Proud people were bound to be jealous, and he hated those who were most praised for their virtue. -- Spinoza
A person with outstanding abilities had to be in front of a group of strong enemies to show his extraordinary skills. -- William shakespeare, prince of tyre with lycus
Mu Weizhou thanked all the guests in and out of the hall, and told them about his honor and his lack of hospitality. After a round of politeness, the banquet finally started.
Just as Mu Weizhou was about to start toasting everyone, he heard Wei Feng shout from the door again,"Liu Fang, the heir of King Huaiyang, personally congratulates Mu Shu's son on his promotion.”
Wei Feng's greeting made Mu Weizhou suddenly stop. Although he had never seen Liu Fang before, his name had long resounded like thunder in his ears. I didn't invite him, so why is he here? He turned to look at Liu He, who was in the hall, only to see Liu He shaking his head. He knew that it was not Liu He who arranged this.
"Brother Mu, when did you get to know Liu Fang?" Liu Qingping walked over and asked.”
"I don't know him, and no one informed him," Mu Weizhou said. I'll go take a look."
Liu Qingping quickly said," Then be careful. I'm worried that they're up to no good!"”
Mu Weizhou nodded and walked out of the courtyard. Before he could take two steps, four or five people came in from outside.
The leader was a young man in his twenties who looked very noble. He was dressed in a light purple robe, a crown on his head, and a pair of silken light purple shoes, giving off a sense of elegance, fierceness, and ability. The four people behind him had different appearances. Mu Weizhou knew the two of them. They were Liu Wei and Han Chao, whom he had met in South City. Mu Weizhou had never seen the two of them before. One of them was dressed like a monk. He had a medium build and was wearing coarse clothes. He held a crescent shovel in his hand and had a long scar on his face that made people feel a little scared. This person was expressionless, and his age could not be determined. He followed Liu Fang with his eyes and nose lowered, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him. However, the cold and bitter aura that he emitted made people shudder. The other old man standing beside him was in his fifties. The old man wasn't tall and looked chubby. He wore a dark brown robe and looked like a businessman. He held a golden abacus in his hand.
Mu Weizhou looked at their clothes and knew that this young man in purple who was about the same height as him should be Liu Fang. He immediately raised his hand and bowed." Prince Liu, you have graced us with your presence. I, Mu Weizhou, have not welcomed you. Please forgive me."”
Other than Liu Fang, everyone else was armed and seemed to be up to no good. As soon as they appeared, several young men who had a good relationship with Mu Weizhou, including Liu Meng, gathered around.
Although Liu Fang heard Mu Weizhou's words, he did not respond. He shook a delicate bamboo noodle in his hand and calmly raised his chin to look at the walls and ridges of the Sunset Smoke Hall. Then, he slowly turned his face.
Seeing his arrogance, Liu Qingping opened her mouth and said,""Liu Fang, what are you doing here? He didn't invite you!"
After Liu Fang heard Liu Qingping's words, he glanced at Liu He, who was beside him, and raised his hand to bow to Liu He.""I was wondering why there were so many people in this shabby house. So it turns out that Sister Qingping and Brother Crown Prince are also here. Little brother crown prince, your big brother has bowed to you.”In the blink of an eye, he saw Dou Tao behind them. He immediately put away his arrogance and took two steps forward. He bowed respectfully and said,"So Miss Dou is also here. I heard that you came back from Chang 'an and wanted to visit your residence these few days. I didn't expect to see you in advance. Greetings, Liu Fang." Dou Tao did not expect him to do this. Her face suddenly turned red and she took half a step back without saying anything.
Liu Fang's appearance could be said to be perfect. He felt that not only did he look down on everyone in public, but he also raised the person he valued above others. Therefore, he was very satisfied.
Liu Fang's arrogant attitude made Liu Yan, who had always been good-tempered, unable to stand it anymore. He said,"Liu Fang, how dare you be so rude to the Crown Prince?!”
Liu Fang glanced at Liu Yan." I was wondering who it was. So it's our beautiful new King of Xiapi." Liu Yan, we are both the grandsons of the Emperor. In the court, he is the Crown Prince, and I am a subordinate. In the martial world, I am indeed your elder brother. Don't you think so? Besides, I've already greeted our Crown Prince, didn't you see?! Liu Yan, who do you think is being rude?”
