Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 199 The Rumors Are True
Earlier this day.

"Sir, the City Lord's Mansion has prepared a farewell banquet for you. Lord Yu respectfully invites you to attend."

The officials of Qizhou City and Director Yan of Qizhou Martial Arts School were waiting beside Chu Ronghuan, awaiting his response.

This situation made everyone present a little nervous.

Although Lord Yu was an imperial envoy, the Crown Prince was at Mi Cui Peak at the moment, but Lord Yu was waiting at the City Lord's Mansion instead of going there in person to invite the Crown Prince. This really confused the officials.

On Micui Peak, most of the spectators and warriors had already dispersed.

The collection of rewards for each group has also come to an end, and only the relevant rewards that need to be connected with the Taoist temple or martial arts school have not yet been collected.

Chu Ronghuan's expression did not change as he took in the entire situation at Micui Peak.

Seeing the officials and Director Yan of the Qizhou Martial Arts School waiting beside him, Chu Ronghuan slowly said, "Since the City Lord is not here, I will not attend the banquet. You can go and enjoy the feast."

Chu Ronghuan spoke in a calm tone. Although the officials were intimidated by his identity and his aloof temperament, the content of his words was still very friendly.

For most of the people present, it was their first time to see the prince because of the Five States Martial Arts Competition.

What surprised them was that the noble prince in front of them actually referred to himself as "I", which made them quite uncomfortable.

Although the official who had delivered the closing speech at the Five States Martial Arts Show was of a rank insignificant in front of the Crown Prince, he was the person in charge of organizing all kinds of events in Qizhou, and had witnessed many large-scale events.

Therefore, among the officials who were somewhat uncomfortable with the situation, he was the only one who quickly recovered from his surprise.

"Your Highness, as an imperial envoy, Lord Yu is bound by official business and cannot leave the City Lord's Mansion. He is currently waiting for you at the gate of the City Lord's Mansion. He has also instructed me to invite you to spend a few days in Qizhou City. I hope you will do me the honor of visiting."

The official invited again.

However, these words did answer the questions of the officials present.

It seems that the reason why Lord Yu did not go to Mi Cui Peak to personally invite the Prince was that he wanted to stay in the City Lord's Mansion. Perhaps he did not want to delay any useful clues.

But at this point, since the prince had already refused, if the official asked again, there would obviously be some risk of angering the prince.

On one side is the prince of the prince's mansion, and on the other side is the imperial envoy sent from the imperial capital. Both sides have their own statements, and it is difficult to reconcile both sides, which is really embarrassing.

"I have to take a good stroll around Qizhou City when I have time. This martial arts performance is unprecedented, and it's time for some fun. However, I do have some important matters to attend to, so I'll wait for another time."

Chu Ronghuan's tone remained gentle, and he obviously didn't think there was anything wrong with Lord Yu's behavior.

But his attitude still revealed a sense of determination, as if there was no room for negotiation.

"This... Since the Crown Prince has something important to report, I will report it to Lord Yu. I just don't know if I need to do what the Crown Prince mentioned. Please feel free to tell me."

The official hesitated for a moment, but seeing that the prince's attitude left no room for maneuver, he gave up the tactless suggestion of an invitation.

"These are all minor matters, so I won't bother you. The Lord Yu you just mentioned, is he the Chief Clerk Yu from the Zongzheng Temple?"

The prince looked at the official and asked calmly.

"My Lord, it is Yu, the Chief Clerk of the Zongzheng Temple."

Hearing this, Chu Ronghuan nodded, then slowly stood up and said to everyone, "That's all for today, everyone go back to your work."

Upon hearing this, all the officials stood in a row and saluted the prince.

"Congratulations to the Crown Prince!"

Chu Ronghuan said nothing more, and boarded the exquisite plain boat summoned by the monk behind him, and disappeared from everyone's sight.

After seeing Chu Ronghuan off, the officials breathed a sigh of relief, but they were still nervous. This was because the prince hadn't expressed a single word of opinion from the beginning to the end of the martial arts performance, and no one could figure out what he was thinking.

It is unknown whether his evaluation of the Five States Martial Arts Show was good or bad.

Having said that, after seeing the prince off, the tense state of everyone present gradually relaxed a little.

"What do you think?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"What is the Crown Prince's attitude towards our Five States Martial Arts Show? Are you satisfied?"

"That's really hard to tell."

"The senior standing behind the prince is really frightening!"

"Compared to him, the prince is more terrifying!"

"However, I've long heard that the prince has an outstanding appearance and temperament. Now that I see him, the rumors are indeed true. He truly has an otherworldly aura! Far beyond the reach of ordinary people!"

"That's right, I've never seen anyone who looks like that..." The official was interrupted before he could finish his words.

"Are you talking nonsense about the Crown Prince because you think you've lived too long? Or are you afraid that the senior can't hear you?"

The person who spoke was Yan, the director of Qizhou Martial Arts School.

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked again and quickly tried to recall whether they had said anything irresponsible or treasonous.

It seemed as if everyone was stunned by Chu Ronghuan's handsome and otherworldly appearance, and the focus was gradually diverted, forgetting his identity as a prince, and the fact that there was a cultivator of unfathomable strength beside him.

Led by several monks present, everyone flew directly down from the viewing platform and landed on an open space relatively far away from several martial arts training grounds.

As soon as they landed, several of them started arguing about something.

"It's inconvenient to talk about it here with so many people on the peak. What are you doing here in Qizhou? Are you giving us such a generous reward to slap the other states in the face? Tell me, if this continues, what will happen to the other states in the future? Are you going to empty out the state's wealth as a reward?"

"Yes, will you Qizhou help to bear the rewards for future martial arts performances?"

"Qizhou City is in chaos. Perhaps you, Qizhou, are giving these things away in order to create the illusion of recovery? Our four states are not in chaos. How can we hold these five-state martial arts performances in the future?"

"Yes, Qizhou must give us four states an explanation!"

……

Everyone was talking at once, and they were getting angrier and angrier.

"What's wrong with encouraging young people? Will your four states never make progress? Aren't those rewards given to the warriors in your four states?" Director Yan was tired of listening to the quarrels of the crowd, so he waved his sleeves and left.

He understood that although these people appeared to be filled with hatred and resentment, they would not make a big fuss. They just wanted to gain some benefits from it.

Even if this group of people started quarreling, cursing, or even fighting, it would not have much impact.

Therefore, he was unwilling to bother with such boring trivial matters.

He simply left this mess to the officials in Qizhou City.

He knew in his heart that there were more important things to deal with at this moment. If they were not handled properly, it would really cause a rift between the five states.

(End of this chapter)