Chapter 8
Luo Tingshi's face changed drastically.
He stared at the word with his eyes fixed, anger boiling in his eyes, almost burning the letter in his hand to ashes.
Yu Zhi actually humiliated him like this?
He was truly proposing to marry Lu Jing, and therefore showed his full sincerity. Before this, he had anticipated the worst possible outcome, which was that Yu Zhi would politely decline and write a letter to apologize.
I didn't expect Yu Zhi to be so rampant.
The whole character was written with great force, and every stroke carried a majestic momentum, rushing towards him through the back of the paper, as if mocking him for overestimating his own abilities.
Oh, that’s right.
Yu Zhi was so arrogant and domineering since he was a child.
Luo Tingshi recalled his first meeting with Yu Zhi, his eyes cold.
At that time, he was on a diplomatic mission to the State of Yu with the old emperor. They had important matters to discuss, so the emperor of Yu ordered the palace servants to take him on a tour of the palace.
As they reached the Imperial Garden, something flew through the air and hit Luo Tingshi on the head. He grabbed the falling object and opened his palm to reveal a magnolia flower.
"Who are you?" a soft voice sounded.
Luo Tingshi raised his head and saw a pretty child lying on the rockery next to him, tilting his head and looking at him curiously.
Before Luo Tingshi could say anything, a palace maid beside him called out, "Your Highness, why are you here? It's too dangerous. I'll help you down right away."
"No!" The child stared with a pair of round black eyes, "I just climbed up, I won't go down."
The eunuchs gathered around the rockery and tried to persuade the child earnestly. Luo Tingshi glanced at the magnolia tree in full bloom beside the rockery, then lowered his head to look at the flower in his palm.
He thought he had found the culprit.
A willful child.
Luo Tingshi's first impression of Yu Zhi was not good.
He sneered, took two steps back, folded his arms and leaned against the willow tree behind him, watching coldly.
The palace servants were anxious and terrified, surrounding the rockery in a circle, fearing that the child would fall. After a quarter of an hour of stalemate, suddenly, a cold rebuke pierced the sky and slammed heavily to the ground.
"What a disgrace to be making so much noise!"
Luo Tingshi recognized the voice; it was the Emperor of Yu.
The child's eyes suddenly widened, a trace of panic appeared on his face, and he frantically tried to climb down by grabbing the rockery. Unexpectedly, he lost his footing, slipped, and suddenly fell off the rockery.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!" the palace servants exclaimed.
Luo Tingshi's eyes flashed, and he rushed forward, pushed aside the palace servants below, and caught the child steadily.
The child was still in shock. His little hands tightly hugged Luo Tingshi's neck, wrapped around him like an octopus, and looked up at him with a sweet smile: "Thank you, brother."
Luo Tingshi lowered his eyes and saw a pair of curved smiling eyes.
This scene happened to fall into the eyes of the two emperors who rushed here.
Emperor Yu Heng of Yu Kingdom hurried forward, thanked Luo Tingshi, took the child from his arms, and looked him up and down anxiously: "Is he injured anywhere?"
Luo Tingshi's eyes moved slightly.
He originally thought that Emperor Yu would reprimand this naughty son, but unexpectedly it was the exact opposite of what he expected.
Queen Ye Jiang of Yu Kingdom also walked over to the father and son, raised her head and rubbed the child's head, pretending to be serious: "Xiaoyu, what did I tell you?"
The child picked at his fingers and said weakly, "Don't do dangerous things. Xiaoyu knows he's wrong."
"You're a good child if you admit your mistakes and correct them," the Queen smiled and looked up at Luo Tingshi, then asked the child, "Brother saved you. How do you want to thank him?"
The child thought about it, with some reluctance in his eyes: "Give Xiaoyu's snacks and toys to his brother."
The emperor and empress couldn't help laughing.
When Luo Ting saw the happy family, he quickly lowered his head to hide the surprise in his eyes.
We were both princes, so why was this little brat treated so lovingly? When he made a mistake, they comforted him instead of scolding him?
This was something Luo Tingshi had never seen in the royal family of Sheng State.
Luo Tingshi disliked Yu Zhi even more.
Yu Heng put the child down in his arms and turned to Emperor Sheng, saying, "The Fifth Prince is so young, yet he possesses such skill and courage. He will surely be extraordinary in the future. Emperor Sheng, you have a wonderful son!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Sheng glanced at Luo Tingshi and gave him a compliment as if giving alms: "You did a good job this time."
Luo Tingshi achieved his goal and smiled.
He never did anything unnecessary, and he saved Yu Zhi before everyone else, simply because he was the crown prince of Yu State and saving him had many benefits.
If it were someone else, he wouldn't even bother to look at him, let alone offer a helping hand.
The child, unaware of his inner thoughts, ran up to him, took his hand, and looked up at him: "Brother, go play with Xiaoyu."
