After refusing marriage, she was pampered by the prince who acted as a shield.

Chapter 50: The Contest

Princess Lin'an said with a half-smile, "This princess has a maid who is extremely skilled at massage."

"Whenever I feel unwell, I ask her to massage me, and I feel better in no time."

"You've already broken a bone; wouldn't walking back aggravate the injury?"

"How about letting my maid give you a massage?"

The other noble ladies chimed in, "That's right, why not let the princess have her maidservant massage her?"

"Second Miss Lin, you don't dare to come over? Could it be that your back doesn't hurt at all?"

Lin Rusi curled her lips, knowing they were deliberately making things difficult for her, and couldn't be bothered to pay them any attention.

"No, no, my daughter is coming right away."

I must say, the princess's maid's massage was indeed very comfortable, and the pain subsided in no time.

Princess Lin'an looked at Lin Rusi with a half-smile and asked, "How are you feeling now?"

"Thank you, Princess. My daughter is much better now."

"Now that you're all better, join me in playing pitch-pot."

Lin Rusi was stunned for a moment, never expecting that the Princess of Lin'an had gone to such lengths to have someone massage her in order to play the game of pitch-pot.

Everyone in the capital knew that Princess Lin'an was a master of pitch-pot; every noblewoman who had competed with her had suffered a crushing defeat.

Now that she's using her strengths to compete with him in pitch-pot, her true intentions are crystal clear.

The other ladies also wore expressions of anticipation, waiting to see what would happen.

Lin Rusi gave a helpless twitch of her lips, finding everything rather amusing.

Did you really think she was afraid of the pitch-pot game?

"My daughter is willing to compete with Princess Lin'an."

Princess Lin'an laughed heartily, "As expected of the Prime Minister's daughter, she's so generous!"

"However, I must warn you beforehand that my pitch-pot skills are unparalleled. If you try to compete with me, you'll be walking into a trap."

Lin Rusi smiled slightly, "The princess's skill in pitch-pot is so superb that everyone in the capital, from His Majesty to the youngest children, knows of her prowess."

Princess Lin'an was very pleased with these words.

She raised an eyebrow, her gaze towards Lin Rusi filled with doubt. "What are you thinking? Knowing how formidable I am, you still dare to challenge me to a game of pitch-pot?"

Faced with Princess Lin'an's questioning, Lin Rusi smiled slightly, "Princess, have you ever heard a saying?"

"There are always people more capable than you, and there's always a higher level to reach. Why would my daughter dare to compare herself to them?"

Princess Lin'an's fighting spirit was ignited. "Hmph, you're so arrogant. It's time to show you what I, the princess, can do!"

The other noble ladies cast disdainful and mocking glances at Lin Rusi.

"She's so arrogant! The princess will definitely teach her a lesson!"

"Some people need to be properly disciplined before they realize their true worth."

"Isn't that right? She even dares to provoke the princess; she's really something."

"Snakes don't know what's good for them, let's just watch the show."

No one believed that Lin Rusi was really capable of defeating Princess Lin'an; they all thought she was just boasting.

Lin Rusi didn't explain much, just smiled slightly and calmly faced the challenge.

"Before we begin, I would like to say one more thing."

Lin Rusi stepped forward, smiling as she stared at Princess Lin'an. "Since we're going to have a competition, there should be a prize. That would give us more motivation, wouldn't it? Winning would be more interesting too."

Princess Lin'an smiled brightly, "Alright, as you wish."

What kind of prize do you want?

Lin Rusi took the hairpin off her head and solemnly placed it on the table. "This is my prize."

"it is good."

"I, the princess, will put up this coral hairpin, and the other girls can each pick out a hairpin as a prize, how about that?"

Without hesitation, the girls took off the hairpins from their hair buns and placed them on the table.

Before long, all sorts of hairpins were piled up as high as a small mountain, each one priceless.

"How about this kind of prize?"

Lin Rusi nodded slightly, picked up her equipment, and asked, "Who wants to go first?"

To intimidate Lin Rusi and to make her see her own strength, Princess Lin'an said, "I'll go first."

She picked up two sticks, tossed them gently, and they landed steadily in the pot.

A thunderous cheer erupted. Princess Lin'an, hands on her hips, raised her chin and glared angrily at Lin Rusi.

Lin Rusi remained calm and showed no fear whatsoever.

The second to go was Luo Lan. She wasn't as skilled as Princess Lin'an. She only took one stick, stared at the pot for a long time, and then picked up the other and threw it in accurately.

"Lin Rusi, before you lose too badly, you should just give up."

"So as not to embarrass yourself at home."

Luo Lan looked at Lin Rusi with a mocking gaze, her eyes filled with disdain and sarcasm.

Faced with her provocation, Lin Rusi smiled slightly, "I haven't voted yet, so we don't know who will lose badly."

"Lin Ruqin, sometimes you shouldn't laugh too soon."

She leaned close to Lin Ruqin's ear, lowered her voice, and said, word by word, "So as not to hurt too much when I slap my face."

Luo Lan was shocked, her lips twitched, and she thought Lin Rusi was ungrateful.

"We'll see."

She wanted to see if Lin Rusi's verbal skills could match her pitching skills.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lin Rusi picked up the six sticks.

"She must be desperate to win, picking up six at once."

"Lin Rusi is really shameless. She might not even be able to throw one in, yet she dares to take six."

Princess Lin'an and Luo Lan were also surprised by Lin Rusi's audacity.

Some of the noble ladies present struggled to even get one stick in, while she dared to take six.

Little did she know that the more she took, the harder it was to get the ball in, and the lower the chance of hitting the target. Lin Rusi was digging her own grave!

Lin Rusi ignored the doubts around her and inserted the six rods straight into the pot.

The lively discussion abruptly ceased after the six-rooted wine pot incident.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the six roots in the pot, and at the composed Lin Rusi, in disbelief.

No one believed that she was the one who cast those six roots.

However, everyone saw that it was indeed Lin Rusi who put it in.

Princess Lin'an's face immediately fell.

She clenched her fists, completely taken aback by Lin Rusi's reaction.

Lin Rusi's eyes curved into a pair of beautiful crescent moons. "Princess, is this alright?"

Meeting Lin Rusi's smug smile, Princess Lin'an cursed, "Heh, stop putting on that smug look."

"You only won by chance!"

She frowned, took off the hairpin from her hair bun again, and slammed it on the table. "This princess wants to continue competing with you!"

Lin Rusi calmly picked a stalk and placed it inside. "Your Highness, I'll keep you company to the end."

Seeing this, the other noble ladies also took off their hairpins and piled them up into a small mountain.

The second round of the competition was a riddle contest, and Princess Lin'an let Lin Rusi go first this time.

"Princess, are you sure you want me to start first?"