Chapter 367 - Polo MatChapter (2)
Chapter 367 –Polo Match (2)
At this time, Empress Dowager also opened her mouth and spoke to Ye Zhen. “Yaoyao, listen to your imperial brother.”
A helpless Ye Zhen had no choice but to sit down. However, she still asked someone to put the stool beside Empress Dowager, far away from Mo Rongzhan as she didn’t want to be close to him at all.
The moment they sat down, the competition between Mo Rongyi and Prince Shun also began. Prince Shun was ranked eighth amongst the siblings, and he was seventeen this year. He had brought four other people with him to compete with Mo Rongyi. And though Mo Rongyi and his companions’ ages were younger – all of them were around fourteen to fifteen – they weren’t too weak in comparison to Prince Shun in this competition.
Both sides had come to the field with wooden staffs, several feet long, ready in their hands, riding their horses. Their eyes were shining brightly, ready for the upcoming battle. While the fine steed under them were all snorting, their riders were all unable to hold back their excitement, enjoying the happiness that came from the moment they would charge and broke through the enemy’s lines. They had all decided beforehand that victory or defeat would be based on how many balls were shot into the goal.
A long whistle rang across the sky. It was immediately followed by the sounds of hooves chaotically mixed together. Mo Rongyi’s staff and Prince Shun’s were locked together, each trying to hit the other’s away. Soon, the two sides rapidly engaged each other fiercely, struggling to beat the other. People were shouting, the horses were neighing, kicking up a mass of dust underneath.
Ye Zhen looked at the youngster galloping on the horseback in the field and her heart couldn’t help but feel somewhat touched. The current Mo Rongyi looked different compared to the kid she had rescued from the trap in the past. Now, he was obviously taller and had become a true man.
“Unexpectedly, Ah Yi is able to play polo so well,” Empress Dowager remarked to Mo Rongzhan with a smile.
Mo Rongzhan nodded and involuntarily looked at Ye Zhen. “It’s all due to Yaoyao.”
Ye Zhen smiled and said, “That’s all Ah Yi’s own efforts.”
As soon as she finished her words, she saw that Mo Rongyi was swept by Prince Shun’s staff and got hit on the shoulder. He almost fell off his horse.
Ye Zhen instantly rose to her feet, nervously looking at Mo Rongyi, fearing that he would fall.
Prince Shun put his long staff away and quickly dismounted from his horse to apologize to Mo Rongyi. He gave off the impression that the hit from before was not intentional on his part.
Mo Rongyi was hit on his right hand. So although he did not fall off his horse, he could not lift his hand. This automatically meant he would not be able to continue competing.
“Did Prince Shun do it on purpose?!” Ye Zhen asked, anger obvious in her voice.
Mo Rongzhan and Empress Dowager’s complexion were somewhat gloomy, and they were unable to tell whether the Eight Prince was being deliberate or not. However, how could there be so many coincidences?
“I’ll go and have a look.” Seeing that no one spoke, Ye Zhen could no longer wait. She ran down the stone steps and went in Mo Rongyi’s direction.
The game was paused for a while as Mo Rongyi was sent down to heal his injuries.
“Ah Yi, are you all right?” Ye Zhen pushed the people surrounding Mo Rongyi away and saw that his white shoulders were bruised black and blue. Anger filled her eyes at the sight.
At first, Mo Rongyi was still clenching his teeth, enduring the pain. However, as soon as he saw Ye Zhen, his eyes reddened and he called out, “Yaoyao, I can’t lose to Prince Shun!”
“Does your shoulder hurt?” Ye Zhen softly asked.
“It hurts.” Instead of being stubborn and holding his silence, the young boy opened his mouth and admitted, looking at Ye Zhen with great grievance.
Distressed, Ye Zhen touched his head and said, “Let a substitute replace you. Don’t worry, you won’t lose. For now, you go and have a rest.”
Mo Rongyi nodded his head obediently. He was accustomed to believing Ye Zhen’s words unconditionally.
Ye Zhen glanced at the other four youngsters and ordered, “You go back to the polo field. I’ll be right back.”
Empress Dowager looked at them from a distance and asked Mo Rongzhan, “Your Imperial Majesty, where do you think Yaoyao is going?”
“Zhen also does not know.” Mo Rongzhan slightly narrowed his eyes as the delicate voice faded away from his line of sight along with the owner’s figure. He then turned to Eunuch Fu and said, “Let Little Prince return to heal his injuries.”
In the distance, Prince Shun seemed guilty, but at the same time, there was a smile in his eyes. Right then, he was talking to the old Wangye from Mo Family. In the eyes of many imperial clansmen, Mo Rongzhan was not an orthodox emperor. As such, though on the surface they obeyed his rules, from the depth of their bones, they were unconvinced with his rise.
Since they could not retaliate against Mo Rongzhan, they could still deal with Mo Rongyi. This was what their despicable and shameless minds had come up with.