THE CEO's LOVE 142 Tournament Iv

They seemed to be a pause in the clapping and cheering. Hearts palpitated, chests rose and fell.

And with one swift move, she flashed past him...

"He won!"

"Wow!"

"Congratulations!"

Ruqin looked up to see Master Su smiling down at her, he raised a thumb at her.

Her heart was still beating loudly, she just couldn't believe this!

The spectators rose to their feet as the clapping continued.

Zeng came to stand beside her, he looked at her, he had been taken by surprise now he knew he shouldn't take this girl for a joke! She was here to take away the light on him.

Weidong came in at third and fell on his horse, when his breathing stabilized, he turned to face Ruqin. "What was all that for?" He couldn't help but ask. Was the word surprised, enough to describe how he felt? No, actually, gobsmacked would fit it better. "You have me gooseb.u.mps!"

Ruqin eyes squinted and he knew she was either smiling or mocking him. 

Since the tournament was arranged by master Su, every announcement was left for him to make.

He beckoned for her to get off her horse, and she did, Weidong took the horse's reins from her.

Ruqin climbed the long step and stopped directly in front of the emperor.

"And the winner for today's horse race is," the drum beat came and when it does down, "Yan Ruqin!"

They was a thundering clap from the spectators, everyone was too engrossed in their feelings to have heard her name.

The empress suddenly frowned. "You're a woman?" She turned to the equally surprised emperor. "Women aren't allowed to join in horse racing! What is all this Master Su?" Her voice was soft and gentle but she had waited at the right time to speak up. So everyone had heard her clearly.

"She's a woman?"

"Wait, what?"

"I think I'm hearing things!"

"Women are not allowed to practice horse racing,"

"Did she disguise herself as a man just so she could get in?"

"That means the first runner up should be the winner!"

"She must have used foul means to win!"

"I agree with you!"

Every sentence made was making the empress, Wei Ying feel good!

"I think this lady should be punished for deceiving us!"

"Yes, the emperor should punish her!"

Hearing their comments, Ruqin wanted to laugh. She had won, with no foul moves! She had never disguised herself, it wasn't her fault they had eye problems. What is it about punis.h.i.+ng her? She didn't do anything wrong!

"What is the meaning of all these?"

"Cut!" Director Ye screamed. "The emotion, the anger, that's what I need. You just don't sit there all relaxed and calm."

Xiujun nodes, and tries to get into character. Xueyan was still in front of her Xiujun watching as the man got into character and Fangxi staring daggers at her.

Director Ye turned the camera back on and as always he zoomed the camera in and it happened to be on Fangxi's face. "Fangxi, cast your eyes down!"

Fangxi quickly looked down at her fingers, "No! Not like that! You're not a maid. You're the empress so your look should be elegant!"

Fangxi fumed, she was doing just fine but the director was too blind to see that. Xueyan hadn't even received a single correction but one was delivered to Xiujun. Is the director getting really old that his thinking is somehow?

She could only say this in her mind and not out aloud.

"I think we're doing just fine! Don't you think Xueyan is kneeling with a straight back? She should be the one corrected here!" Yin Anhao said, a big frown on her face.

"Miss Yin," the producer started.

"Just do as you're told!" Xiujun completed.

Yin Anhao never expected Xiujun to be the one to speak up so she was taken by surprise. She didn't dare say a single word till the shoot ended.

"The cameras are set again, are y'all ready?" The director asked.

"Yes," they chorused.

"What is going on here‽" The voice of the emperor reverberated in the open field. "How did you let a woman play the game? How many more women are pretending to be men here?"

Master Su didn't look shaken, instead he smiled and gave a deep bow. "Your majesty, this lady here is Yan Ruqin, she might be a woman but she's so good at men games, you'd mistake her for a man. It was never a disguise, if it was, I wouldn't have called her by her real name. I had only put her in the game to show you that we could have female soldiers too! A female soldier by the empress side wouldn't be such a bad idea.

I'm sorry if you misunderstood my intention!"

"A female soldier?" The empress asked. "Wouldn't that be as useless as my maids?"

"No ma, this woman right here is very strong."

She scowled. "As a woman, she should be learning embroidery. Not here dressing as an a.s.sa.s.sin!" She wondered what was so special about this woman. "What is so special about her?"

Master Su said nothing again.

"Would love to prove it to you," 

Since the time Master Su started his explanation, everywhere had quietened down. But the sudden question made eyes pop out in shock. Neck giraffe to see who it was.

Yan Ruqin raised her eyes to look straight into the empress's eyes.

And Wei Ying flared up in rage. "Who is this lowlife‽ How dare you look up at me‽"

"You're mistaken my lady, I'm a n.o.ble."

"n.o.ble? Did she just say she's a n.o.ble?"

"Wow! This young lady is really thick skinned to talk back to the empress with such arrogant tone "

"Yes, I believe she's crazy!"

"She lacks home training, and that's it!"

Everyone else had a thing to say about her, but she didn't mind.

"What do you say?" Amidst the angers directed at her by the spectators, Ruqin continued. "I would love to prove to you, my lady!"

"I'm not your lady! And i don't need you proving nothing! Get out of my sight!" 

'She's quick to lose her temper, how does she remain the nation's empress?' Ruqin had no idea.

"Take off your mask!" The emperor commanded.

"I'm sorry, I can't!"

The rejection from her even made Master Su high. What did she mean?

"Take off your mask!" The emperor commanded again. But Ruqin wasn't yielding anytime soon.

This two clowns, how are they able to rule the nation with so much fire burning in them and almost burning them too?

"Until the tournament is over!"

"Where did you bring this wench from?" Wei Ying asked. "There's no single manner instilled in her! She should be beheaded for defiling the emperor's command.

Master Su didn't plan for all these, why was she making it hard for herself?

"Guards!" Wei Ying called. "Seize her!"

Master Su opened his mouth but the look directed at him by the empress made him keep shut. A very wrong idea! A very wrong one!! Master Su chanted in his head.

Two guards came to seize her, and she didn't react. She just let herself be carried away. The guards made her kneel in the hot sand. And sentences like,

"Yes, she deserves it!"

"This and many more for deceiving us and being disrespectful!"

"Who breeds a girl without manners?"

"I bet her mother will be too ashamed to claim her!"

Popped out, but Ruqin remain unfazed. She only cared about winning, winning and winning. She wanted to see her old man so badly.

A dance performance was carried out by a group of five girls. Wearing colourful hanfus, with a ribbon tied to their hair.

When they were done, the game continued. Painters were called upon to paint the emperor sitting elegantly on his throne with his brothers behind him, the empress dowager by the left side and the empress at the right.

The winner was a young boy thirteen years. He had brought the painting into life with the skin colours he added. It was more like a picture taken than a drawing.

The games continued untill the last part, a sword fight between the four kingdoms. The kingdoms would present one of their soldier for the final part.

After pleading with the emperor to forgive Ruqin mannerisms, he went down and told her to follow him.

"You're the one to represent the Han kingdom."

"But Master Su," Weidong started. "Zeng won last year, so I'm the next suitable candidate."

"Yes, you're. For now, Ruqin would do better."

Weidong was taken by surprise. "Master Su,"

"Here," Master Su pa.s.sed a sword she easily recognized to her. "What should you focus on?"

Ruqin marveled at her sword, "I missed you so much." She hugged the sword close to her.

Master Su was surprised but didn't let it show. "Yan Ruqin, what should you focus on?"

Ruqin then pulled the sword out of its sheat! She raised it up to the blazing sun. "No blood!"

Master Su nodded. "Now go!"