As Mu Weizhou listened to him, he felt awkward. His mind kept spinning, trying to find a way out so that he could feel more comfortable. "Young Master Fang, there is a saying that goes,'To guide with virtue, to regulate with politeness.'Young Master Mu saluted you, but you turned a blind eye to it. The Book of History says,'No pride, follow health'. Your treatment of Young Master Mu is, is…a little, a little rude."
Mu Weizhou turned around and realized that Dou Tao was speaking up for him. When Liu Fang and the others arrived, Dou Tao had been paying attention to Mu Weizhou. Later, when she saw Mu Weizhou take the initiative to bow to Liu Fang but was ignored by Liu Fang arrogantly, she was embarrassed. For a moment, she did not know where she got the courage to blurt out the thought in her heart to Liu Fang. When she saw Mu Weizhou looking at her with gratitude, she remembered that it was inappropriate for her to stand up for Mu Weizhou in front of so many people. As a result, her face turned red and her words became stammering like mosquitoes. However, she had indeed finished speaking.
When Mu Weizhou heard Dou Tao speak up for him, the awkwardness in his heart had long disappeared. He kept feeling that although he was looked down upon by Liu Fang, he had won Dou Tao's protection. That was simply the biggest bargain in the world. At this moment, he didn't mind earning more from such a cheap deal.
When Liu Fang heard Dou Tao speak up for Mu Weizhou, he was furious. He had heard that the Dou Family had returned from Chang 'an, so he was going to visit them today. Unexpectedly, when they arrived at the Dou Clan, they heard that the Dou Brothers had come to Mu Weizhou's banquet. He had met Mu Weizhou in the Money Gang of South City and heard some rumors about the Crown Prince, Mu Weizhou, and Dou Tao. Therefore, he was already angry and wanted to go to the Sunset Smoke Hall to see what was going on in the name of congratulating them. However, he did not expect that he would lower his status and praise Dou Tao in front of everyone in return for such a return. However, he could not vent his anger on Dou Tao, so he directly vented his anger on Mu Weizhou.
He looked at the Crown Prince, then at Mu Weizhou and said coldly,""You are Mu Weizhou?"
Mu Weizhou was initially filled with grievances when he was ignored by Liu Fang, but at this moment, it was all gone. He heard Liu Fang's unfriendly tone, but he remembered that Liu Fang was the son of the Prince of Huaiyang. He did not want to cause trouble, so he said,"Yes, this little brother is Mu Weizhou."
"Humph!" Liu Fang didn't even look at him as he snapped," How dare you! You, a mere bastard son, dare to call me brother?!”
The reason why Mu Weizhou called himself his little brother was because he did not want to use a humble title like "I am" with this overbearing Liu Fang. It was because he felt that this person's attitude just now was not worthy of his respect. At that time, he remembered that he was younger than Liu Fang, so he answered truthfully. Now that Liu Fang said this again, he was already a little unhappy. He thought about it and said,"Oh, I see. In the court, you are the son of the king, and I am the son of the prince. In Jianghu, I thought you were two years older than me, so I took you as my younger brother. Big Brother, do you think I'm wrong?!”
After Mu Weizhou said this, Liu Qingping almost laughed out loud. She really didn't expect that Mu Weizhou had such a mean heart hidden under his benevolent heart. On the other side, Liu Yan was also secretly praising Mu Weizhou for his ambiguous answer to Liu Fang. He felt that Mu Weizhou had helped him vent his anger. Only Liu He stood there silently, and no one could tell what he was thinking.
Hearing Mu Weizhou's words, Liu Fang was anxious. He was about to curse out," You bastard ", but when he saw the silent Liu Meng, he realized that he had lost his composure and swallowed the word " bastard ". Then, he said to Liu He," Your Highness, I heard that Mu Weizhou is your bodyguard. Your Highness is kind and magnanimous, and is famous in the world. Liu Fang is not talented, so he has a few useless bodyguards. He was lucky to have met her today. I want them to learn a few moves from His Highness's guards. What do you think?”
Some people would ask, Liu He was clearly the Crown Prince, and Liu Fang was just the son of a king, so why did Liu Fang dare to compete with Liu He like this? Wasn't he afraid that the Emperor would blame him and ask if he had offended him? He was really not afraid. Why?
