"No, I want to compete!"
Upon hearing Qin Chuan's words, the Empress nearly died of anger and coldly retorted, "I forbid you to compete!"
"Your Majesty need not worry. I have my own ways to defeat him. If he refuses to compete today, I won't let him leave!" Qin Chuan said confidently.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Che Zhao laughed loudly, "A skinny idiot like a chicken dares to speak so arrogantly in front of the number one warrior of Daloulan, how laughable!"
"Loulan's number one warrior?"
“That’s right. General Che is the greatest warrior of Loulan. He once personally beheaded fifty Xiongnu during a battle with the Southern Xiongnu. He is no less than your General Zhang Chaozong!” Lou Shishi said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, the Empress's expression grew even more worried, and Xiao Yue couldn't help but say to Qin Chuan, "Qin Chuan, even if you have some skills and supernatural abilities, he is the number one warrior of Loulan. How can you compare to him?!"
Right Chancellor Li Zongmin sneered, "It doesn't matter if he loses, but he has lost face for my Da Gan! First he spoke rudely, and his poem was full of threats to kill Lou Lan. Now he dares to provoke the number one warrior of Lou Lan. He has brought this upon himself!"
"Hahahaha!" Che Zhao's laughter echoed in the hall. He pointed at Qin Chuan and said, "Do you dare to compete or not? You're so indecisive!"
The Empress frowned and said, "We will stop competing. If you still wish to discuss business, I am willing to give 50,000 taels of silver to the Loulan Princess as a token of my sincerity and to apologize for the Imperial Preceptor's poem."
Qin Chuan was stunned when he heard the Empress say that.
What's wrong with this miser today?!
Before they've even earned a single penny, they're serving the Loulan people the best food and drink, and yet they still want to give away 50,000 taels of silver for free?
Meanwhile, Li Zongmin and other ministers also pleaded, "Your Majesty, you must not!"
Is His Majesty insane that he'd give away 50,000 taels of silver just for Qin Chuan?
Could the rumors be true?
Does His Majesty really like Qin Chuan?
Upon hearing that they could get 50,000 taels of silver for free, Lou Shishi and Che Zhao exchanged a glance, thinking it seemed like a great deal...
I couldn't help but hesitate...
As for those few lines of poetry that offended Loulan, it seems to matter; he can write as many as he wants.
Just as Lou Shishi was about to agree, Qin Chuan shouted, "Whoever doesn't compete today is a coward!"
After saying that, he walked out of Taiping Hall.
"Are you saying I'm afraid of you?!"
Having been successfully provoked, Che Zhao angrily followed them out.
Seeing this, the Empress bit her lip in anger, her face full of worry, and said, "Summon all the imperial physicians in the palace!"
...
The arena was quickly set up.
The Empress, the Loulan Princess, and everyone from both sides surrounded the arena, watching Che Zhao and Qin Chuan on the stage.
Che Zhao licked his lips, looking at Qin Chuan like a hungry wolf eyeing a lamb: "Don't blame me for bullying you, you'll pay the price for your arrogance!"
Below the stage, all the imperial physicians came over and stood bowing behind the Empress, awaiting her orders.
The imperial physicians were all aware that if the Imperial Preceptor were beaten and something happened to him, they would have to use their best medical skills to save him.
Lou Shishi smiled smugly and said to the Empress, "Your Majesty, rest assured, General Che knows his limits and won't kill him..."
The Empress could easily understand the hidden meaning in her words. The literal meaning was: "I won't kill him, but I'll certainly give him a good beating..."
Che Zhao was a fierce and ruthless man; he could behead a Xiongnu without flinching. Qin Chuan, on the other hand, couldn't even ride a horse, let alone kill a Xiongnu…
Sigh, it looks like he's definitely going to get a beating today.
The Empress sighed inwardly, her face growing even more anxious...
On the arena, a tearing sound was heard as Che Zhao suddenly ripped open his white robe, revealing his broad back and thick waist.
Wearing a green scarf and hakama, he clenched his fists, which were the size of sandbags, and roared as he charged towards Qin Chuan...
Qin Chuan exclaimed "Yay!" and made a face to dodge away.
"The Grand Preceptor is truly a coward!" Che Zhao patted his chest and laughed. "However, do you think you can hide from the day after tomorrow?"
After saying that, he spread his arms wide, like a roc spreading its wings, and forced Qin Chuan to a corner of the arena.
According to the rules, falling off the ring doesn't count as a loss; you only lose if you can't get up after the allotted time.
So even if you fall off the ring, you'll still get beaten up...
The Empress felt her heart leap into her throat, and inexplicably felt flustered and had a tightness in her chest.
Behind the Empress, Xiao Yue's expression was complicated. The image of Qin Chuan's lewd behavior towards her flashed through her mind, and she suddenly blushed, thinking, "He deserves a beating. Who told him to be so incorrigible and shameless..."
Even with these thoughts in mind, I couldn't help but feel worried...
Xiao Yun said, "Xiao Yue, why are you blushing?"
"No!"
Xiao Yue tugged at the hem of her official robe, trying to cover it up.
Looking back at the arena, Qin Chuan had no way out.
Che Zhao grinned, reached out his right hand, grabbed Qin Chuan by the collar, and lifted him up like a chick...
"Imperial Advisor, you can't escape now, can you?"
Che Zhao smiled smugly, and with his other hand, he threw out a fist the size of a sandbag, about to hit Qin Chuan's face...
The empress closed her eyes, unable to look.
Xiao Yue also turned her head away, unable to bear watching.
Some officials on the side of the project sighed, feeling that they had lost face in the project.
Some, like Li Zongmin, however, showed signs of schadenfreude.
They had long disliked Qin Chuan; in their eyes, he was a scourge that disrupted the court and should be killed...
Qin Chuan, however, remained calm and unhurried, pulling out a stun gun from his waist...
"Thunder Strike Technique!"
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