Peaceful Farm Life

Chapter 1175: Chapter 1176: Offended!

Liu Buli took the opportunity to ask: ”May I know who your husband is...?”

”There, that’s my husband,” Gong Juese said, pointing to Meng Lanqing, who was at the very back.

At that moment, not only was Meng Lanqing at the back, but Meng Zhuqing was too.

Having served under Xiao Changyi along with Meng Lanqing and Meng Zhuqing, Liu Buli recognized them both. Upon seeing Gong Juechen pointing towards Meng Lanqing, he suddenly realized and said, ”So you are Lanqing’s wife, I’ve long heard of you.”

”Do you know my husband?” Gong Juese was quite surprised, and just as she was about to say something else, Meng Lanqing quickly stepped forward, lowered his voice, and warned her to shut up and not talk recklessly.

Then, Gong Juese kept quiet and obediently stopped talking.

Meng Lanqing gave Liu Buli an apologetic look.

Liu Buli shook his head slightly, indicating it was alright.

An Jing and Xiao Changyi were too busy to pay attention to Liu Buli, as other officials and generals at the training ground had come to greet them.

Ye Zhi, who was following next to An Jing, opted to stay silent when possible. Being in the Imperial Palace, she didn’t want to risk her head over a careless remark; it was better to keep quiet when possible.

An Jing and Ye Zhi also met the generals, Xu Shangong and Qi Tengfei, both of whom were much older, especially Xu Shangong, who already had a white beard.

And Qi Tengfei was even bulkier than they had imagined. The description of having a tiger’s back and bear’s waist was not sufficient to describe his size. He was exceptionally tall and strong.

Everyone had arrived, and they were only waiting for Emperor Su Chengyu to come and watch.

An Jing and the others didn’t have to wait long, as Su Chengyu arrived soon after, and Su Haoyu came along as well.

Su Haoyu had heard from Su Chengyu that Gong Juese was entering the palace today and was asked if he wanted to come and see. Thinking it a rare opportunity, he took this chance to watch the competition, but in reality, he came to see Gong Juese, his daughter.

It was both Su Chengyu and Xiao Changyi who helped Su Haoyu onto the viewing platform to take a seat.

The competition was not held concurrently but in three rounds.

The first round was Gong Juese versus General Xu Shangong.

The second round was An Jing versus Liu Buli.

The third round was Ye Zhi versus Qi Tengfei.

Generals Xu, Liu, Qi, and other watching officials were not very clear why these three rounds of competition were necessary, but since it was the Emperor’s command, they naturally had to comply and dared not oppose.

An Jing also sat in the viewing area, right beside Xiao Changyi, and would come down when it was her turn to compete.

Once Su Chengyu nodded, granting permission for the competition to begin, an eunuch loudly announced, ”The competition begins, and points are made by contact.”

Thus, the first match began.

As expected, both Xu Shangong and Gong Juese used swords, only one wielded a Hard Sword and the other a Soft Sword. Gong Juese used her characteristic Soft Sword, always coiled around her waist.

”Old General Xu, please forgive my offense!” Gong Juese bowed to Xu Shangong, then drew her sword and attacked.

She was best at attacking, not defending.

Xu Shangong, a veteran of many battles, had excellent Swordsmanship and was also composed.

Even though he realized that Gong Juese’s Swordsmanship was superior and he was likely to be defeated, he did not panic.

However, he was still very surprised.

He had never expected a woman to wield a sword so proficiently, rendering him nearly only able to see the sword’s movements rather than its shape.

Initially, Su Chengyu had assigned him to compete against a woman, and he felt somewhat dissatisfied, but since it was an imperial command, he thought to just deal with it casually. But now, even giving his all, he had no chance of winning against Gong Juese... which made him feel quite ashamed.