Under everyone's gaze, the Three Little Ones slowly entered the Imperial Garden, casually finding an unoccupied corner to stand in.
"Why does it feel a bit strange?"
Imperial Sister Ankang lightly furrowed her brow and muttered.
The Three Little Ones all sensed the same unusual atmosphere.
How to describe it?
It was as if the malice that had been hidden was now much clearer.
So clear that it was hard to ignore.
"What are these bastards up to now?"
Li Xuan scanned the unfriendly people with cold eyes.
To try this now felt a bit late.
Just then, someone approached them, greeting them.
"Imperial Sister Ankang."
The Three Little Ones turned to look and saw Yuan'an Princess approaching with her attendants.
They hadn't seen Yuan'an Princess in a long time.
During the last Autumn Hunt competition, aside from a brief encounter at the beginning, they hadn't run into her at all during the competition.
Yuan'an Princess hadn't achieved good results either; she was likely eliminated midway by others.
Afterward, due to the renovations of Jingyang Palace, the Three Little Ones had been staying outside the palace, so there naturally hadn't been any opportunities to meet.
Yuan'an Princess walked over, her gaze firmly fixed on Imperial Sister Ankang's arms.
To be precise, it was on Li Xuan, who was in Imperial Sister Ankang's arms.
Looking at Li Xuan, cutely tucking his small hands and shrinking into himself, Yuan'an Princess wished she had that honor.
But no matter what, just being able to see Li Xuan again was already very satisfying for Yuan'an Princess.
"Ah, Li Xuan..."
Yuan'an Princess silently called out in her heart, venting her longing.
"Yuan'an, long time no see."
Imperial Sister Ankang greeted her with a smile.
In the palace, there weren't many siblings she had a good relationship with, and Yuan'an barely counted as one.
However, her younger sister's covetousness towards Li Xuan was too blatant, making it difficult for Imperial Sister Ankang to ignore.
Although Imperial Sister Ankang trusted Li Xuan, being stared at with such a Fengliu Eye by Yuan'an Princess always made Imperial Sister Ankang a bit uneasy.
"Yuan'an, has anything happened in the Imperial Garden today?"
"Why does it feel a bit off?"
Imperial Sister Ankang immediately asked the doubt in her heart.
"This..."
Yuan'an Princess seemed a bit awkward, as if she knew the reason but didn't know how to explain it.
"Actually, it's like this..."
Just as Yuan'an Princess was about to elaborate, someone else came over.
"It's not a big deal; it's just that everyone has already drawn their battle lines and will be working together against you."
Eighth Prince strolled over leisurely, saying casually.
It was already autumn, yet this fellow was still fanning himself with a folding fan, not afraid of catching a cold.
"Oh, Eighth Brother."
Seeing Eighth Prince also come over, Imperial Sister Ankang greeted him happily.
Then she asked with some worry, "Is it because of the points?"
Imperial Sister Ankang wasn't foolish; she had won so many matches before that she knew this day would come.
However, her mindset had been constantly changing.
Honestly, the renovation of Jingyang Palace had given Imperial Sister Ankang many new thoughts.
It would be a lie to say she had no expectations.
Imperial Sister Ankang also hoped that Jingyang Palace could shed its Cold Palace label, if for nothing else, then to give the late Consort Xiao a proper status.
Imperial Sister Ankang did not want Consort Xiao's historical records to simply state that she died obscurely in the Cold Palace.
It must be said that Emperor Yongyuan's use of Jingyang Palace's renovation as a means indeed moved the hearts of countless people, including Imperial Sister Ankang.
At this moment, Eighth Prince answered Imperial Sister Ankang's question:
"Besides this, there's no other reason."
"Currently, you are first with five points, the eldest is second with three points, and the remaining Fourth Prince, Sixth Princess, and I all have only one point."
"But now there are only four months left until next spring, which means only four matches remain."
"While others can say they no longer have a chance, those on the points leaderboard, even I, with only one point, have a chance to catch up."
"In such a situation, it's natural for everyone to band together and pursue the final victory."
With that, Eighth Prince glanced back at the crowd in the Imperial Garden, smiling disdainfully.
"So, those without points are starting to support their preferred candidates?"
Imperial Sister Ankang wasn't foolish and immediately understood Eighth Prince's meaning.
"Eighth Brother, where are your Little Bean allies?"
"Are they not supporting you this time?"
Imperial Sister Ankang teased with a smile.
"Sigh, they hung out with me last time and got quite a scolding when they went back."
"Don't just see them as children; they all have their Imperial Concubines restraining them, so how could they truly act on their own whims?"
"As for me, because of what happened in the last competition, I've been listed as a target, just like you."
Eighth Prince didn't forget to mock himself.
