Chapter 80 Seems Different
"I used to be like her." Zhang Guifen said quietly.
The Duke and Duchess of England doted on her very much, and she used to live even more freely than Cao Siyu.
However, since the emperor announced that he would enthrone a crown prince and designated her as the crown princess, although his parents' love for her remained unchanged, his life changed.
She was no longer allowed to practice martial arts, saying that she had been designated as the Crown Princess, and if she continued to learn martial arts, riding and archery as before, it would be disgraceful if news got out.
In the past, she hated those young ladies from scholarly families the most, and thought they were very pitiful because they followed the rules every day.
Now she has become like them.
Zhang Guifen often thought about her future life after entering the palace. It seemed noble, but she could only stay in the deep palace. What was the difference between her and a bird in a cage?
"Don't you want to marry me?" Zhao Xing understood what Zhang Guifen meant.
"I dare not!" Zhang Guifen said quickly.
"You said you dare not, because of my identity. The Duke of England dare not refuse, and you dare not refuse either, right?" Zhao Xing said lightly.
"Your servant..."
"do not talk!"
Zhao Xing interrupted Zhang Guifen and said, "I don't mean to blame you. I know you don't want to stay in the palace for the rest of your life and live a life of conformity."
Zhang Guifen looked at Zhao Xing in surprise when she heard this. She didn't expect that Zhao Xing could actually tell what she was thinking.
Zhao Xing smiled and said, "I told you that you can be as lively and free-spirited as Siyu. I don't like people who follow the rules too much. Everyone around me is respectful to me. If the person next to me in the future is also respectful, I will really be a lonely person. What's the point of that?"
Zhang Guifen turned her head away, not daring to look Zhao Xing in the eye, and said softly, "Your Highness, the polo match has begun."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing looked towards the field, only to see that both teams had already entered the field, but did not see Gu Tingye and Qi Heng.
"Can you play polo?" Zhao Xing asked.
"I have not...learned it."
Zhang Guifen originally wanted to say no, but after hesitating for a moment, she changed her mind.
Zhao Xing smiled slightly. After what he just said, the depression between Zhang Guifen's brows had dissipated a lot.
From Zhang Guifen's few words and her melancholy look, he guessed that she must be afraid of her future life.
In the words of later generations, her condition was considered as pre-marital phobia.
"I have just learned riding and my skills are not very good. I will fight with you in a few years." Zhao Xing said.
"Yeah." Zhang Guifen responded in an inaudible voice.
It’s not that Zhao Xing has good hearing, he probably couldn’t hear it.
Zhao Xing smiled and said nothing more, turning his gaze towards the field.
Polo games are played in two teams, each with four players.
Eight people on the field were galloping on their horses, fighting back and forth in an intense manner.
This was Zhao Xing’s first time watching polo. He didn’t even understand the rules of polo, but he watched it with great interest.
Zhang Guifen was not in the mood to watch polo and kept glancing at Zhao Xing from time to time.
She found that Zhao Xing was very different from what she had imagined.
"Why do you always look at me? Is there something on my face?" Zhao Xing said with a smile.
Perhaps it was Zhao Xing's words that made Zhang Guifen relax a lot. After hearing them, she said, "I just feel that your Highness and I think a little differently."
"So what kind of person am I in your mind?" Zhao Xing asked.
"In my mind, Your Highness should be a smart, studious, generous and kind person," said Zhang Guifen.
"hehe."
Zhao Xing burst into laughter after hearing this and said, "Is it true that the Duke and Duchess of Ying often praise me in front of you, saying how good I am?"
Zhang Guifen thought about it and it seemed to be true. Ever since she was confirmed as the Crown Princess, both her parents and the people around her had been praising Zhao Xing intentionally or unintentionally.
"Although I am the crown prince, I am also a human being. There is no perfect person in the world, and I am the same. Some of the praises from outside are because of my identity, and some are because many people hope that I am that kind of person." Zhao Xing said.
Zhang Guifen nodded thoughtfully after hearing this.
After a whole morning, the final winner was finally decided.
As expected, the winners in the end were Gu Tingye and Qi Heng, and he didn't know the other two.
Seeing the four victorious people coming over here, Zhang Guifen stood up and said, "Your Highness, I will take my leave first."
"Yeah." Zhao Xing nodded.
Zhang Guifen bowed and left with her maid.
"Your Highness, I have fulfilled your mission!" Gu Tingye saluted.
"Greetings, Your Highness!" Qi Heng and others bowed.
"Yes, I was so excited just now that I wanted to go down and fight in person." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness." The four said in unison.
"I'll have someone send the jade belt to you when I get back. Zhong Huai and Yuan Ruo, take them with you and follow me to Jinming Lake for dinner." Zhao Xing said.
……
After Zhao Xing left, Madam Wu also arranged for someone to deliver food to the ladies. Because there were too many people and they were outside the city, the lunch was relatively simple.
Inside the tent of the Duke of England's mansion, the Duke of England's wife looked at her daughter's absent-minded look while eating, put down the bowl and chopsticks in her hands, and said, "Fen'er, eat well and don't be distracted all the time."
"I understand, mother." Zhang Guifen said after she came back to her senses.
