Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

As Xue Wei walked out of the polo field, he heard someone calling him from behind. He turned around and saw his brother, Xue Chongjian.

"You haven't competed yet! Why are you out here?"

"I'm number ninety-four, it's still early!"

Xue Chongjian's eyes were filled with shock and admiration. "Big brother, how did you do that? 198 points! Last time we all thought it was just luck, but we never expected..."

Xue Wei patted him on the shoulder, "Calm down, compete well, and don't fail to make it into the top twenty."

"I know, I'm just letting you know. Our team is having a get-together tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay! When and where?"

"Nanshi Qingfeng Restaurant (main branch), 3rd floor, Peony Room, Shenshi (3-5 PM)."

Shenshi is exactly four o'clock in the afternoon. Xue Wei laughed. He could start at three fifty.

Xue Weigang had just reached the carriage when Yuan Min rushed up and gave him a big hug.

"Congratulations, Lao Xue!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Yuan Min kissed him on the cheek like a chick pecking at rice. Just as Xue Wei was about to respond, Yuan Min anticipated his action and reached out to cover his mouth.

"Only I'm allowed to kiss you!"

Helpless, Xue Wei had no choice but to grab her waist tightly and lead her into the carriage.

Xue Wei sat down, and Yuan Min poured him a cup of hot tea. "One hundred and ninety-eight points, you should still be in second place."

"The outlook is not optimistic!"

Xue Wei said with some worry, "I've already played to my full potential, and so has he. We're only one point apart, but to beat him, I need to win by at least two points. It's very difficult! Very difficult!"

According to the rules, if the two finalists are tied, the score of the previous match will be considered, and Liu Jingren will be the winner, while Xue Wei will remain the perennial runner-up.

He missed Wu Zetian's sword by a mere point, because he failed to turn the impossible into the possible; even a slight mistake was unacceptable.

Yuan Min pondered for a moment and said, "I have investigated Liu Jingren. His greatest characteristic is his steadiness; he never makes a mistake. However, he has a record of cheating in polo, which is related to your father."

"When?"

"Fifteen years ago, Liu Jingren was the Right General of the Thousand Bull Guard, and your father was the Left General of the Thousand Bull Guard. The two competed for the last spot in the Thousand Bull Guard, and your father lost. It was later discovered that someone had tampered with his polo mallets, and someone revealed that it was Liu Jingren who did it. In front of witnesses, he had no choice but to admit it, and he was banned from participating in polo matches for five years. Many years have passed, and everyone has forgotten about it, but as long as you are willing to spend money, someone will help you dig it up."

"What does this mean?" Xue Wei asked.

"That means he might still have some underhanded tactics against you, Lao Xue. He's terrified you'll surpass him; he wants to take the title even more than you do."

"Why? He's already won the title four times in a row, does he still care?"

"Of course he cares! If he wins another time, he'll be a five-time champion, the first person to achieve this since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. He'll get a promotion!"

Xue Wei shook his head. "Unfortunately, this victory was equally important to me."

Yuan Min sighed deeply, looked up at the ceiling of the carriage, and whispered, "I'm thinking, should I make an exception for you?"

"What do you mean?"

Yuan Min stared at him and said, word by word, "I'll help you cheat this time!"

Xue Wei smiled slightly, "You've never cheated? You've never used any underhanded methods in the business world?"

"No, not even once. I don't need to cheat."

"Not needing to cheat and not wanting to cheat are two different things."

"I have never cheated because there is no need for it, so I don't know if I want to cheat or not. But this competition is too important to you, so I paid someone to investigate Liu Jingren. I wanted to find some moral compass. He had also cheated, so I felt more at ease. I didn't expect to actually find him."

"When did you start investigating him?"

"The second day of our spring outing!"

"So you've been wanting to help me cheat for a long time?"

Yuan Min nodded gently, "I have this idea, so I'm making preparations, but I haven't decided whether to do it or not. I'm conflicted. Lao Xue, you won't look down on me, will you?"

"Because you cheated, people look down on you?"

Yuan Min sighed, "I said before that you have a dark side, but actually I'm not much better myself."

Xue Wei grinned, "When I was in school, I took exams all the time, and I felt uneasy if I didn't cheat even once."

Xue Wei was talking about his time at the sports academy, but Yuan Min thought he was referring to his time at the Imperial Academy.

"Let me think about it some more!"

