This matter could end right here.

Not only the officials from the Ministry of War and the commander of the capital troops, but even the border army officer standing beside Xie Yanlai looked astonished.

“What are you doing? This could have been over!” He pulled at Xie Yanlai, unable to help complaining in a low voice, “When you should speak, you don’t, and when you shouldn’t speak, you do.”

Earlier, when these gentlemen from the Ministry of War hadn’t arrived, he didn’t speak. If he had spoken then, he could have stopped the fighting early.

Now that the Ministry officials had stepped in to resolve the matter, why was he saying it couldn’t end?

Xie Yanlai shook off his arm: “How can it be over? The fight isn’t finished yet, and there’s no winner or loser yet.”

What! The officer stared wide-eyed. Still want to fight!

“Young Master!” he shouted.

To his surprise, he forgot the official title and called out the nickname used in private.

Director Zhu heard it and scoffed: “Commander Xie is impressive. At home he’s ‘Young Master,’ and in the border army he’s also ‘Young Master.'”

The officer’s face flushed red. By position, he was not lower than Xie Yanlai, and his seniority was even higher than Xie Yanlai’s. Xie Yanlai was the commander in charge of this trip to the capital, but calling him “Young Master” was indeed inappropriate and made Xie Yanlai appear domineering in the army.

“Director Zhu, you misunderstand,” he hurriedly explained. “It’s not that Commander Xie is a master in the army, this is just… our nickname. We’re all rough men in the army, we don’t stand on ceremony. Commander Xie is very—”

Director Zhu smiled: “Officer, you’re being too modest. I think you’re quite formal. Otherwise, why don’t you call me ‘Young Master’ too?”

The officer was tongue-tied. In a battle of words with civil officials, he was no match.

Xie Yanlai pushed him away.

“Go away. In the army, the Young Master is the Young Master. What of it?” he raised his eyebrows and said, “The Young Master is formidable; everyone respects him as master. That’s how it is in our army—the formidable ones are the masters. Unlike some who are called ‘sir’ merely because they wear an official hat.”

Director Zhu’s expression turned angry: “Who are you talking about?”

The officer hurriedly reached out to stop Xie Yanlai, preventing him from speaking further. They had all experienced how irritating this Young Master’s words could be.

The other officials also rushed to restrain Director Zhu. A son of the Xie family being arrogant? What was strange about that? Xie Yanfang spoke pleasantly in court, but no one took him for a kind person.

The officials managed to restrain Director Zhu, but the officer couldn’t restrain Xie Yanlai.

Xie Yanlai shook him off and stepped down from the steps.

“I just want to tell you all,” he said, no longer staring at Director Zhu but looking at the surrounding capital soldiers, “I, the Young Master, am arrogant because I’m formidable. The soldiers I lead are also formidable. Being formidable, we have the right to be picky, we have the right to be arrogant!”

These words instantly stirred up the capital soldiers who had just quieted down. This time, even the loud reprimands of several officials couldn’t calm them.

“Xie Yanlai! What exactly are you trying to do?” an official shouted angrily.

The attendant knelt on the ground to stop Xie Yanlai: “Ninth Young Master, you can’t cause any more trouble!”

Several more people squeezed in from outside—young masters calling Xie Yanlai “Ninth Brother,” and a fat young master who called out “Ninth Uncle” as he rushed over.

“Stop making trouble,” the fat young master reached out to grab Xie Yanlai, his face flushed either from excitement or anger, his voice cracking, “Don’t forget your current identity—”

As soon as he touched Xie Yanlai’s arm, Xie Yanlai grabbed him, kicked him down to his knees, and the rest of his words turned into a howl.

“Since when is it your turn to control me?” Xie Yanlai stepped on him.

The other young masters instantly retreated, their expressions both angry and fearful.

“Xie Yanlai—” Xie Xiao, pinned to the ground, gritted his teeth and said softly, “We’re in public—”

Behind closed doors at home, brothers could fight however they wanted, but outside, they were supposed to present as a harmonious family.

This was in public, with all eyes watching.

“Have you no regard for face?”

Xie Yanlai bent down, pressed his hand on his face, and asked softly, “Do you know why you’re alive?”

