"Alas, the Third Prince left in such a hurry. It seems he really has important business to attend to. This departure will probably last for a long time. I wonder when we will be able to exchange skills with him again. It's such a pity, such a pity!"

"..."

Seeing Jing Zhe's regretful expression, everyone remained silent.

Everyone's smart enough to see that Qi Junguang ran away because he was afraid of him.

He's sparring with people? Others are afraid he'll kill them!

Bai Qingyuan, on the other hand, was quite old. While everyone else was crowding at the door looking out, he couldn't squeeze in. So he calmly sat at the back, not even looking, waiting for news of Jing Zhe's death. But after a few loud bangs, he was surprised to find that Jing Zhe was still alive, but Qi Gulong was dead.

He cursed Qi Gulong as a "useless piece of trash" in his heart, but at the same time he was also a little relieved. It seemed that what he had said to Emperor An earlier could finally come in handy!

The others witnessed Jing Zhe's actions, but no one dared to speak up, except for Bai Qingyuan, who was fearless.

"Young Master Jing, don't speak so arrogantly. What if the Emperor of Southern Qi hears that the Third Prince of Southern Qi was humiliated at your hands and raises an army to attack Jingzhou? Doesn't Young Master Jing consider the consequences of his actions?"

"Think about it!"

Jing Zhe said with a serious expression.

"consider?"

Bai Qingyuan stroked his beard: "If you're really considering it, do you dare speak to the Third Prince of Southern Qi like that? You should know that Southern Qi is far stronger than Anguo!"

"Just because others are stronger, does that mean we have to be inferior?"

Jing Zhe glanced at Bai Qingyuan and said disdainfully, "In my hometown, we have a saying about this kind of person: the 'kneeling clan.' Being weak isn't scary, but once your stance is skewed, it's hard to get back on your feet!"

"..."

It's both soft and hard, and what's with the butt being crooked?

Bai Qingyuan was now very suspicious that Jing Zhe was deliberately saying something strange!

"His Majesty…"

Bai Qingyuan was no match for Jing Zhe with his smooth talk, so he could only turn to Emperor An for help. But Emperor An gave him an impatient look and said, "Grand Tutor Bai, Jing Zhe is right. Southern Qi is powerful, but why should we be inferior to them?"

"Your Majesty, if Southern Qi really attacks, then the difference between us will be more than just a matter of being shorter!"

Bai Qingyuan said coldly.

"..."

Emperor An remained silent, a bitter smile playing on his lips.

This is the current state of affairs in Anguo: the ruler is not a ruler, and the ministers are not ministers.

In Anguo, power was decentralized, and many ministers held real power, hindering each other. Emperor An could only maintain peace in the court by being subservient.

Otherwise, if any country attacked Jingzhou, Anguo might fall apart. That's why he was in such a difficult position when Qi Junguang came to propose marriage, and dared not refuse.

But after seeing Jing Zhe's performance just now, he suddenly lost his fear, and his only thought was to keep Jing Zhe by his side.

"Grand Tutor Bai's backside is getting more and more crooked!"

Jing Zhe looked at the old man with great dissatisfaction. He usually disliked this kind of sheepdog who boosted the morale of others while diminishing their own, as if everything outside was better than home.

But others don't treat him like a dog at all.

"When friends visit, serve strong liquor; when enemies invade, thunder roars!"

After Jing Zhe said this, the hall was silent for a moment.

Then, Yu Sheng, the Duke of Protector of the State, was the first to shout "Bravo!"

"Hey Bai, the older you get, the more timid you become! Listen to what Young Master Jing is saying, he's so domineering! He's even more impressive than young people, no wonder you can't have children!"

"..."

Bai Qingyuan's face turned from white to red and then back to white, with veins bulging on his neck. "You, surnamed Yu, I've put up with you for too long! Get to the point! What do you mean by saying I can't have children every day?"

"But you really can't have children, can you?"

"..."

Bai Qingyuan, panting heavily, kept telling himself, "You can't beat him, he'll beat you to death," before he finally calmed down.

"Your Majesty, I am only considering the greater good of the nation!"

"I know."

Emperor An nodded. "However, Minister Bai has overthought things this time. I'm afraid Southern Qi will never dare to have any designs on An again! Jing Zhe is right; friends and enemies should be treated differently!"

"Your Majesty...why is this?"

Bai Qingyuan had never seen Emperor An so confident, especially when facing the more powerful Southern Qi.

Although he heard those booming sounds, his thinking was rather simple: he assumed that if Jing Zhe had taken eight jars of strong liquor and it had been ignited instantly, it would probably have exploded due to the heat and expansion.

He couldn't think of anything else besides this.

Emperor An didn't reply to him, but pointed outside and said, "Minister Bai, go out and see for yourself!"

"..."

Bai Qingyuan looked puzzled, but when he went outside and saw the blood and flesh on the ground, he immediately vomited.

Unfortunately, he was already over sixty years old and his body was not very strong to begin with. Startled and vomiting like that, he fell backward.

With a "thud," he fell to the ground.

Sui Shouren had just come out of the side awning and was about to go inside when he saw this scene. He immediately shouted towards the awning, "Quickly, bring out a few more people! Grand Tutor Bai has also fainted. Get the imperial physician to take a look!"

These imperial physicians were originally summoned by Emperor An in case someone got injured during the martial arts competition and needed immediate medical attention. However, to everyone's surprise, one of the two participants in the competition was alive and well, while the other died instantly, and neither of them needed any physicians.

The people who actually used them were two bystanders who were just watching the show…

Sui Shouren sent someone to take Bai Qingyuan into the shaded pavilion, and then returned to the house with a somber expression.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid Minister Wu is not going to make it!"

Jing Zhe was overjoyed to hear this. Wu Xianyong's family were all bad people, and Bai Qingyuan was no better. If they all died, today would be a happy day for everyone!

"General Sui, I just looked out the window and it is true that Minister Wu is injured, but the injury doesn't seem to be in any particularly vital places. Why is he already in such a state?"

At this moment, Duke Yu Sheng stepped forward to question the situation. After all, he was a military officer and had just seen Wu Xianyong being injured and taken inside through the window.

"ah…"

After being rebuked by Duke Yu, Sui Shouren said somewhat awkwardly, "Duke Yu, you misunderstood... no, I misspoke! Minister Wu isn't impotent, he's impotent!"

"..."

Everyone looked at him with suspicion, wondering which part was wrong!

Sui Shouren glanced at the three beautiful women present—Su Mochen, Zhu Xinning, and Liu Jinghong—and hesitated several times before finally managing to speak, his face turning red with embarrassment.

The others were getting impatient and started urging him on, even Emperor Andi was somewhat dissatisfied.

"General Sui, aren't you usually very forthcoming? What's wrong with you today? If you know, please tell us quickly so we don't have to worry!"

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

Sui Shouren took a breath, then lowered his head and whispered.

"Minister Wu... I'm afraid he's going to lose his manhood..."

"..."

————