Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

The last pair to appear were Xue Wei and Ye Huli.

Ye Huli had always been ranked third among polo players, behind only Liu Jingren and Chen Xuanli. After Xue Wei suddenly emerged, he ranked fourth.

He is not afraid of Xue Wei; anything can happen in tonight's final.

Yehuli also played quite steadily, scoring nineteen goals in a row. His last shot hit the copper ring and didn't bounce into the hole, but bounced away. Yehuli held his head in frustration. He ultimately scored 185 points with a close call of five out of nineteen.

The last to appear was Xue Wei. He took a deep breath, and as the drumbeat sounded, Zuo Qingling threw the ball out. Xue Wei struck the ball with his cue, and it went straight into the hole.

That night, Xue Wei's eyes felt exceptionally comfortable, allowing him to play with fluid grace, sinking twenty balls in one go, while the drumbeats still lingered at halfway through.

Twenty goals, one close call, 199 points. The surrounding audience was in an uproar. Xue Wei had actually won a point in this game.

Yuan Min smiled broadly and said to Li Lingyue, "Mother, Xue Wei's night vision is excellent, even better than during the day, so his grades are better at night than during the day."

"I see!"

Li Lingyue nodded, then asked curiously, "What do you call him in private?"

"I...I call him Lao Xue."

"Old Xue?"

Li Lingyue chuckled, "This nickname is unique, but it feels quite warm and familiar. Does he like it?"

"He likes it very much and won't let me change it!"

"Then I won't change it. I like this nickname very much, but it's a pity I can't call her that."

Yuan Min, quick-witted, smiled and said, "Mother can call him Little Xue!"

"That works too!"

Li Lingyue hesitated for a moment, "But it has to be his agreement."

"I'll ask him again, and if he agrees, I'll tell my mother."

Li Lingyue truly liked this former daughter-in-law, who was beautiful, intelligent, and understanding. She didn't like Wu Shi, the wife of her second son Chongjian, as she was too weak and always yielded to her husband. She didn't stop Chongjian from getting so close to Li Guo'er.

She held Yuan Min's hand and said softly, "Don't worry, leave your remarriage with Wei'er to me. This is my promise to you. If the Tang law doesn't allow it, then I will amend the Tang law."

...........

The final top five were Xue Wei, Liu Jingren, Chen Xuanli, Li Chongjun, and Wu Yanxiu.

Chen Xuanli also performed exceptionally well today, achieving his all-time high score of 189 points.

Although Wu Yanxiu only scored 182 points, which was three points lower than Ye Huli, the rule was that the elimination was based on a two-on-two match, not on the total score. His opponent was one point lower than him, so he luckily made it into the top five.

The final five-person match was played in turn, with the player with the lowest score going first. The pressure in the five-person match was immense, much greater than in the two-person match, and the audience held their breath.

Wu Yanxiu had a poor performance in the first game, scoring only 154 points and missing four shots. He left the court dejectedly amidst boos.

The second player to appear was Li Chongjun, who also couldn't withstand the immense pressure and only scored 173 points. He covered his face, burst into tears, and withdrew from the competition.

Wu Zetian shook her head slightly. The Li family members were getting worse with each generation. Only Li Longji was still good, but he was in Chang'an and could not come to Luoyang without being summoned.

At this moment, Chen Xuanli, the third contestant, also finished his match. He had good mental fortitude and scored 188 points, which was a high score, securing him at least third place.

As soon as Liu Jingren appeared, the entire stadium erupted in cheers, and he waved his polo mallet to greet the surrounding audience.

Li Lingyue suddenly laughed and said, "I bet 1,000 strings of cash, and Liu Jingren and Wei'er each bet 500 strings of cash."

Official gambling establishments have a cap, unlike private gambling establishments which have no cap. The total amount a person bets cannot exceed one thousand strings of cash.

Of course, there are loopholes. You can have others place bets for you. If you lose, it's yours; if you win, it's split 50/50.

Yuan Min laughed and said, "I also bet a thousand strings of cash, on Xue Wei."

"You should, you can't get distracted."

At this point, Liu Jingren had reached his last shot. His strong mental fortitude was on full display as he sank every single one of his shots, and they were all perfect. His last shot grazed the edge of the hole and went in, which was a bit of a pity.

