Lin Chong's Women's Cuju Team

Du Shiniang anxiously looked towards the entrance of the Zixiang Pavilion's main hall, where she saw Gao Can embracing Zou Xiaoyan, and Xiao Cheng returning with Yang Bingnan. Du Shiniang noticed the dejected look on Zou Xiaoyan's face, but instructed her maid Dongmei, "Dongmei, help Lady Zou back to Tingyu Pavilion to rest. I have important matters to discuss with Master Gao."

When Zou Xiaoyan heard that Du Shiniang had something important to discuss with Gao Can, she tactfully pulled her son away from the main hall. Dongmei, teasing Xiao Cheng with a string of candied hawthorns, also left. Before leaving, she gave a wink to her maid Chuntao, who then quickly led Gao Can and Lu Minggu to the main hall of Du Shiniang's courtyard to the north—Qixia Hall.

Du Shiniang said to Xu Gui beside her, "Manager Xu, quickly go and invite Instructor Lin and Instructor Wu over. Tell them that Minister Gao has arrived and wants to discuss and plan in detail with us about the Song Kingdom Women's Cuju Team."

Xu Gui nodded slightly and invited Lin Chong and Wu Song to Qixia Hall. Inside Qixia Hall were exquisitely crafted eight-immortal tables and antique rosewood chairs, bearing the marks of time. The hall was also planted with many potted plants, including vibrant pink azaleas, white camellias, and delicate crabapple blossoms. Upon entering the courtyard, Gao Can couldn't help but take a deep breath. The elegant and noble decorations of the hall, represented by a Suzhou embroidery screen depicting a hundred birds returning to their nests, along with elegant Tang tri-color pottery, a white jade basin from the Jingdezhen imperial kiln, and paintings by Wu Daozi hanging on the walls, all showcased Du Shiniang's unique taste and noble temperament. Gao Can couldn't help but admire Du Shiniang; she truly deserved to be called a rising star in Bianjing, her taste and vision comparable to the noble ladies of the capital.

As Du Shiniang entered, she saw Gao Can, a smile playing on his lips, surveying the flowers and scenery of Qixia Hall, holding in his hand a Tang Dynasty tri-colored jade horse that she treasured on the display shelf. Du Shiniang then approached Gao Can and teased, "Lord Gao, what do you think of my Tang Dynasty tri-colored horse?"

"I find this thing dazzling and eye-catching, quite interesting!" Gao Can said casually, putting down the Tang tri-colored horse in his hand and staring at Du Shiniang for a while. Today, Du Shiniang was wearing a purple light gauze dress with begonia flower patterns. The begonia flower patterns bloomed under the hem of the dress, lively and unique, making Du Shiniang even more beautiful and charming.

Du Shiniang met Gao Can's lecherous gaze and sat down in the chair opposite him. She then said to Gao Can, "Lord Gao, we really owe you a lot for what happened today when Xiao Cheng was taken away by Xiao Minghao! Madam Zou was quite emotional. Luckily you arrived in time, otherwise, who knows what even worse things that Xiao might have done to them."

“Xiao Yanzi is my woman, and I will protect Xiao Cheng as well, so Shi Niang doesn’t need to be polite with me. However, I think that your recruitment of Song Kingdom women’s Cuju team members should be considered successful now. I need to submit the list of team members to His Majesty as soon as possible, so that His Majesty can officially confirm the status of Xiao Yanzi, Du Rushuang, Pan Jinghe, Chai Nianci, and Chen Jinhuan. As the saying goes, if the name is not correct, the words will not be proper. Once these five members of Lin Chong’s women’s Cuju team have received the imperial decree, those who want to take advantage of them will naturally have some reservations. Shi Niang, what do you say?” Gao Can seriously gave Du Shiniang his suggestion, hoping that Du Shiniang could cooperate with his next plan for Song Kingdom women’s Cuju team.

