Chapter 646 The Great Yan Royal Family (Second Update)

Gu Jiao went back to the room to examine Gu Yan and told him the good news that they had found an operating room. Gu Yan rested his head on Gu Jiao's lap and fell asleep peacefully.

It was late at night.

In a courtyard of the Su family mansion, Mu Qingchen, after bathing and changing, sat down by the bed with her long, black hair flowing freely. She opened the bedside table and took out a brocade box from inside.

Inside the brocade box was a tattered little rag doll with a gaping maw, sharp teeth, blind eyes, and bald hair.

The next morning, after washing up, Gu Jiao went to take Gu Yan's pulse as usual.

With the addition of the old man and horses to the household, and Xiao Jiu occasionally flying over from the inner city to hop around, the house became more lively, and Gu Yan was no longer so bored.

Gu Jiao felt relieved and went to school with Gu Xiaoshun.

Today, Mu Qingchen sat in the last row. Gu Jiao originally didn't want to sit with him, but Gu Jiao tragically discovered that apart from Mu Qingchen clearing out the back row with his aura of keeping strangers away, there was no other quiet place in the class.

Gu Jiao looked to her left and saw Zhong Ding waving at her.

Gu Jiao looked to her right and saw Zhou Tong waving at her.

Gu Jiao thought for a moment, then sat down next to Mu Qingchen, clutching her book bag and keeping her head down.

Zhou Tong sat in front of Gu Jiao. He timidly took out his homework and snapped it open!

Mu Qingchen threw her homework on the table in front of Gu Jiao.

Zhou Tong timidly turned her body back around, which she had only turned halfway.

Gu Jiao quickly finished copying the homework when Teacher Gao arrived.

The morning classes were taught by Master Gao and Master Jiang.

Master Gao was in charge of arithmetic and was rather fierce and strict. Master Jiang was in charge of teaching the Four Books and Five Classics, policy essays, etc. He was gentle and a little old-fashioned, but not pedantic.

Both teachers were highly respected, but even so, the students in the class still loved Teacher Wu's class the most.

It seems that physical education class has always been a favorite among students, from ancient times to the present.

There was an hour of self-study in the afternoon, followed by the martial arts master's riding and archery class.

Originally, the riding and archery class was scheduled to start, but as the weather gradually got hotter, the first hour of the afternoon was when the sun was at its strongest, so the instructor changed the schedule.

After the archery lesson began, everyone discovered that there were no targets set up on the field, but Wu Fuzi had an extra club and a wooden ball the size of a fist in his hand.

"We'll play polo today," said Wu Fuzi.

Everyone was surprised, as polo lessons were clearly not a regular occurrence.

Zhou Tong asked, "Master Wu, why the sudden change of heart?"

The king was fond of polo, and polo was very popular in the capital. However, polo was dangerous, so the academies for scholars did not include it in their formal curriculum.

Master Wu smiled and said, "I discussed it with Dean Cen this morning and we've decided to participate in this year's polo competition!"

Zhou Tong was shocked: "What? A polo tournament? Our academy?"

Why would those bookworms from their academy, who only know how to write and write, participate in a polo competition?

Isn't this just inviting humiliation?

The others shared similar thoughts with Zhou Tong. Their academy had produced many top scholars in the imperial examinations, but they would rather not play polo.

Several years ago, Dean Cen and Master Wu, for some inexplicable reason, signed up for a polo tournament, just like today. They failed to score a single goal and were utterly humiliated.

With the lessons of the past already learned, have Dean Cen and Master Wu forgotten the pain of their past mistakes?

"Ahem!" Master Wu cleared his throat and said seriously, "Times have changed. Our academy now has the strength to compete with other academies. The dean and I have confidence in you!"

As he said this, his gaze remained fixed on Gu Jiao, almost as if he were directly calling her out to come on stage.

"Alright, everyone, go choose your horses!" said Master Wu.

The students headed towards the horse farm.

"Xiao Liulang, come here for a moment." Wu Fuzi called out to Gu Jiao.

Zhong Ding winked at Gu Jiao: "It's definitely going to be you who participates."

Zhou Tong made a gesture: "Go for it!"

Gu Jiao approached Master Wu, who asked her with a gentle smile, "Have you ever played polo in Zhao Kingdom before?"

"No," Gu Jiao said directly.

“Ah.” Wu Fuzi was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, “It’s alright, I can teach you. Come to the grassland to find me after school every day, and we’ll train for an hour.”

