“Long Chen, do I look pretty with the phoenix hairpin?” Xia Youluo turned her head back and forth slowly. She looked at Long Chen expectantly.

“Even if you didn’t wear them, you’d still be very beautiful.”

Long Chen smiled. Xia Youluo truly was very beautiful. Although she couldn’t compare to Meng Qi or Tang Wan-er, she was definitely a figure capable of bringing about the downfall of a nation. Furthermore, she possessed an innate air of nobility which made her even more attractive.

“Hehe, I’m happy you’re learning how to talk properly.” Xia Youluo smiled excitedly, giving Long Chen some rare praise.

“Are you saying I didn’t know how to talk properly before?” demanded Long Chen.

“Hehe, for some unknown reason, I’m happiest when I’m with you.” Xia Youluo smiled.

“Oh? Were you not happy just now?” asked Long Chen.

Xia Youluo turned red. Looking at Han Wenjun’s back, she whispered, “I used to really like him. Sometimes I even dreamed about him. So I was happy to see him and extremely excited to receive a gift from him. However, I don’t know why, but I feel a kind of pressure at the same time that makes my heart uneasy. I think I’m afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” asked Long Chen curiously.

“I’m not sure. But while being with him does make me very excited, it also gives me a feeling of unease. But being with you, although I’m not happy or excited, I feel very peaceful. It’s a very warm kind of feeling.” Xia Youluo looked at Long Chen with a smile.

Long Chen raged, “Tch, do you know how to talk properly? Being with me doesn’t make you happy or excited? Then what are you doing entangling me?! Hmph, I’m mad now. If you’re so unhappy, then hand over the wine I gave you.”

Xia Youluo smiled at Long Chen who feigned anger. Today, she had finally seen the Han Wenjun she had been thinking about day and night, but now that she did, she felt a strange feeling.

She had always greatly adored Han Wenjun. Her room was even filled with portraits of him. She was infatuated with the romantic stories that came from the Grand Han, and she also longed to have a warm, intimate man looking after her.

As the princess of the Grand Xia, she didn’t have many close relationships. Her father and mother were all busy with politics, while her brothers and sisters were focused on cultivation and studying the ways to rule a nation. The only one who she could count on to spend time with her was her brother Xia Yunchong.

But a big brother’s love was not enough for a young maiden in the springtime of her youth. The first time she saw that grand, handsome, and tender Han Wenjun, she had been left with a deep impression and unable to extricate herself from it.

Then she had become engrossed with the romantic stories that circulated out of the Grand Han. She had longed even more for those kinds of intense romantic feelings.

But Long Chen’s arrival had unconsciously changed her thoughts. Long Chen was incomparably domineering and didn’t pamper her at all. He would scold her, curse her, and make her cry several times out of anger.

And yet he also treated her especially well sometimes. He had been willing to split half of that incredibly precious wine with her, making her exceptionally grateful.

Furthermore, he was like a deep well. He didn’t look very conspicuous on the outside, and yet no one could tell how deep he was. As someone who dared to swindle the Wine God Palace’s people of their wine, he had to have huge guts.

The more she was with Long Chen, the less she understood him. He was like a riddle that made her want to solve him.

He was sometimes domineering, sometimes amiable, sometimes petty, sometimes magnanimous. Sometimes a sentence from him would make her laugh, and sometimes it would make her cry.

Originally, Xia Youluo hadn’t really felt this. But now that she saw Han Wenjun, when she compared the two, she felt the feeling of danger and mystery around Long Chen was much more attractive, making Han Wenjun’s charisma seem much weaker.

Furthermore, being with Long Chen made her feel peaceful, as if whatever happened, he would be able to handle it easily.

Now that Long Chen looked like a child demanding his toy back with his fake anger and his extended hand, she felt it to be extremely funny.

“Nice try. The things that enter my hands are mine forever! You should give up on that thought,” said Xia Youluo.

Just at this time, they entered the inner gate of the imperial city, and there was a red carpet in front of them leading to a grand palace.

This palace was used by the Grand Xia to welcome and entertain guests. It was extremely spacious, and once they were inside, they had to go through all kinds of special etiquettes and sequences before they were able to take a seat.

This was no ordinary family feast. The tables were low to the ground tables that could only be seated by two people on each side.

Long Chen wasn’t a prince, so he had no qualifications to sit at the top. He found a table for himself that was near the edge.

He had only just sat down when a burst of fragrance blew over. Xia Youluo had actually also come.

“Girl, are you drunk? Your spot’s up there.” Long Chen pointed to the main spots at the front. The banquet hall was split into two parts, one for the main characters and one for the minor characters. Naturally, the first part was meant for the princes and princesses. For Xia Youluo to come here was unsuitable to her status.

“You’re the one who is drunk. Sitting up there is so constricting. Just the toasting, blessings, salutations, and return etiquettes are enough to exhaust someone to death. I don’t want to go through that, so move over a bit. Why is your butt so big? Are you trying to take up two seats on your own?” Xia Youluo forced Long Chen to scooch over.

