Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Polo was the national sport of the Tang Dynasty. From the emperor to the common people, everyone loved it, even to the point of fanaticism. Every year during the polo tournament, the entire city of Luoyang would be deserted.

Like football stars in later generations, skilled polo players are admired by countless people and gain both fame and fortune. Xue Wei is famous in Luoyang because he plays polo well and ranks among the top ten in the official rankings.

However, because Xue Wei was silent for a whole year last year, he could no longer be found in the official rankings, and fans quickly forgot about him and turned to other polo players. He is now just a has-been polo star.

Upon arriving at the polo field of Zuo Qianniuwei, one could see three players riding horses and playing polo.

Xue Chongjian stepped forward and shouted, "Look everyone, who's back?"

The three players dismounted and walked over. When they saw Xue Wei, they were not excited, but rather a little embarrassed. However, they still went up and patted his arm.

"Chongyin, it's been a long time!"

After Xue Wei changed his name, his old name Chongyin was retained at his insistence and became his courtesy name, Chongyin.

"Brother, I guess you've forgotten about them too. Let me reintroduce them to you. They are all officers of the Thousand Bull Guard. This is Chen Xuanli, the Thousand Bull Guard General, and these two are Chang Yuankai and Li Linfu, both Thousand Bull Guard Chiefs."

"Li Linfu!"

Xue Wei stared at the tall, thin young man with a gaunt face and unremarkable appearance. He was none other than the Tang Dynasty prime minister who was all talk and no action.

Chen Xuanli, the team's captain, pulled Xue Chongjian aside and whispered, "Your brother has been expelled from the Thousand Bull Guard. Can he still represent the Thousand Bull Guard in the competition?"

"I've thought about it; we can use the foreign player reserve slot."

According to the rules, each team has one foreign player slot. As a substitute, Chen Xuanli thought for a moment, "That's acceptable, but what about eligibility? He needs to be qualified first!"

Xue Chongjian said confidently, "Isn't there an individual qualifying tournament before the main tournament? Anyway, the team roster is only officially submitted to the club beforehand. I'll have my brother participate in the qualifying tournament first. Once he qualifies, he can be listed as a foreign player candidate."

Chen Xuanli nodded. "Alright! It's settled then. I'll leave the qualification matter to you. I'll submit the list on the last day."

Xue Wei's father, Xue Shao, once served as the Left General of the Thousand Bull Guard, and the generals of the Thousand Bull Guard would give him some face.

"Brother-in-law, you can do it! I believe in you."

Suddenly, a loud shout came from afar, and Xue Chongjian's expression immediately turned awkward.

"Why is she here again?"

Xue Wei looked towards the sidelines and saw two young girls standing there. They were both quite young, the older one being sixteen or seventeen. They had arrogant expressions and remained motionless like statues.

The other one was even younger, only twelve or thirteen years old, as lively as a monkey, waving his hands, jumping and leaping, and then cupping his hands into a megaphone and shouting, "Brother-in-law, you guys will definitely win the championship this year!"

"Brother-in-law?"

Xue Wei glanced at Xue Chongjian. Could it be that his wife and sister-in-law had arrived? Wu Sansi's daughter.

"Chongyin, catch the ball!"

A polo ball suddenly flew towards his face, fierce and fast. Almost instinctively, Xue Wei spun around and swung his mallet, hitting the polo ball accurately dozens of paces away.

Xue Wei was stunned. This was his first time playing polo, and he had actually played at this level.

Xue Chongjian exclaimed, "Brother, that was a brilliant catch! Shall we hop on horseback and try our luck with a few shots?"

Xue Wei glanced coldly at Li Linfu. This shot was malicious. He didn't shout when he hit it, but only shouted when the ball was almost there. It was clearly aimed at his face. The polo ball was made of hollowed-out hardwood with a layer of leather sewn on the outside. It was extremely elastic and very hard. If this ball hit his face, his cheek would definitely be swollen and black.

Li Linfu spurred his horse over and said apologetically with a smile, "I'm sorry, that shot wasn't intentional. I forgot you weren't riding a horse."

Everyone saw that he wasn't riding a horse, how could he forget?

He showed no emotion on his face, simply saying, "I haven't ridden horses or played polo for a year, so I'm a bit rusty. Let me practice on my own first!"

Xue Chongjian pointed to a small playing field in the distance and said, "Why don't you go practice set pieces, brother? We need them for the individual qualifying rounds."

