Chapter 244: Polo - Rebirth of the Noble Daughter

 Chapter 244: Polo

“Princess, may I let a few of my subordinates join the game? They are experts in polo back in Jiao Ren. It would be interesting to see whether they or the sons of Da Jin are better.”

As he spoke, he cast a flirtatious glance at Princess Changlin.

With her reputation for flirtation, the Third Prince was no fool, and he ignored Wen Xinglu.

The princess found his behavior quite novel and amusing.

She turned to Wen Yuwei and said, “Yuwei, bring out the prizes for me. They are excellent items. Let the young men present show their skills, and let’s see whether the sons of Da Jin are superior or the warriors under the Third Prince of Jiao Ren are!”

Since the princess had made it clear, everyone had to give their all. Losing the game was one thing, but losing to Jiao Ren would be a disgrace to Da Jin!

Su Cheng was the first to object. He immediately mounted his horse and said to Princess Changlin, “Your Highness, I am Su Cheng, General Su’s son. I am willing to compete against the Third Prince’s subordinates!”

As soon as he spoke, the young men who usually played rough also stood up, and soon they had a total of six participants.

Feng Jinlin also wanted to join but was held back by Feng Jinyao’s warning glance.

Dressed inconspicuously, he did not attract much attention.

“Second Brother, it’s better for you to focus on self-cultivation. Otherwise, when it comes time to discuss marriage and people use your reputation as a wastrel against you, you’ll understand that my advice wasn’t meant to harm you.”

Feng Jinxiao had a vague idea of his brother’s concerns and knew their mother favored Xu Mingyue. So, the Feng family was eager for this match, but the Xu family might not be as willing.

Especially Xu Mingyue, who, with her personality, might disdain a frivolous person like Feng Jinlin. He needed to correct his show-off behavior before anything else.

“Alright, I’ll listen to you.”

As they finished speaking, the match began with a burst of activity.

In the game, Su Cheng handled the ball as if it were magnetically attracted to his mallet, leaving Jiao Ren’s players with no chance to touch it. Da Jin scored the first point.

Soon, cheers and applause filled the crowd, and Princess Changlin even smiled with her eyes narrowed in delight.

“Not bad, Young Master Su. Your skill is impressive and shows that you truly enjoy the sport.”

“This young man is indeed remarkable, but Princess, you should watch carefully. My warriors from Jiao Ren are not to be underestimated.”

Indeed, before he had finished speaking, the situation on the field began to reverse.

One of Su Cheng’s team failed to catch the ball, and a strongman from Jiao Ren swooped in and stole it.

He charged down the field and scored a goal.

The score was now tied at one-to-one.

After some mutual probing, both sides had a better understanding of each other's tactics.

While Su Cheng’s team focused on coordination, with everyone contributing equally, Jiao Ren’s strategy was clearly centered around the strongman. The other players merely supported him, making him the primary force.

Having discerned this, Su Cheng whispered a few instructions to his teammates.

The match resumed quickly.

The two teammates stationed themselves on either side of the strongman, intercepting passes to him whenever the ball came near.

They managed to block several attempts to pass the ball to the strongman without breaking any rules. As the score gap widened, the strongman grew increasingly agitated.

With a cold glare at Su Cheng, he spat out, “Despicable scoundrel!”

“A polo field is like a battlefield, isn’t it?” Su Cheng replied calmly, not letting their taunts provoke him.

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This novel is translated by the Eternal Novel Hits translators. Please read it at https://eternalnovelhits.blogspot.com

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The strongman, known for his unwillingness to admit defeat, was now infuriated. The sport was about the ball, not the horse.

In his frustration, he decided to use his horse aggressively.

Without warning, he struck his horse’s rear with his mallet, causing it to charge directly at Su Cheng.

Su Cheng’s eyes narrowed slightly; an opportunity had arrived.

Seeing the strongman’s furious approach, Su Cheng knew that a collision could cause serious injury or even be fatal if the horse’s hooves trampled him.

As the strongman drew near, Su Cheng leaped from his horse and flipped mid-air, landing behind the strongman and lightly tapping the horse’s rear.

The strongman, however, was thrown off his horse. In a cruel twist of fate, the horse’s hoof landed squarely on his chest, causing a spray of blood.

“Gangji!”

The Third Prince’s once-smiling face turned awkward.

It was clear to everyone that the strongman had charged at Su Cheng in violation of the rules. Now, the person who had initiated the collision was injured, while Su Cheng remained unharmed.

Bai Siruo snickered, “He got what he deserved.”

Her laughter prompted several other young nobles to join in the ridicule.

The Third Prince, unable to contain his anger, turned to Princess Changlin and said, “Princess, this is your polo match. Now one of my men is injured like this. Is this a blow to Jiao Ren’s reputation?”

Wen Xinglu rolled his eyes, having noticed the Third Prince’s attempt to flirt with the princess. Despite his lack of genuine affection for the princess, he would not tolerate the Third Prince’s audacity.

He retorted, “Your Highness, that’s a strange thing to say! Everyone saw that it was Jiao Ren’s warrior who charged at Young Master Su. Su Cheng skillfully avoided the attack. The princess hasn’t even pursued the matter of rule-breaking, so why are you raising complaints? Moreover, the warrior was trampled by his own horse. Are you now blaming the princess for this?”

Wen Xinglu’s words only embarrassed the Third Prince further. While he could see the truth, the disgrace of his subordinates reflected poorly on him, making him determined to fight back.

If it were the Crown Prince speaking, he might have shown some respect.

But for a mere prince consort to act so arrogantly was infuriating.

The Third Prince glared at Wen Xinglu and sneered, “I didn’t realize it was Prince Consort Wen speaking. Though I’m from Jiao Ren, I’ve heard that Da Jin’s prince consorts aren’t allowed to attend court. Since that’s the case, when I speak to the princess, I hope the prince consort will refrain from interrupting!”

Though he didn’t state it explicitly, his meaning was clear and offensive.

Not only Wen Xinglu, but even Wen Yuwei found it intolerable.