Chapter 96: Hello Chang’an

  

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  Chapter 96: He's Here

The atmosphere in the arena was tense and chaotic, making everyone watching break into a nervous sweat.

Watching Cui Lang give his all on the field, Cui Tang rarely praised, “It’s the first time I’ve seen my brother put so much effort into something.”

The Qiao family’s young master played polo with an open and honorable air, exuding an aura of confidence and showing his stability and determination. Having him as a teammate was truly a stroke of luck for her younger brother.

As the saying goes, “Being close to cinnabar makes you red,” and her brother was not too far off from it himself.

It seemed that placing someone in the right, positive environment was indeed crucial.

With these thoughts, Cui Tang unconsciously turned her gaze toward that positive influence: Qiao Yubai.

“Yes, it’s rare to see the young master so invested in something,” chuckled the servant standing by Lu shi. “Whether they win or lose, it hardly matters at this point.”

“How does it not matter?”

Cui Tang looked toward her mother, who had voiced her own thoughts.

“If they don’t win, wouldn’t that mean getting bullied for nothing?” Lu shi eyed the yellow team’s players on the field with a hint of disdain. “If those undisciplined brats actually win, it’d be downright infuriating.”

 

Whether her son won wasn’t the issue, but the mood of the spectators certainly was. On a sweltering day, watching a polo match was already tough enough—getting aggravated on top of it would make it unbearable. And who would they complain to afterward?

The woman sitting behind Lu shi’s face shifted at her words.

“Lu shi…” someone nearby whispered to remind her, “Madam Chang is seated right behind you…”

Realizing this, Lu shi raised her brows and turned around. “The one leading the yellow team is your son, isn’t it?”

Miss Chang could only feign ignorance of Lu shi’s previous remark, nodding with a forced smile. “Indeed.”

Lu shi sighed. “It appears he needs a bit more discipline.”

Miss Chang’s smile froze. “Pardon?”

Was Lu shi worried she hadn’t heard the first time and thus repeated it directly to her?

The woman who had attempted to caution Lu shi looked astonished—who knew one could say such things outright? Lu shi’s demeanor was a masterclass in high-handed disdain: she was neither concealing her thoughts nor mincing her words.

 

But Miss Chang could only nod, her face changing colors. “Lu shi’s advice is duly noted.”

Lu shi nodded in satisfaction, as if appreciating a well-behaved child.

Once Lu shi turned back around, Madam Chang gritted her teeth—how dare she wield her status to bully her! Obviously, she was just feeling aggrieved watching her no-good son struggling on the field and decided to taunt her under the pretense of “guidance.”

Watching her son, Chang Miao, galloping on the field, Madam Chang felt a touch of satisfaction. 

As long as he won, it would be his skill on display.

The match wasn’t over yet, and the victor was still undecided.

She would love to see if Lu shi could keep her smug air if her son ended up losing to hers.

On the field, the situation changed by the second.

With only moments left in this period, each team had scored one goal.

“Qiao!” Cui Lang shouted, passing the hard-won ball to Qiao Yubai.

In these last moments, they didn’t have the luxury of holding back. They fought tooth and nail for positioning, with Cui Lang even risking getting knocked down to deliver the pass to Qiao Yubai.

Anyone could see the blue team had a high chance of scoring.

Qiao Yubai, fully focused, readied himself to strike.

But just then, a player from the yellow team rushed in from the side, attempting to intercept.

Qiao Yubai didn’t dodge but instead raised his stick, aiming to hit the ball before the player could get in his way. Yet, just as his stick was about to touch the ball, the opponent closed in, causing a collision. Qiao Yubai’s strike missed, and he nearly fell off his horse, his shoulder throbbing in pain.

Cui Lang cursed, “Enough already!”

But there was no time for verbal sparring.

The yellow team seized the chance, passing the ball to Chang Miao. Cui Lang and Xi Zhiyuan moved in from both sides, while Hu was ready to block.

Chang Miao knew the odds of scoring with Yi Hu guarding the goal were slim but didn’t hesitate to strike.

Only, he didn’t aim for the goal—

“Yubai!”

The ball whizzed towards the young man on horseback.

In a split second, before anyone could react, the ball slammed directly into Qiao Yubai’s forehead, sending a ringing through his head and causing him to fall back uncontrollably.

Cui Lang, who had ridden forward in time, caught him just as he was about to fall from the saddle. “Qiao!” he shouted.

