Super Zoo-Chapter 752 - 734: The Honor of the Royal Family?

If Suming were here, he would definitely recognize an old acquaintance in the box.

Aside from Eugene Haya, another young Eastern woman in the box looked more like a high school girl, her tender and fresh face betrayed an undisguisable air of disdain. She was dressed in a white suit, embroidered with a blooming yellow hibiscus on the collar.

Eugene had been in front of the box's screen, manipulating the image, and using the cameras spread throughout the venue, she seemed to be searching for something.

"Found it," Eugene suddenly said.

Princess Haya could do nothing but shake her head and smile at Eugene, but the other young high school girl was curious and leaned in, "Is he the one who offended you, Prince Eugene?"

"It's this person!" Eugene pointed with her slender finger at a guy on the screen drinking cola—who else could it be but Suming?

"He looks very ordinary, a sleazy-looking Huaxia man." The high school girl looked quite fresh, yet her words were unpleasant. She raised her fine eyebrows and whispered, "Sister Eugene, do you need my help to teach him a lesson? I brought the guard of my palace..."

Eugene turned to glance at Princess Haya and the high-ranking female officer sent by the Xiangjiang Police to accompany them throughout, then shook her head to the high school girl, "Thank you for your kind offer, Princess Jiako. However, I will handle this by aboveboard means."

Princess Jiako made a noise of acknowledgment, but her tone clearly didn't agree with what Eugene called 'aboveboard'.

Unlike England's system, the Japanese Imperial Family, although lacking legal authority, is more united and mysterious, preserving a set of exclusive royal institutions dating back to ancient times. One significant division is made up of guards loyal to the dynasty across generations. Or to put it another way, they are the royal priests and ninjas.

In Japan's history, there have been female emperors, and unlike Huaxia, women in power are not rejected. As a princess from one of the six palaces, Akihito, who looks like a high school girl, Princess Jiako, has the right to call upon the exclusive guards of her father, Duke Akihito.

In fact, her entourage on this trip to Xiangjiang includes several formidable ninjas, though officially they are security guards.

As World War II ended, human society entered a rapidly developing civilized era, and all of the world's royal families no longer wield power, have reformed, or abdicated, becoming symbols of their countries. Like the Western Countries, kings are merely titular heads of state, and members of all social strata, although still proud, have accepted and become accustomed to this reality, treating themselves as ordinary people.

Japan is slightly different, though. Emperors from around the world, including those from Ancient Huaxia, are, after all, 'human'. At most, they claim to be the son of heaven, the spokesperson of the gods, but fundamentally, they are human. Monarchs from Ancient Europe, whether powerful or not, at least nominally had to accept coronation by the Pope.

Only the Japanese Imperial Family regards itself as 'gods', blending deity with humanity. The Imperial Family of Japan, including the emperor himself, in order to highlight their divine nature, do not have surnames.

This is evident from the titles. Around the world, including the British Queen, they are merely 'kings', translated into English as king; the only one referred to as 'emperor' is Japan, and the emperor, when translated, is emperor.

In summary, most of the young members of the Japanese Imperial Family indeed have different views from those of Western Europe's royal families, within their very bones runs the blood of feeling superior to others.

The female officer in the box saw the person Eugene was pointing to on the screen from afar, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Is it him? When did he arrive in Xiangjiang? And how did he come to know this princess from England?

...

The opening ceremony's collective formal dressage was held in the center of the track, where, according to competition rules, riders entered the arena, guiding their horses through a series of connected, standardized movements, which then smoothly transitioned into the advanced steps of the competition. The goal was to test the obedience, tractability, training level of the horses, and their responsiveness to the rider's reins, legs, and seat aids, as well as the coordination between horse and rider.

The judges scored based on whether the designated movements made by the rider and horse were correct and orderly, whether their cooperation was coordinated, whether the horse was compliant and spirited, among other factors. In official competitions, there are three rounds, with the first two rounds consisting of prescribed movements determined by the national equestrian federation, and the final round allows the rider and horse to perform freestyle music and choreographed dance steps.

Since it was an opening ceremony performance and not an official competition, there were no individual prescribed movements, and the horses moved in unison, performing the designated movements with grace. The riders, dressed in flamboyant riding attire, exuded the style of gentlemen and ladies—composed and elegant. The horses' coats were brushed until they shone like satin, and their manes were braided into chic braids, offering a delightful sight.

To the novice in dressage, the formal steps may seem like high-level horsemanship techniques, but in reality, it is quite the opposite; dressage is the most challenging test of riding skills and is the foundation of all equestrian arts.

It seemed the horse enthusiasts from Xiangjiang were familiar with the team leader Princess Anne, who upon making her entrance received a warm welcome, and throughout the performance, the entire venue erupted in cheers, applauding the princess.

After the short and spectacular opening ceremony, the preliminary stage began officially.

A total of thirty-two horses competed in the first round, divided into four groups, with each group competing. The top two of each group went directly to the next round, followed by the next best eight based on total scores, excluding the aforementioned eight, which made it sixteen horses competing in the second round. From there, the top twelve were selected based on scores to participate in the finals.