Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Xue Wei locked himself in his room for a full day and night; he needed to think things through.

He closed his eyes, and the dark water dungeon reappeared in his mind, with its thick, foul-smelling filth and piles of white bones. He didn't want to think about that hellish water dungeon again, but now he forced himself to recall it.

Why was I able to survive in the Blackwater Prison?

Besides his personal will to survive, was it also related to his attitude? His humble and cowardly attitude towards survival satisfied a certain psychological need of the prison guards, so they were willing to let him live and give him a bowl of leftovers every day.

And now? He feels like he's fallen into an unknown sea. Should he eagerly swim around in it, or should he calmly crouch in a corner and first fully understand the dangers of this sea?

Yesterday's assassination attempt by Zhou Yinfeng was like a blow to his head, waking him up. He was not a newcomer; he was Xue Wei, a once arrogant and domineering son of a powerful family in Luoyang. There was a reason why Wu Sansi chose him as a scapegoat.

He was released from prison because the Zhang brothers wanted to fish for sharks, and he was merely the bait they chose, a piece of meat hanging on the hook, thrown into the sea, where countless sharks lurking in the shadows were staring at him with bloodshot eyes.

He had no idea how many people wanted to kill him, or how many were secretly watching him.

Xue Wei finally realized that his Tang Dynasty mother's decision to send him to feed the horses was not necessarily an explanation to the Wu family. Perhaps it was also to protect him, to hide him away, and to give him a humble identity so that those forces that coveted and hated him would despise him and gradually forget about him.

But how reckless and foolish he was in the Twelve Palaces last night! Xue Wei slowly covered his face with his hands.

The next day at dawn, Xue Wei finally made a decision: he would put on a mask and play the role of a cowardly and incompetent impoverished nobleman. He had realized that showing too much brilliance at this time would be tantamount to courting death.

Early in the morning, he first went to Old Sun's noodle shop and ate a bowl of noodles, then went straight to Princess Taiping's residence.

"I'll...feed the horses!"

He was like an exiled prisoner, humbly bowing his head before the chief steward.

The head steward gave him a complicated look, then nodded. "Come with me!"

The head steward led him to the stable and pointed to a corner piled with wheat straw. "You are responsible for chopping coarse feed. Chop two sacks a day. Once you're done, you can go back. In addition, you'll be provided with one meal."

The head steward handed him a bronze plaque, saying, "With this plaque, you can eat whenever you want, but you can only eat one meal a day."

After saying this, he pointed to a groom next to him, "He's the head of the stables. He'll explain to you how to cut grass."

The stable boy was about thirty years old, tall and fat, with a few white pockmarks on his face, and he was all smiles and fawning at the head steward.

The head steward ignored the head groom, stared at Xue Wei for a moment, sighed softly, and turned to leave.

The stables were large, with mottled and old walls. Along one side of the wall was a row of stables where ten fine horses were tethered.

On the other side, piles of wheat straw were stacked up like mountains, along with dozens of horse sacks filled with concentrated feed, mainly black beans and wheat.

Outside the stables was a small courtyard, and directly opposite was a two-story building, which the head steward said was a warehouse. Through the second-floor windows, one could see inside the stables.

There are seven people in the stable, serving ten fine horses. The head stableman we just saw is named Song Yang. He is responsible for purchasing horse feed, arranging the horses, observing their health, and contacting the veterinarian when necessary.

Then there are five grooms who do the heavy work: one is responsible for steaming and cooking the concentrated feed and supplying clean water, one is responsible for cleaning horse manure, three others are responsible for chopping the coarse feed, and finally there is a veterinarian who is not usually in the stable.

Horses have a large appetite, consuming about 15 jin (7.5 catties) a day, including 12 jin (6 catties) of roughage and 3 jin (1.5 kg) of concentrate.

Ten fine horses need to cut 120 catties of coarse feed every day. For three people, each person needs to cut 40 catties, which is two large sacks.

"That's your seat!"

Song Yang pointed to a corner where there was a wooden stump and a grass-chopping knife, where people could only sit on the ground.

Song Yang glanced at him, his tone brimming with undisguised smugness, "From now on, I will arrange everything for you. You must obey my rules, otherwise..."

Song Yang stared intently at Xue Wei, his eyes slowly turning red, like a wild beast spotting its prey, flashing with a strange light, a hint of excitement and anticipation.

He still had ten taels of silver in his arms, which a certain young master Wu had given him, asking him to "take good care" of this down-on-his-luck young master Xue.