What nonsense? Xie Xiao’s fat face and small eyes were almost squeezed into a line by Xie Yanlai’s hand. The face of the young man so close to him became blurry; only those eyes revealed coldness and pity.

Pity?

Who was pitying whom?

“Xie Yanlai, you—” Xie Xiao shouted.

Xie Yanlai interrupted him: “I’ll tell you, you’re only alive so I can beat you.” After saying this, he raised his hand and delivered a slap.

Xie Xiao let out a miserable cry.

The people around were also startled, not just the Xie family’s young masters were afraid; the officials and officers also stared wide-eyed. This Xie Yanlai was truly domineering both inside and outside the family.

To hit his family member like this!

Xie Yanlai kicked Xie Xiao away, rolled up his sleeves, and pulled the long sword from the officer’s waist.

The officer came to his senses with a fright: “Young—Xie! What are you doing?”

Xie Yanlai ignored him, spinning the sword in his hand, the blade flashing. The Xie family’s young masters couldn’t help but retreat again, and the officials also backed away.

“Xie Yanlai!” Director Zhu shouted, “This is a military camp. What are you doing?”

“In a military camp, of course, we do what soldiers do,” Xie Yanlai said. “Come on, I, Xie Yanlai, will fight with you—”

Xie Yanlai turned the long sword, pointing it at the dense crowd of capital soldiers before him.

“Let you young master soldiers see that I am invincible in the world, this formidable, this arrogant!”

The capital soldiers were stunned at first, then immediately angered. What young master soldiers? Who was the real young master soldier here?

This Xie fellow was the one who looked like a spoiled rich kid!

“Fight then!”

“Brothers, let him know we’re not here in the capital eating for nothing!”

If earlier this place was like boiling water, now it had turned into a quagmire. Director Zhu and the other officials were instantly submerged and unable to struggle free.

Once again, troops galloped through the capital, causing chaos throughout the city.

“A real battle has broken out outside the capital—”

…

…

Inside the deep imperial palace, it was quiet and solemn.

The imperial guards stood still, and the eunuchs and palace maids moved silently with dignity. The sound of rapid footsteps was particularly noticeable here, drawing glances, but upon seeing who was hurrying by, everyone immediately looked straight ahead.

“Xiao Man!”

A-Le stood outside the hall, looking around. Seeing a girl walking quickly toward her, she waved eagerly.

“Hurry up! Why are you so slow? Run faster.”

Xiao Man immediately slowed her pace. A-Le simply ran over to meet her, giggling: “Sister, I misspoke. I should have said I’ll run faster to meet you.”

Xiao Man snorted and said, “It’s him. He’s gotten into a fight with people in the Capital Garrison.”

Before the words faded, A-Le ran into the hall like a flash, leaving Xiao Man behind.

Xiao Man was both angry and amused. By the time she entered the hall, A-Le had already finished relaying the message.

“Miss,” she sighed helplessly, “This A-Jiu, even after so long without seeing him, he’s still the same. He hasn’t grown up at all.”

Chu Zhao did not know that the person who had come was Xie Yanlai.

Zhong Changrong hadn’t written to inform her, and now knowing it was Xie Yanlai who had come, Chu Zhao understood why Uncle Zhong hadn’t sent a letter to tell her beforehand.

There was no need. The messenger might not run faster than Xie Yanlai himself.

Indeed, Xie Yanlai not only ran fast but also stirred up trouble quickly. Before he had even entered the capital, he had already made the capital lively.

“They say it was because he was picky about food and drink, had a verbal conflict with the Capital Garrison’s cooks, and one thing led to another until they started fighting,” Xiao Man relayed the news brought by Xiao Tu and others.

A-Le pouted, not surprised at all: “He is very picky. I knew he would get beaten sooner or later. I’ve wanted to beat him many times myself.” Then she asked Chu Zhao, “Miss, don’t you also want to beat him?”

Chu Zhao laughed: “Yes, but only because I can’t beat him, I have no choice.”

“This time, he should be beaten,” Xiao Man said.

A-Le and Chu Zhao both looked at her.

A-Le frowned slightly: “I don’t think so.”

Although, well, she wanted to see the boy taught a lesson, but somehow when she heard he was going to be beaten, she felt a bit unhappy.

