Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

With the arrival of March and the polo season fast approaching, the entire city of Luoyang is buzzing with excitement. Teahouses and taverns are buzzing with talk of polo, all kinds of polo equipment are selling like hotcakes, and children are playing and having fun in the streets and alleys, each with their own polo club.

The tournament will be held on March 14th, 15th, and 16th, but the warm-up period starts on March 5th, including a warm-up match between 20 teams and an official individual knockout tournament.

There are two types of polo matches: team matches and individual matches.

Luoyang has hundreds of polo teams and tens of thousands of polo players, but the imperial court only allows twenty teams to participate in the club tournament, which is unfair to the other teams and players.

In this context, an individual tournament was created, where anyone could sign up and then a knockout tournament was held to select twenty individual players to participate in a three-day tournament, with the top three ultimately being determined.

On the fifth day of the third month, Xue Wei followed his brother Xue Chongjian to the Qinghuafang Polo Field.

"Chongjian, didn't you say it was a qualifying round? How did it turn into a knockout round?"

Xue Chongjian smiled slightly, "It's a qualifying round, but also a knockout round. As long as you make it into the top 100, you'll be eligible to participate in the polo match between 20 teams. You're a foreign player substitute, so you must get this qualification, otherwise you won't be eligible to play."

"What about the knockout stage?"

"Everyone participates in the knockout stage, and so do I. It's a personal honor. The top three get generous prizes and there's also a chance for promotion."

Will individual matches conflict with team matches?

"There's no conflict. The individual finals are scheduled for the evening of March 15th. The city gates and ward gates will not be closed for those three days, just like the Lantern Festival."

Xue Wei's heart skipped a beat. The competition was tonight, which was his advantage! He suddenly felt a little more confident about the task Wu Zetian had given him.

Xue Chongjian had already registered Xue Wei. The two of them took the registration forms to the entrance of the polo field, but they ran into the brothers Wu Jizhi and Wu Chonglie by chance.

Wu Jizhi said coldly, "Xue Chongjian, this is my final warning to you: don't get too close to the princess, or my sister will definitely divorce you."

Xue Chongjian didn't speak, but tugged at Xue Wei, "Big brother, let's go inside!"

Xue Wei smiled and nodded to the two of them. "Where's your older brother?"

Wu Chonglie snorted, "He's not participating in the individual competition anymore. He has more important things to do. He needs to spend time with Yuan Min. He doesn't have time."

"Is that so?" Xue Wei smiled faintly. "Then I wish your elder brother all his dreams come true!"

He turned and went into the polo field. Xue Chongjian hurriedly said, "Don't listen to their nonsense. They're just trying to distract you."

Xue Wei hadn't seen Yuan Min for three days and didn't know what she was busy with, as she hadn't returned to Mingyue Tower.

I wonder if she started to deliberately distance herself from me after helping me solve my survival crisis?

Wu Chonglie's words did indeed plant a seed in Xue Wei's heart. Wu Chonglie was a rough man with no guile, and he wouldn't have said those words for no reason. A sense of unease and suspicion arose in Xue Wei's heart.

The first knockout round was simple: thirty set pieces, three shots, and if you could score two, you would advance.

Xue Wei played very smoothly, scoring all three goals cleanly and decisively.

Xue Chongjian also passed the test smoothly. He instructed Xue Wei: "The second elimination round is on the seventh day of the month, and the third elimination round is on the ninth day. The top 100 will be decided on the ninth day. The final elimination round is on the eleventh day of the month, which will determine the top 20. Then, on the evening of the fifteenth day of the month, there will be a competition to determine the top three in the individual competition."

Xue Wei seemed a little distracted. He suddenly asked, "Are you and Li Guo'er still getting close?"

Xue Chongjian sighed, "I can't help it. She's in a bad mood and keeps crying in front of me, so I soften. I have been having meals with her a lot lately and telling her jokes to cheer her up. I'm going to spend time with her again tonight, but we're not romantically involved. We're just cousins."

"What about your wife?"

"Li Guo'er and I are just cousins ​​and friends. It won't affect my relationship with my wife."

"You're playing with fire!" Xue Wei warned him.

"Big brother, Li Guo'er and I are fine."

Xue Wei patted him on the shoulder, "Cherish your wife! Don't be like me, only realizing your mistake after you've lost her."

After saying this, Xue Wei mounted his horse and spurred it back to the South Market.

Xue Wei still lives in Mingyue Tower in Nanshi. He now lives on the third floor, which is entirely his. The fourth floor belongs to Yuan Min. Their relationship is now more like roommates than lovers, but less intimate.

Because lovers can kiss and have more intimate physical relationships, but they didn't. They just held hands, at most put their arms around each other's shoulders and waists, and even hugged each other less often.

Their relationship was still in the early stages of romance, not yet that of true lovers, at least for Xue Wei, who had traveled from another world.

Perhaps Yuan Min felt differently, after all, she had been married to Xue Wei of the Tang Dynasty for three years.

Xue Wei was still thinking about what Wu Chonglie had said. Wu Chongxun had been spending the last few days with Yuan Min.

He felt that this statement couldn't be baseless; something must have happened, something he didn't know about.

Upon arriving at Mingyue Tower, he immediately spotted Yuan Min's carriage. A thought crossed his mind. He opened the carriage door, and the inner compartment was locked. He glanced at the shoe cabinet; his slippers were still there. But his heart sank. His shoes had been worn.

He remembered clearly that the last time he wore them, he found a grain of rice stuck to the edge of the sole. He was too lazy to pick it off, but now the grain of rice was gone.

Xue Wei slowly walked upstairs. When he reached the third floor, he hesitated for a moment, then turned around and went straight back to his room.

"Old Xue!" Yuan Min's voice suddenly came from behind.

Xue Wei slowly turned around and found Yuan Min standing at the top of the stairs, calmly looking at him.

"Aren't you going to look for me?"

"No, I was afraid you were too busy and didn't want to bother you."

"It's lunchtime now."

"Lunch" was Xue Wei's catchphrase, and Yuan Min picked it up too.

"Oh! I just got back from the elimination rounds and didn't notice the time."

"Come on up! The food is ready, I'm waiting for you."

Xue Wei silently followed Yuan Min upstairs. The two arrived at the dining room, where Xiao Huan set out the bowls and chopsticks for them.

The two ate in silence when Yuan Min suddenly put down her chopsticks. "What's wrong with you? You know I'm here, but you still won't come upstairs. We've only been apart for three days, and you're already starting to drift apart?"

Xue Wei paused for a moment, then calmly said, "I ran into Wu Jizhi and Wu Chonglie at the entrance of the polo field today. Wu Chonglie told me that his older brother is no longer participating in the individual competition because he is too busy, busy spending time with you."

"So...you believed it?" Yuan Min stared into Xue Wei's eyes.

Xue Wei was silent for a moment before saying, "He wouldn't say that for no reason."

Yuan Min sighed, "I did have a meal with Wu Chongxun the day before yesterday morning, but it wasn't just us. My two female stewards were there, as well as Liu Heng, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. I invited Liu Heng to dinner, but Wu Chongxun came and took over the role of host, talking to me the whole time. Liu Heng didn't dare to offend him because the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is Wu Sansi."

Xue Wei said coldly, "In the end, you escorted him back to his residence, and he rode in your carriage!"

Why would you think that?

"Because my shoes were worn by someone else, by another man!"

Xue Wei's voice suddenly rose. He finally couldn't hold back anymore and his emotions exploded. He was so excited that his whole body trembled. "You promised me that no other man could enter your carriage except me."