The one speaking was the man who had just been hit on the head with a pebble by Lu Baichuan. He was now baring his teeth and claws at them, clearly looking for trouble.
Lu Baichuan stopped and turned to look at him, saying, "If you continue to criticize my wife, it will not be as simple as a small pebble."
"It really is you! You're just a peasant, yet you dare to go against me and offend the Marquis of Chengyang's mansion. You'll regret this!"
The man bared his teeth and stepped forward, about to make a move, when Lu Baichuan kicked him far away.
People nearby saw this and came over to watch the spectacle.
"This guy is really arrogant! He dares to hit the heir of the Marquis of Chengyang's mansion. He's really asking for trouble!"
"Who says otherwise? I've heard that this person, relying on Prince Chen's favor, has done a lot of despicable things!"
"Huh? What kind of despicable thing is this?"
...
Lu Baichuan and his wife didn't care what those people said at all. While those people were helping the heir of the Marquis of Chengyang, they had already taken several servants into the palace.
The heir of the Marquis of Chengyang lost face in front of so many people. After getting up, he still wanted to take revenge on Lu Baichuan, and he shouted as he rushed in.
At this time, Prince Jing was already sitting in the reception room greeting the other guests. The banquet was not very large, but there were quite a few people invited. There were court officials who had always supported him, as well as young men from noble families with whom he usually got along well, and some princes and princesses. In short, there were more young people, and they all came from prominent families.
When Lu Baichuan and his wife entered, everyone's eyes immediately turned to them. Putting aside their status, the two of them standing together were truly a sight to behold.
The two women bowed respectfully to Prince Jing, and then He Jiuniang said, "Your Highness, this is a gift that His Majesty asked me to bring to you. Please take good care of yourself on your journey."
As he spoke, he instructed the servants behind him to bring up the gifts sent by the old emperor.
Everyone was surprised. If the Emperor wanted to send something to Prince Jing, it would be simple. He could just have someone deliver it to his residence. Why did he ask this young couple to do it for him?
However, to be fair, this also proves that the couple is very popular with both the Emperor and Prince Chen. It seems they should find opportunities to improve their relationship in the future.
Some people are shrewd and want to befriend them, while others are dismissive and look down on their background, simply rolling their eyes at them.
But Prince Jing's attention was entirely focused on those two things. When he asked to go to the frontier that day, his father agreed without much thought, which made him feel a little disappointed, as he felt that his father did not value him at all. But now that He Jiuniang had sent him gifts, Prince Jing was instantly satisfied.
His father still cares about him, and that's enough.
He ordered the things to be taken away, and then, seeing three servants carrying trays behind him, he asked, "What gifts have you prepared for me?"
He Jiuniang raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is Your Highness sure you want to see it now?"
Since it was a gift from the old emperor, it naturally had to be displayed on the spot. However, there was no need for them to display the ones they had prepared themselves; they could simply hand them over to the steward of the Prince's residence later. But since Prince Jing had asked about it personally, they had no choice but to show it off.
Seeing her like this, Prince Jing subconsciously felt that she was not a good person, but he was also really curious. After all, this woman had too many tricks up her sleeve, which always surprised him.
"Look, look, quickly lift it up!"
Prince Jing stood up from his seat, walked around to the center of the hall, put his hands on his hips, and waited to see what it was.
He Jiuniang raised her chin, and the servant lifted the curtain, revealing what He Jiuniang had prepared to everyone.
There were three trays, one containing a whip covered in barbs, another containing a strange piece of clothing, and the third containing a tray full of bottles and jars.
He Jiuniang introduced them in order: "This whip has a mechanism inside, it can extend, and there is a retainer at the top, which makes it convenient to take things out."
As He Jiuniang spoke, Lu Baichuan picked it up and demonstrated it.
With a gentle flick, the whip, which was originally only two meters long, instantly grew longer, and a tiny claw-like thing could be flicked out from the top of the whip, which could tightly cling to anything it wanted to grab.
In the blink of an eye, the fruit on the table, which was far away, was in Lu Baichuan's hands. Then the whip retracted and became only two meters long again. The little claws at the top disappeared, leaving only the terrifying barbs on the whip.
Everyone was stunned; they never expected there to be something so amazing!
Prince Jing's eyes lit up, and he immediately took the whip from Lu Baichuan's hand. He studied it for a long time but the whip didn't change. Lu Baichuan then told him about the mechanism, which was on the handle. He could just press it lightly.
After learning about it, Prince Jing took it to the outer courtyard to try it out. He had never used a whip before, but he found it incredibly handy and instantly fell in love with it.
He Jiuniang continued, "This vest is equivalent to soft armor, but it's much more effective. It's lightweight and impervious to swords and spears."
Lu Baichuan picked up the vest, took out a dagger, and slashed it hard, but the vest didn't react at all.
Prince Jing didn't care about anything else, he took it and put it on, then beckoned to Lu Baichuan: "Come on, try it!"
"Your Highness, you mustn't!"
Seeing this, the subordinates around Prince Jing were terrified and wanted to try it themselves.
Prince Jing was overjoyed and pushed the man aside, wanting Lu Baichuan to fight him.
"Your Highness, please forgive me."
Lu Baichuan said politely, then drew his soft sword from his waist and attacked Prince Jing.
Lu Baichuan was able to become the commander-in-chief of the Fire Cloud Division through his own abilities. At home, he could even spar with He Jiuniang and receive guidance, which made him improve rapidly. Prince Jing was no match for him and kept slashing at Prince Jing with his soft sword.
Others were frightened, but Prince Jing, because he was wearing that vest, didn't feel anything at all.
Upon closer inspection, the vest remained undamaged.
This was, after all, a banquet hosted by Prince Jing, so Lu Baichuan wouldn't go too far and stopped there.
"Where did you get this? It's a treasure!"
Prince Jing didn't feel ashamed at all for losing to Lu Baichuan; in fact, he was incredibly excited, because this thing could save his life.
He Jiuniang just gave him something so good, this... this...
Prince Jing realized that it was extremely unwise of him to have opposed her before.
"Your Highness, please accept the gift. It would be impolite to ask where it came from."
He Jiuniang raised an eyebrow, her tone tinged with amusement.
Everyone around was stunned. How dare this woman speak to His Highness like that?
Prince Jing, however, wasn't angry at all. He just smiled like a fool and replied, "Yes, yes, I won't ask!"
He Jiuniang continued, "These are some poisons I've concocted. As I always say, they're for saving your life in critical moments, and I don't recommend using them often to avoid accidentally harming your own people. The largest bottle contains the antidote, which can cure all poisons."
Prince Jing was speechless. This gift was truly to his liking; it was full of useful and valuable items that would be priceless!
He was so moved that he couldn't speak and didn't know how to thank him.
He Jiuniang asked, "Is Your Highness very moved?"
"Uh-huh!"
"Then do me a favor."
"Go ahead and say it!"
He Jiuniang pointed to the group of people beside her, who were the heirs of the Marquis of Chengyang and their companions who had followed them in, the ones who had just been gossiping.
She said, "When I first arrived, these people gossiped about my relationship with the Emperor, spoke ill of me, and even disrespected my husband. What does Your Highness think we should do?"
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