Chapter 8

The next day, Xue Shao was brought to the Western Inner Garden.

Compared to the Eastern Inner Garden, which was used for touring natural landscapes, the Western Inner Garden was a place for various royal entertainments. During holidays, it often hosted large-scale sports activities such as polo, tug-of-war, and wrestling.

Xue Shao stood alone on the wrestling field, surrounded by a circle of drums for cheering and a group of armored guards.

"Wrestling, with its grandeur of elephant taming and rhinoceros wrestling, and the brilliance of star balls and frost swords, is one of the most popular 'hundred plays' in the Tang Dynasty court. It usually involves a group of people performing on stage with their upper bodies exposed, while drums are beaten below to encourage them. It has a set routine and is more of a performance, somewhat similar to modern American wrestling."

When Xue Shao was told that he would participate in wrestling today, he smiled helplessly. If it were a real fight to the death, he might勉强 manage, but wrestling was not his strong suit.

After a while, a group of people escorted Princess Taiping's carriage to the scene, and the princess took her seat on the viewing platform. Because of the distance, Xue Shao could not see her facial expressions clearly. A eunuch holding a flag walked onto the stage and said to Xue Shao, "Young master, you are to perform wrestling for the princess today. You must ensure that the princess is entertained and satisfied."

"I don't know how to wrestle," Xue Shao said honestly.

"It's quite simple," the eunuch said, pointing to the stage. "What you need to do is stay on this stage by any means. If you are thrown off, you lose."

"Understood," Xue Shao replied coolly. He originally did not want to show his skills in front of others, but since he was forced into this, he had no choice. He would just have to protect himself and stop at the right moment.

The eunuch waved the flag, and the fat eunuch Zhu Weimei, who had delivered Xue Shao's meal the previous day, walked onto the stage. His body was twice the size of Xue Shao's, and his large fat jiggled like waves as he walked.

After they stood facing each other, someone came to strip off their upper garments.

Princess Taiping, sitting on the viewing platform, giggled, "That bad man is so skinny, only half the size of Zhu Weimei. If he is thrown down, he will be crushed to death! It's a pity I can't see his face clearly; he must be crying! Hehe! —— Let's start quickly!"

"Your humble servant, Zhu Weimei, is ordered by the princess to wrestle with you, young master. I apologize for any offense!" Zhu Weimei was quite polite.

Xue Shao sneered, "I think you would be better off called Zhu Bajie."

The flag was waved, and the match began.

Zhu Weimei waved his arms, causing his fat to ripple like waves, and he made strange noises to intimidate Xue Shao.

Xue Shao just stood there, looking at him calmly, finding it quite amusing — this eunuch, who had no testicles, was trying to scare whom?

"Yo-ho!" With a strange scream, Zhu Weimei jumped in front of Xue Shao, bent down, and tried to grab his shoulder with his left hand and twist his waist with his right, attempting a side throw.

Unexpectedly, Xue Shao did not even try to defend himself or dodge. He stood like an iron pole, unmoving no matter how hard Zhu Weimei tried.

Xue Shao felt a bit helpless. He never thought he would have to fight a eunuch one day! Although this body was not as strong as his previous one, dealing with a fat eunuch was still easy.

"Eh?" Zhu Weimei was confused. He looked up at Xue Shao, who was half his size, and rolled his eyes.

Xue Shao grabbed his ear and spun him around like a top. Zhu Weimei screamed like a pig being slaughtered, wobbled, and felt dizzy.

The surrounding soldiers burst into laughter.

Princess Taiping widened her eyes in surprise, "Oh, that bad man is so strong!"

Zhu Weimei groaned in pain, trembling. Remembering that the princess said he would be buried if he lost, he had no choice but to go all out. He let out a fierce cry, charging at Xue Shao like a fat pig whose tail had just been chopped off, ready to die.

Xue Shao remained calm, standing still. When Zhu Weimei was close, he suddenly dodged, and with a light kick at his arch, the fat eunuch stumbled and fell off the stage, face-first into the ground, creating a large hole.

"Ha-ha-ha!" The entire field erupted in laughter and drumming. The flag-bearer eunuch came onto the stage and waved the flag, "Young master Xue wins!"

Princess Taiping also laughed, but then remembered something and frowned, "Wasn't he supposed to be weak and unable to lift a chicken?!"

A nearby attendant palace woman also said angrily, "Your Highness, Zhu Weimei, who flatters and fawns, is not even as good as a chicken; he is just a worm that eats mud!"

"Disgraceful, it angers me!" Princess Taiping said angrily, "This match doesn't count! We must have another match! ... Let's play cuju!"

Despite her tough words, Princess Taiping did not actually bury Zhu Weimei.

