The moment the two clashed, the sword broke in half with a sharp clang.
The momentum of the spear remained undiminished. The spearhead fell right past the top of Gong Linjue's head, cleaving his golden hair crown in two.
The spearhead smashed heavily onto the ground. Without the slightest pause, Song Jinzhao quickly turned her wrist.
As she spun around, the sharp spearhead was already resting against his neck.
Beads of blood slowly dripped from the spearhead to the ground; advancing even a fraction more would sever Gong Linjue's neck and carotid artery.
"You've lost," Song Jinzhao coldly spat out the words, the battle intent radiating from her body yet to dissipate.
Her face held no joy or smugness of victory, only a chillingly extreme calmness, as if winning was merely an inevitable result for her.
Inside the Hall of Preserving Harmony, there was absolute silence. Everyone was frozen in place.
Gong Linjue, who had easily defeated six military officials in a row, was actually beaten by a woman, the Linghui County Princess!
On the shattered circular platform, Gong Linjue's hair was disheveled and his clothes were in tatters. His front was entirely exposed, and his torn white underpants had been reduced to a thin piece of fabric barely covering his waist.
The scratch on his face had turned into over a dozen, all cut by flying wood splinters.
Gong Linjue's eyes were bloodshot. Disregarding his humiliation, the only thought in his mind right now was to tear Song Jinzhao into pieces.
Ever since he helped the Third Prince ascend the throne, no one had ever subjected him to such a deep humiliation.
Song Jinzhao was the first, and she must be the last.
Seeing him remain silent and just glaring at her with a face full of hatred, Song Jinzhao pushed the spear in her hand forward just a tiny bit more.
"Does the Prince of Wei refuse to admit defeat and wish to continue fighting? I have plenty of time and can keep you company."
The deputy envoy sitting below nearly fainted.
How could His Highness lose! And to a woman, no less.
With this single battle, everything they had done earlier was in vain.
The sharp pain at his neck stimulated Gong Linjue's nerves, and he gritted his teeth as he squeezed out the words.
"I admit defeat."
Continuing to fight would only make him look more pathetic and lose more face.
Song Jinzhao withdrew her spear, her expression calm as she stepped aside and gestured. "Don't forget our wager. After you, Your Highness?"
Seeing him concede, the deputy envoy hurriedly took off his own official robe, ran up to the stage, and draped it over Gong Linjue's shoulders.
The loose outer robe fell short on Gong Linjue; as he walked, his lower half felt empty and drafty.
He stepped down from the platform and stopped in front of Chu Liuyun, speaking with a dark expression: "I accidentally slipped earlier and almost injured the Duke of Qing. Please forgive me, Duke of Qing."
Chu Liuyun clenched his fists. "It's fine."
It was a fact that Gong Linjue lost to Song Jinzhao, but it was also a fact that he himself was no match for Gong Linjue.
He had no complaints about being inferior in skill; he only hated that he wasn't strong enough.
Gong Linjue cast a fleeting glance at Chu Liuyun, completely disregarding him.
He turned to face Xiao Chengjing.
"Your Majesty the Emperor of Dongzhao, I am improperly dressed and need to change. I shall take my leave from the birthday banquet for today."
The stage had been turned into a pile of ruins, and fearing that Gong Linjue might cause more trouble, Xiao Chengjing immediately agreed.
He said cheerfully, "Today's martial arts sparring for entertainment was truly interesting and an eye-opener for Us."
"Someone, bring out the treasured sword from Our private vault and bestow it upon the Prince of Wei, as compensation for the pain of his broken sword."
Gong Linjue's face darkened, wishing he could flick his sleeves and leave immediately.
The dog emperor was humiliating him, reminding him of his pathetic loss to Song Jinzhao just now, where even his sword was broken.
"Qingshuang, go with the Prince of Wei to the Huitong Guesthouse to fetch the horse. I want to see it when I get back."
