The Emperor gritted his teeth, swallowed his anger, and then spoke with a smile:

“Heh, Qi State is truly thoughtful. Among all of you here, is there anyone who can tame this South China tiger? If you succeed, I will reward you handsomely.”

The room fell into silence.

No one dared to respond.

Seeing that no one stepped forward, the Emperor’s face darkened instantly—he was completely embarrassed.

“What? Our great Xia State, and not a single person can tame a tiger?”

The Emperor glared at his ministers in fury.

A bunch of useless fools!

His gaze landed on Li Xiaocheng, signaling him to step forward and give it a try.

Li Xiaocheng pretended not to see, casually picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and completely ignored the Emperor, leaving him fuming in frustration.

This brat! Now that I need him, he’s acting like a coward. Hmph! I won’t let him off so easily.

“Prince Regent, why don’t you give it a try?”

The Emperor finally called him out by name.

Li Xiaocheng replied calmly, “Your Majesty, I caught a cold a few days ago and still feel weak. I fear I am unable to participate.”

He didn’t even try to hide his refusal and even faked a few coughs.

The Emperor was so furious his teeth almost broke from clenching.

[A cold after just a few days? So weak? No wonder in the original storyline, every time Li Xiaocheng got injured, he was always on the verge of death! Tsk tsk tsk! Turns out… he’s just not capable!]

Lin Yuxin looked at Li Xiaocheng with curiosity, as if she had finally uncovered the truth.

What she didn’t realize was how devastating her words were!

Zhao Hanya’s face stiffened. This girl really has no filter!

The three Lin brothers—one choked on his drink, another coughed violently, and the last one tried to cover up his laughter.

They exchanged glances, feeling awkward for the first time about hearing their sister’s inner thoughts.

The Emperor and Empress both twitched at the corners of their mouths.

The Emperor even gave Li Xiaocheng a few meaningful glances. No wonder this brat is still unmarried at his age… Turns out he’s… incapable?!

Meanwhile, Li Xiaocheng’s eyes flashed with anger as he glared in Lin Yuxin’s direction. This damn girl dares to insult me?

I’ll remember this and settle the score later!

“Ahem! Fine then! Since the Prince Regent is unwell, I’ll let it slide. Anyone else willing to try?”

The Emperor cleared his throat and asked again.

Still, no one responded.

“Hah! What’s this? Could it be that Xia State doesn’t even have someone who can tame a tiger?”

Qi State’s Third Prince, Qu Shubai, smirked as he spoke, unable to hide his arrogance.

Meanwhile, Princess Chenfu of Qi remained silent, her gaze fixed on Li Xiaocheng.

She had noticed how he had just glared at Lin Yuxin.

Following his gaze, she saw Lin Yuxin sitting with several other women—including the wife of the Minister of Works, Madam Xu, and her eleven-year-old daughter, Xu Xiaoxiao.

But ultimately, Princess Chenfu’s eyes settled on Lin Yuxin. She was the most beautiful one there, and her instincts told her that this woman was a threat.

Before the Emperor could respond, Princess Chenfu stepped forward, gracefully saluted, and said softly:

“Your Majesty, since none of the men in your country are willing to try, why not let a woman attempt it? In our Qi State, all women are capable of taming tigers. We are no less than men.”

“I won’t bully Xia State. Let’s have one woman from each country compete. If your representative wins, I will personally offer five cities to your state. But if she loses, your Prince Regent must marry into Qi State.”

The moment she finished speaking, the court erupted in whispers.

“What is Princess Chenfu trying to do? Letting a woman tame a tiger? That’s just sending her to her death!”

“Exactly! Qi State’s intentions couldn’t be clearer.”

“The Emperor won’t actually agree, right? This is absurd!”

The Emperor’s face turned grim. Our country’s honor is now resting on a woman? How disgraceful!

The Empress was also furious but maintained her composure as a queen should.

Seeing the Emperor’s anger, she gently placed her hand over his, offering silent support.

The Emperor felt her reassurance, took a deep breath, and cast a cold glance at Princess Chenfu. Then he asked,

“Since Princess Chenfu has made such a request, you must already have a candidate in mind. Who is it?”

Princess Chenfu smiled and looked in Lin Yuxin’s direction.

[Oh no… Why do I have a bad feeling about this? Is she targeting me?!]

Sure enough, Princess Chenfu spoke:

“This young lady over there—who is she? I find her quite pleasing to the eye. Would she dare compete with me?”

[I knew it! This woman has her eyes on me! But why? I haven’t even provoked her!]

Lin Yuxin was puzzled, but since she had been called out, surrendering without a fight was not an option.

She was about to rise when her mother, Zhao Hanya, quickly stepped forward and knelt before the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, my daughter was only recently found and had been living in the countryside. She knows nothing about taming tigers! Please, have mercy!”

Her grandfather, the Grand General, also knelt down.

“Your Majesty, I beg you! Yuxin is just a young girl. How could she possibly tame a tiger? This is a death sentence!”

Even her three older brothers kneeled together, pleading with the Emperor to spare her.

Lin Yuxin felt warm inside seeing her family’s concern. But she also knew she couldn’t back down—Princess Chenfu had clearly set her sights on her and would find ways to trouble her no matter what.

Slowly, she stood up.

[Since you want a challenge, don’t cry when you lose!]

With a confident smile, Lin Yuxin elegantly walked forward.

The Emperor and Empress stared at her in shock. She’s the one who’s been speaking earlier?

Lin Yuxin bowed gracefully.

“Minister Lin’s daughter, Lin Yuxin, greets Your Majesty.”

“You may rise.”

The Emperor observed this intriguing young woman. So she’s the one who’s been speaking? She seems to know quite a lot…

Lin Yuxin respectfully said, “Your Majesty, I have a humble request.”

“Speak.”

“Since Princess Chenfu has challenged me, may I decide the wager?”

Lin Yuxin’s eyes glowed with determination.

[That’s right, if they want to gamble, I’ll make sure Qi State pays a heavy price! Let’s see if they dare provoke our country again!]

The Emperor’s lips curled into a slight smile. This girl is quite patriotic. But… can she really pull it off?

After a brief moment of thought, he nodded.

“Very well. You may set the wager.”

Lin Yuxin’s eyes gleamed as she turned to Princess Chenfu and said calmly,

“Princess Chenfu, I accept your challenge. However, we need to modify the wager.”

“How do you propose we change it?”

Jun Chenxi asked indifferently, confident that Lin Yuxin had no chance of winning.