“That boy is very slippery,” A-Le emphasized. “Not just anyone can beat him.”

“No matter how slippery he is, under public scrutiny, what tricks can he play in a military competition?” Xiao Man said, relaying Xiao Tu’s news again. “Besides, he’s fighting dozens of people by himself.”

One person fighting dozens?

Chu Zhao sat up straight. Is this fighting? Isn’t this a mob beating?

…

…

“Ram him—”

A shout erupted from the crowd.

A soldier like a mountain charged toward Xie Yanlai, his pillar-like legs thudding on the ground. The soldiers standing around, and even the common people watching from afar, felt themselves shaking.

All eyes followed the burly soldier and focused on the other figure in the arena.

The young man was tall and thin, with his sleeves tied up. Compared to the burly soldier, he was like a slender willow by the river. But in the next moment, the slender willow also charged forward.

He was going to ram him, too?

Wouldn’t that be like an egg hitting a stone?

Imagining the scene of an egg hitting a stone, the surrounding sea of capital soldiers let out a roar, drowning out the angry shouts of the few dozen border soldiers.

The contest area wasn’t very large. In the blink of an eye, the two collided, accompanied by a heavy, muffled sound. But the egg didn’t crack. Xie Yanlai seemed to be knocked flying, but like a willow branch, he swayed, turned from the front to the side of the burly soldier, and struck the soldier’s ribs hard with both hands.

The soldier was just muscular, not truly made of rock. His vulnerable ribs were hit, and he let out a muffled groan, swinging a hard punch at Xie Yanlai.

The heavy blow made Xie Yanlai’s body bend, and he let out a muffled groan, but he still wasn’t knocked flying or knocked down. Instead, using the momentum from the blow, he moved behind the burly soldier and launched a flying kick.

The burly soldier stumbled. He tried to steady himself and turn around, but Xie Yanlai gave him no chance. His flying kicks came in succession like shadows, from the back to the legs. When the ankle was struck, the burly soldier could no longer maintain his balance and fell forward with a thud.

The mountain fell, and the earth shook.

Around them, there was a clamor of voices. Compared to the earlier provocative noise, this time it was a disappointed sigh—disappointment had no momentum and was instantly drowned out by the cheers of the border soldiers.

“Excellent!”

“Young Master is formidable!”

Amid the clamor, Xie Yanlai straightened up, looked at the burly soldier lying on the ground, raised his eyebrows with a smile, and then looked around, especially at the capital soldiers surrounding him on three sides.

“Next!” he said lazily. “Come again.”

The border soldiers were few, occupying only one side. Hearing Xie Yanlai call for the next challenger, their excited clamor paused slightly.

“Commander Niu, which one is this for the Young Master?” a soldier asked in a low voice.

Niu’s face was flushed, whether from excitement or something else, and he said, “The tenth. The next one will be the eleventh.”

Another soldier urgently said, “He can’t fight anymore! No matter how formidable the Young Master is, he can’t keep fighting like this in succession.”

As if they needed to tell him! Niu thought to himself. The young man had his back to them, his face not visible, his posture straight. But when he stood up, he had pressed his hand against his waist, and the small gesture of clenching his fist to resist pain hadn’t escaped Niu’s eyes.

“Commander Niu, we know the Young Master is trying to intimidate these fellows, but he can’t keep winning,” a soldier said in a low voice. “Once he’s defeated, he’ll still be mocked. Better to stop while ahead—”

Niu looked at the young man standing in the arena, straight yet lazy. As he spoke, another soldier from the watching capital troops stepped forward.

“I’ll compete with you—”

When this soldier rushed out, Xie Yanlai didn’t waste a word, lifting his foot to meet him. Before the spectators could react, the two were already fighting, raising dust as they moved.

The atmosphere around them immediately became clamorous again.

The voices were also drowned out. Several people saw Niu’s mouth move.

“Old Niu, what did you say?” several people shouted, only able to hear their voices.

Niu could also only hear himself shouting: “He’s already fought eleven. Even if he’s defeated, who would dare mock him!”

He stood with hands on his hips, watching the two men exchanging blows in the arena.

“Who would dare mock him!”