Chapter 80: The Overbearing Young Master of Jingling

  The smile on the face of the Duke of Jingling is fading away.

  He stared at Princess Yuen and asked slowly: "Where is the messenger from Chu?"

  His voice was not loud, but it was low and resonated quietly in the quiet grand hall.

  A thirty-year-old man, dressed in the attire of a Chu envoy, stood up from his seat on the right side and, with both hands clasped together, smiled and said: "The King of Chu has ordered me to offer my congratulations to you, Prince Jīnglíng, for your extraordinary bravery!"

  Jingling Gongzi slowly withdrew his gaze from Princess Yue, and as he did, the crowd clearly saw that the princess's body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground!

  What a loss of face!

  In an instant, two maidservants who were half a step behind her hastily stepped forward and helped her up. The faces of the Chu envoy and the Duke of Jin both looked somewhat awkward.

  The originally extremely quiet grand hall began to echo with murmurs of discussion.

  From the perspective of the crowd, it was thought that the Duke of Jingling had only taken a glance at Princess Yue, and with just one glance, he scared this proud princess into fainting on the ground, which made the people of the time who prided themselves on their martial prowess feel ashamed.

  Among these people, only Wei Luo and a few nobles who were close to Jing Ling understood that this gentle and smiling Prince of Jing Ling, who would occasionally burst into laughter, could be intimidating once he became stern. His intimidation was such that even a great man wouldn't dare to withstand it, let alone a weak and timid young girl like the princess. It's no wonder that the princess was afraid!

  At this moment, Wei Luo looked at this woman who should be her sister, Yu Jing Xuan, and felt a surge of sympathy in her heart.

  Jingling Gongzi raised his head, coldly staring at the Chu messenger. His eyes were icy and stern. The Chu messenger, who had been somewhat dissatisfied with Yue Gongzhu, felt a chill run down his spine under Jingling Gongzi's gaze.

  Jingling Gongzi slowly stood up.

  The originally noisy hall fell silent again, and everyone looked at the Duke of Jingling in confusion, not understanding why he was staring at the Chu messenger like that.

  In a sudden burst of laughter, the young master of Jingling threw back his head and laughed loudly.

  His laughter was loud and clear, causing the echo-prone great hall to continuously reverberate with his laughter.

  He laughed louder and louder, his laughter growing more intense until it suddenly stopped!

  The Duke of Jingling stopped smiling, his eyes fixed sternly on the Chu envoy. His voice rose as he shouted: "Three years ago, my wife Yuenü died in Chu territory, her body was never found! Such a thing, King Chu has not given Jingling an answer to this day! I really don't know what face he has to propose marriage to me again?"

  The Chu messenger was taken aback, the flesh on his round face twitching, his thin lips trembling as he was about to respond. Suddenly, the voice of the Jinling young master rose again, shouting sternly for the second time: "What dignity does my Jin possess? I, Jinling, am also the crown prince of Jin! Does the King of Chu truly have no regard for Jin? First, he had my wife die in his territory, and now he's sending another woman with false intentions. Could it be that I, Jinling, am still a subordinate who can be ordered around at will, and that my Jin is also an affiliate of his Chu?"

  The voice of the Duke of Jingling was loud and low, with a tone of indignation and anger.

  At that time, many people were hot-blooded and fearless of death. When they heard his series of questions, they couldn't help but feel a surge of righteous indignation.

  At once, all the Jin people present turned their eyes and cast angry glances at the Chu envoy before leaving.

  The Chu messenger's round face twitched, and several drops of sweat flowed down his forehead. Unconsciously, he turned to look at the Duke of Jin.

  At this time, the Duke of Jin was also unknown whether he was frightened by the anger of Jingling or what happened. He sat motionless on the couch, his head hung low, his eyes not looking sideways, and he did not make a sound, nor did he move, and it was unclear whether he had fallen asleep.

  The Duke of Jingling glared at the Chu envoy, who was slightly flustered, and snorted heavily through his nose. He gazed disdainfully at the Princess of Yue, who was barely standing with the support of two maidservants, and said sternly: "Please inform King Chu that my wife, the Duchess of Jingling, has died within his borders. If he can bring her back to life, I will be willing to let everything go! Otherwise, I, Jingling, will demand justice from the world for the humiliation I suffered that day!"

