Zhao Cheng retorted without any politeness, "Try throwing a tantrum then?"
Du Laihua narrowed his eyes and stared coldly at Zhao Cheng.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and the followers holding wooden sticks immediately blocked Du Laihua's way, glaring at Zhao Cheng menacingly.
"I'm not even afraid of the garrison troops, why would I be afraid of you stinking bastards?"
Zhao Cheng suddenly shouted angrily, "Get out of my way!"
Zhao Cheng was not a martial artist, but his angry shout was full of energy, and some of his followers trembled instinctively.
Du Laihua, however, remained unfazed and said in a deep voice, "Commander Xiao, are you going to do anything about this or not?"
Xiao Luofeng said, "Your Excellency has misunderstood this matter. It was not the young prime minister who caused trouble."
"What happened is no longer important; it's the people of Yanchuan who are bullying the people of Qingdong."
Zhao Cheng said, "Why are you so xenophobic? Aren't the people of Yanchuan and Qingdong both from Jingguo? What do you mean by this? Are you trying to create division?"
"I'll ask you one more time, Commander Xiao," Du Laihua ignored Zhao Cheng and continued, "Are you going to take care of this or not?!"
"I'm sorry, I cannot comply!"
"Very well! After this matter is over, I will personally report to His Majesty, and you will no longer be the city garrison commander."
Du Laihua shouted sternly, "If you won't do it, I will! Men, go to the Marquis's mansion and summon people!! This Marquis is about to lose his temper!!!"
Zhao Cheng then asked Xiao Luomu, "Are he and Huang Hua on good terms?"
Xiao Luomu said, "It's not that they're particularly good together, but among the three from Qingdong, they're the two who find each other a little more agreeable."
"Is he mentally ill? Isn't he standing up for Huang Huaqiang?"
Zhao Cheng suddenly remembered something and asked, "What exactly are the 'Three Sons of Qingdong'?"
"Oh, it's a nickname similar to the Four Young Masters of Yanchuan. Our Qingdong City also has the Three Young Masters of Qingdong, namely Marquis Yanxi and Huang Hua."
"And the last one?"
"My brother."
"..." Zhao Cheng felt that his brain circuits couldn't keep up with Xiao Luomu's pace for the first time, and said, "A high and mighty marquis! A wicked playboy! A self-reliant and promising young military officer!"
"What made you guys put these three together as a group?"
"At least the four young masters of Yanchuan are all the same kind of person, right?"
"But these three..."
Xiao Luomu said, "This was Huang Hua's doing a few years ago. At that time, the old Marquis Yan Xi was still alive, and my brother was not yet the city garrison commander. Huang Hua, who was the son of the prefect, had just come of age. He loved to play and was also vain. He saw that Du Laihua was the most powerful young master in Qingdong City, and my Xiao family was the richest in Qingdong City. My brother was already working in the Central Government Office at that time, so he selected both my brother and Du Laihua."
“My brother didn’t care about any of that and didn’t interfere. Du Laihua would definitely not be willing now, but back then he also wanted to get along well with Huang Hua, and that’s how the combination was formed.”
“But Du Laihua… has always hated my brother, so this time he’s not standing up for Huang Hua, but just taking the opportunity to suppress my brother.”
Zhao Cheng asked suspiciously, "What did your brother do to him?"
"It's purely out of jealousy."
Xiao Luomu shook his head and said, "The name of the Three Heroes of Qingdong has been around for a long time, and the people in the city always talk about it during their leisure time, discussing which one is good and which one is bad, which one is excellent and which one is useless."
"Huang Hua has the worst reputation, Du Laihua is mediocre, and my brother has the best."
As he said this, Xiao Luomu's tone naturally revealed pride: "The common people say my brother is young and promising, and in the eyes of the pirates he is a living Yama, the guardian deity of Qingdong City... I imagine these words are like thorns to Du Laihua's ears..."
Zhao Cheng nodded, understanding the feelings Xiao Luomu was expressing.
After the Four Young Masters of Yanchuan were established, the common people often compared them.
But it doesn't have the same positive energy as Qingdong City.
They're competing to see who's more despicable, more wicked, and more wasteful...
Zhao Cheng said, "Huang Hua has the worst reputation, and he should hate your brother the most too!"
Xiao Luomu shook his head and said, "Huang Hua is used to being rotten, he doesn't care about these evaluations at all."
Zhao Cheng suddenly realized.
“Du Laihua is different,” Xiao Luomu continued. “It might have been alright before, but after becoming a marquis, his reputation was always overshadowed by a mere city garrison commander, which must have been painful for him. So he often helped others and was generous with his money, all to earn a good reputation.”
"Sigh, why bother?" Zhao Cheng suddenly stopped envying Du Laihua.
He could have lived a very comfortable life as a leisurely marquis, but he chose to be burdened by his reputation.
People...
I can't seem to get over things!
"Lord Du, is that right?"
Zhao Cheng took a step forward, stood with his hands behind his back, and said, "If you want to meddle in other people's business, I'll play along to the end. But I don't have time to wait for you to call in reinforcements. If you don't move aside, I won't be responsible if you get hurt!"
Du Laihua blocked Huang Hua's path and shouted, "Keep firing arrows! If you've got the guts, shoot me dead!"
"That's quite a tough stance!"
Zhao Cheng suddenly turned around, exposing Zhou Nuo, then took the bow and arrow from Zhou Nuo's hand, nocked the bow himself, and aimed at Du Laihua.
"I'm taking Huang Hua's men today! No one can save him, I'm telling you!"
"My lord, will you allow it or not?"
Du Laihua took a deep breath, looked around, and said, "You all saw it. Commander Xiao ignores the situation and refuses to help those in distress. Is he still your guardian angel?!"
The onlookers, swayed by Du Laihua, began pointing and whispering about Xiao Luofeng, some even showing expressions of disappointment.
Zhao Cheng drew his bow to its fullest extent and said, "Although my archery skills are not very good, at such close range, it would be difficult for me to miss."
Du Laihua then said to his attendants, "Don't worry about me, go and get more people!"
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