Last time during the Autumn Hunt competition, he tricked many Little Beans into forming an alliance with him, and then together they swept away many other contestants.
This also caused many instances of 'a flood washing away the Dragon King Temple' (meaning, a misunderstanding between close parties).
Some Little Beans unknowingly eliminated their brothers and sisters with whom they had close interests, and when they returned, their Imperial Concubines pulled their ears and scolded them for being used as pawns.
The Little Beans at the time were only concerned with having fun; how could they think so much?
As for whether Eighth Prince did it intentionally or unintentionally, that's hard to say.
After all, looking at the results of the competition, he didn't gain much advantage either.
And he accumulated a lot of favors from these Little Beans for nothing.
If Eighth Prince wants to continue being the 'King of Children,' he'll probably have to slowly pay back those favors for quite some time.
"What about Yuan'an? She shouldn't be targeted, right?"
Imperial Sister Ankang asked.
"Yuan'an is special; no one targets her, and no one tries to win her over."
Eighth Prince replied with a smile.
But upon hearing this, Yuan'an Princess immediately became unhappy, feeling excluded and isolated.
Being excluded and isolated by others was fine, but this small group had a certain treatment, and she didn't, which made her very dissatisfied.
However, Yuan'an Princess also understood that her status was special, and she had her own stance, and in recent years, her Imperial Mother had always been low-key in the Imperial Harem, which naturally led to this treatment.
Others would not actively provoke her, nor would they actively approach her.
After all, Empress Wu, with the influence of the Wu Family, had been pushing for Zhen Zhao Princess Princess to ascend as Empress Regnant in the Imperial Court.
Unless there was a direct conflict of interest, no one dared to get involved in such a matter.
It was a matter of great importance, and if one were implicated, the price would be heavy.
Feeling annoyed, Yuan'an Princess pouted and grumbled, "They don't even know what the event is, yet they're blindly forming alliances. Who knows what the final outcome will be."
Imperial Sister Ankang and Eighth Prince just exchanged a smile, both seeing the reason for Yuan'an Princess's displeasure.
And just then, Zhao Feng walked to the front of the crowd and began to announce this month's competition event.
"Your Highnesses must have been waiting for a long time, so this old servant will not waste any more words."
"This month's competition event is..."
As Zhao Feng spoke, he unrolled the scroll in his hand, revealing two large characters.
Those with keen eyes already recognized that the characters were Emperor Yongyuan's personal handwriting.
[Qúc Ju]
"Qúc Ju!"
The nobles in the Imperial Garden couldn't help but read it aloud, and immediately some were happy while others were worried.
The Three Little Ones also exchanged silent glances, unsure how to react.
They had never experienced the sport of Qúc Ju in all their lives.
After all, this sport was quite difficult to get into, and it had significant requirements for equipment and site, making it not a sport that Jingyang Palace, with its past conditions, could afford to play.
Therefore, for the Three Little Ones, they were all genuine Qúc Ju novices.
"Meow, why are we suddenly playing ball?"
Li Xuan grumbled inwardly.
He had always been fearless, but he had a particular aversion to ball sports played with feet.
After all, Li Xuan came from a country that was weak in such sports.
"I remember this sport is quite difficult."
In Li Xuan's impression, Qúc Ju was vastly different from the football of his later life.
And from his rough understanding, the rules of Qúc Ju in Great Xing were that the ball could not touch the ground, and the goal was set particularly high, only the size of a sphere, just barely allowing the ball to pass through.
And sure enough, the competition rules Zhao Feng announced afterward were identical to those in Li Xuan's impression.
However, the scale of the competition was reduced, changing to a three-person Qúc Ju match.
Besides the participating Imperial Princes and Princesses, each could bring two attendants.
However, there were strict requirements for the strength of the attendants: they were not allowed to exceed the Seventh Rank.
For the Imperial Princes and Princesses, it was also strictly required that they not use True Qi during the competition, only relying on their physical strength, with only Qi and Blood Power allowed within the scope of use.
It seemed to be deliberately controlling the strength to the Lower Three Ranks, not allowing True Qi to influence the competition.
But this rule, in reality, only targeted the Third Prince, who had already reached the Sixth Rank Qi Sensing Realm.
Everyone else was still in the Lower Three Ranks, and Imperial Sister Ankang didn't even have any cultivation.
The remaining rules were similar to ordinary Qúc Ju matches, even simplified a lot.
Six people would compete for the leather ball in the center of the field, and then shoot the ball into the opponent's Fengliu Eye, which was the goal, to score one point.
The match time was two ke (30 minutes), divided into upper and lower halves, each lasting one ke, with a short break in between.
During the Qúc Ju process, all parts of the body except the hands and arms could be used to touch the ball.
The rules for this competition stipulated that each person could not continuously touch the ball; otherwise, possession would change.
