Chapter 97: Hello Chang’an
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Chapter 97: The Few Against the Many
The "youth" spoke calmly, making it clear that this was not a request for discussion, but an announcement. They would be taking over Qiao Yubai's role, with Qiao Yubai playing the forward position instead.
With a tone of cooperation, the "youth" explained briefly, “Time is tight; there’s no time to rearrange positions. This is the final round. Stick to your current positions and follow the strategy from before. Just ensure your own safety, and leave the rest to me.”
This bold statement left Cui Lang and the others momentarily stunned. A young man surnamed Hu widened his eyes in surprise. “But… but I’ve never seen you before!”
The surrounding noise ensured that no one else overheard their conversation.
“You’re not from our academy, are you?” The young man pressed, “Where are our teammates?”
“From now on, I am one of yours,” Chang Suining replied, giving them a look to keep quiet as she picked up Qiao Yubai's polo mallet. “Just follow me, and let’s win this match first.”
Watching her walk toward the horse, Cui Lang opened his mouth in shock. “Wait, is that… Chang…?”
Xi Ziyuan asked softly, “Do you know this person, Lord Cui?”
Cui Lang’s expression shifted rapidly as he nodded. “I know her!”
At first, he hadn’t recognized her, thinking only that the youth was good-looking and vaguely familiar. But after hearing her speak a few words, he realized it was Madam Chang! Yet how could Madam Chang take to the field in their match? This was pure madness!
Ordinarily, he was tolerant of mad ideas, but he still found Madam Chang’s decision astonishingly audacious.
The young man surnamed Hu quickly asked, “Is… she good at playing?”
She certainly sounded confident.
Cui Lang hesitated, caught off guard by the question.
Good at playing? He didn’t know about polo, but he knew she was very good at fighting…
First, she had beaten Ming Jing, the son of the Marquis Ying, and then her own eldest brother. So he replied truthfully, “I only know she’s very good at hitting people…”
The young man’s expression grew conflicted. “But this is polo.”
“Since when has this been about polo?” Xi Ziyuan commented as he looked over at Chang Miao’s group. “Haven’t they been hitting people all along?”
Realizing this, Cui Lang looked at the four riders of Chang Miao’s team already on horseback. With a resigned sigh, he urged, “Alright, let’s go; desperate times call for desperate measures!”
Most importantly, he lacked the courage to expose her. Madam Chang dared to hit his own elder brother; what would stop her from hitting him?
“Well, alright…” The young man surnamed Hu had no choice but to follow.
For the final round, they had already braced themselves for a loss.
Chang Suining had already leapt onto her horse.
Under the canopy, Wei Shuyi had switched seats to sit next to Cui Jing and leaned over with a smile, gently shaking his fan. “Looks like you’ll lose this bet, General Cui.”
Earlier, when Cui Jing predicted that the blue team would win, Wei Shuyi had casually proposed a bet, backing the yellow team instead.
“I never agreed to your wager.” Cui Jing watched as the two teams assembled on the field and added, “Besides, the blue team might not lose.”
His gaze swept across the players and rested on the lead figure of the blue team.
The afternoon sun was harsh, and though the figure on horseback looked slight, the ponytail alone was enough for Cui Jing to identify the person.
Following his gaze, Wei Shuyi’s casual look turned to surprise as he squinted at the figure, studying for a moment before exclaiming, “Is that…?”
Cui Jing replied, “A substitute.”
Wei Shuyi blinked in surprise, then chuckled. “Where did they find this substitute? She’s certainly an unexpected one.”
Next to Cui Jing, Yuanxiang, who hadn’t seen the rider’s face clearly, muttered in concern, “he looks so frail; will he hold up?”
Recalling his own harrowing experience with her in the water that day, Cui Jing glanced toward Chang Miao and nodded, saying, “She will.”
On the field, Chang Miao’s team hesitated before bursting into laughter.
“This is the one who nearly wet his pants earlier?”
“Letting a substitute take the forward position? They must be out of their minds!”
“Oh, come on, it’s probably just a case of giving up entirely.”
They chuckled among themselves.
Chang Miao sneered at the slender youth leading the blue team, taunting, “New guy, since you’ve got the guts to take the forward position, let’s see what you’re capable of!”
