Chapter 307: What's the Feeling [Extra 2, thanks to everyone for your support! Bowing again]

"Gu Er, you thieving bird, I'll finish you!"

"Your grandfather is right here, come on then!"

The person who was exchanging insults with Gu Tingye was about to drive his horse over with his companions to teach Gu Er a lesson, but Xu Zaijing drove his horse to Gu Tingye's side.

Zheng Xiao, Zhang Fangling, and Qi Heng also hurriedly drove their horses to separate the crowd.

"Don't do it!"

"Calm down!"

"Don't start a conflict!"

"Think about the martial artists of the Bai Gao state! Think about the sons of the Ruyang Marquis family!"

As soon as Qi Heng said this, the scene went quiet.

The other side felt Xu Zaijing's gaze, looked at each other, and calmed down a lot.

Xu Zaijing withdrew his gaze with a smile at the corner of his mouth and looked at Liang Han in confusion. Liang Han said with a bitter face:

"Brother Jing, those several are from the Tan family of the Duke of An, and they have some kinship with my family..."

Xu Zaijing nodded with deep thought in his eyes and shouted: "Which of you is from the fourth branch?"

No one paid him any mind.

Liang Liu Lang took a look and said: "Cough, Brother Jing, there is no fourth branch."

Xu Zaijing nodded. Pei Erge Pei beside him said in confusion:

"Liang Liu Lang, are they from the Tan family of the Regional Military Commissioner of the Tianwu Army?"

Liang Han nodded and said: "Yes, after the Bao family of the Ruyang Marquis was taken away, the Tan family took over."

Sixth Brother Pei looked at the sons of the Tan family and said to Liang Han:

"But several years ago in Taiyuan, there was always wind that the Duke of An was going to lead the Guangrui Army of the Gu family!"

"Pei Erge and I were still surprised when we found out later that Gu Hou was still leading the Guangrui Army."

Liang Han was about to speak when he saw Hai Chaojie pace his horse over and stand beside Xu Zaijing. Hai Chaojie smiled when he heard the words of the Pei brothers.

With Hai Chaojie taking the lead, Shen Herui and Fourth Brother Chen also hurriedly drove their horses over, followed by several sons of civil official families.

In terms of numbers alone, there were several times more people beside Gu Tingye than the Tan family. Although the fighting power of the sons of civil official families was not quite enough to look at, their momentum was sufficient.

Liang Han stopped talking and hurriedly rode his horse to the front:

"Several cousins, harmony is precious! Disperse, let's disperse!"

"Liang Liu Lang, are you standing with them too?"

Liang Han cupped his hands.

"Fine, then we'll see the truth on the polo field tomorrow!"

Hearing the words of the sons of the Duke of An, Xu Zaijing asked in confusion:

"What polo field tomorrow? Did we invite you?"

The sons of the Duke of An sneered:

"Pfft! The elders of our several ducal mansions begged His Majesty, and His Majesty gave his golden word. Why would we need your invitation?"

"Hahahaha! Don't even look at the Ministry of Rites..."

Before they finished speaking, several people lightly pulled their reins in happiness and ran toward the outside.

After they left, Gu Tingye coughed up a mouthful of phlegm and spat it on the ground.

And the Tianwu Army soldiers brought by the Tan family, acting as miscellaneous laborers, drove the sons of wealthy Bianjing families in the middle of the official road to the side, and then these few people directed the Liang family to strike the copper gongs.

Subsequently, they started racing their horses on their own.

Zhang Fangling to the side looked at the actions of the Tan family sons and shook his head.

Then he smiled and said to the Pei brothers:

"Gu Hou governs his family well, and Eldest Brother Yu comes from a noble background, yet he took first place in the second rank in one go. Naturally, the Guangrui Army should still be led by Gu Hou!"

"Fourth Brother is right."

Shen Herui to the side echoed.

"Only by walking the path of the imperial examinations do you know how difficult this ranking is!"

Hai Chaojie continued with full emotion.

After a while,

the sons of wealthy families in the middle of the official road gathered together again. With the sound of a gong, another group of horse racers rushed out.

And over there, Seeing Qiao Jiulang had already dismounted and was accompanying Yunniang and her maid as they walked toward this side, followed by the Feiyun Terrace carriage.

Along the way, he was assiduously talking to Yunniang, who was holding a hand warmer.

