Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 480: Before going on stage and the calm Madam Chai [Thank you! Goodbye! I owe you 41k more]

Sitting in the Queen's tent,
There is an old lady who refuses to accept her old age and loves to join in the fun.
But most of them are middle-aged ladies,
Some of them are marquises in their prime, such as Sun and Bai.

Some, like Madam Li from the Mansion of Duke Lian, were invited as mothers-in-law, but because they were too old to come out, they sent their daughters-in-law to attend.

Of course, people like Lu Zezong's mother, Madam Li, naturally have to move back and make room for older elders.

Just now we were far away,
Many ladies watched Xu Zaijing and his group from afar, and they just felt that Xu Zaijing stood out among the group, but they couldn't see his appearance clearly.

The ladies' mood,
It's like when we notice someone at first sight in a blurry crowd, or see a very beautiful or handsome figure from behind, and we want to see clearly the person's appearance to see if it matches our imagination.

As Xu Zaijing and others gradually approached, they stopped near the Queen's tent and waited to be summoned.

When the ladies saw Xu Zaijing's appearance clearly, the noise of their conversations among themselves suddenly became noisy.

As the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the officials and nobles in Bianliang had a lot of turnover, including some who had just been promoted to the capital, some who had been appointed to other posts, and some who had retired and returned to their hometowns.

Therefore, the lady would nod in approval and say, "I've heard about the Xu family's youngest son before. Seeing him today, he is indeed handsome and talented!"

The lady next to him smiled and said, "Sister, how come you only saw it today? Last year on the Double Ninth Festival, Mrs. Wu held a chrysanthemum appreciation party. Didn't you..."

The lady who was talking stopped talking halfway through, smiled and shook her head: "Oh, my, I remembered it wrongly! That was the year before last! The child really didn't come last year."

Madam Li, who was sitting closer to the Queen than the people who were talking, did not say anything when she heard this.

Another lady sitting in the second row leaned forward and asked, "Didn't they say that this Marquis Wulang was studying at home and passed the imperial examination? Considering his age, why didn't he come last year?"

"This child even passed the imperial examination? This is very rare in a noble family!" On the other side, an older lady exclaimed.

The ladies around nodded in agreement.

"It is said that he likes beating people up and was involved in fights at the Daxiangguo Temple. This kid was the one who caused a lot of trouble before, right?"

Another lady in the second row asked.

As soon as these words came out, there was silence all around.

The lady who had spoken first said, "It doesn't look like that!"

Lu Zezong's mother, Madam Li, glanced at the person who was talking with her head tilted to one side, and ignored her question of "causing a lot of trouble". Instead, she turned her head to the people she was talking to and said:

"The reason why Xu Jiajing didn't come to Madam Wu's chrysanthemum appreciation party last year was because he went to the northwest to make contributions."

"After all, the Xu family is a noble marquis, and we should also contribute to this war."

"Oh, right! Last year, when King Baigao entered the city at Jinglong Gate, it was Brother Jing who led the way with the flag."

Listening to Madam Li's words, one of the madams said, "I remember now! He was the one who beat up the Baigao surrendered man five by one in Jinglong Sect?"

Mrs. Li smiled and nodded.

The older lady who had just praised Xu Zaijing nodded and said, "This child was able to fight and make achievements in the northwest, and was able to pass the imperial examination after returning to Beijing. It seems that he is a man of both civil and military talents!"

"He beats people so hard, I wonder how violent his temper will be!"

When Mrs. Li heard this, her eyes widened but she was speechless.

"This kid was able to carry the flag into the city, he must have learned martial arts and made contributions on the battlefield, otherwise he wouldn't be able to convince the crowd! To be able to pass the imperial examination, he must have disciplined himself and studied hard. How could such a person have a violent temper?"

The wife of the Earl of Shoushan, who was sitting behind Madam Li, spoke up.

Hearing this,

The ladies around nodded one after another.

Madam Li looked back at the wife of the Earl of Shoushan with gratitude.

The tent is elsewhere,

Some older ladies who were knowledgeable and knew people whispered:

"The second son of the Gu family beside the fifth son of the Xu family seems to have a distinguished temperament, but he seems to be a little..."

The words were not clear, but the message conveyed in his eyes was clear: Gu Jia Erlang was not as energetic as Xu Jia Wulang. Why?
An experienced lady looked at the distance behind Xu Zaijing and others, where the maids of the Gu and Xu families were standing.

Moreover, some middle-aged ladies had already waved to their elderly nanny and housekeeper, whispered a few words to them, and asked them to go and see Qingcao, Qiu Niang and the others.

In the Chai family's tent,
Xu Zaijing, Gu Tingye and others had already gone there and walked towards the queen when she was summoned.

