The attendant eunuch, who had been kicked over by Princess Ankang, was helped up by his companions.
Aside from the red mark on his face and his nosebleed, which made him appear somewhat disheveled, he was otherwise unharmed.
After all, he was a Seventh-Rank martial artist, not as fragile as an ordinary person.
But this also indirectly proved how powerful Princess Ankang's kick was, as she was able to knock a Seventh-Rank martial artist to the ground, making him so disheveled.
"Are you... are you alright?"
"I didn't mean to just now, I'm sorry."
Princess Ankang leaned in and apologized repeatedly, feeling embarrassed by her earlier mistake.
She hadn't expected that her very first shot in the match would cause trouble.
The attendant eunuch, who had been helped up from the ground, still looked dazed after hearing Princess Ankang's words, seemingly not having fully recovered.
The attendant eunuch, with a red mark and nosebleed on his face, looked at Princess Ankang, then raised his hand and respectfully bowed in silence.
Princess Ankang blinked her eyes, feeling that something was amiss.
She was the one who had caused trouble and was apologizing to him.
But the other party's reaction...
Years of living in the Cold Palace made Princess Ankang feel unfamiliar with some commonplace things in the palace.
Under the guidance of the sideline referee, the match continued.
The attendant eunuch, whose face had been kicked by Princess Ankang, recovered after a while and continued to be active on the field.
After Sixth Princess retreated to the back, she barely touched the ball, like a spectator on the field.
On the other hand, the Three Little Ones were playing enthusiastically.
No matter how the two opposing attendant eunuchs attacked, Li Xuan would easily block them and then hand the ball over to the two girls to organize their own offense.
The rules of Qúc Ju for three people were quite similar to volleyball; in each attack, each person could only touch the ball once, exceeding that would be a foul, and possession would change.
Therefore, Li Xuan also had a legitimate opportunity to slack off.
However, the two girls' attacks had not yet succeeded, and the score remained locked at one to zero.
Although there were only two people playing on the opposing side, these two attendant eunuchs were both Seventh-Rank cultivators, which was the upper limit for participants in this three-person Qúc Ju match. Coupled with their greater familiarity with Qúc Ju, their defense was watertight.
Sixth Princess watched from the back for a while and also figured out some things.
She could already confirm that Yu'er only had Eighth-Rank strength, and judging from her aura, she should be inferior to herself.
As for Princess Ankang, there were no traces of her having cultivated at all.
But for some reason, the sickly Princess Ankang of the past had become exceptionally strong in physique, with strength and speed far exceeding ordinary people, and even her reaction speed seemed to be superior to that of Sixth Princess.
This discovery made Sixth Princess frown deeply.
"That doesn't make sense..."
"Could it be some kind of final burst of energy?"
Sixth Princess had originally wanted to first gauge Li Xuan's depth, but Princess Ankang's performance was simply too eye-catching, making it impossible for her to look away.
And Li Xuan deliberately kept a low profile, only simply defending against the opponent's attacks in every offense, immediately passing the ball away and greatly reducing his opportunities to show off.
Many people watching the match shared the same feeling as Sixth Princess.
This was the first time Princess Ankang had displayed her current physical condition in front of so many people.
Previously, when she suddenly stood up from her wheelchair in the Imperial Garden, she had already startled many people.
But now, after another period of not being seen, Princess Ankang was already able to participate in the Qúc Ju field with light steps, and her performance was even better than that of other Imperial Princes and Princesses who had practiced martial arts.
"What kind of medicine did Imperial Physician Xue feed her?"
Everyone simultaneously raised this question.
They had long heard that Imperial Physician Xue had found a way to improve Princess Ankang's physique.
But this effect was a bit too outrageous, wasn't it?
The noble ladies in the palace sitting in the stands couldn't help but be tempted, planning to go to Imperial Physician Xue for a tonic even if they weren't sick.
At this moment, Princess Ankang had no idea how much trouble her performance today had brought upon Imperial Physician Xue.
As for Li Xuan, everyone had already reclassified him from an ordinary house cat to a rare beast.
Rare beasts were not uncommon in the palace; Eighth Prince's Falcon, Axing, and the First Prince's white slender dog, White Scar, were among them.
There were also many other rare beasts kept merely for ornamental purposes.
But the strength Li Xuan had previously displayed clearly exceeded the scope of these two categories.
There was another type of rare beast in the palace: those kept in the Forbidden Garden.
The white tiger, Dabai, that the Three Little Ones subdued during the previous Autumn Hunt competition was one of them.
These types of rare beasts were rarely kept within the palace due to their greater danger, unless they had already been tamed.
