Chapter 176: A Good General Possesses All Three

Feng Yin was drunk. Xiao Li had someone send him back and took the opportunity to ask about Feng Yu’s situation.

Feng Yu had knelt and begged Imperial Tutor Feng to spare He Changyu, even saying she would sever ties with her family to remain his wife.

When Imperial Tutor Feng refused, she remained kneeling, posturing as if she would defy him to the very end.

After failing to persuade her, Madam Feng went straight for the root of the problem. She used his two children as leverage, giving Feng Yu an ultimatum: either divorce He Changyu, or she would have his two illegitimate children beaten to death.

The effect was said to be immediate. They were apparently already signing the divorce papers.

Xiao Li scoffed. ’Some people just have to learn the hard way.’

It wasn’t that Xiao Li couldn’t stand seeing a happy couple, but that He Changyu was clearly a complete and utter hypocrite.

He claimed to be a good man who doted on his wife, but look at what he actually did. It was all talk. He would pull Feng Yu into public displays of affection at every opportunity, all to solidify his persona as a loving husband, without any regard for how others felt.

The He Family was inferior to the Feng Family. He Changyu had only obtained his official post thanks to the Grand Tutor’s influence, and the dowry the Feng Family had given Feng Yu was enough to support her for the rest of her life.

The most He Changyu ever did was put on a show of being the loving husband in public. But at home, it was said that Feng Yu even had to personally draw the water for him to wash his feet.

In a word: he did absolutely nothing, and it was all hot air!

And as for Feng Yu, simply because everyone "knew" how much He Changyu loved her, she felt indebted to her doting husband for her failure to bear him a child. She had unconsciously put herself in a subservient position—a classic case of being utterly manipulated.

’Madam Feng is so shrewd,’ Xiao Li mused. ’How did she raise such a fool for a daughter?’

Especially since the entire Feng Family had been singing He Changyu’s praises before.

’Their rose-tinted glasses from him collecting Father Feng’s body must be thick indeed.’

But it was another family’s business in the end. Xiao Li couldn’t be bothered with it; she still had her own affairs to deal with.

The Scholar’s Banquet was tomorrow. She needed to rest well to be sharp for it.

As she was about to head back to her room to sleep, she passed a corner and saw Hong Yue standing and talking with Rong Qing.

Rong Qing’s tall figure was ramrod straight, his face a stoic, expressionless mask. Hong Yue looked apologetic and concerned.

Xiao Li gave them a single glance before walking past as if she had seen nothing.

That night, Xiao Li had said nothing, but Rong Qing requested a punishment of ten strokes of the rod, which were administered in front of all the other guards.

Xiao Li didn’t speak up, and no one else dared to plead for him.

Rong Qing was not like Hong Yue. He knew exactly what kind of master he served.

Having served in the army for many years, he knew that military orders were absolute. As the Princess’s guard, he could only obey her, no matter the circumstances. Without her command, he could not yield a single step. That was his duty.

Lou Yan was not the Princess’s husband, nor could he even be considered her lover.

Even if Hong Yue begged, he should not have let Lou Yan in without an order.

If something was wrong with Xiao Li, he should have gone in to check himself, not let someone else inside.

He knew where he had gone wrong and that he deserved punishment. Therefore, he willingly accepted it—a public caning to make an example of himself.

As for Hong Yue, while none of Rong Qing’s ten strokes landed on her, it was more than enough to teach her a lasting lesson.

In truth, Xiao Li never intended to punish Rong Qing. After all, his mistake wasn’t intentional; he had been influenced by Hong Yue at the time.

Furthermore, the person in question was Lou Yan. Her own special attitude toward Lou Yan had clouded their judgment.

But the fact that Rong Qing had requested punishment himself made Xiao Li see him in an even better light.

A simple-minded subordinate with high martial arts skill was certainly useful, but she needed more than just a brute.

Strength, loyalty, and wisdom—one must possess all three to be a great general.

「On the day of the Scholar’s Banquet, a long line had already formed outside the Princess Mansion just as the sky began to lighten.」

Two days prior, Xiao Li had her people publicize the selection process for the Scholar’s Banquet through all the major teahouses and bookshops.

