These imperial guards were indeed elite; their serious sparring was brutal and intense, leaving everyone drenched in sweat—a truly spectacular display. The presence of musicians playing drums and zithers added to the excitement.
Shen Youying sat in the shade, with a maid fanning her and holding a bowl of chilled lychee syrup prepared by the kitchen. She watched with great interest.
Occasionally glancing at Xue Shen from the side, one would see him lazily propping his chin up, his gaze unfocused, seemingly unconcerned about winning or losing on the field.
Shen Youying took a bite of the lychee flesh and thought to herself that he really didn't want to watch the wrestling match. He was probably just unhappy that the imperial guards were guarding the mansion like prisoners, so he found an excuse to make trouble for her.
*
Inspired by wrestling, Xue Shen began to use these imperial guards in various ways.
He didn't even leave the palace gates. One day he'd have the Imperial Guards wrestle, the next he'd have them compete in archery, one guard balancing a lychee on his head while another shot at it. A successful shot earned him ten taels of gold, a missed shot earned him ten strokes of the cane. If someone accidentally missed and injured someone, a doctor would be called to treat the wound and replace the injured guard.
Within half a month, the imperial guards who had been transferred to the Prince of Qin's residence were full of complaints and begged Zhou Qing to transfer them back.
These imperial guards were Zhou Qing's personal soldiers, and they were quite skilled. He valued them highly, and it would be heartbreaking for him if they were all killed in the Prince of Qin's mansion.
But Zhou Qing had an imperial order to carry out, so how could he really transfer the troops? He could only select a hundred elite soldiers and bring them with generous gifts, carefully apologizing: "The previous batch of imperial guards was going to participate in training, so I selected a new batch to send to Your Highness."
Xue Shen glanced at them critically and frowned, saying, "This batch doesn't seem to have the same energy and spirit as the previous ones."
Zhou Qing's smile froze; this King Qin had quite a sharp eye.
This batch is certainly not as energetic as the previous batch. The previous batch consisted of elites he personally trained, while this batch is only slightly better than the ordinary Imperial Guards.
He deliberately chose to accompany the King of Qin for entertainment, and even if he were to die in the King of Qin's palace, he wouldn't feel bad.
But he still smiled and said, "How could that be? If Your Highness is not at ease, you can try it again. If you are not satisfied, I will give you another batch."
Xue Shen, however, seemed somewhat uninterested: "Forget it, I've been playing for half a month and I'm tired of it. Let's stay here for now."
Zhou Qing breathed a sigh of relief, left Ren and Li behind, and left the Qin Prince's mansion cursing under his breath.
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