One hundred and ninety-nine points! The entire polo field erupted in cheers, as if Liu Jingren had already won first place.

"Last player, Xue Wei, go on!"

As soon as the referee called, Xue Wei came onto the field with two female caddies. He waved to Yuan Min, whose face immediately turned red, but her heart felt as sweet as honey. This was in front of tens of thousands of people!

Even Wu Zetian understood, and she gave Yuan Min a meaningful look.

The drums sounded, and the entire stadium fell silent. Xue Wei hit the ball after ball with unstoppable momentum, but his luck seemed to be running out. The last ball bounced into the hole twice.

Two points will be deducted, bringing the final total to 198, one point lower than Liu Jingren. After three rounds, the two players are now tied in total.

The entire stadium erupted in thunderous cheers, with most spectators believing that Liu Jingren had won, and that they had won too.

They forgot about the final duel between the two.

Just then, Li Lingyue got up and went to her mother's side, lowering her voice and saying, "Mother, Liu Jingren is good at hidden weapons, so why don't we let them take turns in the final round?"

Wu Zetian pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Issue my order to amend the final rules: First, when one person hits the ball, the other must wait outside the court; second, if the score is tied after twenty points, the match will continue, with five points per game, until a winner is determined; third, the timing of the drumbeats will be cancelled in the tie-breaking match."

The news of the rule change made Yuan Min both happy and a little disappointed. She was happy that she wouldn't have to cheat anymore, and she wouldn't have to worry about Liu Jingren using stone pellets to ambush Xue Wei.

The disappointment was that her prepared methods were also useless. She had arranged for Yu Xiangzi to go on stage, hoping that at the crucial moment, she would use her golden needles to shoot Liu Jingren's horse, thus causing Liu Jingren to miss.

Everything was ready, but the rules were changed, and it was Princess Taiping who suggested the change; she was unaware that she had also made preparations.

Let's have a fair competition! Let Lao Xue use his will and courage to defeat his opponent and turn the impossible into possible.

..........

The final duel began. The two guessed with copper coins, and Liu Jingren guessed correctly. He then took the second move, meaning he would play second.

Xue Wei went first, and Zuo Qingling's pitch was extremely beautiful. Although Yu Xiangzi's hidden weapon skills were more sophisticated, Zuo Qingling's personality was more composed.

This time it's 100 steps to hit 20 balls, with only 60 drumbeats, making it more difficult.

Xue Wei gave it his all. He no longer thought about Wu Zetian's mission or the sword of power. His mind was clear, and he even played with a kind of inspiration. He hit twenty balls in one go, all of which went in, with only one grazing the edge, for a total of 199 points.

The pressure was immense for Liu Jingren; this was the first time in ten years that he had felt such pressure.

Liu Jingren was the youngest son of the famous general Liu Rengui. His father, Liu Rengui, defeated the allied forces of Japan and Baekje at the Battle of Baekgang. Liu Jingren also aspired to join the army. Although he was born out of wedlock, he showed superb polo talent from a young age and won first place in the Luoyang Youth Polo Tournament at the age of twelve.

As he grew older, his skills became increasingly refined, reaching a pinnacle. In the past five years, he has never encountered any opponent, always sweeping them by a large margin.

This year's individual competition marked the first time he encountered a formidable opponent, none other than Xue Wei, the Three Masters, whom he had always looked down upon.

At first, he thought Xue Wei was just lucky, but now he knows he wasn't.

Liu Jingren took a deep breath and launched the polo ball like a barrage of arrows, hitting twenty balls in one go, one of which grazed the edge of the court, for a total score of 199 points.

The two players actually tied. According to the old rules, Liu Jingren should have won. The old rules are to use a retroactive system, first going back to the first three games. If the two players have the same total score, then go back to the previous games. In the elimination round where the top 100 players competed for the top 20, Liu Jingren won by one point against Xue Wei.

Unfortunately, this is a new rule just set by the Emperor. Regardless of the past, only the present matters. The two players tied in the main match, so the next match is a tiebreaker, with five balls per game and no longer any drum beat restrictions.

It's actually harder to play because the rhythm has changed.

