Chapter 496: Fifth Young Master Xu, you really know how to pretend! [Thanks! Bow again!]

"Ha!"

"Giddyap!"

The angry shouts of controlling horses on the polo field were endless.

"Deng deng~ deng deng~"

The rumbling sound of horses' hooves swept past!

In the Chai family's tent,

Gu Tingyi sat beside Chai Zhengzheng, looked at the situation on the field, turned his head, and said: "Zhengzheng, it's strange today! Just now when I was in my family's tent, suddenly several managing mamas from several families came over to talk and greet me!"

Chai Zhengzheng was just about to speak,

when Zhang Wu Niang stood at the entrance and beckoned: "You two stop chatting, come over and take a look, today's polo is quite good!"

After finishing, Wu Niang looked at the situation on the field, waving her hand while saying urgently: "Han family, don't be cowardly! Squeeze him! Squeeze him hard!"

Watching Wu Niang's appearance, Chai Zhengzheng and Gu Tingyi looked at each other and sat outward.

Just as the two looked outward,

"Hee-ly-ly~~"

A horse's neigh came!

After a "thump!" sound,

a horse on the field turned sharply while fighting for the ball and was directly squeezed to the ground by another steed!

The knight rolled on the ground nimbly so as not to be pressed by his mount.

"Oh my!"

Seeing this scene, Chai Zhengzheng and Gu Tingyi both stood up.

Gu Tingyi stretched his head to look and asked urgently: "Wu Niang, who is that? Is he okay!"

"Han Fifth Young Master!"

Wu Niang replied.

Hearing this, Gu Tingyi rolled his eyes, and the meaning of "serves him right" was about to overflow.

After all, Han Fifth and that group had been at odds with Gu Tingye and Xu Zaijing from the beginning.

The two had just finished speaking,

when a burst of cheers came from the field.

It turned out that the Northern Liao polo team had scored a goal.

On the other side of the polo field, the fallen horse had already stood up again.

The disciples of the Zhongshan Marquis Sha family looked at Han Fifth Young Master, who had remounted, and asked with concern: "Cousin, are you okay?"

Han Chengyun shook his head on horseback, patted the dust off his body, rode his horse forward, and said: "I'm fine!"

At this time, Zhao Weiguan of Northern Liao, who had squeezed Han Chengyun down just now, also rode over: "Just now it was an unintentional mistake, Brother Han, are you okay?"

"Mm! Giddyap!"

Han Chengyun nodded and rode his horse to the side.

At this time, another Northern Liao knight leaned over, looked at Zhao Weiguan, who remained in place, and smiled, whispering: "Let's see if he dares to fight us hard again!"

Zhao Weiguan nodded with a smile: "Giddyap!"

After more than half a joss stick of time,

the polo ball flew to the side of the field,

and Lu Sanlang rode over,

"Boo!!"

Outside the polo field wall, the wealthy Bianjing residents watching the battle on the trees booed loudly.

The status of Great Zhou merchants had already risen, and their children could take the imperial examinations.

Not to mention these wealthy Bianjing residents, who knows if some had spent seven or eight thousand strings of cash to marry a woman of the imperial clan.

It's a pity that those who could enter the field today were either official families or nobles.

"What kind of playing is this!"

"What's the point of not daring to grab or fight today!"

Listening to the "interference" outside the field, Lu Sanlang couldn't care about scolding back, just looking at the Northern Liao knight galloping toward him,

"Pa!"

He hit the polo ball out somewhat flusteredly.

Then

watching the polo ball being directly "passed" to the Northern Liao knight's club, Lu Sanlang hurriedly rode away to defend.

After the person walked far away,

"Cowardly prisoner!"

There were faint scolding sounds outside the field.

There were also wealthy residents who threw the fruit, food, and copper coins in their hands into the field as "weapons."

"Ta"

"Ding"

Some copper coins hit the Imperial Guard armor of the guard standing on the inside of the wall,

and Xu Yizhou, a former vanguard soldier of the Western Army and now an Imperial Guard officer, held his unsheathed waist saber in one hand and shouted: "What are you all doing! If you throw again, this official will ask the cavalry outside to arrest you all!"

Hearing this, looking at the cavalry wandering around on the trees,

the wealthy resident audience on the trees outside the wall instantly quieted down.

After a while,

"Whew~"

An eunuch rode a horse and stopped nearby.