Zhang Jia Wu Niang sat beside Chai Zhengzheng, picked up a grape from the fruit plate on the table, looked at Xu Zaijing near the queen's tent and said, "What a pity that Brother Xiao didn't come today! If Brother Xiao came, he would definitely be more outstanding than Brother Jing!"

Chai Zhengzheng, in a good mood, fanned Wu Niang with a round fan and nodded in agreement, "Wu Niang is right."

Looking at Xu Zaijing walking over, Wu Niang propped up her cheek with one hand and said with a smile, "Brother Jing passed the imperial examination and performed so well today. I think Madam Wu will be busy again after today."

Chai Zhengzheng's smile faded. He looked at Xu Zaijing in front of the queen's tent and pushed the grapes on the table forward: "Wu Niang, eat grapes."

Zhang Jia Wu Niang did not respond to Chai Zhengzheng's words. Instead, she put down her hand that was supporting her cheek and stretched her neck to say, "Look at Brother Jing and the others. Their movements are really coordinated."

Chai Zhengzheng nodded.

In front of the Queen's tent,

"You three seem to be moving very neatly and smoothly. Have you practiced this?"

Hearing the Queen's words,
Liang Han pursed her lips and glanced at Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye.

Xu Zaijing smiled and cupped his hands and said:
"My lady, I practiced on the way here."

The Queen nodded: "Yes, that's thoughtful! Brother Ye, do you guys want to play basketball today?"

Zhao Fang, who seldom left the palace and had not seen Xu Zaijing play polo for a long time, looked at Xu Zaijing with hope in his eyes.

Gu Tingye bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the polo teams from several prefectures around Bianjing will compete today. Wulang and I are thinking of playing a few rounds this afternoon."

Hearing this,

Zhao Fang looked at the queen.

"Alright! I heard that you guys fought against the number one Han Jia Wu Lang in March and won?"

Gu Tingye turned his head to glance at Xu Zaijing and continued, "Your Majesty, yes! But Zheng Jia Erlang was there at that time, so there are not enough people today."

The queen turned her head to glance at Zhao Fang, then raised her head and looked around.

The eunuch beside him bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the He family's son and the Cao family's third son are here today."

The Queen tilted her head to look at the eunuch approvingly, nodded and said, "Call them all over."

"Yes."

The eunuch bowed in response.

The Queen turned around and said to Xu Zaijing and the others, "Sit here for a while! When the people come, go to the side to warm up and get familiar with the game. We will play a game in the morning!"

"Yes!"

After Xu Zaijing and others bowed in response, a eunuch brought three embroidered cushions and placed them under the steps beside the queen's tent.

After sitting down, Xu Zaijing looked towards the polo field not far away.
There were two polo teams preparing to play, one from the Great Zhou and the other from the Jin Kingdom delegation.

"let's start!"

The Queen's voice came from behind Xu Zaijing and the others.

Subsequently,

Incense sticks were lit on the sidelines, and after a gong sounded, the polo ball was thrown out.

The horses galloped on the field,

The sounds of knights riding horses, giving orders, and shouting could be heard continuously from the players.

There are also the rumbling drums of encouragement,
The knights of the Great Zhou polo team are able to play polo with the Jin envoys in front of the Queen and the Prince today, so they must have some skills and status.

The flags representing the scores on the sidelines were also changing: at the beginning, the Great Zhou was still in the lead, but after half an incense stick of time, the score of the Jin Kingdom delegation caught up.

Xu Zaijing, Gu Tingye and Liang Han were also whispering to each other from time to time about the situation on the field.

Seeing the Great Zhou knights who were frightened by the fierce attack of the Jin knights and turned their horses aside, Liang Han complained angrily: "Why are you hiding? The Jin people are just trying to scare you!"

After complaining, Liang Han said to Xu Zaijing beside him, "When I played polo before, I never saw the Jin knights rushing and hitting so fiercely!"

Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye looked at each other and said, "The Queen and His Highness did not watch the battle before."

Liang Han was stunned and nodded.

At this time,

Two imperial guards who had taken off their armor walked over, looking sideways at the situation on the field, and bowed and said:
"Your servant He Guan/Cao Yi greets Her Majesty the Queen, Your Highness!"

"Stand up! Get familiar with the three of them, and then we can play polo together later." The queen said with a smile.

The two lieutenants bowed in response.

When the two were talking to the queen, Gu Tingye, who was beside Xu Zaijing, glanced sideways and asked in confusion, "Why does that person look familiar?"

Xu Zaijing turned his head to look at the captain next to He Guan, smiled and whispered: "A young cucumber that has never seen blood."

Hearing Xu Zaijing's words, Liang Han looked at Xu Zaijing in confusion, then glanced up and down at Gu Tingye.

Gu Tingye suddenly realized something and said angrily, "Oh! Now I remember, it was this guy!"

