Chapter 158: The Overlord Speaks Not of Valor, the Youth Proclaims His Own Might (1)

Kong Sheng launched into a torrential stream of abuse, dressing Zhu Dachun down until he was thoroughly humiliated. When it came to eloquence, although Zhu Dachun was a seasoned veteran, he was no match for Kong Sheng at all. Before Zhu Dachun could even bring out a fraction of the arguments he had prepared in his mind, Kong Sheng shut him up completely with just a few words, leaving him speechless.

Li Xuan listened from the side, feeling an immense, secret sense of satisfaction. With a light chuckle, she cast a contemptuous glance at Li Chuan, straightened her posture, and wore a cold smile at the corner of her lips.

Deep down, she still held a shred of familial affection for Li Chuan as they shared the same bloodline. However, since Li Chuan had acted with such malice toward her, she was not someone to be trifled with either; from this day forward, she would never show him any mercy again. If she managed to seize a fatal weakness of his, what the future would hold and whether Li Chuan could smoothly inherit the title of the Prince of Guo truly remained to be seen.

With a flushed face and trembling lips, Zhu Dachun tried to retort, but his mind went entirely blank. After a long while, he stammered out a single sentence: "Then why did you flee halfway? And how could you move so freely among the rebel forces?"

"What the hell do you know!" Kong Sheng laughed loudly, his gaze fixed with utter contempt on Zhu Dachun, whose face flickered between red and pale. He bit out each word clearly: "Scum and cowards like you, who cling to life and fear death—let alone five or six hundred men, even if there were a thousand, I, Kong Sheng, would still come and go as I please!"

Li Ju, sitting upright above, took a deep breath. Seeing how Kong Sheng righteous, imposing, and full of momentum had thoroughly torn Zhu Dachun's accusations to shreds and left him in a miserable state, even though Li Ju was inwardly displeased with Kong Sheng's "shouting in the great hall," in the presence of Li Fuguo, he could hardly refuse to let Kong Sheng prove his innocence.

At that moment, he could not help but harbor a deep grievance toward Li Chuan's reckless and unruly behavior, thinking to himself: *Li Chuan, oh Li Chuan, have you lost your mind or gone completely mad today? Based solely on the one-sided testimony of a mere captain, you want to frame a imperial court official as a rebel spy. That is simply too absurd.*

In truth, Li Chuan had merely been making a groundless disturbance, throwing his weight around, and seeking revenge for the humiliation Kong Sheng had previously inflicted upon him. To put it bluntly, as the heir apparent to the Prince of Guo, he possessed a noble status; here in Pengcheng, he was the young master second only to tens of thousands of people. He had openly decided to act unreasonably and frame whoever he pleased—who could possibly do anything to him?

However, Li Chuan truly had not expected that Kong Sheng, a youth of only sixteen or seventeen, would wield his tongue like a knife, speaking with airtight logic and standing firmly on righteousness. The grand "framing production" he had brewed all night long was now battered with holes after being counterattacked.

Li Chuan knew that if he did not step forward now, Zhu Dachun would be finished. Zhu Dachun being finished was one thing, but he himself would also be unable to step down with any dignity. Reaching this point, he had no choice but to continue acting with absolute overbearing tyranny.

He sneered, slammed his hand down on the table, and rose abruptly: "Audacious! In the presence of my father, the Imperial Commissioner Lord Li, and all the gathered officials, you yellow-bearded brat dare to utter such wild and arrogant words! Very well, since you repeatedly boast of your ability to fight hundreds of men single-handedly, this heir apparent will grant you a chance—"

"Father, will you allow your son to test him?"

Li Chuan bowed deeply to the Prince of Guo.

***

The Prince of Guo, Li Ju, sighed softly. After a moment of hesitation, he finally nodded: "Very well, I too would like to see whether Kong Sheng is as remarkably valiant as Princess Fengyang claimed! Men, prepare the carriage for the military parade grounds outside the city!"

Kong Sheng's icy gaze swept across Li Ju, then skimbed past Li Xuan and Li Chuan, his expression solemn as he slowly turned around. By this point, he had completely lost any lingering respect for the household of the Prince of Guo.

Cowardly, short-sighted, and blinded by greed—they were exactly the same as the impressions he had gathered from the fragments of unofficial and official histories. Beyond that, the arrogance and unreasonableness typical of the imperial clan were displayed by the Prince of Guo and his son to the absolute extreme.

Even Li Xuan, in truth, carried a trace of that overbearing blood in her veins. However, Li Xuan possessed the ability to discern talent and an awareness of the bigger picture, qualities that made her superior to both her father and her brother.

