Seeing that no one had any other questions, Zhao Feng left the Imperial Garden with the results of the draw, and everyone else dispersed, busy preparing for the competition three days later.
Qúc Ju was a relatively popular sport in Great Xing, and most young men and women knew how to play it.
It was just that some people liked Qúc Ju more, and thus were skilled in it, while others had less interest and were less proficient.
But now that Qúc Ju had become this month's competition event, the Imperial Princes and Princesses had no choice but to take it seriously.
At least they still had three days to prepare, not to mention improving their own skills, they could at least carefully select close attendants who played Qúc Ju better.
No matter what, they each needed to work hard.
Moreover, from this month on, many people gained another goal.
That was to help the person they supported win first place.
Especially now that the preliminary matches had been decided, the room for manipulation increased significantly.
While others were busy, Eighth Prince invited Ankang Princess to his small courtyard for a brief sit.
"Ankang, it's rare for you to return to the palace recently, why don't you sit at my place for a bit before leaving the palace?"
The renovation of Jingyang Palace was a big event in the palace, and Eighth Prince naturally heard about it.
And from his demeanor, it seemed he had something he wanted to say to Ankang Princess.
Ankang Princess didn't think much of it and immediately agreed, also wanting to see what Eighth Prince couldn't say here.
"Then, uh, Eighth Brother, I want to go too!"
Yuan'an Princess on the side said shamelessly.
Because she was asking for a favor, she didn't call him "Old Eight" as usual, but instead politely called him "Eighth Brother."
"As you wish."
Eighth Prince didn't mind and casually agreed with a smile.
The three of them went together to Eighth Prince's Xiaoyao Villa, with their attendants following behind them.
Upon arriving at Xiaoyao Villa, Eighth Prince dismissed his attendants.
Yuan'an Princess also followed suit, telling her attendants to wait outside.
They were all members of the Imperial family, so they had this much discernment.
Then the two silently looked at Ankang Princess.
Ankang Princess, however, spread her hands and said:
"I only have this one attendant, Eighth Brother, just say what you want to say directly."
Yuer was ready to withdraw, but Ankang Princess held her hand and insisted on keeping her.
Eighth Prince heard Ankang Princess's words, thought it made sense, and tacitly allowed Yuer to stay, immediately speaking:
"The eldest brother has rallied many people; this month's competition will probably not be so easy for you."
Hearing this, Ankang Princess's heart stirred, and she couldn't help but ask:
"Then how many people are planning to help First Imperial Brother?"
"More than half, I'd say." Eighth Prince gave an ambiguous number, then continued, "While you weren't in the palace, Consort Zhang has been busy with many things."
"Perhaps she felt that the eldest brother and his two siblings couldn't achieve anything, so now she's personally stepped into the fray."
"During this time, many people have been speaking ill of Consort Zhang behind her back, but since she's already put her face on the line, she certainly won't care about such rumors."
"It's just that Consort Zhang has gone to such lengths; if the eldest brother and his two siblings still can't produce some results, they will definitely be very embarrassed in the end."
It was not difficult to hear a lot of schadenfreude in Eighth Prince's words.
However, Li Xuan and Ankang Princess both frowned.
Others might not know, but they were very clear.
The pressure on the First Imperial Prince had reached a certain extent; he had even personally visited Jingyang Palace earlier, losing some composure in front of them.
Consort Zhang's usual conduct was already suffocating enough.
Now, being pushed to the brink, she had increased the intensity even further.
Even Li Xuan couldn't help but feel sorry for the three siblings.
"It's impossible for them to win."
"As for their crazy mother, let them worry about her themselves."
Li Xuan shook his head, keeping his distance from the matter.
"Of course, there are still many who haven't been rallied by the eldest brother."
Eighth Prince continued.
"Due to their stance, these people cannot help Consort Zhang and the eldest brother."
"But currently, they don't have a suitable supporter, after all, only five people currently have points, among whom the First Imperial Prince's three siblings occupy three positions, counting as one family."
"Besides that, there's you and me."
Eighth Prince said, pointing to Ankang Princess and himself.
Yuan'an Princess, who was listening nearby, immediately felt excluded from the circle again and couldn't help but let out a soft snort.
"Yuan'an, what are you snorting about?"
"Who told you not to compete properly before?"
Eighth Prince chastised Yuan'an Princess, then returned to the main topic:
"These people who have no chance of winning won't give up easily, and may even make more trouble, like Third Prince."
Li Xuan couldn't help but smile slightly.
Although he still didn't understand the purpose of Eighth Prince inviting Ankang Princess today, he could hear the dissatisfaction in Eighth Prince's tone towards Third Prince.