Cui Lang roared, “Chang Miao, you coward! You deliberately aimed to hurt him!”

Chang Miao wore an innocent expression. “Cui, don’t slander me. I just missed my shot!”

He glanced at the water clock and gestured to his teammates, “Why are you all standing around?”

“I’m fine…” Qiao Yubai tried to shake off his dizziness and pushed away Cui Lang. “Hold them off—”

Before he could finish, in the ensuing chaos, the ball unexpectedly dropped to the ground, rolling beneath his horse’s hooves.

Still feeling woozy, Qiao instinctively pulled the reins to step back. But Chang Miao, moving faster, bent low to sweep his stick toward the rolling ball—

Though he struck the ball, his stick also hit the front hoof of Qiao’s horse.

The horse cried out in pain, rearing up suddenly.

Under normal circumstances, Qiao Yubai would have handled it with ease, but his current state was far from normal.

With a loud thud, he fell backward off the horse, landing on the back of his head—a dangerous fall.

Gasps erupted from the crowd.

Under the shade of the awning, Wang Shi finally changed her expression, abruptly standing up.

"Brother…!" The chaotic voices made Qiao Yumi anxious as she reached out to the side: "Ning Ning, what’s wrong with Brother?"

 

Qiao Yang was also taken aback and urged the old servant beside him, "Quick, go take a look!"

As the crowd stirred in confusion, in the last moment before the end of the current period, Chang Miao struck the ball into the goal.

One of the yellow team students cheered, "We scored! That's two goals for us! We won this round!"

Cui Lang cursed with a dark face, "You're winning your father's coffin money!"

He jumped off his horse and pulled Chang Miao down from the saddle. "You shameless scoundrel, if you dare, come and fight me!"

Chang Miao, being tugged by his collar, shouted to the side, "Referee, Cui Liulang is going to attack!"

A voice shouted, "You can't fall for his tricks, my lord!"

Even if you want to fight, it shouldn't be on the field; otherwise, you'd be penalized!

Chang Miao was clearly trying to provoke Cui Lang deliberately!

Qiao's young master was injured, and if Cui Lang was also penalized, would they still have a chance in the last round?

Cui Lang angrily pushed Chang Miao away and looked at the two referees: "It's clear that they injured someone maliciously first! Why didn’t you stop the game?"

The two referees exchanged glances, and one said, "There is no evidence to prove that the yellow team acted maliciously."

The first time a colored ball hit Qiao Yubai was during an "accident" while hitting the ball.

The second time, when the horse was startled and caused Qiao Yubai to fall, it was also during an opponent's sweeping motion; this could similarly be explained as an accident.

On the field, evidence is required to speak; otherwise, disputes cannot be settled and would lead to more trouble.

"Stop pretending to be blind with me here! If your eyes aren't useful, why don't I have someone dig them out and feed them to the dogs!"

Cui Lang was extremely furious and was about to confront the referees again when his teammate, Dong Luo student Xi Zhi Yuan, grabbed him: "Calm down first, let’s see how Yubai is doing—"

Cui Lang also worried about Qiao Yubai's injuries and, upon hearing this, momentarily forgot to curse.

Qiao Yubai had been helped to sit up, surrounded by many people.

Chang Suining had followed Wang Shi into the arena and now knelt beside Qiao Yubai to check his injuries.

"Bai'er, how do you feel? Did you fall hard?" Wang Shi was extremely anxious, reaching out to touch the bleeding wound on her son's forehead but hesitating to make contact.

She was not one to make a fuss and was well aware that injuries were common in polo, especially in competitions where bumps and bruises were inevitable… but this situation was clearly more than just minor bumps!

Qiao Yubai frowned in pain but still shook his head, "Mother, don’t worry, I’m fine."

He tried to move his right shoulder, and cold sweat broke out from the pain on his forehead.

"Don’t move." Chang Suining raised her hand, pressing it on his shoulder, exploring with her fingers to confirm it was dislocated. Then she used her other hand to support it, applying force; with a loud "crack," Qiao Yubai cried out in pain.

Chang Suining said, "Fortunately, it's just a dislocation; it's been set back in place."

Qiao Yubai tried moving again, and indeed he could move now.

Cui Lang was stunned.

Ignoring the obstruction, Chang Sui'an quickly rushed into the arena and scolded Qiao Yubai angrily, "I told you to be careful, but you wouldn’t listen!"

Qiao Yubai looked up at him, bewildered: "When did you say that?"