Xue Wei nodded, "and walked toward the small golf course carrying the clubs and bag."

"Ah! It's Brother Xue Wei, you...you're out."

The young woman's voice rang out behind him, but he ignored it and continued walking towards the small sports field.

The young woman caught up with him. "Brother Wei, it's me! I'm Wu Suisui, don't you recognize me?"

Xue Wei turned around and glanced at her. "Little girl, you've mistaken me for someone else. I don't know you."

"Impossible! Even if you were buried underground for five hundred years and dug up again, I would still recognize you. You are Xue Wei. You have a rabbit on your arm and a butterfly on your butt, right?"

Xue Wei's face twitched violently. A butterfly on his butt? How did this young lady know? Brother Xue of the Tang Dynasty, you can't be serious!

"Sui Sui, stop fooling around. Big brother really has forgotten everything."

Xue Chongjian rushed over to the rescue. He whispered a few words to the young lady, and her gaze towards him changed. She looked at him as if he were a small animal being abused, filled with sympathy and pity.

"Brother Wei, you're so pitiful!"

Xue Wei's lips twitched slightly as he asked Xue Chongjian, "Who is she?"

"She is my sister-in-law, named Wu Suisui, Wu Sansi's youngest daughter."

The youngest daughter married Prime Minister Pei Guangting, and later had an affair with Li Linfu.

Xue Wei glanced at Li Linfu, noticing his indifferent expression, then looked at the woman in the distance, who resembled a stone statue. "Is that your wife?"

Xue Chongjian laughed and said, "That's not my wife, she's your cousin, your real cousin, Princess Anle, the Crown Prince's daughter."

"Is she Li Guo'er?"

Xue Wei realized that the daughter of Li Xian, who was the owner of Liuwei Dihuangwan, was none other than Princess Anle, Li Guo'er. In order to become the empress, she and her mother poisoned their father to death.

"It's her. She's betrothed to Wu Chongxun. Sigh! She's already engaged but still won't settle down. What an annoying woman."

Xue Wei's heart skipped a beat; Li Guo'er had come to watch Xue Chongjian play ball.

"Does she like you?"

Xue Chongjian sneered, "She has plenty of people she likes!"

Xue Wei chuckled. His brother was handsome, had a great physique, came from a good family, had a high social status, and was very wealthy. Of course, he was the dream lover of countless girls.

I guess Wu Suisui likes him too! That's why they came to watch him train.

Xue Wei patted him on the shoulder, "Go talk to them! I want to practice my ball in peace and quiet for a while."

He turned and walked towards the small sports field.

Xue Chongjian sighed, "Sui Sui, let's go over there and talk. Let your older brother practice his ball for a while."

"Brother-in-law, how could my elder brother have amnesia?"

"I don't know either. I heard he was given arsenic but didn't die, though he lost all his memories."

"Ah!" Wu Suisui covered her mouth in horror. She suddenly clenched her little fists and said angrily, "Which bad guy did this? I will never let him get away with it."

If her father heard this, he would probably beat her to a pulp.

Upon seeing Xue Chongjian approach, Li Guo'er immediately greeted him with a beaming smile, "Cousin, you looked so dashing and elegant when you played ball just now."

"Guo'er, your eldest brother is out."

Li Guo'er glanced at Xue Wei, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes. She then put on a bright smile and said to Xue Chongjian, "I'll go eat with you guys later! Let's go to Qingfeng Restaurant and drink the best wine. It's on me."

"I'm going too!" Wu Suisui shouted hurriedly.

From afar, Chen Xuanli called out, "Chongjian, everyone's here! Let's begin training!"

"They're here!"

Unable to shake off Li Guo'er, Xue Chongjian could only sigh, mount his horse, and urge it to gallop into the arena.

The moment Xue Chongjian mounted his horse, he looked dashing and heroic. A strange light flashed in Li Guo'er's beautiful eyes. Suddenly, she thought of something and turned back to give a cold look to Xue Wei, who was practicing ball in the distance.

.........

Xue Wei had calmed down and placed the ball on the fifty-step mark. He looked at the hole on the wooden board, took a deep breath, and swung the club by feel. The polo ball flew in an arc and accurately went into the hole.

Xue Wei knew that this rod was still his muscle memory from before, and what he needed to do was to turn that muscle memory into his own feeling.