Chapter Eleven: Favoritism

  A fine layer of cold sweat had already appeared on Ning Tianqi's forehead!

  Hurry!

  It's really too fast.

  Just as Qingping Jun's sword was about to pierce Guqin, he suddenly made a move with a speed so fast that even this strong master of the Eightfold Path could only catch a glimpse. With two fingers, he pinched the tip of Qingping Jun's sword and broke it off with a slight force. Then, with one hand, he threw it straight at Ye Xueqing's brow!

  Finishing move!

  In that one throw, he didn't see any mercy in Gu Qing's eyes. If his push towards Ye Xueqing was slightly slower, he dared to guarantee that the broken sword tip would have pierced through Ye Xueqing's brow from the center.

  Thinking back to what just happened in the blink of an eye, Ning Tianqi couldn't help but feel a lingering fear. If Ye Xueqing had died at this banquet, once the King of Zhenxi flew into a rage, it wouldn't be easy for them to suppress the matter with their imperial power!

  No wonder the Sword Saint of Nansheng, would actually attach so much importance to Gu Qing, a small and unknown figure. Just his previous methods, were absolutely not something that this high-ranking master at the peak of Qi Dao could have achieved.

  This ancient Qing is definitely a master of the ninth rank of Qi Dao, or even the pinnacle of the ninth rank!

  It's really hidden deep.

  "Ah!"

  A shrill cry suddenly burst from Ye Xueqing's mouth, shattering Ning Tianqi's deep thoughts.

  At this time, Ye Xueqing finally reacted from the throw that almost took her life earlier, and her body involuntarily retreated backward.

  "You...... you......"

  All who can attend this banquet, without exception, are young and outstanding contributors in various fields. Their brains are naturally not stupid, based on the clues they have at hand, as well as the broken sword that has penetrated deep into the wall ten meters away, everyone can already guess what happened in that extremely brief moment.

  As soon as they recalled what had just happened in a flash of lightning, everyone's eyes fell on Gu Qing, who had done all this.

  In that case, break off Ye Xueqing's treasured sword and counterattack... This Gu Qing, is actually so capable!？

  "What happened?"

  His Majesty Ning Tianchi, the emperor who was not supposed to dampen the enthusiasm of these young people and only participated in internal activities, seemed to have received news and finally came out from the palace with a group of civil and military officials, his presence had not yet arrived but his voice had already been heard.

  Not far away, Nian Wusheng, a figure like a star shining brightly, also rushed to the scene in no time, his eyes filled with surprise as he looked around.

  "Come on, come on, take him down! Take him down!"

  A burst of angry rebuke suddenly came from Ye Xueqing's mouth, directly targeting Gu Qing.

  The several maids beside her heard her order and without any hesitation directly drew their swords to take Gǔ Qīng.

  "Wait, who can tell me what's going on?!" Just in time, Nian Wusheng hurriedly stretched out his hand to stop him.

  "Take it down!"

  The Marquis of Qingping indeed did not put the words of this Sword Saint in his eyes at all, and gave orders again.

  Just because she doesn't put Sword Saint Nian Wusheng in her eyes, it doesn't mean that the Emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty, Ning Tianchi, can do the same!

  As soon as he saw it, he immediately said: "Hold on!" and stopped the two maidservants. At the same time, his stern gaze swept through the crowd and finally fell on Ning Tianqi: "Imperial son, you should know what happened just now, tell me the whole story!"

  "He wants to kill me, Your Majesty, this man, he wants to assassinate me!"

  "Really!? Assassinate the County Master!?"

  Xu Bingning was afraid that the Emperor would listen to Ye Xueqing's one-sided words, so she quickly said: "I beg to report to Your Majesty, in fact, the matter is entirely caused by Qingpingshou Jun herself. My husband Gu Qing was sitting here concentrating on thinking about an unsolved problem, but because he was too focused, he was played a trick by Su Fangyu, the junior sister of the Nian Wusheng Pavilion, saying that he didn't even blink his eyes when thinking. As a result, Qingpingshou Jun came and, regardless of whether she was allowed to or not, drew her sword and stabbed, saying it was to test the truth. And she drew her sword twice, really completely disregarding my husband's safety. Under duress, Gu Qing had no choice but to counterattack, which startled Qingpingshou Jun!"

