"Calamity and fortune have no gate, but are invited by man."
Zhao Feng immediately understood what that Little Black Cat had intended to do.
His target was not the goal at all, but rather Yu'er's leg.
After all, a Qúc Ju match wasn't a direct confrontation between martial artists; even with a higher rank, it would be difficult to cripple Yu'er, who was at the Eighth Rank of cultivation, with just one kick of the ball.
However, a sneak attack to injure Yu'er was certainly possible.
Jingyang Palace only had the Three Little Ones, and if any one of them were injured, they wouldn't be able to continue the match due to insufficient numbers.
Anyone with a bit of sense could figure this out.
But in this world, those who died the quickest and most tragically were precisely those who thought themselves clever.
This time, Zhao Feng did not blame Li Xuan for being too heavy-handed; instead, he looked at the distant sky, as if oblivious to the scene before him.
"Chief Zhao!"
Suddenly, amidst a commotion, the Fourth Prince on the grandstand stood up tall and spoke loudly.
"This Qúc Ju match is far too barbaric! Are there no rules to restrain it?"
"It can't be that the rest of the matches will be like this, and even tomorrow at the Chongyang Banquet, it'll be played this way. Wouldn't that be too much of a loss of face for the Imperial family?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xuan turned his head and glanced at the Fourth Prince.
Seeing Li Xuan look at him, the Fourth Prince's heart instinctively tightened.
But then he mustered his courage, held his head high, and maintained his composure.
In front of so many people, he truly didn't believe Li Xuan would dare to do anything to him.
If he really dared, the Fourth Prince would even be happier.
Then, using that as an excuse, he might even be able to get rid of Li Xuan.
His thoughts raced, and he already had many "good" ideas.
There weren't many fools present; everyone understood that the Fourth Prince intended to suppress Jingyang Palace by using the rules.
But this was a common tactic in the palace; anything that could be beneficial to oneself could be used.
Rules or violence, both were merely tools that could be utilized.
As long as it achieved one's goal, it was a convenient and good tool.
"Fourth Prince speaks logically."
Zhao Feng bowed to the Fourth Prince from afar, actually agreeing with his statement.
Then Zhao Feng pointed a finger, and said in a cold voice: "Maliciously attacking an opposing player, disqualification from the match!"
"Disrespecting a superior, the crime is unforgivable!"
"Drag him away and beat him to death with sticks!"
At Zhao Feng's command, Flower-Clothed Eunuchs immediately sprang into action, rushing into the field without a word and taking away the person Zhao Feng had pointed at.
Seeing the Flower-Clothed Eunuchs surround him, the attendant eunuch who was still beside his companion hurriedly moved away, fearing he would be implicated.
But seeing his companion, who had just been playing Qúc Ju with him, kicked by the cat until his life was unknown, and then dragged away by the Flower-Clothed Eunuchs to be beaten to death with sticks, he couldn't help but feel a sense of shared sorrow, and, as if possessed, he cried out:
"Your Highness."
But the Sixth Princess had already been terrified speechless by Li Xuan, unable to even stand steadily.
The eunuch had flown past right by her feet, and she could distinctly smell a Fishy smell in the air current he caused.
The Sixth Princess couldn't help but feel a wave of lingering fear just thinking about it.
She was already flustered at this moment; how could she have the leisure to care about anything else?
Seeing the Sixth Princess's reaction, the surviving attendant eunuch immediately lowered his eyelids, silently took two steps back, and dared not say anything else.
However, only he himself knew what kind of gaze was hidden beneath those lowered eyelids.
As for the attendant eunuch on the ground, he was already being dragged away by the Flower-Clothed Eunuchs like a dead dog.
As for his final outcome, Zhao Feng had already made it very clear.
Beaten to death with sticks!
Zhao Feng's judgment silenced the entire field.
The Fourth Prince stood in place, only able to sigh.
He already understood Chief Zhao's stance at this moment.
But there were some things he still had to say:
"Chief Zhao is selfless and his punishment is just."
"Since Sixth Sister's attendant eunuch has already been severely punished, then shouldn't Ankang's cat also…"
But before the Fourth Prince could finish speaking, Zhao Feng interrupted him:
"Fourth Prince's reminder is correct."
"Ankang Princess's tamed beast has rendered meritorious service in protecting its master. I will report this to His Majesty and commend it."
"Fourth Prince is so meticulous; it truly makes this old servant feel ashamed."
Zhao Feng looked as if he had received a reminder from the Fourth Prince and was thanking him sheepishly, his face full of sincere smiles.
The Fourth Prince's face twitched, and he ultimately couldn't outwit Zhao Feng, that old fox.
Everyone with ears present understood what he meant, yet this old eunuch insisted on misinterpreting his words.
Anyone unaware would think the Fourth Prince and Sixth Princess were terribly at odds in private.
