At the turn of spring and summer, Xu Zaijing, led by his mother, accompanied his brothers and sisters to the polo field owned by Mrs. Wu in the outer city.
In Xu Zaijing's view, this polo field is a large social venue for the nobles in Beijing.
It is also a blind date meeting for young men and women.
Everyone has their own circle.
The nobility are divided into high and low ranks, and there are many in-laws;
Officials' families also have various relationships such as superiors and subordinates, classmates, and teachers and students.
Based on relationships, groups of people gather together.
On the polo field
Outstanding performance will sometimes attract the attention of noble ladies and their wives in the capital, and may lead to an enviable marriage.
It is also possible that he was like the young master Qi Heng in Xu Zaijing's memory, who was favored by many noble ladies because of his outstanding performance. It is difficult to judge exactly what happened.
Tall horses galloped across the field, making a rumbling sound. After a goal was scored, drummers beat drums to celebrate, creating an exciting atmosphere.
Beside the huge enclosure,
Each family has a large tent.
Only one side of the tent faces the court; you can't see inside the other three sides.
The noble ladies and their wives could relax and talk quietly in their tents, applaud and cheer, but if they screamed loudly, they would be laughed at.
However, the legitimate and illegitimate sons of each family were not so restricted. They could even stand on the sidelines and cheer loudly when they saw a good ball.
The weather was neither cold nor hot. In the tent of Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion, Bai was sitting on the couch with her big belly, her right arm around Xu Zaijing who was sitting on the chair.
Bai's face was full of smiles. Xu Zaijing wore a white inner garment and a dark blue silk robe on the outside. The robe was embroidered with silver-white floral qilin patterns.
An older boy was pulling Bai's left hand, wanting to hug her.
"Mom, I am your biological child, why do you always hold him in your arms?"
These words made the women in the tent smile.
"Mom, hug me!"
Xu Zaijing knew that this was Gu Tingye.
He was nice and handed the pastry in his hand to Gu Tingye, but Gu Tingye didn't want it.
"Hurry up and let your mother hold me. My mother wants to hold me!"
"Brother Ye, Brother Jing is a guest in our tent, so of course we have to take good care of him." Mother Chang said with a smile.
Inside the tent, a girl of about eighteen or nineteen did not smile. The narrow-sleeved brocade jacket with gold-threaded and silver-patterned flowers that she wore was luxurious but a bit old, and even the jewelry on her head was pitifully sparse.
In the corner under the tent, she hugged the boy in her arms and whispered, "Yu'er, did you see that? She is not your biological mother. It was because of her that your mother was divorced by your father and eventually died of depression. She is the murderer who killed your mother."
"Aunt, are you telling the truth? But Mother Bai treats me very well."
"Brother Yu, your aunt is your mother's biological sister. She is the person who loves you the most in the world. How could she lie to you!" The maid beside the girl said gently.
In the cheerful atmosphere under the tent, the laughter of the women drowned out the conversation between the two men, one young.
The boy, who was thin and had a yellow complexion but dark and bright eyes, looked puzzled.
Sun, who had just come down from the polo field, was taking off her blue belt, with a slight sweat on her forehead. She came to the tent of Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion and watched her youngest son concentrating on eating cakes next to Bai.
"Sister, I'm really bothering you. This month, the little monkey has been crying loudly if it can't find you. You're almost nine months pregnant, and you're still often bothered by this little monkey."
Bai looked at Xu Zaijing who was quietly eating cakes beside her, and said with a smile in her eyes:
“Sister, it’s okay, Jing’er and I are destined to be together.
Today I really wanted to go to the garden with Mother Chang, but Mother Chang said that Jing'er was here and asked me to watch you play polo, so I took the carriage at home to come and take a look.
Well, it just so happens that the Marquis is on his day off today, and is playing ball in the men's court over there."
Sun looked at her son and said, "Little monkey, why don't you come here?"
Sun was wearing an embroidered polo jersey that was convenient for playing polo. She handed the sleeve to Xiaozhu beside her, but she did not go to Bai to pick up Xu Zaijing. Instead, she stood not far away and let Xu Zaijing walk over by himself.
A little boy of five or six years old next to Gu Tingye followed behind after Bai put Xu Zaijing down, with a protective attitude.
Sun's eyes were full of admiration, and she looked at Bai with some doubts.
"This is Zhique, Tingye's servant."
Sun held Xu Zaijing in her arms and glanced at Xiaozhu beside her.
Xiao Zhu took out a small silver cake with one hand and held the little boy with the other hand.
"Little brother, please walk slowly. This is a thank-you gift from my wife."
As he said this, he placed the silver cake in the hands of the servant named Zhique.
The servant looked back at Bai and Gu Tingye, and only took it when he saw that no one said anything to stop him.
He bowed politely.
"Thank you for the reward, madam."
In front of everyone, Sun smiled slightly and looked at Bai and said
"Madam, Madam Wu is pregnant and can't leave. I'm going to accompany her. Your period is almost over, so you'd better be more careful."
There was still some reluctance in Bai's eyes, and he nodded with a smile.
"Sister, go by yourself. I have a plan in mind, and my father has also sent several experienced midwives, who are coming with me today."
"Then I'm relieved. You're good in every way, but you're more like the mother of this little monkey than I am. His aunt is jealous of you. She says she treats you better than his own aunt."
"Brother Jing and I are destined to be together."
Bai replied with a smile in her eyes.
Sun and his group left the tent with a smile.
Bai looked around the tent and saw the girl in the crowd hugging Gu Tingyu. She knew that she was the second lady Qin, the younger sister of the deceased Madam Qin. After nodding in greeting, Bai waved to Gu Tingyu.
Miss Qin Er had a loving smile on her face, and it was impossible to tell what she had just said. She let go of her arms around Gu Tingyu and pushed Gu Tingyu towards Bai.
Then she squatted down and bowed, looking at Bai who was surrounded by relatives and female family members again. There was an unknown look in her eyes, and then she stood up and left.
At this time, Gu Tingye squeezed out of the crowd, not knowing where he was going.
Miss Qin Er pretended not to see it and left from behind the tent. From the corner of her eye, she saw Gu Tingye following her out, followed by a servant.
She pretended to stop and waited for Gu Tingye to come to her side. She squatted down, seemed to be sorting out her clothes, and whispered: "Those who stole my things, I'd better push them into the water to teach them a lesson."
Then she pretended nothing happened and left leisurely with the help of the maid beside her.
Gu Tingye's small body paused for a moment, and his eyes lit up.
The tents at the Duke of Qi's mansion were even more luxurious than those at the Gu family's.
A serious woman, with an aristocratic air in her every move, sat behind the table.
She was thin, and although the people next to the tent couldn't see her, she didn't relax just because no one was watching.
She looked at the galloping horses all over the field and listened to the noisy voices of the nobles and their families around her.
Her brows were furrowed, and it was obvious that her mind was not on the polo field.
The personal maid beside him whispered
"Princess, please have some tea."
The woman took the teacup. Although it was made of porcelain, it was fired to give it a jade-like feel. It was obviously a set of expensive tea sets.
If there are any typos or paragraphs that are not smooth to read, please feel free to point them out.