Chapter 565: Challenges

Although Fang Wenshi knew the Dragon King’s hunch was accurate most of the time, he was still shocked by the Dragon King’s bold speculation, which sounded very unrealistic.

One thing that happened at noon that day added a little support to the Dragon King’s theory.

The Military Counselor reported some news to the Dragon King. He told the Dragon King to walk out of the tent and take a look at the opposite camp.

Over at the opposite camp, King Dari’s yellow-faced servant Fu Yuan, followed by a group of attendants, was demanding a marriage with the Supreme King’s granddaughter. Fang Wenshi explained to the Dragon King, “It’s a bride-snatching ceremony — a common thing in Norland.”

Fu Yuan stood at the gate of the camp, talking loudly, refusing to enter the tent to discuss the matter in private. In the meantime, his attendants were rushing around under his commandments. Shangguan Yun looked very awkward, trying to persuade Fu Yuan in a low voice, while Zhang Ji was nowhere to be seen.

“Ha, Golden Roc Fort has lost face terribly this time,” Fang Wenshi said, having lifted up the curtain a little bit to watch the scene through the opening. The quarrelling voices and the abusive words of Fu Yuan could be heard clearly by the people in the Dragon King’s tent. Fang Wenshi turned to the Dragon King in excitement, saying, “Sir, come and take a look. There are a lot of people watching outside.”

“Supreme King! Bring me your granddaughter, as you promised. A promise is a promise. Don’t worry about whether I have my manhood or not. I’m going to take her virginity anyway. Shangguan Yun, move aside, or I’ll take yours, as well,” Fu Yuan yelled and then started swearing, saying even filthier things.

The Dragon King had been calm and showed no interest in what was happening at the other tent. Fang Wenshi finally stopped laughing. Looking at the Dragon King, Fang Wenshi was ashamed of his reaction, and then started to realize that things were not that simple.

Fang Wenshi realized there must be more truth hidden below the surface.“Golden Roc Fort made a terrible mistake. It’s well known that King Dari is on bad terms with King Kuari. And Golden Roc Fort promised a marriage to both of them. Now he has not only offended the favorite minion of King Dari, but also King Kuari. King Kuari will be notorious for fighting a eunuch over a bride,” he thought.

Gu Shenwei used the writing apparatuses on the table to analyze the matter, imagining them as several lords and saying, “Zhang Ji would never do such a stupid thing, and he certainly has a different purpose.”

“But what’s the benefit of doing so? To earn a reputation? It’s better to not,” said Fang Wenshi.

“This is just the beginning,” said Gu Shenwei.

Fang Wenshi decided to stop watching. “Wait for my news,” he said as he ran out of the tent, mounted his horse and went directly to learn more from several familiar officials.

The farce ended soon after Fang Wenshi left, almost escalating to a tragedy. A large brigade of King Kuari’s cavalry galloped over from afar. They drew out their swords and bows, denouncing Fu Yuan for his rudeness, and claiming that no one could touch the granddaughter of the Supreme King.

Seeing that he was outnumbered, Fu Yuan withdrew with a lot of threats.

Even the well-disciplined guards of the Dragon King could not help but laugh at the funny drama. Long Fanyun kept saying while shaking his head, “Shame. Shame for men. Shame for killers.”

He was not referring to Fu Yuan. He felt ashamed for Shangguan Yun. The Cloud King who had been able to keep his countenance in big battles, was now forced into a dilemma by a eunuch.

Shangguan Fei, who was standing beside Long Fanyun, sighed and said, ” I thought the men of the Stone Castle… the Shangguan family are not like that.”

Long Fanyun looked Shangguan Fei up and down in disdain. He had never regarded him as a “man”.

Gu Shenwei was indifferent to what happened outside. He was busy with something else. He had written three letters, all with basically the same contents, and ordered Long Fanyun to distribute them. “Be careful. They may not be happy to receive the letter,” he had warned.