In the first game of the match, Xue Wei was the first to play.

At this moment, Yu Xiangzi realized that Zuo Qingling was at her limit; she was exhausted.

"Let me pitch!" Yu Xiangzi whispered.

"I'm fine!" Zuo Qingling said through gritted teeth.

Xue Wei didn't want to change either; Yu Xiangzi's personality was a bit silly, and he was afraid of her.

Xue Wei whispered, "Listen to my instructions. I tell you to throw, so throw."

Zuo Qingling took a deep breath; she was ready.

"Pitch!"

Zuo Qingling threw the ball with precision, and Xue Wei swung his club, sinking it precisely into the hole.

"Vote again!"

..........

The follow-up match was much more difficult than the main match. Both sides were at their physical limit. They could no longer play five points in a row because their bodies couldn't hold on. They had to play one point at a time, taking a breather after each point.

Both players were drenched in sweat. In the blink of an eye, they had played three rounds of the match, with the score at 150 to 150, both perfect scores.

Next was the fourth game of the match. When Zuo Qingling threw the last ball, she almost collapsed to the ground. Xue Wei bit his lip hard and used all his strength for the last shot. The ball grazed the edge and went into the hole.

I got 49 points, not a perfect score.

Everyone's heart sank into despair, including Yuan Min. She was instantly filled with despair, tears welled up in her eyes, and she covered her face in anguish.

Wu Zetian's face remained unchanged as she calmly gazed at the playing field.

Wu Chongxun clenched his fist triumphantly, his smile barely concealed. Xue Wei's defeat in the end was something that made him happier than anything else. Li Guo'er, however, was a little disappointed. She still hoped that Xue Wei would win, after all, he was the man she truly loved.

Liu Jingren was overjoyed; his chance had come.

But Liu Jingren was also at his limit. When he hit the first ball, he felt something was wrong. His arm was trembling violently. He gritted his teeth and hit the ball one by one, scoring four balls in one go.

The final ball arrived, and the immense pressure made Liu Jingren tremble with nervousness. His vision blurred, and his face was covered in sweat, with large beads of sweat streaming down his cheeks, which he didn't bother to wipe away.

My heart was pounding violently, as if someone was pounding a drum on my chest with a sledgehammer, 'thump-thump-thump-' my heart was about to jump out of my chest.

His usual composure and calmness were completely gone. Liu Jingren took several deep breaths but couldn't calm himself down. His arms were so weak that he could barely sit on the horse.

He had a bad feeling about this, and could only desperately encourage himself, "Liu Jingren, if you score this goal, you'll have a five-peat! You've made history! You're a third-rank Yunhui General now! Get the hell out of here!"

It seemed to have some effect, and my courage returned a little bit.

"Throw the ball!"

Liu Jingren went all out. With a low command, the caddie threw the last ball and immediately collapsed to the ground.

Just as he gritted his teeth and swung the club, a bead of sweat fell from his eyebrow and slid into his eye. A sharp pain shot through his left eye, his hand paused, a beat too slow, and he thought to himself, "Oh no!"

He swung the club, but felt nothing; it was as if he had stepped into thin air. Liu Jingren instantly froze, maintaining his swing posture, completely still.

The entire audience watched in disbelief as his catastrophic mistake plummeted, his heart sinking along with his cue. He missed the ball entirely, the ball tumbling to the ground and rolling under the horse's belly. The entire stadium fell silent; everyone was stunned.

Yuan Min and Li Lingyue suddenly screamed, jumped up, and hugged each other tightly. Yuan Min couldn't help but burst into tears.

Zuo Qingling and Yu Xiangzi hugged each other, jumping and hopping with excitement.

Xue Wei dropped his cue, raised his hands to the sky, and let out a long roar. He had won, and tears of joy streamed from his eyes and down his face.

In the fourth game of the tiebreaker, Liu Jingren only scored forty points, and Xue Wei won.

Suddenly, Liu Jingren cried out, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fell off his horse.

Wu Zetian slowly stood up, a satisfied smile finally appearing on her face. "Prepare the carriage to return to the palace!"

He then said to Shangguan Wan'er, "Convey my decree, summon Xue Wei to see me tomorrow morning!"