Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Without the cawing of Ah San at night, Xue Wei slept soundly until dawn.

He carefully smelled his body and hair. After washing with lemon juice three times last night, there was no longer any smell of decay. This little trouble was finally completely eliminated.

He changed into a blue samurai outfit made of satin fabric, which Yuan Min had custom-made for him. It fit him perfectly. Now that he had decided to sever ties with Princess Taiping, he didn't want to make himself suffer too much.

Just then, someone knocked on the door, "Young Master Xue!"

It sounded like the voice of Manager Zhang, who had delivered the furniture yesterday. Xue Wei quickly went out and opened the door. Sure enough, it was Manager Zhang, sent by Yuan Min, with a servant behind him leading a chestnut horse.

"My lady said that if you want to play polo, you need a familiar horse. This horse is your old companion, and my lady asked me to give it to you."

Xue Wei led the horse over. This horse was tall and magnificent, with long and powerful limbs, and its whole body was red without a single stray hair.

"Is this my horse?"

"It is one of the young master's three horses, named Crimson Flame."

Xue Wei was overjoyed. He finally understood why men liked cars. It was a continuation of their love for horses. No man could resist a magnificent warhorse.

The steward smiled slightly and said, "The young lady asked me to tell you that horses and donkeys can be stored at the mule and horse stable. You don't need to feed them yourself, and they won't be stolen."

Xue Wei was speechless. Yuan Min was mocking him for having his donkey stolen yesterday!

........

After eating a bowl of noodles, Xue Wei rode his Crimson Flame Horse to the imperial city. He was an expert in riding and archery, and his muscle memory from riding horses would not disappear. With just a little practice, he would quickly become proficient in horsemanship.

Riding at a brisk pace, Xue Wei arrived at the Left Gate of the Imperial City. The Imperial Palace consisted of the Imperial City and the Palace City. The Imperial City was very large, like a small county town, while the Palace City was even larger, more like a medium-sized city.

The Imperial City was the location of the government offices, and ordinary people were not allowed to enter it at will. However, if they had an access pass, special personnel could also enter the government office area.

For example, large carts delivering tea and water to government offices, craftsmen building palaces, and ordinary people coming to handle affairs, such as applying for mining permits, all had to register and apply in advance and obtain an entry and exit permit before they could enter the imperial city to conduct business.

Some powerful families could also obtain entry and exit permits to enter the city. For example, when Li Guo'er and Wu Suisui came to find Xue Chongjian, they had bronze entry permits. In short, the city guards recognized the permits, not the people.

Xue Wei showed his bronze entry token, and the guards at the gate did not make things difficult for him, allowing him to enter the imperial city directly.

On the polo field, all ten players have arrived and are resting. A polo team can have eleven players, including five regular players, five substitutes, and one foreign player substitute.

Foreign players are optional, depending on each team's choice, but they are generally included.

In addition, there are two team leaders, one in charge and one in deputy, who are responsible for negotiations and arranging the competition, a doctor, and a dozen or so support staff.

The team leader was Yang Tianshu, who was about forty years old. He was the Left Thousand Bull Guard Registrar and was in charge of the entire team together with General Chen Xuanli.

"Young Master Xue, it's been a long time. I am Yang Tianshu, the team leader, from Liaodong. I am also the Registrar of the Left Thousand Ox Guard. I guess you have forgotten me."

Yang Tianshu was promoted by Xue Wei's father, Xue Shao, and was quite polite to Xue Wei.

Xue Wei dismounted, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "So it's Military Advisor Yang. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"What are you saying? Young Master Xue was originally a key member of our Left Thousand Ox Guard. Although he has retired from the team, he can still serve as an outside helper!"

"Then I'll have to trouble Military Advisor Yang."

At this moment, Xue Chongjian walked over, looking a little uncomfortable. He had gotten into trouble yesterday and hadn't told his brother yet.

"Brother, I'm so sorry about what happened yesterday!"

Xue Wei pulled him aside. "Come here, I have something to ask you!"

The two brothers went to a secluded spot, and Xue Wei asked solemnly, "Did you sleep with Li Guo'er?"

Xue Chongjian quickly shook his head, "No, she has had ambiguous relationships with many men, but I'm not one of them."

"Then why are you still entangled with her? She's about to marry your wife's older brother. If your wife hears about what happened yesterday, what will she think?"

"Brother, it's not what you think. She didn't come to see me yesterday; she came to see you."

"Looking for me?" Xue Wei was stunned.

Xue Chongjian finally couldn't help but say, "She has always liked you. She was being affectionate with me yesterday on purpose to show you. She hates that you ignore her, so she deliberately embarrassed you by not letting you drink. You've forgotten that, so I didn't say anything."

Yuan Min was right after all. After a long while, Xue Wei said, "I don't care what her purpose is, just don't let her use you in the future."

"I told my wife last night that I would not have any further entanglements with her, but I'm afraid she won't let you off the hook. She told me yesterday that she doesn't want to marry Wu Chongxun anymore and she's planning to call off the wedding."

