Daily life in the academy

"Your Highnesses, I have an idea. Why don't I have my servants make a lottery box and let the 22 people participating in Cuju draw lots themselves? This will be fairer." Yan Qingchen spoke at the right time to ease the awkward situation.

Yan Minghe smiled and said, "That's what I meant originally, I just need everyone to be there."

Yan Lang couldn't sit still any longer, and his words were slightly annoyed: "So, big brother had a plan all along. Didn't you just keep laughing at your younger brother?"

"Fourth brother, you worry too much. I just came up with this idea, but Qingchen got there first. It seems Qingchen and I have a very good understanding."

Xue Huaiming also arrived at the octagonal pavilion at this time. He happened to hear what the prince said and bowed and said, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi."

Yan Minghe waved his hand to signal Xue Huaiming to come and sit down: "Huaiming is here, come and sit down." Then he raised his hand and ordered the eunuch who followed him to make a fortune stick.

After Xue Huaiming sat down, he said, "Your Highness, I just heard you say that you and Prince Yan have a tacit understanding. What good news is it? Could you tell Huaiming about it so that he can benefit from it?"

"It's just a favor from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Yan Qingchen put down the teacup in his hand and chuckled, "I wonder how good Prince Xue is at Cuju? His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi is recruiting talented players. If Prince Xue draws the lottery and joins His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi's team, he must play well for the Prince of Qi."

Xue Huaiming said calmly: "Prince Yan, you are joking. My Cuju skills are naturally not as good as yours, but Huaiming will take it seriously no matter which team he is on."

"What's the point of taking it seriously? You might still lose, and that would be embarrassing." Only Mu Bailian would dare to say such blunt words.

Wenzhe slapped him on the forehead and said with an apologetic smile, "Your Highness, Prince Qi, and Prince Xue, please forgive me. This fool never speaks with restraint."

Yan Minghe smiled and waved his hand: "No problem, I know Bai Lian's personality, he always speaks his mind. This time we are all brothers gathered together, so there is no need to be too reserved."

Mu Bailian chuckled and saluted, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi. May I ask how we should form a team later? I want to be in the same team with Brother Yan, is that okay?" He looked eager to try.

"Xiao Bailian, the decision will be made by drawing lots later." Yan Lang said playfully, "If you draw my team and your brother draws my team, which side will you be on?"

"I..." Mu Bailian was in a dilemma. His instinct told him that no matter how he answered, it would be wrong. He could only look to Yan Qingchen for help.

"Your Highness, Prince Qi, please don't embarrass him." Yan Qingchen intervened, "You know he's always been stupid. If he says something wrong and upsets you, it would ruin our fun."

Mu Bailian touched the back of his head. He felt that Brother Yan's rescue was worse than no rescue at all. It was obvious that King Qi was deliberately making things difficult for him. If he was really stupid, he would have said that he would be on the same team with Brother Yan no matter what.

During this gap, Wenzhe took the opportunity to pull Mu Bailian to the side and rear of Yan Qingchen, away from the center area.

"Qingchen, you're worrying too much. I just think that this little brother who is devoted to you is quite interesting, so I just teased him a little." King Qi shrugged.

I wonder if the King of Qi is truly honest or just pretending to be stupid... Yan Qingchen chuckled, raised his teacup and took a sip without responding.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and all the young men arrived at the Cuju field one after another. They then stepped forward to say a few polite words to the Crown Prince and the King of Qi, and there was no need for Yan Qingchen and the others to speak anymore.

Mu Bailian whispered to Wenzhe in his ear, "Azhe, what if Brother Yan and I really don't get on the same team?"

"What can we do?" Wenzhe glared at him. "With the Crown Prince and Prince Qi guarding the situation, you can't do anything stupid, or Qingchen will have to clean up the mess."

Mu Bailian sighed, his face full of resentment. Wenzhe couldn't bear to see him look so dejected, and he found it very strange, so he comforted him, "However, I just checked the almanac, and today is a good day. The southwest is the auspicious direction. You can face southwest and draw the lot later, and maybe you will get what you want."

"Really?" Mu Bailian was skeptical.

Wenzhe spread his hands: "Believe it or not."

At this time, the eunuch brought the prepared fortune stick box. Yan Minghe looked around and saw that everyone was there. He raised his hand to signal everyone to gather together.

"My lords, I'm here to visit the lottery box used for this division. If you draw a long lot, you'll be on my team. If you draw a broken lot, you'll be on the King of Qi's team. Do you have any questions?"

Seeing that everyone shook their heads and had no objection, Yan Minghe waved his hand to signal the eunuch to take the lot box and bring it to each young master one by one to draw lots.

The first person to draw the lot was of course Yan Qingchen, who was closest to him. Everyone's eyes were focused on him, and the person slowly stretched out his hand and drew from the lot tube.

Long signature.

Yan Minghe showed a look of joy, raised his hand and patted Yan Qingchen's shoulder, but did not say anything.

Xue Huaiming drew a broken lot. He looked up and bowed to the King of Qi. The latter smiled back and said nothing more.

Next was Xiao Qingyu. He had been under house arrest for three months and had been recuperating for three months. His broken leg had healed, which was enough for him to be a candidate. He had been staring at Yan Qingchen since he arrived at the Octagonal Pavilion, with resentment written all over his face. He raised his hand and drew a broken lot, snorted coldly, walked behind King Qi and looked at Yan Qingchen again, but the latter didn't take him seriously at all.

After drawing about ten lots, 60% of them were broken. Most of the people had gathered. When it was finally Mu Bailian's turn, he stood facing the southwest, clasped his hands together, and muttered to himself, "Buddha, please bless me to draw a long lot." After repeating this three times, he covered his chest with one hand and carefully drew from the lot tube with the other hand.

Pull it out slowly...it's a long stick!

The moment Mu Bailian saw the long sign, his mouth widened into a grin. If the occasion had allowed it, he would have wanted to jump up and celebrate.

Wenzhe also quickly pulled him aside to prevent his extreme behavior from being hated.

"Don't worry."

Mu Bailian pouted in dissatisfaction: "I held it back!"

All the twenty or so people had drawn lots. Excluding the two main players, the Crown Prince and the King of Qi, there were a total of eleven people in each team, including substitutes. The two teams were complete. The eunuchs distributed red and blue headscarves to the two teams, and asked everyone to tie them on their foreheads so that they could distinguish between friends and foes in the Cuju game.

The official Cuju competition will start after one stick of incense is lit, during which the two teams will discuss tactics. It will be divided into three rounds. The first two rounds are double-goal competitions, with the teams attacking each other's goals at both ends of the field. The team that kicks the ball into the opponent's goal more often wins. The last round is a free-for-all, with each team selecting two players to kick against each other. The one with the most varied kicks, the highest difficulty, and the most graceful posture will win.

Both sides are nervously discussing tactics and selecting players for the first and second rounds. The result of the first round is very important. It is necessary to select players with both technical and physical strength to win the first game, and the pressure in subsequent games will be much less.

Both the Crown Prince and the King of Qi understood this principle, so they were extremely cautious in their personnel arrangements. After about a quarter of an hour, the candidates for both sides seemed to have been finalized.

When Bai Zhi arrived at the Cuju field, she happened to see the red and blue teams standing down, and the Cuju game officially began.