The bigger picture was that when Liu Xiu took over the world, it was more like what he said,"rule the world with softness." In other words, many forces and lands were obtained through persuasion and imperial edict, unlike Liu Bang, who had almost completely conquered the country by force. Therefore, in Liu Xiu's power system, there were many wealthy families. Of course, it was because he had a brilliant method to make these different forces follow his leadership and live in peace with each other. In the generation of his son, Emperor Ming Liu Zhuang, although some of the powerful families had been weakened by Liu Xiu's thirty years of " soft governance ", Emperor Ming's status among these powerful families might not be comparable to Liu Xiu's. Therefore, in order to achieve his rule, Emperor Ming relied on the system of officials who were slowly established and loyal to him. The kings surnamed Liu who were enfeoffed to the world were very important forces.
Just now, Liu Fang said that he was the grandson of Liu Xiu of the Dou family. There was actually a lot of content in this sentence. Emperor Ming was the second emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but he was not the first crown prince. The crown prince before him was called Liu Qiang, the eldest son of Liu Xiu and the first empress of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Guo Shengtong. In the process of Liu Xiu taking over the world, the power of the Guo family played a very important role. However, after taking over the world, Liu Xiu thought of Yin Lihua, who was in love with him. Later, Guo Shengtong was finally deposed. In less than two years, her son Liu Qiang was also deposed as the Crown Prince and was conferred the title of Prince Gong of Donghai. However, Liu Xiu treated his crippled eldest son well and gave him a large piece of land. Guo Shengtong and Liu Xiu had more than one son, Liu Qiang. Guo Shengtong had five sons, and all five of them had been conferred the title of king. Moreover, each of them was quite capable.
On the other hand, Yin Lihua's side. Although she had five sons with Liu Xiu, one of them died early. Other than Emperor Ming who became the emperor, there were only three kings. There was also the troublesome Liu Jing, who was Liu Qingping's biological father. In terms of the number of kings, even if Liu Xiu's remaining son was counted as Emperor Ming's side, the number was still five to five. It was impossible for Guo Shengtong's sons not to have thoughts about Emperor Ming replacing Liu Qiang as the Crown Prince. If the two sides really fought over some matters, Emperor Ming might win because he was the emperor. However, for the wealthy families, relatives, and meritorious officials who were eyeing each other covetously, that might not be the case. At that time, they would still be competing? He probably couldn't even become a king.
It was precisely because of this reason that Liu Fang dared to do this. Of course, under the same circumstances, different people adopted different attitudes, which could also distinguish between virtuous and unworthy people.
Liu Qingping might not know the relationship between them, but Liu Meng knew. Was he angry at Liu Fang's attitude? He was very angry. However, he could not be serious because of his principles. Although Liu Meng was kind, he was not stupid. He was very smart. Therefore, he did not seem to take Liu Fang's offense to heart. If it was someone else, or someone who was not the king of the Guo family, who offended him like this, the result would probably be different. Of course, the other children of the Wang family would never dare to be as arrogant as Liu Fang.
Liu Meng heard Liu Fang's public provocation, but the smile on his face didn't change. He looked at Liu Fang and scanned the people around him. Then, he said to Mu Weizhou,""Mu Shu son, today is a good day for you to invite everyone to a banquet. What do you think?”Liu Meng said this after much thought. On the one hand, he hoped that Mu Weizhou would step forward and help him gain some pride in front of everyone. On the other hand, he reminded Mu Weizhou that if he felt that it was difficult, he could postpone or reject Liu Fang's challenge in the name of not being suitable today. Although that might lose face, a real man did not fight for temporary courage. There was still a long time ahead. Moreover, with Liu He's words, everyone present would at least have the impression that although he was the Crown Prince, he respected the opinions of his subordinates. From another point of view, Liu Fang was actually challenging him. If Mu Weizhou had stepped forward and refused to take up the challenge, it would have been Mu Weizhou who refused to take up the challenge, and not him, the Crown Prince, who refused to take up the challenge.
Mu Weizhou heard Liu He's words and knew that he was asking if he could compete with the exiled guards. Mu Weizhou was indeed holding back his anger. He glanced at the four people who had come with Liu Fang and felt that he might not lose to anyone else except the itinerant monk. He had been learning the Hongjun Swordsmanship from Ma Yan for more than a month, and he really wanted to find someone to try it on. He turned his head and looked at his master, who was standing under the eaves in the distance. Seeing him standing there and smiling at him, he cupped his fists and said to Liu Meng,"Your Highness, I'm at your disposal.”
Hearing his words, Liu Meng guessed that Mu Weizhou had some idea, so he said,"In that case, you might as well show them two moves, but remember to stop at a certain point and pay attention to your limits.”
