Golden Branch

Lou Yu inspected Wang Heng's little white horse very carefully, checking everything from the saddle to the hooves.

He stood up, his hands and clothes covered with dust.

But these did not affect his cool and pure appearance at all.

He is still a noble and calm exiled immortal.

Wang Heng, however, handed her handkerchief to Lou Yu out of habit, "Brother, wipe your hands."

"Ok!"

Lou Yu also took it, wiped the dust off his hands, and then put the handkerchief away.

There was no ambiguity in the two people's actions, but they were very intimate.

Wang Mian and Zheng Shisan were already used to it, but Yang Shou, Lou Yao and other friends were a little stunned:

This, this "brother and sister" relationship is so good.

For the sake of Princess Langya, Master Lou disregarded his own dignity and his love of cleanliness and personally inspected the horses for her.

Princess Langya didn't care about the distinction between men and women and directly gave her personal belongings to Master Lou.

Could it be that the rumors are true?

This pair, aren't just "brother and sister"?

Although the people on Yang Shou's side were shocked, they did not lose their composure.

The people in the opposite Wei Prajna camp were somewhat shocked——

"How could Master Lou be so close to Princess Langya? Isn't he the most particular about cleanliness? And he actually inspected the horse's hooves himself?"

"...Perhaps, Master Lou only considers Langya a younger sister. After all, they grew up together and have been close friends for nearly ten years."

"Haha, yes, yes! Master Lou is the true gentleman of the ancient times. He values ​​friendship and loyalty, and is very caring towards his relatives and friends."

"That's right! It's not just Princess Langya. I heard that Zheng Shisan can stay in the Lou family this time because she is Lou Hanzhang's cousin!"

Wei Prajna's few followers tried their best to say things that they didn't even believe.

They tried hard to prove that Lou Yu's care for Wang Heng was not an exception.

Unfortunately, their explanation is too weak.

Wei Prajna's already cold and beautiful face became even colder.

She looked at the intimate interaction between a boy and a girl not far away, and the hand holding the whip couldn't help but tighten.

Her eyes were very complicated, with astonishment, confusion, and a deep sense of "hate for not being able to make a good person out of a bad person" -

A genius like Lou Yu is actually seduced by beauty like those superficial vulgar people?

Or maybe, he really just values ​​friendship too much. She was his childhood playmate and is now his sister, so he is closer to her?

Wang Heng didn't care what other people thought. She had long been accustomed to getting along with Lou Yu.

After Lou Yu finished his inspection and wiped his hands, Wang Heng grabbed the reins and prepared to mount the horse.

Seeing this, the servant nearby hurried over, lay down, and used himself as a footstool.

Almost at the same time, Lou Yu stretched out an arm.

Wang Heng held Lou Yu's arm, stepped on the servant's back, turned over, and mounted the horse.

Lou Yu did not withdraw his hand in a hurry, but raised his arm, changing from support to support, to help Wang Heng adapt to the height of the horse's back.

Wang Heng did not let go of his hand immediately. Instead, she held Lou Yu's wrist with her backhand, put her other foot into the stirrup, clamped her legs around the saddle, and sat firmly.

Lou Yu was extremely tall. Even when he stood on the ground, he was almost at eye level with Wang Heng who was sitting high on the horse.

The handsome young man and the stunning girl, separated by a horse, can still gaze at each other. The scene is as beautiful as a painting.

There was nothing charming about their looks and movements, yet there was an inexplicable harmony between them.

Theirs is their world, and other people and other things cannot interfere or integrate into it.

Wang Mian stood aside and saw this beautiful picture. The villain in his heart couldn't help but imagine:

Hey, don’t tell me! Really don’t tell me!

At this height and in this position, if they kissed each other, it would definitely be a classic scene.

Kissing on horseback and the like are so beautiful!

"Brother, I'm fine!"

Wang Heng is definitely an ungrateful person who will destroy the bridge after crossing it.

After sitting firmly on the horse's back, he let go of Lou Yu's hand.

Lou Yu smiled gently, raised his arm in the air, paused for a moment, and then slowly lowered it.

"Are you ready? Want to take a ride and see if there's anything wrong?"

Lou Yu made a suggestion in a soft voice.

"Yeah! Okay! I'll listen to you, brother!"

Wang Heng nodded and rode her horse, trotting slowly in the backfield.

There are too many risks in riding a horse, and even after checking the horse, you still need to be prepared for various "accidents".

Lou Yu withdrew his hand and stood with his hands behind his back, looking calm and composed, but in fact his eyes were closely following the figure.