Luo Tingshi lowered his head and raised the corners of his lips: "Okay."
-
"Your Majesty, Lord Chu requests an audience."
Wang Man's voice suddenly interrupted Luo Tingshi's recollection. Luo Tingshi looked up and coldly spat out a single word: "Xuan."
Chu Sui stepped into the hall and bowed to Luo Tingshi.
Luo Tingshi's eyes fell on the letter, and he threw a thunderous thunder at Chu Sui without slowing down: "If I want to attack Yu Kingdom now, what are the chances of success, Lord Chu?"
Chu Sui couldn't believe his ears. He swallowed and repeated carefully, "Your Majesty, are you saying that we should attack Yu Kingdom now?"
"nature."
For a moment, Chu Sui's mind was buzzing with questions. Chu Sui took a deep breath and asked Luo Tingshi the most crucial question: "But we have no legitimate reason to attack. If we rashly send troops, we will surely be despised by the world!"
"Who says there's no reason for this?" Luo Tingshi chuckled and held up the letter. "Isn't this the best reason?"
Chu Sui stared at the sharp "滚" character with a puzzled look in his eyes: "This is..."
Luo Tingshi took back the letter, spread it on the table, and used his fingertips to smooth out the wrinkles he had just crumpled. He smiled and said, "This is a letter from Yu Zhi."
His brows were relaxed, a smile played on his lips, his tone was quite pleasant, and his slender knuckles repeatedly stroked the letter.
The corners of Chu Sui's mouth twitched. If he had not just read the contents of the letter, he would have thought that the emperor had received the words of love from his sweetheart.
Luo Tingshi continued, "With sincere affection, I offered three cities as a betrothal gift to Lu Jing, the Minister of Rites of Yu. Unexpectedly, the Emperor of Yu not only refused, but also humiliated me and trampled my sincerity on the ground. The Emperor's actions are a disdain for our Great Sheng. If I don't avenge this, will Sheng always be inferior to Yu? How can I sit on the throne if I have to watch the people of Sheng being humiliated? For the sake of Great Sheng and its people, this battle must be fought."
The emperor's voice was sonorous and powerful, and his words were righteous. Who could have imagined that he was going to attack another country?
Chu Sui was amazed.
If Your Majesty were to speak these words to the army, it would surely arouse the blood of countless soldiers, and perhaps they would even be able to capture several cities of Yu State in one fell swoop.
The letter was restored to its original state. Luo Tingshi carefully packed it up and placed it in an ebony box beside him, then stood up.
He walked over to Chu Sui, took his arm and patted it gently, his eyes full of hope: "General Chu is a man of both military and civil skills, a master of strategy, and a master of the art of marching and fighting. He is a rare talent that appears only once in a century. If he could lead the troops to attack Yu, he would be unstoppable and would march straight to the Dragon Palace."
Chu Sui gave a bitter laugh, "Your Majesty, I have long since taken off my armor. How can I even lift a spear now?"
Luo Tingshi raised his eyebrows slightly: "So, Chu Qing is unwilling to seek redress for the people of Dasheng?"
Chu Sui was speechless. After a long moment, he sighed, "Your Majesty, you are roasting me on the fire!"
Luo Tingshi suppressed his smile and said sternly, "The late emperor was incompetent and believed the slander of others, and took your military power. Now, I will not allow such a good general to suffer humiliation in vain. Chu Sui, you belong on the battlefield."
Chu Sui was shocked and remained silent for a while, then bowed deeply to Luo Tingshi.
"I will definitely fulfill my mission."
-
"Did Luo Tingshi send someone to look for you?"
Yu Zhi stopped writing and looked up at Lu Jing below, only to see Lu Jing staring at his toes with his head down, looking extremely uncomfortable.
Yu Zhi's heart suddenly began to beat wildly, and his voice became colder: "Lu Qing, raise your head and let me see you."
Hearing this, Lu Jing slowly raised his head, and his slightly flushed cheeks came into Yu Zhi's sight.
Yu Zhi closed his eyes and said in a heavy tone, "What did he say to you?"
Lu Jing opened his mouth, his cheeks flushed even more, and he stammered, "He sent someone to say... 'Since you and I have become husband and wife, you are mine, and I will definitely marry you back to Sheng State.' Your Majesty, you and he..."
Damn Luo Tingshi!
Yu Zhi couldn't control his urge to kill him.
Lu Jing saw that the emperor was greatly shocked and his face was pale. He said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Yu Zhi waved his hands and said weakly: "I believe you."
No one spoke anymore and the room became quiet.
Lu Jing was thinking about how to comfort His Majesty when an urgent report suddenly broke the silence.
"Your Majesty, there are unusual movements at the border. I'm afraid Sheng State will send troops soon."
"What?"
Yu Zhi knew that Luo Ting intended to attack Yu State, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon. He stood up suddenly.
"I'm going to the border."
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