Mu Weizhou agreed. He turned around and was about to speak to Liu Fang when he saw Liu Qingping take a step forward and say to Liu Fang,"Liu Fang, since you want Mu Shu Zi to guide your guards, then let your guards practice a few moves first.”
There were quite a few people gathered in the courtyard at the moment. Some of them couldn't help but laugh out loud when they heard Liu Qingping's words. Everyone knew that Liu Fang wanted Mu Weizhou to have a spar with his guard. After Liu Qingping said that, it seemed that Liu Fang really felt that his guard was not as good as Mu Weizhou and came to seek advice. In fact, Liu Qingping saw that they had come with ill intentions and was worried that Mu Weizhou would be at a disadvantage, so she said that. Of course, Mu Weizhou knew what Liu Qingping was thinking. He took two steps to her side and said,"Qingping, don't worry. Go to my room and get my sword.”Liu Qingping saw that his eyes were bright and he seemed to have a plan in mind. She felt relieved, but she still couldn't help but whisper to Mu Weizhou,"Brother Mu, you have to be careful. That scar-faced monk was terrifying. You'd better find a way to pick someone else to attack.”
Mu Weizhou looked at Liu Qingping, smiled and said that he was fine. He let her go get the sword, then returned to Liu Fang and said,""Since Big Brother Liu thinks highly of Wei Zhou and has come to the Sunset Smoke Hall today to seek advice, Wei Zhou will naturally obey. However, Wei Zhou's skills are shallow, and His Highness the Crown Prince has just ordered us to stop, so please show mercy to Brother Liu's guards.”
Liu Fang was annoyed by him calling him Big Brother Liu, but he couldn't flare up in front of so many people. He was also annoyed by Dou Tao's look at Mu Weizhou. He said with hatred,"Of course. I brought four servants with me today. Since you said so, I'll let this deaf, mute, and old guard accept your enlightenment. You have to show mercy too." Then, he retreated to the side and signaled the itinerant monk and Mu Weizhou to attack.
At this moment, except for a fat old man who was eating beside a table in the corner of the courtyard, almost everyone else had gathered at the door. Among these guests, there were a few who could see through the tricks of Jianghu. Even those who couldn't see through the tricks could feel that this itinerant monk was the most terrifying. Many people couldn't help but worry for Mu Weizhou when they heard Liu Fang ask him to exchange blows with Mu Weizhou.
Mu Weizhou knew that no matter who Liu Fang sent out, this battle had to be fought. After all, he had already bullied his family. Mu Weizhou reached out to take the Zhanlu Sword and drew it out. He thought that since he was going to fight, he had to find a way to fight well. Thus, he bowed slightly to the itinerant monk who had walked into the circle and stood still.
The itinerant monk took two steps forward and stopped moving. She still maintained that expression, but as time passed, the cold and bitter air gradually spread from her body. A timid woman like Liu Qingping couldn't help but lean behind the Crown Prince and Ma Yan.
Mu Weizhou and the itinerant monk stood there quietly for the time it took for a chicken drumstick to break. Why was it a drumstick? Because when the two of them were confronting each other, other than the fat old man who had been eating non-stop by the table in the corner, everyone had gathered around the two of them. Ma Yan was also afraid that something would happen to the Crown Prince, so he specially stood beside the Crown Prince. Other than the sound of the old man eating, there was no other sound in the courtyard. During this period of time, the old man had just finished a drumstick.
Perhaps it was because the old man was eating the drumstick a little too loudly that the itinerant monk's eyes suddenly moved in the old man's direction. It was also at this moment that Mu Weizhou made his move. A move of Thousand Ton Strike was launched towards the itinerant monk's head. This was the first move of the Hongjun Sword Technique. Before Mu Weizhou used this move, he repeatedly thought about how to maximize the effect of this move. When he saw the itinerant monk's eyes move, he knew that it was time to attack, so he attacked without hesitation. Therefore, in his opinion, this move could be considered a perfect attack.
Just as Mu Weizhou executed the perfect " One Shot, Thousand Kills ", Liu Qingping heard three " eh " sounds at the same time. She knew that one of the sounds came from Ma Yan, who was beside her. The other sound seemed to have come from the itinerant monk, but she did not notice who made the last sound. When she noticed a monk making a sound, she thought for a moment and shouted,""Brother Mu, be careful. This itinerant monk might not be deaf and mute!”
Hearing Liu Qingping's reminder, Mu Weizhou seemed to understand why the itinerant monk's eyeballs had moved just now, so he raised his guard and started to deal with the itinerant monk.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。