Forced Into the Palace: Becoming the Emperor's Favorite
Chapter 54: Abandoning Ship for Survival

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Abandoning Ship for Survival

The brother Chu Xin mentioned by Lady Chu, is currently standing at the head of the White Team, his attire slightly different from others, making it clear he is the leader of the White Team.

He shared a similar visage with Lady Chu, only he was more sturdy and imposing.

He seemed spirited and high-spirited, but his eyes bore the same three parts of mockery as Lady Chu’s.

Truly, they are siblings by blood!

Observing their demeanor, one could guess what kind of discipline prevails in their family!

In today’s dragon boat teams, those from the White Team are all from the Northwest, more or less having fathers or brothers with positions in the Northwest Army.

Hence, they were determined to triumph today!

Chu Xin, now twenty-five years old, is the oldest among them and has already begun to take the limelight in the Northwest Army, thus his role as leader is unquestioned.

So there’s Chu Xin standing on the dragon boat of the White Team, raising his arm to call.

"Men of the Northwest!"

"Here!"

"Today, show your skills well, let the Emperor witness our prowess! Don’t dishonor the cultivation by the Marquis of Northwest!"

"Yes!"

The White Team initiated their chant, and the other teams were not to be outdone, quickly following with their slogans.

The scene grew increasingly lively, everyone wearing excitement and thrill on their faces.

Yet only Lin Xingzhi and Jiang Huanqing seemed out of place.

One was there to see his sister, the other to accompany his brother to see his sister, so their thoughts naturally differed from others.

However, unlike Lin Xingzhi, whose eyes were all on his sister, Jiang Huanqing, though young, spoke with great tact.

Chu Xin’s face, wishing for the world to know of his skills, fell into Jiang Huanqing’s eyes and truly seemed an eyesore.

Rolling his eyes, he immediately pulled Lin Xingzhi and said.

"Brother He Song, quickly prepare yourself, your sister is also watching up there; see how confident this brother is, one can guess how much prestige his sister has in the palace!"

Although Jiang Huanqing had not entered the palace, he spoke with a clear understanding of the palace affairs.

Thus, his reminders were all crucial.

Lin Xingzhi looked at him once, agreeing with the sentiment, so he nodded towards Lin Wanyi’s direction and began training.

Though he and Jiang Huanqing were halfway introduced into the team, they did not slack off during training.

Otherwise, neither would be sun-tanned and glossy.

The Green Team members were not very talkative, and certainly, their strength was not the best among the eight teams, not the favorites for winning.

But precisely because of this, they had no burden of competitiveness, so each one remained calm.

While the other teams were still boisterously shouting slogans, the Green Team had already settled in the dragon boat.

With closed eyes, they focused on the waves and oars within the lake.

This calm demeanor was observed by both the Emperor and the Fourth Prince, adding a touch of amusement to their eyes.

The reason the Fourth Prince was invited today was to select new recruits for the Imperial Armor Army.

Teams like the White Team, already part of the Northwest Army, the Fourth Prince had no plans for; he abhors excessive prominence and arrogance in his command.

Thus, upon seeing those ambitiously active individuals, he quickly overlooked them.

However, the Green Team’s actions caught his attention, and who knows how such focus would translate into performance?

The war drums sounded, everyone settled inside the dragon boats, poised to take off.

Compared to Chu Xin’s absolute determination, Lin Xingzhi appeared more composed.

For him, the main concern was how to coordinate with teammates to ensure steadier progress of the dragon boat.

Thus, when the command sounded, the entire Green Team demonstrated extreme harmony and cooperation.

The slogans they shouted were uniform and synchronized.

The drummer seated at the front remained unfazed, fully concentrating on beating the drums of their dragon boat.

And those rowing were single-minded, forcefully fixated on the drummer’s rhythm.

Heave ho, heave ho, heave ho!

The dragon boats below raced towards the finish line, with the White Team, naturally, leading the charge, followed closely by the Red Team.

The two teams sped neck-and-neck, desperately hoping to leave the other behind.

Whereas the Green Team was only in third place, as for the other teams, their initial pace had faltered, falling half a boat length behind, unable to recover.

Chu Xin sat at the very front of the dragon boat, being both the leader and the first rower.

His rhythm was crucial.

During usual practice, everyone followed his rhythm as the standard.

But today, the rowers from the Red Team were unwilling to concede, and accelerated their paddling rhythm as soon as they began, slightly surpassing the White Team.

Upon seeing this, Chu Xin couldn’t remain composed.

With a loud shout, he disregarded the drumbeat and accelerated at his own pace, which threw the entire dragon boat’s rhythm into disarray.

The people behind him failed to respond in time, resulting in chaos in their rowing.

As the rowing speeds varied, the dragon boat naturally slowed down.

Just like someone running at full speed suddenly becoming uncoordinated, inevitably leading to a stumble.

Seeing the White Team fall one arrow’s distance behind the Red Team in an instant, Chu Xin couldn’t tolerate such a situation!

In a fit of rage, he shouted at the people behind him.

"Are you all blind? Row!"

Others, who had never witnessed such a scene, were so terrified by the already bloodthirsty Chu Xin that they nearly dropped their oars into the water.

Watching the arrow’s distance gradually become half a boat length, not to mention winning, they feared ending up last.

By the rails, Lady Chu’s face had alternated between green and white, shouting without regard for the occasion.

"Brother, row faster!"

As she spoke out, other palace concubines and clan relatives, who had family aboard the dragon boats, also began shouting, instantly causing chaos.

At this moment, the Green Team shot forward like bamboo, swiftly heading towards the finish.

And the Red Team, not to be outdone, seemed slightly ahead from an overhead view.

Seeing that winning was out of reach, Chu Xin swung his paddle sideways, causing the boat to capsize and throwing people into the water.

He even had the Red Team’s stern broken in the process.

The destabilized Red Team suddenly had disordered drumbeats, spinning in the lake and entangling with the Purple and Blue Teams nearby.

"Oh dear."

The Red Team’s boat took on significant water, with it gushing in through the breach at the stern.

With the people aboard all being heavyweights, the water added even faster.

Soon, they could only jump ship to save themselves.

The dragon boat race, which was progressing well midway to the course, now had people and boats spread across it.

Chu Xin fumed as he gazed ahead.

Quickly, a dragon boat cut past the finish line.

Cheering erupted from the spectators in the stands!