"This matter is still inappropriate."
Just as the Fourth Prince was about to give up, an unexpected person came out to help.
Everyone looked and saw that it was the Third Prince's imperial concubine, Consort Zhao.
Consort Zhao was a representative figure of the noble concubines in the Inner Palace, completely unrelated to the First Prince and his faction, and usually considered a rival in their open and secret struggles.
Yet at this moment, she stood up to speak for the Fourth Prince.
"This Qúc Ju match is too dangerous. If it's not restrained, I fear a tragic incident that we cannot bear to witness will occur."
"Since Chief Zhao is the referee for this match, he must judge carefully."
"Otherwise, if a great disaster occurs in the future, Chief Zhao might not be able to explain it to His Majesty."
Consort Zhao's tone was gentle, as if she was truly worried about the situation, her willow-like brows slightly furrowed.
This was a woman who knew how to use her charm.
Even other women would be moved by her appearance.
Li Xuan sighed inwardly, not surprised.
He had previously been unwilling to show off precisely because he feared such a situation would occur.
As long as a sufficiently threatening opponent appeared, even opposing factions would unite against a common enemy, first eliminating the unmanageable threat.
The Eighth Prince was one such case before, and now Li Xuan had become another.
These people all spoke nicely, but ultimately, they just wanted to eliminate Ankang Princess.
It was their consensus not to let Ankang Princess win this month's match again.
Therefore, they were now clinging to the fact that Li Xuan had injured someone.
If it weren't for Zhao Feng's fair judgment earlier, no one would have even mentioned the Sixth Princess's attendant eunuch's prior sneak attack.
Li Xuan secretly looked at Zhao Feng, truly afraid that he wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure from the entire field.
But facing this situation, Zhao Feng merely smiled slightly, completely unconcerned.
"This old servant is overwhelmed by Consort Zhao's concern."
"To have someone as far-sighted and virtuous as Consort Zhao is truly a blessing for the Inner Palace."
Zhao Feng's words of praise, however, caused Consort Zhao's expression to turn cold.
Sometimes, being popular and capable isn't necessarily a good thing.
Especially when that person is merely a Shufei and not the Empress.
Everyone in the palace said Empress Wu disliked Jingyang Palace the most, but discerning people knew that compared to the Cold Palace, which had no power or influence, others were more worthy of Empress Wu's attention.
Just like this Consort Zhao.
Virtuous and talented, with a good family background, and popular.
Who wouldn't feel uneasy when such a person remained below?
And Zhao Feng, praising her so openly in front of so many people, how could it not infuriate Consort Zhao?
Consort Zhao had always been docile in front of Empress Wu, precisely to avoid being resented.
But no matter how well she did, she ultimately couldn't resist those malicious villains spreading rumors behind her back.
Gossip is like gold, and persistent slander can destroy a person.
Moreover, someone like Zhao Feng intentionally praised her so much in front of so many people.
Consort Zhao was so angry her teeth itched, but she still had to maintain her elegance.
Li Xuan watched from the side, not hearing anything amiss, but he did notice that Consort Zhao's expression had stiffened considerably.
"Heh, as expected of an old eunuch, he angered someone to this state with just a few words."
Li Xuan heartlessly grinned and snickered.
Zhao Feng's face remained smiling, then he bowed to Consort Zhao and said: "Thank you for your concern, Consort Zhao. Since this old servant bears a heavy responsibility, I naturally will not disappoint His Majesty."
"If anyone questions this old servant's judgment, they are welcome to report it to His Majesty."
"This old servant will have no complaints!"
Zhao Feng was talking nonsense here; how many of these people usually got to see the Emperor Yongyuan, let alone complain about him?
Seeing Zhao Feng's fair and just judgment, Li Xuan couldn't help but joyfully exclaim:
"Meow! (Oh, my lord!)"
Seeing Li Xuan getting carried away, Zhao Feng glared at him, cleared his throat, and motioned for him to be more discreet.
Seeing the Fourth Prince and Consort Zhao both hit a wall with Zhao Feng, the others stopped showing their faces.
However, they all now realized that Zhao Feng was indeed siding with Ankang Princess, showing a clear bias.
As Chief of the Internal Affairs Bureau, Zhao Feng was an absolute confidant of the Emperor Yongyuan.
Such a move couldn't help but make everyone start to overthink.
The Fourth Prince, with a sullen face, sat back down and shook his head at the First Prince:
"No, let Sixth Sister come down."
"We need to think of another way for this cat."
The First Prince silently nodded, agreeing with the Fourth Prince's opinion.
The two brothers both looked at the Sixth Princess on the field, but the Sixth Princess was still in a daze, still not having recovered, and didn't notice the gaze of her two brothers on the grandstand.
