Lin Chong's Women's Cuju Team

Seeing that Emperor Huizong was feigning composure, the Wolf King seemed to have no intention of making things difficult for him. He simply led Emperor Huizong into a resting tent and ordered the emperor to sit down. After Emperor Huizong sat down, he found that writing materials had already been prepared on the table.

Emperor Huizong of Song assumed that the Wolf King only wanted the three cities and was merely trying to force him to acknowledge his defeat in today's Cuju (ancient Chinese football) match between the Song and Jin dynasties. He composed himself and began negotiating with the Wolf King: "Wolf King, if you only want me to issue an edict acknowledging that my Song state lost today's women's Cuju match, I will write it. Three cities are nothing; my Song state has vast territory, I can afford to lose!"

"But you frightened me and all my ministers today, as well as my beloved concubine. Just now, I saw that Grand Commandant Gao seemed to be on your side. He must have accepted your bribes without taking any benefits, right? In that case, why not call him to represent me in negotiations with you? Also, Minister Xiao, he has always been on good terms with your country's delegation. Why not call him as well?"

After hearing Emperor Huizong's words, the Wolf King sneered and sent someone to invite Xiao Minghao from outside the tent. Gao Qiu, however, did not wait for the Wolf King's men to call him; he barged into the tent directly, accompanied by Gao Can.

"Your Majesty, I heard Your Majesty summon me from inside the tent. I dared not delay, so I came to assist Your Majesty in drafting the imperial edict. My adopted son, Gao Can, is also willing to share Your Majesty's burdens." Gao Qiu respectfully reported as he approached Emperor Huizong. The Wolf King stood behind Emperor Huizong, still gripping his knife tightly, his face filled with murderous intent.

Seeing how quickly Gao Qiu and his son arrived, and recalling the scene of Gao Qiu pushing him into the Wolf King's arms, Emperor Huizong was 100% certain that Gao Qiu and his son had been bribed by the Wolf King and were in cahoots. However, he was now alone, his head hanging by a thread under the Wolf King's blade. He dared not confront the enemy head-on. He had summoned Xiao Minghao as well, hoping to find someone truly loyal to him; at the moment, only Xiao Minghao was trustworthy.

A short while later, Xiao Minghao and Liu Guangyu arrived at the tent. Emperor Huizong was about to order Xiao Minghao to help draft an imperial edict acknowledging defeat in today's football match and surrendering the three cities to the Jin people. However, before Xiao Minghao could even begin to write, Gao Qiu had already slipped the prepared edict into Xiao Minghao's hand from his sleeve.

Emperor Huizong and Xiao Minghao were both astonished by the blatant treason of Gao Qiu and his son, and they loathed these two ingrates. Xiao Minghao read the prepared imperial edict to Emperor Huizong, who then learned that acknowledging defeat in the football match meant not only surrendering the three cities agreed upon by the two countries before the match to the Jin Dynasty, but also receiving 100,000 taels of gold, 30,000 fine horses, and countless beauties and pearls.

This wolf king is clearly trying to empty half of the Song Kingdom's treasury! The more Emperor Huizong listened, the angrier he became. His eyes reddened as he said to the wolf king, "Wolf king, I cannot sign this imperial edict. You are raising the price on the spot, and you have ulterior motives. The stakes for the previous football match between the two countries were only three cities. Why are so many gold and silver treasures being added now? I do not agree!"

"You disagree? Do you think you have any leverage to negotiate with me? I've replaced most of the Imperial Guards in this football field, and there are Jin Kingdom agents all over the palace. Your life and the lives of your ministers are in my hands," the Wolf King said menacingly.

"Your Majesty, you should quickly sign this imperial edict and agree to the Wolf King's conditions. Otherwise, you and all the court officials will be blown to pieces by the Netherworld Ball." Gao Qiu pretended to cry and plead with Emperor Huizong of Song.

"The 'Phantom Ball'? Minister Gao, what are you talking about? I don't understand." Emperor Huizong glanced at Gao Qiu and frowned as he pressed for an answer.

"Your Majesty, to tell you the truth, before the match, the Wolf King had me bury dozens of pyrotechnic balls under the stands at the football field. These modified pyrotechnic balls wouldn't easily trigger the mechanism; the Wolf King had hidden gunpowder and sulfur inside them, so they would only explode when a certain temperature was reached or when triggered by an external spark." Gao Qiu said, carefully observing Emperor Huizong's expression.