Chang Sui'an : "…"

He of course said it in his heart!

Seeing that the situation on the field was not right, he had been shouting in his mind for Qiao Yubai to be careful, until his voice was hoarse!

He pressed down on this and urged, "Let’s go, I’ll carry you to the medical hall to get treated!"

"But there’s still one more match—"

Just now, the referees had declared the yellow team the winners of this period, so each side had won two periods, and a final period was still needed to determine the winner.

Chang Sui'an widened his eyes: "Are you out of your mind!"

"Yubai, it’s urgent to treat your injury." Chang Suining said, "Though your arm is just dislocated, it’s better not to exert force for now, and the wound on your head needs rest too; we don’t know if there are any other injuries—"

Wang Shi also said, "Bai'er, listen to Ning Ning and go get treated first."

Qiao Yubai hesitated and looked at Cui Lang and the others.

Though there would be substitutes, if he left due to injury, it would inevitably affect everyone’s morale. Besides, he couldn’t handle the malicious targeting from Chang Miao and others, not to mention the substitutes—this thought wasn’t out of arrogance but a reality.

This polo match wasn't just his game; everyone had fought hard for it, and if he withdrew now, it would be like conceding defeat for everyone.

Xi Zhi Yuan patted his left shoulder gently: "Yubai, just focus on treating your injury; we’ll handle it here."

Cui Lang also said, "Brother Qiao, you can leave it to us! I’ll make sure to avenge you!"

Qiao Yubai: "?"

That sounded strange.

Seeing that he was still hesitant, Chang Suining said seriously, "It’s just a matter of winning or losing a polo match, not worth you risking your safety. If you injure yourself further, the consequences would be unimaginable—don't forget, your hands are meant for holding a brush."

Qiao Yubai looked at his arm upon hearing this.

The rational voice of the girl rang out again: "Besides, if you’re injured, staying will only affect and drag everyone down."

Qiao Yubai: "…"

It was a bit cruel, but it made a lot of sense.

Chang Sui'an wanted to remind his sister several times that Qiao Yubai was her elder brother, not a younger one—but given that Qiao Yubai was injured, he refrained from being too harsh.

The Hu surname youth tried to comfort Qiao Yubai in a light tone: "If we lose, we lose; we can always try again next year!"

Qiao Yubai could only nod, apologetically looking at the three as Chang Sui'an helped him up: "I’m sorry to you all."

"Brother, don’t worry." Chang Suining said, "We won’t lose."

Qiao Yubai took this as comforting words, sighed inwardly, and nodded as he was helped away.

On the opposite side, Chang Miao, who was resting and drinking water, raised his eyebrows upon seeing this.

His teammate chuckled softly, "Qiao Yubai really backed down!"

"Without Qiao Yubai, it’ll be hard for us not to win!"

"Look at those two substitutes…" another teased, "Seeing Qiao Yubai get beaten up like that, they look scared to death, haha!"

Among the two substitutes for the blue team, one was tall and had originally been prepared to replace the Hu surname youth's position.

The other one, who stood behind, was shorter, usually playing the center position in the team, quick and adept at adapting—but he was indeed quite frightened by Chang Miao and the others' ferocity at this moment.

It wasn’t to the extent of wetting his pants, but with Qiao Yubai’s example right in front of him, the pressure was overwhelming.

Before even stepping onto the field, his mind was already in disarray.

At this moment, amidst the noise, someone lightly patted his shoulder from behind.

He was startled and quickly turned around, only to see a youth dressed in near-identical attire—

Under the cover of his tall teammate, no one had noticed his side's movement.

Because a blue team member had been injured and had to withdraw, the halftime break was extended by a quarter of an hour according to regulations, allowing the original and new team members time to discuss and coordinate.

Cui Lang frowned: "Where’s the other person!"

The Hu surname youth looked around: "He was just here."

Cui Lang looked disdainfully: "With those skinny arms and legs, he wouldn’t have run away, would he? Is there anyone else to substitute—"

At this moment, a clear youthful voice sounded from behind him: "I’m here."

The few turned around to look.

The youth wore a similarly pale blue narrow robe, tied with the same blue ribbon at his waist, his thick black hair tied back neatly; as he approached, a clean and brisk aura of youth came rushing in.

The Hu surname youth was taken aback: "You…"

The "youth" interrupted him, looking at the three, and announced, "I’ll take Yubai’s position." 

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(End of this chapter)

“Yubai!”

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