The Demon Prince

Inside the Eighth Princess's residence.

The sound of spears being swung echoed all morning; three wooden stakes beside the training ground had fallen, and the fourth was about to give way.

Li Shunhua's cascading black hair was tied up high and flew in the air. She gripped her spare spear tightly in her hand, and with each thrust, another piece of wood fell to the ground.

With the final shot fired, the force of the gunshot shattered the fallen leaves on the tree.

The steward who came to deliver the message was startled and didn't even dare to approach.

"Say it again, what are the people saying!" Li Shunhua sheathed her gun, her heroic bearing evident in her cold voice.

The steward immediately knelt on the ground, his forehead covered in sweat: "Your Highness, the teahouse is saying... saying that you stormed into the Prince of Zhenguo's mansion yesterday, but were defeated by Prince Xiao."

Li Shunhua gripped the gun tighter: "How did they know about this...? And what else!"

The steward's throat was dry: "He also said... he also said that you broke your promise and refused to admit defeat, and he also said... he also said that you left with a red face because you had fallen for Prince Xiao."

boom!

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The spear crashed to the ground, and the bluestone slab groaned and cracked!

The steward was so frightened that he immediately fell to his knees. "Princess, please forgive me! It wasn't me who said it, it's the whole city talking about it..."

Li Shunhua's chest heaved violently; she wasn't afraid of losing, and it wasn't like she hadn't lost before.

In battlefield drills and martial arts competitions, who can remain undefeated for a lifetime?

To be accused of being a sore loser, to be accused of being coy and easily swayed—all the blood rushed to her head, her eyes blazing with fury: "Xiao Xingyue! Good, really good!"

"Princess, rumors stop with the wise; you don't need to take them to heart."

A figure in a blue robe walked over from the corridor. Xu Huaiyong held a folding fan in his hand and spoke respectfully: "Xiao Xingyue was able to win yesterday entirely because the princess's old injury on her right shoulder had not yet healed. He must have investigated your spear technique in advance and stole a move when your old injury was aggravated. We are ashamed to associate with such opportunistic people."

Li Shunhua remained silent.

She does have an old injury, and yesterday's last move did indeed aggravate her old shoulder injury.

But Xiao Xingyue's ability to seize the right moment is also a skill.

Xu Huaiyong noticed her wavering and immediately added fuel to the fire: "What's even more vicious is the marriage contract. The day you marry into the Prince of Zhenguo's mansion, you will be trapped in the capital, trapped in the inner quarters, trapped by Xiao Xingyue's side!"

Li Shunhua's face suddenly turned cold. "He doesn't deserve it!"

"He is naturally unworthy, but this shameless leech is hard to shake off once he sticks to you..." Xu Huaiyong pretended to ponder for a moment, then closed his folding fan: "I have a plan. Now that your injuries have improved, why don't you go to the Martial Arts Academy and have a public fight with him? In front of the noble sons, the Imperial Guards, and the people of the capital, defeat Xiao Xingyue and let everyone know that he is unworthy of the princess?"

"Wouldn't this be inappropriate? The Xiao family are important figures in protecting the country. Although I want to annul the engagement, there's no need to humiliate them."

Li Shunhua hesitated. Unlike Li Wangshu and others, Li Shunhua had admired the border soldiers since childhood. The Xiao family had been border war gods for many years, so Li Shunhua couldn't bear to embarrass the Xiao family too much. Yesterday, she broke into the Xiao family to resolve the marriage privately, rather than waiting a month later to publicly vote on Xiao Xingyue and bring shame to the Xiao family.

Xu Huaiyong was anxious, but immediately said, "Princess! Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles! Besides, the whole city is talking about Xiao Xingyue and you. Those old ministers who look down on you because you are a woman are all watching... We should be decisive and make Xiao Xingyue give up on this idea completely."

He softened his tone, "Besides, the duel should have ended when it was over; the princess wasn't really after Xiao Xingyue's life..."

"Let me think about it some more..."

Seeing that Li Shunhua was still hesitating, Xu Huaiyong became even more annoyed. He thought that since swords and spears had no eyes, he would secretly poison Li Shunhua's gun so that Xiao Xingyue, his rival in love, would die forever on the stage!

Just as Xu Huaiyong was about to brainwash Li Shunhua again, a voice suddenly came from outside the mansion gate.

"Princess, someone from the palace has arrived with an imperial decree!"

Li Shunhua frowned, and Xu Huaiyong was also taken aback.

Soon, a royal eunuch arrived at the training ground, followed by several imperial guards.

The eunuch, holding the imperial edict, announced in a high-pitched voice, "The imperial edict has arrived."

Li Shunhua immediately put down his spear, knelt down to receive the imperial decree, and Xu Huaiyong also knelt down beside him.

