Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

As the group met, Wu Chongxun waved his hand to stop the Wu brothers from glaring at Xue Wei. He smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "Congratulations, Young Master Xue, on winning the individual competition! We hope to see your heroic figure again in the team competition this afternoon!"

Xue Wei said calmly, "It will definitely be as you wish!"

"Okay! See you later."

He didn't deliberately provoke anyone today; he just gave Yuan Min a deep look before leaving with his large group of Wu brothers.

Yuan Min watched them walk away, then suddenly felt worried. "Old Xue, they seem to be targeting you. Maybe you shouldn't participate in the competition this afternoon!"

Xue Wei sneered, "Of course I'll participate. They want to put on a show, I'll play along!"

...........

Even before the match started, the area around Jishanfang Stadium was already packed with tens of thousands of fans cheering for both teams.

At the official betting tables, people lined up to place bets. Betting on sports was a major hobby for the people of Luoyang, from top to bottom, and there were just as many gambling dens as restaurants throughout the city.

Last night, Xue Wei and Yuan Min each won 10,000 guan. After deducting the official commission, they each won 8,000 guan, making a fortune. Today, Xue Wei did not place any bets, but Yuan Min did not hesitate to bet 1,000 guan, betting on Zuo Qianniu Guard Team to win the championship.

However, we won't make much money today because bettors are split evenly between the Zuo Qianniu Guard Team and the Wu Clan Royal Team. Both teams are very strong, and their past win-loss records are also split evenly.

Two large tents have been set up, and the players are resting inside. Each team has eleven players: five regular players, five substitutes, and one foreign player substitute.

Xue Wei was a substitute foreign player for the Zuo Qianniu Guard. In fact, before he went to prison, he was a backup player for the Zuo Qianniu Guard and a formal member of the Zuo Qianniu Guard polo team, playing on the left wing.

He lost everything after being imprisoned; he was lucky to have survived.

"Today you'll lead the vanguard!"

Chen Xuanli was giving Xue Wei pre-match instructions. Xue Wei hadn't practiced with them much, and today he relied entirely on his individual skills to break through and score.

"I will switch to attacking the central army, with Chang Yuankai on the left wing, Li Ci on the right wing, and Xue Chongjian in the rear."

Polo is a short game, consisting of three rounds. Each round is played once, and each goal scores one point, regardless of whether it goes close to the edge or bounces into the hole. The player with the highest score at the end wins.

"You need to be careful today. You lost your left arm three years ago, and you got a tattoo on the spot. Don't let anything bad happen to you today."

"Are there no rules in a two-person match?"

"There are only three rules: First, you are not allowed to hurt anyone with anything other than a polo mallet; second, you are not allowed to strike the head or neck, but just in case, we will all wear leather helmets; third, after a player falls off his horse, you are not allowed to trample him. Apart from these three rules, there are no other rules."

Xue Wei nodded. This was essentially allowing players to hit each other with polo mallets. Would the Wu brothers let him off the hook? Last time, Wu Jizhi tried to capture him to break his leg, but he failed. What about today?

Xue Wei even suspected that Li Linfu was deliberately sick to make room for him and create an opportunity for the Wu brothers, since Xue Wei knew very well what kind of person Li Linfu was in history.

Xue Chongjian stepped forward and put a thickened leather helmet on Xue Wei. This type of helmet was longer and protected the neck as well.

"Beware of Wu Jizhi; he's the enemy's rear guard, and you'll be fighting against him."

Xue Wei nodded silently. He was no pushover; he was a hedgehog, and whoever pricked him would be in trouble.

...........

As the bell rang, the two teams rode into the arena. The Wu Clan Royal Team fielded five players: Wu Jizhi, Wu Chonglie, Wu Yanshou, Wu Yanxiu, and Wu Fuzhen.

The first four were the sons of Wu Sansi and Wu Chengsi, and the last one, Wu Fuzhen, was the son of Wu Yizong, the Prince of Hanoi. He replaced Wu Liankun.

Wu Chongxun did not play today either. He has not participated in any competitions this year. Participating in competitions requires a lot of training time, which he does not have time for. He is focused on currying favor with the emperor and wants to obtain the qualification of the fourth Hidden Guard.

However, he still served as the leader of the Wu clan's royal team this time.

In addition, there are five substitutes and one foreign aid substitute. Although they all have the surname Wu, they are not members of the Wu family, but rather Wu family servants who changed their surnames to their masters.

