This scoundrel is a bit of a swordsman.

The crown prince was startled. Although he held a high position and wielded great power, he had only heard of the emperor by name and had never seen him in person. Yet now, a living, breathing version of the emperor stood before him.

This instantly brought him to his senses. Even the Martial Emperor wouldn't dare to bully a sage, let alone him.

But seeing Xiao Xingchen behind him, the killing intent in his chest still wouldn't subside. Thinking of what the Crown Prince had just said, he felt a surge of rage, even wanting to skin the Crown Prince alive.

His eyes were filled with an unyielding hatred, a stark contrast to when he first arrived. This made one wonder what the young man had said to drive the Crown Prince to such madness.

"Your Highness, why do you hate my disciple so much?"

The Second Saint couldn't help but speak again. This was somewhat like a blood feud between a father and mother, but how could that be? How could a mere teenager like you dare to mess with Emperor Wu and Consort Xian?

"Your Majesty, it's not that I'm ungrateful, but your disciple deserves to be torn to pieces,"

The crown prince said indignantly, completely disregarding the emperor's authority.

"Okay, then tell me, what exactly did he do?"

"He...he..."

The crown prince abruptly flung his hand away; he simply couldn't bring himself to utter those words, and could only glare angrily.

The Saint was curious for a moment upon seeing this, and then spoke.

"Who can tell me what he actually did?"

"Let me say it,"

At this moment, Lan Beitang walked over. He admired Xiao Xingchen immensely. Even at this point, the Quasi-Saint still didn't know anything about what was happening at the city gate. His discretion was truly remarkable.

Xiao Xingchen shrank back. He didn't deny that he was misleading the Quasi-Sage. He had only wanted to borrow the name of the Confucian Temple, but he hadn't expected his cheap master to go so far.

Are all scholars in this world like this? A thousand "I'm so stupid!" thoughts raced through his mind.

"Today is the day the Great Qian Princess returns to the city. His Highness the Crown Prince set up three tests at the Yong'an city gate, but my little brother ruined them, which is why the Crown Prince is chasing after me,"

Lan Beitang gave a brief introduction.

"That's it? That's it? Your Highness, aren't you going too far?"

The Second Saint was unable to contain his anger, and his attitude towards the Crown Prince immediately turned cold.

"Please calm down, Your Excellency. There have actually been some twists and turns in this matter. My young brother has composed two poems,"

"I know, is it wrong for him to praise maternal love?"

Lan Beitang was taken aback, then smiled bitterly. It was obvious that Xiao Xingchen wasn't telling the truth.

"Second Saint, you probably don't know about that other one, do you?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with the other one? Is there a problem?"

"Alright then, if you have any questions, I'll read it to you: 'When the ninth day of the ninth month next year arrives, my flowers will bloom and all others will wither, their fragrance will fill Yong'an, and the whole city will be adorned in golden armor.'"

"Hmm?" The demise of the sub-sage was taken aback. After carefully considering it, he revealed a smile that was more like a grimace.

"I see. But even if this poem is full of murderous intent, does it really warrant such a large-scale deployment?"

“The Saint, that’s not all,”

"besides?"

Lan Beitang sighed, nodded, and replied somewhat helplessly.

"One of the questions was left by Xiao Jianxian back then, and no one in the world could solve it. Even the Martial Emperor himself said that whoever could solve this question could be made a king. But... but... it was solved by your disciple."

"It was a guess, a complete guess," Xiao Xingchen quickly interjected, because the way the Saint looked at him had changed. He didn't want to lose more than he gained; he needed to hold onto this powerful figure tightly.

"Is there any exaggeration in what the scholar-sword said?"

The Saint looked at the mysterious man, then at Madam Chen.

"No, but there are some details that Scholar Sword didn't mention. Your disciple bowed three times to the deposed empress, which led us all to believe that he was from the Eldest Princess's faction, hence all these misunderstandings. If we had known that he was a disciple of the Sage, we wouldn't have added so much unnecessary detail."

The mysterious person from the Prime Minister's residence was the first to respond.

"You even bowed three times to Murong Fenghua?" This time, the Quasi-Saint was truly shocked. He walked over to Xiao Xingchen's side, circled him, and scrutinized him for a long time.

"Get up, I have something to ask you,"

"Master, I assure you, it's all a misunderstanding. I was paying respects to the late Empress on behalf of a friend, and solving the riddle was just a coincidence. As for the Crown Prince, I really didn't mean to offend him. I just hitched a ride with the Princess and that's how it happened."

Xiao Xingchen looked completely innocent.

"Get up! What kind of behavior is this in public?" The Second Saint cursed before returning to the Crown Prince's presence.

“Your Highness, I am a sage of the Confucian Temple. I have come to the Great Qian Dynasty to preside over the Poetry Immortal Conference. Your father knows that I am here, so I will discuss this matter with him. As for you, if I were to ask you to kill my disciple here, where would I put my face? Do you understand?”

This is very blunt. You can't kill anyone in front of me. Besides, I will personally discuss this matter with your father, the Emperor. You should leave now.

This meaning was probably understood by everyone present, except for the Crown Prince.

He chose to confront the Saint head-on.

"No, I must take this person with me."

"Hmm?" The Second Saint frowned. He had just felt some sympathy for the Crown Prince's plight, but now he realized that the Crown Prince was just a hothead.

But the crown prince was still not satisfied and continued angrily.

“Sage, since you are a sage, you should know that there are certain things that a son must do. To put it mildly, your disciple insulted my mother. To put it more seriously, my mother is a virtuous consort who manages the harem of the Great Qian Dynasty. Although she has not been made empress, she already has the majesty of the mother of the nation. He insulted the mother of the nation. As the crown prince of the Great Qian Dynasty, how can I remain indifferent? I want to ask, what is the reason for this?”

"Insulting the First Lady?"

Only then did everyone come to their senses that the whispered remark was actually directed at Consort Xian.

The people outside suddenly realized why the Crown Prince, who had been perfectly fine just moments before, had suddenly gone berserk. It turned out that this was the reason.

"You're talking nonsense! I only said five words, how is that an insult? If you're so capable, say those five words out loud and let everyone judge for themselves!"

Seeing the situation was about to reverse, Xiao Xingchen quickly spoke up. If the Crown Prince were to turn the tables, he wouldn't even know how he died.

"Damn it, I'd rather give up being the crown prince today than let you go!"

The crown prince was furious, his face flushed red. He drew his sword and charged forward again. Before him stood a sage; the sight of him drawing his sword against the saint truly astonished many.

At the same time, another question arose in his mind: five words—five words that could completely enrage the Crown Prince? This kid is truly something else.

If it were them, no matter how they put it together, they couldn't come up with five words to anger a crown prince, and judging from the crown prince's expression, it seemed that these five words were somewhat difficult for him to say.

"A talent! This is definitely a talent!" The commander of the secret guards and Madam Chen looked at each other, revealing their eagerness for this young man.

"presumptuous,"

With the roar of the Second Saint, the Crown Prince was sent flying like a piece of paper.

"Array up!"

Seeing the prince being attacked, the man in golden armor roared, arrayed himself, raised his spears, and pointed his sword at the sage.

"Fine, fine, fine. I have never been so looked down upon in my life. You raise your swords and form ranks in front of me, Martial Emperor. Are you really not afraid that I will kill them?"

The Second Saint was furious. This was no longer Xiao Xingchen's business; it was a disregard for him and an insult to him.