The opponent could also choose to intercept passes, but no contact behavior with the opponent was allowed during the match; otherwise, three fouls would result in being sent off.
The rules sounded similar to football in Li Xuan's later life, but the difficulty was much higher.
However, since cultivation existed in this world, it was also reasonable.
The date of the competition was set for the eighth day of this month, meaning there were three days for preparation.
Today was just for the draw and pairing, to arrange the competition schedule.
After all, judging by the competition format, it probably wouldn't be finished in one day.
And according to Zhao Feng, the top four would be decided on the first day, and then on the ninth day of the ninth month, the Chongyang Festival, a public competition would be held to determine the winner of the Qúc Ju match.
At that time, Imperial Court officials and various nobles would also come to watch the match.
It was considered an entertainment program for the Chongyang Banquet that day.
It sounded like there would be a grand affair in the palace on Chongyang.
"Li Xuan, Sister Yu'er, it sounds like the palace will be lively in a few days."
Imperial Sister Ankang said with some excitement.
At this moment, Yuan'an Princess and Eighth Prince exchanged glances silently, unsure what to say.
"Imperial Sister, actually, there's an Imperial Court banquet every Chongyang."
Yuan'an Princess looked at Imperial Sister Ankang with some pity, but she didn't want to remain silent and let Imperial Sister Ankang stay in the dark alone.
Upon hearing this, the Three Little Ones were all startled.
They had always lived in the Cold Palace and truly didn't know about such banquets.
But then Imperial Sister Ankang chuckled, saying with a bit of embarrassment:
"You're making fun of me."
Yuan'an Princess saw that Imperial Sister Ankang could still laugh and was momentarily unsure how to react.
After all, in her opinion, this matter had a lot to do with her Imperial Mother.
On the contrary, Eighth Prince also started laughing and took over the conversation: "What's there to be embarrassed about? Ankang, remember to find Eighth Brother then; Eighth Brother will take you to play something fun."
Eighth Prince winked, revealing a mysterious mischievous smile, clearly up to something again.
"Okay, I'll listen to Eighth Brother's arrangements."
Imperial Sister Ankang had played with Eighth Prince a few times before and knew he wouldn't disappoint, so she readily agreed.
Then, Zhao Feng presided over the drawing of lots on the stage, and before Imperial Sister Ankang even went up, her turn had already been decided.
Imperial Sister Ankang's opponent in the first round was Sixth Princess.
Having experienced the Autumn Hunt competition, they were considered old rivals.
Clearly, Sixth Princess hadn't forgotten her previous defeat; as soon as she drew Imperial Sister Ankang, her gaze burned, full of hostility.
Soon, the others' draws were also completed, and Zhao Feng was about to announce that the competition would officially begin in three days, when someone below suddenly asked a question.
"Zhao Feng, do the participating attendants have to be human?"
Zhao Feng frowned, looked down, and saw that it was Eighth Prince asking, and immediately replied:
"They can also be trained beasts. Your Highnesses may arrange as you please."
"Trained beasts have no strength requirements."
Finally, Zhao Feng added.
Because trained beasts, unlike human martial artists, do not have specific rank classifications, it is difficult to define their strength.
Upon hearing this answer, not only Eighth Prince but also Imperial Sister Ankang showed triumphant smiles.
The others weren't fools; they immediately understood Eighth Prince's intention in asking that question.
Everyone knew that this fellow kept a Falcon, and it was well-trained.
If Eighth Prince used his Falcon to participate and let this bird guard the goal, the match would be hard to predict.
With the help of a flying beast, everyone could foresee that Eighth Prince would have a huge advantage in the competition.
"Tsk, why is it always these kinds of competitions?"
In the pavilion, Third Prince grumbled discontentedly, clearly displeased with Eighth Prince.
"Third Prince!"
Beside Third Prince, Consort Zhao frowned and reprimanded him.
Third Prince immediately lowered his head, not daring to speak again.
"Remember, no matter what the competition, you just need to perform well."
Consort Zhao instructed, her face devoid of expression.
Because of the failure in the last Autumn Hunt competition, Third Prince had no points, and not even a theoretical chance of winning the final points leaderboard, as there were only four matches left.
But Third Prince had only returned halfway to participate, so he didn't need to care too much about this; Consort Zhao clearly understood this point.
Consort Zhao stood up and pressed Third Prince's shoulder, then leaned into his ear and whispered, "The Chongyang Banquet is a rare opportunity; you must seize it."
Consort Zhao said no more, taking her attendants and leaving the Imperial Garden directly.
Third Prince silently stood up to see her off, his face expressionless.
He knew his last performance had disappointed his Imperial Concubine.
But Third Prince would not let that happen again.
"Imperial Concubine, I will seize the opportunity."