“Aren’t you afraid of your imperial father scolding you for this?” asked Long Chen as he moved over.

“You think that’s possible? He won’t even make an appearance in such a banquet,” said Xia Youluo.

At this time, everyone had found seats for themselves. Seeing Xia Youluo take the initiative to sit beside Long Chen made Xia Yunchong and Xia Yunfeng smile at each other.

On the other hand, Han Wenjun’s expression was now a bit unnatural. He could have accepted Xia Youluo sitting anywhere except beside Long Chen. Furthermore, she was quietly whispering to him in a questionably intimate manner.

But he also couldn’t express anything over this. He was sitting beside Li Wanji, and he raised his cup. “This first glass of wine is to bless the citizens of the Grand Xia, to wish the Emperor good health, and to the long friendship of the Grand Xia and Grand Han.”

“My imperial father was working hard all day. He’s extremely busy[1] and simply does not have the time to greet you personally. Please forgive him for this. But I will represent my imperial father to raise this cup to you.” Xia Yunfeng smiled and raised his cup.

After he said this, everyone felt the atmosphere change a bit. Li Wanji’s expression darkened, as she finally realized why everyone’s expressions had grown odd after Long Chen had said that back then.

“Long Chen, I challenge you to a battle! If you’re a man, you’ll accept!” Li Wanji glared at Long Chen, looking like she wanted to bite him to death.

What was going on?

Xia Yunchong, Xia Youluo, and the other princes and princesses were all startled. They had no idea what was happening because they didn’t know about what had happened before.

“Brother Wenjun, this…” As the master of this banquet, Xia Yunfeng was the one to ask what was happening.

“Um… Long Chen and my friend argued a bit before. Her name is… Li Wanji…” Han Wenjun also didn’t quite know how to explain it, so he did it very vaguely.

Hearing her name, Xia Yunfeng and Xia Yunchong both realized what was going on. But the others still didn’t quite understand.

“This matter was my mistake. I did not know miss Wanji’s name. I apologize.” Xia Yunfeng magnanimously took the blame.

But in reality, he was speechless inside. Who had come up with this name? Was it to intentionally cause trouble with his Grand Xia?

“Crown prince, this matter has nothing to do with you. It is Long Chen who went too far. Moreover, it just so happens that it’s a tradition to have a martial competition before a feast. I simply wonder whether Long Chen will agree to exchange some pointers with Li Wanji or not,” said Han Wenjun.

To have a martial competition before the feast was in reality a friendly exchange of pointers to see who was stronger. The four ancient nations had truly done such things in the past.

But in the past few years, such martial competitions had grown rarer, and they were replaced with different events.

Furthermore, a competition on this level was extremely rare. Li Wanji was a rank eight Celestial, while Long Chen’s power was also explosive. Once they fought, it probably wouldn’t be so simple as exchanging pointers, especially considering Li Wanji’s current expression.

“This isn’t really appropriate. It could harm our friendship.” Xia Yunfeng shook his head.

“It’s just a way to liven things up. Both sides are aggrieved, so why not have a little fight? However, ten exchanges is the limit. If a victor is not determined by then, it’ll count as a draw.” Han Wenjun smiled.

“In truth, Long Chen is also a guest of my Grand Xia, and I cannot decide this for him.” Xia Yunfeng shook his head.

“Long Chen, if you’re a man, you’ll get up and fight me. Don’t cower like a turtle in its shell.” Li Wanji stood up and pointed at Long Chen.

“This person goes too far. How can she point at others like this? Long Chen, go put her away.” Now, even Xia Youluo found this unacceptable. Although she was willful, she knew she couldn’t point at others when speaking at them. That was an insult, so she encouraged Long Chen to fight.

Right now, everyone was looking at Long Chen. Long Chen lazily stood up and stretched. Looking at Li Wanji, he said, “Why bother? From the start, I never said anything that went overboard toward you. Is it worth it for you to persistently force me until I have no choice but to fight you? Intentionally angering me won’t bring you any benefits.”

“Hmph, there’s no need to say so much. You disgust me, and I have to properly teach you a lesson today,” sneered Li Wanji.

“You have to teach everyone who disgusts you a lesson? Do you like being disgusted? Since you want to fight, then I’ll accompany you. However, when you embarrass yourself, don’t cry.” Long Chen slowly stood up.

“You’re the one who will be crying.” Li Wanji smiled coldly upon seeing Long Chen agree to her challenge.

“Don’t try to kill him. Just make him lose face. You can’t kill people here.” Han Wenjun sent Li Wanji a secret transmission.

“Understood. I won’t kill him. I’ll make sure to only cut off a single arm,” replied Li Wanji, a ruthless gleam in her eyes.

“Since both parties consent, let’s start. Don’t do anything that would harm our friendship,” said Xia Yunfeng.

Two balls of light appeared in the palace hall, enveloping the two of them. They suddenly appeared on an ancient martial stage.

[1] He uses the same expression used a few chapters ago, Ri Li Wan Ji, which sounds the same as have sex with Li Wanji.