  Xiao Lin, who was standing beside her, saw that her young mistress was calling him "husband" one after another, and it sounded so smooth, for a moment she felt a little stunned.

  When did the relationship between Miss and Groom become so good?

  After listening to Xu Bingning's report, Ning Tianchi couldn't help but frown and look at Ning Tianqi again: "Hmm? Is that so?"

  "Preposterous, completely preposterous! We drew our swords merely to test his courage and see what kind of person the husband of General Xu's daughter is. There was no other meaning behind it. But he actually broke my treasured sword in an instant and tried to kill me with it. If Tianqi hadn't pushed me out of the way in time, I would probably be dead by now. Your Majesty, you must do justice for me!"

  The western king's power was overwhelming, and it involved the life and death of his most precious daughter. Ning Tianchi didn't dare to be careless, nodding his head: "Don't worry, Princess Qingping. If things are indeed as you said, I will definitely handle it impartially for you."

  "It's just as I said, there are so many people present here who can bear witness for me. If you don't believe me, Your Majesty can ask them."

  "Really!?" Ning Tianchi's gaze involuntarily lingered on several young and handsome men of higher status.

  These young and outstanding individuals, although they have cultivated to a certain extent, only a few have reached the seventh level of Qi Dao, let alone being able to see the subtleties of the eighth level like Ning Tianqi.

  They had some reservations about Gu Qing's move to borrow the power of the Fox to intimidate the Tiger, and now they can also sell a favor to Princess Qingping of Zhenxi by helping to testify. When Emperor Ning Tianchi's gaze falls on them, they all nod in unison.

  "Not bad, what the young master of Qingpingshou said is quite right. What was done under this ancient Qing pavilion was really too much."

  "It's outrageous, simply because of a joke, to brutally murder the noble and esteemed county princess, this is utterly lawless and must be severely punished."

  "What's more, just a moment ago, Huang Hao was killed on the spot by him for a small joke. The body is not yet cold, and now another accident has occurred. The object of the attack is even the noble Qingping County Master. If this matter is not handled strictly, it will only further fuel his arrogance!"

  "Assassinate Huang Hao?" The Emperor apparently did not know about this matter, and upon hearing the young man's words, immediately inquired: "What is going on? Someone dared to commit murder at a banquet hosted by me?"

  As soon as Ning Tianchi asked, the guard immediately reported the whole incident. After a period of time, the guard had investigated the entire incident and got to the bottom of it, without showing any bias!

  After listening to the guard's report, Ning Tianchi's expression immediately turned cold: "Hmph, although Huang Hao was also at fault in this matter, he was killed by Gu Qing with such a ruthless method. At this moment, under everyone's watchful eyes, he even made a move on the county master because of a joke, truly daring and reckless. Come...

  "Your Majesty..."

  Xu Bingning and Nian Wusheng almost spoke at the same time!

  However, when she saw Nian Wusheng appear again, Xu Bingjing automatically retreated, apparently, she also understood that her influence in front of the emperor was far from comparable to that of Nian Wusheng, a young generation's number one master.

  Seeing Nian Wu speaking out, Emperor Ning Tian couldn't help but give him this face.

  "What words do you have for me, now that we are under the same roof?"

  "Your Majesty, although I have only met Gu Qing a few times, I know that he is not someone who would easily provoke trouble. Although his actions towards the young lady of Qingping were somewhat excessive, I think there must be some reason behind it!"

  Seeing Nian Wusheng suddenly speaking out to obstruct himself, Ye Xueqing immediately said discontentedly: "Nian Wusheng, this matter has nothing to do with you, it's better if you don't get involved!"

  Nian Wusheng lightly smiled and said, "The Ancient Green Building is my acquaintance, now it's possible that the Ancient Green Building will be wronged, I naturally cannot ignore this!"

  Yexue Qing's expression turned cold as soon as she heard it. "What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting I would frame him?"

  "That's not necessarily true." After saying that, he also gave a look with an expression that everyone understood to Ning Tianqi and Xu Bingning!

