Chapter 401 Double Ninth Festival Banquet

Chapter 401 Double Ninth Festival Banquet

Under the gaze of everyone, the three little ones slowly walked into the imperial garden and casually found a deserted corner to stand.

"Why does it feel a little weird?"

Princess Ankang frowned slightly and muttered.

All three little ones felt the same unusual atmosphere.

What should I say?

It was the originally well-hidden malice that became clearer.

So clear that it’s hard to ignore.

"What are these bastards doing?"

Li Xuan glanced at the unfriendly people with cold eyes.

We are doing this now, which makes people feel that it is a bit late.

At this time, someone came towards them saying hello.

"Sister Ankang."

The three little ones turned around and saw that Princess Yuanan was coming with her attendants.

As for Princess Yuanan, they haven't seen her for a long time.

During the last Qiugari competition, except for one encounter at the beginning, we never met each other during the competition.

Princess Yuan'an didn't achieve any good results either. She should have been eliminated by others midway.

After that, due to the renovation of Jingyang Palace, the three little ones stayed outside the palace, so naturally they had no chance to meet.

Princess Yuan'an came over and locked her eyes tightly in Princess Ankang's arms.

To be precise, it was Li Xuan in the arms of Princess Ankang.

Seeing Li Xuan's adorable little hands curled up, Princess Yuan'an wished she had this honor.

But no matter what, Princess Yuanan was very satisfied to finally be able to see Li Xuan again.

"Ah, A Xuan..."

Princess Yuan'an called silently in her heart, venting her longing.

"Yuan An, long time no see."

Princess Ankang smiled and said hello.

In the palace, there were not many brothers and sisters with whom she had a good relationship, Yuan An was barely one.

But her younger sister's coveting of Li Xuan was too straightforward, making it difficult for Princess Ankang to ignore.

Although Princess Ankang believed in Li Xuan, Princess Ankang always felt a little worried about being stared at by Princess Yuanan in such a disgusting way.

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

"Why does it feel like something is wrong?"

Princess Ankang immediately asked her doubts.

"this……"

Princess Yuan'an looked a little embarrassed. She seemed to know the reason but didn't know how to explain it.

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

Princess Yuan'an was waiting to elaborate when someone else came over from the side.

"It's not a big deal, it's just that everyone has drawn up a battle line and is going to work together to deal with you."

The Eighth Prince walked over leisurely and said casually.

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

"Hey, myna."

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

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

Princess Ankang is not stupid either. She has won so many games before and she already knew that such a day would come.

However, her mentality has been constantly changing.

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 didn't have any expectations.

Princess Ankang also hopes that Jingyang Palace can take off its hat of being a cold palace, just to give the late Concubine Xiao a status.

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

It has to be said that Emperor Yongyuan's renovation of Jingyang Palace really touched the hearts of countless people, including Princess Ankang.

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

"There is no other reason other than this."

"Now you are ranked first with five points, the boss is second with three points, and the remaining four, six and I only have one point."

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

"Although it can be said that others will never have a chance again, for these few in the standings, even if I only have one point, I still have a chance to catch up."

"Under such circumstances, it is natural for each of us to stick together and chase the final victory."

After saying that, the Eighth Prince turned around and glanced at everyone in the Royal Garden, smiling disdainfully.

"In other words, are those who don't have points going to start supporting their alternates?"

Princess Ankang was not stupid and immediately understood what the eighth prince meant.

"Bago, where are your little Doudin allies?"

"Aren't they going to support you this time?"

Princess Ankang joked with a smile.

"Hey, they hung out with me last time and got punished a lot when we got back."

"Even though they are just children, they are all restrained by their mothers and concubines. How can they really be free to act as they please?"

"As for me, because of what happened in the last game, I have been listed as a target with the same name as you."

The Eighth Prince did not forget to laugh at himself.

Last time in the Autumn Harvest Competition, he tricked many little Doudings into forming an alliance with him, and then together they wiped out many other players.

This also caused many floods to wash away the Dragon King Temple.

Some little Douding unknowingly eliminated their brothers and sisters who were closely related to their own interests. When they returned home, their mothers and concubines grabbed their ears and scolded them for being used as knives.

The little Doudings were only thinking about their own happiness at that time, so how could they think so much.

As for whether the Eighth Prince did it intentionally or not, it's hard to say.

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

And I owe these little beans a lot of favors in vain.

If the Eighth Prince wants to continue to be the king of children, I'm afraid he will have to pay it back slowly for a while.

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

Princess Ankang asked.

"Yuan An is special. No one is targeting her, and no one is trying to win over her."

The eighth prince replied with a smile.

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

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

But Princess Yuan'an also understands that she has a special status and has her own position. In recent years, her mother has always kept a low profile in the harem, which naturally attracted this kind of treatment.

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

After all, Empress Wu has been using the influence of the Wu family to promote the appointment of Princess Lu Zhao as the empress in the court.

