Lin Chong's Women's Cuju Team

"Shi Niang, Coach Lin, on the day you play against the Jin women's Cuju team, I will confront the Jin army at the border to give you confidence. If we lose the Cuju match, the Jin people will definitely send troops to openly and brazenly invade those three cities. At that time, I will fight them to the death," Zhou Chengquan said through gritted teeth.

“Even if we win, I think the Jurchens will still have other reasons to invade our Song borders. Therefore, we must keep in touch with each other at all times to prevent the Jurchens from taking advantage of any opportunity,” Du Shiniang advised Zhou Chengquan.

Zhou Chengquan nodded slightly, then mounted his horse and bowed to Du Shiniang and Lin Chong in farewell. Du Shiniang nestled in Lin Chong's arms, watching Zhou Chengquan's departing figure, and tears welled up in her eyes. After all, Zhou Chengquan had once saved her and Lin Chong from dire straits, and now he had agreed to guard the border for three years without returning, and might even go to war with the Jin people in the future because of a women's football match.

Du Shiniang understood that Zhou Chengquan insisted on becoming sworn siblings with her before leaving, so as to give her an identity and prevent Gao Can, Xiao Minghao, and others from easily causing her trouble. She accepted all these favors, but Du Shiniang felt that she owed Zhou Chengquan far too many favors, perhaps never to be repaid in this lifetime.

Lin Chong watched as Du Shiniang sobbed softly in his arms. He gently patted the woman's back and comforted her, saying, "General Zhou Chengquan actually loves you very much, but unfortunately I met you first. I know you are grateful for his kindness to you. From now on, we will train hard in Cuju and make sure we can beat the Jin Kingdom's women's Cuju team on the Cuju field. That way, General Zhou won't have so much pressure."

"In addition, we must continue to use Zixiang Pavilion to gather intelligence on General Zhou from the capital and other parts of Song, so that he can keep abreast of the dynamics in the court and prevent him from being marginalized by the Emperor. We must also protect General Zhou's family," Du Shiniang said excitedly.

“Of course! Shi Niang, let’s go back. It’s windy at night, you’ll catch a cold if you stand here any longer.” Lin Chong said, putting his arm around Du Shiniang and walking towards the main entrance of Zixiang Pavilion. The sound of horses’ hooves behind them gradually faded into the distance, while at this moment, the sound of the second watch drum echoed on the quiet street, and the night deepened…

As the roosters crowed, the morning court session in the imperial city began. Emperor Huizong, dressed in his dragon robe, sat on the throne in the main hall, while his ministers stood on the steps below, performing the court rites. After the affairs of state were discussed, a minister from the Ministry of Rites stepped forward to advise Emperor Huizong to stay away from the ill-fated concubine, Luo Pin. He also said that the emperor should not appoint the criminal Lin Chong as the coach of the Song Dynasty's women's Cuju (ancient Chinese football) team, nor should he rely on Cuju players recommended by courtesans, as this would damage the dignity of the nation.

Emperor Huizong's face darkened upon hearing the minister's advice, but he couldn't directly reprimand the man. He glared at Shen Daoyuan, signaling him to step in and smooth things over. Shen Daoyuan understood and was about to reprimand the minister when Ning Weizhi preemptively spoke first.

Ning Weizhi said loudly to the minister, "Lord Chen, do you know that His Majesty has recently obtained the 'Nine Heavens Star-Picking Chart' to change Consort Luo's fate? The Imperial Observatory has already changed Consort Luo's destiny based on this chart. As for what you said about appointing Lin Chong, Du Shiniang, and the other women to represent the Song Dynasty's women's Cuju team in a future match against the Jin Dynasty's women's Cuju team, this shows that His Majesty has vision and appoints people based on their talents, regardless of their background."

"Didn't you advise His Majesty in the past not to indulge in Cuju (ancient Chinese football) and to prioritize national affairs? Now, the Jin people have used Cuju to provoke and challenge our Song Dynasty, forcing His Majesty to wager three cities. Recently, the Jin people have also used the assassination of their envoy to station troops outside the pass. His Majesty's appointment of the Song Dynasty's women's Cuju team is to appease the Jin people. What's wrong with that?"

The minister and the other officials exchanged awkward glances after hearing Ning Weizhi's words, unable to think of anything to refute him. Seeing this, Shen Daoyuan quickly chimed in, "Lord Ning's words are truly reasonable and well-founded; he is indeed worthy of being the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review!"

Emperor Huizong's expression immediately brightened, and he praised Ning Weizhi, saying, "Indeed! Minister Ning's words resonate deeply with me! Guards, reward Minister Ning with gold..."

"Your Majesty, I do not wish for any rewards of gold or silver. Please rescind your decree!" Ning Weizhi interrupted Emperor Huizong of Song, seemingly unafraid of death. Emperor Huizong looked at Ning Weizhi with some surprise and said, "Minister Ning, you do not want rewards of gold or silver. What do you want? I knew you were different from others and disliked the stench of money."

