Tang Dynasty: Starting at Xuanwu Gate, this prince is better off not being one.

"You were lying to me after all!"

Cheng Chumo was so angry he was jumping up and down like a child.

He didn't want to learn to read; he simply hated the feeling of being betrayed by his brother.

"Nonsense! How is that lying? If I didn't say that, you might still be getting a beating from your dad..."

Seeing that Cheng Chumo was still angry, Li Yu said irritably, "What are you still standing there for? Come and help me pick out the bad tea buds, that's the important thing!"

"Tch, fiddling with this junk..." Cheng Chumo scoffed, reluctantly squatting down to help Li Yu with his work.

There's no way around it! Tea trees can't be grown in Chang'an. The Changsun family's tea trees were transported from elsewhere, soil and all, and after a few days, many of the leaves became stale.

Therefore, Li Yu could only pick out the fresh ones and put them on paper to dry.

The weather before April was perfect for sun-drying tea, and the faint musty smell in the tea disappeared completely in just two hours.

After sun-drying, the tea leaves need to be air-dried, which takes nearly three hours. So Li Yu handed over the task of collecting the tea leaves to the steward of the Prince's Palace, and took Cheng Chumo to find Wenren An, who was practicing martial arts by swinging an axe.

Ever since his fight with the guards of the Crown Prince's residence, Cheng Chumo, who had witnessed Wenren An's skills, had been wanting to test his abilities against him.

However, Wenren An disdained to fight him and gave him the cold shoulder several times.

"I already told you I'm too lazy to fight you, why do you keep bothering me?" Wenren An frowned, thinking that Cheng Chumo had come to challenge him to a duel again.

Cheng Chumo had always disliked Wenren An's behavior, so he curled his lip and pointed at Li Yu: "Who said I came to find you? He brought me here."

"I don't want to fight these days. If you want to fight, go find someone else to help you!" Glancing sideways at Li Yu, Wenren An stuck the axe into the wooden stump and was about to go back to his room.

Hey? This kid? He promised to be my bodyguard, but he doesn't look like a bodyguard at all.

"I'm not here to get you to fight, I'm here so you and Chu Mo can have a friendly spar."

There's no way to get Cheng Chumo, a stubborn and uncouth man, to sit still and study. It's as difficult as climbing to the sky.

Therefore, Li Yu could only use reverse psychology to motivate him to study and learn to read. And based on his understanding of Cheng Chumo, this method had a high probability of success.

"What?" Wenren An was not the only one surprised; Cheng Chumo exclaimed at the same time.

"You two are both outstanding among your peers, don't you want to settle your differences here?" Li Yu raised an eyebrow in response to their surprise.

The only way to get Wenren An and Cheng Chumo to have a friendly exchange is to use these kinds of words to provoke them.

"No!" Wenren An's refusal surprised Li Yu.

So he could only continue to provoke, "What, you lack confidence in your own abilities?"

"Don't try to provoke me! I'm not falling for that."

Hey? When did this kid become smart?

Thinking of this, Li Yu sighed. Kids these days are getting harder and harder to fool.

"You said you're my bodyguard now, right?"

Since provocation doesn't work on Wenren An, who is easily swayed by gentle persuasion but not by force, the only option is to use emotional appeals and moral blackmail.

"So what if it is?" Wenren An subconsciously took two steps away from Li Yu. Having been tricked many times before, he would subconsciously become vigilant every time he heard Li Yu's question.

Ignoring Wenren An's petty nature, Li Yu continued, "You're my guard, shouldn't you listen to me?"

"I……"

Before Wenren An could finish speaking, Li Yu interrupted him, saying, "Although you should listen to me, I've never forced you to do anything, have I? On the contrary, I've taken good care of you, feeding you well. Don't you think that's enough brotherly affection?"

Seeing Wenren An nod with a puzzled look, Li Yu continued, "As your brother, if I need your help with this small favor, tell me, as a man of the martial world, should I help?"

"Would you like me to have a friendly exchange with Director Cheng?"

"That's right! It's nothing, brother, I believe you'll be fine!"

Wenren An was powerless against Li Yu's shameless behavior, yet Li Yu always seemed to be in the right. So, he could only reluctantly say, "Enough with the nonsense! If you're going to fight, then fight!"

.........

Because he needed to practice martial arts, Li Yu chose this house, which was simple but had a very spacious courtyard, when he was selecting a place for Wenren An to live.

This gave the two of them plenty of room to maneuver. Cheng Chumo took off his outer garment, bent his knees into a squatting position, and shouted loudly as he took his stance.

Wenren An, on the other hand, was much less flashy. He was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit and stood there with his back straight. He beckoned to Cheng Chumo to go first.

It is said that Cheng Chumo truly inherited his father's bravery to the fullest extent. He possessed immense strength and lightning-fast reflexes, making him unrivaled among the descendants of military families of his generation.

Even Yuchi Baolin, who was a size bigger than him, was no match for him.

Therefore, when he saw Wenren An's arrogant demeanor, his anger surged from the soles of his feet.

So when he heard Li Yu say "Start," he rushed forward without hesitation. He was determined to teach this arrogant brat a lesson today.

But when he rushed forward and threw a punch, he saw that Wenren An didn't make any big movements. He simply turned slightly to the side and dodged the punch. The speed was so fast that he couldn't see it at all.

Before Cheng Chumo could retract his fist after missing his target, Wenren An seized the opportunity to grab his fist and then kicked him back several steps.

Despite being at a disadvantage in the first round, Cheng Chumo showed no fear and charged forward with a roar...

.........

Cheng Chumo, who was almost as big as his father, fought against ten-year-old Wenren An. At first glance, it looked like a strong man bullying a child.

If it weren't for the fact that the tall and imposing Cheng Chumo was being repeatedly defeated, many would have thought it was a one-sided contest...

Li Yu sat in the chair, crunching loudly as he chewed the soybeans in his mouth. He watched the sparring between the two martial arts practitioners with great interest.

Even as the two were locked in a fierce battle, he was still popping beans into his mouth while commenting, "Hey? Chu Mo? You're doing it wrong, attack his lower body!"

"Xiao An! What's wrong with you? That was the perfect opportunity for you to unleash your 'Flying Combo Kick'! I even saw you practicing it on a wooden post before!"

In short, the situation was extremely hostile, and the two who were locked in a fierce battle grew increasingly angry as they fought, so the battle ended all the faster.

They were still friends after all. Although they couldn't stand each other, they couldn't bring themselves to kill each other.

Thus, the sparring ended when Cheng Chumo braced himself on the ground with both hands, unable to continue fighting.

"You should train for a few more years..."

After the battle ended, Wenren An picked up his coat from the table and went back into the house, completely disregarding how hurtful his words had been...

.........