Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Jealousy
As they were speaking, the sound of rumbling drums rang out in the ball court, more than ten brocade flags fluttered in the wind, and the Baojin Tower was filled with royal relatives.
Lu Chen changed into his polo uniform, tied a soft scarf around his head, draped a brocade embroidery over his shoulders, and belted his waist with a leather belt. He and Xie Yunzhou each led a team of imperial guards into the stadium. Each of them, dressed in vibrant attire and riding a powerful horse, stood tall and heroic, their bearing a majestic air.
The two teams of imperial guards, one wearing red silk and the other wearing blue silk, touched their batting sticks to each other as a greeting after entering the court.
Both sides reined in their horses and stopped. Someone from the Red Team laughed and said, "Lu Bingyan, we've agreed. In today's battle, you must not show mercy to the young prince's men! All of us former members of the Western Army are counting on this opportunity. We must defeat the Jingyuan Army!"
"That's right!" The soldiers behind him laughed and joined in the commotion. "Everyone knows you two are as close as brothers, so we can't let them win. Anyone who lets them win is a scoundrel. No matter what, we can't let them get the first place!"
Xie Yunzhou overheard this and twirled his bat in his palm twice, then jokingly scolded, "Hey, it's been a while since we last met. Xue Erlang has gotten much more capable now. You still want to compete with me for the top spot? Come on, come on, give it a try!"
The conversation over there became more and more heated, but Lu Chen remained silent. He just smiled and reined in his horse, standing in a waterfall of light. His expression could not be discerned.
After a while, the starter waved the embroidered flag in his hand, and the drums suddenly sounded in the stadium. More than ten horses rushed to the midfield together, and the sound of their hooves was as loud as thunder.
Lu Wan excitedly grabbed Zhe Rou's sleeve and pointed at her: "Look, sister-in-law, it's started!"
Zhe Rou also laughed, sat up slightly, and looked at the situation on the field with a focused expression.
Lu Chen and Xie Yunzhou have different personalities and fighting styles. One is steady and accurate, and always hits the target, while the other is swift and aggressive, unstoppable.
The two of them soon scored one after another.
Lu Wan said happily, "Look, sister-in-law, cousin Mingqi has also won!"
Looking at her appearance, Zhe Rou couldn't help laughing and reminded her: "He and your brother are rivals."
Lu Wan was excited, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling. "They're both my brothers. I'm happy no matter which one scores!"
As they were talking, the blue team scored another goal, and the score was tied at halftime.
The golden gongs sounded, the imperial guards on the sidelines beat the drums vigorously, and the crowd burst into cheers and applause.
Zhe Rou was also infected by the atmosphere, her heart was moved, and she clapped and cheered along with Lu Wan.
The bat spun in a graceful arc and was placed on Xie Yunzhou's shoulder.
The sunlight was dazzling, he narrowed his eyes slightly and subconsciously looked towards her position.
He looked away after just one glance.
The movements were subtle and almost imperceptible, but they all fell into Lu Chen's eyes.
Without looking, he knew who was in that direction.
He reined in his horse and turned around, his eyes dim and unclear.
The second half begins soon.
When the colored balls entered the arena, Xie Yunzhou took the lead and directly hit the first pole, riding on his favorite jade Suanni, a white horse and a blue robe, galloping in the flying dust like a lightning tearing through the sky.
Lu Chen's team of five quickly surrounded him and blocked his advance.
Xie Yunzhou glanced at his teammates, raised his eyebrows, and suddenly pushed the ball back.
This was unexpected and the Red Team was caught off guard. The colored ball passed through the crisscrossing horses' hooves and rolled straight towards the stick of a black-faced man behind him.
"Catch the ball!" Xie Yunzhou shouted.
The black-faced man rode forward and stretched out his pole to catch the ball, but he saw Lu Chen instantly wrap the reins around his palms several times, kick the stirrups, and suddenly flip over, as nimble as a swallow skimming the water. With a long arm, he easily picked up his club, hooked the ball from under the horse's hoof, and when the time was right, he swung his pole to hit it.
With a crisp "pop" sound, the colorful ball flew into the air, like a snake spitting out its tongue, and broke through the door in the blink of an eye.
There was a moment of silence in the audience, and then everyone burst into exclamations and cheers.
"General! General!"
"Lu Sanlang, beautiful!"
Lu Wan was also very excited. He stood up and clapped his hands, "Brother! What a great skill!"
Zhe Rou had no mood to cheer, but instead her palms were covered in cold sweat.
She saw clearly just now that Lu Chen was hooking the stirrup with his left foot, but his knee on that leg had been injured by an arrow. If he lost the strength, he would surely fall off the horse. This move was extremely dangerous.