"Clatter." Someone's cup fell to the ground.
With one foot over the threshold, Gong Linjue's figure paused. He turned to look at Song Jinzhao.
"I am a man of my word and will never break a promise. It's just a horse; it's not worth my concern."
Song Jinzhao curled her lips into a smile. "It seems the Ferghana horse is nothing but a common item in Your Highness's eyes. It is I who haven't seen enough of the world."
The military officials sitting in the hall all kept their thoughts hidden.
A Ferghana horse was one in ten thousand and incredibly precious. Right now, Gong Linjue must be dying of regret inside.
After the Shuobei diplomatic mission left, Xiao Chengjing soon dismissed the banquet.
By the time Song Jinzhao returned to her estate with two chests of rewards, Qingshuang had already brought the horse back.
"Princess, this horse has a fierce temper and won't let anyone ride it. Fortunately, the guards at the Huitong Guesthouse helped, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to lead it back."
Qingshuang held out her hands, revealing two bloody marks on her palms, caused by the reins digging into her skin while she was pulling the horse.
Song Jinzhao walked around to the horse's rear and leaned down to take a look; sure enough, it was a stallion.
"Lock it in the stable and let Xuetuan scare it for a night. It'll behave tomorrow."
Although Xuetuan was a bit slow-witted and had a rather soft temperament, it was still a tiger.
As the king of the forest, its mere presence was enough to overwhelm other animals, and even a Ferghana horse would be afraid.
Hearing the news, Song Qiming and Song Shixue walked over from the backyard. Seeing an extra horse in the front hall and two large chests on the ground, they were full of doubts.
Their older sister had been invited to the Emperor's birthday banquet, so what was going on now?
Since Qingshuang couldn't pull it alone, she called over several guards to help pull together.
Song Shixue looked closely, taking the lantern from Hehua's hand to shine it carefully.
"Sister, this horse doesn't seem to belong to our family."
So tall and muscular, their family didn't have a horse like this.
Song Jinzhao nodded. "This is Gong Linjue's horse, but he has already lost it to me."
The siblings were stunned. How could the horse of the Prince of Wei from Shuobei be lost to their sister?
Song Qiming felt a sense of foreboding and asked uncertainly, "Sister, did something happen at the birthday banquet today?"
Having been tense all night, Song Jinzhao was also a bit tired.
She turned and led her younger siblings towards the backyard, explaining as they walked.
"At the banquet, Gong Linjue proposed to spar with the Duke of Qing to entertain the Emperor. The military officials of the court lost five matches in a row. Finally, when the Duke of Qing fought him, Gong Linjue maliciously almost crippled his hand."
"I intervened and scratched Gong Linjue. He clung to that tiny, almost healed wound, forcefully demanding an explanation from the Emperor, and arrogantly claimed that the court's military officials were too weak and all useless. So I made a wager with him and fought him. That Ferghana horse is what I won back, and the things in the chests are rewards from the Emperor."
Song Qiming's toe caught on a stone slab, and he almost lost his balance.
"Sparring at the birthday banquet and trying to cripple the Duke of Qing, this Prince of Wei is too bold."
Song Jinzhao yawned as she walked.
"He is bold because he has the strength to back it up, and Dongzhao has always avoided war and advocated for peace, which has only fueled Shuobei's arrogance."
"The border won't remain peaceful; there will definitely be another war in a few years."
Song Qiming sighed. "Since the founding of Dongzhao, there's a war with Shuobei every ten years at the shortest, or every few decades at the longest. Every time, it drains the people and resources, causing countless casualties."
"If one day we can fight back and completely wipe them out, there won't be any more wars."
Song Qiming smiled and shook his head. "The current Emperor definitely won't be able to fulfill this wish of yours."
Xiao Chengjing was a typical conservative. Unless he was a hundred percent sure of winning, he would never initiate a war.
Compared to unifying the world, he was more afraid of losing his grip on the dragon throne beneath him.
