Chapter 239 You are a more suitable opponent than him
Yun Wantang kept silent while Chunxi and Princess Hengyang quietly competed in archery.
Both of them had good aim, and after widening the distance between them and several rounds of competition, there was still no clear winner.
However, with the explosive news from the Wei family in front of them, no one had the energy to impress Chunxi and Princess Hengyang with their archery skills.
Does Wei Lingze really have an illegitimate child?
At the time, Wei Lingze was paralyzed in bed, and no one knew whether he could recover. The Xiao family postponed the wedding and was reluctant to fulfill the engagement. It was natural for the Wei family to want to give Wei Lingze a child, but such deception and concealment were very unfair to Xiao Qinghe and the Xiao family.
Where did the Wei family hide the child? Was the child's biological mother kept as a concubine or had she been disposed of?
Everyone originally thought that the winter hunt was fun to watch, but now they are eager for it to end soon so they can go back and send people to get more information.
Seeing what everyone was thinking, the Queen specifically ordered everyone not to criticize in private, and not to disturb Wei Lingze's mind at this time. If Wei Lingze lost the competition and damaged the prestige of Zhaoling, the person who leaked the news would be guilty of treason.
Although the queen's tone was gentle, her words were very serious, and everyone responded in agreement.
In the evening, everyone came back from the paddock one after another.
Wei Lingze and Xuanyuan Lang were still one after the other, and both returned with a full load, far exceeding the others. Wei Lingze was luckier, as he hunted a wild boar.
The wild boar was not particularly big, but its tusks were very long and it looked very ferocious. Wei Lingze had scratches on his face and his clothes were torn in several places, which showed that it took a lot of effort to hunt it.
Relying on this wild boar, Wei Lingze narrowly defeated Xuanyuan Lang in terms of numbers.
After the Imperial Guards finished counting and announced the results, many people couldn't help but cheer. They were not happy for Wei Lingze, but because it was a good start for the first day and suppressed the arrogance of the envoys.
Hearing the cheers, Wei Lingze straightened his back a little and looked at Xuanyuan Lang proudly. However, Xuanyuan Lang didn't look at him. He just asked in a lame and ridiculous tone, "Your Majesty, has the person who first hunted prey today returned? I want to see who he is."
After hearing the signal flare, Xuanyuan Lang rushed in that direction immediately, but he didn't find anyone, not even a single suspicious trace.
He was a meticulous and quick-acting hunter. Xuanyuan Lang developed a strong interest in him, even more than the desire to compete with Wei Lingze.
Just as Xuanyuan Lang finished asking, they heard the sound of horse hooves. Everyone turned around and saw Shen Qingyuan slowly appearing in front of them on a horse with a bag full of prey.
When they got closer, they saw two wolves hanging from the horses' necks, and they couldn't help but gasp.
Isn’t Lord Shen a civil servant? How come he is so good at hunting?
The Imperial Guards had already reported back the hunting situation. His Majesty was very happy to see the two wolves, and the Crown Prince introduced them to Xuanyuan Lang with a big laugh.
"This is the first sir to have hunted prey today. His name is Shen Qingyuan. He won the top spot in the imperial examination at the age of seventeen and is now a third-rank minister in the Imperial Censorate."
Without even counting, everyone could see that Shen Qingyuan had hunted the most prey.
Xuanyuan Lang narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Shen Qingyuan seriously.
Amid the cheers and celebrations of the crowd, Shen Qingyuan's expression remained unchanged, neither arrogant nor impatient. Feeling Xuanyuan Lang's gaze, he remained calm and composed.
This is a strong man.
Xuanyuan Lang's competitive spirit suddenly rose. When Shen Qingyuan walked up to him, he immediately said, "I haven't heard of your name before, but I think you are a more suitable opponent for me than General Wei."
As soon as these words were spoken, Wei Lingze's expression changed immediately.
He strode forward, glaring at Xuanyuan Lang fiercely. "You haven't hunted as many prey as I have today. What qualifications do you have to be picky here? Don't forget, this is Zhaoling, not a place where an outsider like you can run wild!"
Wei Lingze's tone was very bad, but what he said made sense.
This is Zhaoling. It is good enough that they agreed to let the envoys exchange ideas. How can they just replace people just because Xuanyuan Lang said so?
Xuanyuan Lang's Zhaoling dialect wasn't very well-learned, so he didn't understand what Wei Lingze really wanted to say. After pondering for a while, he nodded and said, "If General Wei means that I have to defeat you before I can compete with Lord Shen, I can accept that."
Xuanyuan Lang's tone was casual and confident, as if defeating Wei Lingze was a very simple matter.
The anger in Wei Lingze's eyes almost turned into substance and burst out.
Xuanyuan Lang's words not only looked down on him, but also made him sound like a stepping stone for Shen Qingyuan.
Wei Lingze suppressed the murderous intent surging in his chest and said to Xuanyuan Lang word by word, "You have no chance of beating me. I'm going to take your other arm!"
When saying this, Wei Lingze was full of vigor, like an enraged beast.
Xuanyuan Lang, however, remained calm and composed, not taking his harsh words seriously at all. He simply looked at Shen Qingyuan and asked, "So, do you accept my challenge?"
Shen Qingyuan glanced at Xuanyuan Lang, then at Wei Lingze, and said calmly, "If you insist, I can accompany you."
Shen Qingyuan was the first person to hunt prey today and had the largest number of prey. His Majesty was very pleased and rewarded him with many good things.
Wei Lingze naturally also received a reward, but because Xuanyuan Lang proposed to compete with Shen Qingyuan again, no one cared even though his number today was higher than Xuanyuan Lang's.
Everyone was amazed at Shen Qingyuan's ability and character.
A man who won the top spot in the imperial examination at the age of seventeen, who had been silent in Jingzhao Prefecture for ten years, was not worn down by time and became more calm and sharp instead.
If he could really defeat Xuanyuan Lang, he would be so honored in front of His Majesty, and it would not be impossible for him to be one of the Three Dukes in the future.
His Majesty praised Shen Qingyuan highly, and everyone followed suit in flattery. Those words were extremely irritating to Wei Lingze's ears.
When he was desperately trying to defeat the wild boar, he thought that all the praise would belong to him, and he would let Xuanyuan Lang and His Majesty see his strength.
But now, he was completely overshadowed by Shen Qingyuan's brilliance and looked extremely dim.
Feeling depressed, Wei Lingze drank a lot of wine. After the banquet, he unknowingly walked to the tent where the women lived.
The night was freezing, and the cold wind blowing on his face was very biting. Wei Lingze suddenly wanted to see Xiao Qinghe and talk to her.
However, as soon as he took a step forward, he heard someone whispering.
"It turns out that Xiao Qinghe's love and happiness these days were all fake. Come to think of it, the Xiao family postponed the wedding because they dislike Wei Lingze. How could Wei Lingze not feel resentful?"
"I don't think Wei Lingze necessarily liked her that much at first. It was just because the two families were old friends and they interacted more frequently that he was instigated. Otherwise, how could he let another woman give birth to a child when the engagement was still in place?"
Wei Lingze couldn't bear to listen any longer, so he rushed over to the two of them and asked coldly, "Who has a child? What are you talking about?"
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