Long Fanyun nodded in understanding. Shangguan Fei volunteered to be one of the ten guards to deliver the letters. He glanced at the three letters and noticed they were respectively addressed to King Dari, King Kuari and King Rizhu. He was interested to see what how a true “man” would react to threats and insults. Especially the first two, who were in a fit of anger at the moment.

The first letter was delivered to King Dari. The Lord was standing in his tent lambasting the Supreme King for Golden Roc Fort’s betrayal when he received the letter from the Dragon King. He took the letter, unfolded it, and then became furious after reading over it. He tore the letter into pieces, yelling, “The Dragon King is crazy! Go back and let him hear my words: Prepare a coffin. Don’t dream about getting any support from Norland.”

Long Fanyun stood straight, head forward, and said, “I’ll take the message to the Dragon King. But what kind of wood would King Dari like for his coffin, please?”

King Dari had not expected that a messenger guard would dare to be so disrespectful to him. He was too shocked to say a word. His personal guards reacted quickly, though. More than 10 of them pulled out their knives at the same time, reprimanding him loudly.

Long Fanyun ignored the guards, bowed to King Dari slightly, and left.

Shangguan Fei had mixed feelings of admiration and fright. He was too scared to make a comment until they were over a mile away from King Dari’s camp. “Wow…you…what did the Dragon King say in that letter to make King Dari so angry?” he asked.

The second letter was delivered to King Kuari. Compared with King Dari, King Kuari’s reaction to the letter was quite moderate. He took the letter in his hand, sneered, and then laughed. Then he folded the letter carefully, saying, “Well, I accept it, and I hope the Dragon King will not let me down.”

He did not say what he accepted. Shangguan Fei became more curious, and he wished he could open the last letter to see its content. His wish was soon realized.

When they delivered the last letter to King Rizhu, they were forbidden to enter the camp. General Zhe Su was standing at the gate like a black tower. The military discipline here had taken on a new look, with heavily armed soldiers lined up in a neat row. Anybody who dared to resist any command here would be chopped into meat paste immediately.

“King Rizhu will not see visitors. He only wants his horse back,” General Zhe Su said, looking lofty in his armor. He refused to let the messengers in, and also rejected the letter.

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Long Fanyun did not argue with him. He unfolded the letter and read it out in a voice so loud that he could be heard both inside and outside the camp.

Shangguan Fei’s curiosity was finally satisfied.

In the letter, the Dragon King made challenges to the three most powerful lords of Norland. The duels would happen four days later, at the venue of the Tournament of the Royal Court, and the wager for King Rizhu was “the best horse on the grassland”.

The letter did not mention the words “Flame Foal”, but everyone knew it was that horse.

After stealing King Rizhu’s most cherished horse, the Dragon King was now using it to bet against him. Both Zhe Su and King Dari were stunned.

King Rizhu came in person to the camp gate, stiff-faced. “I accept the bet. Add another rule: The loser must kneel down in public, bow his head three times to the winner, and call himself ‘bastard’ three times,” he said.

“Good,” Long Fanyun said, handing the letter to Zhe Su, who took it for King Rizhu.

Rumors spread fast in the Royal Court. Everybody was talking about the two big events that had happened recently. One was the big scene made by the eunuch at the camp of Golden Roc Fort, and the other was the challenges made by the Dragon King against the three lords. When more and more people, ranging from those living in the slums to those in the main tent of the Khan, started passing around the news, some even added that the Dragon King wanted to compete for the granddaughter of the Supreme King.

Gu Shenwei had set up different wagers when he challenged the three lords: for King Rizhu, it was the horse; for King Kuari, it was “the best saber in the world”; and for King Dari, it was “the best bow for the greatest archer in the world”.

Horses, sabers and bows were the three things that the Norland people valued the most. As a native of the Western Region, the Dragon King dared the bet on them in Norland. To the Norland people, the Dragon King had obviously made a provocation.

Fang Wenshi came back, sweating profusely. He had found out a lot of news, only to realize that the real blockbuster had been created by the Dragon King, himself.

“Sir, you really challenged the three lords?” he asked.

“Yeah,” said Gu Shenwei.