Li Xuan's display of skill this time made everyone feel even more unfathomable about Princess Ankang.
Everyone was guessing, from whom did Princess Ankang learn this superb beast-taming technique? And where did she find a rare beast like Li Xuan? And how has she been feeding him until now?
All these speculations shrouded Princess Ankang in a layer of mystery, making them no longer dare to underestimate her, and even becoming cautious.
After all, Fourth Prince was not the only smart person in this palace.
"Li Xuan!"
"Don't be lazy!"
The two girls attacked for a while, and finding that they really couldn't break through the opponent's goal, they couldn't help but exclaim anxiously.
Princess Ankang and Yu'er were quite excited at first, but after repeated setbacks, they began to gasp for breath from exhaustion.
Especially Yu'er, a layer of fragrant sweat covered her smooth forehead, and her stamina was even inferior to Princess Ankang's.
Princess Ankang's face was only slightly red now, and her breathing was a little rapid, but it seemed she would have no problem lasting until the end of the match.
Li Xuan saw the two girls start to complain, but he still didn't participate in the offense, looking all smiles, which made them grit their teeth.
"Stinky Li Xuan, just wait until Yu'er sister and I are too tired to run, how will you kick it all by yourself, a cat!"
Princess Ankang said indignantly.
Li Xuan wasn't purely teasing them; he just wanted to push them a bit more and stimulate more of the two girls' potential.
While Li Xuan was sheltering them from wind and rain, he also had to give them opportunities to grow.
Because Li Xuan believed that the two girls were infinitely potential genius girls, and their future achievements were immeasurable.
He couldn't limit their development because of his own selfishness.
Although Li Xuan's intentions were good, his current appearance was really too annoying. He would occasionally yawn and stretch on the Qúc Ju field.
With his lazy attitude, he could still defend against the opponent's attacks flawlessly, so it's estimated that the two eunuchs on the other side weren't in a good state of mind either.
The Little Cat was quite good at messing with people's minds.
It was just area-of-effect damage, without teammate protection.
This situation continued until the end of the first half.
After the referee's whistle, both teams took a short break to prepare for the second half of the match.
Through the observation of the entire first half, Sixth Princess had already figured out the depth of the Three Little Ones.
Princess Ankang and Yu'er were not a concern, but she had no way to deal with that Little Black Cat.
Although she didn't know why, after the first attack, that Little Black Cat never launched another attack, but she couldn't break through the opponent's defense either.
Sixth Princess's two attendant eunuchs stood by, resting with anxious hearts, but surprisingly they were not reprimanded by Sixth Princess.
Sixth Princess sat in the player rest area and turned to look in the direction of First Prince and Fourth Prince.
First Prince gently shook his head, and Sixth Princess couldn't help but show a look of disappointment.
Then she saw Fourth Prince give her a gesture.
Fourth Prince clenched a fist at Sixth Princess, then gently nodded.
Sixth Princess frowned slightly, and after a moment of hesitation, she also nodded to Fourth Prince.
Then, she turned to the two attendant eunuchs and asked:
"That cat, do you have a way to deal with him?"
The two attendant eunuchs exchanged glances, both seeing the difficulty in each other's eyes.
From their brief silence, Sixth Princess had already gotten her answer. Before the two could make meaningless apologies, she continued:
"Then deal with that palace maid."
"I hope this is her last match today, did you hear me clearly?"
The two attendant eunuchs' expressions became solemn, and they nodded coldly in agreement:
"As Your Highness commands."
Sixth Princess nodded and stood up.
At this moment, the halftime break had just ended, and they were about to switch sides for the second half.
And it was clear that from the start of the second half, Sixth Princess's team's objective had completely changed.
In the second half, it was the Three Little Ones' turn to kick off first.
Princess Ankang ran up with a smile, coming to the center of the field to prepare for the kickoff.
Li Xuan couldn't help but think, "I didn't expect this girl to be quite fond of playing Qúc Ju."
But the next moment, he saw a mischievous smile appear on Princess Ankang's face.
Even worse, Yu'er had a similar expression on her face.
"What are they trying to do?"
Li Xuan immediately raised his guard.
But then he immediately understood what these two girls were up to.
Princess Ankang quickly served, gently juggling the ball and accurately passing it to Yu'er.
Yu'er was prepared and kicked it to Li Xuan with one foot.
Now, Li Xuan was the last person to touch the ball, and he couldn't help but launch an attack.
"I knew they were discussing something on the sidelines just now."
Li Xuan couldn't help but feel a little amused.
