Yue Ling threw himself into the arms of his attendant, unwilling to face this despairing world.
Meanwhile, Abao remained in place, chewing on another horse's tail, seemingly unwilling to cooperate any further.
Jiu Yue went to change horses, and upon returning, she saw Yue Ling coaxing Abao on the field with his attendants. She walked over and asked, "Do you want me to get you another horse?"
Yue Ling instantly grew wary. "No! You promised Abao would be mine!"
If she rode Abao against him in the competition… what would even be the point?
Yue Ling’s eyes darted around before he coughed tactically and declared righteously, "Your Highness, it seems Abao only listens to you now. To prevent any mishaps during the competition, why don’t you train Abao a little so it cooperates willingly?"
Jiu Yue: "…"
She pretended not to hear and turned to leave.
Yue Ling panicked and blurted out, "I’ll pay extra!"
In an instant, Jiu Yue pivoted on her heel and returned, overjoyed. "I never expected His Highness the Crown Prince to be so generous, willing to offer another five hundred taels of gold… No problem at all! We’re friends, after all. Just a little chat with Abao—of course I’m happy to help."
Yue Ling: "…Huh?"
Jiu Yue walked up to Abao with a smile, pulled the thing out of its mouth, and gave it two sharp slaps on the muzzle.
"Behave," she said darkly, just those two words.
Abao shook its head, exhaled heavily, and trotted off on its own.
Yue Ling: "…"
Staring at the seemingly sulky horse, Yue Ling felt an odd sense of unease. "Maybe… I should just switch horses after all?"
He didn’t dare take the risk!
Still, he cautiously added, "But Your Highness can’t use Abao either."
Both would use horses from the stables—a fair competition!
Jiu Yue smiled. "No problem."
Soon, the two began competing again, from mounted archery to polo, round after round.
Many guards hadn’t witnessed Jiu Yue and Yue Ling’s earlier archery match, so now that the two were at it again, the spectators cheered even louder, thoroughly entertained.
Emperor Yan squeezed into the front row.
Ever since he’d seen Jiu Yue send a polo ball flying halfway across the field earlier, he had fallen into silence.
Now, he watched in further silence as Jiu Yue effortlessly hit every target from horseback, even pulling ahead of Yue Ling on an ordinary steed…
Emperor Yan: "…"
Suddenly, he recalled Jiu Yue’s earlier words to him—
"I am the greatest martial artist in the world."
Could… could it actually be true?
After two more matches, Emperor Yan noticed Yue Ling’s performance declining, yet Jiu Yue remained full of energy. Her final polo strike flew even farther than before!
The field erupted with Yue Ling’s frustrated scream.
Watching him kneel and pound the ground in despair, Emperor Yan couldn’t help but twitch his lips.
With mixed emotions, he slipped away from the crowd without disturbing Jiu Yue.
Wu Liang quickly followed, scratching his head in confusion. "Your Majesty, won’t you greet Her Highness?"
Emperor Yan shook his head and chuckled. "Let her have her fun."
Then he turned to Wu Liang and asked, "Last time, when you escorted Her Highness back from the grasslands and were ambushed, were those assassins more skilled than you?"
Wu Liang nodded, somewhat ashamed.
Back then, Emperor Yan had been preoccupied with Jiu Yue’s poisoning and assumed Wu Liang had played a major role in dealing with the old khan. He hadn’t pressed for details—but now, looking back, he realized just how formidable his Zhao Ning truly was.
Emperor Yan glanced back at the distant figure galloping across the field and suddenly felt a little more at ease.
Excellent.
"Let’s go," he said, flicking his sleeves as he departed just as quietly as he had arrived.
Yue Ling’s roars of frustration echoed across the field all day.
Every time he refused to concede, Jiu Yue indulged him with another match.
After all, each round earned her five hundred taels of gold—or a thousand if Abao needed "training."
By dusk, Sima Qing and Fu Yan’an arrived at the field together.