Xue Shao smiled but said nothing, thinking to himself: The elegant title of Lan Tian is not just about bloodline and appearance. He was ready to accompany her in any of the eighteen martial arts or any form of entertainment.

In the past, Xue Shao never personally participated in intense sports like wrestling, but he excelled in anything related to eating, drinking, playing, and entertainment.

"Exquisite elegance" is not just about women and romance. Now, with the fusion of his two souls, Xue Shao was not worried about the court cuju match.

Soon, Princess Taiping and her entourage brought Xue Shao to the cuju field.

Cuju in the Tang Dynasty had two forms: one was "duqiu," a competitive game where two tall bamboo poles were set up in the field, and a net was stretched between them. The ball had to be kicked from a distance into the net, similar to modern goal-scoring. The team that scored more goals won.

"Cuju often flies above the birds, and swings out from the willows," duqiu required the ball to be kicked very high.

The other form was "baida," a game often played by the ladies of the court, which involved fancy footwork to keep the ball in the air, similar to modern freestyle football.

"Bring that bad man up, I want to see him clearly!" Princess Taiping said, a bit angry, "And make it clear to him that if he loses, he will have his neck twisted! I am always straightforward, humph!"

Thus, Xue Shao was brought before Princess Taiping.

When she saw him again, Xue Shao's eyes seemed to stick to her face, and he subconsciously called out, "Xiao Rou..."

"Rude!" A eunuch next to Princess Taiping shouted.

Princess Taiping's face turned red, even to her neck, as she was stared at by Xue Shao's fiery gaze. She did not even react to the eunuch's shout but stared straight at Xue Shao, feeling a flutter in her heart, a sensation she had never experienced before!

Their eyes met, and both seemed to be entranced.

The palace women around Princess Taiping were not much better. These women, who rarely saw a man all year, had bright eyes and red faces from the moment they saw Xue Shao, and they hardly dared to breathe. This man seemed to be showing them that men could also be so charming that they could bring down a nation!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Zhu Weimei, who had been thrown and humiliated and almost buried, said resentfully, "Your Highness, this man is extremely rude and disrespectful, this is a public offense!"

Princess Taiping finally came to her senses and glared at Zhu Weimei, "You worm, shut up!"

Xue Shao reined in his gaze and bowed, "Your subject knows his fault."

The origin of terms like "Your Majesty" and "Your Highness" is that when subjects face the emperor or princess, they can only see the steps below their feet; otherwise, it is disrespectful.

The other palace women also breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere became awkward. The eunuchs thought Princess Taiping would use this as a reason to punish Xue Shao, but surprisingly, she was unusually "magnanimous" today, with no such intention.

"Um, listen carefully!" Princess Taiping tried to maintain her composure, "Now we will have a cuju match, and we must determine a winner! If you lose, then... your neck will be twisted!"

"Alright," Xue Shao could not help but smile, "But what if I win by some luck?"

"Well... I haven't decided yet!" Princess Taiping seemed to avoid looking at Xue Shao, her eyes wandering and her face flushed.

"Your Highness, if I win by some luck, how about changing the name of the fat eunuch by your side?" Xue Shao smiled, "I think the name Zhu Weimei is not very suitable for him. Zhu Bajie would be better!"

"Zhu Bajie?" The Tang Dynasty did not have "Journey to the West," and Princess Taiping was a bit curious. She waved her hand dismissively, "Alright, let's start quickly!"

Zhu Weimei's fat face twitched. How dare you change the name given by the princess!

Xue Shao went onto the field. Princess Taiping sent two "cuju experts" from the palace to compete with Xue Shao: one eunuch to play duqiu, and one palace woman to play baida.

Compared to Xue Shao, who was a professional playboy, the eunuch who claimed to be an expert was amateurish. After a few kicks, Xue Shao easily won, and Princess Taiping was even more angry, placing all her hopes on the baida match.

Baida, with its fancy footwork, was more commonly played by women and thus more suitable for them. Princess Taiping herself was deeply interested in it.

However, Princess Taiping and her entourage did not expect that Xue Shao, though not particularly skilled in anything else, was an expert in anything related to eating, drinking, playing, and especially women. When he started playing baida, all the spectators were amazed and cheered loudly.

"Quiet!" Princess Taiping shouted angrily to suppress the cheers, but after a short while, the cheers became even louder.

"Great!" Princess Taiping could not help but exclaim.

The palace women and eunuchs looked at her in surprise and quickly turned away.

"Cough! ... Zhu Weimei, from today on, you will be called Zhu Bajie!" Princess Taiping's face was red, feeling embarrassed.

...

[Please follow and vote more ^_^!]

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends