The founding emperor of Daliang was a general on horseback. He loved watching polo and would play for fun from time to time. The royal family passed down this tradition, and several generations of emperors loved polo very much. This set off a craze for playing polo among the noble children of Nandu. Any noble boy over the age of thirteen who said he had never played polo would be ridiculed. Although the current emperor is not as enthusiastic about polo as the previous generations, the enthusiasm of the nobles of Nandu for playing polo has not diminished at all.
Today is the largest polo event in Southern Capital in summer, commonly known as "Summer Field Play". For a time, the sons and ladies of officials in Southern Capital came out in droves and gathered at the polo field on the outskirts of the city, waiting to participate in or watch the event.
He Simu's cold finally got better before this day, and he and Duan Jingyuan came to the viewing platform of the polo field. The Duan family had a special seat, with a great view and close to the horse field. Today the sky was clear and the sun was shining, and every blade of grass and every tree in the polo field could be seen clearly from the seat.
Duan's eldest daughter-in-law Wu Wanqing also brought Duan Yiqi to see the world. She looked at the Jianghu woman named "He Xiaoxiao" beside Duan Jingyuan calmly. It was said that she was Chen Ying's sister. She came from the border to visit Chen Ying in Duan Mansion and lived in Duan Xu's Haoyueju. Duan Xu always kept to himself. He only asked people to clean Haoyueju regularly and never kept servants. After Chen Ying came, he made an exception and let Chen Ying live with him.
He Xiaoxiao came to visit Chen Ying. She should have gone to live in another courtyard with Chen Ying to avoid suspicion, but she moved into Haoyueju with Chen Ying. This was really weird. She always felt that the relationship between He Xiaoxiao and Duan Xu was not ordinary.
He Xiaoxiao was talking to Duan Jingyuan with a round fan covering her face like the others, when she suddenly turned her eyes to meet Wu Wanqing's. The round fan covered most of her face, revealing only a pair of phoenix eyes, which showed a faint smile. She nodded to Wu Wanqing proudly and lazily, as a greeting.
This lightly described sense of oppression was particularly confusing. Wu Wanqing's eyes flickered, she picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, then said to He Xiaoxiao: "Miss He, have you ever watched polo before?"
He Xiaoxiao nodded and said with a smile: "I have seen it, but it wasn't like this before. I guess it's been a long time, so the format has changed a little."
"Miss He also plays polo?"
"No, I don't ride horses on weekdays."
Wu Wanqing was about to go deeper into this topic, but was interrupted by Duan Jingyuan. Duan Jingyuan was wearing a dark blue jacket embroidered with flowers and butterflies, with her hair tied up in a bun, and the most fashionable mandarin duck eyebrows, and a little tear makeup on the corners of her eyes. With her beautiful face, she was really a beauty that attracted people's love.
She shook He Simu's arm and said, "The Nandu Polo Tournament is held three times a year, spring, summer, and autumn. Since my third brother took the field, he has never lost the first chip. They had no choice but to change the rules. A player must have five chips to win. My third brother just scored the first chip and left the field. Otherwise, these years, these Nandu men would be suppressed by my third brother and couldn't raise their heads. This time, my third brother said that he wants to play the whole game. Miss He, you will see why all the girls in Nandu like my third brother. You will understand when you see it."
Duan Jingyuan said this with great pride, and began to introduce the various configurations and rules on the polo field to He Simu. Wu Wanqing was unable to get a word in for a while, so this test had to be put on hold for the time being.
He Simu listened to Duan Jingyuan's words and thought, although the little fox's sister looks like a little white rabbit, she is still quite smart and knows how to help her block the temptation.
Is a good kid.
Over there, Duan Xu rode his white horse to the stable. He was wearing a rattan purple robe, with his hair tied up and a purple headband with silver patterns. He walked into the middle of the noble children on the stable with a faint smile.
"Duan Shunxi?" Someone called out his name in surprise.
"You suddenly met with a disaster a few days ago and stayed indoors. We all thought you were very depressed and would miss this summer show."
"Really? Why do you still have the time to come to the stadium?"