Song Yang didn't say the rest of his sentence after "otherwise," but his subordinates understood. They all looked at Xue Wei with excited anticipation in their eyes, waiting for the order to rush forward.

Beating up those in power is their dream; they usually just dream about it, but maybe today their dream will come true.

Xue Wei silently sat down beside the wooden stump, picked up the grass-chopping knife, grabbed a large handful of wheat straw, chopped it finely, and poured it into a large burlap sack.

He grabbed another handful of wheat straw and continued to chop it finely.

Everyone worked at a leisurely pace, finishing the job precisely in one day. They knew that if they worked too fast, the foreman would definitely increase their workload.

Therefore, the first rule for survival in the workplace is to always pretend to be very busy, even if there's nothing to do.

Xue Wei failed to grasp this workplace principle. He was extremely efficient, having chopped forty catties of coarse fodder by noon. The other four looked rather unwell. Xue Wei's high efficiency only made them look lazy.

Xue Wei had other things to do in the afternoon. He got up and had just reached the door when the four men exchanged glances. One of them stepped forward and said a few words to Song Yang, the head stableman. Song Yang's face darkened, and he stood up coldly and said, "Young Master Xue, is everything alright now that you've finished chopping the feed? All five vats are empty. Hurry up and fetch water to fill them all up."

A tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs. The dignified Young Master Xue was driven here to feed the horses, and the few people in the stable were already eager to try.

Xue Wei stopped in his tracks, weighed the grass-chopping knife in his hand, and suddenly swung it back. A cold light flashed past Song Yang's face, and "crack!" The grass-chopping knife was driven hard into the wooden post, the end of the blade still trembling.

Xue Wei clapped his hands and strode away. He was only pretending to be humble; he wasn't really humble.

Song Yang's face was ashen, and he stood motionless as if he had been turned into a statue. The other four looked at his trouser leg and saw a string of yellow liquid flowing down it, dripping all over the ground.

..........

Xue Wei first went to the kitchen for lunch. He had a large appetite and ate three catties of mutton-filled flatbread in one go, and also drank a large bowl of mutton soup.

While chopping wheat straw, he realized he needed a sword. His opponent hadn't killed him last night and might come back a second time; he couldn't afford to be unarmed again.

To buy a sword, you need to have some money, so after lunch, he went straight to the Twelve Palaces. He hadn't cashed out the money he won gambling last night!

…………

The Twelve Palaces were almost deserted at noon, and Xue Wei arrived at the casino from yesterday, but there were no gamblers there either.

"Is Young Master Xue here to collect last night's prize?"

The steward gently covered his nose and stood two steps away to ask him. The faint stench of death emanating from him made many people avoid him, and Xue Wei himself didn't like it either.

"Something came up last night."

Xue Wei tossed a gambling token to the steward; it was the receipt for withdrawing money.

The manager took out an envelope and placed it on the table, pointing to the counter next to him. "This is a counter ticket, and there's half a copper coin inside. You can withdraw money with the copper coin."

Thank you!

Xue Wei glanced at the amount on the counter ticket and his eyelids twitched. It was 1,165 guan, the proceeds from pitch-pot and sword-fighting.

A thousand strings of cash! That's equivalent to a million in later times, something an ordinary person couldn't save up in a lifetime, but he easily won it with a single gamble.

Wu Liankun has lost face and substance, and has also suffered serious injuries. Will he let this go?

The manager explained, "The 165 strings of cash is Young Master Xue's own capital, and the 1,000 strings of cash is Young Master Wu's bet. The winner takes all, and the casino doesn't take a cut. However, the bets placed by other gamblers have nothing to do with Young Master Xue."

"I only bet 165 strings of cash, but Wu Liankun bet 1,000 strings. Isn't that unfair?"

The manager smiled slightly, "This is between you two. How much you bet is entirely voluntary; the casino won't interfere."

Xue Wei hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Did something else happen in the Twelve Palaces last night?"

"Nothing happened last night, but something big happened this morning. Lady Zhou, the mistress of Maoyue Palace, has gone to Chang'an to develop her career. The Twelve Palaces will be holding a new selection of the most beautiful courtesan. Young Master Xue is welcome to participate."

Xue Wei did not press the matter further. Zhou Yinfeng's departure was within his expectations. Zhou Yinfeng had failed to assassinate him and was afraid of his revenge, so she would inevitably leave.

Xue Wei exchanged 165 taels of silver at the nearby money exchange shop, and then transferred the remaining 1,000 strings of cash to a money exchange shop in the South Market. He didn't want to come to the Twelve Palaces again.

After settling the accounts, Xue Wei went directly to Nanshi.