Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Xue Wei followed the steward to the main hall. At the entrance, he immediately saw a person he disliked, Cui Shi, who was chatting with a middle-aged man. The man glanced at Xue Wei, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes.

The steward stepped forward and announced to the middle-aged man, "Master, Young Master Xue has arrived!"

The steward called him Master, and Xue Wei knew who this person was: Yuan Min's uncle, Yuan Xiao, who was also the one who had been trying his best to bring Cui Shi and Yuan Min together.

Yuan Yao didn't even lift his eyelids, coldly saying, "I don't know this person. Go and report to the Old Master!"

Helpless, the steward could only return with a wry smile and say, "Young master, please wait a moment, I'll go and inform the old master!"

The steward entered the main hall. Cui Shi was dressed in a newly tailored green robe and a gauze hat. He sized up Xue Wei and then laughed loudly, "Young Master Xue, I heard you were playing polo in your burial clothes?"

The crowd around them burst into laughter. Xue Wei said calmly, "That burial garment is called the Silver Thread Garment. There are only five left in the entire Tang Dynasty. Yuan Min spent six thousand strings of cash to bring it back, intending to present it to my grandfather. I'm just trying it on to let my yang energy flow. Does Young Master Cui find it funny?"

Cui Shi's smile froze on his face, and everyone around him awkwardly stopped smiling.

At this moment, Yuan Yao patted Cui Shi's arm, "Let's go in! We don't need to pay attention to some people."

Cui Shi glanced smugly at Xue Wei, then followed Yuan Yao into the main hall. After a while, the steward came out and said, "Young Master Xue, please follow me!"

He led Xue Wei into the main hall.

...........

The Fourth Courtyard was where Yuanmin's father lived. After her father passed away, Yuanmin and her mother, Yang, lived in the Fourth Courtyard.

At this moment, in Yuan Min's boudoir, Yuan Min was chatting with several close girlfriends.

"Amin, please give my second brother a chance! He is deeply in love with you, and you two grew up together. If you marry my second brother, you will be my sister-in-law, and we can be together every day."

The speaker was Dugu Jiao, Yuan Min's best friend. Her second brother, Dugu Yizhi, was one of Yuan Min's many suitors and was considered the most promising by everyone.

Not long after Yuan Min's divorce last year, Dugu Yizhi began to pursue her intensely. He pursued her for a year without success. One reason was that Yuan Min had no feelings for him; they were too familiar with each other, making it difficult for her to fall in love.

In reality, most people don't get married for love; they just get married because they're compatible and it's time to get married when they're of a certain age.

Dugu Yizhi was indeed a good match. They were well-matched in terms of social standing and appearance. They had grown up together and knew each other well. Yuan Min herself also had a good impression of him, but in the end, she did not agree to be with him because they were a good match.

One very important reason for this is that Dugu Yizhi already had a two-year-old son, born to a concubine. The concubine was a dancer and could not become the principal wife, but she had given birth to a son for Dugu Yizhi. Dugu Yizhi could not abolish the concubine, and the Dugu family would not agree to it either.

Yuan Min's principle was monogamy; she would never accept a concubine, let alone accept that Dugu Yizhi had a son. Dugu Yizhi pursued Yuan Min for a year, but his love ultimately failed to blossom.

Dugu Yizhi was the only man who almost won Yuan Min's heart. As for the other men, at least a dozen others expressed their love for Yuan Min on various occasions, but Yuan Min politely declined them all, using the excuse of mourning her father.

Another friend, Hou Mochen Xian'er, pouted and said, "Ah Jiao, don't just grab any opportunity to mention your second brother. You should give others a chance too, okay?"

Hou Mochen Xian'er leaned forward and smiled at Yuan Min, "Amin, you don't know, do you? There's a group of your admirers competing in archery over at the archery range!"

"Why are we comparing arrows?" Yuan Min asked, puzzled.

"They're all vying to be the first to toast you! You're the birthday boy today, and these guys are all eager to be the first to toast you. Let's go! Let's go check out the Arrow Garden; it's sure to be a lot of fun."

Dugu Jiao jumped up and pulled Yuan Min along, "Let's go take a look! My second brother is here too. His archery skills are extremely high. You should go and admire him!"

Yuan Min smiled and shook her head, "You guys go ahead! I'm too lazy to go."

"You're the birthday person, how can you not go? Besides, you used to enjoy watching them shoot arrows!"

Yuan Min smiled faintly, "The past is the past. Today I promised someone I wouldn't make him jealous!"

"It's not your playboy ex-husband, is it? Amin, you've been divorced for a year, why are you still entangled? Do you want to get back together with him?"

"I'm watching his performance, and so far he's doing quite well."

Another friend, Dou Wenniang, asked curiously, "Amin, did that young master Xue give you some expensive gift? You've been speaking up for him all day."

"He did give me a gift, but it wasn't expensive at all. I really like it, so I'm showing it to you."

Yuan Min took out the Q-version drawing by Xue Wei, spread it out, and her three friends crowded around, their eyes widening in surprise.

"Oh my! How cute! Amin, it's a drawing of you! It's so lifelike, haha! Haha! You're holding the arrow upside down, it's so adorable, I love it too!"

Dugu Jiao stared at it for a long time, then suddenly sighed, "Amin, how much care must she have put into you to paint such a lifelike portrait? Now I understand, Second Brother really has no hope."

