Starting with a beautiful woman's private doctor

"Master Ding, I can't do it, I—"

Erniu instinctively wanted to refuse, but Dingye didn't say anything more. He just patted Erniu on the shoulder and walked into the inner room.

Watching the figure disappear behind the curtain, Erniu stood in the main room for a long time, his mind a jumbled mess.

Let's not even mention that Li Erdan and Zhang Laosan are figures on par with Yuan Da Lao.

Both sides also hired outside help, who are rumored to be ruthless characters with real blood on their hands.

He was nothing more than a lackey following the elder statesman.

Erniu didn't think he was capable of representing Qiaobei, and he couldn't understand Dingye's intention in doing so.

But now, he has no other choice.

Erniu sighed, turned around and left the main room.

Whether he understood it or not, tomorrow was the Jockey Club meeting, and there was one more thing he had to do before then.

The cellar was in the northwest corner of the courtyard. The entrance was a wooden door facing upwards, with an old brass lock hanging on the latch.

When the young man guarding the door saw Erniu coming over, he wisely stepped aside.

Erniu unlocked the door, pushed it open, and walked down the stone steps.

The flame of the kerosene lamp cast a dim yellow light on the wall. Yuan Laoda sat leaning against the corner of the wall, one hand on his knee, a bruise on his wrist where Ding Ye had pinched him.

He heard footsteps, looked up, and saw that it was Erniu. He twitched his lips.

"What, are you here to laugh at your older brother?"

"I brought you some medicinal wine."

Erniu squatted down and placed a small porcelain bottle next to Elder Yuan's hand. "You need to rub the wound on your wrist to open it up, otherwise it will swell up even more tomorrow."

"tomorrow?"

The eldest brother didn't look at the porcelain vase, but stared at Erniu's face. "Tomorrow is the Three-Way Horse Racing Meeting. Master Ding asked you to replace me, right?"

Erniu didn't speak, but Yuan Laoda read the answer from his silence and suddenly laughed.

The laughter sounded particularly jarring in the cellar. After he finished laughing, he leaned back, his head resting against the wall.

"Good, very good. I've followed him for so many years, and he can shut it down or replace it whenever he wants. You, on the other hand, have gotten a free lunch."

"Li Erdan found someone with epilepsy, and Zhang Laosan got involved with the Dragon King of the North Sea. That's wrong of them, but you can't go after Xue Jiu, brother—"

"Why can't I go to Xue Jiu?"

The elder brother's voice suddenly rose, "Li Erdan can do it, Zhang Laosan can do it, so why can't I?"

"They can collude with outsiders, but I, Elder Yuan, have to obediently abide by that stupid rule? This Southern Township is no longer a place where one old geezer can call the shots!"

"How much stronger did Li Erdan's men become thanks to the epilepsy? How much equipment did Zhang Laosan take from Zhao Zhenhai?"

"And me? I followed the rules of Qiaobei, the ridiculous regulations set by that old geezer, and all I got was to watch those two families grow stronger and stronger, while my men dwindled in number!"

"Of course, I can work without outsiders, as long as he teaches me kung fu, but did he teach me? Did he teach me!"

"Master Ding must have his reasons—"

"What hardship could that old codger possibly have?"

The elder brother slammed his fist into the ground, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. "So many young men in the north of the bridge, so many young men in the south, not a single one in two generations has that damned talent for martial arts?"

"He doesn't teach us martial arts because he's afraid we'll learn them and rebel against him. He just wants to be a local tyrant for life!"

"Big brother!"

Erniu's voice rose as well, "Have you forgotten what Master Ding taught us when we were kids?"

"He never held anything back. All the basic skills we learned were taught to us by the old man, move by move. It's just that beyond that—"

"He won't teach anyone above that level."

The elder brother continued, his voice turning cold, "Erniu, stop defending him. You know nothing. All you know is to follow me and him like an obedient dog."

"Now this dog has finally found a bone and is going to fight for Qiaobei. Are you happy? Are you smug? Do you think that if I, surnamed Yuan, fall, you, Erniu, can take over?"

Erniu jumped to his feet and clenched his fists.

He looked at the eldest brother leaning against the corner of the wall, opened his mouth, wanting to say that he was not a dog, that Master Ding was not that kind of person, and that he had never thought of replacing the eldest brother's position.

But he couldn't say anything.

The elder statesman was completely blinded by rage and wouldn't listen to anything anyone said.

He turned and walked toward the stone steps, each step heavy.

The elder's voice lashed out from behind like a whip.

"Go on! Go be the old man's dog! Remember this: you're standing at the starting line today not because you're so capable, but because you, you bastard, sold me out!"

Erniu stopped halfway down the stone steps without turning back.

He stood there for a long time, then continued walking uphill.

Pushing open the cellar door, the sunlight stung his eyes.

He latched the door, stood in the doorway for a moment, and took a deep breath.

Just then, Chu Nan and Jiang Yingxue, who were about to leave, happened to pass by.

"Erniu?"

Seeing that he looked unwell, Chu Nan asked, "What happened?"

No, no.

Erniu wiped his face and forced a smile. "Young Master, Young Madam, are you going out?"

"I felt so stuffy inside, I wanted to go out for a walk."

Chu Nan glanced at him but didn't press further. "If you have time, could you show us around?"

Erniu was just wondering what to do to distract himself, so he readily agreed.

The three of them left the courtyard and walked east along the village road.

The village was quiet, with only the sounds of frogs and insects, and the occasional bark of a dog.

Erniu walked ahead, his pace much slower than usual, and he spoke much less.

After walking for a while, Chu Nan finally asked, "What exactly is this grand gathering in Nanxiang that you mentioned before?"

Erniu snapped out of his daze. "Young master, are you asking about the Three Horse Racing Association? That's a long story."

"The rules of the horse racing festival were passed down from the older generation. Back then, it was called the Nanxiang Horse Racing Festival. Young people from more than a dozen surrounding villages would come to participate, compete in horse riding, and resolve disputes between villages."

"Later, when Master Ding conquered the surrounding villages and unified the southern region, the horse racing event became a friendly competition to foster relationships."

He turned a corner and pointed to a large expanse of water that was faintly visible in the twilight in the distance.

"That's Longquan Lake over there. The Three-Party Horse Racing Club will be held there tomorrow. Perfect timing, I'll take you there to take a look and tell you about the rules of the club."

The three walked and talked, and Erniu gradually opened up, his tone becoming much lighter than before.

"After Master Ding retired from the limelight, the three villages of Qiaobei, Qiaonan, and Qiaodong, centered around Longqiao, gradually became the three most powerful forces in the southern region."

"None of the three parties were willing to submit to the others, but Master Ding wouldn't stand by and watch them fight amongst themselves, so he set new rules based on the existing rules of the Jockey Club."

"A tripartite horse race is held every three years. Each of the three villages sends a team to compete in horseback riding and martial arts. The village that wins the most wins the right to make decisions for the next three years."

"In previous years, Qiaobei had always been the top team because they had many veteran players, and he was also capable of playing himself."

Erniu's tone turned somber as he said this, "But things have changed in the last few years..."