“This was…too fast…I think…you should have discussed it with me first,” said Fang Wenshi.

“We can discuss it now. Tell me about what you’ve heard,” said Gu Shenwei.

Fang Wenshi shook his head as he usually did. He had just turned 30 years old, but he always felt like a conservative old man standing in front of the Dragon King. “There are many things. It is said that King Dari and King Kuari have had a fight, and their guards have even drawn out their knives. King Dari accused King Kuari of being too shameless to fight their uncle’s eunuch over a woman. King Kuari accused King Dari of being insolent enough to despise a useful ally. He also said humiliating the Supreme King in this way will only harm the interests of Norland.”

Fang Wenshi had spoken too fast. He let out a breath and wiped the sweat off his forehead as he continued his speech, “It’s a mess in the court. Most officers are afraid of being implicated. A few loyal ones have gotten into fights with each other trying to protect their respective lords. I heard that four or five duels took place this morning, alone. Nobody died yet, but in my opinion, it won’t be long.”

“Shangguan Yun and Zhang Ji should be glad that Golden Roc Fort has finally gotten the ‘attention’ of Norland,” said Gu Shenwei.

“Speaking of attention, there is one thing I find most strange,” said Fang Wenshi.

“What’s that?” asked Gu Shenwei.

“The granddaughter of the Supreme King, named Shangguan Shaomin or something, is now the most well-known person in the Royal Court. I think she has even gotten more attention than your challenges to the three lords. Everyone says she is a girl of unprecedented beauty. It’s said that King Kuari has been desperate to marry her since he saw her beauty at a chance meeting. He is even willing to give up his old grudge with Golden Roc Fort for her hand,” said Fang Wenshi.

“Unprecedented beauty?” Gu Shenwei frowned. He had seen Shangguan Shaomin once. She was a thin girl, trembling, and stunned by Old Man Mu’s words. She was absolutely not ugly, but speaking of beauty… Gu Shenwei had to admit that he could not remember how the girl looked. At that time, he had been focused on observing the current situation and speculating about other people’s thoughts, with little energy left for other things.

“In short, King Kuari will marry the granddaughter of the Supreme King, and maybe he will make her his concubine in the future. However, that won’t be easy. If King Kuari wants to inherit the throne, he must choose his wife from among the three families of the Queen.” explained Fang Wenshi.

“I bet it’s Zhang Ji’s idea,” said Gu Shenwei.

“Yeah. I’m getting more and more interested in this teacher, but what is the purpose of his move? To change to a more promising lord?” asked Fang Shenwei.

“Zhang Ji will not reveal it until the last minute,” Gu Shenwei said as if he could see the dignified teacher calmly watching the developments of the situation to make sure that everything was under his control.

“Well, Golden Roc Fort seems to have a conspiracy. I’m beginning to believe the Dragon King’s theory that everything was just a show, and Golden Roc Fort must have an important role in it,” Fang Wenshi continued.

“Exactly,” said Gu Shenwei.

Fang Wenshi shook his head again. He still could not fully accept the Dragon King’s conjecture. “The three lords really want to assassinate the Khan?” he asked, increduous.

“Not just the three of them,” Gu Shenwei corrected Fang Wenshi. He had thought about it thoroughly and continued, “All the Norland bigwigs want the Khan to die as soon as possible, but no one wants to bear the murder charges. That’s why I was invited to the Royal Court. They took turns to provoke me and force the masters around me to be exposed one by one. Their purpose was to prepare for false accusations of murder. Zhang Ji must know about it, and the trick of promising a woman to two different men is also probably related to it.”

Luo Ningcha had casually remarked, “Everyone wishes the Khan would die as soon as possible. Only his second wife wants him to live any longer.” It was obvious that the Khan’s second wife had told Luo Ningcha to say that to help her look innocent.

Gu Shenwei had not found answers to his other questions yet, especially who had taken Shangguan Ru. And the spy who worked for Wei Song in the Royal Court — the first person who had suggested that the Dragon King should kill the Khan — had still not revealed himself.