Chapter 471: Blood In The Palm; People On The Bridge (2/2)

Xia Hou replied, ”Since I am proud, I must continue to be so, even though it makes me seem like a fool.”

Ning Que shook his head and said, ”Pride can kill a person.”

Xia Hou said, ”If a goshawk doesn't feel proud in front of an ant, it will suffer punishment from the heavens.”

”Enough! You two lunatics!”

Prince Li Peiyan's face was pale, with gloomy fire burning in his eyes. He looked at Xia Hou and sharply said, ”Have you ever thought about the consequeces of killing this man? How would you explain it to the Headmaster of the Academy? How would the imperial court explain it to the Headmaster of the Academy?”

”I will exchange this crown for an hour.”

Having said this, the prince resolutely took off his crown and placed it on the snow field between Ning Que and Xia Hou. He looked back at the ministers and said coldly, ”What are you doing? Get your business done!”

The officials of the court were suddenly woken up, and they spread out as soon as possible with the help of their subordinates, in order to find ways to stop the duel. Zeng Jing, the Grand Secretary, wanted to walk to Ning Que and persuade him, but he just sighed and retreated to the rear when noticing Ning Que's bleeding palm.

Xu s.h.i.+ partially slanted his eyes, as if he was either watching Xia Hou and Ning Que or watching the flying snow in the sky. He said, ”You two have had a feud for more than ten years. You shouldn't mind waiting for one more hour, right?”

After saying this, he turned away from the gate of the palace and left. No one knew where he went.

In front of the Gate, where the snow was flying in the wind, only a few people including Grand Secretary Zeng Jing were still watching.

After a long silence, Xia Hou suddenly said, ”Give me the flag.”

At the far end of the Yuqiao Bridge, the general's guard of honor was there. Hundreds of people had already waited for a long time. After listerning to these few words, a soldier galloped off and took a flag from the guard of honor, then stood upright behind General Xia Hou. The cold wind whistled, with snow flying and the flag waving in the sky.

It was the flag of the princes and generals of the Tang Empire. Its color was b.l.o.o.d.y red, as if it had been dyed by the blood of tens of thousands of enemies. With the flag whistling in the blizzard, the atmosphere suddenly became imposing.

Looking at the b.l.o.o.d.y flag behind Xia Hou, and its red hue being reflected over his face, Ning Que said, ”You must be scared, since you take the flag to boost your power.”

Xia Hou nonchalantly looked at the spilled blood, with no expression in his eyes.

Ning Que said with a smile, ”Give me the umbrella.”

With a loud bang, Sangsang opened the big black umbrella once again, covering the heavy snow overhead.

In the snowstorm, a b.l.o.o.d.y flag and a black umbrella stood opposite each other at a distance.

The news that Ning Que, Mr. Thirteen of the Academy, issued a challenge to General Xia Hou had spread to every house in Chang'an City immediately.

No one thought that Ning Que could win, so they didn't want to watch General Xia Hou kill him. Nor did they know how the Headmaster of the Academy would respond to Ning Que's death.

The Headmaster of the Academy had not spoken in public for many years and had even been forgotten by many people in the world. But for the bigwigs in the court, it definitely did not mean that his voice did not have power any more; every word he said, for the Tang Empire, was the thunder above the clouds.

It was a fair duel, initiated by Ning Que. Even if Ning Que died, the Headmaster might still adhere to the laws of the Tang Empire and remain silent. However, no one dared to take the risk, even if it was a small risk. If the Headmaster became angry because of Ning Que's death, it was possible that the entire city of Chang'an would be destroyed.

When Li Qingshan, the Nation Master, appeared in front of the big tactical array at the Cloud Gate, he kept thinking about these things. When he heard the reply from Mr. First of the Academy, he did not react to it for a while.

”This is the personal affair of our Youngest Brother. The Academy will not stop him, according to its own rules.”

Li Qingshan frowned and said, ”But for Ning Que, it's a self-inflicted death.”

The Eldest Brother said gently, ”Since it is self-inflicted, who can stop it?”

Li Qingshan was unable to suppress his shock and said, ”If Mr. Thirteen was really killed by General Xia Hou, what would the Academy do?”

The Eldest Brother said with a smile, ”We will miss him.”

There were Yulin Royal Guards in Chang'an City.

This powerful army responsible for guarding the imperial city had unimaginable strength; it had strong pract.i.tioners in cultivation at the Imperial Center Administration and the Southern Gate Temple. Most critically, they had a strong will and determination.

According to the Tang Empire laws, the Yulin Royal Guards now only listened to the orders of two people, the Emperor of Tang and General Xu s.h.i.+.

In the cold wind and snow, the Yulin Royal Guards began to form their troops and then prepared to march out of the camps. However, they had to stop in front of the Yuqiao Bridge, for there was a man siting on its planks.

The man wore a high crown and robes. He sat cross-legged in the snow on the bridge, with his head slightly lowered.

Looking at the man on the bridge, Xu s.h.i.+ could no longer suppress his anger. His shouting was so loud that it was like a thunder in spring blasting off on the bridge and even the acc.u.mulated snow shook. He said, ”Jun Mo, anyone who blocks the road is to be killed!”

The man on the bridge was the Second Brother in the Academy, Jun Mo.

”Whoever blocks the road will be killed? There is no such thing in the laws of the Tang Empire, nor did the ancient Etiquette record this.”

The Second Brother raised his head, looked at the military leader of the Tang Empire under the bridge and calmly said, ”In that case, if I must die, you should die first.”

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