In this world, there are many people who don’t know how to speak appropriately, but only Xu Huaizu would dare to speak so carelessly under Yin Gezhi’s terrifying gaze.

Even Feng Yue felt chills down her spine, wanting to ask the young master if he could avoid dragging her into his death wish. She still wanted to live well and didn’t want to die so soon!

Then the second young master of the Xu family belatedly asked, “Did I say something wrong? Does Master not like Miss Feng Yue?”

This wasn’t even about liking or not liking! Feng Yue laughed awkwardly and tugged at his sleeve. “Young Master, there are still two dishes in the kitchen. Why don’t you help this servant bring them out?”

“Sure.” Sensing the atmosphere wasn’t quite right, Xu Huaizu quickly slipped away, pulling Feng Yue along. Only when they were far enough did he furrow his brows and ask, “What did I say wrong?”

Feng Yue sighed, “Your master has always looked down on courtesans. With my status, how dare you suggest I could be your master’s wife?”

Looked down on? Xu Huaizu frowned, “If he looks down on you, why keep you in this courtyard?”

Feng Yue shrugged, “Probably because my cooking is better than Guan Zhi’s.”

“But…” Xu Huaizu frowned, “I just feel that Master cares about you, and you two get along well together. It was just a joke?”

“You should rest a while,” Feng Yue shook her head. “Stop making jokes.”

Nodding in agreement, Xu Huaizu sighed, “I thought Master was perfect, but it seems he has flaws too.”

“Oh?” Entering the kitchen and placing dishes in his hands, Feng Yue asked, “What flaws?”

“In matters of the heart,” Xu Huaizu said. “If you like someone, you like them; if you don’t, you don’t. Why complicate things with status and such? It just torments people.”

Feng Yue paused briefly before laughing.

Matters of the heart were the most difficult things in the world, far harder than riding horses or fighting battles. If a simple “like” or “don’t like” could settle things, all the lovelorn men and women in the world would be free from their suffering.

But the young master of the Xu family was still young and hadn’t experienced much romance, so it wasn’t surprising he would say such things.

“The food’s getting cold, let’s go.”

“Mm.”

The atmosphere in the room had eased somewhat. Everyone ate their meal in relative peace, after which Yin Gezhi sent his two disciples to continue practicing, and then pulled Feng Yue into his room.

“You…” He looked up, but before he could speak, the person opposite him jumped high and waved her hands, saying, “You don’t need to lecture me! I don’t have any of the thoughts Young Master Xu mentioned. I understand my status and know why I’m here. I absolutely won’t have any improper thoughts about you!”

Speaking in one breath without pause, Yin Gezhi frowned and sneered, “At least you know your place.”

“Of course, otherwise how could I serve at your side?” Smiling ingratiatingly, Feng Yue said, “Compared to Miss Yi, this servant is far inferior!”

Giving her a light glare, Yin Gezhi said, “Compare yourself to someone else. She’s not as good as you.”

What? Feng Yue blinked, hearing such direct words from Yin Gezhi for the first time, feeling somewhat uncomfortable: “Why? Don’t you like her?”

“Liking is one thing,” pondering for a moment, Yin Gezhi said, “but being with her is too exhausting.”

Slightly stunned, Feng Yue shrugged: “That’s true, not everyone can be as shameless as me in coaxing you.”

“What did you say?”

“Hehe, nothing.” Making a face at him, Feng Yue turned and ran: “I’m going to check on Lingshu.”

By the time her words faded, she had already disappeared, leaving him unable to say anything more.

Yin Gezhi frowned, thinking this person must have been a frog in her previous life—not only did she like to puff up her cheeks, but she also jumped so quickly!

However, being with her was exceptionally worry-free and comfortable.

With a slight smile, Yin Gezhi turned around, still planning to fulfill his duties as a master, especially to give extra attention to Xu Huaizu.

Three days later, the selection tournament opened grandly at the training grounds. Yin Gezhi stood quietly in the crowd with the two young masters, along with the maid Feng Yue and attendant Guan Zhi.

“So many people came,” Feng Yue muttered softly. “It’s almost like the annual ceremony when families send their daughters to the palace.”

Guan Zhi said in a low voice, “The Zhao Lin case had quite an impact on the common people. Usually, such competitions wouldn’t allow commoners to watch, but the Crown Prince made a special exception, inviting both civil and military officials and allowing commoners to watch from outside the railings to ensure fairness.”

This approach was indeed fair, but… looking at the many old generals standing on the waiting platform, Feng Yue shook her head. These people couldn’t afford to lose, especially in front of so many people. Winning the competition wasn’t difficult, but winning meant offending many people—was it worth it?

Before leaving, Yin Gezhi had pulled the two young men aside and whispered to them for quite a while. Feng Yue didn’t know what was said, but seeing Xu Huaizu’s excited face and An Shizhong’s worried eyes, it probably wasn’t anything good.

Just as she was thinking this, Crown Prince Ye Yuqing suddenly said from the platform, “Prince Yin has come too? I hear you brought your beloved disciples—are they planning to compete with everyone here?”

