Chapter 705

On the way back to the city,

inside the Gu family carriage,

Yu Anyan, seated beside Pingmei, would occasionally turn her head to glance at Pingmei,

but when Pingmei looked over, she would always avert her eyes to the side.

The carriage curtain fluttered in the wind,

and Anyan took the opportunity to gaze at the streets of Bianjing from earlier.

A breeze blew in from outside,

and Anyan drew a deep breath, beginning to identify the scents carried in from beyond the carriage.

Suddenly,

"So this is what it feels like to have an older sister?" A faint thought drifted through Anyan's mind.

Thinking of this, Anyan glanced again at Pingmei.

Seeing Pingmei's smile, Anyan lowered her head once more.

"I heard your embroidery skills are excellent—you're used to lowering your head while stitching. But if you keep it up like this, it'll harm your neck; when you're older, you'll suffer for it."

"Oh."

Anyan nodded, straightened her neck, and lifted her head, yet still kept her eyelids lowered, staring at the patterns on her clothing.

Perhaps sensing the carriage had grown too quiet, the atmosphere awkward,

Anyan murmured: "Sister Pingmei, how do you know that lowering your head too much will hurt your neck when you're older?"

Pingmei smiled:

"Of course I heard it from others! The seamstresses in our household all have old ailments in their backs and necks!"

"And there's a Mrs. Wei, a manageress under my mother-in-law's salt estate—her elder relatives damaged their eyes when young, and now in old age, they can barely see."

Anyan glanced at Pingmei with a touch of fear, then nodded lightly to show she understood.

Pingmei looked at Anyan's expression and gave her a gentle smile.

And so Anyan lowered her head again.

Normally,

Anyan would join the noble ladies of the capital in tea-drinking and incense-burning, and had heard whispers that Lady Wu and the Marquis of Ningyuan were inquiring about her.

When she visited the Sheng household with her grandmother, Lady Yu, her sixth sister Minglan had teased her about Gu Er's interest in her.

But the Gu family had never sent a matchmaker to the Yu household, so Anyan had never taken the matter to heart.

Today, at the entrance to the Yu family's tent,

Anyan had been unsettled by Gu Tingye's bold gesture—raising his brow and tilting his chin at her.

Back in the tent, she'd been mocked coldly by her stepmother and stepsister over the same thing,

and Anyan was furious with Gu Tingye—she wanted to stab him ten times, bite him ten times, punch him ten times,

just like playing polo—yes, and swing a polo stick at him ten times too.

Then, like in polo, kick him clean up into the sky, and only then would her anger subside.

What marriage? What betrothal!?

Yu Anyan would rather leap off a cliff, drown in a river, or become a nun!

She would never speak of marriage to that scoundrel Gu Er!

But!

On one hand, in the Yu household, even though Lady Yu cared for Anyan, she wasn't just Anyan's grandmother—she also had her legitimate grandson, Yu Erlang, and Yu Anyanhong.

Anyan was filial; she worried about her grandmother's age, and dared not weep openly, fearing the elderly Lady Yu might overexert herself and fall ill.

As she grew older, her marriage had become a matter weighing heavily on her grandparents' minds.

On the other hand,

Anyan had always held a special, non-romantic fondness for Xu Zaijing, whom she'd met only a few times.

She couldn't quite explain what this feeling was.

She simply felt Xu Zaijing was kind to her.

After he came up with clever ideas that helped her earn silver, this fondness grew stronger.

Also,

Pingmei was Xu Zaijing's own sister—their facial features bore resemblance!

Just now, Pingmei had made Anyan feel, for the first time in a long while, the warmth of being cared for—and the comfort of crying.

Under the influence of all these factors, Anyan's feelings toward Pingmei had suddenly changed greatly.

This made Anyan involuntarily think: "If only Sister Pingmei could become my sister-in-law, how wonderful that would be."

Anyan quickly shook her head, scolding herself: "Pee pee pee! Yu Anyan, you shameless thing—what are you thinking? Sister-in-law? Just be a sister already!"

Beside her, Pingmei watched Anyan nodding then shaking her head, and smiled helplessly—this girl was still no more than a child.

On the polo field,

eight young ladies stood again before the Empress's tent,

Lady Wu leaned forward and whispered: "Your Majesty, this last lady is the legitimate daughter of the Xie family of Jiangnan—her ancestors had some connection to the Viscount Xie family."

"This girl's attire is indeed original—she's clearly put thought into it," the Empress said with a smile.

Zhao Fang and the Gao girl seated near the Empress nodded in agreement.

Outside the tent, Xie Yun, hearing this, lowered her head slightly in shyness.

Lady Wu laughed: "Your Majesty is right! These girls have been coming to the field daily, and I've watched several matches—their polo skills are quite good!"