If there is no direct interest in this kind of thing, no one would dare to get involved.

The stakes are high, and if you are implicated, you will have to pay a heavy price.

Princess Yuanan, who felt unhappy, pouted and muttered: "We don't even know what the project is, so we just get together blindly. Maybe what will happen in the end."

Princess Ankang and the Eighth Prince just looked at each other and smiled, both seeing the reason for Princess Yuanan's displeasure.

At this moment, Zhao Feng walked up to everyone and began to announce this month's competition events.

"Your highnesses must have been waiting for a long time, so I will stop talking nonsense."

"This month's competition is..."

As Zhao Feng spoke, he unfolded the scroll in his hand and saw two big characters written on it.

People with discerning eyes have recognized that the handwriting on this is Emperor Yongyuan's own handwriting.

【Cuju】

"Cuju!"

All the nobles in the Imperial Garden couldn't help but chanted along. 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 before.

After all, it is difficult to get started with this sport, and it also requires a lot of equipment and venues. It is not a sport that Jingyang Palace’s past conditions can afford.

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

"Damn it, why did you kick the ball?"

Li Xuan slandered.

He has always been fearless, but he has a shadow on ball games that use his feet.

After all, Li Xuan comes from a country that is disadvantaged by such projects.

"I remember this exercise was quite difficult."

In Li Xuan's impression, Cuju was very different from the football he played in later generations.

And based on his rough understanding, the rules of Daxing's Cuju are that the ball cannot hit the ground, and the goal is set very high, only the size of a round ball, which can barely let the ball pass.

And sure enough, the rules of the competition announced by Zhao Feng later were exactly the same as what Li Xuan had in mind.

However, the scale of the competition was reduced and changed to a three-person Cuju competition.

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

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

For the princes and princesses, it is also strictly required that they are not allowed to use their true energy during the competition, and can only rely on the power of the physical body. Only the power of energy and blood is within the scope of use.

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

But this rule actually only applies to the third prince who has reached the sixth level Qi realm.

Everyone else is still in the lower third level, and even Princess Ankang has no cultivation at all.

The remaining rules are similar to those of ordinary Cuju competitions, or 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 goal, which is the goal, and they can score one point.

The game lasts for two quarters of an hour, divided into two halves, each lasting a quarter of an hour, with a short rest period in between.

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

Their game this time stipulated that no one should touch the ball continuously, otherwise the ball possession would change.

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

The rules sound similar to Li Xuan's later football, but they are much more difficult.

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

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

Today, we just need to finish drawing lots to catch the pairs and arrange the schedule of the game.

After all, according to the format of the competition, I am afraid that the competition cannot be completed in one day.

And according to what Zhao Feng said, the top four will be decided on the first day, and then on the Double Ninth Festival, the ninth day of September, there will be an open competition to determine the top spot in the Cuju competition.

At that time, there will also be ministers and nobles coming to watch the game.

It can be regarded as the entertainment program on the day of the Double Ninth Festival Banquet.

It sounds like there will be some grand pomp in the palace on Double Ninth Festival.

"Axuan, sister Yu'er, it sounds like there will be a lot of excitement in the palace in the next few days."

Princess Ankang said excitedly.

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

"Sister Huang, actually every Double Ninth Festival, there will be a banquet in the palace."

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 had been living in the cold palace and 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 Brother B, Brother B 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, listen to Brother B's arrangements."

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

Then, Zhao Feng was on stage to draw lots. Before Princess Ankang went up, her turn had already been decided.

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

They were old rivals after the experience of the Autumn Hunting Competition.

Obviously, the Sixth Princess had not forgotten the last defeat. When she drew Princess Ankang, she stared at her with a burning gaze, full of gunpowder.

Soon, the draws of other people were also completed. Zhao Feng was about to announce that the competition would officially begin in three days, but someone suddenly asked a question below.

"Zhao Zongguan, do the attendants who participate in the competition have to 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 a tamed beast. 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 taming beasts are not like human warriors, there is no specific grade division, and it is difficult to define the strength of taming beasts.

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

Others were not fools, and they immediately understood the purpose of the Eighth Prince's question.

Everyone knew that this guy had a well-trained Saker Falcon.

If the Eighth Prince used his Saker Falcon to compete, and let the bird guard the goal, the game would be hard to say.

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

"Tsk, why do you always compete with these things?"

In the pavilion, the Third Prince muttered in dissatisfaction, 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 loss 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 there was no need to care too much about this matter. Obviously, Concubine Zhao Shu also understood this.

Concubine Zhao Shu stood up and held the Third Prince's shoulder, then whispered in his ear: "The Chongyang Banquet is a rare opportunity, you must seize it." Concubine Zhao Shu did not say anything more, and left the Imperial Garden with her attendants. The Third Prince stood up silently and saw him off, 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."