Ning Weizhi suddenly knelt down at the foot of the steps in front of Emperor Huizong of Song and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I dare to ask you to allow me to overturn the case of my mentor Pan Rongjie. I only want this reward."

"Pan Rongjie? He is..." Emperor Huizong seemed to have no recollection of who Pan Rongjie was or what he had done wrong. Seeing this, Liu Guangyu quickly whispered a few words in the emperor's ear, and the emperor finally remembered Pan Rongjie's actions. Emperor Huizong frowned and thought for a moment. He felt that Pan Rongjie's poem satirizing his love of Cuju (ancient Chinese football) was a minor matter, but it concerned his reputation, and he didn't want to let him off easily.

Just as Emperor Huizong hesitated, Gao Can stepped forward and reported to the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I believe that Lord Ning's request should be considered. According to what I learned from my adoptive father, Pan Rongjie did not intend to satirize Your Majesty when he wrote the poem; it was merely that the poem was distorted by those who were jealous of Lord Pan's talent. Since Lord Pan has cultivated a talent like Lord Ning to share Your Majesty's burdens, why doesn't Your Majesty give him a chance to overturn the verdict?"

"Oh? So it turns out that Pan Rongjie's poems and essays were distorted by someone jealous of his talent. I also think that the presiding judge who judged the case was incompetent and there must have been a mistake in the process. In that case, I will grant Minister Ning's request." Seeing that his advisor had given him a way out, Emperor Huizong quickly went along with it and did Ning Weizhi a favor.

Ning Weizhi glanced gratefully at Gao Can, who pursed his lips, his eyes seemingly saying, "I've already done what I promised to do yesterday." Ning Weizhi bit his lip lightly, respectfully thanked the emperor, but refused to get up.

"Lord Ning, why are you still not up? Is there something else that needs His Majesty's decision?" Liu Guangyu waved his whisk and pointed at Ning Weizhi below the steps, asking in confusion.

Ning Weizhi glanced at Liu Guangyu, then at Emperor Huizong of Song, and said loudly, "Your Majesty, my mentor's daughter, Pan Jinghe, was once a member of Lin Chong's women's Cuju team. I know that she angered Your Majesty by scoring an own goal in the last Cuju match in the palace, but she was just eager to show off her Cuju skills. I beg Your Majesty to give her a chance so that she can also represent the Song Dynasty in the Cuju match against the Jin Dynasty women."

"Pan Jinghe, I remember this woman. She's actually Pan Rongjie's daughter? Wasn't that Pan guy mocking me for being so obsessed with Cuju that I neglected state affairs? I didn't expect his daughter to be practicing Cuju too. Interesting! I'll add Pan Jinghe to the Song Dynasty women's Cuju team for the sake of Minister Ning. I want Pan Rongjie to know the wonders of Cuju, hehe!" Emperor Huizong said to Ning Weizhi below the steps with a faint smile on his lips.

Ning Weizhi quickly kowtowed to express her gratitude: "Your Majesty is wise. People all over the world will surely praise Your Majesty for your magnanimity. My mentor will also be grateful to Your Majesty for giving his daughter such an important position."

At this moment, the ministers below the steps couldn't help but whisper among themselves that Ning Weizhi was incredibly bold, daring to overturn the verdict on her future father-in-law in front of the emperor. Ordinary people would definitely hate to let anyone know that they had such a father-in-law.

Some ministers said that Ning Weizhi's move was brilliant; he used Pan Jinghe's investiture and Pan Rongjie's exoneration to silence those ministers who impeached the emperor for his love of football and neglect of state affairs. They believed Emperor Huizong would surely give Ning Weizhi an important position in the future.

Gao Qiu glared at Gao Can. He had initially disagreed with Gao Can helping Ning Weizhi last night, since he had secretly handled Pan Rongjie's case. However, Gao Qiu felt that while Pan Jinghe was good at the Cuju dance, her Cuju skills were mediocre, and making her a member of the Song Dynasty women's Cuju team wouldn't pose a real threat to the Jin Dynasty women's Cuju team.

Consort Luo was of noble birth, and her entry into the palace was forced upon her by the father and son. He feared that Consort Luo would disobey him during the competition and ruin their long-planned scheme with the Wolf King. Pan Jinghe was relatively easier to control, and Gao Qiu suggested turning her into a hidden pawn alongside Consort Luo. Only then did Gao Qiu agree to Gao Qiu's request to help overturn Pan Rongjie's case.

That same day, Ning Weizhi received the imperial decree after court and exonerated Pan Jinghe's father. Pan's father was released from prison a week later and formally agreed to marry Pan Jinghe to Ning Weizhi. Pan Jinghe was grateful to Ning Weizhi, and Du Shiniang and Lin Chong personally went to Ning's residence to welcome Pan Jinghe back to Zixiang Pavilion, so that she could resume her Cuju (ancient Chinese football) training as soon as possible.