Chapter 86: Thoroughly Defeating the Loser

As if performing in slow motion, everyone slowly turned their heads to look at Shen Ning—the young Consort who was only fifteen or sixteen years old.

Even though they had seen it with their own eyes, they still couldn’t believe that she could so easily kick a grown man away.

However, they soon realized that they had been shocked too soon.

What was kicking someone out compared to what followed?

The next scene was truly horrifying.

Han Rong fell onto the hard and solid palace brick floor, experiencing excruciating pain as if his internal organs were about to shift. His head hit the ground, causing a wave of dizziness, and it took him a long time to regain his senses.

He struggled to prop himself up to stay conscious.

However, before he could get up to fight back, an even heavier kick came, directly aiming at his stomach with a powerful blow!

An object flew through the air!

The onlookers instinctively looked up, watching as Han Rong’s body flew into the air, arching in a parabolic motion before flying out of the hall and landing with a loud thud on the blue stone slabs outside.

The Nan Dynasty envoys were so shocked that they all stood up: “Consort, what are you doing?”

“The Loyal and Brave Marquis is a trusted minister of the Emperor. Please show mercy!”

“You are going too far!”

“Is this a duel? This is outright abuse!”

The Nan Dynasty envoys finally woke up from their dream, angrily accusing Ji Yucang.

Of course, it wasn’t just the Nan Dynasty envoys who were shocked.

The Yong Kingdom’s officials were also genuinely surprised, and even the Duke of the State felt as if he were dreaming, completely unable to believe what he was seeing.

How could Shen Ning have such formidable skills?

Princess Pingyao, elegantly sipped her wine, casually looking at the panicked crowd across from her: “Didn’t you yourselves say that the Loyal and Brave Marquis is only slightly inferior to the War God, the Eldest Princess? He himself just mentioned that he was worried about winning unfairly. Now, look, he didn’t even get the chance to fight back and lost utterly.”

The envoys’ faces turned pale and then flushed, listening to the blatant mockery and humiliation, completely at a loss for words.

“I’ve never seen such a duel before,” Xie Tinglan said with a mocking smile. “No wonder you’ve traveled thousands of miles from Nan Dynasty to seek help. With the Loyal and Brave Marquis’s combat ability, I’m afraid it won’t be long before your enemy’s cavalry tramples your imperial city, occupies your homes, and takes your palace and women as their own… Tsk, how pitiful.”

Yan Qingchen nodded: “If that’s the case, then everyone present today, including the Nan Dynasty Emperor, Empress, all the concubines, palace maids, and the entire court of civil and military officials, wouldn’t they all become prisoners and slaves of a fallen nation?”

General Yang of Nan Dynasty looked displeased, forcing a stiff smile: “The Regent’s Consort is truly formidable, hiding her skills so well that it’s eye-opening.”

The current situation in Nan Dynasty is indeed not favorable. Without external support, although it may not lead to immediate destruction, it is still a cause for concern.

The envoys did not dare to refute, as they urgently needed the support of the Yong Kingdom, but that didn’t mean they weren’t worried about Han Rong’s safety.

They used the excuse of going out to check on the Loyal and Brave Marquis and hurriedly walked out one after another, not willing to stay in the hall and listen to the insults any longer.

Outside the hall, at the bottom of the stone steps, Han Rong spat out blood, shakily getting up from the ground, clutching his chest, with blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. The intense pain in his lungs made it clear to him that what had just happened was not a dream.

He had indeed failed to even make a move before being defeated by a young girl.

Han Rong endured the pain, looking at Shen Ning with shock and unease: “You… who are you?”

Shen Ning remained silent, drawing the whip from her waist and leaping forward: “No need for useless talk.”

Han Rong hurriedly retreated, but his slow and sluggish movements couldn’t keep up with the speed of the whip. With a loud “crack”, the whip fiercely struck his back, instantly slicing through his robe like a sharp sword, leaving a shocking bloody mark.

Han Rong staggered, and Shen Ning took the opportunity to press on without hesitation. The whip in her hand was as agile as a snake, lashing at Han Rong and leaving him no chance to fight back.

Princess Pingyao, rose and walked to the entrance of the hall, watching Shen Ning’s ruthless moves with a thoughtful expression. After a moment, she turned her head to look at the Regent: “Uncle, I never knew that a woman from the inner chambers could have such excellent skills. Did you know from the beginning that she was unfathomable, which is why you married her?”

Ji Yucang said nothing, watching the scene outside with his hands behind his back.

Han Rong was already completely flustered, dodging clumsily like a headless fly. However, Shen Ning’s whip seemed to have eyes, and no matter how he evaded, the whip never missed its mark on his body. Before long, Han Rong was pathetically trying to escape with his head in his arms.

“Please show mercy, Consort! I am not your match. I admit defeat, I admit defeat!”

Admit defeat?

Shen Ning’s eyes suddenly turned cold, and she flew forward, whipping out her whip to wrap around his neck. With a tug, Han Rong was pulled to the ground with a loud thud.

The envoys were alarmed and shouted in unison: “Please show mercy, Consort!”

General Yang instinctively rushed forward, but someone promptly blocked his way, smiling leisurely: “It’s best not to interfere in a duel between two people before it’s over, or it would truly be an unfair victory.”

His face darkened: “You are going too far.”

“It’s your skills that are lacking,” Xie Tinglan smiled slightly. “A grown man unable to defeat a teenage girl. I wonder if your emperor would be so angry that he’d spit up three liters of blood if he knew that the Loyal and Brave Marquis he personally appointed was so useless.”

“The Loyal and Brave Marquis is indeed no match for her. We admit defeat,” Lord Ji, being a civil official, deeply bowed to the Regent. “If there were any offenses in the past, I apologize here to the Regent and the Regent’s Consort. I hope the Consort will calm her anger and not hold it against us.”

Calm her anger?

Ji Yucang’s gaze was indifferent as it landed on him: “There is a deep-seated grudge between the Consort and Han Rong . I’m afraid this anger cannot be calmed.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Lord Ji and General Yang were both shocked, and even the Duke of the State, who was following behind the crowd, was alarmed.

How could Shen Ning have a deep-seated grudge against the Nan Dynasty people?

“What does the Regent mean by this?” Lord Ji hurriedly asked, “This is the Loyal and Brave Marquis’s first visit to the Yong Kingdom. Has your esteemed Consort ever been to Nan Dynasty? How did the two of them come to harbor such hatred? Is there some misunderstanding here?”

General Yang stared at Shen Ning, watching as she stepped on Han Rong’s face with her foot and even tightened the whip in her hand, seemingly intent on strangling him to death.

He quickly spoke up: “Regent’s Consort, let’s talk this out!”

Han Rong desperately clutched at the whip, his face turning purple: “Let… let me go…”

“The War Goddess, the Eldest Princess, once took a liking to you. It was her who was blind,” Shen Ning’s gaze was icy, her voice as cold as ice, filled with extreme contempt and loathing. “Marquis Han Rong, without Princess Yan Jiuli, you are nothing.”

“You…” Han Rong’s pupils contracted in horror as he looked at Shen Ning, squeezing out a voice from his throat, “Who… who are you? Who are you exactly? What… what is your relationship with Princess Jiuli? Are you…”

“Han Rong.” Ji Yucang slowly descended the steps and walked up to Han Rong, looking down at his pathetic and miserable state from above, “Did you know that the Nan Dynasty’s War Goddess Princess, once took in an apprentice?”

“What did the Regent just say?” Lord Ji hurriedly ran down the steps of the hall, “Is this Consort the apprentice of the War Goddess Princess? Her… her excellent skills, were they all taught by the Eldest Princess?”