Then Gu Tingye looked at the way Liang Han was looking at him, and glared at him and said, "Liu Lang, what are you looking at?"

"Brother Ye, have you never seen a bloody cucumber?" Liang Han looked between Gu Tingye's legs in confusion.

After reading it, Liang Han looked at Xu Zaijing again, his eyes full of affirmation.

According to what Liang Han had heard from a girl around him before, Gu Tingye’s personal maid was...

"Liu Lang! Shut up!" Gu Tingye whispered angrily.

Xu Zaijing, who was accidentally injured, took a deep breath and gently patted Liang Han on the head: "Liu Lang, what do you think about every day? What I meant is that Erlang has never been to the battlefield."

"Oh"

Liang Han nodded in understanding, then stood up with Xu Zaijing and bowed to the two people who were walking over.

The lieutenant colonel who followed He Guan was the lieutenant colonel of the Western Army Cavalry who was sent to mediate when Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye were being chased by Zhang Shipan outside the city. He also strung his own strong bow on horseback to make it easier for Xu Zaijing to shoot arrows for revenge.

"Goro!"

He Guan and Cao Yi smiled and bowed.

Xu Zaijing said: "Brother He, Brother Cao!"

Seeing Gu Tingye with an unhappy expression, Xu Zaijing pulled Gu Tingye's sleeve and continued with a smile: "Let me introduce you. This is Cao Yi from the third branch of the Cao family, Brother Cao! Brother He Guan, who is good at archery!"

He Guan laughed and said, "I dare not say that you are good at using bows and arrows here!"

"Gu Tingye, the second son of the Marquis of Ningyuan, and Liang Han, the sixth son of the Marquis of Yongchang."

Cao Yi bowed and smiled at Gu Tingye, saying, "Oh, Erlang is still angry?"

Gu Tingye shook his head with a straight face: "No! I'm not that stingy!"

Cao Yi nodded: "I heard that when you played polo with the Han family, Erlang, you deliberately hit the polo ball on the forehead of Lv Sanlang? That's a pretty good shot!"

"Pfft!"

Liang Han couldn't help laughing when thinking about how miserable Lu Sanlang was hit before.

Gu Tingye glanced at Liang Han and shook his head: "He bumped into it himself, I didn't mean to hit him!"

Xu Zaijing turned his head to look at the Great Zhou Polo Team, which had conceded another goal, and said, "Let's go, say goodbye to Her Highness, and then go to the side to discuss things."

Cao Yi also glanced at the field and nodded, "Well, their momentum has been taken away, and it will be difficult for them to win back."

Most of the incense sticks on the sidelines have burned out.

All the tents near the queen were opened.
Each family's own tent was placed at some distance from the main tent.

Xu Zaijing and others had already gone to the side to familiarize themselves with and discuss tactics.

In the Xu family tent,
"Sister Qingcao!"

Qingcao, who was standing by the table grinding roasted lotus seeds and coix seeds to make tea, looked up and said, "Hua Xiang, what's wrong?"

Hua Xiang didn't say anything but winked outside.

Qingcao understood, glanced towards the door of the tent, then put down the pestle, wiped his hands and walked towards the door.

Qingcao walked to the door with a glance from a short distance away, and smiled and bowed to a well-dressed maid with two old maids outside the door:
"Madam, what can I do for you?"

The housekeeper smiled and nodded, and said in a somewhat anxious tone: "Excuse me, young lady! I am from the Du family of Duke Yan. Today, the servants in my house were careless and forgot to bring fire! That's why..."

Qingcao smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, Mammy!"

After saying that, Qingcao turned around and said, "Hua Xiang, go to the back of the tent and get some fire!"

"Yes, sister!"

Looking at Hua Xiang who stood up and walked behind the tent,

Nanny Du from the Du family, who was standing at the door of the tent, glanced at Qingcao several times with her shrewd eyes.

When Qingcao turned back with a smile, Nanny Du had already withdrawn her gaze. She turned her head and smiled at Qingyun who was standing at the door, "Young man, are you married? I have a daughter."

Qingyun waved his hands a little embarrassedly, and Qingcao smiled and said, "Mammy, Brother Qingyun already has two children."

"Ouch! How abrupt! Where are these two guys?"

Nanny Du pointed at Alan and Xunshu and asked Qingcao with a smile.

Qingcao looked at Alan and Xunshu with an embarrassed look on her face, and said with a smile: "Mammy, they haven't discussed marriage yet! But, these two have the rank of Wuyilang for military merit!"

The Du family's nanny's perfunctory smile froze, and she looked carefully at Alan and the other two, and said sincerely: "My youngest daughter is only sixteen years old and is a good girl! Maybe you can meet her when you have time!"

Qingcao smiled and nodded: "Madam, I will report this matter to Madam today, and Madam will make the decision. What do you think?!"

"Good good!"

Nanny Du nodded repeatedly.

