Lin Chong's Women's Cuju Team

As night fell, Zixiang Pavilion was as bustling as ever, with a constant stream of guests, all of whom were high-ranking officials and nobles from the capital. However, tonight, the Ruyi Restaurant, located to the north of Zixiang Pavilion, was not receiving any outside guests. The reason was that the owner was celebrating a happy occasion, and Du Shiniang had set up two banquets at Ruyi Restaurant to celebrate the victory of the female Cuju team members. She had also invited many people who had helped them, including Gao Can, Shen Daoyuan, Zhou Chengquan, and others.

Gao Can, having drunk too much, had a flushed face. He pulled Zou Xiaoyan into his arms and murmured, "Little Swallow, you didn't go to the palace to play Cuju today, so you didn't see how frustrated Xiao Minghao looked. He wanted to stop His Majesty from bestowing titles upon your women's Cuju team and even wanted to help Mohart borrow the Ming Ball. Unfortunately, his schemes are nothing but child's play in front of me."

"I know the Emperor's temperament best; he values ​​his reputation above all else. Therefore, in broad daylight, I deliberately arranged for Mohart and Lin Chong to gamble on a game of Cuju (ancient Chinese football), and even had Consort Luo cooperate with our act."

Zou Xiaoyan poured a glass of wine, held it to Gao Can's lips with her slender hand, and said in a fawning tone, "Lord Gao, I knew you were a master strategist, and you understood the Emperor's heart best! I'd like to toast you on behalf of the sisters of Zixiang Pavilion."

"Alright! I'll drink it, you've got a sweet tongue!" Gao Can picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp. Then he glanced behind him and saw Du Shiniang sitting next to Lin Chong, pouring him wine. Gao Can felt a pang of jealousy. He was supposed to be a great hero today, but Du Shiniang was clearly trying to kick him while he was away, daring not to sit at the same table with him.

"Lord Gao, you don't need to look at Sister Du anymore. She only has Instructor Lin in her heart. Is it because Little Swallow isn't good enough to you? Why won't you look at me a little more?" Zou Xiaoyan could see through Gao Can's thoughts. She gently rubbed her hand against Gao Can's collar and asked him in a sweet voice.

"Little Swallow, of course I dote on you, but I've told you before, I can walk among a sea of ​​flowers without ever getting attached," Gao Can said, gently pinching Zou Xiaoyan's cheek. Zou Xiaoyan didn't say anything, but poured Gao Can another cup of wine and toasted him, saying, "Lord Gao, Little Swallow was too talkative just now. You men are all so sentimental!"

"Little Swallow, your son seems to have fallen and scraped his knee while playing in the south courtyard. You should go check on him quickly," Yang Bingnan suddenly called out to Zou Xiaoyan as he entered the building. Zou Xiaoyan's face turned ashen with fright. She quickly bowed to the high-ranking official and ran to the path outside the building, heading straight for the south courtyard. Yang Bingnan hurriedly followed behind. He usually treated Xiao Cheng like an adopted son, so he and Zou Xiaoyan had a very good relationship.

Du Shiniang also privately asked Zou Xiaoyan if she would be willing to live a normal married life with Yang Bingnan if Gao Can stopped bothering her in the future. Unfortunately, Zou Xiaoyan felt a little grateful to Gao Can and also hoped that she could be treated differently by Gao Can. Therefore, she rejected Du Shiniang's good intention of matchmaking her with Yang Bingnan.

Seeing that Gao Can's table was missing someone to entertain guests, Du Shiniang had no choice but to bite the bullet and pull Lin Chong to sit at Gao Can's table. Gao Can, noticing this, lightly tapped the table in front of him. Du Shiniang, understanding the situation, poured him a cup of wine, and also poured one for herself. As she toasted Gao Can, she seemed to sigh, "Lord Gao, why is it that when His Majesty appointed our women's Cuju team, he was one person short?"

"Who is it? Shi Niang, which female football player are you talking about?" Gao Can asked lazily, his eyes half-closed, twirling an empty wine glass in his hand.

"Isn't it just that our Miss Pan Jinghe is missing? Has Lord Gao forgotten her? She is now the lover of Ning Weizhi, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Lord Ning is keeping her hidden in the Ning residence." Du Shiniang gently reminded Gao Can, looking at his slightly tipsy face.

"Oh? I almost forgot about Miss Pan. But after the investiture ceremony, I also heard from Eunuch Liu that when His Majesty had the list of conferred titles drawn up, he specifically instructed that Miss Pan, who had scored an own goal, should not be conferred a title." The high-ranking official's lips curled into a straight line, and he said with a hint of regret, "In the last palace football match, Miss Pan should never have been so foolish, leaving a bad impression on His Majesty. I'm afraid His Majesty will not forget her stupidity anytime soon!"

The advisor's last sentence was a blatant insult to Pan Jinghe. Although Pan Jinghe was drinking at another table with Ning Weizhi, her words still reached the ears of Ning Weizhi and the others. Ning Weizhi was so angry that he crushed his wine glass on the spot, blood flowing from between his fingers. Pan Jinghe, her eyes red, sobbed and said to him, "Brother Ning, your hand is bleeding! I don't mind what the advisor said, so why are you so angry?"