It seemed the animosity between these two was not small.
Last time during the Autumn Hunt competition, Li Xuan noticed that when these two fought, they carried a significant amount of emotion.
Perhaps many conflicts had accumulated between them before.
"Is Eighth Brother trying to find Ankang to deal with Third Prince together?"
"But Third Prince has no points at all and has been completely eliminated from the final competition."
"Could it be that he wants to use the opportunity of these last few matches to vent his anger properly?"
While Li Xuan was guessing what Eighth Prince intended to do, Yuan'an Princess, who had been listening on the side, couldn't bear it any longer.
"Old Eight, you've been talking for so long, what exactly do you want?"
"Haven't all these things already been discussed earlier in the Imperial Garden?"
Yuan'an Princess rested her chin on her hand, frowning, and said impatiently.
"When adults are speaking, children should not interrupt!"
Eighth Prince retorted irritably.
Then he cleared his throat, and it was not hard to hear a hint of embarrassment.
"Ankang, Eighth Brother really has no other intention in looking for you today, I just want you to help me with a favor."
Upon hearing this, Ankang Princess immediately smiled charmingly and said:
"Oh, Eighth Brother, aren't you being too formal?"
"If there's anything you need your little sister's help with, just say it directly, there's no need to beat around the bush like this."
Li Xuan also wanted to see what favor Eighth Prince wanted Ankang Princess to do, that made him beat around such a big bush.
"I heard that during the last Autumn Hunt competition, you tamed a white tiger in Fanglin Garden?"
"That is true."
Ankang Princess didn't expect Eighth Prince to bring up Big White.
"How have you trained this white tiger?"
"It's quite obedient, I suppose." Ankang Princess looked at Li Xuan in her arms and answered honestly.
"If that's the case, could you lend it to me?"
Eighth Prince hesitated for a long time before finally stating his request.
Upon hearing this, Ankang Princess and Li Xuan were instantly stunned, looking at him with strange expressions.
Yuan'an Princess and Yuer on the side were not much better.
"Why borrow a well-trained white tiger for no reason?"
Li Xuan furrowed his tiny brow, trying to find a suitable excuse for Eighth Prince.
Eighth Prince was bewildered by their stares and immediately explained:
"I just want to borrow it to ride it, what are you thinking?"
This sentence made Li Xuan, who was still trying hard to find an excuse for Eighth Prince, immediately widen his eyes in surprise.
"So old, and still so playful?"
Li Xuan was angry at his lack of ambition.
"Speaking of which, this matter is also a leftover problem from the last Autumn Hunt competition."
"I teamed up with those Little Beans back then and promised them good compensation later."
"As a result, they were all disciplined by their respective imperial concubines later, and I truly felt bad about it."
"It just so happens that I heard Ankang, you recently tamed a white tiger, so I thought of borrowing your white tiger to make the Little Beans happy, and also to repay my debt to them."
After listening to Eighth Prince's words to the end, everyone collectively showed expressions of sudden understanding.
Otherwise, Ankang Princess and the others would have truly thought Eighth Prince was fickle, wanting to exchange his Falcon for a white tiger.
"Oh~"
"So that's what it is."
Ankang Princess breathed a sigh of relief; she had truly thought Eighth Prince was going to ask her for Big White just now.
"Otherwise, what did you think it was?" Eighth Prince asked curiously.
"Uh, nothing." Ankang Princess played it down, then changed the subject: "Lending Big White isn't difficult, but Big White is currently still kept in Fanglin Garden. Chief Zhao told me before that after Jingyang Palace's renovation is complete, Big White can be brought to Jingyang Palace."
"Will it be okay for me to borrow the white tiger then?" Eighth Prince immediately asked.
Ankang Princess nodded, agreeing to the matter.
"Good, good, good, Ankang, you've really helped me a great deal!"
Eighth Prince happily bounced up, his face beaming with smiles.
Li Xuan also didn't expect that after beating around the bush for so long, he just wanted to borrow Big White to please the Little Beans.
It seemed he could continue being the 'king of the kids.'
After all, Eighth Prince cared so much for those Little Beans, how could he not be supported by them?
Li Xuan could tell that when it came to playing, Eighth Prince was truly sincere, without any other ulterior motives.
If he were born into an ordinary family, Eighth Prince would definitely be a good older brother.
"You hemmed and hawed for so long, just to borrow a tiger?"
Yuan'an Princess, who had been listening for a long time, couldn't help but complain.
She saw Eighth Prince setting the stage for so long and thought it was something major.