"Let alone the three cities today, even if it's just the throne, Your Majesty must agree to the Wolf King's demands. Otherwise, if you anger him and he detonates the celestial sphere below the viewing platform, we will all be doomed. Please, Your Majesty, reconsider!" Gao Qiu said, bowing to Emperor Huizong and pleading, then feigning to wipe away tears with his sleeve. Gao Can didn't echo him, simply standing silently beside Gao Qiu, watching the spectacle with a blank expression.

"What? There's a pyrotechnic bomb planted under the viewing platform?" Emperor Huizong of Song was terrified and shouted twice. Xiao Minghao also broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this, but he felt that he couldn't agree to the Wolf King's request too easily. Perhaps he could delay and wait for reinforcements from outside the palace. Moreover, he had his men in the Imperial Guard, so he wasn't too afraid.

So, Xiao Minghao, unafraid of death, approached Emperor Huizong and whispered a few words in his ear. When Emperor Huizong heard Xiao Minghao say that reinforcements were outside the palace and that he needed to help him buy time, he felt reassured, and his complexion regained some color. He looked at the Wolf King and said in a pleading tone:

"Wolf King, I know that I must give those three cities to your Jin people today no matter what. But I fear that this matter will not be able to silence the public opinion in the court. In fact, putting aside Pan Jinghe's football goal, the two countries can only be considered to have drawn. I would like to have each side send a female player to play one-on-one football shooting again, and the team that scores more goals will be declared the winner of this match. I will also add the gold and silver jewels you just added. What does the Wolf King think?"

Upon hearing this, the Wolf King muttered under his breath, "This is too troublesome!" After saying this, the Wolf King glanced at Gao Qiu, who felt that Emperor Huizong's words were clearly just a delaying tactic. Although resuming the football match would indeed convince the court officials that the Jin team had won based on merit, he also feared that Du Shiniang and her group might win. He felt that this matter could become complicated if left unresolved, and that a swift and decisive action was necessary.

"Father, I believe His Majesty's proposal is reasonable. It can convince the court officials of the Jin state and make the Song state a vassal state of the Jin state in the future. I believe those ministers will not dare to have any objections." Gao Can whispered in Gao Qiu's ear.

Just as Gao Qiu was about to speak, he heard Xiao Minghao taunt the Wolf King, saying, "Wolf King, you've been thinking for so long. Are you afraid that your Jin Kingdom's women's football team is indeed not as strong as our Song Kingdom's women's team? Or are you afraid that if you lose, you won't be able to handle the situation and will become a laughing stock for our court's ministers?"

"What bullshit Cuju team? Our Jin Kingdom women's Cuju team is not afraid. I have made full preparations today, and I agree to this one-on-one Cuju goal-scoring game!" The Wolf King was enraged by Xiao Minghao's words. He had also heard Gao Can's persuasion of Gao Qiu, so he agreed to Emperor Huizong's proposal.

Emperor Huizong and Xiao Minghao exchanged a glance, both breathing a sigh of relief, thinking that their delaying tactic had finally won over the enemy. Gao Qiu, pulling Gao Can along, hurriedly went to rearrange things on the Cuju field. Gao Can went to find Lin Chong and Du Shiniang, while Gao Qiu went to find Mohat and Hasalawa, asking them to select female players to play Cuju.

The Wolf King quickly escorted Emperor Huizong and Xiao Minghao back to the stands. The Jin delegation and Song officials refocused their attention on the Jin team's goal on the football field. The imperial guards still surrounded the field, fearing that someone inside might escape and report to the officials outside the palace.

However, Shen Daoyuan had already led his more than 20,000 soldiers back to the capital's city gates. The Wolf King's men, caught off guard by reinforcements, were scattered by Shen Daoyuan's forces, and the city gates were breached instantly. Upon seeing the Wolf King's men, Shen Daoyuan knew the palace was under siege. His face grim, he spurred his horse straight towards the palace.

Lin Chong and Du Shiniang discussed it and decided that for a one-on-one challenge to Cuju (ancient Chinese football) skills, they could only choose female players with real skills and solid Cuju foundations. In fact, only Chai Nianci and Luo Fei Chen Jinhuan met the requirements.

Chai Nianci was pregnant, and Du Shiniang dared not let her take the risk, so it was only Chen Jinhuan left. Just as she was pondering how to find Chen Jinhuan, a melodious female voice rang in her ears: "Shiniang, do you need help? I'm back!"