101: Chapter 95: Suo Hanyi Bereft of Pride!
Suo Lun’s Soaring Fighting Spirit!_2 101: Chapter 95: Suo Hanyi Bereft of Pride!
Suo Lun’s Soaring Fighting Spirit!_2 Suo Hanyi’s heart skipped a beat, faintly guessing who the visitor was.
He shouldn’t meet her, but on an inexplicable impulse, he nevertheless gave the order, “Let her in, and no one is to come within a hundred steps of my study.”
“Yes,” said the personal guard.
A moment later, the woman in a black dress and veil appeared before Suo Hanyi.
Without hesitation, she lifted the veil from her face, revealing a stunning yet pale countenance.
Of course, it was Princess Zhining.
After vomiting blood twice in succession and traveling thousands of miles to Tianshui City without rest for two days and nights, her appearance had become haggard and devoid of color, having lost considerable weight.
“Commandery Princess, I trust you’ve been well,” Suo Hanyi said brashly, lounging in his chair without the slightest intention of bowing, full of the pride of a victor.
“Suo Hanyi, you are blissfully unaware that your life is on the brink, yet you sit here in smug satisfaction—how laughable,” Princess Zhining said.
Suo Hanyi burst into laughter and said, “Life on the brink?
With that rabble outside?
They would do well to withstand a siege for a month.
I already have victory well in hand.”
Then, looking down at Zhi Ning, Suo Hanyi clicked his tongue and said, “Together you amass a force of thirty or forty thousand, but you’ve been defeated by me twice.
The secret elite troops under your command also aren’t very impressive.”
Disgusted by his behavior, Zhi Ning said coldly, “Suo Hanyi, it’s not I who will kill you, Suo Lun will.”
That good-for-nothing,” Suo Hanyi said.
Zhi Ning said, “Suo Hanyi, you are indeed a military genius, a martial arts prodigy.
But in front of Suo Lun, you are nothing.
Be it literary talent or strategic prowess, or even personal charm, you can’t hold a candle to even half of what Suo Lun possesses.”
Suo Hanyi laughed in extreme ridicule and said, “That good-for-nothing?
Apart from spending money and womanizing, what else can he do?
Neither scholarly nor martial, not even able to tie up a chicken.
If he weren’t the son of my foster father, he would have been dead on the roadside long ago.”
Previously, Suo Hanyi might have looked down on Suo Lun, but he would never have spoken so harshly.
However, after two great victories and Zhi Ning’s repeated praise of Suo Lun, he could not help but voice his deep disdain.
Zhi Ning continued, “In the recent grand examination at the royal academy, Suo Lun ranked first.
He has now successfully inherited the title and officially become the City Lord of Tianshui City.
He is about to come to Tianshui City, and your good days are about to end.”
Suo Hanyi laughed loudly and said, “Absurd, impossible!
Suo Lun is ignorant and unlearned, unable to draw a bow even of a few dozen pounds.
How could he have earned the noble Samurai medal?
Commandery Princess, even if you lie, at least make it believable.”
Zhi Ning said, “For this graduation examination, I used all means to suppress him.
But he started by writing a policy essay that shook the entire Cabinet and the royal family.
During the arts exam, I instructed all examiners to suppress him, but he played a once-in-a-millennium piece, ‘Fate,’ which thoroughly conquered Grand Mage Byron of the Dragon Temple, turning my suppression into a laughingstock.
In the final archery exam, I blinded him, but he performed a miracle, shooting with unerring accuracy despite his blindness.”
“Impossible, absolutely impossible,” Suo Hanyi said hoarsely.
Zhi Ning said, “Before him, I was utterly defeated, losing a hundred and fifty thousand Gold Coins and suffering profound injury, in addition to being publicly humiliated and violated by him.
So why, despite vomiting blood twice, would I still make the arduous journey to Tianshui City, tirelessly, bringing five thousand elite troops to oversee the final siege?
As the greatest loser, what need would I have to lie?”
At this point, Suo Hanyi finally felt that what Zhi Ning said was true.
His heart was not only shaken, but utterly overturned.
When Suo Lun was seen as a good-for-nothing playboy, although Suo Hanyi cursed him daily, he was actually pleased with the reality.
If Suo Lun wasn’t useless, how could Suo Hanyi stand out for his own excellence?
Thus, the more incompetent Suo Lun appeared, the more loyal Suo Hanyi remained to the Suo Family.
But now, Suo Lun was no longer a good-for-nothing; he was a genius, a master at playing dumb.
Suo Hanyi could not accept this at all.
How could Suo Lun be a genius?
In the Suo Family, there could only be one prodigy, and that was Suo Hanyi himself.
Zhi Ning continued, “My brother, Zhi Li, is desperate for talent.
Do you know what he offered Suo Lun?”
Suo Hanyi instinctively shook his head.
Zhi Ning said, “The future Prime Minister, along with the future brother-in-law.
That is to say, he intends to marry me off to him.”
Upon hearing this, Suo Hanyi immediately felt a surge of unbearable jealousy and hatred.
Even though he, Suo Hanyi, often spoke harshly and acted superior, he still felt an instinctive inferiority in front of Commandery Princess Zhi Ning, a member of the royal nobility.
Yet now, Zhi Ning was saying that she might very well marry Suo Lun, that wastrel.
“However, I know that Suo Lun will certainly refuse,” Zhi Ning said.
“I understand him too well—he is a man of extreme pride and immense fascination to women, and he will not compromise, which is why I made the long journey here.”
“The sky does not share its shine with two suns, just as the people do not submit to two lords,” Zhi Ning continued.
“Tianshui City can have only one master, and at this moment, Suo Lun has already caused a sensation throughout the royal city.
His miracles will soon reach Tianshui City.
With such a talented, remarkable Lord, do you think he will not be supported by the people and the army?”
Suo Hanyi still had no answer.
Zhi Ning went on, “If you, Suo Hanyi, are willing to submit to him, hand over military power, and assist him with all your heart and effort, then naturally, there will be no issue.
However, are you content with this?
If the two of you engage in a struggle, I am certain that the one to die would be you.”