  Everyone in the imperial city knows that Ning Tianqi actually likes Xu Bingning, and he married Ye Xueqing just to borrow their power as the Western King to ascend to the throne.

  It's precisely because she couldn't get Ning Tianqi's true love that Ye Xueqing opposed Xu Bingying everywhere and absolutely wouldn't let go of any opportunity to strike her.

  "You..."

  "Alright, both of you." Seeing his two most valued guests on the verge of a quarrel, Ning Tianchi couldn't help but feel a headache: "Both of you are pillars of our great Qi, don't let this small matter damage your harmony. Nian Wusheng, it seemed like you had something to say earlier, please speak clearly."

  "Your Majesty, since Ye Xueqing has already spoken out, why don't we give Gu Qing a chance to defend himself as well?"

  This face, I'd rather die than not give you a foot of land.

  He nodded slightly and his gaze finally fell on the young man who didn't leave a deep impression on him: "Gu Qing, do you have anything to say? If you can't come up with a reasonable explanation, the crime of assassinating the county princess will fall on your head."

  As soon as His Majesty the Emperor spoke, everyone's eyes focused on Gu Qing once again.

  In the midst of it all, today's gathering has actually taken a certain turn, and Gu Qing, this young man who was virtually unknown in the imperial capital, has become the center of attention at the banquet.

  Glancing at the gazes of everyone, Gu Qing's expression was calm and collected as he said directly: "It's very simple. Everyone here should ask themselves, if someone were to point a sword at them, not just once but twice, would they still be able to sit still?"

  Yexue Qing hummed, "I was just joking, I didn't expect you to be so petty and actually attack me, a noble county princess!"

  "Not bad, a real man should be able to take a little joke."

  "Moreover, didn't the county lord's daughter not harm you in the slightest?"

  Listening to the murmurs of the crowd, Emperor Ning Tianchi had already made up his mind. With a wave of his hand, he signaled everyone to stop, and then turned to Gu Qing: "Just because the princess pointed her sword at you, you actually dared to kill her? This is simply outrageous! Not severely punishing you would be insufficient to intimidate the four corners...

  Before Nian Wusheng could speak, Ning Tianchi was the first to say: "Nian Wusheng, this matter has had a terrible impact. If we don't punish those responsible, where is the dignity of the imperial family? Therefore, you don't need to say more."

  The emperor looked at Gu Qing, who was standing there with an expression that hadn't changed much from start to finish, and sighed: "Your Majesty's actions... are somewhat biased. However, if Your Majesty insists on this, then so be it. As for the matters that follow, I will no longer interfere."

  Seeing Nian Wusheng had already decided not to care about this matter, Xu Bingning and Xu Xiaolin's faces simultaneously turned somewhat pale. Even Su Fangyu had a hint of regret between her eyebrows. If she hadn't been playing with Xu Xiaolin, things wouldn't have turned out like this.

  Looking at Ye Xueqing, a faint cold smile appeared on her face, and the gaze she looked at Xu Bingning and Gu Qing once again restored the sarcasm of just now. Apparently, in her opinion, as the daughter of the Western King, it was easy to play with the son of the Wuwei Hou who had lost his power!

  "Right and wrong will be self-evident!" Ning Tianchi's expression showed that he did not want to intervene in this matter. He turned his head again, making the final judgment: "Gu Qing, as a member of our great Qi dynasty, you dared to commit such a heinous crime, rebelling against your superiors and attempting to assassinate the princess. This is an unforgivable sin! According to our Qi laws, you should be executed along with your entire clan! However, considering that there were reasons behind your actions, I will show leniency and sentence you to exile on the border, where you will serve as a slave for ten years. Only after ten years can you regain your innocence. Take this as a warning!"

  "Your Majesty..."

  Xu Bingning wanted to plead for mercy, but was glared back by Emperor Ning Tianchi with a single look.

  Marquis Wuwei and General Xu had some power in the imperial court, but compared to Prince Zhenxi, they were far inferior, and he was well aware of this in his heart.

  "Whether you agree or not, it doesn't matter!" Gu Qing chuckled and swept a glance at the people present, shaking his head slightly: "Heaven is above! Actually, my real concern is that if I don't want to go, which of you great ones plans to send someone to escort me to the border?"