The eunuch unfolded the imperial edict:

「奉

Emperor Tiancheng

The edict said:

Rumors have spread throughout the capital that the Eighth Princess was defeated by Xiao Xingyue, the heir apparent of the Prince of Zhenguo's Mansion. I feel deeply ashamed and hereby grant permission for the Princess's Mansion and the Heir Apparent to fight again... I hereby issue this decree..."

Xu Huaiyong was suddenly overjoyed!

God help me too!

Even the emperor couldn't stand it anymore and wanted the Eighth Princess to fight Xiao Xingyue again!

Once the imperial decree is issued, Xiao Xingyue will have no way to escape!

The eunuch continued reading: "Xu Huaiyong, a staff member of the Eighth Princess's residence, is hereby ordered to have a public martial arts contest with Xiao Xingyue at the Martial Arts Garden this afternoon, in order to set an example for all."

Xu Huaiyong's joy froze, and he slowly raised his head: "Who?"

The eunuch looked at him and said, "It's you. Receive the imperial decree."

Xu Huaiyong was completely dumbfounded: "Father-in-law, is there a mistake? Shouldn't the duel be between the Eighth Princess and Xiao Xingyue?"

The eunuch gave a forced smile: "Nonsense! How could I possibly misread His Majesty's decree? Or are you saying you're defying the imperial order?"

The words "disobeying the imperial decree" sent a chill down Xu Huaiyong's spine. Even if he was stupid, he knew that this was not something that could be reasoned with.

Xu Huaiyong could only grit his teeth and say, "Your humble servant accepts the imperial decree."

After the eunuch delivering the decree left, Li Shunhua sighed softly, "I didn't expect that Father Emperor would also pay attention to this matter. I didn't want to embarrass Xiao Xingyue, but now it's beyond my control. Military Advisor Xu, I remember you are a first-rank martial artist. The matter of teaching Xiao Xingyue a lesson is up to you."

Xu Huaiyong's face was grim.

I'm a civil official! I'm a strategist!

He was so angry he almost vomited blood, but then he thought that his opponent was a weakling like Xiao Xingyue, who wasn't even qualified to go to the battlefield. He wasn't necessarily going to lose.

Moreover, as long as he defeats Xiao Xingyue in public, he can make Li Shunhua look at him differently and even secretly fall in love with him!

"Princess!" Xu Huaiyong bowed deeply. "Today, I will certainly help you annul the engagement!"

……

Wuyuan.

It wasn't even afternoon yet, and the area was already packed with people.

The sons of the nobles crowded into the stands, while the Imperial Guard captains stood on the perimeter with their arms crossed.

The storyteller in the teahouse held his notebook, his eyes gleaming, eagerly awaiting the competition to add some stories to his future storytelling.

Street urchins also mingled in, and everyone was waiting.

The emperor suddenly issued an edict ordering Xu Huaiyong, a staff member of the Eighth Princess's household, to have a martial arts contest with Xiao Xingyue. This was too strange, but the news spread quickly, making the whole capital excited.

"Do you think His Majesty is standing up for the Eighth Princess?"

"Then the Eighth Princess should fight herself. What's the point of letting her advisors do it?"

"You don't know anything. Mr. Xu is the most trusted person by the Eighth Princess's side. If he wins, it means the Eighth Princess wins too."

"But didn't Prince Xiao defeat the Eighth Princess yesterday?"

"That was just a rumor; today we'll see the truth."

The center of Wuyuan.

Xiao Xingyue stood on the field with a smile on his face, but inwardly he was cursing.

"That old fox, the Emperor! His methods are even dirtier than mine!"

He had originally planned to use the emperor's informant to frame Xu Huaiyong.

Unexpectedly, the emperor turned around and threw the two of them into the martial arts academy.

That's a brilliant move, killing two birds with one stone.

If Xiao Xingyue wins, it will be equivalent to eliminating a spy from an enemy country for the emperor. Although Xiao Xingyue made up Xu Huaiyong's identity as a spy, for an emperor, it is better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.

If Xiao Xingyue loses, well, then he'll die at Xu Huaiyong's hands. The emperor can just say that Xu Huaiyong made a mistake in the martial arts competition and killed the prince, deserving of death. That way, both sides will be cleaned up.

Xiao Xingyue looked towards the entrance.

Suddenly, a commotion arose in the crowd as Li Shunhua, dressed in a bright red outfit that accentuated her tall figure, strode in with a heroic air.

Following behind were people from the Eighth Princess's residence, and Xu Huaiyong had also changed into a warrior's outfit and accompanied them.

When Li Shunhua arrived at the stands, she saw so many people around her, and then saw Xiao Xingyue standing alone on the stage. She thought of the decline of the Xiao family and felt a pang of sorrow. She said with pity, "Xiao Xingyue, my advisors have been practicing first-grade martial arts for many years. You can't beat them. Rather than having blood spilled in the martial arts academy later, why don't you admit defeat now? I can plead with my father to cancel the competition."