Despite being the depth of winter, the warm sunlight spread across the earth, adding a touch of cozy warmth to the world. Especially today, with no wind blowing, standing in the sunlight made the cold far less piercing.

The news quickly spread from the residence of the Prince of Guo throughout the entire city: Kong Sheng, a scholar from Jiangnan and the soon-to-be-appointed Magistrate of Suiyang's Cheng County, was going to face off single-handedly, on horseback, against a hundred-odd guards under the command of Li Chuan, the Heir Apparent of the Prince of Guo. Commoners, merchants, and even scholars and peddlers in the city all rushed out of the city gates with eager anticipation to watch the spectacle.

At the military parade grounds outside the city, upon the reviewing platform, the Prince of Guo Li Ju, Prefect of Pengcheng Xue Sheng, and others sat in seats of honor. Li Chuan, brimming with vigor and high spirits, stood proudly facing the lower platform, holding a treasured sword in one hand and command flags in his embrace.

Meanwhile, in an open area on one side of the training field, hundreds of local townspeople who had swarmed in were packed tightly together, creating a bustling hubbub of noise. Because this was not a formal military operation, the Prince of Guo Li Ju chose to turn a blind eye; otherwise, ordinary people would never have been permitted entry into the military grounds.

As for Li Fuguo, he had not tagged along at all, having retired to rest in the guesthouse of the estate long ago. To say he cared nothing about the outcome of this battle or Kong Sheng's fate would be a lie, but he understood even better that he was powerless to change anything, so he simply chose to stay out of it for the sake of peace and quiet.

If Kong Sheng won, he would be delighted to see it; but if Kong Sheng lost to Li Chuan's hundred-man squad, there was nothing to be done.

Li Xuan stood by Li Chuan's side, her delicate face bearing a mixed expression of contempt and stern alertness. She had always looked down upon this half-brother of hers who was destined to inherit the title of the Prince of Guo, considering him stubborn, self-righteous, and shallow, with his only advantage being his male gender. What currently gave her a sense of grim vigilance, however, was the realization that she had been completely in the dark about when Li Chuan had trained such a fierce and battle-hardened personal guard.

Li Chuan let out a long breath and waved the command flags in his hand.

Down below, more than a hundred robust men clad in uniform bright-light armor and wielding Mo dao formed neat ranks with solemn expressions. Upon receiving Li Chuan's military order, the hundred-odd guards began shifting formations, moving with astonishing speed and perfectly synchronized actions.

***

Li Chuan deliberately glanced smugly at Li Xuan.

Li Xuan returned his gaze without showing the slightest weakness, a quiet awakening stirring within her heart. It seemed that Li Chuan's prolonged entanglements and the staging of this farcical spectacle all the way to the military grounds outside the city had a true dual purpose: on the one hand, to intimidate her, and on the other, to display his troop-training abilities and latent strength to their father and the faction of the Prince of Guo.

With a measure of anxiety, Li Xuan looked toward the entrance of the military grounds. Although she had witnessed Kong Sheng's valor, pitting himself alone against more than a hundred elite guards carefully selected and rigorously honed by Li Chuan meant the odds were heavily stacked against him.

Yet the arrow was already notched on the bow and had to be released; even if she were to plead with the Prince of Guo at this moment, military orders were not child's play. Since Li Ju had consented to let Kong Sheng fight Li Chuan's guards, he would never rescind the order halfway.

*Clop, clop, clop!* A crisp sound of approaching hooves rang out.

The crowd of spectators instantly grew excited, craning their necks and turning their heads toward the incoming path.

The Prince of Guo Li Ju and the others also cast their gazes outward, only to see a magnificent white steed galloping forward. Atop the horse sat a young military officer clad in white garments and gleaming armor, holding a painted halberd of heavenly and earthly proportions. He exuded an aura of heroic vigor and imposing grandeur.

Li Xuan's eyes lit up, while Xue Sheng could not help but lower his voice in praise: "This Magistrate Kong looks extraordinarily majestic clad in armor; his bearing is truly exceptional!"

*What a pity, what a terrible pity!* General Suppressing Might Du Ping and Central Guard Commander of Virtuous Merit Song An exchanged a glance, both unable to restrain themselves from shaking their heads inwardly. They thought that while Kong Sheng might possess some martial arts and archery skills, judging by his slender and delicate frame, he could by no means be considered a fierce warrior. This time, he was bound to suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Heir Apparent Li Chuan. Though he might not lose his life, total ruin and humiliating abuse by Li Chuan were inevitable.

In the end, he would likely even be thrown into prison by Li Chuan on trumped-up charges with no hope of escape. (To be continued.)