Chapter 41: An Arm as Big as His Head

However, before she could finish speaking, in the next instant, Lin Zhaozhao fiercely pulled out her hairpin and forcefully stabbed it into the neck of the opponent's black horse.

"Splurt—!" came the sound.

Bright red blood instantly gushed from the horse's neck.

Startled, the horse gave a violent leap, and with just a single jerk, threw Zhao Wuyan, who had been sitting smugly in the saddle a moment before, directly to the ground.

As luck would have it, the horse even stepped squarely on his stomach.

"What the mother—!"

Zhao Wuyan was genuinely having a total breakdown!

If that hoof had landed just a tiny bit lower!

He wouldn't even be a man anymore!

"Lin Zhaozhao!" he squeezed the three words through his teeth.

"Yes, right here!"

Lin Zhaozhao walked forward. Although this body of hers hadn't fully grown yet and she was short as heck, it didn't matter—her imposing aura was nailed down to perfection.

Staring right into his face, she articulated every single word clearly: "If a beast doesn't obey, you beat it until it obeys. If a human cannot feel empathy, then let him taste that very same suffering as well."

"I admit, the Marquis of Zhenguo's Mansion is indeed powerful, and our peaceful and prosperous life in the capital owes much to your father and grandfather's illustrious military achievements, but that is not your foundation for bullying my younger brother."

"Oh, right." Lin Zhaozhao plucked a tiny scrap of gold thread from her clothes, tossed it over, and said, "Here, take this as silver to pay for your medical bills!"

Simply going too far!

"Lin Zhaozhao! You are simply going too far!" Zhao Wuyan and Zhao Ruyan instantly exploded. "Are you fobbing off beggars with this little bit of gold thread? Do we lack that little bit of silver?"

Lin Zhaozhao's eyes lit up. "You don't lack it? If you don't lack it, give it back to me, and by the way, hand over another two thousand taels of silver!"

Zhao Ruyan, "..."

Zhao Ruyan was so infuriated by her antics that she laughed in anger.

"You dared to plot against my brother in front of so many people—do you want your silver or your life?!"

"I followed your brother's arrangement to deal with a beast, how is that called plotting against him? On the contrary, you—you dare to point fingers and order a Princess of the County around. What, do you think you are more noble than the Imperial Family itself?!"

Zhao Ruyan, "..."

A lump formed in Zhao Ruyan's chest.

Standing in the distance, Lin Yuanzhi felt two lumps form in his chest.

***

...bowing to the man in the bright yellow round-collared robe standing behind me, and said, "Your Majesty, my eldest daughter's disposition is bold and uninhibited, she is truly... truly..."

Emperor Hui did not say it was good, nor did he say it was bad.

On the contrary, Jun Wuhen, watching Lin Zhaozhao refute the heavens and the earth, offered this commentary: "This daughter of the Marquis of Qingyuan is truly gentle, virtuous, and intelligent."

Lin Yuanzhi, "?"

Is that for real or fake?

For a moment, I actually can't tell whether you are flattering me or speaking in sarcasm.

However, since Emperor Hui had also left the imperial lodge, naturally he wanted to watch this farce play out to the end.

He waved his hand to let the imperial physicians go and treat Zhao Wuyan first.

Yet in the recent chaos, the score on the field had shifted so that Zhao Wuyan had scored one more goal than Lin Qingci.

Seeing that both of them were now crippled, Zhao Ruyan simply declared, "Let's forget about best two out of three. After this round, neither of them can play anymore; let's just fulfill the wager directly!"

"You agreed to best two out of three, but the moment you saw the situation turning in your favor, you want to fulfill the wager right here. With such calculating skills, why be a young lady of a noble house? You should just go be an accountant!" Lin Zhaozhao rolled her eyes.

Lin Qingci hadn't expected Lin Zhaozhao not only to exact revenge for him but also to help him talk back to the opponent. For a moment, his heart was a churning mix of emotions.

Zhao Ruyan said, "Then what do you want?"

"Isn't it just playing polo? Since my younger brother can't play, wouldn't it solve everything to just substitute a replacement?"