Lin Chong regarded Pan Jinghe as his younger sister, and she was also one of the female Cuju players he trained. Therefore, when he heard Gao Can's words, he stood up angrily and pointed at Gao Can's face, shouting: "Lord Gao, how can you speak so disregarding other people's feelings?"

"Why should I care about a woman's feelings? Besides, the news of Pan Jinghe scoring an own goal has spread throughout the palace and beyond; I'm not the only one laughing at her," the senior advisor said, slightly drunk. "Instructor Lin, are you now pointing at my face and questioning me with such politeness?"

“If it weren’t for Du Shiniang’s sake, I wouldn’t recommend you as the coach of the Song State Women’s Cuju Team. And Wu Song, why isn’t he here today? He’s on the list as the deputy coach, how can he not come to celebrate?” Gao Can also stood up, swaying and turning around, his eyes scanning the crowd for Wu Song.

Just then, a loud male voice came from outside the door: "Lord Gao, Wu Song is late! You really have a kind heart, remembering me only now?" Everyone looked towards the door in the direction of the voice, and saw Wu Song, dressed in short cloth clothes and wearing a felt hat, slowly strolling in. Behind Wu Song were a man and a woman; it was Du Rushuang supporting Zhang Ruowen.

Du Shiniang hurriedly stepped forward and greeted Du Rushuang warmly: "Sister Shuang'er, you've finally arrived! Lord Gao said he sent someone to inform you, but I thought you were still angry with me and wouldn't come tonight."

Du Rushuang glanced coldly at Du Shiniang, helped Zhang Ruowen to sit next to Gao Can, and then turned to Du Shiniang and said, "Since I am on the list of women's Cuju team members appointed by His Majesty, how dare I not come? Besides, Gao Can knows where Chen Wen and I are hiding. If I don't come tonight, wouldn't I be disrespecting Gao Can?"

When Gao Can heard the sarcastic tone in Du Rushuang's words to Du Shiniang, and how she had even implicated him, his face darkened. However, he maintained his feigned smile and said to Du Rushuang:

"Madam Du, Brother Yelü, please enjoy your wine first. The food and wine tonight were specially prepared by Madam Du. Please try them out. If you have any dishes you'd like to add, just let Manager Liu know. Isn't he the manager of Ruyi Tower?"

Du Shiniang quickly stepped forward and asked Du Rushuang warmly, "Good sister, do you think the chrysanthemum fish is fried tonight and is still crispy? I remember you like this dish the most."

"Thank you, Shi Niang and Lord Gao. We'll just have some food and wine. No need for you to trouble yourselves!" Zhang Ruowen said, seeing how enthusiastic Du Shi Niang and Gao Can were, while Du Rushuang seemed indifferent. He quickly answered for Du Rushuang.

"Ah Wen, your internal injuries still need some time to heal. You shouldn't eat fish or shrimp. Have some stir-fried pork with vegetables instead. I'll get you some food." Du Rushuang said gently to Zhang Ruowen while serving him food, completely ignoring Du Shiniang and Gao Can. Seeing this, Gao Can and Du Shiniang tactfully sat down and ate the food and wine in front of them.

Gao Can was about to pick up a slice of boiled beef when someone pulled him by the shoulder and forced him to stand up. He glared angrily at the man who had pulled him up; it was Ning Weizhi, whose face was as black as the bottom of a pot. Ning Weizhi said to Gao Can in a questioning tone, "Gao, why did you just insult my fiancée, Xiao He?"

"You were there at the palace football field that day. Xiaohe was eager to impress the emperor and lost her way for a moment, which led to her own goal. But overall, Xiaohe's football skills are no worse than Du Rushuang's. Didn't you notice that when you watched them train?"

Gao Can inwardly scoffed at Ning Weizhi's explanation and questioning, but since the other party was an official of similar rank and a newly favored minister of the emperor, he couldn't refuse Ning Weizhi. After all, Pan Jinghe had a naturally alluring appearance and had become Ning Weizhi's fiancée.

“Lord Ning, please don’t be angry! I admit that I did offend Miss Pan with my words just now. But the matter of who His Majesty appoints as members of the Song Kingdom’s women’s Cuju team is not something I can decide. His Majesty has completely rejected Miss Pan. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Eunuch Liu at the morning court tomorrow.” The senior advisor said to Ning Weizhi with a calm expression.

"You really didn't advise His Majesty against bestowing a title upon Xiaohe?" Ning Weizhi asked, half-believing and half-doubting.

“Of course it wasn’t my suggestion, but I didn’t plead for Miss Pan either. After all, she came from the brothel, and I was afraid His Majesty would look down on her.” Advisor Gao expressed his concerns, then glanced at Ning Weizhi. Ning Weizhi felt that Advisor Gao’s expression was genuinely sincere when he said these words, so he had no choice but to believe him.

“Lord Gao, I trust you! Tomorrow at court, I plan to do this and that… I hope you can put in a good word for me before the Emperor. What do you think?” Ning Weizhi pulled on Gao Can’s collar, leaned down, and whispered his plan in his ear. Gao Can frowned, thought for a moment, and nodded slightly in agreement. Ning Weizhi gratefully poured Gao Can a cup of wine and toasted him. The two drank together, considering it a way of turning the page on the unpleasant evening.