Is going to school not enough? Do we need to add extra classes?

Gu Jiao refused.

We resolutely oppose after-school tutoring!

"This is not only an honor for you personally, but also for the academy."

"I have high hopes for you and hope you can bring honor to the academy."

Gu Jiao still refused.

"This will also benefit you personally. If you become famous in one battle, you may have the opportunity to stay in Shengdu in the future."

Gu Jiao was completely unyielding.

Wu Fuzi had a headache.

Aren't you quite combative?

What's wrong? It's not good enough for polo?

Gu Jiao said in a serious tone, "Master Wu, I'm not good at studying, so I need to focus more on my studies. I won't consider competitions for now; my studies will be my priority."

No, why didn't you say that when you were copying homework every day? You were dozing off in class like that, did you think I didn't see you passing by?

Even Wu Fuzi is captivated!

Gu Jiao cupped her hands in greeting and turned to walk towards the stable.

The students inside the stables were discussing the upcoming polo competition.

"Hey, have you heard? The polo tournament is being held at Lingbo Academy again. This is the third time it's been held at their academy."

"Lingbo Academy? Is that the academy with the prodigy class?"

"That's it! It's the one!"

"Hey? Isn't Canglan Girls' Academy right next to Lingbo Academy? Do you think... students from Canglan Girls' Academy will go to watch the competition?"

"I've gone every year, will I go again this year?"

Gu Jiao turned back: "Master Wu, what are the rules of the competition?"

Master Wu: "..."

Didn't you say you weren't going to participate?

Meanwhile, in the dean's office, Dean Cen had a friendly conversation with Mu Qingchen alone.

Dean Cen said, "Here's the thing. I know you're not usually involved in the academy's affairs, but I still hope you can participate in this polo match."

Mu Qingchen is a rare student who excels in both academics and martial arts. His polo skills are extremely high, ranking among the top in Shengdu.

Dean Cen smiled and said, "Your classmate Xiao Liulang will also participate. He's a novice and apparently has no prior experience playing polo. I hope you can mentor him."

...

After leaving the dean's office, Mu Qingchen headed towards the grassland.

"Fourth Brother!"

He was halfway there when a young student suddenly rushed out from the side and called out to him.

This person was none other than Mu Chuan, a student from Mingfeng Hall who had dined with him on the second floor.

Mu Chuan's father and Mu Qingchen's mother were siblings by blood, making them cousins. However, Mu Qingchen inherited her mother's traits, and Mu Chuan always regarded Mu Qingchen as a member of the Mu family.

Coincidentally, Mu Qingchen was also the fourth son in the Mu family's generation of men.

"Don't you have classes?" Mu Qingchen asked Mu Chuan.

"I snuck out!" Mu Chuan said.

"What is it?" Mu Qingchen asked calmly.

Mu Chuan asked curiously, "My classmate just passed by the dean's office and heard you agree to participate in the polo match. Is that true?"

Mu Qingchen glanced at him: "You skipped class just to talk about this?"

Mu Chuan chuckled and said, "I want to know!"

Mu Qingchen stepped forward: "Go back to your class."

Mu Chuan caught up with him: "If you participate, I'll participate too!"

Mu Qingchen left.

The polo match is a contest between two teams, with each team having four players on the field: two polo players, one main polo player and one secondary polo player, one passer and one defender.

The passer is mainly responsible for interfering with the opponent's actions and feeding the ball to the two strikers, while the defender is mainly responsible for guarding their own team's goal and preventing the opponent from scoring.

When Mu Qingchen arrived at the field, Gu Jiao had just finished learning the rules of polo from Master Wu and was choosing a polo club.

“This is good!” Zhou Tong said to Gu Jiao, picking up a golf club.

“Your one is a bit worn out, use this one instead.” Zhong Ding picked out another one and handed it to Gu Jiao.

A group of people gathered around the edge of the field to help Gu Jiao choose golf clubs.

Just as Mu Qingchen was about to walk over, suddenly, a large group of people appeared on the other side of the grassland.

To say they were a large and imposing group would be an exaggeration; there were only about twenty people in total, but their aura was exceptionally strong, reminiscent of a vast army.

Among those people, a young man with a delicate and feminine demeanor walked over, cupped his hands in greeting to Mu Qingchen, and said something. Mu Qingchen nodded slightly and went over with him.