Most of the guards had duties to attend to, so after watching a couple of matches, only those stationed nearby remained as spectators.
By the time the two men arrived, the crowd by the fence had thinned.
They easily made their way to the front, where they saw Jiu Yue intercepting Yue Ling’s polo stick with her own.
The ball hovered between them. Yue Ling lunged for it, only for his stick to be knocked away effortlessly.
Panting heavily, he looked up just in time to see Jiu Yue casually flick the ball into the goal—even more effortlessly than she had that morning.
Yue Ling: "…"
Exhausted to the point of collapse, Yue Ling slumped forward, clutching Abao’s mane in despair.
"Why did we come here? Why did we challenge this woman? Whyyy…" he whimpered.
Jiu Yue, as usual, took a victory lap around the field—but then she spotted Sima Qing and her cousin by the fence.
Raising an eyebrow in surprise, she tugged the reins and came to a stop.
"When did you two get here?" she asked, finally letting out a deep breath.
Sima Qing beckoned her over.
Though puzzled, Jiu Yue obliged, stopping just beyond the fence.
Expecting him to speak, she was surprised when he instead pulled out a handkerchief and began carefully wiping her face, just as he had the day before.
Jiu Yue stiffened slightly, shifting her feet awkwardly, until he asked, "Played all day?"
"Mm!" Distracted, she brightened and held up five fingers. "Made five thousand taels!"
She clarified seriously, "Gold!"
Sima Qing glanced at Yue Ling, who was now trying to drag Abao away, then looked back at her with amusement.
"As expected of Her Highness."
Jiu Yue proudly put her hands on her hips and chattered excitedly about the day’s matches.
Meanwhile, Fu Yan’an watched Yue Ling nearly get thrown off the black horse, then glanced at the oblivious couple flaunting their earnings. His lips twitched, and he couldn’t resist interrupting.
"Excuse me, you two," he said, pointing at the wailing Yue Ling. "Could we maybe save the man first?"
He was, after all, the Crown Prince of Dongyue.
"I’ll tell you all about it tonight!" Jiu Yue promised Sima Qing.
He nodded, and she rode off to rescue the broken Yue Ling.
Abao hadn’t been throwing a tantrum for no reason. Seeing its drooping tail and displeased eyes, Jiu Yue guessed it was simply exhausted.
Yue Ling wasn’t one to admit defeat easily. After their first match, aside from brief breaks to switch horses or adjust the field, the two had competed nonstop.
Jiu Yue had only ridden Abao in the first round—every other match, she used different horses from the stables.
Given the added obstacles and weighted saddles, she made sure to switch mounts between rounds to avoid overworking them.
But Yue Ling had stubbornly stuck with Abao for the later matches…
So Jiu Yue reasonably suspected that Abao was throwing a tantrum out of exhaustion.
Amused, she soothingly patted Abao’s head and led the horse back to the stable first.
Abao shook its hooves and, without needing any reminder, immediately devoured the fresh fodder the moment it was served.
Jiu Yue leaned against a post and kept it company for a while before finally turning back.
Then, she heard Yue Ling’s disbelieving shriek.
“H-how much?!” He grabbed his attendant by the collar and shook him. “You said five thousand taels?!”
The attendant nodded miserably.
He had tried to stop it, but there was simply no way!
Spotting Jiu Yue approaching from a distance, Yue Ling felt as if struck by lightning.
Which meant…
Today, not only had he failed to shoot a single arrow or hit a single polo ball, but he now owed the Crown Princess of Great Yan five thousand taels of gold! Gold!!
On top of that, he’d exhausted himself to this pitiful state?!
What had he even been thinking?!
A silent scream of agony erupted in his heart as Yue Ling pitied himself.
All he’d wanted was to share a meal with her—how had things spiraled into this?!
Wait—he’d even reserved a table at Qianwei Restaurant for tonight!
Yue Ling: “……”
He closed his eyes, praying this was all just a nightmare.