Calmly seated on her horse, Chang Suining nodded. “Alright, let’s begin.”
Her unflinching response surprised Chang Miao, who sneered, amused.
How clueless. If he truly had any talent, would se even be a substitute? Signaling to his teammates, he ordered, “Alright, enough talk, let’s get to work!”
He planned to show the new player some harsh reality.
As the drums began to beat, the brightly painted ball, hollowed from within, was tossed high into the air, catching the afternoon sunlight with a dazzling gleam.
The players spurred their horses, raising clouds of dust as they raced with mallets raised, each aiming for the ball.
Under the ladies' pavilion, a few seats at the front remained vacant.
Qiao Yubai had gone to the infirmary, with Wang shi and Qiao Yumian accompanying him. Not spotting Chang Suining, Lady Duan assumed she had gone with them. Watching the four yellow-team players on the field, she frowned and shook her head in disapproval. “These young men care more about winning than preserving their dignity.”
Such behavior wasn’t merely bad—it was foolishly disgraceful.
Using underhanded tactics repeatedly in front of everyone, even if they won, it would be a hollow victory.
Seeing the satisfied look on Madam Chang’s face, Duan shi smirked inwardly. A woman from a modest family, raised by the Chang family as a second wife, had a perspective as narrow as a sesame seed.
In truth, the Chang family itself had no deep foundation to speak of.
Their status had risen only because one of their daughters had married into the Ming family, and years ago, another daughter was sent into the palace, eventually becoming Empress Ming, and now, the Holy Emperor herself.
Thus, as the maternal family of the Minister Ying, the Chang family had ridden the tide.
But with their newfound status, certain relatives had forgotten their own insignificance.
The emperor valued this polo match at the Imperial Academy primarily to evaluate the students’ abilities, not for them to create such a public brawl.
Did they truly believe that simply winning the match would earn the emperor’s admiration and bring honor to their family? Even victory depends on how it’s achieved.
If these brutish fools were to win, it would surely leave the students on the blue team feeling disgraced, and likely, the crown prince as well.
As soon as the words were spoken, a hand grabbed her arm and shook it a couple of times.
Duan shi turned to look at her daughter beside her.
"Mother, something seems off..." Wei Miaoqing murmured.
Duan shi asked, "What seems off?"
"Mother... look at that substitute..." Wei Miaoqing hesitantly pointed at the field, "Doesn’t he look somewhat familiar?"
Today, she was probably the person most focused on Chang Suining in the world—
While others were tense about the competition, she was watching Chang Suining.
While others were concerned about Qiao Yubai's injuries, she was still watching Chang Suining.
So she had been closely observing every move of Chang Suining after she left her seat to help Qiao Yubai set his bones and then left the field!
Yet, she still couldn't quite believe that Chang Suining had replaced a student from the blue team—
The members of the yellow team were like wild dogs chasing after someone, and those tall young men couldn’t handle them. What was a young lady like her doing in there!
Was she not afraid of getting hit?
What would happen if she got hurt?
Wei Miaoqing watched the girl on the field anxiously—how could someone be so reckless and not treasure the intentions of Nuwa Niangniang!
Realizing that the substitute on the field was indeed Chang Suining, and that Chang Miao was already charging toward her, Duan shi couldn’t help but exclaim, "Heavens!"
Her hand trembled, and with a loud "bang," the teacup in her hand fell and shattered into pieces.
But the other womenfolk didn’t pay any attention to the broken teacup.
On the field, Cui Lang anxiously shouted, "Get out of the way!"
In the next moment, two horses collided, emitting a loud whinny.
After colliding with the person, Chang Miao galloped after the ball without pausing, a smirk of triumph appearing at the corner of his mouth.
The Hu surname youth was both anxious and helpless, "Is he dumb? Why isn’t he dodging!"
He was just standing there, waiting to get hit!
Fortunately, nothing serious happened!
Seeing that although Chang Suining's horse was knocked back a few steps, he was unharmed, Cui Lang finally breathed a little easier and rode over to Chang Suining, urgently saying, "Let me take the lead!"
Next time they collided, she might not be so lucky!
Chang Suining, who never relied on luck, tightened his grip on the reins without turning to look at him: "What are you talking about leading—"
Cui Lang was confused.
