Chapter 66: Debate Arena

The latest Hongsheng Restaurant was really lively. The great scholar Zhang Yong and two other prestigious academy masters united to host a debate arena competition at the Hongsheng Restaurant. The participants could be students from various academies or renowned scholars.

The debate arena even shouted the slogan ‘Debating right and wrong, debating the principles of the world’, the slogan was shouted very loudly.

Lu Songli came out at a good time, the debate arena competition had just begun today.

“This Fan Quan is really amazing, this is his fifth time defending the stage, right?”

Lu Songli heard the name Fan Quan and focused her gaze downstairs at the scholarly man in a dark gray straight robe standing on the platform, he stood upright, calmly looking at his opponent.

In addition, she also saw her younger brother Lu Mingzhi, standing quietly below the platform, watching Fan Quan on the stage.

“He has debated ‘human nature is inherently good or evil’.”

Someone began to list the debate topics of the past few days.

“Establishing a family and career, which comes first?”

“Can loyalty and filial piety coexist?”

“Knowing the difficulties but acting easily, knowing the ease but acting difficultly.”

“The topic of this debate is ‘Can heroes be judged by success or failure?'”

“Yes, I wonder if he can hold his ground.”

Listening to this, Lu Songli realized that in just two or three days, there had been four or five debate topics, each with depth and attention.

“Yes, two debates every day, it’s not easy. The key is that he has won every round, he’s really amazing.”

“Indeed amazing, you know, he is facing knowledgeable scholars who are well-versed in literature and history.”

“The debate arena at Hongsheng Restaurant is well-organized, I think it’s better than storytelling.”

“The perspective of the debate is unique, giving a fresh feeling.”

“Yes, you guys don’t know, when I heard the first round, I was truly amazed. I didn’t miss a single round afterwards, and after listening, I truly understood the meaning of ‘listening to one’s words is better than reading ten years of books’. Many of my previous doubts have been answered.”

“Yes, every round I listen to, it’s like a light bulb moment for me.”

Listening to these discussions, Lu Songli knew that regardless of whether there were any ulterior motives in the praise, this debate arena was at least very lively and successful on the surface.

Lu Songli leaned on the railing for a while, feeling that Fan Quan was quite eloquent. His opponent was not as knowledgeable as him, his knowledge was not as solid, and his words were not as sharp as his. She wanted to listen a little longer, but Mo Bing came over to tell her that Qin Sheng had woken up.

So Lu Songli stopped listening and turned to the private room. As she left, a meaningful smile played on her lips.

After a half-hour nap, Qin Sheng woke up, but he continued to lie there without opening his eyes.

During this time, Qin Sheng was quite busy. After all, he was the Cloud Cavalry Captain of the Three Thousand Camps outside the city, and he had to maintain his daily training. Moreover, their wedding date was approaching quickly, and his mother was busy with preparations. Even the matter of his eldest brother taking a concubine was postponed, so he naturally had to make time to help his mother.

He also kept an eye on the movements of the Xie family and the Zhao family. He could feel Zhao Bin’s deep hatred towards Lu Songli, and he knew that Zhao Bin and the Zhao family would definitely seek revenge. Without even thinking about it, Lu Songli would be the first target.

At this moment, he was completely sober. He still remembered what happened when he was drunk, and the title deed in his waist belt reminded him that it wasn’t a dream.

His fiancée gave him a hundred acres of land without hesitation, looking as casual as if she had given him a basket of ordinary eggs. But because he had been to the border and knew the value of the land there. The land in Shangyang County, although not worth much money, was vast. A hundred acres, at the very least, would be worth two to three thousand taels.

She gave such a large piece of land to him without hesitation, trusting him so much?

At that moment, Qin Sheng was in a very good mood, and he silently vowed to handle this matter well.

When Lu Songli came in, she found him drinking tea. The two of them didn’t say much more, and Qin Sheng escorted her downstairs to go home.

The two of them, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, attracted many glances as they walked downstairs.

As they passed through the lobby and headed towards the main door, Xie Zhan in the private room on the second floor happened to see them. He was first stunned, then his eyes showed surprise. He called the shopkeeper over to find out that Qin Sheng and Lu Songli were entertaining guests at Hongsheng Restaurant today, and the guests were four adventurers from Chang’an City. Xie Zhan pondered with lowered eyes, was this a coincidence? If they deliberately arranged the banquet at Hongsheng Restaurant, they were too sharp.

“Ah Zhan…”

Xie Zhan came back to his senses and turned to look at Zhao Yutan. “Why did you come out?”

“You’ve been out for so long, I thought something had happened, so I came out to take a look.”

“It’s nothing, there are too many people outside, let’s go back in.”

Qin Sheng safely escorted Lu Songli back to the Lu family before leaving on horseback.

After returning home, Lu Songli gave Chen Rong some silver and instructed him to collect information about the scholars who had participated in the debate at Hongsheng Restaurant in the past few days, including the content of their debates. The information about Fan Quan was a top priority.

“Has Father returned?” Lu Songli asked as she removed the jeweled hair ornaments from her head.

“Master has returned, it’s been half an hour.”

“Alright, I’ll go to the main courtyard later.” Her father had been coming home late recently, sometimes going to the market to find bargains, other times accompanying the Emperor to the palace. He was working hard.

In Lu Songli’s eyes, her hardworking father was lying on a couch, enjoying a massage from his wife.

Lu Desheng lay on the couch, and after a short nap under Madam Jiang’s massage, he felt much more relaxed. He had been coming home late recently, but he wouldn’t call it hard work. Even without Zhao Bin’s matter, he would have been going to the palace to accompany the Emperor, as maintaining a good relationship with the Emperor was important. He had just been working harder and paying more attention lately.

After changing into casual clothes in her own courtyard, Lu Songli walked briskly towards the main courtyard.

She thought she knew what kind of scheme Xie and Zhao families were planning. They really wanted to find a new weapon for Emperor Kang Cheng. When she figured this out, she even felt a little ridiculous. Her prediction was so accurate? She predicted their prediction?

However, the other side was also very clever. She didn’t know which expert came up with this plan. To be honest, if she hadn’t come, her father might not have been able to withstand this wave of attacks. But if she hadn’t come, the Lu family might not have faced this ordeal. So, it was a paradox.

Their plan was well thought-out. Capture the king first, take down the leader. The analogy is a little off, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that they directly brought down her father. The rest would be at their mercy.

The ‘New Sword’ is now ready, and the stage has been set. Next, the other party will surely invite Emperor Kang Cheng out of the palace.