When Hua Xiang smiled and brought the fire to the door, the Du family's nanny also took the opportunity to take a closer look.

"Thank you so much girl!"

"Mommy, you're welcome!"

Smilingly sending the Du family's nanny away, Qingcao and Yunxiang turned and walked into the tent, saying as they walked, "This Duke's family actually didn't bring any fire."

Qingyun, who was standing at the door, looked at the nanny and old women of the Du family who huddled together to talk after they walked away, and smiled and patted the silly-smiling Alan and Xunshu.

When Qingcao and the other three maids were about to continue making tea,
"Excuse me, ladies. Do you have any extra sesame seeds in your Lei Cha?"

Qingcao turned around and saw the respectable woman standing outside the door with a flattering smile and a fruit basket in her hands. She frowned and looked at Huaxiang and Yunxiang in confusion: "What happened today?"

Hua Xiangyun shook her head repeatedly.

"Wait a minute, Mom. I'll pack some for you."

"What a troublesome girl."

Send sesame seeds to the door,

The respectable woman smiled and handed the fruit basket to Qingcao: "Young lady, please take it to quench your thirst."

"Mom, you can't do that!" Qingcao declined with a smile.

Naturally, they inevitably exchanged glances after some excuses, and the fruit basket was left in the Xu family's tent.

Holding the fruit basket, Qingcao did not go back directly, but stood at the door of the tent and waited for a while. After distributing the fruits to Qingyun, Alan and others, he saw that no one came, so he returned to the tent with a head full of question marks.

In front of the big tent,
Although they lost to the Jin envoys in polo,

But because the fight took place in front of the empress and the prince, both sides received some rewards, with more rewards for the Jin delegation and fewer for the Great Zhou polo team.

After both polo teams have withdrawn,
The queen drank a sip of tea helplessly, looked at Zhao Fang beside her and said, "Fang'er, what did you think of the polo game just now?"

Zhao Fang thought for a moment and said, "Mother, although they lost, it seems that they tried their best! I know there is a gap, but I can't tell what the gap is."

The queen smiled with satisfaction: "Then let's watch a few more shows!"

"Ok!"

Zhao Fang nodded and looked in the direction of Xu Zaijing, Gu Tingye and others.

The eunuch took advantage of the moment when the mother and son were talking to bow to the queen and whispered, "Your Majesty, just now the Du family went to the Xu family."

The Queen glanced at Zhao Fang who was approaching with his ears perked up, and reached out to push him away.

Zhao Fang looked at the hand that was pushing his cheek, and looked at the queen in confusion: "Mother? Can't I listen to you?"

The eunuch spoke even more quietly. The queen ignored Zhao Fang and nodded with a smile after listening: "This child is really rare!"

"That's what I said!"

The eunuch echoed.

Zhao Fang's eyes rolled around and he said:

"Mother, is this Jing'er's strength? I want to learn from him too!"

"Go away! What is there for you to learn?" said the queen angrily.

A polo match is over.
The next one hasn't started yet.
The ladies in the tent began to move around and chat.

Madam Chai sat next to Princess Pingning.
Princess Pingning's personal maid whispered beside the two of them, "Just now it was said that the maid of Duke Yan's Du family went to borrow a light from the Xu family's tent. I think she went to see Jing'er's personal maid."

When Mrs. Chai heard this, she looked quite regretful that the secret she had previously known was known to others.

Princess Pingning nodded and waved her hand for the nanny to stand aside.

Princess Pingning whispered to Madam Chai: "Such a good boy cannot be hidden."

Before he could finish his words, he saw Lady Yan, the Duke of Yan, walking towards Madam Wu.

When Lady Yan walked over, she bowed slightly to Princess Pingning and Madam Chai, who had their eyes wide open, and smiled.

Princess Pingning turned to look at Madam Chai, but saw that there was no anxious look on Madam Chai's face.

"?" The princess looked over.

Mrs. Chai understood and smiled: "I have asked more times than the Du family! And my daughter can wait, I wonder if the Du family's daughter can!"

At Madam Wu's place,
Lady Yan Guogong smiled and said, "Sister Wu, my daughter has just been educated by Madam Kong. Could you please go to the Xu family and talk to her?"

Madam Wu stood up and said in embarrassment, "Madam, it's not that the Xu family is making trouble. It's really because Jing'er is very successful in his studies! Many families have asked me to ask, and they said they plan to talk about it after the imperial examination. How about we wait?"

Lady Yan's smile faded slightly, and she sighed as she thought about the minimal relationship between her family and the Xu family.

When she turned to look at Sun, Lady Yan also saw Bai, and suddenly she had an idea, so she said, "Why don't you ask the second son of the Gu family as well?"

Madam Wu smiled and nodded: "I will give you an explanation when the time comes!"

(End of this chapter)