Normally, with the king's strong protection, the Marquis of Julu could act recklessly and arrogantly, and everyone would turn a blind eye.
But now, if Li Yao is truly angered, the entire Mohist Guild will probably not let it go.
Li Yao knew that the reason King Xiaocheng compromised with him was because King Xiaocheng wanted him to drop the pursuit of the Marquis of Julu's crimes.
Of course, he also knew that King Xiaocheng was very wary of his Mohist guild.
In fact, Li Yao's humiliation of the Marquis of Julu was also a deliberate test of King Xiaocheng's bottom line, to see if he dared to touch him.
King Xiaocheng's compromise is enough to prove that he feared the Mohist guild and dared not touch it.
Moreover, from the very beginning, all of Li Yao's actions were part of his plan.
He ignored the existence of the Marquis of Julu from the beginning, partly because he disliked the Marquis, but the most important reason was that he was plotting something.
He set up a very large chess game.
Ignoring and humiliating the Marquis of Julu in public was the first step in this game.
Having made this first move, Li Yao now observes the changing game and adjusts his next move accordingly.
So Li Yao smiled slightly and said, "In that case, I, the Grand Prince, will not pursue this matter any further for the sake of Your Majesty."
At this moment, Marquis Zhao Mu of Julu has gradually regained his senses.
Zhao Mu also realized that his previous actions had been irrational.
Now that King Xiaocheng has spoken up for him, the matter is dropped.
Of course, he would never easily let go of the humiliation he suffered at the hands of Li Yao.
He glared at Li Yao with a venomous look, then told King Xiaocheng that he was feeling unwell and was withdrawing from the banquet that evening.
Before leaving, he secretly winked at the two seats.
He then left the Auspicious Hall with the help of his guards.
Li Yao observed Zhao Mu's every move but did not point it out.
No one expected things to turn out this way.
Seeing that the atmosphere in the hall was a bit off, King Xiaocheng quickly raised his cup and said, "Master Li is the new Master of the Mohist Guild. The Mohist Guild has made great contributions to our Great Zhao. Here, I, along with everyone, would like to toast Master Li."
Everyone then came to their senses and raised their glasses to toast Li Yao.
Li Yao raised his wine cup and toasted King Xiaocheng and the others.
Next up is a court song and dance performance.
After the song and dance ended, a middle-aged man with an ethereal appearance and a long beard bowed to King Xiaocheng and said:
"Your Majesty, watching singing and dancing at every royal banquet is rather boring."
"Our Great Zhao has many sword masters, and they all want to learn from Li Juzi's superb swordsmanship."
"There are quite a few swordsmen here. Why don't we invite Li Juzi to spar with them to enhance the drinking experience? Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Chapter 45 Young Master Hongying Wants to Compete in Cheapness
Suddenly someone suggested a sparring match, which surprised everyone.
However, when everyone saw who made the suggestion, they were not surprised.
Li Yao looked at the person who made the suggestion, his expression completely calm.
This was something he had expected!
Li Yao's seat was next to Wu Shilu's seat.
Sitting behind Wu Shilu, Wu Yingyuan lowered his voice and said to Li Yao, "This man is Guo Kai, a high-ranking official, who has a close relationship with the Marquis of Julu."
Li Yao suddenly realized.
It turns out this person was Guo Kai.
Guo Kai was one of Zhao Mu's lackeys.
When this guy talks, his eyes always dart around, he's got a lot of bad ideas.
Before leaving, Zhao Mu exchanged a glance with Guo Kai.
Presumably, Guo Kai's suggestion to spar was at Zhao Mu's behest.
As soon as Guo Kai finished speaking, a warrior sitting behind Wu Yingyuan stood up, bowed to King Xiaocheng and said, "Your Majesty, I, Lian Jin, wish to duel with Li Juzi. Please grant me permission."
Wu Shilu, Wu Yingyuan, Wu Tingfang, and other members of the Wu family were all taken aback.
They never expected that Lian Jin would stand up and challenge Li Yao.
Lian Jin was a retainer of the Wu family. His challenge to Li Yao was tantamount to the Wu family challenging Li Yao.
Li Yao is the new Grand Master of the Mohist Guild, and even King Xiaocheng is quite wary of him.
The Wu family naturally didn't want to offend Li Yao.
Moreover, Wu Yingyuan also felt that Li Yao was an extraordinary person, and he even wanted to get closer to Li Yao.
Now, Lian Jin is going to challenge Li Yao.
Isn't this clearly going to offend Li Yao and put the Wu family in a dilemma?
Wu Shilu and Wu Yingyuan were ashen-faced, but since Lian Jin had already stepped forward to request permission to fight from King Xiaocheng, they couldn't say anything.
"Lian Jin?"