Duan Xu turned the stick in his hand twice. He said, "Being depressed all day is not a good idea. Today I will treat the ball as a Huqi thief and vent my depression on the court."
These noble young men who were good at playing polo were very familiar with Duan Xu. Seeing his expression, they couldn't help but sigh in their hearts that Duan Xu, who usually smiled cheerfully, had become much calmer. It seemed that he had really suffered a blow.
Little did they know that Duan Xu was suppressing his joy and pretending to be sad, which was really hard.
"So, I want to play the whole game today. I'm sorry for offending you all." Duan Xu took the opportunity to salute with his fists.
The dozen or so noble men looked at each other in bewilderment. Duan Xu wanted to fight the whole field, so how could anyone win? His enemy would probably not be able to gain a single advantage. In the summer field play, everyone would ride the best horses and wear the best riding clothes. Who wouldn't want to stand out in the limelight at this grand event that only happens three times a year
Duan Xu knew what they were thinking, so he smiled and said, "Polo is a competition between teams, so I will only choose the new kids to be on my team. You guys with great skills can form your own teams and chase me down, right?"
Duan Xu had said so much, it was difficult for them to refuse. They were also eager to pull Duan Xu down from the position of "King of Football". If anyone could defeat Duan Xu even by a little bit, it would be a great honor.
The sound of drums came from the polo field. Duan Jingyuan pulled He Simu's sleeve and said excitedly: "Look, Miss He! It's started!"
She observed again, then frowned and asked, "What's going on? Master Gu, Master Li... why are the good fighters all going together? The people in Third Brother's team look so unfamiliar, I don't recognize any of them. Are they trying to bully my Third Brother?"
He Simu laughed out loud and shook her head: "Who can bully your third brother?"
Duan Xu caused quite a stir when he entered the field. There were whispers coming from the stage beside the horse field, as if everyone was looking forward to it. The silver thread on his clothes shone brightly in the golden sunlight. He reined in his horse and circled around the polo field. He said something to the children in his team who were participating in the summer field play for the first time, patted their shoulders and smiled.
The gong sounded to start the game, and the fist-sized ball was thrown into the midfield. The players at the two goal posts immediately rode their horses to the center of the field, trying to seize the opportunity to hit the first shot. When they really rode their horses, the gap between the others and Duan Xu became apparent. The young masters had all been practicing riding since they were young, and their postures were graceful and elegant. Their horses were also good and fast, but when they met at flying speeds, they were somewhat afraid of collision and friction, so they would subconsciously slow down or avoid.
But Duan Xu wouldn't.
He was riding the fastest from the very beginning, rushing into the field like a gust of wind. He did not avoid a collision with other people, but stepped aside to let the oncoming person pass. At the same time, he waved his hand, and the colorful ball was hit by him and flew high in the dust. In an instant, he turned around and stepped back firmly on the stirrup. What exquisite control and confidence he had.
"good!"
"General Duan!"
People on the standing deck near the polo field burst into cheers.
"Look, look! Third brother hit the first target!" Duan Jingyuan pulled He Simu's hand and shook it, extremely excited.
Duan Xu and the horse seemed to be one, the horse would coordinate with his movements with the slightest movement, just as agile as him and never avoiding. On weekdays, he was like a sword in a scabbard, smiling harmlessly and not liking to argue, but once on the polo field, the sword would come out of the scabbard, with blades on both sides, sharp and unstoppable.
After all, the young masters learned riding skills to cultivate their character and to show off, while Duan Xu learned riding skills to survive and kill people. Even if he took a step back, he would not be alive today.
"Don't shout here, it's disrespectful." Wu Wanqing taught Duan Jingyuan.
All the dignitaries were seated on this viewing platform. There were bamboo curtains between the seats, so the view was good and the dust from the polo field was not contaminated. The loud cheers came from the standing viewing platform below, close to the horse field. The audience there were obviously not as noble as the Duan family, so they cheered as much as they wanted. The nobles sitting on this gorgeous viewing platform were obviously much more respectable, and their cheers were elegant and appropriate.
Duan Jingyuan said aggrievedly: "Sister-in-law, I can't help it."
"Before you came here this time, you promised not to shout loudly in your seat."