Da da da.

Wang Heng rode her horse around the backfield two or three times.

The horse is in good shape and Wang Heng is in good shape too.

"Shut up!"

After the test ride, Wang Heng returned to the crowd.

She pulled the reins and the horse stopped.

"The competition is about to begin. What's the prize?"

Lou Yu asked seemingly casually, but in fact he also wanted to bear witness to this game.

As one of the initiators of this Ju game, Yang Shou quickly said, "It's nothing special. Besides the usual gold and silver, the loser has to promise to do something for the winner!"

Lou Yu raised his eyebrows.

His expression was still warm, but Yang Shou and others could still feel his "seriousness".

Master Lou seemed a little dissatisfied.

However, considering how affectionate Mr. Lou was to Princess Langya just now, everyone could understand.

Master Lou values ​​Princess Langya, the girl next door, so much that he would definitely not allow her to suffer any injustice.

If their team loses, Master Lou will definitely be worried that Wei Prajna will propose some excessive conditions that will embarrass or even humiliate Princess Langya.

Yang Shou, who accepted this "bet", and his teammates who "lost" with Princess Langya, were all "accomplices" who caused Princess Langya to suffer losses.

Master Lou would naturally be unhappy.

A gentleman is also a human being, how can he really be free of desires and demands?

On the contrary, Mr. Lou, who values ​​his childhood playmates so much, is more vivid and more worthy of respect.

"Master Lou, don't worry! We agreed in advance that this matter cannot violate the law, morality, or secular rules."

Yang Shou explained quickly.

Although Master Lou only raised his eyebrows slightly, he did not show any displeasure or anger.

There was even a faint smile on his handsome face.

But Yang Shou just felt a chill on his back and a fluttering panic in his heart.

He tried his best to tell Lou Yu: "Well, haha, we were just joking around, we didn't really want to become mortal enemies."

"It used to be a common practice. At most, people would apologize in public, give in, or host a party and have fun."

This is not entirely sophistry.

Just as Yang Shou said, even if the elders in the family are political enemies, the younger generations like them can get together to play and occasionally compete with each other, but it won't be too excessive.

They are all in the same circle, and if you look closely, you will find that each family is related to another, whether closely or distantly.

They are a group of boys and girls, still children, they would never kill anyone!

Because once you do this, you will not only make a mortal enemy, but also break the rules.

This group of N generations seem to be dissolute and willful, and may not value the law, but they all abide by the rules.

"Just be sensible!"

Lou Yu glanced at Yang Shou and his other friends. Although he didn't say anything else, everyone felt an inexplicable sense of oppression.

"Master Lou's gaze is so sharp!"

"I always feel like Master Lou is threatening us to play the game properly!"

"Right! Lou Hanzhang is obviously about the same age as us, so why is he so powerful and domineering?"

"Yeah, yeah, just one look from him can make me inexplicably afraid!"

"...Have you forgotten that he is a bachelor, our teacher?"

"Tsk! There are quite a few scholars in the Hongwen Academy. Aside from Lou Hanzhang, who are we afraid of?"

A group of young men, shrinking their necks, desperately exchanged glances with the people around them.

The silent and heated discussions all demonstrated their awe for Master Lou.

Only Wang Heng, seeing Lou Yu like this, knew that he must have guessed her purpose -

Wang Heng wants to win this game just for this prize.

As long as she wins, as the winner, she can ask the other party to do something.

For example, she enrolled in the Lishan Academy.

Everything Wang Heng does has a purpose.

In order to ensure that she could win the game, she did not hesitate to act nice and clever in front of Lou Yu and even served him tea "personally".

Of course, both Wang Heng and Lou Yu knew that even if Wang Heng did not take the initiative to "request", Lou Yu would secretly protect her.

However, in this situation, Lou Yu's protection only prevented Wang Heng from getting hurt, but it might not allow Wang Heng to "win beautifully"!

Wang Heng: ...Just winning, how can that be possible?

I just want to win glory and respect, both in terms of appearance and substance.

Lou Yu: ...Greedy little girl.

Lou Yu knew Wang Heng too well. He knew that Wang Heng would "beg" him not only to win, but also as a test.

Aheng never goes out, but she is well-informed.

During this period, rumors about the "exchange" between Mr. Lou and Ms. Wei had already spread widely.

Some people even criticized her, saying that the talented girl Wei admired the scholar Lou, and that the scholar Lou also appreciated the talent of the talented girl Wei.

You two, good things are coming!

Having a "rival in love", Wang Heng did not lose her composure, but she also wanted to be more cautious.