Flyers were distributed, laying out the entire process with perfect clarity.

The bold words at the top read "Scholar’s Banquet," not "Spouse Selection Banquet."

It was a sincere invitation for all well-read, learned, and well-favored young talents to participate. A note was added: Heroes aren’t judged by their origins.

There would be seven stages in total, each with different content and questions, covering literature, arithmetic, ingenuity, architecture, medicine, and more. It was a comprehensive trial to find the piece of gold that shined the brightest.

Song Junzhan had written a very flowery, scholarly version of the announcement, but one look was enough for Xiao Li to reject it.

Sometimes, plain speech could stir the hearts of people more effectively than showing off with pedantic language.

What scholar or man of letters could possibly refuse such a competition?

There was no need to even mention the prizes. The Princess Mansion was famously generous with its money.

As long as one placed, could they possibly lack a reward?

As for the rumors of it being a spouse selection, for the scholars from poor families, becoming Princess Xuanyang’s husband was no humiliation—it was a ladder to the heavens.

Everyone thought that only poor scholars from lowly backgrounds would attend Princess Xuanyang’s "spouse selection banquet," but in reality, quite a few sons of aristocratic families showed up as well.

On one side stood men in fine silks and brocades, adorned with golden beads and jade pendants; on the other, men in simple cloth robes and wooden hairpins.

Without anyone organizing them, the two groups spontaneously separated, leaving a clear path between them, a sharp and distinct divide.

Many people had come to watch the excitement today, but anyone not participating in the trials was stopped outside.

As the starting time approached, nearly a hundred sons of aristocratic families had gathered on their side. In contrast, the scholars from poor families numbered only sixty or seventy, looking somewhat forlorn in the face of the arrogant and disdainful nobles.

Some of the noble sons began to verbally provoke and insult the commoner scholars. But before the latter could even get angry and retort, the Silver Armor Guards of the Princess Mansion drew their blades.

"By order of the Princess! This is the Scholar’s Banquet, a gathering of talents. All participants are forbidden from verbal provocation, belittling, or humiliating others. No one shall stir up trouble. Violators will be considered to be provoking the Princess Mansion!"

The unspoken message was, ’Everyone better behave.’

Looking at the imposing Silver Armor Guards, both the sons of aristocratic families and the scholars from poor families could directly feel the might of the Princess Mansion.

Force was the quickest way to make people learn their place. This was especially true for the force of Princess Xuanyang’s Mansion, which was particularly intimidating because its master was known to be ruthless—one who would kill anyone who defied her.

Moreover, the Princess Mansion’s guards were cold, stern, and impartial. They did not treat the finely dressed sons of aristocratic families any differently.

Among the scholars from poor families, two young men exchanged a look, each seeing the resolve in the other’s eyes.

The one in a white cloth robe was Tang Shuyu, and the one in a gray cloth robe was Lin Yici. They were close friends who had been through life-and-death situations together, having met due to their similar circumstances and supported each other ever since.

In their youth, they were both child prodigies praised by their elders and teachers. Well-read and just beginning to show their talent, they were sent to the Capital City to study after their coming-of-age ceremonies. They believed that opportunities abounded at the feet of the Heavenly Emperor and that with their skills, they would soon find a patron who appreciated their abilities, make a name for themselves, and bring glory to their families.

But only after arriving did they realize that under the rule of Imperial Power and aristocratic families, one’s birth was an insurmountable chasm.

No matter how capable or talented, anyone who came here would be brutally suppressed, with no hope of ever climbing up in their lifetime.

Their talents went unrecognized as they fell into poverty, mocked, humiliated, and subjected to endless hardship, yet they didn’t dare return to their hometowns.

They couldn’t bear to face their families and teachers, nor were they willing to resign themselves to going home to farm the land. All they could do was suffer in torment here.

They had been tormented to the point of near resignation, believing their lives were destined to amount to nothing.

But then Princess Xuanyang had said: "Heroes aren’t judged by their origins. I’m searching for the piece of gold that shines the brightest."

In an instant, their fighting spirit was rekindled.

For them, this opportunity—Princess Xuanyang’s Scholar’s Banquet—was their last straw of hope, and they had to grasp it with all their might.