Before long, Emperor Mingde arrived.
Only after Emperor Mingde's arrival was the banquet laid out.
There was still one person missing at the banquet. The queen asked the crown princess why she didn't come. The crown prince replied that the crown princess was ill and not fit to attend.
Emperor Mingde smoothed things over, and the matter was thus dropped.
After that, the queen brought up a few topics for Li Xinyue and Chu Junyi and said a few words of blessing, making up for all the courtesy she had failed to give them at the previous banquet.
Li Xinyue raised her eyebrows indifferently but didn't make things difficult for the queen. She and Chu Junyi toasted the emperor and the queen together and also said a few words of good wishes. Then she buried herself in the dishes, neither participating in the discussion nor responding to the remarks thrown at her.
Chu Junyi did exchange a few words with the crown prince, but he didn't neglect his sweetheart either. He kept picking dishes for her with his chopsticks.
Li Xinyue looked up in surprise. In her line of sight, Chu Junyi tilted his head and smiled, then lovingly stroked her head. "Eat! There's more if you're not full!"
Li Xinyue burst out laughing. The polite fake smile on her face gradually softened and became sincere. A smile blossomed on her face.
The emperor, the queen and the others were shocked!
...
There was nothing to do in the afternoon, so the crown prince proposed to invite some friends from aristocratic families to play in the palace.
Soon, a crowd gathered on the cuju field. There were countless young masters and noble ladies.
"We can't let Princess Yuanyang and the imperial son - in - law form a team. If they're in the same team, how can we play? We might as well just hand over the prize to them directly.
I propose that the princess and the imperial son - in - law each be the team leader. We'll draw lots to decide which team to join. How about that?"
The people who had witnessed the two's skills firsthand nodded repeatedly. It was settled.
After a flurry of lot - drawing, the noble lady who had come up with such a wonderful proposal was drawn into Li Xinyue's team.
The noble lady's eyes burned with fighting spirit. Hiding behind Li Xinyue, she provocatively said to Chu Junyi, "Your Highness, for the princess's sake, you've got to go easy on us."
Someone in the imperial son - in - law's team thought of a rather interesting question and said to the noble lady, "If your team loses, will the princess not let the imperial son - in - law into her bed when you get back?"
Pfft - everyone burst out laughing.
It wasn't impossible. But then a smart person added, "Come on! The princess and the imperial son - in - law are in perfect harmony. How could they fall out over such a small thing.
But those who have seen their skills know that you two are really amazing. If you're in the same team, the other team might as well just give up."
"That's right, that's right." It was true. The others nodded sincerely.
Show some mercy to them poor souls!
Li Xinyue looked at Chu Junyi. Having not played cuju for a long time, in this kind of atmosphere, she suddenly felt a sense of mission, which made her full of fighting spirit and high - spirited.
Chu Junyi hooked the corner of his mouth into a smile, not to be outdone.
The two big shots each issued a warning in front of everyone.
But then, Chu Junyi leaned down and whispered in Li Xinyue's ear, "If Your Highness loses, don't get angry.
There are so many people watching. Give me some face. When we get back, I'll let you do whatever you want!" After saying that, seeing her ears gradually turn red, he almost couldn't resist taking a bite.
Chu Junyi endured it with great effort, then straightened up, showing an impartial expression.
Li Xinyue also steadied her mind, held her head high and retorted, "It's not certain who will win or lose yet! Let's wait and see!" Then she kicked up the cuju stick, twirled it in her hand, and led her team members to their positions.
Chu Junyi watched her valiant back, the corner of his mouth involuntarily curving up. His eyes followed her for a while before he came back to his senses and led his own team members to their positions.
The ball was thrown between the two teams, and the players from both sides staged a "struggle for the deer" around the ball.
Li Xinrong sat alone in the corridor, holding a flower in her hand, looking dejected.
Li Xinyue was right. Whether there was a bride - swap or not, it wasn't the man she wanted to marry. So, what did right or wrong matter?
She was just unbalanced.
They both had a wrong marriage, but why was Li Xinyue happier than her? Why!
Not far behind her, the crown prince and Murong Jia were standing behind a supporting pillar at the corner. The crown prince glanced at Li Xinrong, then looked at Murong Jia.
"You know the general situation. I'll trouble you, Fourth Sister, to comfort Rong'er."
"Me?"
"Okay, fine." Murong Jia swallowed all her excuses. Thinking that even the crown prince and the queen were helpless, how could she stand by and do nothing? So she braced herself and walked over.
"We scored a goal!" The young masters and noble ladies in Li Xinyue's team were overjoyed.
But the next moment, a ball flew past them and quickly went into their net.
So the team led by Chu Junyi also scored a goal right after. They were also extremely happy.
Everyone looked at the scoreboard in the distance. It was a tie again!
When would they finally decide the winner!
The players from both teams were a bit anxious and unwilling. They all wanted to crush the other side with their strength.
The team leaders, Li Xinyue and Chu Junyi, both had sparks in their eyes. Although this was just a game, there were few games that could be so exhilarating, so everyone developed a competitive spirit.
Li Xinyue really wanted to beat Chu Junyi.
Chu Junyi thought he could yield in anything else, but when it came to a man's face and dignity, he would never yield.
Several hours passed, but there was still no winner. Instead, the substitutes were changed round after round because everyone was tired.
If they didn't take a break, they would be exhausted.
When someone was helped off the field with a sore back and his ball - stick was snatched away.
He turned around and saw that it was actually the crown prince.
Thinking carefully, it seemed that the crown prince had disappeared into thin air since he proposed the cuju game.
But at that time, everyone's attention was on Princess Yuanyang and the imperial son - in - law. No one had thought about where the crown prince had gone. It was only when the crown prince showed up that he realized the crown prince seemed to have been absent from the beginning.
Was the only purpose of his absence just to change his clothes?
The man looked blankly at the rather inconspicuous everyday clothes the crown prince was wearing.
In his blank stare, the crown prince picked up the ball - stick, mounted his horse, and soon joined Li Xinyue's team. He quickly struck a ball for her and won the game.
Only then did everyone notice that the crown prince was actually on the same team as Princess Yuanyang.
The crown prince? And Princess Yuanyang?
This didn't seem right!
Then they looked at the imperial son - in - law who seemed to be left out and silently felt sorry for him.
Li Xinyue was even more shocked!
What was going on!
She wasn't that familiar with Li Chengyun, was she?
"Brother Emperor, why do you have time to come?"
"I heard that my sister really wanted to win, so I came to give you a hand. I'm sure my brother - in - law won't mind, right?" The crown prince glanced at Chu Junyi.
He had promised him to treat Yuanyang well, and he would try his best to do so.
Hopefully, he wouldn't go back on his word either.
So, in the following game, it almost became a struggle among three people.
The other team members just rode their horses and waved their sticks, cooperating with the three big shots.
In the end, Li Xinyue and the crown prince joined hands to defeat Chu Junyi.
Chu Junyi smiled bitterly but lovingly. Now his princess should be happy, right?
She had won the game and also got some family affection.
Shouldn't they discuss how to compensate him when they got back?