Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

The following day, Su Qianrou prepared a large feast to celebrate.

At this moment, everyone was sitting at the dining table enjoying their meal.

"Sis, your cooking is so delicious."

"Eat more if it tastes good."

"Ok".

“Eat slowly, don’t choke. People who don’t know better will think you’re being mistreated at home, eating so fast,” Lin Rong said.

"Since my sister rarely cooks, I should eat more. Besides, I'll be reporting to the military camp in a few days, and it will be difficult to eat like this again."

Upon hearing about the military camp, Lin Rong couldn't help but feel worried and asked, unwilling to give up, "Are you really going to join the army?"

“Yes,” Su Haoyu replied without hesitation.

“Life in the military is not easy, you…”

"Mother, don't worry, I will take good care of myself."

Lin Rong knew this was his childhood wish, so even though she felt reluctant and worried, she did not stop him.

"The military camp is different from home, so don't be willful," Su Jing'an said.

"understood".

Su Jing'an didn't say anything more.

At this moment, a servant came in and said, "Master, someone from the General's Mansion requests an audience."

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback. Then, Su Jing'an said, "Please come in."

"Yes".

A moment later, a servant from the General's Mansion came in and said, "This humble servant greets Lord Su, Madam Su, Princess Ping Le, Young Master Su, and Second Young Master Su."

"What brings you here?" Su Jing'an asked.

"Reporting to Lord Su, my young master sent me to deliver a challenge letter."

"A challenge letter? What kind of challenge letter?"

"This is from my young master to the second young master Su," he said, taking out a letter.

The servant took it and then gave it to Su Haoyu.

Su Haoyu immediately opened it, and after reading it, he said angrily, "Hmph, what a big mouth! Go back and tell your young master that I've agreed."

"Yes, sir, I'll take my leave," he said, and walked out.

"What happened?" Su Jing'an asked.

"Li Hong has invited me to a contest at Qiwu Pavilion tomorrow."

"Li Hong, why did he suddenly challenge you to a duel?"

“A few days ago, he spoke rudely to my sister, which was seen by the regent. The regent then gave him forty lashes, probably because he was resentful.”

“It seems that forty strokes of the cane were too lenient; she forgot the pain so quickly,” Su Qianrou said.

"What did he do?" Su Mingxuan asked.

"Let my sister drink with him."

"Damn it!" Su Jing'an slammed his hand on the table in anger, then said, "What kind of person is he that he dares to make my daughter drink with him?"

“Father, there’s no need to be angry. The Regent has already punished him,” Su Qianrou comforted him.

However, Su Jing'an still felt unsatisfied and said to Su Haoyu, "Don't hold back tomorrow, just don't kill him."

"I'm relieved to hear your father's words. I've wanted to teach him a lesson for a long time."

Su Qianrou and Su Jing'an exchanged a glance, both feeling somewhat helpless, but they did not stop it.

Qiwu Pavilion

Upon learning of the competition today, which featured the newly crowned martial arts champion and the eldest son of the general's mansion, the people of the city flocked to join in the excitement. As a result, the area around the arena was packed with people, and even the private rooms on the second floor were full.

Inside the private room, Su Qianrou, Yang Shanshan, Liu Xinyue, and Li Hongye were sitting and chatting over tea.

"Cousin, do you think Xiaoyu will win?"

"If it were someone else, I might not be sure, but Li Hong is no match for Xiao Yu."

"That's good. I've put all my savings into Xiaoyu."

"What's the meaning".

"The gambling den set up a betting pool, betting on whether Xiaoyu or Li Hong would win. I bet on Xiaoyu, but now more people are betting on Li Hong."

"What kind of judgment is that? How could someone like Li Hong win?" Then, thinking about it, he realized that something was amiss, so he instructed, "Chunzhu, go and remind Xiaoyu to pay more attention to Li Hong and not to let his guard down."

"Yes, miss."

"You suspect that Li Hong is going to do something underhanded."

"It's always good to be safe just in case."

Meanwhile, in another private room, Mu Jinchen and Mu Xinchen were also discussing who would win.

Mu Xinchen asked, "Who do you think will win?"

"Normally, Su Haoyu would win, but only if Li Hong doesn't cheat."

"He wouldn't be so blatant under everyone's watchful eyes, would he?"

"The General's Mansion put out 10,000 taels of silver to bet on Li Hong to win."

“That Li Hong might really resort to any means necessary,” Mu Xinchen said as he saw Chunzhu walk to Su Haoyu’s side. “Isn’t that the maidservant of Princess Pingle? It seems that Princess Pingle has also come.”

Mu Jinchen looked at Chunzhu and Su Haoyu, seemingly lost in thought.

Soon, the competition began, and Su Haoyu and Li Hong stood on the stage.

"Although I don't know what methods you used to become the martial arts champion, today, your reign as the martial arts champion is over."

"Hmph, you think you can take me on?"

"With my abilities, today I will not only make you lose your title as the top martial arts champion, but I will also make your sister agree to marry me."

"wishful thinking".

"Whether it's wishful thinking or not, you'll find out soon enough," he said, raising his sword to stab him.

Without hesitation, Su Haoyu picked up his sword and fought back.

Inside the private room, Liu Xinyue stood up excitedly, "Han Guang, how could this be?"

"Xinyue, what's wrong?" Yang Shanshan asked, puzzled.

Su Qianrou then asked, "How do you know Han Guang?"

“That’s my father’s sword.”

"What? You're saying Han Guang belongs to General Liu?"

"Yes and no. The Cold Light originally belonged to my grandfather, but when my father went to war for the first time, my grandfather gave it to him. Later, my father was killed by a villain, and my grandfather handed the Cold Light over to my brother."

Su Qianrou hadn't expected Han Guang to be so important. She had thought it was just an ordinary sword, but it turned out to be a heirloom of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Therefore, she thought that she would definitely find an opportunity to return Han Guang to Liu Chengjun in the future.

At this moment, the outcome was already decided, and Su Haoyu pointed his sword at Li Hong's neck.

"You lost."

Li Hong smiled dismissively, "Is that so?" With that, he waved his hand, and some unknown substance was scattered onto Su Haoyu's face.

Instantly, Su Haoyu realized something was wrong. His whole body went limp and he was about to kneel down, so he quickly used his sword to support himself so that he didn't kneel on both knees, but it was almost time. He knelt on one knee in front of Li Hong.

Seeing this, the people around started talking about it.

Li Hong looked down at Su Haoyu and chuckled, "Now, do you still think I'll lose?"

"Despicable and shameless".

"Ah, all's fair in war, and besides, we've never said we can't use deception."

Su Haoyu glared at him, wishing he could pick up a sword and chop him down, but he couldn't muster any strength at all.

Li Hong was annoyed by his gaze, so he slapped him hard, knocking Su Haoyu to the ground. Not satisfied, he kicked him a few more times.

Seeing this, Su Qianrou didn't care about anything else and quickly ran downstairs.

When she arrived at the fighting platform, Su Haoyu had already been beaten black and blue, with blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. She hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Stop!"

However, Li Hong ignored her and continued to punch and kick Su Haoyu.

"Li Hong, this princess tells you to stop."

Li Hong then stopped hitting her, stood up, looked at Su Qianrou, and said arrogantly, "Princess Ping Le has arrived. May I ask what brings you here?"

"How dare you cheat so openly!"

“The princess says I cheated, but do you have any evidence?”

"Do you think everyone here is blind and can't see what you did?"

"So what? Who says you can't cheat?" she said, stepping on Su Haoyu's chest.

"Cough," Su Haoyu coughed up blood instantly.