Usually, for such questions, Yin Gezhi would respond with a cold look and remain silent. But surprisingly, today he answered, and quite loudly: “Of course. Since we’re here, we should take something back.”

“Oh?” The Crown Prince looked at them with great interest. “You mean your two disciples, who haven’t even been under your tutelage for a month, can hold their own against these veteran generals?”

Yin Gezhi nodded.

“Hahaha!” Ye Yuqing laughed heartily. “I just love making bets with confident people like you. Prince Yin, shall we make a wager in front of all these people?”

“Please enlighten me, Your Highness.”

“Simple enough. If either of your two disciples can place in the top two, I will present you with two hundred jin of Cold Iron from the Tianshan Mountains,” Ye Yuqing said. “There’s only this much Cold Iron in total, just arrived at the palace this year, not yet forged into weapons—perfect for your two young masters. However, if they fail, perhaps you wouldn’t mind performing a grand bow to me in front of everyone?”

The hostility in these words was intense, causing much discussion among the crowd.

If Feng Yue didn’t know these two’s true nature, she would have been intimidated by this tense atmosphere. But knowing their minds, she could only roll her eyes.

Someone like Yin Gezhi couldn’t perform a grand bow to the Crown Prince of Wu, and the consequence of that impossibility was—

“Agreed.” Yin Gezhi accepted, then turned to look at his disciples with piercing eyes, saying coldly, “You just need to fight with all your might, don’t consider your opponents’ status or anything else. If you show any mercy, I will expel you from my tutelage!”

“Master!” The two young masters panicked, but Yin Gezhi coldly waved his sleeve, leaving them on the waiting platform.

“This Prince Yin is so harsh! These disciples he just accepted aren’t nobodies, yet he’s so severe!”

“Can you blame him? The Crown Prince’s bet is too cruel, clearly trying to humiliate him. Even as a hostage, Wei isn’t a vassal state of Wu. Having their Crown Prince bow to our Crown Prince would shame Wei’s face!”

“It all depends on whether those two young masters are up to the task.”

Hearing the discussions around them, Feng Yue watched the person walking forward and couldn’t help but shake her head.

How cunning! This way, no matter whom the An and Xu young masters faced, they could justifiably cast aside things like respecting elders, and their opponents could even understand their position and not harbor too much resentment if they lost.

So all that whispering earlier was just rehearsing their act? The Crown Prince was impressive too, his thoughts aligning perfectly with Yin Gezhi’s, their coordination flawless.

Indeed, all these princes were crafty characters!

The competition began, and Yin Gezhi stood watching with her at the side, his face impassive, his eyes showing no fluctuation.

Feng Yue couldn’t help saying, “You could at least show some tension! What if both young masters lose?”

“Lose with what?” Yin Gezhi lifted his chin, pointing at the people drawing lots to determine the order, his lips barely moving as he spoke very softly: “The Crown Prince’s men.”

After a pause, looking at the seven or eight people standing on the platform, Feng Yue gritted her teeth: “This is too devious!”

“It’s just to end things quickly,” Yin Gezhi said. “Besides, frankly speaking, the others who came today aren’t truly capable. They just want to secure a position for an easy life. Such people are no match for them at all.”

He had confidence in his disciples, and only he could see through An Shizhong and Xu Huaizu’s weaknesses—these old fellows were still too green.

Xu Huaizu went up sixth, thoroughly thrashing an old general whose beard had turned white. While beating him, he kept apologizing: “I’m sorry, but I must obey my master’s orders!”

The old general, while spitting blood, shook his head: “Can’t blame you.”

“Bang!” The old general fell to the ground with an understanding smile, black and blue as he was carried away.

Xu Huaizu smiled, suddenly feeling more fond of his master—he suited his taste!

Among those who came up, some were powerful, and some were quick, but Xu Huaizu found none difficult to handle. Even with simple moves, he could throw them off the platform.

Slightly furrowing his brows, he suddenly felt that among Wu’s generals, except for General Yi and his father, few of the others could fight on a battlefield. Had they grown too comfortable?

“Please,” The last to come up was An Shizhong. Xu Huaizu came to his senses and grinned: “I won’t fight you. I’ll take second place.”

Face darkening, An Shizhong asked, “Why?”

“Didn’t you have a stiff neck last night?” Xu Huaizu said. “It wouldn’t be honorable to win.”

“Stop talking nonsense!” Scolding quietly, An Shizhong glanced at the observers in the distance: “This competition is meant to be fair, what are you playing at?”

With that, he thrust his sword at a vital point.

Barely dodging, Xu Huaizu sighed: “You’re just too rigid about rules, no fun at all.”

Speaking thus, he still raised his blade to meet him, each move now notably more serious than before.

Ye Yuqing let out a long sigh and said to the elderly official beside him: “It truly is that heroes emerge from the young. Have I suffered a great loss?”

The elderly official bowed with a smile: “If Your Highness can truly gain capable talents, two hundred jin of Cold Iron is no loss at all.”

“Oh?” Ye Yuqing asked, fanning himself: “Minister Ning also thinks these two are promising talents?”