Zhong Ding's gaze was involuntarily drawn to them. Among those men with powerful auras, there seemed to be a young man in brocade robes who exuded natural nobility.

He murmured, "Who are those people?"

Zhou Tong craned his neck to look and exclaimed in surprise, "My God, it's someone from the Crown Prince's residence!"

"How did you know?" Zhong Ding asked.

Zhou Tong didn't dare to point with his hand, so he could only gesture with his eyes and say, "They are the Imperial Guards of the Crown Prince's residence. I've seen them in the inner city."

Zhong Ding asked incredulously, "People from the Crown Prince's residence have come to our academy?"

Good heavens!

Was he dreaming?

To be able to see someone from the Crown Prince's residence from afar in my lifetime!

Zhou Tong continued, "That young man... should be Prince Ming of the Crown Prince's residence."

"The Crown Prince's son?" Gu Jiao asked.

"Yes." Zhou Tong nodded. "The Crown Prince's legitimate son."

Gu Jiao looked in that direction. It was quite far away, but Gu Jiao had excellent eyesight and was still able to make out the profile of the young man in brocade robes.

It was a face radiating confidence and the dignity of a superior. He spoke to Mu Qingchen with a gentle attitude, occasionally revealing a friendly smile.

Zhou Tong said enviously, "Only Young Master Qingchen has such great influence that the Prince Ming of the Crown Prince's Mansion would deign to come and see him. Unlike us, we don't even have the right to pay our respects to the Prince Ming."

Prince Ming of the Crown Prince's residence traveled incognito and did not have anyone greet him. After exchanging greetings with Mu Qingchen, he went with her to Dean Cen's office.

“Prince Ming was originally a student of Tianqiong Academy,” Zhong Ding said to Gu Jiao after Zhou Tong and the others were called away.

Gu Jiao was still choosing golf clubs.

He didn't say anything upon hearing this.

What does the Crown Prince's household have to do with her?

Zhong Ding looked around, unable to contain his burning curiosity, and whispered to Gu Jiao, "The Yan people were here just now, so I didn't dare to say anything. Do you know about what happened at the Crown Prince's residence?"

"I don't know," Gu Jiao said calmly, and then changed to another cue.

Zhong Ding is a chatty person. He doesn't care whether Gu Jiao likes to listen or not; he only cares about whether he wants to talk or not, otherwise he feels uncomfortable keeping it to himself.

He lowered his voice and said, "The Crown Prince was not originally the heir apparent, and Prince Ming had not yet been granted the title of Prince."

This cue stick won't do either, it's too light. Gu Jiao frowned and changed to another one.

Zhong Ding walked around to her side: "The Crown Prince is the second son of the King of Yan, and his birth mother is Consort Han. Do you know the Han family?"

"I don't know," Gu Jiao said.

Zhong Ding said, "I don't know much about it either, but it's a very powerful family. The original crown prince was the third princess born to the Empress Yuan."

Hearing this, Gu Jiao finally reacted. Her hand holding the golf club paused, and she looked at Zhong Ding: "Princess? A princess can be the crown prince?"

This surprised Gu Jiao.

Zhong Ding hurriedly said, "There has never been such a precedent before. The Crown Princess of Yan is the first. Do you know who the Empress's brother is?"

He didn't ask this question to wait for Gu Jiao's answer. After asking, he said to himself, "It's the War God of Yan, Xuan Yuan Li! Xuan Yuan Li's sister entered the palace as the Empress, becoming the mother of the nation, and gave birth to a daughter for the King of Yan. At the full moon banquet, the King issued an edict to confer upon her the title of Crown Princess of Great Yan. She is truly showered with love and favor! Her father is the King, her mother is the Empress, and her uncle is the head of the Xuan Yuan family, who holds the power of a million soldiers... Tsk tsk, there is no one in the world more noble than her."

"And then what happened?" Gu Jiao asked. She rarely showed interest in unrelated matters, but perhaps because she wielded Xuan Yuanli's divine weapon, she was more curious about things related to the Xuan Yuan family.

Zhong Ding spread his hands and sighed, "Later, there was no later. The Xuanyuan family rebelled, the Crown Princess was deposed, the Empress was banished to the Cold Palace, and a generation of war god fell from the sky."

Gu Jiao paused for a moment, then asked, "How old is the Crown Princess?"

Zhong Ding thought for a moment: "She's about the same age as the Crown Prince, right? Her son is only one year older than Prince Ming, who is eighteen this year."

(End of this chapter)