The eunuch looked at Xu Yizhou standing by the wall and shouted sharply: "This Yuhou, His Majesty has an order, guards are not allowed to intimidate the people by the field! As long as they don't cross the wall, let the people say what they want and do what they want!"

Xu Yizhou hurriedly bowed and cupped his hands before he could speak,

"His Majesty is wise!"

The wealthy residents and audience on the trees outside the wall shouted loudly.

The eunuch got off his horse with a straight face,

came to Xu Yizhou, and whispered: "Yuhou has worked hard, the grievances suffered today, His Majesty has kept them in his heart."

"Yes!"

Xu Yizhou hurriedly bowed and cupped his hands.

"Mm!"

After the eunuch got on his horse, he continued to rush toward the walls in other directions.

Looking from afar,

there was more than one eunuch who went to instruct the guards.

Therefore,

before the eunuchs returned to the grand tent,

the scolding and cheering sounds around the field grew louder.

The scolding was louder,

after all, there were seven black flags representing the Northern Liao polo team on the side of the field, and only three green flags representing the Great Zhou polo team.

"Dang~"

After a gong sounded,

the horses galloping on the polo field slowed their pace.

"A few, I concede!"

Zhao Weiguan and the others cupped their hands and smiled one after another.

Han Chengyun and the others cupped their hands and returned the salute with a fake smile.

Subsequently,

both teams came to the front of the grand tent.

After a round of salutes and rewards,

the Empress, who had finished encouraging the two teams, looked at Zhao Fang with a smile and said: "Imperial Son, do you have anything to say?"

After Zhao Fang nodded, he looked at Han Chengyun under the steps outside the tent and asked suspiciously: "Han family's Yun Ge'er, you were clearly very powerful on the field at the beginning, what happened later?"

Han Chengyun cupped his hands and just wanted to speak.

Zhao Fang continued: "Is it because the horse was squeezed down?"

"Uh, replying to Your Majesty, yes!"

Zhao Fang nodded: "I suppose on this field, with your status as the Duke's legitimate son, usually no one dares to treat you like this."

Han Chengyun cupped his hands and lowered his head: "Your Majesty is wise! That is exactly so!"

"How do the two polo teams later compare to you?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, they are not as good as us!"

Listening to Han Fifth Young Master's words, Zhao Fang looked at the nodding Northern Liao people with a smile.

"Mm! Withdraw."

"Yes."

After the people left,

the Empress looked at Zhao Fang's appearance and said: "Why? Can't wait?"

Zhao Fang nodded repeatedly: "Mother, although it was brilliant, we have already lost two matches!"

The Empress smiled and looked toward the direction of the madams: "Invite the Wu family over."

The Grand Eunuch hurriedly replied.

A moment later,

Madam Wu came to the Empress, and after listening to a few words, nodded repeatedly.

Another eunuch left the grand tent and walked toward Xu Zaijing and the others who were still talking on the side.

At Xu Zaijing's place,

the eunuch brought the mounts of He Guan and Cao Yi to the front, bowed, and saluted: "A few young masters, prepare to take the field! His Majesty can't wait!"

Xu Zaijing and the others hurriedly cupped their hands and replied.

"Do a few young masters want to play a match with our Great Zhou polo team first to warm up, or?"

Listening to the eunuch's question,

after the few whispered to each other, Xu Zaijing said: "No need! Just ask which polo team from Jin Kingdom or Northern Liao wants to challenge us!"

"Yes!"

During the break on the field,

the grand tent was bustling with noise,

and many madams and ladies were talking about "We can't lose again!" "The envoys of the two countries don't understand etiquette," "Are these few children who just took the field capable?" and other topics.

On the side of the field,

the Jin Kingdom and Northern Liao delegations were pulling and tugging at each other in front of the Great Zhou Ministry of Rites officials, talking about who would take the field first, looking quite like they were going to fight for it.

Near the stables in the distance,

Qingyun, Zhique, and Diaoche were riding horses, leading the mounts with fixed polo clubs for their respective young masters and galloping toward the field.

"Zhique!"

On the field,

Gu Tingye, who was warming up while walking, shouted to the servant in the distance.

Zhique looked at his young master's gesture, let go of the reins of Gu Tingye's mount, and let the horse gallop.

A moment later,

Qingyun saw Xu Zaijing also beckoning in the distance, so he also let go of the reins of the little Xiao Li Ju.

Two spirited horses galloped toward their respective masters one after the other.

The unusual movement on the field

very much attracted the attention of the madams in the tents on the side of the field.