Zhao Ruyan sneered, "What, are you going to be the substitute?"

Lin Zhaozhao had never intended to be a substitute; she only wanted to recline in the spectator stands and watch the excitement.

After all, winning wouldn't bring her any benefits.

But if they lost, and Lin Qingci had to bark like a dog, she truly wouldn't have any face left to show!

"Have your father come and play against my father..."

Lin Yuanzhi, "!!!"

Damn your father! What a structural-defect daughter who leaks like a leaky roof!

It wasn't like he was boasting—as a civil official, although the Six Arts of a gentleman included riding and archery, let's be real here, the Marquis of Zhenguo was someone who had hacked and slashed his way through the borderlands; a single arm of his was as thick as his own head.

How could the two of them compete? How?!

Screw it, whoever wants to deal with this can deal with it!

Lin Zhaozhao evidently thought of this as well, so she turned to Lin Wanyue and said, "Since you were the one who agreed to the wager in the first place, you go up and play polo! You play a match against Miss Zhao!"

***

Lin Wanyue was the daughter of a civil official, subtly influenced since childhood by the arts of the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. If she were to compete in polo against the opponent, firstly, she was utterly no match for her and would only humiliate herself by going; secondly, and most importantly, if she actually performed exceptionally well and the opponent played dirty behind the scenes, she wouldn't be able to endure having her legs broken or her face disfigured.

Feeling uneasy, she politely declined, "I just took a fall, my body really doesn't feel well..."

"Don't give me any of these nonsense excuses. Just tell me whether you're going to play or not?"

Lin Wanyue, "My heart tells me to play, but my body says no."

Lin Zhaozhao, "..."

Lin Zhaozhao was almost laughed to death by her.

[So after all this fuss, she only knows how to be generous at others' expense! When Lin Qingci went to play, she didn't hesitate for a second to step up, but when it's her turn, she puts up a thousand obstacles. My, doesn't she know how to pamper and protect herself!]

The moment Zhao Ruyan saw this scene, she understood everything. "Then have your younger brother bark like a dog instead!"

Her objective this time was also very simple.

Barking like a dog, although sounding insulting and not like a wager a noble young lady ought to propose, if they truly won, henceforth whenever people mentioned the Marquis of Qingyuan's Mansion, they would remember that Lin Wanyue had a younger brother who could bark like a dog. When the Ninth Prince selected his imperial consort in the future, could his primary wife possibly have such a humiliating past?

Lin Qingci also understood that if this polo match continued, there was no guarantee Lin Wanyue wouldn't get hurt. Suppressing the pain in his abdomen, he said, "A bet is a bet, I..."

"She isn't playing, but I didn't say I wouldn't play! Isn't it just polo? We agreed on best two out of three—get on a horse, I'll play you."

Lin Zhaozhao's tone was calm and casual.

But those words made Lady Bai and the others lose their composure completely.

"No! Mother does not agree! You are a young lady, and you've never practiced horse riding since childhood. Just riding a horse out of the blue would be one thing, but how dangerous is playing polo?!"

Lady Bai anxiously said, "What if you injure your body just like your younger brother..."

"Precisely!" Lin Qingci never expected Lin Zhaozhao to step up, and hurriedly tried to stop her. "I have thick skin and a tough hide, getting beaten is just getting beaten. If you get trampled by a horse, wouldn't you lose your life on the spot?"

"Isn't it just barking like a dog? When I was little, I even crawled through dog holes to go out and play! There's not much difference!"

"Crawling through a dog hole is quirky fun; barking like a dog is humiliating," Lin Zhaozhao said, articulating every word clearly. "When someone is about to slap you across the face, what is there to endure? Just wait and see, if I don't slap them right back, I'll change my last name to yours!"

Lin Qingci, "...But don't I also have the last name Lin? No, wait, that's not the point! You don't even know how to ride a horse!!!"

However, no matter how they tried to stop her, Lin Zhaozhao moved her short little legs, fetched a mounting block, and with great exertion hoisted herself up onto the back of a large, adult dark-red horse.

"Come on, today I'll let you witness what true polo playing is all about!"