If Heaven hadn't given birth to me, I would be arrogant.

Lotte was quite astute. He had been knocked to the ground by Zong Ze, and all his followers had been defeated by the Zong family's soldiers. Standing there would only make things awkward. So Lotte could only endure the sharp pain in his abdomen and stand up, preparing to take off his gloves and challenge Zong Ze!

Just then, an aged yet authoritative voice rang out behind them: "General Lotte, if you wish to challenge my grandson, I will refuse on his behalf. I have seen the whole story clearly. You provoked me first and insulted my daughter-in-law, which led my grandson to take action! If anyone is being rude, it is you, the Deputy Minister of Military Affairs, who was rude first!"

Everyone turned to look, and the one speaking was none other than the Grand Marshal Zong Xiaozhang of the Great Power. Beside him was an elder of another empire, the old prime minister, Lord Flort.

Upon seeing these two people, everyone forgot about watching the show and hurriedly bowed to the two imperial elders, addressing them repeatedly as "Marshal" and "Prime Minister"!

Before Lotte could speak, Zong continued arrogantly, "Lotte, I'll let you off the hook today for the sake of old Folot, but please remember, I haven't stepped down yet!" As he said this, Zong's voice suddenly rose, and he exuded a chilling aura: "If we're talking about insubordination and offending a superior, it seems that you, the Deputy Minister of Military Affairs, have offended me in my own home, the Minister of Military Affairs!"

"Marshal!" At this moment, Lot's stomach pain had lessened considerably. Lot was a man of composure, but today, in front of the beauty he admired, he was first slapped and kicked by Zong Ze, then his personal guards were captured, and then that arrogant old man Zong jumped out to say that he was wrong. How could Lot possibly remain calm?

However, facing Zong Xiaozhang, a martial god-level expert, Lotte still suppressed his inner resentment slightly: "Marshal, you can't openly show such favoritism towards Zong in front of everyone just because he's your grandson! Ah..."

Before Lotte could finish speaking, Zong arrogantly waved his hand, unleashing a fierce burst of battle energy that struck Lotte's chest, knocking him to the ground again: "Damn it, do you think I'm blind? First, you brought a weapon into my grandson's matchmaking banquet, then you harassed my grandson's fiancée. After my grandson pointed out your wrongdoing, you still dare to say that my Zong family has no manners? Do you even respect me?"

"And another thing, you said my grandson was insubordinate, but I think you're the one who's insubordinate! I've already said I'm not going to bother with you today because of Flort, and you still dare to challenge me? I'm protective of my own, and the whole capital knows that, so what? Get out of here! From now on, the main family doesn't welcome you!"

After saying that, Zong arrogantly waved his hand again, and the surging battle aura directly swept up Lotte, who was lying on the ground, and threw him hard into the yard!

"Old friend!" Only then did old Flort grab Zong's arrogant hand: "You were being a bit too reckless. He... after all..."

After a pause, old Flots sighed heavily, glanced at Zong Xiaozhang, whose face was still full of anger, and said, "I'll take him back. I'll figure out the rest. Otherwise, in the future..."

Flott's voice was very low, and no one except Zong Xiaozhang heard it. However, it was clear that old Flott's words had some effect, as the anger on Zong Xiaozhang's face visibly lessened. He nodded and whispered, "With a guy like this, the future of the empire is worrying. Go and send him off, and speak to His Majesty for me. If that day really comes, hmph..."

Zong Xiaozhang didn't say anything, but that short, cold snort made Old Flort feel a strong killing intent. He quickly said, "Don't worry, the Zong family is the pillar of the empire, His Majesty is well aware of this, and besides, I'm here, aren't I? Alright, you go back, I'll go see this little guy off!"

Having said that, old Flot shook his head and walked out of the hall. By this time, Flot's personal guards had been released. Old Flot pointed at Flot and said to his guards, "Put him in the carriage, I'll take you home!"

The commotion subsided just like that. However, most of the guests at the Zong family today were from the military, and they were used to such minor squabbles. No one was surprised. On the contrary, a group of generals saw that the old marshal had come out and started clamoring to challenge him to a drinking contest. Even Zong Kuang joined in, leaving Zong Ze and Yu Xi, the parties involved, out in the cold!

"Boring!" Zong Ze kicked away the knight's sword that he had bitten and that had originally belonged to Lotte, and said to Yu Xi, "Ignore these old guys, let's go for a walk in the yard!"

"Uh... this..." Yu Xi hesitated for a moment, "I... I don't want to go to the courtyard!"

"Oh?" Zong Ze was taken aback, then realized what he meant and laughed, "I forgot, my current identity is just a shield. Now that the arrow has been deflected, I'm naturally fine! Alright, since you want to stay here, then you can wander around the hall by yourself. I don't think any of the remaining guys will bother you anymore! I'll go for a walk in the courtyard to clear my head!"

"That's not what I meant!" Seeing Zong Ze turn to leave, Yu Xi quickly grabbed his sleeve, gritted her teeth, and said, "They might drink all night. Didn't you promise me I could visit your Shenji Camp anytime? I want you to take me to see it!"

"Now?" Zong Ze was taken aback, then casually smiled and said, "Alright, I'm feeling down anyway, going back to the military camp for a stroll is a good way to clear my head. By the way, didn't you want to ride in a hot air balloon? I just set up a few in the backyard a while ago. Let's go, let's take a hot air balloon to Shenji Camp now!"

Zongze took Yuxi to Shenji Camp. Putting aside Yuxi's excitement about her first hot air balloon ride, and her curiosity and amazement at Zongze's inventions such as the monocular telescope, the assembly-line ironwork, the ingenious pulley bow, and the terrifyingly powerful crossbows used for city defense, the thrill of going out alone with a man she had just met after dark filled Yuxi with a strange excitement!

At that very moment, on the streets of the capital, a troop of gleaming cavalry escorted a carriage slowly along. Inside the carriage, an old man and a young man dressed in general's attire were having a conversation. These two were none other than the old prime minister, Flort, and the newly appointed deputy minister of military affairs, General Flort!

The carriage was spacious inside, and General Lotte was kneeling on one knee, listening attentively to the old prime minister's words!