Historically, Li Guo'er did indeed marry Wu Chongxun. After Wu Chongxun's death, she remarried Wu Yanxiu. Could it be that her arrival will change this history?

Xue Wei shook his head, shaking off these uninteresting thoughts.

Xue Chongjian looked into his eyes and said, "Brother, Li Guo'er has another man outside. She is not a good match. Your sister-in-law is the wife you should cherish. You should try to win her back."

"I know what I'm doing. You go practice! I'll get used to the smaller court today."

After Xue Chongjian left, Xue Wei rode his horse to the small ball court and began practicing swinging the ball while riding.

........

At the Liang Prince's residence, Wu Chongxun was giving his brother Wu Jizhi some instructions.

"The best way to get that fool Wu Liankun to work for you is to make him promises. Tell him that as long as he is willing to stand up against Xue Wei, he will be made the Prince of Shu after his father ascends the throne, with a fief of 10,000 households, and will also be appointed Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs. This is no joke."

Will he believe it?

Wu Chongxun snorted, "He only believes what he wants. The bigger the pie, the more he believes it."

"I understand, I'll go find him now."

........

In a small courtyard of the Prince Ding's residence, Wu Liankun lay on the bed, his hand reaching inappropriately into the skirt of the maid beside him. The maid blushed and dared not move, so she could only plead, "Young master, your injuries have not healed yet, you need to rest."

"Nonsense, why didn't you say so last night? You slut, are you itching for something again?"

"Young master, it is daytime now."

"Go! Bring me the rope and tie it up for me," Wu Liankun ordered, pulling his hand back.

The maid was helpless; her master enjoyed doing such perverted and disgusting things, and he always made her tie him up.

She had no choice but to get up to get the rope. Just then, a frivolous laugh came from outside, "Why is Third Brother keeping the door closed in broad daylight?"

Wu Liankun quickly sat up and saw his good friend and cousin Wu Jizhi walk in. He winked and smiled, "Did that fragrant breeze bring you here, brother?"

Wu Jizhi reached out and pinched the maid's face, and the maid was so frightened that she dared not move.

In the past, Wu Jizhi would have definitely chatted with Wu Liankun about the new maidens of the Twelve Palaces, but today he had other business to attend to and was not in the mood for anything else, so he waved his hand and said, "You may leave now!"

The maid was overjoyed and ran away immediately.

"Hey! Why the change in your personality today, my dear brother?"

"I have important business to attend to today; we'll go out and have fun another time."

Wu Jizhi looked him up and down. "Polo training is about to begin. Are you feeling better?"

Wu Liankun jumped off the bed, grinning, "I'm perfectly fine. I pretended to be badly injured to make Father hate that bastard even more!"

Wu Jizhi waved for him to sit down, then lowered his voice and said, "I have some top-secret news for you. The Emperor has given my father a secret decree, promising to appoint him as Crown Prince within three years."

"Really? That's great! I've always said that Li Xian was just a transitional figure, a smokescreen. How could the Wu Zhou dynasty possibly be passed on to someone with the surname Li?"

All members of the Wu clan believed that the Tang Dynasty was over and the Wu Zhou Dynasty was now in power. They believed that the next emperor would inevitably be surnamed Wu, and since Wu Chengsi was dead, the next emperor would definitely be Wu Sansi.

Wu Jizhi continued, "Next, my eldest brother will be the crown prince. He must cherish his reputation and establish a name of virtue. There are many things he wants to do, but they are not easy to do. We brothers would like to help him, but it will also affect his reputation."

Wu Liankun immediately patted his chest and said, "Let me do it. I guarantee he'll be satisfied."

Wu Jizhi nodded. "Third Brother is indeed a man of honor. My eldest brother said that you are the most reliable of all the brothers."

Wu Liankun, eager to please after being praised, asked, "Tell me, what does Big Brother want me to do?"

"My brother wants you to help him deal with Xue Wei!"

"What! Did he offend the eldest brother too?"

Wu Jizhi snorted heavily, "He dared to touch my sister-in-law in the restaurant and publicly humiliate my brother."

Wu Liankun's eyes widened. "Isn't his brother Xue Chongjian your brother-in-law? This bastard dares to sleep with someone right next to him?"

"That's precisely why they're even more hateful."

Wu Jizhi glanced at Wu Liankun and said, "My elder brother said that as long as you are willing to help him vent his anger, after my father ascends the throne, he will appoint you as the Prince of Shu, with a fief of ten thousand households, and also appoint you as the Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs. The Wu family clan will all be under your jurisdiction. He will never go back on his word."

The most effective way to persuade fools is to paint a rosy picture; they can't distinguish between the possible and the impossible, and they only believe what they want.

Wu Liankun patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, brother. I will kill him within ten days. Even if I can't kill him, I will break one of his arms or legs and make him a complete cripple."

Wu Jizhi was secretly pleased with himself, but then warned him, "You must not tell your father about this. He will tell Princess Taiping, and then things will get complicated."

"Yes! Yes! I almost forgot. Don't worry, I promise I won't tell Father."