Chapter 68: Second Place in the Polo Field and Matters Concerning the Hu Family [Thanks Everyone for Your Support]

Xu Xu Zaijing was listening to Gu Gu Tingye boast about how formidable he had been on the polo field just moments ago.

Glancing sideways, the corner of his eye caught the direction of Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong's gaze, which was fixed squarely on their own family's tent.

Noticing Xu Xu Zaijing's look, Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong realized he had been somewhat rude; he had been staring straight at another family's tent.

Xu Xu Zaijing pretended not to care, turning his head back to continue listening to Gu Gu Tingye's words.

The others mounted their horses once more, preparing for the next match.

Xu Xu Zaijing also mounted his dark bay horse, glancing back to spot the figure of his elder sister, Xu Xu Anmei, behind their family's tent; from her posture, it was clear she was chattering away to their mother about something.

His eyes darted as a good (or perhaps bad) idea struck him.

Over on Han Chengyun's side, that scholar-official's son was substituted out, replaced by a young master from the Ma family, Marquis of Jinxiang.

After taking the field again, it remained a one-on-one full-court defense; with their momentum growing smoother by the moment, Xu Xu Zaijing's group of five utterly crushed this round.

When half the incense stick still remained, the score between red and blue was already eight to one.

Of those eight goals, Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong had scored five himself.

Four of them were passes from Xu Xu Zaijing.

The other three were scored by Zheng Xiao, with Zhang Zhang Fangling assisting him on two.

The silence from Han Han Chengyun's team stood in stark contrast to the cheering from the five on the opposing side.

Unfortunately, polo had no concept of surrender, so the five could only grit their teeth and continue playing.

Having just scored another goal, Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong swept his gaze up and down Wei Wei Faqi as he passed him, saying:

"Is that all?"

"You! You don't—"

Without waiting to hear Wei Wei Faqi's reply, he spurred his horse and rode away.

Wei Wei Faqi was so choked with anger that his face turned red; he had actually been mocked by a country bumpkin from Dengzhou.

Just as he considered tripping someone, he spotted Zhang Zhang Fangling glaring at him menacingly from the side, and instantly deflated.

Finally, before the incense stick burned out, amidst the spectators' gasps, the match ended with Xu Xu Zaijing scoring a goal with a swing from an extremely long distance.

Near the Duke of Han's position by the polo field, the families friendly with him fell silent, their cheers ceasing.

Seeing Qingcao was busy beneath the large wooden scoreboard, watching as a golden triangular star, representing victory, was added beneath their family's nameplate.

Xu Xu Zaijing and the other four dismounted, and their respective family servants led the horses away to groom them.

The five of them untied the arm-bands from their sleeves while chatting cheerfully.

Zhang Zhang Fangling praised Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong's polo skills, while Gu Gu Tingye happily dragged Zheng Xiao into conversation.

Inside the Xu family's tent, female attendants directed servants to erect a screen depicting 'Fishing Alone in a Snowy Storm on a Cold River,' dividing the tent into two sections.

One side was for male guests, the other for female guests.

The five who had just played were pulled into the tent by Xu Xu Zaizhang.

The six took their seats, and Seeing Qingcao, the little maid who was gradually getting plumper, asked what each preferred to drink before going to the back to prepare them.

On the polo field, young masters from two other families, wearing forehead bands of different colors, were already preparing to take the field for a match.

Munching on the melons and fruits on the table, Gu Gu Tingye asked curiously:

"Brother Jiong, does Dengzhou have a sea? Is the sea big?"

Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong replied, "Big; it stretches endlessly, and when the wind blows, it can raise waves tens of feet high."

"I haven't seen the great sea yet."

"If Brother Ye gets the chance to visit Dengzhou, I'll take you to see the sea."

"Then it's a deal, agreed?"

Xu Xu Zaijing was just becoming curious about the Great Zhou navy and hadn't yet asked his question when Seeing Qingcao arrived carrying the drinks.

After arranging the beverages according to everyone's orders, Xu Xu Zaijing smiled and glanced at his little maid, his eyes full of appreciation.

Then he asked, "Brother Jiong, what does the navy currently use for combat? Giant crossbows or trebuchets?"

Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong said, "Our Great Zhou navy is invincible; our warships are mostly equipped with sweeping poles, and we have giant crossbows as well. A naval officer transferred from Quanzhou said that southern pirate ships are equipped with firearms."

Xu Xu Zaijing froze, inwardly shouting, 'Damn it, so they use everything?'

Zhang Zhang Fangling, taking a sip of his drink from the side, asked, "Eleventh Master, what are those pirate firearms made of?"

"Mostly bamboo, and some are made of bronze."

Xu Xu Zaijing asked with concern, "How is their power?"

Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong sneered dismissively, "They cannot penetrate our Great Zhou iron armor; according to colleagues, they are mostly used for signaling."

The stone in Xu Xu Zaijing's heart finally settled.

As they continued talking and their tea cups were refilled several times, the players on the polo field had changed; two teams of noble young ladies from Bianjing took the field.

Immediately, this group of unmarried young men and women began shouting.

The ten young ladies on the two teams included daughters of scholar-officials as well as young misses from families of imperial sons-in-law and hereditary nobles.

Once the match began, robes fluttered and delicate shouts rang out continuously, causing Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong and the others to laugh.