Just then, footsteps sounded outside. Zuo Qingling said at the door, "Miss, Young Master Mao has something urgent to discuss. It seems that Young Master Xue has encountered some trouble."

Yuan Min was startled and dropped the box in her hand to the ground.

…………

In the main hall, a dozen guests were having a pleasant conversation. The head seat was occupied by Yuan Chen, the seat to his right was empty, which should have been the seat for Yuan Min, the birthday celebrant, and the seat to his left was originally the seat for the eldest son, Yuan Yao, but Yuan Yao had voluntarily given it to Cui Shi.

The others were all heads of various Guanlong aristocratic families. Xue Wei was sitting in the last seat, which was obviously a deliberate attempt to ignore him. It was also the family head Yuan Chen who was using the seating arrangement to tell Xue Wei that Cui Shi was the grandson-in-law he had chosen, and that he should know better than to bother Yuan Min anymore.

Yuan Chen specially invited the famous Taoist priest Hu Chao to examine Cui Shi's face. Hu Chao's evaluation was "the demeanor of a prime minister." It was these four words that made Yuan Chen believe that Cui Shi was the most suitable husband for his granddaughter Yuan Min.

At this moment, Dugu Xu smiled and asked Cui Shi, "I heard that the Emperor has decided to appoint my nephew Cui as the Director of Ceremonial Affairs. Is that true?"

Cui Shi feigned modesty, saying, "A minor promotion is nothing to boast about!"

"Nephew Cui is too modest!"

Hou Mochen, standing nearby, smiled and said, "The Imperial Censor is a sixth-rank official, and the Assistant Director of Ceremonial is a fifth-rank official. That's a promotion of four ranks. Moreover, the Assistant Director of Ceremonial is an official position highly valued by the Emperor. Nephew Cui, the Emperor has received you, hasn't he?"

"I will summon you the day after tomorrow, and the appointment will be officially announced after the meeting!"

"Nephew Cui, you're so young to have been summoned by the Emperor; your future is truly limitless!"

Xue Wei sneered inwardly. The Court of Imperial Sacrifices was Shangguan Wan'er's territory. Gao Jian had previously been appointed as the Director of Ceremonial Affairs only because he had latched onto Shangguan Wan'er's coattails.

Cui Shi was only appointed as a censor last year, and this year he was promoted four ranks to become the assistant director of ceremonies. Do I need to explain why?

Yuan Yao excitedly said to his father, Yuan Chen, "Father, Master Hu's judgment of people is truly accurate!"

Yuan Chen stroked his beard and smiled, "My dear nephew, you've already broken through the fifth rank at such a young age; your future is truly limitless!"

The fifth rank was the first major hurdle in the Tang Dynasty's official system, and it was the key for middle and lower-level officials to rise to middle and high-level positions. The official rank of the sixth rank was still Chaoyilang, but when one reached the fifth rank, the official rank became Chaosan Dafu.

The fifth rank is like the Dragon Gate that a carp leaps over. Countless officials spend their entire lives trying to reach the sixth rank, but once they jump to the fifth rank, they can go straight to the fourth or third rank, and at the very least, they can become the governor of a prefecture.

Cui Shi was extremely pleased with himself. He chuckled and said, "This is all thanks to the Emperor's favor. Uncle Yuan, all my elders, I don't know what precautions to take when the Emperor summons me. Could you please remind me?"

Even Yuan Kun, who was sitting next to Xue Wei, couldn't stand this arrogant attitude. Yuan Kun was the eldest grandson of the Yuan family and the only junior. He was sitting at the very back, while Xue Wei's seat was a temporary addition.

Everyone chimed in with their own words, flattering Cui Shi, who was about to be received by the emperor.

Cui Shi suddenly glanced at Xue Wei and raised his voice to ask, "Brother Xue, where have you been working lately?"

In fact, Yuan Chen knew that Xue Wei had won first place in polo, but what was polo? Anyone could play it, how could it compare to the Master of Ceremonies? His face immediately turned very ugly.

Xue Wei scoffed, "I make a living doing small business; it's nothing compared to the prestige of Magistrate Cui!"

Cui Shi raised an eyebrow. "Oh! The small business you're talking about is that wine shop, right? Master Xue is quite busy. Are you here to deliver wine to the Yuan residence today? Won't sitting here interfere with Master Xue's business?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Yuan Chen could no longer contain himself and let out a heavy snort. "Young Master Xue, a quarter of an hour is up. Butler, escort him out!"

Steward Liu sighed inwardly and stepped forward, saying, "Young master, please! I'll see you out."

Xue Wei slowly stood up, and suddenly, with a 'clang,' a gold medal fell to the ground.

Xue Wei seemed not to have seen it and turned to leave. Yuan Kun, who was standing next to him, hurriedly called out, "Young Master Xue, you dropped your gold medal."

"Oh! Could you please pick this up for me?"

Yuan Kun bent down to pick it up, but suddenly his face changed drastically, and he began to tremble. He stared intently at the six characters on the gold medal: "Gold Medal of the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty."

Xue Wei stepped forward, picked up the gold medal, and said with a faint smile, "I'm sorry to have bothered the Yuan family today!"

He turned and strode away. At that moment, Yuan Yao noticed his son was motionless and trembling. He asked curiously, "Kun'er, what's wrong?"

Yuan Kun, with a mournful face, said, "Grandfather, Father, that gold medal is...it's the Emperor's gold medal!"

For a moment, the main hall was completely silent; everyone was stunned.