"… How about I go downstairs and see, as in previous years, that Third Brother will definitely win first place, and I will come up after Third Brother wins first place?"
Wu Wanqing shook her head helplessly and sighed, "You wear such beautiful clothes every year, but every time you can't go down. In the end, you still go down and get covered in dust. If you want to go, go ahead."
Duan Jingyuan stood up with a smile on his face, and pulled He Simu down the stairs, saying as he walked, "Hurry, hurry, let's go downstairs. You can shout whatever you want downstairs. I guarantee you'll have fun!"
"I didn't want to shout either." He Simu said.
She is a ghost king who is over 400 years old. She has seen people playing polo before, but she is no longer at the age where she would scream and cheer.
"Why don't you want to shout? You will definitely want to shout after a while!"
Duan Jingyuan said excitedly, almost trotting with her to the viewing platform below, blending into the crowd. As soon as he stood still, he saw Duan Xu hit another shot, moving the ball from his own half to the opponent's half. His beautiful horsemanship attracted applause from everyone. Duan Jingyuan immediately let go of He Simu's hand, put his hand to his mouth and shouted: "Good! Third brother! Third brother beat them!"
He Simu looked around at the crowd around her who were shouting like Duan Jingyuan. Their colorful clothes struck her eyes, and she quickly searched for the names of these colors in her mind.
Scarlet, vermilion, imperial color, snow-blue, apricot yellow, sky blue, crimson purple…
She turned her gaze to the court and met Duan Xu's gaze. He was riding on a horse, his forehead soaked with sweat, his hairband fluttering in the wind, entangled by countless threads of wind.
The sunlight was as strong as a waterfall, making the gold and silver patterns on his clothes sparkle like gems and sparks. His eyes were full of light, filled with countless joyful girls in the crowd, smiling with high spirits.
What color is this gorgeous painting
He Simu thought she had learned these colors. She had just learned them one by one. She knew the sky, trees, flowers, viewing platform, silk and satin on people, his clothes, his horse. But suddenly she couldn't name any of them. These bright colors formed the present moment, the vast world and him. She was like she was suddenly speechless, and all the words she could think of disappeared.
Duan Xu smiled and raised his hand in this waterfall of midsummer sunshine, with his thumb and index finger extended and his middle finger, ring finger and little finger curled, making a gesture. This was the tactic he and his teammates agreed upon, and the young men riding horses on the field changed their formation.
The meaning of his gesture flashed through He Simu's mind. It represented the "Bing" in the Heavenly Stems.
Bing means "Bing", like the brilliant sun and blazing fire. All things are ablaze and bright.
He turned and rode away, raising dust, and charged towards the enemy's goal with the ball in the middle of the three men's pincer attack. He flexibly moved around in the heavy siege, and then suddenly pushed the ball backwards. The ball passed between the intertwined horse legs and landed under the pole of a young man in Duan Xu's team. The young man had already seized the best position but no one was defending him, and he swung the ball into the opponent's goal with one swing.
The people on the viewing platform burst into enthusiastic cheers, shouting, "First place! First place!"
Duan Jingyuan also shouted: "Third brother! Beautiful!"
The pounding of the horses' hooves made the entire place tremble, and the people around made deafening noises. The tremors seemed to seep into He Simu's skin from the air and the earth, and melt into her blood, making her warm and boiling, as if she could hear her own increasingly arrogant heartbeat.
The strange yet increasingly familiar heartbeat was beating as violently as the heart in his chest.
Duan Xu's baseball stick drew an arc and was placed on his shoulder. He turned around and looked at her with a smile, as if waiting for her praise.
He Simu was quiet for a moment—perhaps not quiet, but just adapting to the passionate impulse. Then she also laughed, like the mortals around her who had only lived for a few decades, raised her hands high, waved in the warm sunshine, and jumped off the ground with her light red boots. She put her hands to her mouth and shouted loudly: "Duan Shunxi! First place!"
The unbridled, burning shout was like a hot wind blowing away the ice and snow, burning everything with light.
The people around her only lived for a few decades, but she might have only lived for a moment.
For this? This? thing that is connected to her life, stubborn and bright, persistent and desperate, crazy and bright—
The boy she loved.