Chapter 6: Horseball Field: Tents of the Noble Families and Official Ladies

At the transition between spring and summer, Xu Zaijing accompanied his older siblings under his mother’s guidance to Wu Dangzi’s horseball field outside the city walls.

To Xu Zaijing, this horseball field was the grand social hub of the capital’s noble families.

It was also a matchmaking ground for young men and women.

Each had their own circle.

Nobles ranked high and low, with countless marital ties;

the wives and daughters of officials also had complex relationships of superior-subordinate, fellow graduates, and teacher-student bonds.

People gathered in groups according to these connections.

On the horseball field,

outstanding performances sometimes drew the attention of noble ladies and official ladies, potentially leading to a desirable match others envied.

It could also be like Qi Xiaogongye Qi Heng, whom Xu Zaijing remembered, gaining favor from multiple noble ladies due to his brilliance—how it would turn out was hard to judge.

Tall steeds galloped across the field, thundering hooves echoing; after a goal, drummers beat drums in celebration, stirring blood and excitement.

Along the vast enclosure’s edge,

each family had sizable tents,

with only one side facing the field, the other three sides screened from view.

Noble ladies and official ladies could relax inside, whispering, clapping softly, cheering.

Loud screaming, however, was considered ill-bred and mocked.

The legitimate and illegitimate sons of each family faced no such restraint—they could stand by the field and cheer loudly at good plays.

The weather was neither cold nor hot; beneath the Ningyuan Marquis’s tent, Bai Shizheng sat on a couch, her belly swollen, one arm wrapped around Xu Zaijing seated on a chair.

Bai Shizheng beamed; Xu Zaijing wore a white inner robe over a dark blue silk small robe embroidered with silver-white rising-flower qilin patterns.

A slightly older boy tugged at Bai Shizheng’s left hand, wanting to be held.

“Mother, I’m your own child—why do you always hold him?”

This drew smiles from the women in the tent.

“Mother, hold me too!”

Xu Zaijing knew this was Gu Tingye.

He was kind—he offered his pastry to Gu Tingye, but Gu Tingye refused.

“Get up, let your mother hold you—my mother wants to hold me!”

“Yeye, Jingge is our guest when he comes to our tent—he deserves extra care,” chuckled Chang Mama beside them.

Inside the tent, a girl of eighteen or nineteen did not smile; though her gold-threaded silver-butterfly brocade narrow-sleeved jacket was luxurious, it was worn, and her hair ornaments were sparse.

In the tent’s corner, she hugged the boy in her arms and whispered: “Yu’er, did you see? She is not your birth mother—your mother was cast out by your father because of her, and died of sorrow. She is the murderer of your mother.”

“Auntie, is that true? But Bai Shizheng treats me well.”

“Yu’er, your auntie is your mother’s own blood sister—the most devoted person in the world to you. Why would she lie?” said the girl’s maid gently.

Amid the tent’s cheerful atmosphere, the women’s laughter drowned out this trio’s quiet exchange.

The boy, thin and sallow-faced, with dark, bright eyes, frowned in confusion.

Sun Shizheng, returning from the horseball field, was unfastening her blue arm wraps, her forehead slightly damp; she approached the Ningyuan Marquis’s tent and saw her youngest son quietly eating pastries beside Bai Shizheng.

“Sister, you’re such a bother—this month, if that little rascal doesn’t find you, he wails. You’re nearly nine months along, yet still plagued by this little monster.”

Bai Shizheng looked at Xu Zaijing, peacefully eating beside her, her eyes full of warmth:

“Sister, no trouble at all—I have a bond with Jingge.

Today I truly wanted to stroll the garden with Chang Mama, but she said Jingge had come and urged me to watch you play horseball, so I came in our family’s carriage.

And luckily, the Marquis is off duty today—he’s playing over there in the men’s enclosure.”

Sun Shizheng looked at her son: “Little rascal, come here.”

Dressed in her embroidered horseball tunic, Sun Shizheng handed her arm wraps to Xiao Zhu, yet did not go to Bai Shizheng to take Xu Zaijing—she stood at a distance, letting Xu Zaijing walk to her himself.

A five- or six-year-old boy beside Gu Tingye followed closely behind Xu Zaijing after Bai Shizheng set him down, clearly guarding him.

Sun Shizheng’s eyes filled with approval; she glanced questioningly at Bai Shizheng.

“This is Xiao Er Tingye’s servant, Zhi Que.”

Sun Shizheng held Xu Zaijing and glanced at Xiao Zhu beside her.

Xiao Zhu held out a silver cake in one hand and grabbed the boy’s other hand.

“Little master, walk slowly—this is a gift from my lady.”

She placed the silver cake into the servant Zhi Que’s hand.

The servant looked back at Bai Shizheng and Gu Tingye; seeing no one object, he took it.

He bowed respectfully.

“Thank you, Lady.”

Before the crowd, Sun Shizheng smiled and said to Bai Shizheng:

“Lady, Wu Dangzi is pregnant and cannot play—I’ll go keep her company. Your time is near too—please be extra careful.”

Bai Shizheng still looked reluctant, but nodded with a smile.

“Sister, go ahead. I’ve made arrangements—my father sent several experienced midwives, and they came with me today.”

“Then I’m at ease. You’re fine in every way—except you’re even more like a mother to this little rascal than his own auntie. Even his auntie is jealous—says he favors you more than her.”

“I have a bond with Jingge.”

Bai Shizheng replied, eyes smiling.

Sun Shizheng’s group laughed and left the tent.

Bai Shizheng scanned the tent and spotted the girl hugging Gu Tingyu—she knew this was Qin Er Niangzi, the biological sister of the late Qin Dangzi, and nodded in greeting; then she beckoned to Gu Tingyu.

Qin Er Niangzi’s face beamed with affection, revealing no trace of her earlier words; she released Gu Tingyu and gently pushed him toward Bai Shizheng.

Then she knelt in a bow, watching as Bai Shizheng was once again surrounded by relatives and ladies; a flicker of unknown emotion passed through her eyes before she rose and departed.

At that moment, Gu Tingye pushed through the crowd, seemingly heading somewhere.

Qin Er Niangzi pretended not to see him, exiting from the back of the tent; her Yanjiao caught Gu Tingye following, with a servant behind him.

She feigned stopping, waited for Gu Tingye to approach, then knelt as if adjusting her clothes, whispering: “Those who stole from me—I’d rather push them into the water and teach them a lesson.”

Then she acted as if nothing had happened, and with her maid’s support, strolled away calmly.

Gu Tingye’s small body paused for a moment, his eyes brightening.

Beneath the Qiguo Duke’s tent, the interior was even more luxurious than the Gu family’s.

A woman, stern-faced, every movement radiating noble bearing, sat poised behind a table.

She was slender; though no one beside the tent could see her, she did not relax her posture for lack of observers.

She watched the thundering steeds across the field and listened to the lively chatter of noble families and officials.

Yet her brow remained furrowed—clearly, her thoughts were far from the horseball field.

Her personal lady-in-waiting whispered beside her:

“Princess, have some tea.”

The woman accepted the teacup; though porcelain, it had the luster of jade—clearly a set of precious tea ware.

If there are typos or awkward passages, readers are kindly invited to point them out.

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(End of Chapter)