Xue Wei knew she was having a fierce internal struggle, so he didn't ask any more questions. "By the way, I have something to tell you. Chong Jian contacted me and said the team members should get together."

Yuan Min was startled; she immediately thought of Li Guo'er.

"When and where?"

"Tomorrow afternoon at Shenshi (3-5 PM), at the Qingfeng Store in Nanshi, I think I booked the Peony Room."

"Then go ahead! I reckon they want you to play in the team's games."

Xue Wei gently patted her hand, "Li Guo'er probably won't be coming."

"Yes! She won't be coming. Her wedding date with Wu Chongxun has been set for July."

"I'd like to invite you to come with me," Xue Wei asked in a low voice.

Yuan Min thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, it's on me!"

Yuan Min then thought of something else and said with a smile, "I've booked the small polo field at Baolin Temple for three days. Starting tomorrow, you'll be in closed training for three days. You can come out for lunch tomorrow afternoon."

..........

Around noon, Wu Chongxun and Li Linfu sat facing each other in a small tavern in Shangshanfang.

Li Linfu said with dissatisfaction, "This competition is also related to my own interests, and I can't give him the opportunity to play."

Wu Chongxun said calmly, "This is not my idea, it is Zhang Changzong's idea. I don't care if you want to offend him."

Li Linfu's face flushed red and then turned pale. After a long while, he said, "He performed too well in this individual competition. Perhaps I don't need to let him go. Our General Xue will take the initiative to ask him to play."

The General Xue that Li Linfu mentioned refers to Xue Sixing, the Left General of the Thousand Ox Guard, who was the grandson of Xue Rengui and belonged to another branch of the Xue family. He was not closely related to the Xue Guard.

Wu Chongxun shook his head. "I know, and I don't necessarily expect you to give way. There are many variables involved. He himself is participating in the individual finals, and it's possible that the two teams won't even meet. I'm just giving you a heads-up in advance. If I need you to give way, please cooperate!"

Wu Chongxun was very assertive and used Zhang Changzong to intimidate others. Li Linfu had no choice but to nod.

…………

In the afternoon, Xue Wei went alone to the Hundred Crafts Shop in the South Market. His precious sword had broken, and he wanted to find a new one.

Hu Ping came out to greet him, "Congratulations, young master, on winning second place and advancing to the finals."

"Have the results come out yet?"

"The results are in. The top three are Liu Jingren, Young Master, and Chen Xuanli. Chen Xuanli scored 185 points, which is far behind Young Master's score."

"Where's my brother?"

"He's also in the top 20, with 170 points, ranking 13th."

"Manager Hu, my sword is broken, and I'd like to find a new one."

"Which one? It can't be the Zhijie Sword, can it?"

"No, it's the one crafted by the chief swordsmith, Sun Lin!"

Hu Ping breathed a sigh of relief. Although Sun Lin was a little disappointed, as long as it wasn't Zhijie Sword, nothing else mattered.

"Young master, please come with me!"

Xue Wei followed him to the back warehouse, where Hu Ping poured him a cup of hot tea. "Young master, there's something I need to tell you first. The Cheng family sent people here again a couple of days ago. They couldn't find you, so they came to me, saying they're willing to pay two thousand strings of cash to redeem the Zhijie Sword."

Xue Wei nodded readily, "Okay! I'll have someone bring you the sword in a bit. Forget about the money, just tell them to stop hating me."

"Young master, you really don't want the money? Two thousand strings of cash!"

Xue Wei shook his head. "I shouldn't have taken this sword in the first place, and I don't want to apologize to them. Let's just leave it at that! You can return the sword to them, and the grudge will be settled."

Hu Ping gave a thumbs up, "Young Master, you did a great job!"

"Alright, stop flattering me and get me the sword!"

"Yes! Yes! I guarantee you'll be satisfied, young master."

Hu Ping took out more than a dozen fine swords, all made of fine iron. Xue Wei chose two, one as a spare. Coincidentally, both of them were made by the master swordsmith Sun Lin and were very handy.

"Put the amount on my tab."

"Young master, don't worry, I have some money to give you."

Hu Ping took out a counter ticket and half a jade pendant. "Last year, the store made a net profit of 12,000 strings of cash. According to the store's rules, half of it was used for expansion, and the other half was given to you, young master. This is 6,000 strings of cash, which is deposited in the South Market counter. Without a secret code, you can directly withdraw the money using half a jade pendant."

Xue Wei was both surprised and delighted; today truly was his lucky day.