Empress Dowager

The young man took half a step forward with a red tray filled with all kinds of gold and silver ingots, jade pendants, thumb rings, pearl collars, and so on. He said to Gu Yanfei with a smile, "How about you place a bet? Anyways, we're just playing around."

Li Zhulang said eagerly, "Everyone is just here to join in the fun. We can bet on big or small…"

He was just short of saying that if he lost, it would be on him. The words were actually on the tip of his tongue, but he was afraid it would seem too rash.

Gu Yunzhen recognized Li Zhulang and smiled generously. "Alright, I'll bet too…"

She looked around at the dazzling array of red and blue trays and leaned over to ask Gu Yanfei, "Second Sister, which team do you think will win?"

Gu Yanfei smiled and said firmly, "I think it'll be a draw."

Gu Yunzhen, Li Zhulang, and the others were stunned.

The young man couldn't help but remind her. "The chances of a draw are less than ten percent…"

A draw was rare and was equivalent to giving money to the dealer.

"Sure, sure." Li Zhulang could not wait to interrupt his cousin. He clapped his hands and said, "The odds are high if we bet on a draw. If we win, the stakes can be multiplied several times." It was fine if they lost, as long as the beauty was happy!

The young man really admired his cousin. He thought to himself, "Cousin really has no principles to please a beauty."

Gu Yanfei's interest was piqued and she wanted to place a bet, but when she touched her empty pouch, she remembered that she did not bring any silver.

Clang.

A small gold ingot was thrown in from the window. It rolled on the table and stopped in front of Gu Yanfei.

Then a dark, handsome face peered out the window and grinned brilliantly.

"Miss Gu, our young master will bet on it for you!" Xiao Shi winked happily at Gu Yanfei, holding a dark red tray with golden laurels.

"…" Li Zhulang also wanted to place a bet on behalf of Gu Yanfei, but he was too late. His face instantly froze, and he thought to himself, 'Which young master is that? If he's unaccountably solicitous, he must be up to no good… Could he be a love rival?!'

"Xiao Shi." Meeting Xiao Shi's dark and bright eyes, Gu Yanfei's heart skipped a beat. She recalled the gaze she had felt outside the water pavilion and immediately understood.

So it was him. What a coincidence.

"Young Master asked me to say hello to you." Xiao Shi's smile became brighter, revealing two rows of snow-white teeth. At the same time, he took a glass of wine from the tray and brought it to Gu Yanfei.

The light yellow liquid of the osmanthus wine was as clear as amber. Tiny golden osmanthus flowers floated in it, emitting an elegant fragrance. Compared to the rich fragrance of fresh osmanthus, this faint wine fragrance was just right.

Gu Yanfei picked up the cup of osmanthus wine and sniffed it. She raised her eyebrows and said, "This is from Qiongfang Shop?"

"Miss, you have a good eye." Xiao Shi chuckled and signaled Gu Yanfei to look at the Moonlight Tower across the lake.

Gu Yanfei raised her chin slightly and saw from afar that the gauze curtain on the third floor was lifted by a slender hand, revealing a familiar white figure. Because of the distance, the young man's handsome face was not clear. She could only see that he was holding a similar white porcelain wine glass in his hand.

The young man in white raised his glass and toasted from afar. Then, he downed the wine in one gulp.

This toast was for her help in Danyang City.

As the two of them looked at each other silently, Gu Yanfei smiled brightly.

Facing Chu Yi, who was on the other side of the lake, she raised her head and drank from her cup. Anyone could see that her movements were elegant and decisive.

Li Zhulang was stunned by her beautiful smile. He craned his neck to look out of the window to see who his love rival was, feeling vexed. Why was he a step too late!

Unfortunately, he didn't see anything. The hazy veil covering the window blocked his gaze.

Outside the water pavilion, there was a flurry of laughter. Some people had returned from the garden in groups.

Seeing that the voices were getting closer, Xiao Shi cupped his hands at Gu Yanfei and bid his farewell, not giving Li Zhulang a chance to probe. At the same time, seven or eight people entered the water pavilion in a row. Most of them had strange smiles on their faces as they gossiped with interest.

"How did Crown Prince Fang fall into the flowerbed?"

"If you want to know, why don't you ask His HIghness Kang Wang!"

"Wasn't Second Miss Gu from the Dingyuan Marquis Household also there? Isn't it the same to ask her?!"

"How did the three of them happen to be there, anyway?"

"…"

The crowd's speculations floated over from time to time, their voices rising and falling. Instead of stopping even after 10 minutes, the momentum grew and spread from the water pavilion to the polo field.

However, when Gu Yunrong returned in her new riding clothes, those people fell silent again like mutes, for Kang Wang was at her side.

The polo game was not interrupted by this episode and the injured Fang Mingfeng did not appear again. In the second half, Kang Wang replaced him.

The second half of the match was only delayed by a cup of tea before it began with a crisp gong.

The sound of galloping hooves rang out again, accompanied by the cheers of the crowd. The white polo ball was thrown high into the sky…

Kang Wang had just entered the field and was full of energy and high spirits. He also deliberately showed off his skills in front of his sweetheart. Not long after the second half began, he scored a goal, but Gu Yunrong's condition was obviously not as good as before and she made a few mistakes.

Gu Yunrong quickly adjusted her mentality and chased after her opponents.

The two teams chased each other, neither willing to give way. Halfway through the second half of the game, there was a commotion at the entrance to the polo field.

Upon hearing the soft exclamation of someone in the water pavilion, Gu Yanfei could not help but look sideways.

In the direction of the garden, a dozen people were clustered around two distinguished-looking ladies. One was older, in her 40s; the other was younger, in her mid 30s.

Everyone respected the older beautiful woman and clustered around her, willing to serve her.

The beautiful middle-aged woman was wearing a dark purple embroidered horse-face skirt with a small white collar. Her hair was simply tied into a bun with a white jade Ruyi pattern.

Her skin was fair, her facial features were graceful, and there was a dignified and faint smile on her lips. She was refined and elegant, and vaguely exuded the noble aura of standing above the clouds.

It was difficult to ignore the presence of such a large group.

Some people immediately recognized the middle-aged woman and widened their eyes.

Even those who did not know her would recognize Princess Consort Jing, who was beside her. Princess Consort Jing was talking softly to the middle-aged beautiful woman, smiling respectfully the entire time.

There were only a few women in this world who could make Princess Consort Jing so respectful…

"The Empress Dowager?" Gu Yunzhen exclaimed.

Indeed, only the current Empress Dowager could have such prestige.