The Empress nodded gently and smiled. "Then let's begin."

"Yes."

Moments later, a gong sounded on the field's edge, and another polo match began.

At the Gu family tent,

"Madam, the Xie family girl from Xu's relatives has taken the field."

The maid at the entrance announced.

Hearing this, Gu Tingye's eyes lit up; he glanced at Bai Shi and said: "Mother, if there's nothing else, I'd like to go outside with Zaijing to watch the match and cheer for our relatives."

Seeing Gu Tingye's expression, Bai Shi waved her hand. "Go!"

"Yes, Mother."

Gu Tingye rose quickly and walked out with Xu Zaijing.

Outside the tent, standing at the entrance,

the sounds of the field grew louder now that they were closer.

Gu Tingye watched the noble ladies galloping across the field and sighed helplessly.

At that moment,

Xu Zaijing's peripheral vision caught several people approaching.

When he turned, he saw Gu Tingyi, Chai Zhengzheng, and the other three girls, accompanied by their maids, walking toward them.

As they drew near,

Gu Tingye asked, puzzled: "Sister, why are you here?"

Gu Tingyi didn't answer, but merely pursed her lips and looked at the two. "Second brother, Fifth Brother Xu—did you hear that Sister Bai went after Anyan?"

Gu Er nodded, slightly embarrassed. "Yes. She just went a moment ago."

Xu Zaijing also nodded. "Aunt Bai said she's going to the Sheng household this afternoon, and Lady Yu will be invited too."

"The Sheng household?" Gu Tingyi stared at Xu Zaijing in surprise.

"Mm."

"To the Sheng household—does that mean…?" Gu Tingyi asked.

"Yes. Exactly what you're thinking," Xu Zaijing confirmed.

"Oh! Good." Gu Tingyi's expression softened, nodding eagerly.

As they spoke, shouts and thundering hoofbeats filled the field.

Gu Tingyi continued: "Second brother, I'll go with Mother to the Sheng household too! We can't leave the tent empty! You stay here and watch the match!"

"Yes! Yes!" Gu Tingye nodded repeatedly. "If you hear anything, don't forget to send someone to tell me."

Gu Tingyi rolled her eyes. "Second brother, we'll talk about it when we get home!"

Gu Er had just nodded.

"Yah!"

A girl's cry rang out from the field,

"Deng! Deng!"

Hoofbeats drew nearer,

and all turned to look,

seeing a noble lady raising her polo stick, signaling as she galloped toward the Gu family tent's side of the field.

"You two keep watching the match—we're going inside," Gu Tingyi said.

Then,

Gu Tingyi stepped first into the Gu family tent.

Behind her, Zhang Fang shot a disgruntled glance at Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye.

Walking at the back, Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan followed closely behind Zhang Wu niang, pausing slightly at the entrance, ready to bow to Xu Zaijing before proceeding.

"Snap!"

From the polo field came the crisp, resonant sound of a mallet striking the polo ball.

Just hearing the sound, one knew it was a perfect shot!

The mallet had struck at just the right spot—the ball would fly high and fast.

Less than a breath passed.

"Oh no!!"

A girl's startled cry rang out from the polo field.

Followed by gasps and exclamations from those around her.

The girl's cry had not yet faded.

"Tap!"

A strange sound came from near Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan, who had just lowered their heads slightly in a bow with their maids.

Hearing the sound, Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan lifted their heads in confusion.

In their line of sight,

Xu Zaijing was nodding to them in return.

But his posture was odd: one arm was clasped behind his back, the other extended, fist clenched, palm outward, blocking them to one side.

At that moment,

"Huh? What?!"

"How did he catch it?!"

"That man is incredible!"

"Wow! Such skill!"

"Ooh, did it hurt?!"

The ladies and young mistresses gathered before the tents burst into exclamations of admiration.

Seeing the puzzled expressions in Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan's eyes, Xu Zaijing smiled and nodded: "Go in."

Chai Zhengzheng, still unaware of what had happened, reflexively smiled back.

Then, seeing the expressions of others nearby and their clapping and thumbs-up gestures, she asked, "Xiao Wu, what just happened?"

Beside her, Rong Feiyan blinked, turning her head toward the polo field several zhang away.

The noble lady who had galloped over moments ago had now reined in her horse, eyes wide with astonishment, staring this way.

Feeling something was off, Rong Feiyan glanced farther out—and her unease deepened.

Before Xu Zaijing could speak, Rong Feiyan frowned in surprise: "Wait? Where's the polo ball?"

Hearing this, Chai Zhengzheng glanced at the field, then turned her gaze to Xu Zaijing's arm.

Rong Feiyan realized something and hurriedly said, "Xiao Wu, was the polo ball flying toward us just now, and did you catch it with your arm?"

