However, since Emperor Yuanfeng said that an alliance was not necessary, Concubine Pang felt relieved and became more tolerant towards the princesses. After all, they were not going to be her daughters-in-law anyway, so it didn't matter if they were a little arrogant, as long as they didn't cause any trouble.
Who knows what you fear will come true? A few days later, when Concubine Pang was still dressing up, she heard Aunt Cui walk in and report, "Your Majesty, go and take a look. Princess Ana is fighting with our Eleventh Princess."
Concubine Pang still had her hand on the phoenix hairpin she was about to wear. When she heard this, she thought she had misheard and turned around to ask, "What did you say? Who fought with whom?"
It's obvious that Princess Ana is not someone who is easy to deal with. Concubine Pang had already seen this, but the Eleventh Princess has never been one to cause trouble. With Su Yao watching over her, how could she have a conflict with Princess Ana and even start a fight
She didn't care about anything else and asked in a deep voice: "What's going on?"
Aunt Cui explained to her: "We have been hunting these days. Since most of the women in our family stayed in the tent or hunted small things, Princess Ana and her friends looked down on us and said a few provocative words. At first, Your Highness did not argue with them. But in the evening, because Your Highness hunted a snow fox, Princess Ana also took a fancy to the snow fox. Neither of them was willing to give in, so Princess Ana simply shot through the fur of the snow fox with one arrow. Before, the eleventh princess of ours specially shot the head to preserve the fur..."
Princess Ana wanted to get more arrows, which clearly showed that she couldn't get them, so she didn't want to give them to Princess Eleven.
This is something that the competitive Princess Ana would do. Concubine Pang rubbed her brows and said, "Did they fight because of this?"
"They didn't fight, but because of this conflict, Princess Ana threw the snow fox to Xianning County Lady, saying that they couldn't shoot anything anyway, so she just gave it to them..." Aunt Cui said hurriedly: "Everyone couldn't stand it anymore, so they made a bet to see who could hunt more."
Concubine Pang was originally eager to go and see what was going on, but she stopped moving after hearing this. She said indifferently, "Since they are just children playing, let them play."
Aunt Cui didn't expect that Concubine Pang was not anxious at all, and said in surprise: "Your Majesty, the Eleventh Princess..."
Concubine Pang's eyes were stern. "She is a princess! A princess naturally has a princess's pride. Ana has been provoking you again and again, and she keeps talking about how great you are, the noble ladies of the Great Zhou. She should be taught a lesson. Eleven has been riding and shooting since he was young. We will know if he is good enough after a competition."
If they win, they will completely humiliate Ana and the others, and let them know that the people of Da Zhou are not inferior to them in riding and archery.
If you lose... .
It was just girls playing around.
Besides, Concubine Pang felt that with Su Yao around, since the Eleventh Princess would agree to the competition, she would naturally have some confidence.
She smiled and said, "Since the children want to compete, I will give a prize. Whoever wins will be given this hairpin."
That hairpin belonged to Jiu Shu, and it was adorned with bright red rubies, which dazzled people's eyes when held in the hand. In the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was a gift that only the first-class ladies could wear. If a noble lady of the Great Zhou Dynasty won and received this reward, her future would definitely not be a worry.
Aunt Cui understood Concubine Pang’s meaning and hurried to pass on the message.
Princess Mingchang on the other side also got the news and frowned and asked, "What kind of competition is this? It's really ridiculous! What's the point of competing with them?! Winning is meaningless, and losing is not good."
The girls on the grasslands were good at riding, and it was normal for them to like hunting. So what if the girls from Da Zhou couldn't compete with them? Da Zhou didn't care about that.
There is no point in competing if you win, but if you lose, it will prove that the girls of the Great Zhou are indeed not as good as the girls of Mongolia.
This is a very embarrassing thing. These girls are making such a fuss, and Concubine Pang actually agrees to it
Madam Li was also a little nervous. She had never expected that her daughter would actually compete with Princess Ana and the others. She could only hesitate and say, "The Eleventh Princess wants to compete. If she goes against the flow, wouldn't that make things difficult for the Eleventh Princess?"
Princess Mingchang realized that this was indeed the case and asked with some annoyance, "What are they competing for?"
"I heard it's a horseback archery competition. Whoever shoots the most prey wins." The person who went to get the news came back and reported: "There will be three rounds of competition. It's not only about who shoots the most prey, but also about riding skills."
Princess Mingchang couldn't help but shake her head after hearing this.
In terms of archery and horse riding, she is better than the Mongolian princesses. She is not as good as the noble ladies of the Great Zhou in any of their strengths. She compares her own weaknesses with others' strengths. Isn't that crazy
Madam Li also asked, "What are we competing for now?"
"Now the Imperial Guards have chosen a hunting area for them to compete in. The contest is about who can shoot the most prey. The princesses from the grassland form one team, and our team is the eleventh princess, our county lady, and the county ladies of Xianning and Changning."
Madam Li clenched her hands and said worriedly, "Mother, then, then I'll go and take a look too?"
Princess Mingchang felt that it didn't matter whether she watched it or not, after all, there was no chance of winning. But when she heard that Concubine Pang had also placed a bet, and that the wife of Duke Pingguo and the others had all gone to watch, she thought about it and agreed.
Madam Li hurried to the paddock, but the girls were already ready and were about to mount their horses when she hurriedly called out to Lady Yunzhang.
Princess Yunzhang turned around and saw that it was her mother. She dismounted from her horse, walked towards her and called out "Mother".
"Why are you competing in horseback archery for no reason?" Madam Li looked her up and down. Seeing that she had changed into riding clothes, she lowered her voice and asked, "Is it...?"
Did the Eleventh Princess force her to compete
Princess Yunzhang snorted coldly, "It's none of other people's business. It's Princess Ana who is too arrogant. You don't know that my brother was injured because of protecting the Fifth Prince. Princess Ana actually laughed at the noble sons and ladies of our Great Zhou for being powerless and asked us to admit that the women of our Great Zhou are not as good as the women of Mongolia. How can we bear this?"
In fact, most of the girls from royal families and noble families like them would practice riding and archery. After all, before the incident with the late crown prince, they had to accompany the royal family to the hunting grounds for hunting.
Especially Young Master Li and his men also raise hunting dogs and greyhounds for hunting. How could they be as despicable as those Mongolian princesses said
Mrs. Li had nothing to say when she heard her daughter say that. She could only remind her, "Be careful in everything you do. Don't be stubborn."