The sleeping baby was incredibly heavy to hold. When Liu Fengmian first took the baby, it was a far cry from what he had expected, and he almost stumbled from the weight. But just as he regained his balance, he was so shocked by Zheng Quchi's words that he nearly fell over.
"Sister-in-law, what did you say?!"
Zheng Quchi had no intention of comforting his frightened emotions; he had already started walking towards the most crowded and noisy area.
"Sister-in-law..."
Liu Fengmian was both startled and anxious. He hurriedly ran after her, and the child followed behind. However, he was clumsy and had to avoid the crowd. He wobbled left and right and soon fell quite a distance behind Zheng Quchi. Seeing that he could not catch up, he took his anger out on the others: "Can't you see I'm carrying a child? Make way, make way, everyone."
Those around him were stunned by his sudden outburst of anger. Then, seeing him dressed in incredibly expensive clothes, carrying a child and desperately chasing after a woman, they immediately "understood".
A merchant's son winked at him and asked, "Young master, has your wife run away?"
My wife?
"Wife, my foot! Didn't you hear him call me 'sister-in-law' just now? Are these people's brains just a pile of garbage?"
"..." Liu Fengmian rolled his eyes at him with great elegance. He was proud of his noble background and did not want to waste words explaining to strangers. He just mumbled, "Uh, please make way."
The young master, with his large belly protruding, stepped aside and glanced ahead: "Alright, alright, but why does it seem like your wife is about to go onto the fighting stage?"
"She really went up?!"
Liu Fengmian was standing in a blind spot, and when he heard what people said, he was completely shocked.
The young master wasn't mistaken; he immediately looked disapproving: "Hey? Why did your wife go upstairs? Isn't this ridiculous?"
"You're the one being ridiculous!" Liu Fengmian retorted angrily.
The other party was taken aback, then said irritably, "You're really ungrateful. The one who set up this challenge today is Ao Qi, and he's a hot-tempered guy. If your wife tries to cause trouble, he won't care whether the other person is a man or a woman, he'll just attack them!"
"Really?!" Liu Fengmian was surprised, then stopped chatting with the man and quickly pushed through the crowd to get past him.
But suddenly a bright light flashed in his eyes. He subconsciously looked to the side, and then seemed to see something that concerned him greatly. He couldn't even care less about Zheng Quchi's situation. He grabbed the child and chased after it, disappearing behind the curtain of the corridor...
Not long after, carrying his sleeping little sister, Liu Fengmian strode out again. The fat, big-eared merchant's son saw him and asked in surprise, "Hey? Where did you go just now? Your wife is arguing with Ao Qi right now. You should go and pull her down."
Liu Fengmian glanced at him, a glance that inexplicably made the young merchant feel a little scared, but the next second, he smiled again: "I can't pull her down, but I have to keep an eye on her so she doesn't get bullied by some idiots."
"ah?"
No, who's the idiot here? Everyone who fights on the Golden Stage is trying to elevate their status, gain a good reputation, and "sell" themselves for a good price. His wife is just a woman; why is she going up there and causing trouble? Is she deliberately looking for trouble?
Meanwhile, Zheng Quchi waited for the champion to defeat an ambitious young man before quickly taking the opportunity to go on stage.
At this moment, the people in the audience were still discussing the exciting moment, but the next second a woman dressed as a noblewoman stepped onto the stage.
Immediately, someone below shouted, "Madam, you've come to the wrong place. The arena is for competitions. If you want to select craftsmen to make furniture, you need to come down and talk to the manager privately about the price."
Why is a woman on stage?
"You've gone to the wrong place."
"That can't be right, didn't you see the 'Dart Battle' flag hanging on the stage?"
Ignoring the sounds around her, Zheng Quchi walked straight to a man sitting in a rocking chair, fiddling with a wooden sparrow.
She asked, "Are you the champion?"
Upon hearing this, he raised his eyelids and glanced at her. If it were before, he would have definitely cursed her away with a string of foul language, but this young lady—no, judging from her attire, she must be married, and her clothes are quite valuable—he deliberately restrained his temper and said, “Madam, you’ve come to the wrong place. This is a place for displaying and exhibiting, not for asking for prices. If you’ve taken a fancy to someone, you should go down and discuss it with the manager.”
Zheng Quchi replied, "I didn't come to the wrong place. I came here to compete."
Upon hearing this, Ao Qi first thought he had misheard and picked at his ear. Then, seeing her serious expression, he slapped his thigh and laughed loudly, "Madam, this is not a proper occasion for young ladies. You should leave now and stop causing trouble for me."
He offered her a way out, but Zheng Quchi didn't take the bait. She even asked provocatively, "Don't you dare to compete?"
Ao Qi's smile immediately froze, and he stood up abruptly, angrily saying, "Are you looking for death? Coming here to cause trouble, I, Ao Qi, don't believe in the saying 'a man shouldn't hit a woman.' If you piss me off, I can beat anyone!"
Zheng Quchi was sometimes really annoyed by their arrogant and disdainful attitude towards women. She stopped discussing it with him and went straight to the gong, took out a wooden hammer wrapped in red cloth, and struck it hard.
"Thump~"
The competition begins with the sound of the gong.
"Station number seventeen, the reigning champion is to step up."
From a high vantage point, a manager overseeing the affairs of the management hall let out a loud shout.
These are the rules of the Golden Terrace: there are eighteen arenas and eighteen auxiliary rooms. The main hall is for the Hundred Crafts Competition, and the side rooms are for the Civil and Military Examinations. Each of these has its own rules and restrictions, which govern all those who enter the Golden Terrace.
For example, if the gong is struck during a challenge, the reigning champion must accept the challenge; this is a rule that the reigning champion of the Golden Terrace must abide by.
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