At this moment, it was the attendant eunuch waiting behind who stepped forward to remind her, only then did the Sixth Princess realize the gaze of her two brothers.
Seeing the Sixth Princess's state at this moment, the Fourth Prince became even more convinced of his judgment.
He immediately signaled for the Sixth Princess to directly forfeit the match.
Since they could no longer do anything to the opponent, it was better to retreat now and preserve oneself.
His sister had been scared to this extent; there was no need to force her further.
Beforehand, none of them had expected the Little Black Cat by Ankang Princess's side to be so fierce.
However, after seeing the signal, the Sixth Princess paused, then turned her head and instructed the only remaining attendant eunuch: "Go find someone else to come up; we will continue the match."
The attendant eunuch dared not disobey and went down to find someone as instructed.
They had naturally brought substitute players to participate in the match, all of whom were Black-Clothed Eunuchs carefully selected from Qingshu Hall.
But all these people were also standing by the First Prince and the Fourth Prince, waiting for orders.
Seeing that the Sixth Princess did not forfeit but instead sent someone to find a substitute, the Fourth Prince immediately grabbed that attendant eunuch and asked with a frown:
"What's going on?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, Sixth Princess still wishes to continue the match and instructed this humble one to find a substitute to go up."
The attendant eunuch was merely a servant, so he naturally dared not be caught in the middle; he simply honestly conveyed the Sixth Princess's intentions.
The Fourth Prince immediately sighed, looking helplessly at the First Prince.
The First Prince didn't say anything, just nodded gently.
They both understood that their sister was competing fiercely with Ankang Princess.
In this match, they couldn't forfeit on behalf of the Sixth Princess.
Since that was the case, they could only continue to support her.
"Bring him onto the field."
The Fourth Prince pointed behind himself; this was originally his official player, but now he was lending him to the Sixth Princess.
Then, he instructed the two people who were about to enter the field:
"Remember, no matter the outcome of the match, Sixth Sister must not be harmed."
"Otherwise, I will make you regret that it wasn't yourselves who were dragged away just now."
The Fourth Prince's tone was calm, but it sent a chill down the two attendant eunuchs' spines.
In Qingshu Hall, who didn't know the Fourth Prince's methods?
They knew the Fourth Prince wasn't joking with them.
"Yes!"
The two attendant eunuchs acknowledged and then hurried onto the field to continue the match.
But the First Prince and the Fourth Prince both knew that as long as Li Xuan was on Ankang Princess's side, it was a guaranteed win.
The actions of blocking the attack and then instantly counterattacking earlier had left too deep an impression.
To be honest, the Imperial Princes and Princesses on the grandstand hadn't even clearly seen Li Xuan's movements, and even the strongest Third Prince was the same.
"Zhan'er, are you confident you can defeat Ankang's team?"
The Third Prince shook his head and said:
"Beast races naturally have a physical advantage over humans, and the cat race is especially known for its agility."
"If it's just a regular match, it would most likely be a draw."
The Third Prince analyzed seriously.
"Oh?"
Consort Zhao was a bit surprised; she hadn't expected her son, who had already entered the Middle Three Ranks, to not be confident in winning against Ankang Princess's team.
But she thought about it and felt that a draw wasn't an unacceptable outcome.
In previous matches, there had been precedents of several people jointly taking first place.
If the match ended in a draw between Ankang Princess and the Third Prince, leaving the final without a clear winner, Consort Zhao felt it would be acceptable.
On the Qúc Ju field, the match continued.
However, this time the Sixth Princess chose to move to the front and actively launched attacks herself.
Many of her shots were directly aimed at Ankang Princess.
But with the Sixth Princess's Eighth Rank strength, frankly, Li Xuan didn't even need to step forward to help; Ankang Princess could handle the ball herself.
Although Ankang Princess had no cultivation at all, due to her special physique and having perfectly cultivated several Ninth Rank martial arts, her strength was not at all weaker than an ordinary Eighth Rank martial artist, and perhaps even surpassed them.
Unbeknownst to them, the second half of the match turned into a confrontation between Ankang Princess and the Sixth Princess.
But what frustrated the Sixth Princess even more was that she discovered she couldn't beat Ankang Princess in a one-on-one Qúc Ju match.
"Damn it!"
Finally, the match ended with a whistle, with a final score of one to zero.
The Sixth Princess ultimately failed to decide a winner with Ankang Princess; instead, she was left panting and exhausted.
In contrast, Ankang Princess actually looked more relaxed than her, and even had the presence of mind to chat and laugh with Li Xuan after the match.
"Phew, that was truly an exhilarating match."
Ankang Princess wiped the fragrant sweat from her forehead, hugged Li Xuan, and prepared to go rest.
This relaxed and carefree demeanor truly made the Sixth Princess's eyes almost burst with anger.
"Is this dead girl a workhorse?"
"How can she have so much energy?"