Do you know: I am Qi Heng

This is why playing polo with fewer players reduces the level of competition.

This game differs from modern football and basketball only in the rules and gameplay, but in essence, they are not very different.

The real highlight is the teamwork, with both offense and defense, and the back-and-forth sled-pulling competition.

Although they could both attack and defend when paired up, Yu Yanhong and her partner didn't take Minglan seriously at all.

They valued Zhang Guifen highly because she had learned to ride horses since she was a child, practiced martial arts, and was very good at polo.

The two then decided to launch a joint attack, heading straight for Zhang Guifen, and then see who could hold Zhang Guifen back depending on the situation.

Unexpectedly, Minglan seized the opportunity, easily dribbled the ball to the goal, and shot it into the net.

"Clang~"

The steward in charge of the planning struck the gong loudly and announced, "Blue team wins!"

Immediately, someone planted a blue flag, signifying that the blue team had won.

According to the rules, the first person to get ten chips wins.

"This girl is quite clever."

Empress Cao, who was skilled at polo, naturally noticed that Minglan had seized the opportunity, but she also realized that Minglan had deliberately slowed down.

Minglan's actions were both offensive and defensive, demonstrating great intelligence.

"Indeed, it's quite good. While polo requires skill, strategy is also very important. Miss Yu and the others underestimated it too much," Madam Wu said with a smile.

She saw things more clearly than Empress Cao. Yu Yanhong and the others' strategy wasn't necessarily wrong, but it was somewhat of a desperate gamble.

In contrast, Minglan's approach was much more conservative.

It's not a matter of who was right or wrong, but in the end, Minglan seized the opportunity and won easily.

Princess Pingning didn't understand these things; she only felt that women riding horses at full speed were somewhat vulgar. But since Empress Cao praised her, she could only follow suit and praise her as well.

Empress Cao smiled and asked, "Whose daughter is this?"

"Your Majesty, that is the sixth daughter of Physician Sheng! Her grandmother was the eldest daughter of the late Marquis Yongyi, and back then, her polo skills were unmatched by any of the young masters in Bianjing," said Madam Wu.

"That's not surprising, but her current performance is far inferior to that of the late Marquis Yongyi's legitimate daughter back then!"

Empress Cao looked at Qi Heng and asked, "Heng-ge'er, you also know how to play polo. Tell me, who do you think will win in the end?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Heng withdrew his gaze, cupped his hands, and said, "It's only just begun, so I can't say for sure."

Qi Heng's initial desire to marry Minglan was largely driven by rational considerations.

If he wants to implement reforms in the future, he will inevitably need to hold a high position and wield great power.

However, that would prevent him from getting too involved with powerful figures in the court, and he would also need a shrewd wife who could manage the household well for him.

From any perspective, Minglan is the most suitable.

But it was only when he saw Minglan galloping on horseback on the polo field that he truly fell in love with this woman.

Since her mother's death, Minglan has been hiding her true abilities and has habitually worn a mask at all times.

Although she concealed it well, that sense of distance was undeniably present.

It's just that she hid it very well, so she didn't feel it as clearly as she thought.

But the smile on his face when he was riding a horse was as bright and cheerful as a pear blossom in early spring.

Perhaps only at this moment can she let go of all caution and constraints, and reveal her brightest smile.

"How cunning! Let's wait and see," Empress Cao said with a smile.

In the field

Seeing that Minglan had won, Yu Yanhong said hatefully, "All you know is these despicable tricks!"

"Exactly, deliberately hiding in the back and taking shortcuts is not real skill at all," Miss Jiang said through gritted teeth.

Minglan ignored the two and rode past them on her way to meet up with Zhang Guifen.

"Sixth Miss Sheng, well done!"

Zhang Guifen laughed and said, "Don't pay any attention to them."

"Mm." Minglan nodded with a smile.

"They just suffered a loss, so they'll definitely adjust their strategy later. What do you think we should do?" Zhang Guifen asked.

As Minglan rode back with Zhang Guifen, she pondered and asked, "If Miss Zhang were to face one of them alone, would she have the upper hand?"

"Can!"

Zhang Guifen confidently stated, "Each of them alone is no match for me!"

Now she increasingly felt that what Minglan had said before was very true; in terms of horses, she and Yu Yanhong were about the same.

The polo field is frequented by the children of high-ranking officials and wealthy families, and the horses provided, even the stallions, are relatively docile.

There won't be any particularly high-quality horses.

Firstly, that kind of horse was relatively scarce even in the army, and secondly, that kind of horse had a rather fierce temperament.

If anything goes wrong, Madam Wu will have to take responsibility.

With horses of similar quality, even if her riding skills were better than the other two, the riding arena was only so big, not giving her enough room to maneuver.

This is why she was only slightly faster than the two, and despite their combined efforts, she failed to get the ball first.

But no matter what, she had gained an advantage, and no one could stop her alone.

"Alright, let's do it the same way as before. They'll send one of them to distract me. One person alone isn't a match for you, so we still have the advantage."

Minglan didn't want to stand out too much; she only did it because she was trying to win.

However, there was a hint of taking a shortcut before, so letting Zhang Guifen perform now is a good way to shift the focus to Zhang Guifen.

"good!"

Zhang Guifen didn't think too much about it and thought Minglan's approach was good, so she immediately agreed.

Once both sides returned to their original positions, Stoudemire served again, and the four players spurred their horses into motion.

Just as Minglan had predicted, Yu Yanhong went to compete with Zhang Guifen for the ball, while the eldest daughter of the Jiang family lagged behind to provide support.

When she saw that Yu Yanhong was no match for her and wanted to help, Minglan urged her to step forward and entangle her.

Zhang Guifen easily broke through and shot the ball into the goal, gaining another advantage.

The following matches were almost identical to the first two, with only two players, one offensive and one defensive, leaving very few strategies available.

On Yu Yanhong's side, one person is no match for Zhang Guifen. If the two of them work together, Zhang Guifen and Minglan can switch between offense and defense.

Soon, Zhang Guifen and Minglan had already obtained seven points.

At this point, Yu Yanhong and her team had given up on winning; it was too difficult to catch up by ten points in a row.

"We can lose, but we can't lose everything!" Yu Yanhong said through gritted teeth.

"We've tried everything, but nothing works!" Miss Jiang said, somewhat discouraged.

I originally wanted to make a name for myself in front of Empress Cao, but now I've only made a fool of myself.

"We'll do this in a bit..." Yu Yanran whispered a few words to Miss Jiang.

"good!"

Miss Jiang had already given up, so upon hearing this, she immediately agreed.

"Sixth Miss, they seem to be discussing some countermeasures again. However, our previous method was very good. Let's stick to it and deal with any situation as it comes. Even if they gain the upper hand, it's not a big deal," Zhang Guifen said with a smile.

"good!"

Minglan nodded upon hearing this. Before knowing the opponent's strategy, this was clearly the wisest choice.

After they started again, the two did as they had agreed before.

However, Yu Yanhong and the other two, just like at the beginning, headed straight for Zhang Guifen, as if they had completely given up on defense.