  He said to the King of Chu, his eyes slightly darkened, his voice lowered, and his tone slowed down a lot. "I am a dignified husband from Jingling, standing tall and upright. My first wife is someone I respect and cherish greatly! I really don't know what the King of Chu is thinking. Three years ago, he had my wife killed, and today he comes to me with a princess, expecting me to forget the shame of my dead wife? In this world, the Zhou Dynasty still exists, and although the King of Chu is powerful, he cannot act without virtue or principle!"

  The Duke of Jingling said here, with a long sleeve waving, loudly shouting: "Come on!"

  Several voices sounded at once. "No!"

  "Expel the Chu envoy and the Yue princess from the palace together."

  "Promise!"

  Just as the sound of agreement had just sounded, Jin Hou, who was pretending to sleep, suddenly shouted: "Wait!"

  His voice was hoarse and powerless, but after all, he was the Jun Hou. The four swordsmen who had already taken a step forward simultaneously stopped in their tracks. Jingling Gongzi, the Chu messenger, and the Yue Di Gongzhu all turned to look at him.

  The Duke of Jin's dark and gloomy face showed a hint of flush, he looked at Jingling and sighed: "Why must you be so stubborn? The King of Chu knew that you were famous throughout the world, so he asked the Marquis of Yue for his most beloved daughter to marry you. The King of Chu treated you with such kindness, why must you get angry? My son is admired by the world for his bravery and loved by women, why must you be obsessed with a dead woman from Yue?"

  The Duke of Jin paused here, and seemed to want to take a breath before continuing. However, just as he stopped, the cold laughter of the Prince of Queling had already sounded, "I dare not accept the words of my father, the Duke!"

  He cut off his words abruptly and said, "A man should be born in the world, and he should be grateful for his kindness. My wife died in Chu territory, this matter I Jingling will not admit!" He said here, waved his hand, frowned and said: "Drive the Chu envoy out of the temple. As for the crown princess of Yue," he paused, suddenly smiled and said: "It's okay to leave her in the palace of the Marquis, if the Marquis has the intention, it's not too much to make her a concubine. I think the Marquis of Yue and the King of Chu will not object."

  His last sentence was laced with sarcasm, and it was as if he had openly insulted the Duke of Jin. The Duke's originally flushed face turned bright red, and he stood up with a crash, stretching out his old tree branch-like hand to point at Jingling: "You, you this rebellious son, you!"

  The Prince of Jingling glanced sideways at his father and sighed, "Father, why must you be so agitated? It's just a woman, and I was only joking. If you don't want to, then don't."

  He turned to the four swordsmen who had been standing there all along, furrowed his brow and shouted: "Aren't you going to drive them out?"

  The four swordsmen simultaneously clasped their hands and replied: "Yes." They stepped forward and walked towards Chu Shi.

  That Chu's round face had long been flushed red, he hastily retreated backwards, shouting as he went: "Young Master Jingling, you, you're so daring!"

  Jingling Gongzi stared at him coldly and shouted loudly: "Yes, I am indeed bold! We Jin people are made of iron blood, everyone is bold! You and I belong to two countries, if you have a grudge, we can meet on the battlefield. Such insults, Jingling will not tolerate until death!"

  The words of the Duke of Jingling came heavily, with great force. The stirring tone and the bloody content made the blood of the Jin people boil with excitement.

  Everyone looked up at their prince in unison, and it was unclear who shouted a sentence.

  The shouts rose together, and the Jin people who were already hot-blooded became excited at the same time. They shouted with all their might:

  The sound of drinking was like a song, and thousands of people shared the same tone. This great hall was originally prone to echoes, and suddenly the words were transmitted like thunder, spreading far and wide, lingering for a long time without stopping.

  Among the loud laughter of the Jin people and the shouting, the Chu envoy was forcibly dragged out of the main hall by four swordsmen, while the Yue princess had long since fainted to the ground, unknowingly being carried out through a side door by several maids.