The people on the trees outside the wall were also discussing it, and someone shouted:

"Hey hey hey! The horse ran away! Is this group capable!"

"That's right! They've lost two matches!"

"Yo! This black horse behind looks spirited!"

"Look at its belly! It's still an uncastrated stallion! Rare!"

"Your eyes are so good!"

"Such a spirited uncastrated stallion, its temper must be very violent! Who is riding it?"

On the field,

Gu Tingye's mount rushed over straight,

and before the mount approached, Gu Tingye began to jog. When the mount ran over, Gu Tingye accelerated to run alongside the mount, then grabbed the saddle and ran a few steps, and then made a beautiful leap onto the horse.

At this time, there were only five people including Xu Zaijing on the empty polo field.

He Guan and Cao Yi were walking in front because they were riding horses.

The remaining three including Xu Zaijing were also standing very far apart.

This extremely beautiful movement of Gu Tingye was very eye-catching!

Therefore,

on the other side of the polo field, the "atmosphere group" responsible for beating drums and cheering near the scoring flags beat the drums rumblingly.

"Good!"

"Beautiful!"

Outside the wall, the audience who saw this scene cheered one after another.

Gu Tingye, who was on the horse, controlled the reins with one hand, and the speed of the mount galloping became even faster.

In the Empress's grand tent,

the madams who saw Gu Tingye's movements also chatted and laughed one after another.

Gu Tingye had also passed the provincial examination, and these few movements were worthy of the words "both civil and martial"!

Bai Shi felt the gazes of the madams and ladies beside her and smiled somewhat helplessly.

In the Chai family's tent,

"Wow! Sister Tingyi! Brother Gu Er's movement is so nimble!"

"I wonder if the young ladies who came to the polo field today will... because of this, want to be your sister-in-law?"

Wu Niang teased with a smile on her face.

Before Gu Tingyi, who was smiling reproachfully, could speak,

Wu Niang shook her head with some regret and said: "It's over, it's over! Brother Xu Fifth's limelight is going to be stolen by Brother Gu Er!"

Chai Zhengzheng, who was sitting on the side, blinked, raised her left hand to the table to support her cheek, and looked straight at the field: "Xu family's Fifth Young Master's mount hasn't run over yet! Whose limelight it is is not certain yet!"

Wu Niang shook her head and said: "Zhengzheng, when the horse runs over, Brother Xu Fifth can only get on the horse like this! Maybe... he will grab the saddle backhanded, do a handstand, and then ride backward on the horse's neck! I've seen the cavalry under my father practice like this!"

"This way he can steal some limelight! Oh my! He ran past!"

Wu Niang said, pointing her finger at the little Xiao Li Ju running past Xu Zaijing, shouting anxiously.

Zhao Fang also saw this scene,

he stood up somewhat anxiously, stretched his neck, and said with some anxiety in his eyes: "How..."

As he said this, he turned his head to look at the Empress.

The Empress smiled: "Wait and see!"

As she said this, she pressed Zhao Fang onto the chair.

Elsewhere, the audience who saw the little Xiao Li Ju run past, such as in the Jin Kingdom delegation, had already started laughing.

Several aristocratic disciples in the Northern Liao delegation also raised the corners of their mouths with winks.

Han Chengyun, however, was in no mood to laugh, just listening to Lu Sanlang's words of "It's rare for Xu Zaijing to make a fool of himself, we must watch carefully," and nodded.

On the polo field, Cao Yi and He Guan, who were walking in front, turned their heads to look and just smiled.

In front of the Ministry of Rites officials,

the Jin Kingdom envoy withdrew his gaze from the field and said: "The Northern Liao gentlemen just came off the field, they should rest for a while!"

"The polo match just now was just a warm-up!" The Northern Liao official replied.

The situation of the envoys of the two countries fighting for the opportunity to take the field became even more intense.

On the field,

in everyone's field of vision,

the little Xiao Li Ju that ran past turned around not far from Xu Zaijing with a cornering movement, slowed down slightly, and continued to gallop toward Xu Zaijing,

which was the cornering movement; because it had to maintain body balance, the little Xiao Li Ju lowered its center of gravity, and the galloping four limbs curled slightly with force plus the tilted angle, making the height of the horse's back much lower.

When the little Xiao Li Ju ran to Xu Zaijing's side and repeated the cornering movement just now, the horse's body blocked in front of Xu Zaijing.

At this time, the distance and height of the man and horse were extremely tacit, and the saddle under the little Xiao Li Ju almost brushed Xu Zaijing's waist.