Just by the looks of this Yunniang of Feiyun Terrace, she was at the level of a future top courtesan.

As soon as she came to watch, some sons of wealthy families became even more excited, from time to time riding their horses to show off their skills and howling, wanting to attract Yunniang's gaze.

Unfortunately, this girl's gaze was fixed on the young masters from the noble and official families like Xu Zaijing and the others.

In Bianjing of the Great Zhou, the circumference of the outer city was less than fifty li.

After bypassing the imperial gardens like Jinming Pool, it would take less than half an hour for everyone's horses to finish the whole course.

Therefore, when Yunniang of Feiyun Terrace was cheering and rooting for Seeing Qiao Jiulang on the side,

horses that had set off earlier were already running back, panting heavily.

The Liang family servants to the side hurriedly stepped forward, took several cloth strips from the hands of the wealthy sons, and after verifying them one by one, shouted:

"First place, Young Master Zhang!"

After that wealthy young master dismounted, he was shivering. After proudly cupping his hands to those he knew around him and taking a look at Yunniang, he burrowed into his own warm carriage.

After a while,

the sons of wealthy families who wanted to race horses had mostly left.

The servants and guards of the Hai family, Shen family, and other civil official families who wanted to race horses had also set off in advance, guarding the road in sections.

Amidst the shouts of "Drive!" and "Ha!", they also rushed out.

Yunniang to the side looked at the many brothel women riding horses all around, and then looked at Xu Zaijing and the others who were still walking their horses to the side.

She said softly: "Jiulang, when will those several young masters start?"

"Yunniang, don't be anxious. We must wait for the several people in front to run further away before we can start, otherwise it will be too crowded!"

"The horses of those several are all good horses, especially the one under Brother Jing."

Yunniang to the side blinked her eyes above her veil and said: "Although this slave doesn't understand horses, this horse of Young Master Xu is so beautiful."

Seeing Qiao Jiulang said:

"Right! As beautiful as you!"

After Yunniang looked at Seeing Qiao Jiulang with her beautiful eyes, she said in a low voice:

"Jiulang, this slave thinks that this slave and this horse have one thing in common."

Seeing Qiao Jiulang looked at Yunniang in confusion and said: "Ah? There's more?"

Yunniang looked at him and said: "You... you... both want to ride."

As she spoke, Yunniang let out a soft moan and shyly walked toward the Feiyun Terrace carriage.

Seeing Qiao Jiulang was stunned. For some reason, his mind thought of the actions Rong Xian took toward Mother Ruan on a certain night. In the cold winter day, he only felt a dry heat on his body.

Watching Yunniang board the carriage, Seeing Qiao Jiulang thought again of the soft waist he had seen through the silk gauze in Mother Ruan's courtyard when the weather was hot before.

Seeing Qiao Jiulang secretly swore: "Yunniang! I, Qiao Jiu, will definitely go through fire and water for you, and will not refuse! This year on the Seventh Night, you will be mine!"

After entering the carriage, Yunniang placed her hand on the water tank, stuck out her tongue, and made a retching and eye-rolling motion.

The maid to the side saw Seeing Qiao Jiulang's appearance through the gap in the carriage curtain, turned her head, and said to Yunniang:

"Miss Yun, another one has taken the bait."

Yunniang took a deep breath and said:

"I don't know how many wealthy ones that fox-spirit Fangniang has found? I must suppress her this year!"

After speaking,

she lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the group of young nobles talking not far away:

"Why didn't those several look at me either! Did we lift the carriage curtain too quickly just now?"

The maid said: "Miss Yun, you will definitely suppress her! Too quickly? No, I don't think so..."

Before the words fell, the gazes of Zheng Xiao and Qi Heng looked over.

Yunniang reflexively put on a shy face, waited for a moment, and then lowered the carriage curtain.

After a quarter of an hour, Yunniang felt much warmer, and then she twisted her waist and stepped down from the carriage. Seeing Qiao Jiulang saw this and immediately walked over:

"Yunniang..."

Watching Xu Zaijing and the others walk to the starting point, Yunniang said:

"Brother Jiulang, are those several young masters about to start?"

"Yes!"

"Ha!"

Zheng Xiao and Gu Tingye to the side glanced at Yunniang, shouted with full vigor, and then galloped away on their horses!

After several roars, only Xu Zaijing remained at the starting point, his horse standing still.

