Chapter 301: Group Fight

A proud voice sounded, silencing the entire hall.

Everyone looked in surprise at the direction of the voice, but when they saw that it was the eldest daughter of Duke Cao, they did not find it strange.

Duke Cao had strict family rules and attached great importance to etiquette.

Miss Cao has always been a role model for the noble ladies in Beijing to abide by the rules.

If Yun Chen did not hold an official position today, the person with the highest rank would be Miss Cao.

Yun Chen sat in the main seat, and Miss Cao sat in the second seat.

But she looked down on Yun Chen's behavior from the bottom of her heart, so she sat in the corner farthest away from Yun Chen.

After hearing this, Yun Chen didn't say anything. She felt that what Miss Cao said was not wrong.

But Song Qiaoqiao on the side was unhappy. She sneered, put her hands on her hips, and said sarcastically:

"Which is more powerful, the art of music, chess, calligraphy, or eating meat and drinking wine? I don't know. But I know that those who determine etiquette based on their own likes and dislikes are definitely not people who know etiquette. If Miss Cao knew etiquette, why didn't she sit next to General Yun?"

Miss Cao slammed her chopsticks down on the table, making the bowls and cups clink. "I don't associate with dirty people. I avoid them as much as possible, so naturally I'll sit as far away as possible."

Several young ladies who were close to Miss Cao also looked at Yun Chen with disdain and said with a frown:

"A woman dressed as a man? Acting out a play? How does she eat and sleep when she's with a man? It's really unbearable to think about it!"

Song Qiaoqiao was so angry at the looks of the people that she laughed, "'Dirty people'?" She touched Yun Chen's clothes and asked innocently:

"When Miss Cao mentioned 'dirty', did she refer to General Yun's Viscount title, or Xuanwei's Major General title? Did she refer to the dust General Yun had slept in the open air on the battlefield, sharing the hardships with the soldiers, or did she refer to the blood he had splattered while killing the enemy?

Naturally, General Yun was not raised in the pampered comforts of Miss Cao, who had no knowledge of grains. General Yun's mother died young, and he left home early to venture out into the world, fighting his way through the perils of the world. Of course, for Miss Cao, it was out of reach."

As a die-hard fan of Yun Chen, there was nothing that Song Qiaoqiao couldn't find out.

Not to mention Yun Chen's mother, Song Qiaoqiao had even secretly inquired about the fact that Yun Chen had a childhood friend named Wuyi Blood Guard.

The young ladies close to Miss Cao sneered, their voices not loud but sharp as a needle hidden in cotton, and said:

"Yes, General Yun is mighty and powerful. He dares to do things that women in the world dare not even think about. I'm afraid that in the future, the world will not only require women to be gentle and virtuous, to support their husbands and raise children, and to manage the household well, but also to be able to ride horses, shoot arrows, and kill enemies and make meritorious deeds! That's great. Being a woman really has no future."

After hearing this, Song Qiaoqiao slammed the table and stood up. Just as she was about to speak, another young lady was quicker than her and said angrily:

"No way out? It's actually another way out! Looking at General Yun, all women in the world will understand that there's more to this world than just marriage! There's another way to glory that doesn't rely on men or family background!"

"Oh! What other way? A dirty way? A way without respectability and rules?"

"How can a sparrow understand the ambition of a swan? How can you, a mere sparrow, understand the might of General Yun, the eagle?"

"Of course I don't understand! We women live in seclusion, rarely seeing men from outside our family. We have to be very polite even with our brothers! How could we dare to think of getting arm in arm with a man and calling him a brother?"

"Okay! Just be polite! Let's see if the enemy army will show you courtesy when they arrive at your doorstep one day!"

The scene was quickly divided into three camps.

One side was led by Miss Cao, and four or five young ladies from traditional families joined her. They kept making sarcastic remarks and mocking Yun Chen's ridiculous act of disguising himself as a man.

On the other side, led by the high-spirited Song Qiaoqiao, a large group of ladies and young ladies who were on good terms with her, turned into Yun Chen's protective shield, resisting the verbal attacks from Miss Cao's side and launching fierce attacks.

There were also a few people who tried to mediate, but unfortunately no one listened.

Seeing that although the crowd had no intention of taking action, and even their voices were low and their words were not excessive, they were still exchanging sharp words, and the confrontation was like fighting on a battlefield, Yun Chen could not help but be shocked:

It turns out girls can be quite scary when they're not nice. With their eyebrows raised and chattering non-stop, they're truly scarier than the Black Scale Cavalry...

Seeing that everyone was arguing over him, Yun Chen felt helpless, but he didn't know how to argue, and he couldn't persuade them to stop, so he could only sit there with his head propped up in frustration.

On the other side, Miss Cao knew that she had fewer people on her side and could not argue with Song Qiaoqiao. Also, they were on the Song family's territory, so she did not want to lose face. She said in a sarcastic tone, "Thank you for the hospitality," and was about to leave.

Song Qiaoqiao refused to let her leave so easily, and threw her chopsticks at Miss Cao's back, saying angrily:

"You must apologize to General Yun! You can only leave after you apologize! Otherwise—"

"Murder! Murder! Murder!" Suddenly, a voice took over Song Qiaoqiao's words and echoed throughout the inner courtyard in horror.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, and suddenly two servants rushed into the inner courtyard, tumbling and crawling, and shouted in surprise to everyone:

"Ladies! Ladies! A group of enemy troops have arrived from nowhere! They are heading towards the city from the north! Ladies and ladies, please take your carriages and return home quickly! Quick! Quick!"

Everyone was horrified and unable to react. They asked each other in shock:

"How is that possible? Is this true?"

"Oh my god! Is there going to be a war in Kyoto?!"

As they were talking, they heard a sudden loud noise coming from the front hall. Everyone hurried out of the hall to check, but saw a strange phenomenon in the sky, which made them panic.

"Look! What's that?" a lady exclaimed, pointing to the northern sky. Everyone looked at the sky at the same time.

It was already evening and the sunset glow had faded, but the northern sky was lit up with large orange fireworks, as if they were about to burn half the sky.

An older lady said tremblingly:

"It seems...it seems like a beacon fire!"

Everyone was stunned.

The ladies who grew up in seclusion had never even seen a fire in the kitchen in their lives, let alone the smoke signals that would inform people of the enemy's situation.

Everyone was terrified, some were crying, and a few timid ladies even lost their legs and fell on the maids.

The rest of the people were also in a panic, in a mess, and so scared that they didn't know what to do.

These noble ladies of the capital have been raised in the most peaceful and prosperous city in the world, Kyoto, since they were born. How could they have ever seen such a situation!

Song Qiaoqiao, on the other hand, loved military books and admired military generals. She had seen beacon fires in books and knew that the lighting of beacon fires meant that war had begun.

But Song Qiaoqiao was not sure and looked at Yun Chen inquiringly.

When Song Qiaoqiao turned her head, everyone looked at Yun Chen.

Everyone knew that if anyone present understood what was going on, it was only Yun Chen, who had been on the battlefield.

Sure enough, Yun Chen's face changed. But she wasn't sure if this would be another test like the one he had to face on Mount Li.

She calmed herself down and cleared her throat, which instantly quieted the chaotic scene.

"Everyone calm down first!"