Therefore...

Xu Zaijing just used a movement similar to a high whip kick to leap lightly and quickly onto the little Xiao Li Ju's back,

and at the same time, the movement of getting on the horse allowed Xu Zaijing's waist and legs to take the opportunity to give the little Xiao Li Ju an outward force. With Xu Zaijing's force plus the little Xiao Li Ju's strong and robust four hooves, the man and horse tacitly completed the movement.

To summarize, the little Xiao Li Ju galloped and turned, Xu Zaijing leaped forward, and the person was on the horse.

When the little Xiao Li Ju, which had completed the turn, picked up speed,

there was a burst of exclamation from the surroundings.

"Bravo!"

"Bravo!"

"Extremely wonderful! Extremely wonderful!"

Outside the polo field wall, the audience on the trees erupted in continuous cheers.

Some audience members, residents, and wealthy people, seeing this scene, didn't know how to express their excitement, so they could only throw silver, copper coins, folding fans, and exquisite pouches from their waists into the polo field.

It's no wonder the audience was excited; this movement was very difficult, and Xu Zaijing still had to cooperate with a spirited stallion that was not castrated and had a bad temper.

Xu Yizhou, standing by the wall, looked up at the objects falling like rain around him with a full face of smiles.

He turned to look at the excited crowd on the trees outside the wall, then looked at his excited comrades around him, and secretly thought: "You are just watching the fun, I have fought side by side with this young master!"

Thinking of this, he took a deep breath with great pride.

Gu Tingye, who was riding a horse, still had a proud expression on his face, but his eyes already held an expression of incomprehension.

"Whew!"

Gu Tingye reined in his mount and looked at Liang Han beside him: "No! How did Jing Ge'er get up there?"

Liang Han's gaze chased after Xu Zaijing, shaking his head blankly, and said: "This move... is really too damn handsome! Has this horse become a spirit!"

In the tent on the side of the field,

Zhao Fang and Liang Han had similar expressions, looking at Xu Zaijing, who was walking his horse on the field, dumbfounded, and said: "Mother... can I learn this?"

The Empress shook her head, feeling a little regret in her heart for bringing her imperial son to watch polo.

In the Chai family tent,

Wu Niang turned her head mechanically and looked at her two close friends beside her: "Zhengzheng, you were really right! Sister Tingyi, how did Xu Fifth complete this movement?"

Zhengzheng and Tingyi, who had their eyes widened, shook their heads in unison, and Chai Zhengzheng whispered: "I... I didn't see clearly."

In the Rong family tent,

behind the table set with fruit and dried fruit,

wearing light-colored robes,

and with a few exquisite jade ornaments simply pinned on her black hair, Rong Feiyan held her cheeks with both hands and looked at Xu Zaijing, who was walking his horse, with a full face of smiles.

The maid Seeing Xi Bu said with a surprised tone: "Miss, you are really amazing! You knew just now that Fifth Young Master Xu had even more amazing moves."

Rong Feiyan pursed her lips and smiled, saying: "He has always been amazing."

On the polo field,

He Guan and Cao Yi rode their horses skillfully, advancing and retreating,

while Liang Han rode his horse and walked a distance with the polo ball on his polo club.

"Ye Ge'er!"

Xu Zaijing, who was warming up, held his polo club and shouted.

Gu Tingye turned his head on horseback, looked at the polo ball passed over by Xu Zaijing, adjusted his posture, and swung his club fiercely.

"Pa!"

The polo ball in the air flew toward the goal from midfield.

After flying for a while,

"Dang!"

The polo ball hit the wooden board directly above the goal and fell to the ground.

"Oh my! Why is it like this again!"

Gu Tingye shook his head somewhat angrily.

On the side of the field,

seeing this scene, the envoys of the Jin Kingdom and Northern Liao countries

suddenly stopped pulling and tugging and fighting with each other,

but instead became very polite, pushing and yielding to each other,

"It should be your country to go first! My Northern Liao knights just finished a match! Need to rest for a while! Great Zhou has the demeanor of a great country, how could it take advantage of others' precarious position!"

Listening to the Northern Liao envoy's words,

the Great Zhou Ministry of Rites official turned his head to look at the Empress and Zhao Fang in the grand tent, smiled slightly, and said: "Then please let the Northern Liao talents go first! After all, your country was just warming up just now."

The Jin Kingdom envoy cupped his hands: "Yes, yes! That is exactly so!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 497 =====