"Young Master Hongying!"
Li Yao looked at Lian Jin with great interest.
Lian Jin was seen wearing a red-tasseled crown, a yellow warrior's robe embroidered with dragon patterns, and black warrior's leather boots.
Lian Jin was very tall and had a great physique, with broad shoulders and a strong waist, exuding masculine charm.
Lian Jin's eyes gleamed, his forehead was high and broad, his eyes were straight and his nose was straight, and his lips were tightly pressed together, exuding an indescribable arrogance and conceit.
Such a handsome and dashing person is indeed rare.
Compared to the original novel, Lian Jin in the TVB version of "A Step into the Past" is more memorable.
In this era of war and chaos, everyone valued martial arts, especially in the State of Zhao, where challenging and sparring was commonplace.
However, King Xiaocheng was in a dilemma.
He had just calmed Li Yao down, but now someone was standing up to challenge him.
If he doesn't agree, he's afraid it will displease the swordsmen and warriors.
If he agrees, he might offend Li Yao and the Mohist Guild.
After all, Lian Jin was one of the top swordsmen in the Zhao state.
Despite Li Yao's great strength, he is very likely no match for Lian Jin.
If Lian Jin were to injure Li Yao, that would be extremely bad.
Just as King Xiaocheng was in a dilemma, Li Yao suddenly spoke up with a smile: "Let's forget about comparing our shamelessness, but a friendly spar is not out of the question."
Everyone was puzzled. What did Li Yao mean by that?
As the leader of the Mohist guild, shouldn't Li Yao be skilled in Mohist swordsmanship?
If not swords, then what should we compare?
Li Yao smiled and said to Lian Jin, "Lian Jin, if you like being shameless, then be shameless. I still prefer using a knife."
Lian Jin, of course, had no idea that Li Yao was calling him "cheap".
He smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "As long as Master Li is willing to accept the challenge, he can use any weapon."
At this moment, a Mohist behind Li Yao spoke up to advise, "Master, this man is the number one swordsman in Zhao. His swordsmanship is superb and should not be underestimated."
This Mohist did not witness Li Yao's confrontation with Yan Ping and hundreds of other Mohists firsthand; he only learned about the situation from other Mohists.
Therefore, he did not consider Li Yao to be a match for Lian Jin.
Li Yao simply smiled and said, "It's alright!"
Seeing that Li Yao had accepted the challenge, King Xiaocheng had no choice but to nod and say:
"It is said that Li Juzi is a master of martial arts, and Lian Jin is a famous swordsman of our Great Zhao."
“Since the time of King Wuling, our Great Zhao has always valued martial arts. Now that you are holding a martial arts competition in the palace, it is a good opportunity to promote the martial spirit of our Great Zhao.”
"However, swords have no eyes, so remember that this is a friendly spar, and you should only touch the target once."
Guo Kai quickly raised his voice and said, "Your Majesty, I have a suggestion."
King Xiaocheng was taken aback and said, "Please speak, Minister Guo."
Guo Kai stood up and said respectfully, "If Your Majesty stipulates that the duel should end when the opponent has made a point, they will certainly not dare to disobey Your Majesty's order. In this case, the two of them will be bound hand and foot and unable to exert their martial spirit. Please reconsider, Your Majesty."
Lian Jin quickly spoke up, "Your Majesty, Doctor Guo is right. When I compete with others, I always go all out and fight for real. If Li Juzi doesn't dare to do that, then this competition will be called off."
As Lian Jin spoke, he looked at Li Yao provocatively.
His purpose was clear: to provoke Li Yao into a real fight, and then take the opportunity to kill Li Yao and avenge Zhao Mu.
King Xiaocheng hesitated. The reason he specifically asked for the matter to end quickly was because he was worried that Lian Jin would harm Li Yao.
But now Guo Kai and Lian Jinming are clearly trying to kill Li Yao. Guo Kai is Zhao Mu's man, and he knows it perfectly well.
Guo Kai and Lian Jin's actions were definitely at Zhao Mu's behest.
Just as King Xiaocheng was hesitating, Li Yao spoke to Lian Jin: "Coincidentally, I also like to fight without restrictions. However, I am a man who doesn't know how to hold back. If I accidentally kill you, don't blame me."
Lian Jin sneered without any restraint; in his eyes, Li Yao was already a dead man.
He then feigned humility, saying, "If I were to die at the hands of the Grand Master, it would only mean that my swordsmanship is lacking, and I have no one to blame but myself."
King Zhao had no choice but to nod and say, "In that case, let the martial arts competition begin."
The entire hall was silent, as everyone awaited the start of the show.
However, everyone already knew the outcome of this duel: either Li Yao would be crippled by Lian Jin, or Li Yao would be killed by Lian Jin.