Counterattack of the Cannon Fodder Chambermaid

Untitled Part 117

The eagerly awaited match finally arrived.

The location was naturally the palace's polo field. The field was extremely spacious, with three sets of stands arranged in an oval around it. The center, northern stands were higher than the other two, and were covered by a bright yellow awning. This was for Emperor Xi, the empress and Senior Concubine Xu. The other two sets of stands were for the officials and nobility.

The field itself was rectangular, with two goalposts on the eastern and western end. They were a little over a zhang high. There were twenty-four flags on each goal with empty slots on the side. Scoring a goal gave a point, which was represented by the little red flags and a loud announcement by the keeper. Mounting a flag represented a point.

There were five drums arranged by each side's goalposts, with drummers rallying and cheering mightily. One side wore red clothing and the other side wore blue. Both sides wore headbands with their respective team's colors.

At this moment, the central stands were still empty. There were quite a few people in the other two stands. On the field, the people wearing light protective gear with red and blue headbands trotted their horses around as they warmed up.

The horses that could appear on the field were naturally good horses. Amongst them, one white horse and one black horse was especially spirited. Their legs were long, their well-fed bodies sturdy. They were clearly precious Ferghana horses.

As for their owners, they were naturally the crown prince and the Jin Prince.

The stands gradually filled up. After a while, Emperor Xi accompanied by the empress and the senior concubine arrived.

"Greetings to the emperor, long live the emperor. Greetings to the empress, long live the empress. Greetings to the senior concubine. Long live the senior concubine."

The people on the other two stands kowtowed, and the people on the field warming up their horses also got off and saluted.

Emperor Xi laughed brightly and cried: "Everyone rise."

Emperor Xi sat down on the throne. The empress sat on his right, and below her sat Senior Concubine Xu. The two teams on the field walked their horses in front of Emperor Xi's stands after he bid them to rise.

"Royal father, your son is ready." The crown prince cupped his hands.

"Alright." Emperor Xi gestured with his finger and Zheng Hai Quan made a hand motion towards the edge of the stands. A court eunuch carried a decorated gold covered platter forward. The platter was covered by yellow silk, but based on the shape it appeared to be the Dragon Ascending Ornament.

"Since you wish to compete, there should naturally be a proper competition. The winning team's leader will be bestowed this Dragon Ascending Ornament. The rest will be rewarded and conferred titles."

Those below the stands cried in unison: "Yes."

Then, they got on their horses. The two teams gathered on their respective sides, and faced their opponents, waiting for the match to start. The drummers on either side struck their drums, "dongdongdongdong" ringing out across the field.

This drumming, this grandeur, made the crowd's blood begin to boil.

Following the "clang" of a gong, the crown prince who was serving first threw the red and blue polo ball towards the opposite goal. After a loud yell, he and the Jin Prince spurred their horses while holding the polo sticks and galloped towards the ball. The people behind them spread out in all directions. Some went to the back to provide support while others went to the sides to defend. Some also followed behind the crown prince and the Jin Prince.