They even proceeded to critique the skills of the ten young ladies on the field.

Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong had spoken only a few sentences when he suddenly heard a delicate snort from the female guests nearby; the sound made him stop mid-sentence, and pretending to be thirsty, he stole another glance at the screen.

In the end, the young lady from the imperial son-in-law's family won the match, and a young servant hurriedly rushed to the large wooden scoreboard to update the results.

The five young ladies also circled the field once, greeted by the waving handkerchiefs of the younger girls.

Calls of "Older Sister" and "Younger Sister" rang out incessantly.

Especially the Fifth Young Lady from the Duke of Yingguo's tent jumped with exceptional liveliness, her gaze upon the polo field filled with longing.

Wei Hour (around 3:00 PM)

Families located farther from Jinming Pool began to leave the polo field.

Not far away, on the large wooden rack, servants from the ball court removed the nameplates of various families and handed them to the young attendants who had come to collect them.

Zhang Zhang Fangling, Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong, and the others also rose to take their leave.

Just as Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong was preparing to mount his horse and depart, he received an invitation card from a young man of the Lu Prince Consort's household, stating explicitly that if he had time, he should visit their home.

Zheng Xiao stood aside, snickering as he said, "This household of Prince Consort Lu has six golden flowers awaiting marriage."

Gu Gu Tingyu's eyes widened in shock; so many!

Holding the invitation card, Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong, who understood the implication, felt his face grow somewhat red; he strove to control himself from looking toward the Xu family's tent and said, "Certainly, certainly."

The various families departed separately through several exits.

Watching the group walk far away, Sun Shi and her own children also boarded the carriage.

On the carriage, Sun Shi lifted the curtain and said, "Jing-er, come inside the carriage."

"Yes, Mother."

Inside the carriage, Sun Shi withdrew the smile from her face.

Poking Xu Xu Zaijing on the head, she said:

"What were you doing on the ball court today? Always feeding the ball to that young man from the Hu family; your Second Sister has nagged my ears until they were about to grow calluses."

Just as Xu Xu Zaijing was about to say something, Sun Shi continued:

"You go onto the field to show off your prowess, and your Pei Erge gets no chance to play! Next time, keep a lower profile for me; let your Pei Erge go on first, do you understand?"

Xu Xu Zaijing rolled his eyes and said, "Oh."

"Furthermore, for these coming days, you are to stay at home and devote yourself peacefully to studying!"

"Yes, Mother."

Upon returning home, Xu Xu Zaijing followed his mother's instructions and began secluding himself to study; upon hearing of this, Gu Gu Tingyu even sent over several classics and commentaries he had used himself, all bearing annotations written in his tiny fly-head script.

Although Xu Xu Zaijing was studying, he would still study for half an hour before going outside to exercise under the sun for two quarter-hours.

Although his eyesight was currently very good, it still needed to be protected; what if he became nearsighted?

During this period of study, the most bustling event in Bianjing was the marriage of the Hai family's eldest legitimate daughter.

It was while Xu Xu Zaijing was visiting his eldest sister's courtyard to play that he heard Second Sister Xu Anmei speak of it.

Xu Xu Zaijing possessed memories regarding the Hai family:

The Hai family's ancestral home was in Jiangning; they were a family of scholars, generations of nobility, and a lineage of the pure stream.

The main branch of the Hai family's eldest house had always maintained a family rule that a daughter-in-law could only have a concubine taken for her husband if she reached the age of forty without bearing an heir.

Furthermore, the in-laws who married a Hai family daughter were also required to abide by this; only when a married Hai family daughter reached the age of forty without issue could her husband take a concubine.

Families who regarded their daughters as treasures all wished to marry into the Hai family, as there was naturally no issue of concubines or bed-warmers.

Yet they also feared marrying a Hai family daughter, precisely because a man could not take a concubine.

In truth, this was overthinking; Hai family daughters did not worry about finding husbands, as the courtly power represented behind a Hai family daughter could turn every scholar into a good man.

The family rules of the Hai family's collateral branches were somewhat flexible, but the main branch of the Hai family's eldest house strictly adhered to their regulations.

What? You say break these rules? Then know that the Hai family never seeks trouble but fears no trouble either; just look at this entire court clad in purple robes, with Grand Councilors and Excellencies, fifty percent of whom have relations to the Hai family.

There are also officials connected as teacher and student, classmates of the same examination year, or hereditary friends, as well as officials who have received free books, clarification of doubts, clothing, and food from the Hai family academy.

Moreover, Hai family daughters have always been extremely well-educated, serving their parents-in-law and managing household affairs, proficient in everything.

They would certainly never allow their in-laws to speak a single word of criticism.

"Second Sister, what is this Hai family daughter's name?"

Xu Xu Zaijing asked.

Before Xu Xu Anmei could answer, Xiao Zhu, a female servant attending Sun Shi, walked over quickly.

"Young master, young miss, please go to the Main Lady's courtyard; the Eldest Lady has important matters to instruct."

If there are any typos or awkward passages, please do not hesitate to point them out.

Additionally, I have not watched "Dream of Ningan"; I only accidentally heard Zhou Shen's theme song "Borrowing a Dream," in which the 'Ah' is sung so beautifully, evoking a dreamlike sensation of time flowing.

Listening to this music while seeing Wei Wei Shuyi pass away was heartbreaking.

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(End of Chapter)