"Yuan'an, what do you know? Do you know the significance of a big tiger to the Little Beans?"
"And this is a rare white tiger!"
Eighth Prince was heartbroken by Yuan'an Princess's ignorance, so angry that he pounded his chest and stamped his feet.
Yuan'an Princess, however, didn't care about Eighth Prince's reaction and instinctively turned her gaze to Li Xuan in Ankang Princess's arms.
"A big tiger is not as cute as Li Xuan."
"Who's the one who doesn't understand?"
Yuan'an Princess gave the agitated Eighth Prince an unconvincing glare.
Ankang Princess let them argue, sitting quietly to the side, silently stroking Li Xuan's soft fur.
"Shallow humans."
Li Xuan muttered to himself.
...
After having lunch at Eighth Prince's Xiaoyao Villa, the Three Little Ones bid farewell and left.
When they returned to the Internal Affairs Bureau, Zhao Feng already had a carriage waiting for them there.
As he sent them out of the palace, Zhao Feng said that the day for going to Thousand Stars Pavilion this month had been postponed until after the competition.
The Three Little Ones expressed their understanding of this.
Regarding the arrangement of the date for going to Thousand Stars Pavilion, the Three Little Ones had always trusted Zhao Feng, believing that he could make the best arrangements.
At parting, Li Xuan patted Zhao Feng with his tail, then stood on his hind legs and wrote, asking:
"Should all four of my legs be considered feet?"
"Surely the front two aren't hands and the back two feet, right?"
As it concerned the competition rules, Li Xuan had to ask clearly.
Zhao Feng's eye twitched; he didn't expect Li Xuan to be so particular about the rules.
"For trained beasts, the rule about not being able to touch the ball with hands does not apply."
"Li Xuan, not every trained beast is as intelligent as you, able to understand rules and even debate which leg is a hand and which is a foot."
"Being able to train a beast to kick Qúc Ju is already quite remarkable."
"There's no way we'd ask for more."
Zhao Feng explained helplessly.
After all, it wouldn't be fair to expect other trained beasts to have Li Xuan's intelligence.
Not to mention, Li Xuan, this cat, was much smarter than the average person.
After receiving Zhao Feng's affirmative answer, Li Xuan also felt relieved.
After the Three Little Ones returned to Xingqing Palace in the carriage, they immediately began practicing Qúc Ju without delay.
All three of them were Qúc Ju novices; they had never even seen a Qúc Ju ball before.
Chief Steward Shang helped them find balls, set up the goals, and then found several Flower-Clad Eunuchs who knew Qúc Ju to practice with them.
Ankang Princess's physical fitness was now far beyond ordinary people, and her speed in picking things up was also extremely fast.
Yuer was a martial artist after all, and she also learned at a quick pace.
As for Li Xuan...
He lay on the goal, acting as the goalkeeper.
The Fengliu Eye on the goal, through which the ball was meant to pass, was already narrow, and Li Xuan, lying on it, could block all attacks with just his tail.
Chief Steward Shang saw Li Xuan playing Qúc Ju like this and couldn't help but say with a smile:
"Li Xuan, contestants are not allowed to directly touch the goal; otherwise, it's a foul."
Hearing this, Li Xuan reluctantly jumped off the goal and landed on the ground.
At this moment, it was precisely the Three Little Ones' turn to attack.
Ankang Princess lightly dribbled the ball twice, then passed it to Li Xuan.
"Li Xuan, you go!"
The ball flew towards Li Xuan, but Li Xuan remained sprawled on the ground, looking lazy.
He made no other movements, merely flicked his tail, and the ball instantly left a trail of afterimages, making a whistling sound like wind and thunder.
The Flower-Clad Eunuchs on the other side, who were responsible for sparring, instantly felt their hair stand on end, and for a moment, no one dared to move.
Then they all turned their heads, silently looking at the goal, and found that the Fengliu Eye on the goal seemed to have widened a bit, while the ball was nowhere to be seen.
Li Xuan frowned, stood up from the ground, and looked a bit more serious.
"It seems I really need to practice properly."
That last shot, Li Xuan had hit it a bit off target.
The Flower-Clad Eunuchs who were sparring watched this scene, and all couldn't help but nervously swallow their saliva.
Especially when they saw that Li Xuan seemed dissatisfied with his previous shot and looked like he was going to get more serious.
Chief Steward Shang watched from the side, silently sighing, knowing that someone would be in big trouble in the competition in a couple of days.
"I just hope no one gets kicked to death."
Chief Steward Shang muttered, looking slightly worried.