But since the ball had been passed to him, and Li Xuan had been called to this point, he didn't mind giving these two girls some pointers.
Previously, all of the two girls' attacks had been blocked by the two opposing attendant eunuchs, failing to score.
After all, the opponents' strength was there, so it made no sense for them to easily break through the defense.
But Li Xuan felt that perhaps there was an attack route they hadn't tried yet.
Facing the flying ball, Li Xuan flirtatiously cocked his Little Cat's butt, then, aiming at the ball, he swung his tail.
His fluffy big tail, like a baseball bat, sent the ball flying high, then slowly falling, not very fast.
Princess Ankang and Yu'er both frowned, watching the ball's trajectory.
They knew that this shot was intentionally hit by Li Xuan, not a mistake.
And when Princess Ankang saw the ball falling towards the opposing Fengliu Eye, she immediately understood Li Xuan's intention.
"You cunning Little Cat!"
Princess Ankang turned back and praised Li Xuan with a smile.
In response, Li Xuan just rolled his eyes.
"Who praises a cat like that?"
But at this moment, a figure suddenly shot out from below, intercepting the ball just as it was about to pass through the Fengliu Eye.
Li Xuan pouted, couldn't help but think: "Tsk, being one rank higher really is different."
Li Xuan's high shot attack was blocked by one of the opposing attendant eunuchs.
This attendant eunuch simply relied on his Qinggong, without even borrowing strength from his companion.
But the opponent also took a shortcut, not intercepting the ball during its ascent, but choosing to do so when it was falling, reducing the difficulty of the interception.
The ball hit the opponent's boot and bounced towards the front of their field.
And there, another attendant eunuch was already in position, raising a leg, poised to shoot.
Sixth Princess still stood at the back of the field, but she was no longer observing, instead looking boredly at the ground in front of her.
Li Xuan was not too disappointed that his attack did not work.
He was originally just giving Princess Ankang a hint, so they could find a more suitable offensive method.
Even if the opponent had the ability to make difficult interceptions, their stamina was always limited.
And anyway, they already had victory in their grasp, so the main goal was to enjoy the game.
Just as Li Xuan was about to block the opponent's attack again, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the gaze of the attendant eunuch who had raised his leg on the other side.
Before aiming at the goal, for some reason, this person first glanced in Yu'er's direction, his gaze cold.
"Oh no!"
Off the field, Eighth Prince exclaimed inwardly.
He played Qúc Ju so well that just by looking at the attendant eunuch's leg swing, he knew that this person's target was not the goal.
But everything on the field happened in a flash, and it was already too late for Eighth Prince to shout a warning.
"Boom!"
"Bang!"
A tremendous roar, on a completely different level than before, erupted, causing some Consorts to instinctively cover their ears.
With such a huge commotion, who would have guessed it was caused by playing Qúc Ju?
Zhao Feng on the sidelines made no move, merely narrowing his eyes slightly, concealing a fleeting glint of coldness.
On the Qúc Ju field, a figure was sent flying by the ball, dragging a long mark on the ground until it crossed the baseline and flew out of bounds.
The figure lay limply on the ground, without a sound, his fate unknown.
The entire Imperial Garden was silent, and even the matches on the other two fields had paused.
Everyone's gaze was focused on the figure on the ground.
Sixth Princess turned her head in disbelief, looking at the horrifying drag mark that extended backward from her feet.
The dirt was stained with a trace of blood.
Only she, standing closest, could see it clearly.
Princess Ankang and Yu'er were also startled by the sudden commotion, but seeing the small figure protecting them, they immediately felt relieved.
"Thud."
Another dull thud.
The attendant eunuch who had previously intercepted Li Xuan's attack actually fell straight down from mid-air, without the slightest grace of a Seventh-Rank master.
Then, ignoring the pain, this attendant eunuch scrambled to his feet from the ground and ran towards his companion's figure.
"Hey, hey..."
"You..."
He stammered, unable to form any more words.
This clearly didn't look like nothing was wrong; he didn't even dare to turn over his companion's body.
Sixth Princess and her remaining attendant eunuch fearfully turned their gaze to the opposite side, seeing the seemingly harmless Little Black Cat.
Li Xuan met their gaze, curled the corner of his mouth, and revealed one of his stark white tiger fangs.
At this moment, Sixth Princess felt that the one opposite her was not a cute cat, but a fierce tiger about to devour someone.
She was so scared that she couldn't help but take a step back, and her body went soft, almost falling to the ground, but she still stumbled a few steps.
Zhao Feng on the sidelines glanced at Sixth Princess's side, and thought to himself:
"Courting death."