Du Shiniang was deeply moved by Gao Can's words. Just as Gao Can had said, why did Xiao Minghao dare to lay a hand on Zou Xiaoyan and use Xiao Cheng to coerce her? The reason was that the man surnamed Xiao held an official position. If it weren't for Gao Can's backing, Zou Xiaoyan would likely have been driven to desperation by Xiao Minghao long ago. As for Du Rushuang, her identity was unclear, but she was very likely an assassin and would eventually attract the attention of the authorities. And then there was Pan Jinghe, a woman who had escaped from the brothel and was also the daughter of a disgraced official, making her situation awkward as well.

Du Shiniang realized that Chen Jinhuan was also a "living dead"—a death row inmate whose identity could not be revealed, not to mention that Chai Nianci was Shen Daoyuan's fiancée. This Shen was a favorite of the Emperor, holding a high position and great power, and was hopelessly infatuated with Chai Nianci. Although Shen Daoyuan currently tacitly allowed Chai Nianci to stay in Zixiang Pavilion, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't cause trouble and demand her away one day.

Thinking of all this, Du Shiniang couldn't help but feel a little ashamed, her palms even becoming slightly sweaty. Gao Can saw Du Shiniang deep in thought, her expression grave. Knowing she was considering his earlier suggestion, he reached out and took her slender hand, kissing it tenderly. Du Shiniang, realizing Gao Can's presumptuous act, quickly withdrew her hand as if electrocuted.

Seeing this, Gao Jian said to Du Shiniang with some annoyance, "Shiniang, what I just said was all for your and the Zixiang Pavilion women's Cuju team's sake. Don't be ungrateful. I don't need your Zixiang Pavilion. There are plenty of women in the capital who know how to play Cuju!"

Du Shiniang quickly served Gao Can a cup of tea, and said gratefully, "Lord Gao, you said that I successfully completed the task of recruiting members for the women's Cuju team, so I was so immersed in joy that I didn't thank you. Please don't blame me, okay?"

Du Shiniang's last words were tinged with coquettishness and grievance, which immediately softened Gao Can's heart. He quickly coaxed her gently, "So that's how it is! I misunderstood Shiniang. If Shiniang has any grievances, just tell me, and I will definitely help you get justice." As soon as Gao Can finished speaking, he took Du Shiniang's hand again.

Lin Chong and Wu Song entered Qixia Hall just in time to witness Gao Can trying to take Du Shiniang's hand. Lin Chong quickly coughed a few times to attract the attention of Gao Can and Du Shiniang. Gao Can, noticing Lin Chong and Wu Song, immediately withdrew his hand, sat upright in his chair, and adopted a serious expression. Du Shiniang lowered her eyes and gently wiped her fingers with a handkerchief. She felt taken advantage of by Gao Can and utterly loathed the man before her, but could only swallow her disgust and resentment.

"Lord Gao, we heard that you summoned us to discuss the women's Cuju team. We wonder what your thoughts are?" Lin Chong and Wu Song sat down next to Gao Can, and Lin Chong got straight to the point.

Gao Jian saw Lin Chong sitting imposingly beside him, while Wu Song showed him no kindness whatsoever. He said somewhat displeasedly, "Instructor Lin, Instructor Wu, I have already told Du Shiniang about my plans. You've come too late!"

Wu Song raised his eyes and glared at Gao Can, saying somewhat unconvinced, "It was clearly you who told Du Shiniang your plan before we arrived, and now you're blaming us for being late. I've finally witnessed Gao Can's ability to turn black into white today."

Gao Can's face flushed red with anger at Wu Song's words. Du Shiniang quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Brother Wu, this is not Gao Can't be blamed. I couldn't resist my curiosity and forced Gao Can to tell me his plan. Let me tell you some good news."

"Good news?" Lin Chong and Wu Song both asked Du Shiniang in unison. Du Shiniang stood up, walked closer to them, and said loudly, "Lord Gao has agreed to petition His Majesty to officially appoint Zou Xiaoyan, Chen Chai Nianci, and the other three sisters as members of the Song Dynasty's women's Cuju (ancient Chinese football) team, giving them a proper title and recognition. This way, even if people like Xiao Minghao and Shen Daoyuan have official positions and power, they won't dare to openly do anything outrageous to my five sisters. Isn't that good news?"

