"Lord Chen, you're drunk! Sit down!" Seeing Chen Ke still standing there dumbfounded, the Qin princess raised her voice.
The Third Prince, Yin Tianzheng, had already stood up and strolled to a section of the red carpet in the center of the hall, stopping abruptly.
His cold gaze fixed on Chen Ke, Yin Tianzheng slowly said, "Chen Ke, as you wish, I'll spar with you a few times!"
The Qin princess's face paled slightly, helplessly watching Chen Ke walk towards the red carpet.
She suddenly realized that Chen Ke seemed much stranger.
Chen Ke's eyes were somewhat languid, and a lazy smile played on his lips.
Judging solely by his eyes and smile, one might think he was languid.
However, this was not the case.
Chen Ke had short hair, light eyebrows, and a face with defined features, indescribably handsome.
He wore a black robe with a high collar and a cinched waist, making his figure appear even taller and more slender, exuding an indescribable air of confidence.
He was truly handsome.
The Qin princess, lost in thought, blushed slightly upon regaining her composure, her heart filled with worry for Chen Ke.
Yin Tianzheng looked at Chen Ke, who stood opposite him, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.
If his memory served him correctly, this should be the first time he had seen Chen Ke.
But why did he feel as if he had seen him somewhere before?
Coming back to his senses, Yin Tianzheng coldly said, "Logically speaking, you are not qualified to fight the King, so this battle should have a prize, shouldn't it?"
"What prize does Your Highness want?" Chen Ke asked indifferently.
Yin Tianzheng sneered, "Simple, if you lose, you will not be allowed to leave the Chen residence in the capital for ten years. Consider it a period of seclusion and reflection!"
Ten years?
Forget ten years, three years would be too long.
"If I can't leave the capital, how can I marry the Qin princess?"
Chen Ke frowned. "What if you lose?"
Yin Tianzheng raised an eyebrow and declared firmly, "If I lose, I will also seclude myself in my palace in Purple Eagle City for ten years!"
Yin Tianzheng sneered inwardly; he didn't think he would lose at all.
Even if he lost, would Chen Ke send someone to Purple Eagle City to watch over him?
The so-called ten years of seclusion was a joke.
"Kid, nod your head quickly, agree quickly!" Yin Tianzheng sneered at Chen Ke opposite him, but his heart was pounding with anxiety as he kept urging him on.
Not only was Yin Tianzheng nervous, but the Qin princess was even more so, staring intently at Chen Ke. "You big glutton, shake your head quickly, you can't agree!"
In the court of the Great Xia Dynasty, there were always two forces pulling and vying with each other.
One side advocated a three-way alliance and supported the marriage between the Qin princess and the third prince of Purple Eagle.
While this might allow Qin to grow stronger, wouldn't it also extend the influence of Great Xia to Ziying to some extent?
On the other hand, there's the advocacy of limiting Qin's power. Marrying the Qin princess to a merchant's son like Chen Ke would not only restrict the princess's expansion but also prevent Qin from slipping out of Great Xia's control.
Currently, the latter side clearly holds the advantage, and barring unforeseen circumstances, the Qin princess's marriage to Chen Ke is a done deal.
However, if Chen Ke is eliminated, the opposing side will regain the upper hand.
At that point, the entire court will exert all its efforts to promote the marriage alliance between Qin and Ziying.
The Qin princess absolutely refuses to marry Yin Tianzheng, especially after learning that he willingly offered the golden seal and the national letter to a bear-man to escape his fate. This behavior disgusts her even more.
She nervously looks at the silent, pensive Chen Ke, and can't help but feel a surge of anger.
"You bastards, what's there to hesitate about? Just refuse outright!
Are you really going to sacrifice my happiness for your so-called male pride?!"
The hall fell silent, everyone staring at Chen Ke.
They all knew that this gamble had nothing to do with who would be trapped for ten years, but rather with who would marry the Qin princess.
Emotionally, they naturally favored the Third Prince; only someone as exceptionally handsome and talented as him was worthy of the Qin princess.
Rationally, they also favored the Third Prince; only after he married the Qin princess could the grand plan of a three-way alliance truly be realized.
Chen Ke stood quietly, his eyes lowered, seemingly deep in thought, but his gaze never left the red jade pendant at Yin Tianzheng's waist.
The blood-red pendant was carved with a coiled dragon, exquisitely crafted, and emitted a faint, precious glow.
Chen Ke even detected a trace of dragon's breath emanating from the pendant.
A large dialog box floated above his view: "Synthesizable energy detected. Synthesize?"
He had to get his hands on it before he could synthesize it, Chen Ke couldn't help but smile bitterly.
He raised his head, looked at the seemingly composed Yin Tianzheng, and pointed to the jade pendant at Yin Tianzheng's waist: "How about this, we add your jade pendant as well?"
Yin Tianzheng glanced down in surprise, then his spirits lifted, and he looked intently at Chen Ke: "You mean, besides our previous bet, you want my dragon-patterned jade pendant as a bonus?"
Chen Ke nodded seriously: "That's what I mean."
Yin Tianzheng was overjoyed and unhesitatingly took off the jade pendant, handing it to one of his subordinates.
This jade pendant wasn't actually a jade pendant, but rather carved from dragon bone that had undergone jadeification over tens of thousands of years, containing mysterious power and being extremely precious.
However, compared to the Qin princess, and compared to the throne of the Purple Eagle Dynasty, even the most precious jade pendant was nothing.
While everyone in the hall breathed a sigh of relief, they also looked at the Qin princess with sympathy.
This Chen Ke, in the end, couldn't shake off the mercenary nature of a businessman; he actually sold out the princess for a jade pendant.
Such a profit-driven scoundrel is truly shameful.
*Thump!*
Princess Qin stood up, biting her red lips, her eyes glaring at Chen Ke with murderous intent.
"You bastard, a college loser, a glutton, a menace! Do you think I mean so little to you?!"
If it weren't for that jade pendant, Princess Qin wouldn't have reprimanded Chen Ke so harshly; she was even prepared to forgive him.
After all, any man with a backbone might sometimes do foolish things for the sake of dignity and self-respect.
But this bastard Chen Ke wasn't doing it for dignity or self-respect at all; he was after a jade pendant!
The more Princess Qin thought about it, the angrier she became, her shoulders trembling with rage.
Chen Ke felt a chill run down his spine, but pretended not to see anything. He increasingly realized that Princess Qin was showing signs of becoming a shrew.
The Third Prince, Yin Tianzheng, was extremely pleased with himself. Afraid that Princess Qin would interfere, he shifted his position, blocking her gaze from Chen Ke.
With a flick of his robe, he looked at Chen Ke and coldly said, "Chen Ke, make your move!"
"Alright. "
Chen Ke nodded, his body instantly accelerating as he delivered a punch to Yin Tianzheng's face.
Bang!
Yin Tianzheng's nose bled profusely, his teeth shattered, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.