Garden Party (4)
The maids who had served in Qiyang Palace were already used to such scenes, so they were much more composed, but the maid who was left behind by Mrs. Li to entertain Prince An and Princess An was taken aback after seeing the interaction between the two.
The maid who had long heard about the volatile temper of Prince An peeked at Xie Xuanchen with trepidation, but to her surprise, Prince An did not lose his temper, and even the maids of Qiyang Palace did not seem shocked, like they had long been used to such scenes. She hurriedly cleared her mind and smiled at Mu Mingtang. “Princess An, you’re the most valuable guest for our Madam Li. The princess is someone our madam has been looking forward to meeting and sharing a meal with, but she never got an opportunity. Luckily, the Princess came today.”
Mu Mingtang nodded and continued the conversation with a grin, “I used to be too lazy to leave the house. If I knew Madam Li was so eager to meet me, I would have long visited her and enjoyed such a wonderful celebration hosted by her.”
“Princess An, our Madam, was over the moon when she learned of your participation.” The maid flattered Mu Mingtang, as she was again surprised to discover that although Prince An had a well-known reputation for being tough nut to get along with, his princess was unexpectedly a very amiable person and easy to talk with.
Mu Mingtang smiled faintly as a response. Seeing that Mu Mingtang was friendly and easy to get along with, the maid gradually became more bold and started to introduce Mu Mingtang about various things on the field.
“Polo and chuiwan are outdoor activities. And our madam had invited a special performance team as well. A women’s polo match will soon take place. Princess, look at that shed! Many gentlemen are gathered there to play Throwing The Pot.
[TL Notes: chuiwan- This was a sport in ancient China which resembled modern golf.]
‘Throwing the pot? Oh~ how interesting.’ Mu Mingtang was delighted to find something fun. She had some knowledge of that game. This sport had a long history and most noble men learned to play this game. Theoretically, this game requires players to throw arrows or sticks from a set distance into the thin-mouthed pot.
Seeing that Mu Mingtang was interested in Throwing The Pot, the maid started talking more vigorously, “Right now, all gentlemen are competing in this game because the third young master from the Jiangling mansion accomplished a Jian Xiao a few days ago. Now everyone has surrounded him to see if he could achieve it again.”
Puzzled, Mu Mingtang turned her head with inquiring eyes: “What is Jian Xiao?”
She naturally questioned Xie Xuanchen since she couldn’t understand something. “Jian Xiao is the name given to a shot in which an arrow bounces back after being thrown into a pot and hangs on the mouth of the pot like a hanging sword.” Xie Xuanchen gave a detailed explanation.
Mu Mingtang finally understood everything, and admired the young man who shot Jianxiao, “Oh~ it seems it’s difficult to perform that shot.”