What kind of talk was that!
"I just wanted to test if getting hit by his horse would hurt," Chang Suining said, and with a squeeze of his horse's belly, he urged it forward with his mallet in hand.
Cui Lang was left dumbfounded.
Of course getting hit by a horse would hurt; what was there to test!
Xi Zhiyuan, who also heard this, revealed an indescribable expression—was this substitute’s mind really okay?
On the other side, the Hu surname youth suddenly exclaimed, "What is he doing!"
Cui Lang and the others looked over and saw Chang Suining charging toward Chang Miao, going solo to seize the ball!
Seeing this scene, Duan shi was immediately drenched in cold sweat.
Just as Chang Miao was about to score, he suddenly felt a fierce wind coming from behind. Before he could react, he was slammed to the side by a sudden force, nearly toppling off his horse!
Chang Suining swung her mallet to strike the ball.
"Whoosh—"
This seemingly reckless strike, without even searching for direction, zoomed through the air at an incredible speed, faster than anyone’s sight, flying straight into the goal.
"The blue team scores a flag!"
The referee's voice finally snapped everyone back to reality—the substitute had gone from colliding with someone to seizing the ball and scoring in the blink of an eye!
There was no time on the field for anyone to think and react.
"…I think he’s gone mad!" Chang Miao, still seething from the collision, regained his composure just in time to see the colorful ball that had just been tossed up snatched away by the substitute youth without even passing through another person's hands.
The ball had been struck away, rapidly approaching him and growing larger in his vision.
“Bang!”
The ball hit Chang Miao hard in the chest, drawing a pained scream from him.
Among the female spectators, Madam Chang also let out a sharp, trembling cry.
Cui Lang, however, swallowed in awe.
He could see it clearly now...
One hit for the goal, one hit for Chang Miao!
Madam Chang’s attention was evenly divided between Chang Miao and the goal—who else could enjoy such favor?
With Chang Miao wounded, the remaining four members of the Yellow Team were both shocked and enraged. Seeing that the Blue Team had already scored two goals while they had none, they took Chang Miao’s cue and fiercely attacked the unexpected substitute boy.
Seeing this, Cui Lang and his friends immediately urged their horses forward, shouting, “What kind of skill is it to gang up on someone?”
Wait...
Watching as another Yellow Team player was knocked off his horse right in front of him, Cui Lang sharply pulled his reins.
“Thud!”
The young man landed in front of Cui Lang’s horse, grimacing in pain.
The next moment, another player clutched his bleeding nose as he toppled sideways from his horse.
Cui Lang stared blankly at the scene.
He’d seen plenty of people ganging up on others...
But seeing one person take on many—this was a first.
Chang Suining swung her polo mallet, sweeping the ball across the field while also “incidentally” knocking another Yellow Team player off his horse.
The rumors weren’t wrong; the late crown prince had indeed been fond of polo.
But her favorite memories of polo were not with her father, the emperor, but with the soldiers in the barracks.
The military style of polo focused on building teamwork and camaraderie, strengthening bonds essential for fighting side by side.
But this was not the barracks.
To handle a few lightweight opponents, she alone was more than sufficient.
Seeing Chang Miao, eyes bloodshot, charging toward her on horseback, Chang Suining quickly glanced at the water clock, frowning slightly.
Cui Jing, watching her subtle expression, somehow understood that trace of regret between her brows, as if she were thinking, “How annoying, I only get to beat him up for half an hour—there’s hardly any time left.”
“Yuan Xiang—” Wei Shuyi turned to Yuan Xiang and said, “Looks like you were right; he really can’t handle much.”
Yuan Xiang: “…!”
Cui Jing watched the girl’s movements as she swung her mallet from horseback.
Her battlefield-like techniques applied to the polo field felt like a giant bullying small children—they simply couldn’t withstand it.
If Chang Miao and his group were aggressive, then her style was downright brutal.
One careless move could end in serious injury.
But she was always careful.
Even the points where her hits landed on Chang Miao were all precisely chosen.
Yet, Chang Miao seemed oblivious to this, completely unaware of the danger he was in—
On the field, Chang Miao, feeling utterly humiliated, gritted his teeth and advanced closer to Chang Suining.
Determined to update early today but… failed on the first day!
(End of chapter)
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