"You... you..."
Li Wanming was so shocked that she couldn't utter a complete sentence. A cold sweat broke out on her back.
Xiao Jingnan smiled faintly. He slowly swallowed the last mouthful of food, then picked up a brocade handkerchief to wipe the corners of his lips.
"For years, the Empress Dowager has been in power behind the curtain. She always thought that the court situation was just about the intrigues on the surface. As long as she operated properly and balanced the various forces, she could always sleep soundly. But unfortunately, she doesn't understand that real power has never lain in such petty tricks!"
The tea on the table had already gone cold. The remaining tea leaves sank to the bottom of the cup, and there was no steam left.
A sparrow landed on the edge of the table, tilted its head to take a look, then flapped its wings and flew away, making the room seem even quieter.
Xiao Jingnan picked up the cold tea and drank it all in one gulp. "I'm going to the yamen to meet my colleagues today and won't be back for dinner tonight. I'll have to trouble you, my dear, about the matter of the Marquis of Huo."
"I..."
Before Li Wanming could finish her words, Xiao Jingnan had already strode away, leaving her sitting there in the room, gaping in astonishment.
Poisoning, breaking legs, spooking horses...
How dare he say such things!
Li Wanming stared blankly at his back, almost on the verge of tears.
——————
Li Wanming was extremely worried. She was really at her wit's end.
It was true that this year's polo tournament was the responsibility of the Prince of Ning's Mansion to host, and as the mistress of the mansion, she was indeed duty - bound.
The problem was that she had never even touched a polo ball before, let alone organize such a top - level noble event in the capital.
When she was in her natal family, such pastimes of the aristocratic youths were never something a daughter of a minor official like her could get involved in.
Now, not only was she asked to organize the polo tournament, but also to poison someone during it. Moreover, it was clearly required to be a targeted killing and precise poisoning without harming anyone else...
Damn it! This was really difficult for her!
To make matters worse, she had just returned to the capital and knew nothing. There were only a little over ten days left until the polo tournament. Kang must have already started preparing. How could she easily hand over the power?
Li Wanming thought and thought until her head ached. Finally, she could only helplessly hold her head and say weakly, "Qinglan, go and inform my second aunt that I'll invite her to dinner in Muyun Pavilion tonight to apologize..."
Just thinking about having to humble herself and ask Kang for advice made her feel so憋屈 that she wanted to jump into the river.
However, things completely exceeded her expectations.
In the private room of Muyun Pavilion, as soon as Kang heard that she wanted to take over the organization of the polo tournament, she immediately generously gave up the matter.
"I thought the Crown Princess wouldn't be back for a while, so I overstepped my bounds. Now that you're back, it's naturally up to you to handle it."
After saying that, Kang really began to explain in great detail, counting on her fingers.
"You don't need to worry about the venue for the polo tournament. The racecourse on the east side of Liuyuan is several miles long, which is more than enough. The polo tournaments in previous years were all held there. However, the venue needs to be tamped and leveled in advance, and fine sand should be spread to prevent dust."
"Besides the venue, you also need to ask in advance whether anyone from the palace will come. If a noble from the palace is coming to watch the game, a colorful pavilion needs to be built in advance. As for us ordinary aristocratic families and officials, setting up tents will suffice."
"The issue of horses is also easy to solve. In previous years, the horses were all fine Ferghana horses from the Imperial Horse Bureau. Each polo player needs to prepare two or three horses. It's commonly known as changing horses but not the player."
"The horse equipment should be made of leather or gilded silver saddles. The stirrups should be short for easy standing and hitting the ball. The horse's mane should be braided to prevent entanglement. The ball should be a hollow wooden ball painted red or with colorful patterns..."
Kang spoke clearly and explained every detail thoroughly. But the more detailed she was, the tighter the string in Li Wanming's heart became.
Was she really being so kind?
— She was willing to teach her so carefully, which clearly meant there was a big trap in this matter!
But there was no way. Xiao Jingnan had given her such an absurd and extremely difficult task. She had to understand the rules of the polo tournament in detail so that she could formulate countermeasures and hit the target accurately.
"Before the game, we need to offer sacrifices to the Horse God and drink the 'Opening Polo Wine'. We also need to prepare fruits and drinks for the ladies in the tents on both sides." Kang took a sip of tea and continued.
"The prizes in previous years were set by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. You just need to go to the palace in advance to ask. The prize the year before last was a golden horse bit, and last year it was a jade - inlaid seven - treasure saddle with hunting patterns. They all went to the Marquis of Guangyi's Mansion, the Huo family..."
Hearing this, Li Wanming immediately perked up and put on an innocent and modest face. "Does the Marquis of Huo like playing polo very much?"
"Not only does he like it, but he's almost obsessed with it!" Kang smiled meaningfully. "Every year, he and his son never miss a polo tournament. The Huo family has almost won the championship in recent years."
She lowered her head and dusted off the non - existent dust on her sleeve robe, hinting, "I just don't know if the Marquis of Huo and his son will come to this year's polo tournament..."
Li Wanming of course knew what she meant.
A few months ago during the Dragon Boat Festival ceremony, she had just severely scolded the Huo family through Kang's hand. Now that she was organizing the polo tournament, it was very likely that the Huo family would deliberately not come because they were angry...
This wouldn't do!
She still had to poison them!
If they didn't come, how could she poison them and break their legs?
"Auntie~~" Li Wanming immediately changed to a sickly sweet voice and affectionately took Kang's arm. "Please teach me how to get the Marquis of Huo to participate!"
Kang felt proud. She knew that Li Wanming was asking for her help and enjoyed this kind of flattery very much.
She glanced at her and said, "It's not difficult. In previous years, because the Marquis of Huo and his son always stole the show at the polo tournament, Princess Chengping never came to watch the game. This time, if you can invite the princess... maybe there will be a turn for the better."
...
Damn it!
Li Wanming cursed silently in her heart.
Wasn't this just trying to use her to force Princess Chengping to submit indirectly?
If it really worked, Kang could also take credit with the Huo family and use Princess Chengping as a bargaining chip to repair her relationship with the Huo family!
No wonder Kang didn't show the slightest bit of embarrassment when she mentioned the Huo family just now. It turned out she had this in mind.
"I'm afraid aunt won't be willing..."
Li Wanming said embarrassedly.
"If you can't invite her..." Kang suddenly withdrew her hand, and her tone turned cold. "This year's polo tournament will probably lose a lot of its luster. Maybe even the Empress Dowager will inquire about it!"
Li Wanming cursed in her heart but pretended to be scared on the surface. "Will it really alarm the Empress Dowager? This won't do! The Prince of Ning's Mansion is in a precarious situation now! I... I'll go and invite aunt tomorrow..."
Kang smiled satisfactorily. The fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were filled with pride. "If the Crown Princess can invite the princess, this year's polo tournament will definitely be more exciting than previous years! It will surely satisfy the Empress Dowager!"