Fierce Consort

Chapter 125

After a certain amount of time, a palace maid carrying a golden tray came to Yan Yan's side. She used the excuse of serving alcohol to tell her what was happening in the main hall.

It turns out that after the crown prince's tragic loss, the second prince had stepped up.

The second prince was a meticulous thinker and had long since expected he would have to step up. During the crown prince's match, he had carefully examined the details. When it was his turn, he naturally had some plans.

As expected, he wasn't the samurai's match. He also finally understood why the crown prince had been so frightened.

The second prince's forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat but he maintained a dignified smile.
From the crowd's perspective, the second prince seemed to be unhurried and should have a good chance of victory. However, those who were skilled in martial arts like the Zhenguo Duke could see that he was forcing himself the entire time.

A crisp sound rang out and the second prince's sword broke apart.

He swiftly retreated and reversed his hilt, speaking with cupped hands: "I admit defeat. Your distinguished self has a sharp blade. This prince's sword is merely ornamental. Since my weapon is insufficient, let's not compete further."

It had to be said the second prince was good at seizing opportunities and was extremely good with words, using the breaking of his sword to admit defeat cleanly. From his words, it sounded like it wasn't due to his lack of skill, but rather because his weapon was merely for decoration. Actually, many people were aware that the second prince's skills couldn't overcome the samurai's. But they had to admit he had played it out beautifully. Even in defeat, he was graceful.

Compared to the crown prince, the second prince's demeanor naturally fell into everyone's eyes. He planned well and could capitalize on opportunities.
Emperor Xi slightly nodded at the second prince. He was extremely satisfied with this son knowing when to advance and when to retreat.

The second prince's opponent babbled something. After Daimyo Kana listened, his expression wasn't too good. He put on an artificial smile as he cupped his hands at the emperor: "This prince of your noble nation is extremely intelligent."

Emperor Xi smiled without speaking.

Having lost two matches in a row, the Grand Xi's people put their hopes on the third prince.

The third prince had always been fierce, and when he turned fifteen none of the palace guards were his match. If this match couldn't be won, the Grand Xi would lose a lot of face.

Actually, many people were prepared to lose face already. There were a total of five princes. The crown prince lost tragically, the second prince had lost as well. Only the third prince remained. As for the fourth and fifth princes, one was a dumb fatty who was as timid as a mouse and the other was a weak mute. How could they fight against others? Now the Grand Xi could only hope for the third prince to win a match so they wouldn't lose too badly.

Therefore, self-respect was still the most important. Was there a difference between losing, and losing beautifully? If someone stepped up and asked this question at this moment, there would be many scholarly officials speaking up to explain the difference.

Senior Minister Lin who had been watching the entire time had privately told his subordinate scholarly officials what to say later. They had to scold those Fusang people into wondering how they were raised by their moms. This would make it easier to distract from the fact that the Grand Xi had lost tragically.

You don't think it's possible? Don't underestimate the mouths of these scholarly officials. The Grand Xi's might depended on its formidable martial power. Military officials had much higher status than scholarly ones. The reason these scholars could compete against those skilled in martial arts was entirely due to their mouths. There were many military officials in court who would roll up their sleeves and want to beat people when they couldn't win with words.