But Lu Chen on the field seemed to be getting more and more aggressive, almost contrary to his usual behavior. He looked calm, but he was not soft at all. He fought for the ball, chased, intercepted, and picked up the stick. Soon he won three pieces in a row.
Seeing this, the familiar imperial guards off the court laughed and joked, "Today's game was truly exciting and enjoyable! Good brothers showed no mercy on the court."
The drums roared one after another, the competition on the field became more and more intense, the dust was flying and the sound of horse hooves shook the sky and the earth.
The women in the colorful tent were overwhelmed by the sight. They clutched their handkerchiefs tightly and held their breath.
After several rounds of chasing, only Xie Yunzhou from the blue team had gained the upper hand, but half of the time had passed, and the soldiers of the blue team were gradually becoming impatient.
Zhang Wulang, the son of the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was particularly impatient.
Seeing that Lu Chen was in the limelight in front of Shiliu Niang today, but he hadn't scored a single goal, and even several of the balls he had in his hands were intercepted by Lu Chen, he became furious and new and old grudges surged in his heart.
As if possessed by some mysterious force, he saw the ball rolling closer, and with a peripheral vision he observed the situation, and suddenly pulled out his staff with all his might.
The colored ball unexpectedly passed through the gap in the crowd and directly hit the right ear of the horse under Lu Chen.
The horse was suddenly frightened and felt pain. It neighed loudly, raised its front hooves into the air, and ran wildly across the field.
The whole audience exclaimed.
Zhe Rou's heart tightened, and she stood up suddenly and walked out of the colorful tent in a few steps.
Lu Wan also hurriedly followed him out.
Fortunately, Lu Chen reacted very quickly. His eyes darkened and he quickly controlled the reins. He quickly wrapped the reins around his palm several times, exerted force on his wrist, and pulled it back tightly.
Xie Yunzhou also rode his horse to catch up in time, and together with everyone on the field, they forced the crazy horse to stop. In a blink of an eye, the dangerous situation was averted.
Zhe Rou felt relieved, her back was soaked with cold sweat, and the hand holding Lu Wan was trembling slightly.
Lu Wan breathed a sigh of relief, held her hand, and asked with concern, "Are you okay, sister-in-law?"
Zhe Rou smiled and shook her head.
Just as he was about to go back, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure outside the colorful tent in the distance, who also looked concerned and relieved.
Her heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason, and she looked over.
It’s Xu Shiliu Niang.
The two places were quite far apart, and it was difficult to see her facial features and expression, but Zhe Rou suddenly had an intuition.
Unlike other people who seemed to be a little bit detached and fearful, this person was purely worried about his beloved.
Although Lu Chen's situation just now was thrilling, it was resolved in an instant. Everyone present had no time to react. Only she and Lu Wan were so anxious that they walked out of the colorful tent. Apart from them, there was also Xu Shiliu Niang.
Zhe Rou was stunned for a moment, and her mind suddenly went blank.
The Imperial Guard general named Lu, the pale pink embossed paper, the scent of powder on his collar, Lu Chen's strange expression...
Those subtle anomalies connected together in an instant, weaving together a possibility that she didn't want to believe.
Is it a coincidence? But... could there be such a coincidence?
Zhe Rou felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her hands and feet were cold and trembling, and her head was buzzing.
She had thought about the fact that Lu Chen had just returned to the capital and had no support in the officialdom, so he had to attend social events and put on a show, but his heart had not changed.
But it turns out...all these days, he has been playing both sides between her and others?
Zheng Lanbi wanted to marry Xu Shiliu Niang for him. Did he have the same idea? That's why he pretended to be socializing to meet other women and teach them how to ride horses?
Yes, compared with that precious young lady, what does she have?
She has nothing.
It felt like someone was squeezing my heart, squeezing it into a ball of cold snow. My chest was aching so much that I couldn't even breathe and just wanted to retch.
Zhe Rou felt her vision gradually becoming blurry, and the sounds around her sounded extremely far away, as if they were covered by a thick layer of cover.
"Auntie, what's wrong with you?" Lu Wan turned around and looked at her with concern. "Are you feeling unwell?"
Zhe Rou instinctively shook her head, patted her hand, and forced a smile, "It's okay, maybe I was scared just now, my chest is a little stuffy, I'll go to the pool to get some fresh air."
"Then I'll go with you."
"It's okay, I'm fine on my own."
Seeing that she seemed to be preoccupied and didn't want anyone to know, Lu Wan didn't insist and just told the maid to follow her from a distance.
Zhe Rou walked a short distance when she suddenly heard a movement behind her, like the sound of horse hooves hitting the ground. The people around her screamed and ran away.
