The Legend of Zhuohua

Chapter Four

As Guo Julii listened to Mu Zhuohua finish the story of Prince Ding, he couldn't help but show deep respect. "Prince Ding is truly extraordinary."

Mu Zhuohua nodded. "Yes, the peace and stability of Chen Kingdom in recent years owe a lot to Prince Ding."

Guo Julii was puzzled. "If Prince Ding is so powerful, why would they dare to disrespect him?"

Mu Zhuohua sighed. "Because this tiger is injured. Three years ago, Prince Ding faced a decisive battle with the Northern Liang Army, surrounded and almost lost his life along with three thousand elite soldiers. It was only thanks to the Crown Prince leading troops deep into enemy territory that Prince Ding was saved. However, Prince Ding was seriously injured in this battle and had to hand over most of his military power to the Crown Prince. Otherwise..." Mu Zhuohua glanced at the literati debating on the lower floor, chuckled, and said, "those people wouldn't have the chance to speak so confidently."

Guo Julii raised an eyebrow. "But that literati Zong openly criticized the tiger, which is an attack on Prince Ding. How does he know that the Crown Prince and Prince Ding are not on the same side? Didn't the Crown Prince save Prince Ding?"

Mu Zhuohua smiled and patted Guo Julii's head. "Because you, my dear, think too little, and they, on the other hand, think too much."

Guo Julii scratched his head, looking confused.

Mu Zhuohua lowered his voice. "Their minds are full of conspiracy theories. They believe that Prince Ding's defeat was orchestrated by the Crown Prince to seize power from Prince Ding."

Guo Julii stared in disbelief and after a moment said, "Adults' minds are really complicated..."

Below, the speech of Literati Zong came to an end, receiving applause from the audience.

"He truly deserves to be Literati Zong. His arguments are well-founded and powerful!"

"Literati Zong is a loyal subject, a role model for us all!"

"I guess Shen Jinghong won't dare to show up today."

Amidst the noisy crowd, a hearty laughter suddenly rang out. "Since you all think so highly of me, how can I disappoint you?"

The crowd fell silent.

Mu Zhuohua's eyes lit up as he stretched his neck to look downstairs.

A path naturally opened in the crowd, and a young man in a white robe slowly walked forward. With arched eyebrows and starry eyes, he had a handsome face with a lazy smile, as if he didn't care about the world. All eyes in the room were now on him. He raised his hand and waved to the crowd, saying with a smile, "I've kept you all waiting."

Someone provocatively shouted, "Master Shen, why are you so late today? Are you afraid?"

Shen Jinghong laughed, "I was helping an old lady cross the bridge just now, so I'm late."

The crowd chuckled.

The man's face turned ugly. "Master Shen, you're joking."

Shen Jinghong's expression hardened. "Isn't it you who made the joke first?"

Earlier, he had said—Shen Jinghong is afraid.

The crowd burst into laughter.

Literati Zong, seeing that Shen Jinghong had instantly captured all the attention, coughed displeasingly, shook his fan, and looked down at Shen Jinghong from his elevated position. "Master Shen, this is a place for scholarly discussions, not for joking."