The Duchess of England wanted to ask her daughter what she had said during the long time she stayed in the prince's tent, but after hesitating, she did not ask.
No one knows a daughter better than her mother. She also noticed that her daughter has become less lively in recent years. She also knew the root cause, but was powerless to change it.
But after my daughter came back just now, she seemed a lot more cheerful.
"Lady of the Duchess of England!"
Just then, Liu Sanshi came over with a smile and a little eunuch carrying a food box.
"Eunuch Liu, does His Highness have any instructions?" The Lady of the Duke of England quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks and stood up.
Liu Sanshi bowed to Madam Yinggong and Zhang Guifen, and said with a smile: "Your Highness asked me to bring some food to Madam Yinggong and Miss Zhang."
The young eunuch behind him came forward with a food box, put it down, opened it, and took out several dishes inside.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for the food!" Lady Gu, Duke of Yingguo, and Zhang Guifen expressed their gratitude.
Liu Sanshi said, "Take your time," and left with his men.
"Your Highness is so thoughtful. Come and try it. Don't let your Highness down." said the Duchess of England.
"Yeah." Zhang Guifen sat down and looked at the dishes on the table, feeling very happy.
If Zhao Xing asked someone to deliver food, it was naturally impossible for him to send it only to the Lady of the Duke of Yingguo and Zhang Guifen.
Gifts were given to families with close relations such as the Cao family, the Qi family, and the Zhu family.
As for those who were confirmed to be his future concubines, no gifts were given.
After all, Zhang Guifen was the future Crown Princess, and the others were just concubines. It would be inappropriate if they were given the same dishes as Zhang Guifen.
After lunch, Zhao Xing rested for a while and then went to the polo field again.
"Zhonghuai, Yuanruo, come and play the game of tossing pots with me," said Zhao Xing.
He can't play polo yet, but in addition to polo, the polo field also has other entertainment activities such as pitching pots and chuiwan.
Gu Tingye and his companions naturally would not refuse when they heard this, so they took Zhao Xing to the venue for tossing pots.
Compared to polo, touhu and chuiwan are more popular among the young men and women of aristocratic families.
Nowadays, many children of nobles can’t even ride a horse.
The venues for touhu and chuiwan are next to each other, and many young men and women are playing in groups of three or five.
Seeing Zhao Xing coming, he quickly stopped and bowed.
"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" everyone bowed.
"No need to be polite." Zhao Xing waved his hand and said, "I am just like you all. I am here to have fun. You can have fun as you please. Don't be restrained."
As he said that, he took Gu Tingye and a few others to the place that Liu Sanshi had cleared.
Although Zhao Xing said there was no need to be restrained, how could he not be restrained since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was nearby?
Many people even stopped playing and gathered aside to watch Zhao Xing and Gu Tingye play the game of throwing pots.
Every time Zhao Xing made a hit, a group of people would cheer him on, making Zhao Xing look like a street performer.
Zhao Xing was clearly behind Gu Tingye in the number of chips, but when Gu Tingye made a hit, no one cheered, but when he made a hit, a group of people cheered. This made him very embarrassed and he lost interest in playing any further.
After throwing all the arrows in his hand, Zhao Xing said unhappily: "I lost. There are so many people watching, and you don't even give me some face."
"Your Highness, you told me not to hold back." Gu Tingye said with a smile.
He could see that Zhao Xing was neither really angry nor afraid.
"I told you to show no mercy, and you didn't." Zhao Xing glared at him and said, "Let's go. There are so many people watching. It's like watching a monkey show. I won't play anymore."
"If Your Highness wants to play, I will play with you in private." Gu Tingye said with a smile.
"Forget it. If I play tossing pots and balls in the East Palace every day, Master Hai and the others will say that I have lost my ambition due to playing with things. Then you will become a treacherous flatterer who fawns on the crown prince." Zhao Xing shook his head.
"It's okay to play occasionally, it's a good combination of work and rest." Gu Tingye said.
"Why doesn't Yuan Ruo speak?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Your Highness knows that I am not very interested in these things. I prefer reading." Qi Heng said.
"Yuan Ruo, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. If you just study hard, no matter how many books you read, you will just be a nerd. The right way is to combine knowledge and action." Zhao Xing said.
"Unification of knowledge and action?" Qi Heng pondered over the words and said, "Your Highness means that we should not only study, but also emulate the saints in our behavior?"
"You have understood wrongly. What I meant is that knowledge and behavior should be combined into one. The words of the sages are good, but over the past thousands of years, the world has changed dramatically, and many situations are no longer the same as they were in the era when the sages lived. You should verify, adjust, and reflect on what you have learned in practice. Do you understand?" Zhao Xing said.
"I seem to understand what Your Highness means." Gu Tingye said.
"Oh?"
Zhao Xing smiled and said, "Then tell me, what do you understand?"
"It's just like fighting a war. Over thousands of years, various military books have been passed down, but you can't win the battle by simply following the books. You need to use them flexibly according to the battlefield situation. Otherwise, you will be like Zhao Kuo in the Warring States Period and Ma Su in the Three Kingdoms Period, who have talent but are just good at talking about war on paper." Gu Tingye said.
(End of this chapter)