With the sound of a bell, Hou Junwu Jizhi hit the ball, and the match began.

The audience on both sides beat drums like thunder and shouted deafeningly, everyone shouting at the top of their lungs, extremely excited.

Half of the seats for the privileged were occupied. Yuan Min sat in the lower right corner, with Princess Taiping, Li Lingyue, sitting next to her as always. Li Lingyue was not particularly interested in polo; she had come specifically to watch Xue Wei's match last night, and today she was there to watch her two sons' match as well.

The bottom left corner is the Wu family's special seat. In the first row sits Wu Chongxun and three women. In the middle are Wu Chongxun and Li Guo'er, and on either side are Wu Hui'er and Wu Sui's. Wu Hui'er is Xue Chongjian's wife and has been granted the title of Princess of Fangcheng County. However, she is in very poor health, sickly, and extremely thin. No matter how much tonics she takes, it is useless. Several imperial physicians said that she would not live past the age of twenty.

She was rather simple-minded, honest and dull. In modern terms, she had low emotional intelligence and was a bit clueless. For example, she should have been sitting with her mother-in-law, Li Lingyue, and Yuan Min to cheer on her husband and brother-in-law, but instead she was sitting in the Wu family's special seat with her future sister-in-law, Li Guo'er, and her younger sister, Wu Suisui. Wu Suisui could sit there, as she was not married and was still a member of the Wu family.

Even a willful woman like Li Guo'er knows that one cannot sit in the wrong seat in public. She is not officially married yet, but she is already sitting in the Wu family's seat.

Wu Huier was married to Xue Chongjian, but she still sat in her maiden family's position, so there was a reason why her mother-in-law, Li Lingyue, disliked her.

Of course, Li Lingyue herself is also a daughter-in-law of the Wu family and should sit in the Wu family's seat, but over the years, she has never publicly acknowledged that she is a daughter-in-law of the Wu family. The husband she has always considered is Xue Shao.

After marrying Wu Youji, she gave birth to two sons and two daughters. These four children were nominally Wu Youji's children, but Li Lingyue knew perfectly well whose blood they were. How could she possibly be as loving with Wu Youji as she was with her ex-husband Xue Shao?

On the polo field, the ball flew high, the horses galloped wildly, and Xue Wei caught the ball a hundred paces away on the left, volleyed it back, and the polo ball went into the hole again. With a muffled thud, Wu Yanxiu struck Xue Wei on the back with his polo mallet. This was not intentional; Wu Yanxiu did not know that Wu Chongxun was going to attack Xue Wei.

"Sorry! It was an accidental shot." Wu Yanxiu clasped his hands in apology.

On the stands, Wu Chongxun narrowed his eyes. He could see that Xue Wei's hair was unharmed. He immediately realized that Xue Wei was wearing inner armor. This bastard is a commoner now. How dare he wear inner armor?

Wu Chongxun immediately seized upon this minor flaw.

He immediately got up and walked down from the stands. "Chongxun, where are you going?" Li Guo'er asked.

"The first round is about to end. I'm the team leader, so I need to check on their logistics. I'll be right back."

Li Lingyue also noticed that Xue Wei was wearing inner armor, and she asked in a low voice, "Is A-Wei wearing inner armor?"

Yuan Min shook her head. "It's not inner armor, it's a silver-threaded robe. He's a county magistrate, so he can wear it. I had a feeling that the Wu brothers were going to make a move against Xue Wei today, so I specially prepared it for him."

Li Lingyue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, patted Yuan Min's hand, and smiled, "You've thought this through very well!"

"This former daughter-in-law is much more reliable than the other one," Li Lingyue glanced at Wu Huier with dissatisfaction.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

The crisp sound of the clappers rang out, marking the end of the first round. The score was 3-1, with Zuo Qianniu's team scoring three goals, two of which were scored by Xue Wei.

Both teams returned to their tents to rest. Xue Wei picked up a cup of water and took a couple of sips. Xue Chongjian stepped forward and tugged at his clothes, "You're wearing inner armor too?"

"It's not inner armor, it's a thicker undergarment, so no one can find fault with it."

Chen Xuanli was taken aback. "Didn't I tell you to wear inner armor? Just take it off after the match, no one will notice!"

Xue Wei smiled. "Some people will pay attention!"

Who would care?

No sooner had Chen Xuanli finished speaking than Imperial Censor Wan Guojun entered the tent with several officials. He went directly to Xue Wei and coldly said, "Please, Young Master Xue, remove your coat!"