen Qian immediately agreed.
Since everyone wanted to know who Player A was, they pushed and prodded each other towards the players’ rest area.
Naturally, young ladies couldn’t enter the men’s rest area, but the outside was surrounded by layers of people, mostly young women. Their faces were flushed, eyes filled with admiration, a far cry from their usual coyness and reserve.
It was only here that Ji Cheng could see the boldness of Jinzhi girls in the capital’s young ladies. However, most of these girls were from ordinary families. They loved to chase after the polo society members, hoping that if they caught someone’s eye, they might become a phoenix rising from a sparrow’s nest.
Ji Cheng and her companions didn’t need to be separated by the railings like those girls, standing on tiptoes and craning their necks in anticipation of their admired one’s appearance. When the manager heard that Shen Wan and the others were from the Shen family, looking for Shen Jing, he led them to the corridor outside the rest area. There were tables and chairs here, with tea provided, prepared specifically for these high-status noble ladies.
Ji Cheng had heard rumors that some noble ladies secretly adored chasing after polo society members. The Seven Treasure Alliance’s polo societies were all civilian, with members from various backgrounds. Some were from poor families who had joined the polo society due to their excellent horsemanship. If they played well and looked handsome, they might be admired by noble ladies who would privately provide them with money.
Qiu Xiaoshuang from the Lanping Society was from a humble background. Recently, there were rumors about him having an unclear relationship with a certain madam. Ji Cheng didn’t know if this was true, but after hearing it, Shen Qian’s admiration for Qiu Xiaoshuang had diminished considerably. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have switched her support to Player A from the Chuyang Society today.
Shen Jing changed his clothes inside and, hearing from a servant that his sisters were waiting outside, quickly came out. In the crowd, his eyes immediately found Ji Cheng.
At home, there were many constraints, with his mother’s spies everywhere. Even if Shen Jing wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Ji Cheng, he had to restrain himself. Now it was different; he could speak to her openly without anyone saying anything. Shen Jing felt that bringing Ji Yuan to play polo was the right decision.
Although Ji Yuan’s polo skills were indeed quite poor, with Shen Jing’s influence, keeping him in the Chuyang Society wasn’t a problem.
Seeing Shen Jing and Ji Yuan come out, Ji Cheng naturally pulled Ji Yuan aside to talk. “How have you been recently, Elder Brother? Playing polo must be very tiring, right?”
Since Ji Yuan was busy with his studies and preparing for the polo matches, the siblings, despite living close by, hadn’t seen each other for some time.
Ji Yuan gave a bitter smile. What did he have to be tired of? He couldn’t even get on the field, being just a substitute, and the last one at that. However, Ji Yuan knew that Shen Jing had good intentions, bringing him into this group of noble sons. Having these connections would be beneficial for future endeavors.
“Don’t worry, Brother. Polo isn’t something you can master quickly. Just watch and practice more, treat it as a way to stay healthy. Maintaining a calm mindset is what’s truly valuable,” Ji Cheng said, noticing the hint of frustration in Ji Yuan’s brow. Men always had their pride, and being at the bottom was naturally uncomfortable.
“I understand,” Ji Yuan replied.
While Ji Cheng was talking with Ji Yuan, Shen Qian was pulling Shen Jing’s arm and asking, “Fourth Brother, who is Player A in your society?”
Shen Jing smiled and said, “Weren’t you fond of Qiu Xiaoshuang from the Lanping Society? Why are you suddenly interested in our society’s Player A?”
Shen Qian pushed Shen Jing and said, “Fourth Brother, are you going to tell me or not?”
Naturally, Shen Jing had no reason not to tell her. “Player A is the Crown Prince of the Southern Commandery.”
One shouldn’t speak ill of others behind their backs, for they might appear at any moment. Just as Shen Jing finished speaking, a young man wearing a dark python robe walked out from the rest area.
The Crown Prince of the Southern Commandery, Chu Zhen, appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. Although his skin was slightly dark, his features were very handsome. Perhaps due to playing polo, his figure was quite tall and straight, looking more heroic than the average scholar. At least, he had a presence that Shen Jing and Ji Yuan couldn’t match. Today, probably half of the girls gathered outside the rest area were here for him, Player A.
“That’s him,” Shen Jing pointed out Chu Zhen to Shen Qian when he saw him.
Shen Qian looked up, and for some reason, her heart seemed to stop beating. She could barely handle it. Strangely, although she had liked Qiu Xiaoshuang before, she had never felt this flustered when seeing him.
“Zhenzhen,” Shen Jing called out to greet Chu Zhen.
Chu Zhen’s scalp tingled at the sight of the delicate young ladies beside Shen Jing. He was always most impatient when talking to these girls who would retreat three steps at the slightest sneeze. So Chu Zhen merely nodded to Shen Jing and gave a distant salute, indicating he had matters to attend to and would leave first.
Shen Qian felt quite disappointed and followed Chu Zhen with her gaze until he disappeared out the door.
As soon as Chu Zhen stepped outside, he was startled by the scene. The overpowering scent of powder and rice made him sneeze repeatedly. His servant, Zhuer, quickly went ahead to clear a path for him. His young master couldn’t stand these chattering women.
“These women have no sense of propriety or shame. I wonder how they were raised at home,” Chu Zhen complained to Zhuer.
“They’re all daughters of ordinary families. They haven’t studied much, so naturally, they’re not as reserved as young ladies from noble families,” Zhuer replied.
“Noble young ladies aren’t necessarily reserved either,” Chu Zhen said, recalling the endless gazes that had clung to him as he passed through the corridor earlier.
Zhuer glanced at his young master. At sixteen, his young master was completely ignorant in matters between men and women, not understanding the delights of soft jade and warm fragrance. When faced with a young lady throwing herself at him, he would scare her to tears with his stern face. Zhuer wondered when his young master would finally understand these matters so that he and the other servants could also experience such things.
In truth, men usually mature in these matters a bit later than women. For instance, Shen Qian was only fourteen, yet her heart had already begun to flutter at the sight of Chu Zhen.
Because of this, Shen Qian naturally didn’t want to miss Chuyang Society’s second match. Shen Wan, being about to marry, couldn’t appear in public too often. Shen Cui was busy preparing for her performance at the Middle Altar, and Su Jun had fallen ill again due to the change of seasons. So Shen Qian had to plead with Ji Cheng and Lu Yuan to accompany her to watch the match.