No, who the hell is staring at me?
Frustrated, Zhan Xinjia turned around sharply, squinted, and scanned the crowd, but found nothing unusual.
She had no choice but to temporarily avert her gaze, still suspicious.
The scene was lively. The three envoys sent by the Southern Kingdom were Princess Wu Lanlian, the princess's biological daughter Princess Liuyu, and Wan Jun, who was said to be the most powerful warrior on their plateau.
The three bowed and prostrated themselves before slowly rising to their feet, neither humble nor arrogant.
"Your Majesty must be tired of ordinary rare treasures. This time, our Southern Commandery presents to you the only white lion in the world, hunted by the bravest warriors of the Southern Commandery. In the Southern Commandery, the white lion has always symbolized sacred authority and nobility, and is the embodiment of power. Today, the Southern Commandery presents this auspicious beast to Your Majesty, wishing Your Majesty a long and prosperous life!"
The one who said this was the older woman, Princess Wu Lanlian.
Upon hearing her words, the civil and military officials at the banquet immediately began whispering among themselves.
Firstly, they had never seen a white lion before, which was indeed a rare and extraordinary creature. Secondly, lions are carnivorous beasts, and even if they were kept in an iron cage, they were still afraid that it would go out of control and hurt people.
Seeing that the lion had already caused a commotion even before it was brought up, Wu Lanlian's lips curled up under her veil, her eyes filled with mockery.
"We have another request. We have heard that General Zhan's martial arts are unparalleled, and he is a god of war in this era. Therefore, he has always been admired and respected by many warriors in our Southern County. We wonder if we could have the honor of letting the strongest warrior in our Southern County spar with General Zhan, so as to fulfill his wish."
Her words caused an uproar.
"General Zhan? They want to have a match with General Zhan?"
"...How dare a small county like Nanjun compete with the General of the Cavalry of my Great Sheng Dynasty? They are simply overestimating themselves."
"Back then, it was General Zhan who led his troops to break through the gates of Nanjun. They have no memory at all and still dare to provoke us. They are indeed a bunch of worthless villains."
...
Amidst the discussions, the ministers were all certain that the emperor would not agree to such an impudent request. However, the emperor, sitting on his high throne, pondered for a moment and then turned the question to Zhan Yue, who had been silently drinking.
"Minister Zhan, what do you think?"
Zhan Yue was taken aback, and Zhan Xinjia, who was sitting next to him, also frowned.
This is strange. Given the power balance between Dasheng and Nanjun, they could have simply ignored each other. Anyone with eyes could see that this was a blatant provocation. So why didn't the Emperor refuse?
Why did the emperor indulge Nanjun so much? And why was Nanjun so arrogant?
Yan Huishi's expression suddenly turned ugly, as if he knew something inside. Yan Xiyue next to him seemed to want to get up and say something to her father, but Yan Huishi pressed her down firmly.
During the meal, Liu Ruyan suddenly gripped Zhan Yue's sleeve tightly.
"this…"
Zhan Yue patted his wife's hand to comfort her.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine."
He hadn't figured out what the emperor really meant. Although he had long since left the fighting and killing behind and returned to the capital, he naturally wouldn't run away since the other party had started the trouble first.
Just as Zhan Yue was about to get up, Zhan Xinjia pressed down on his shoulder and stood up first.
The boy stood ramrod straight, his arms crossed over his chest.
She raised an eyebrow slightly, her gaze sweeping over the three men from Xijun with disdain and contempt, a half-smile playing on her lips.
"You bunch of rabble from such a small place dare to challenge our First-Rank General of the Cavalry? You're giving yourself too much credit. Tsk, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? If you want to spar, I'm just a nobody and I'm happy to play with you."
She deliberately lowered her voice, making it sound like a clear, sharp male voice, which, combined with her arrogant and unrestrained tone, made her even more domineering.
Instantly, the three people who had been blatantly humiliated changed their expressions.
Princess Liuyu frowned, her pale eyes filled with anger, and said indignantly, "You? With your thin arms and legs, what makes you think you can be our warrior's opponent? Besides, who are you? What qualifications do you have to represent Zhan Yue?"
Seeing that this ignorant foreigner dared to call her father by his name and showed no respect in his words, Zhan Xinjia's smile gradually turned cold. She had only wanted to join in the fun and help her father out of a predicament.
She slightly lifted her eyelids, her gaze becoming unfathomable.
His expression remained ambiguous, a half-smile.
"Is it possible that the 'warrior' you're talking about only qualifies as a 'warrior' in your ignorant, uncultured place, and if he were in our Great Sheng, he wouldn't even be qualified to carry manure?"
"If you don't have the guts to fight me, then you should slink away and bring your so-called sacred lion up here for His Majesty's amusement. Stop making a scene here, will you?"
Zhan Xinjia felt that she was right.
Even in their Great Sheng Dynasty, those who carried manure were of the rank of princes.
"you!"
Liu Yu's face turned red with anger at her words. She gritted her teeth, her chest heaving with resentment. Just as she was about to continue arguing with the boy, Wu Lanlian grabbed her arm.
Even Wan Jun, who had been standing by with a straight face as a background figure the whole time, began to breathe rapidly, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at the boy in front of him, clearly enraged.
The emperor, on high throne, remained silent throughout, observing everything thoughtfully, as if weighing something.
But this is also a form of silent indulgence. At least when Zhan Xinjia said so many humiliating and demeaning things to the other party without any politeness, he did not intend to interrupt or punish her.
With tacit approval, Zhan Xinjia became even more arrogant.
"If you want to fight, come at me; if not, get lost. Talking to you is a waste of my life."
Wu Lanlian held back the furious Liu Yu, her eyes darkening as she calmly asked, "May I ask who you are and in what capacity do you come to challenge me?"
This is also what the others present wanted to know—
Who the hell is that?!
Does General Zhan have such a person in his family? Doesn't the Zhan family only have one daughter?
Zhan Xinjia remained unfazed and began to spout pretentious nonsense with a straight face.
"Zhan Yue is my cousin, and since I am his nephew, I am naturally qualified to fight on his behalf. You bunch of defeated underlings who were once utterly humiliated by my uncle, instead of keeping your tails between your legs, you dare to come looking for trouble."
Heh, you've really bitten off more than you can chew today. Ask around the whole street, north and south of the city, and you'll find everyone who knows Zhan Wending!
Actually, nobody knows...
Because the name and identity were both fake, Zhan Xinjia had just made them up to ward off unwanted suitors and discourage Yan Xiyue, but unexpectedly they were used for this purpose first.
Although no one cared about the name Zhan Wending, this good young man was at least showing off for Dasheng, so the group of old fogies at the table immediately started stroking their beards and pretending to be shocked, giving him plenty of face.
"Ah, it's him!..."
"Oh my god, he actually came."
"Truly, heroes emerge from among the young! I, an old man, have also heard of his deeds..."
...
Zhan Xinjia didn't expect the onlookers to be so cooperative.
“Zhan Wending… Interesting. Wan Jun, why don’t you go up and play with this brave young master?”
Wu Lanlian's gaze was sharp as needles, and a cold smile slowly curled her lips beneath her veil, clearly showing that she did not take Zhan Xinjia seriously.
In her view, Wan Jun and the boy were worlds apart in physique; one was burly and strong, while the other was slender and tall. It was like putting a ferocious beast next to a sickly person.
In addition, Wan Jun himself was quite strong, almost capable of fighting against a hundred people, so in her opinion, this was a contest with no suspense whatsoever.
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