C43

After breakfast, everyone accompanied the Emperor and Queen to the royal garden. Today was the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Dragon Boat in the imperial garden had long been prepared for the emperor's order.

A few already prepared dragon boats were docked on the surface of the lake in the imperial garden. A few teams of people were already standing in front of the boats, all dressed in red and dressed up in their best attire.

Shang Yiqing was a bit excited. She had seen people competing in the dragon boat competition in the past few years, but she did not expect to see such a competition in the palace this year. For a while, she was excited.

The emperor shifted his gaze to the crowd and learned, "We've discussed this year's Dragon Boat Competition with the empress. It's different from previous years, you need to have some new ideas. What do you think?"

"That's good." Everyone laughed.

The eunuch at the side of the emperor looked around at the crowd and passed down the imperial edict, "With the blessing of the heavens, the emperor decrees: In this year's Dragon Boat Competition, the four princes will each sail a boat. With the same technique, the first one to reach the other side will be the victor.

As soon as the imperial edict was delivered, the princes looked at each other, because none of them had expected the emperor to issue such an imperial edict. They also hadn't expected that the princes would personally pilot the dragon boat.

Shang Yiqing glanced at Fang Zinan. Looking at his frail body, she thought to herself: "I wonder if this guy can do it?" Although she knew that Fang Zinan looked weak, his martial arts were actually quite good. However, with his current situation, he couldn't easily use his martial arts, especially recently, when the poison was used more frequently than before.

Ning Wang turned back and glanced at Fang Zinan. "Prince Rong, your body … "How about this, you don't need to participate." His tone was sincere, but Shang Yiqing saw a hint of a mischievous smile on his face, making her feel extremely displeased!

Empress Chen smiled and shifted her gaze to Fang Zinan. She asked with concern, "Prince Rong, how are you? Why don't you listen to Ning Wang's words? How about you watch the fight?"

Fang Zinan didn't say anything. His handsome face looked calm and collected, and there was a trace of melancholy between his brows. His every move seemed to be filled with arrogance and sorrow that didn't require the sympathy of the people around him.

Shang Yiqing felt a pang in her heart.

At this time, King Ding smiled. "If Prince Rong feels that your physical strength can support it, then it won't be a problem to give it a try."

King Xuan only smiled and looked at Fang Zinan, not saying a word.

Shang Yiqing suddenly felt a nameless fire raging in her heart. For some reason, she stood up and smiled at the crowd, "Everyone is too concerned about Prince Rong, chenqie has thought of joining the tournament with Prince Rong. Would esteemed wangfei agree?"

When Empress Chen heard this, her face revealed an astonished expression before revealing a cordial smile, because she didn't expect Princess Rong to stand out. Perhaps she was the only one among all the consorts who would do so. Empress Chen sighed in her heart, somewhat moved but also somewhat shocked.

The emperor's face was also filled with astonishment. He couldn't help but exchange some ideas with Empress Chen. "Empress, what do you think?"

"Since Prince Rong and his wife have such deep feelings for each other, how could I not agree?" Empress Chen raised her head, her beautiful eyes showing her support and encouragement, as if giving Shang Yiqing a lot of courage.

Everyone's eyes were on Shang Yiqing. She was very confident at first, but when she saw everyone's gaze, she was at a loss. She turned her gaze to Fang Zinan.

His face was still calm and composed, but there was a trace of a smile in his eyes, a smile that others could not detect. He then nodded to Shang Yueqing, "Since Princess is so supportive of me, then I must participate."

A gratified smile appeared on Empress Chen's face. Ever since she favored Shang Yiqing and married her to Prince Rong, she felt that her decision was correct, because she saw a kind of persistence in Shang Yiqing that she had never seen before. It was obvious that Shang Yiqing was not a person who pursued fame and fortune. Her kindness towards people stemmed from her own character!

Drum beats sounded out as several princes arrived at the dragon boat they had booked. Fang Zinan's Shang Yiqing also sat on the dragon boat.

Fang Zinan suddenly turned his face to the side and asked: "Princess, did you row across the dragon boat before? Are you sure you can do it? "

"Nope." Shang Yiqing answered honestly.

A wry smile appeared on Fang Zinan's face: "Then why did you come here to join in the fun?"

"As an imperial concubine, I feel that there is a need to protect the reputation of the palace! "Besides, I have already thought it through. I will be holding myself back in the front part of the demonstration, so I will leave the rest to you. Don't let everyone look down on you!" With that said, Shang Yiqing walked over to the drum and sat down.

There were twelve people on the dragon boat, a total of two rows, five on the left and five on the right, and one on each side, combining twelve people.

Generally speaking, boating is unlike other competitions. People with little strength can be competent. One must be familiar with the water, have experience, and be able to fly on the boat. Therefore, even those who had practiced martial arts might not be able to be of use.

The dragon boats of the four princes were divided into red, yellow, blue and green. Because this was the first time such a competition had taken place, no one was confident. It seemed like they all had the same level of confidence. It seemed like no one had much hope of winning. Before the competition began, a firecracker was set off, a dragon and lion dance was followed by the sound of a ceremonial drum and the dragon-boat competition officially began.

Everyone applauded and applauded, shouting and cheering. Finally, there was the sound of a cannon, and four dragon-shaped boats that were about to be launched flew out at the same time!

The four dragon boats broke through the waves like four arrows.

At first, the four dragon boats were almost parallel. The current was fast and fierce, but after a while, the four dragon boats started moving one after the other. Two of them fell behind, while the first two were almost even.

Not long after, the blue and red ones were already ahead, followed by the yellow and green ones.

The people on the shore shouted and jumped!

"Hong Zhou, Hong Zhou."

"Blue boat!" "Blue boat!"

Some people were also shouting, "Yellow Boat, Yellow Boat, quick, row!"

However, no one called out 'Green Ship', because the person on the green boat was the King Rong. However, no one called out 'Green Ship', because the person on the green boat was the King Rong.

Shang Yiqing was furious. She struck the drum with all her might as she shouted at Fang Zinan, "Prince Rong, you have to try your best not to embarrass me too!"

Thousands of people were clamoring on the shore. The scene was truly lively. The Emperor sat on the other side of the river, looking very happy, and very excited to see him. The few consort princesses were more like children as they yelled their throats out. They were no longer the usual dignified and graceful noble ladies!