Wu niang and Gu Tingyi, already inside the tent, turned to look.

Chai Zhengzheng frowned, glancing at the players in the field, then at Xu Zaijing as he drew his arm back: "Xiao Wu, are you hurt?"

Gu Er, standing beside Xu Zaijing, swallowed hard and said, bewildered: "Don't worry—Jing-ge didn't use his arm to catch it, and he isn't hurt."

Before either could ask further, Xu Zaijing, turning slightly, gently swung his arm and tossed the object he held back toward the polo field.

Watching Xu Zaijing return the polo ball,

Xie Yun, who had witnessed the entire scene, called out quickly: "Thank you, Xiao Wu, for stepping in!"

Xu Zaijing smiled and waved dismissively, signaling them to continue.

Then he bowed to the crowd around him, thanking those who had cheered and praised him.

Finally, Xu Zaijing turned to the two girls and smiled: "Gu Er is right! I didn't use my arm, and I'm not hurt!"

Seeing Xu Zaijing's movements, Chai Zhengzheng relaxed and nodded: "Mm. Good."

She bowed again and stepped toward the Gu family's tent.

Beside her, Rong Feiyan's eyes flickered, avoiding Xu Zaijing's gaze; she bowed quickly and hurried after Chai Zhengzheng.

The maids trailing behind also smiled at Xu Zaijing, bowed, and followed.

A short distance away,

At the entrance of the Liang family's tent,

Liang Han and Qi Heng stood together, watching the game.

They had seen everything unfold:

The polo ball had been struck hard and shot swiftly toward one side; the girl, mallet raised, failed to block it, and the ball flew straight toward Chai and Rong's noble ladies.

Xu Zaijing, standing beside them, hadn't even turned his head—he simply reached out and caught the speeding ball firmly in his palm.

His motion was clean, effortless—as if plucking something from a pouch.

To an outsider, it looked as if Xu Zaijing and the player had coordinated a pass.

Liang Han shook his head beside Qi Heng: "This… utterly beyond reach, utterly beyond reach! Jing-ge doesn't even play, yet he draws all the noble ladies' eyes!"

Qi Heng said, envious: "Six Lang, how did Jing-ge get so skilled?"

Liang Han replied: "Young Master, he hasn't just become like this now!"

"When Jing-ge beat that White Gao general, I arrived too late! I heard he took down the assassin's poisoned arrow with his back turned to the attacker. I didn't believe it before—but today, I see it's true!"

Inside the Empress's tent,

When Wu Da niang saw Xie Yun miss the ball, she leapt to her feet: "Oh no! Don't hit anyone!"

Then came a chorus of gasps and cheers.

Due to their angle, the Empress and others couldn't see clearly.

The lady-in-waiting outside the tent quickly explained.

Gao Taotao, upon hearing the lady-in-waiting's precise and vivid description, exclaimed in surprise: "He just reached out beside the two noble ladies and caught the ball?"

"Yes, Miss," the lady-in-waiting replied.

Zhao Fang, smiling broadly, said: "Tsk-tsk-tsk! Brilliant! Brilliant! Jing-ge is truly remarkable!"

The Empress and Wu Da niang exchanged glances and smiled warmly: "That boy, Xu Zaijing—wherever he is, there's always something to talk about!"

Wu Da niang nodded, smiling: "Your Majesty is right! The ladies and noble matrons standing outside each tent saw it clearly!"

"With just that one motion, Your Majesty—how many ladies will come to me asking about him?"

The Empress smiled helplessly.

After this incident,

Many noble matrons from outside the capital, newly arrived and unfamiliar with the situation, began inquiring about Xu Zaijing's identity.

Xu Zaijing's action gave off an overwhelming sense of safety.

After all, only a few girls would be selected to enter the palace as concubines, and the Crown Princess's position was nearly preordained.

Even if Xu Zaijing's name was useless to the girls coming to the capital, it might still matter to the girls kept secluded in their clans' inner chambers.

Some had heard he might be competing with Chai's daughter and abandoned their hopes—but others, undeterred, still wished to vie for him.

As Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye stood at the tent entrance, watching Bai Shi depart to bid farewell to the Empress,

Jiyin Alley,

The Sheng household,

Shou'an Hall,

Qingzhi bowed in the hall and said: "Madam sent me to beg Old Madam's help."

Old Madam Sheng frowned, her eyes filled with thought, and said gravely: "Gu Er is indeed too reckless!"

"Old Madam is right—Madam is also furious about this," Qingzhi replied.

Recalling her earlier conversation with Yu Lao niang, Old Madam nodded: "Go tell Gu Hou's Lady and Pingmei—I'll help. Go now."

Qingzhi hurriedly replied, "Yes," and took her leave.

(End of Chapter)