"Brother Jiulang, why isn't that young master racing?"

"Brother Jing's horse is too good. He has to wait for them to run further away before Brother Jing will move."

Seeing Qiao Jiulang said, looking carefully at the face above Yunniang's veil, and swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Watching Qiao Jiu's gaze, the maid leaned slightly toward Yunniang's side; she had some skills in her hands.

At this time,

beside the starting point, a woman riding a horse paced over, wearing a veil just like Yunniang.

But her attire was full of heroic spirit, especially the red flower mark between her eyebrows, which were actually two red marks wiped on casually. Xu Zaijing tilted his head and glanced at this woman, nodded, and said:

"Miss Fang, we meet again."

Yunniang to the side saw this scene and silently cursed "little bitch" under her veil.

The horse under Xu Zaijing, however, was too lazy to even glance at the opponent beside it.

Wei Fangzhi had just opened her mouth to speak,

when the Dragon Colt and Xu Zaijing, with a mutual understanding, began to walk forward slowly.

The Dragon Colt's stride was too large; it took three steps, and the horse under Wei Fangzhi had to take five or six steps. When the Dragon Colt began to run, Wei Fangzhi could only return in frustration.

"Miss Yun, how can this person be like this? How can he just ride his horse past!"

Yunniang's maid said in a low voice.

Yunniang looked affectionately at Seeing Qiao Jiulang and said: "This sister, she just wants a person like Jiulang."

Without encountering the courier delivering urgent letters halfway like last year, Xu Zaijing this time rode the Dragon Colt and truly ran a circle around Bianjing City.

Actually, he had known the speed of the Dragon Colt when he went to the fief of the Prince of Yan before.

This time, it was just to test the state of the Dragon Colt in winter.

"Pei Erge Zheng, Little Brother will go first!"

Watching Xu Zaijing turn his head and speak to him from in front, Zheng Xiao continued to whip his horse in frustration.

Unfortunately, the speed of this Dragon Colt was even faster than the Li Colt of that day. Between the flying hooves, it overtook Zhang Fangling, who was further ahead, turned east at the southeast corner of Bianjing without slowing down much, and disappeared without a trace.

Zhang Fangling slowed his horse in frustration and said to Zheng Xiao, who was catching up:

"Next time, let him be a spectator!"

"Fourth Brother is right!"

After speaking, Zheng Xiao didn't slow down either and continued to gallop away.

"You..."

Outside Xinzheng Gate,

the crowd watching looked at the Dragon Colt galloping from the south,

and then looked at the group of young masters from the civil official families whose sweat hadn't yet subsided.

The young master of the Zhang family, who had just taken first place, had a face of disbelief. He said to the Liang family servant to the side:

"This, how long did he take?"

The servant looked at the incense stick and said: "Reporting to Young Master, less than two quarters of an hour."

That Young Master Zhang said: "And me? How long did I take just now?"

The servant asked others a few questions and then said: "You took more than half an hour."

This young master from a wealthy Bianjing household was stunned and muttered to himself:

"Running so far in two quarters of an hour, what is that feeling?"

After the last Qi Heng returned to outside Xinzheng Gate,

everyone went to Wu Tower nearby.

After the people and horses had washed up and eaten,

at the end of the Wei hour (after 3:00 PM), when Xu Zaijing and the others were preparing to return to the city,

they happened to run into the martial artists of the Jin envoy group who had finished inspecting the polo field and were returning.

Xu Zaijing and the others were walking together with Wanyan Zongjun. A martial artist beside him even said a few words to Xu Zaijing in a gibberish language.

The translator beside Wanyan Zongjun said:

"He said thank you, for not letting him hurt anyone that day."

Xu Zaijing smiled: "Tell him, the person he almost hurt that day is the owner of this polo field."

The martial artist said a few more words, and the translator said: "He said he will bring a trophy tomorrow as an apology for his rudeness! It is the silver wine pot that this martial artist treasures most."

Liang Han and Qi Heng to the side looked at each other and said: "Then, I'll wait for tomorrow!"

On this third day,

the Northern Liao envoy went to Nanxun Gate as in previous years to shoot crossbows.

But the Jin envoy,

brought fully armed martial artists to outside Xinzheng Gate.

On the dirt road outside the city gate,

the traces of yesterday's horse racing were still there.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 308 =====