"Madam, be careful!" someone shouted at her.
Zhe Rou also sensed the danger, but her head was buzzing and she had no strength to dodge. She had no time to react. In a daze, she only saw a piece of red with gold weaving on the collar. Someone protected the back of her head and hugged her and threw her to the ground.
Over the man's shoulder, she saw a blue figure leaping into the air and leaping onto the crazy horse. He wrapped his arms around the reins and pulled back desperately. There was a loud bang, and both the man and the horse fell to the ground.
The whole place was in an uproar. The guards and servants around all turned pale and ran towards this side.
Zhe Rou fell to the ground, slowly came to her senses, and looked up at the person on her body.
The sunlight was so bright that she couldn't see his facial features at all, but she recognized him immediately as Lu Chen.
"妱妱!" he called out urgently.
My nose felt sore, the person in front of me instantly became a blurry shadow, and tears kept flowing out.
Zhe Rou closed her eyes and turned her head to the side.
Lu Chen's expression suddenly changed. He picked the man up and turned around to call for the military doctor.
Over there, the imperial guards hurriedly pulled the fallen Crazy Horse away. Xie Yunzhou stood up, clutching his chest, and chased after him, anxiously asking, "Where is she hurt?"
Lu Chen's brows darkened as he calmly dodged his outstretched hand. "Let the military doctor take a look first."
Today, a polo match was being held. The military doctors from the Imperial Guards were all on duty in the garden, awaiting orders. Upon hearing the order, they quickly rushed over. Since she was a female relative, the doctor only gave her a cursory examination and tentatively asked, "Are you feeling any pain anywhere?"
Zhe Rou shook her head and said softly, "I'm fine. Please go and treat the young prince. If he has any internal injuries, there's no time to delay."
Lu Chen's arms around her suddenly tightened.
Zhe Rou noticed that something was wrong with him, but she paid no attention to it.
She squeezed her palms tightly, forcing herself to calm down, hold back her tears, and not let others notice anything unusual.
A polo match was full of unexpected events. Lu Chen briefly explained the situation to his colleagues, then sent a letter to Lu Wan and took Zhe Rou back with him.
When she returned to the carriage, Zhe Rou saw that there were several cuts on the back of Lu Chen's hand. The blood flowed down his wrist and into his sleeve. It had almost dried up by now. It seemed that he had scratched the gravel on the grass slope in his haste to protect her.
And she only asked about Xie Yunzhou.
However, even if she saw it now, she didn't intend to ask any more questions.
Zhe Rou pursed her lips and lowered her eyes.
There was dead silence in the carriage, and both of them were silent.
"Unhappy?" Lu Chen finally spoke, but there was a hint of impending disaster between his eyebrows, as if he was suppressing something.
Zhe Rou lowered her head, bit her lip, and didn't want to pay any attention.
Her heart was filled with all kinds of doubts and extremely embarrassing speculations. She wanted to ask but didn't know where to start. She was also vaguely afraid of getting confirmation from him. She was so confused that her chest ached.
"What? Are you worried about Mingqi?" He said with a hint of mockery in his tone, "Don't worry, he's not hurt. Next time we meet, he'll still be able to help you catch fish."
Zhe Rou was stunned for a moment, and when she reacted, she felt it was unbelievable. What did he mean by this?
Anger overwhelmed her sadness, and Zhe Rou trembled with anger. She raised her head and looked directly at Lu Chen, saying word by word, "Ming Qi and I are innocent and have never done anything dirty."
Me and Mingqi.
When Lu Chen heard these words, the veins on his forehead throbbed and his face turned pale.
A surge of evil fire suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart, like a large pool of boiling oil, almost burning his internal organs.
Ever since she knew Mu Shaoai, he has been her only love.
From the first time they held hands, the first time their lips touched, and then later in their wedding night, she was clearly too shy to even look at him, yet she boldly clung to him, whispering softly in his ear, calling him Lu Bingyan...
That was his wife, his wife, and he would never tolerate others coveting her.
Not even half a point.
Lu Chen gritted his teeth, lifted her chin, and suppressed his anger. "Miss, don't you know what Xie Mingqi thinks of you?"
It was really strange. They were a young couple who had slept in the same bed for three years, but at one moment she felt that the person in front of her was a stranger.
Her nose felt increasingly sore, and Zhe Rou looked up at Lu Chen, tears gradually filling her eyes. Her lips trembled, and the question that had been pent up in her heart all the way, which she didn't know how to ask, suddenly came out: "Lu Bingyan, what are your thoughts on Xu Shiliu Niang?"
"You were not in Fanlou that day, so you went to see her, right?"
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