CHAPTER 1144: CHAPTER 1123: APPOINTMENT TO FIGHT

Others may fear Yunfeng, but Princess Changyu is not afraid. She gulped down the wine in her hand and then turned her head, slightly lifting her eyebrows at Yunfeng.

Yunfeng gathered her energy and turned her head to glare at Manbao, lowering her voice, "You, come outside with me!"

Mingda sipped half a mouthful of tea, and with one hand, held onto Manbao’s hand, saying, "Cousin Yunfeng, Manbao is my friend, and she still has to accompany me."

The Empress Dowager sat above, and although she couldn’t hear what they were talking about, she could see the four young ladies standing together. Since Commandery Princess Yunfeng and Princess Changyu were facing away from her, she didn’t see their expressions. Seeing that both Mingda and Zhou Man were smiling brightly, she smiled contentedly and turned to the Queen and the Princess Consort of Yizhou, saying, "The young ladies seem to get along well, which is good. I was originally worried that Yunfeng would be bored after coming to the capital, but it’s best if the sisters get along."

The Queen glanced at Mingda and echoed with a laugh.

The Princess Consort of Yizhou, on the other hand, was anxious, as she knew her daughter well.

This child had a temperament even fiercer than her brothers’. Mingda was fine; although she was the legitimate princess, she was always sensible and had a gentle disposition. But it was different with Changyu; she and Yunfeng had always been somewhat at odds. It would be good if they didn’t quarrel when together.

Mingda responded for Manbao in a firm yet gentle manner, but Princess Changyu became restless. To Yunfeng, she said, "Do you want to fight? Picking on a commoner, what does that mean? If you dare, I will join you."

Yunfeng replied, "That’s your own words. Don’t cry if you get hit."

"Whoever cries is the old dog!" Changyu rolled up her sleeves and said, "How shall we fight, do we need horses?"

Yunfeng sneered, "To come all the way from Wude Hall to the horse field, aren’t you afraid of getting tired? Today, I’ll let you have a taste of my whip skill. The horse field in the eastern suburbs, will you go or not?"

"I’ll go; who’s afraid of who?"

Mingda, loving the chaos, said, "I will bear witness for you."

Manbao then curiously asked Changyu, "If she uses a whip, what will you use?"

"I’ll use a sword," Changyu said proudly with a slight lift of her chin. "Even our father praises my swordsmanship."

Yunfeng sneered, "It’s all show and no substance."

"You’re one to talk about show and no substance. I don’t believe you can actually enter the battlefield."

Yunfeng turned and walked away, "I’m leaving now."

"Let’s go," Changyu immediately followed.

Mingda quickly pulled Manbao along to follow.

Across the room, Bai Erlang and Yin Huo, who had been observing them, narrowed their eyes slightly.

Yin Huo asked, "What were they talking about that they suddenly left?"

The Fifth Prince glanced and spoke, "They must have argued. Sister Changyu and Li Yunfeng don’t get along. Last time in the Empress Dowager’s palace, they almost came to blows, and it made the Empress Dowager very angry."

Bai Erlang had a bad premonition, "No, it must be more than an argument. They might be heading to fight."

Yin Huo hesitated, "Surely not?"

The experienced Bai Erlang and the Fifth Prince nodded, "Sure enough!"

Bai Erlang immediately grabbed the Fifth Prince, "Your Highness, please take us to find them quickly. My Senior Sister is a commoner; if the celestials fight, let’s not have the pond fish suffer."

The Fifth Prince was younger than all of them, and he liked to watch the singing and dancing performances; he was reluctant to go out and said, "It’s not that serious. Sister Mingda is so nice; she wouldn’t let Zhou Man be bullied. She doesn’t take action herself, not even the Empress Dowager can hold her accountable."

"I can’t guarantee whether she will take action or not."

The Fifth Prince blinked and asked, "What, does Zhou Man dare to fight the Commandery Princess?"

Bai Erlang thought to himself: What’s there to dare? She even wants to kill her father who’s a commandery prince.

He grabbed the Sixth Prince and whispered, "Let’s go. We’ve eaten enough anyway, aren’t you bored just sitting there?"

Yin Huo thought it wasn’t very appropriate for him to speak to a prince in such a manner, so he coughed lightly to remind him to be more mindful.

But the Sixth Prince was still young and didn’t care much about status and rank at the moment; instead, he quite liked Bai Erlang’s friendly way of speaking and stood up, saying, "Alright, let’s go take a look."

So, he led the three of them to get up and leave. The Fifth Prince, who had just returned from changing his clothes, met them head-on and asked curiously, "Where are you guys going?"

The Sixth Prince replied, "The sisters are going to fight; we’re going to cheer them on."

Fifth Prince: ...

So, the Fifth Prince followed them as well.

At this moment, the adults were either flattering or discussing poetry, which was not fun at all. Therefore, many of the youngsters who had finished eating in the hall winked at each other and sneaked out to get some fresh air.

When Commandery Princess Yunfeng and the others left the hall, they headed straight to the garden of Wude Hall, which was spacious and suitable for a fight.

As soon as she went out, Commandery Princess Yunfeng took off the loose robe and threw it into Qiu Man’s arms, saying, "Go fetch my whip."

Qiu Man was almost in tears; she wanted the commandery princess to fight Zhou Man, not the princess.

If these two masters really got into a fight, and it was investigated afterwards, she would surely be in deep trouble. Therefore, Qiu Man knelt with a thud and advised, "Commandery Princess, today is the Empress Dowager’s birthday. If the Prince and the Princess Consort learn that you fought today..."

Princess Changyu looked triumphantly at Yunfeng and asked, "Li Yunfeng, if you’re scared, just say so. Why make a maid take the blame for you?"

"You’re the one who’s scared!" Upon seeing Qiu Man dragging her back, Commandery Princess Yunfeng got so angry that she kicked her and shouted, "Just go when I tell you to. Why so much nonsense? I don’t need you to serve me. Go call Qiu Man for me."

After speaking, she realized it wasn’t a good idea because Qiu Man was probably even less likely to let her touch the whip. So, she lowered her head and threatened Qiu Man, "Go get the whip, did you hear me? Otherwise, I’ll have someone drag you out and flay you, believe it or not?"

Mingda listened, frowned slightly, and said, "Cousin, even if the maid’s service is not satisfactory, you can simply have the supervisor maids deal with it..."

"I know, you don’t need to teach me, you’re not fighting with us anyway."

Mingda was stumped.

Princess Changyu also turned to her maid and ordered, "Fetch my sword."

The maid complied and bowed out.

They didn’t wait outside the hall and went straight to the garden, with Manbao still holding hands with Mingda.

This was the first time she had seen peers fight with weapons because when she fought, she used her hands, so she was very curious how they would fight.

So, she and Mingda fell a few steps behind them and asked with curiosity, "Do they fight often?"

Mingda thought for a moment and shook his head, "Not often. In my memory, they’ve only fought twice before. But the last two times, they didn’t use swords or whips."

He lowered his voice and said, "But they were punished severely."

Manbao nodded sympathetically, as after each fight, what she feared most was also the punishment.

Mingda looked at her curiously, "Aren’t you afraid of them fighting?"

Manbao: "Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of getting involved," Princess Changyu didn’t want to walk with Li Yunfeng either, so she purposely stopped to wait for them, and hearing Manbao’s words, she turned to glance at her and then smiled, saying, "I’ve seen many family’s young ladies, even those from noble families, but you’re the first one who doesn’t advise us but instead seems eager to watch us fight. Aren’t you afraid that the Empress and the others would punish you if they find out?"