That's why she acted like a spoiled child in front of him and asked him to help her win the polo match.

Wang Heng is taking advantage of Lou Yu!

This is not the most hateful thing. The truly hateful thing is that Wang Heng did not hide her exploitation at all, and after using her, she would just throw her hands away.

"This girl is really a heartless person!"

Lou Yu sneered secretly, but had to cooperate with her.

So be it, he is the one who "feels confident and fearless". This is the little girl he raised and spoiled, so naturally he has to spoil and indulge her all the time.

……

woo~~~

The horn blows and the polo match is about to begin.

In the outer stands, in addition to spectators watching the game, there were also drummers and musicians.

Drums, gongs, flutes, and musicians playing various instruments and singing... "Xiliang Qu", which was quite popular in the Dayu Dynasty, is basically a must-have piece of music before a polo match.

Accompanied by the music, the two teams rode out on horseback from two exits respectively.

The polo field was surrounded by flags, which fluttered in the summer breeze.

This polo match uses a double-gate hole.

That is, there is a goal hole on each side, and each team guards one side.

If one team breaks through the other team's defense and hits the ball into the other team's goal hole, it wins a goal and records the corresponding points.

After the game is over, the total number is counted and the team with the higher score wins.

There are also referees, scorers and other equipment on the court.

Spectators in the stands can also place bets and gamble on the game.

As the team entered the field, the stadium, which was originally just a little quiet, suddenly became noisy.

Shouts, cheers, applause, and exclamations—

"The team wearing the Tianshui green jerseys is Princess Langya and Yang Ershiyilang's team?"

"The one at the front of the line is Princess Langya? As expected of Concubine Jiang's biological daughter, she truly possesses a stunning beauty!"

"...graceful as a startled swan, graceful as a flying dragon...the ancients were not deceiving me!"

People who love facial expressions are so honest and open.

Of course, the praise is not all for those who are obsessed with beauty. There are also people with substance who are "sober while everyone else is drunk."

Even if they are obsessed with beautiful appearance, they still have to show their disdain for beauty and then show that they are upright and noble sages.

"It's just a facade! We still need to see the real talent!"

"Yes, marry a virtuous woman; a woman who is too pretty is not beautiful."

"The girl from the Wei family is still the best. Not only is she talented in writing, she is also skilled in riding and shooting, and is also an expert in playing football."

"It's just..."

Before the polo match even started, fans of both teams had already started heated discussions.

The two teams gathered in the center, with ten players on each side. They wore the uniform jerseys of their respective teams and rode on fine horses. In the saddlebags on their horse's backs were wooden sticks used for hitting the ball.

"Yang Twenty-One, it's about to start. It's not too late to admit defeat now!"

"Wang Si, just wait to be Ye Ye's slave!"

Before the game started, there was the usual exchange of harsh words.

beep!

With a whistle, the race officially began.

The referee lifted the colorful ball and threw it high into the air.

Yang Shou, Wang Si, Wei Prajna, Wang Mian and others all raised their polo sticks.

Some of them even stood on the stirrups to grab the ball.

Snapped!

The first person to hit the ball was Lou Yao.

He was tall and had practiced martial arts since childhood. He started learning to ride a horse when he learned to walk.

His horsemanship is definitely the best among all the playboys.

Lou Yao took the lead and with a powerful swing, he kicked the ball towards the opponent's goal hole.

Yang Shou, Wang Mian and other teammates looked at the direction where the ball would fall, rode their horses, and waved their clubs, ready to catch it.

drive!

drive! drive!

The horses were running wildly, and all the boys and girls were moving.

Among the bustling crowd, only Wang Heng seemed the most relaxed and comfortable.

She rode her horse and held her golf club, but did not join the scramble.

"Hiss! Is this Princess Langya really a fool?"

"It's obvious she's just slacking off. At least she should fight for it, fight for it..."

Wei Prajna was also at the forefront of the competition. In an emergency, she was even able to stand on the horse's back with one foot, using her superb horsemanship to make up for her height disadvantage.

Her wonderful performance won cheers from the stands.

Wei Prajna became more and more proud when she heard the tsunami of praise. She successfully counterattacked and hit the ball all the way to the opponent's goal hole.

Aiming at the hole, Wei Prajna swung the club with all his might.

Snapped!

The ball was hit and flew out.

But just as the ball was about to enter the goal hole, a golf club suddenly appeared and stopped the ball.

Everyone saw the ball first, then the club, and then followed the club to the person who swung the club.

It was not someone else, but Princess Langya who had been slacking off all the time!