"This is indeed good news." Lin Chong glanced at Gao Can with an approving tone and said, "Gao Can's plan is indeed brilliant!" Wu Song also pursed his lips and said to Lin Chong in a light tone, "I think the same as Brother Lin."

Gao Jian saw that Lin Chong, Wu Song, and Du Shiniang all agreed that he should submit the list of five members of Lin Chong's women's football team to the emperor. He then discussed the specific details with them in Qixia Hall and asked Lin Chong and Du Shiniang to prepare to accompany him to meet the emperor the next day.

The next morning, Gao Can presented the list of five female Cuju team members that Du Shiniang and Lin Chong had successfully recruited to the emperor in the court. He also explained the names of the five female team members and some basic family backgrounds, deliberately saying that they were either naturally good at Cuju or had many years of Cuju experience.

Emperor Huizong glanced at the list of women's Cuju team members submitted by Gao Can. When he saw that Pan Jinghe was an escapee from the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) and Chen Jinhuan was a death row inmate, a dark look appeared in his eyes. He asked Gao Can in a questioning tone, "Why choose Pan Jinghe? I remember that her father was a criminal official who once wrote a poem satirizing my love for Cuju?"

"Your Majesty, listen to me," the minister said, bowing slightly to the emperor on the throne. "I believe that it was precisely because Pan Jinghe's father had acted unwisely towards Your Majesty's love of Cuju that your daughter was chosen as a member of the Song Dynasty's women's Cuju team to deal with the Jin Dynasty's women's Cuju team. Doesn't this prove that Your Majesty's Cuju is for the country and the people?" He stared at Emperor Huizong's face as he spoke, his tone tinged with flattery.

"Hehe! What a fine word, 'for the country and the people,' Minister Gao, you speak very well!" Emperor Huizong was delighted with Gao Can's words. After chuckling twice, he waved his hand at Gao Can, signaling him to come to his side.

Gao Can hurriedly approached the throne, bowing his head meekly to the Emperor. Emperor Huizong patted Gao Can on the shoulder and said, "I agree with the reasons for choosing Pan Jinghe, but Chen Jinhuan is clearly a death row inmate. Why did you choose her? Does she also have some special background?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Can's jaw tightened and his heart raced. However, he had already discussed countermeasures with Lin Chong and Du Shiniang the day before. Knowing that Chen Jinhuan's matter would not be so easily covered up, he decided to take a desperate gamble. So, Gao Can took out a scroll from under his wide sleeves, presented it to the emperor, and said to him, "Your Majesty, this is a portrait of Chen Jinhuan. Does Your Majesty think this woman looks like a murderer?"

Emperor Huizong took the portrait with a puzzled look. He glanced at it and was immediately captivated by Chen Jinhuan's clear eyes. He thought to himself that this woman was no ordinary beauty; her aura was like that of a fairy descended to earth. Emperor Huizong's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily. He quickly pressed his advisor, "I see that Chen Jinhuan is no ordinary woman. She must have had a compelling reason for killing. Tell me, how did you find her?"

"Your Majesty is wise! Chen Jinhuan is indeed innocent. The former Minister of Justice, Ning Zhanyan, found another female prisoner to take Chen Jinhuan's place in the punishment, and later trained her to become the cold-faced queen of the Underworld Cave. Therefore, I admired her Cuju (ancient Chinese football) skills and courage, and that's how I rescued her from Ning Zhanyan's clutches." The high-ranking official replied while carefully observing the Emperor's expression. He didn't know whether mentioning Ning Zhanyan would anger the Emperor or truly cover up Chen Jinhuan's past murder. However, he had no choice; Chen Jinhuan had to attract the Emperor's attention today. This was something Du Shiniang had promised Chen Jinhuan: if Chen Jinhuan joined the Song Dynasty women's Cuju team, she would help her secure an audience with the Emperor.