Chapter 18: A Loud Slap

  Duan Zheng had just seen Li Zhen's eyes were cold and stern, yet seemingly deep in thought, his heart felt a surge of joy.

  Scared!

  Li Zhen must be scared!

  Duan Zheng thought he had intimidated Li Zhen, and shouted with all his might: "Li Zhen, you have offended me, which means you have offended the Prince. If you provoke the Prince's anger, let alone discuss matters, you won't even be able to return to the Jiangbei camp. If you immediately release me and kneel down to apologize, I can speak well of you in front of the Prince."

  "Die without regret!"

  Li Zhen's eyes flashed cold, and he beckoned: "Shi Hai, bring him over." Huang Shi Hai dragged Duan Zheng to Li Zhen's side and asked: "Sir, what are your orders?"

  Bang!!

  Li Zhen didn't answer, and slapped Duan Zhenggang's right cheek with a loud slap.

  "Li Zhen, you're asking for trouble!"

  Huang Shi Hai's eyes widened in an unbelievable expression.

  Li Zhen leaned against the chair, raised his legs, and hooked the chin of Duan Zhenggang with his toes, saying slowly: "Until now, you still don't know how to repent, can't even understand the basic situation, what a fool!"

  Duan Zhenggang's face had a bright red five-finger print on it, with blood at the corner of his mouth.

  This slap made Duan Zhenggang's head dizzy, and his ears buzzed. He shook his head, dodged Li Zhen's toes, glared at Li Zhen fiercely, and endured the wave of pain that came one after another, shouting loudly like a shrew scolding on the street: "Li Zhen, you dare to hit me! I'll tell you, Master Wang won't let you go!"

  Li Zhenleng grunted and beckoned with his hand, ordering: "Slap him in the mouth!"

  Bang! Bang!

  Huang Shi Hai picked up Duan Zheng Gang and slapped him in the face with his palm.

  In the blink of an eye, Duan Zhenggang's cheeks were red and swollen, his face had become a panda face, bright red like a monkey's buttocks. Especially with tears welling up in his eyes, he looked extremely wronged.

  Li Zhen smiled and said: "General Duan, how is it? Is it comfortable?"

  Duan Zhenggang had already spat out fresh blood and was no longer human-like. He opened his mouth to spit out a mouthful of bloody foam, his throat convulsed twice, wanting to curse Li Zhen loudly, but thinking of Li Zhen's ruthless methods, he didn't dare speak.

  At this moment, Duan Zhenggang's arrogance was gone.

  Li Zhen said with a faint smile, "General Duan, you intend to kill me and prevent General Ben from negotiating with the Eastern King, regardless of the lives of 10,000 soldiers. The Eastern King will not help you against me, but will punish you instead. Our two performances at the city gate are known to everyone in the city, I believe the Eastern King will know soon, just wait patiently and you will see the result."

  Duan Zheng's heart skipped a beat as soon as he heard it.

  It seems that what he said has crossed the line and exceeded the bottom line. Li Zhen leaned back in his chair, seeing the look of terror in Duan Zheng's eyes, knowing that this guy had been intimidated by him.

  "Ta-da! Ta-da!"

  Soon, the sound of horseshoes came, and a team of soldiers rushed over.

  The leader was Zhao Qingquan, who came on behalf of Yang Xiuqing.

  After dismounting near the city gate, Zhao Qingquan walked up to Li Zhen's side with big strides, his eyes scanning over Duan Zhenggang. Seeing that Duan Zhenggang had been beaten beyond recognition and his eyes had turned fierce, Zhao Qingquan said in a deep voice: "General Li, you are a Qing dynasty official, yet you act recklessly in Nanjing, do you really think the king dares not to kill you?"

  Li Zhen asked faintly: "Who are you?"

  "In the lower ranks of Zhao Qingquan, he was just a small staff member under the command of Dong Wang. Zhao Qingquan made great contributions under Yang Xiuqing's leadership, and Yang Xiuqing repeatedly wanted to promote Zhao Qingquan to a higher position, but was refused by him."

  Although Zhao Qingquan had no official position, nobody dared to provoke him.

  Li Zhenlang sneered, "So it's Mr. Zhao, greetings. As the representative of Dong Wang, I was about to ask a question: does Dong Wang really want to exchange back the 10,000 soldiers from Jiangbei Dazheng? I brought my guards and arrived at Nanjing, just as we were about to enter the city, we were blocked by Duan Zhenggang and his men. Especially Duan Zhenggang's threatening words, saying he wanted to kill me - is this Dong Wang's way of treating guests?"

  Zhao Qingquan secretly resented Li Zhen's arrogance and recklessness, but secretly scolded Duan Zhenggang as a fool.

  When discussing in the great hall, it was already clear that Li Zhen could not be killed. Duan Zhenggang threatened Li Zhen and fell into his trap, isn't this just asking for a slap in the face from Li Zhen?

  Idiot!

  Are you kidding me!

  Zhao Qingquan's eyes rolled, and he said in a cold voice: "General Li, Duan Zhenggang indeed spoke recklessly and was rude. But you can report this to the Eastern King, not take action outside the Tianjing City walls. I hope General Li understands that this is Tianjing, the capital of the Heavenly Dynasty, not a place where the Qing demon can run amok."

  After a pause, Zhao Qingquan said: "You must understand that you are an enemy of the Heavenly Dynasty and belong to different camps. You also have no right to punish Duan Zhenggang. I hope Li Can will take this as a warning and not think that he can do whatever he wants in Tianjing."

  Li Zhenxiu asked: "Mr. Zhao, I invite you to go to Jiangbei Dazhan, will you go?"

  Zhao Qingquan raised an eyebrow and looked puzzled.

  But Zhao Qingquan did not hesitate, and immediately retorted: "I am a subject of the Heavenly Dynasty, a minister under the Eastern King's account. How can I go to the Jiangbei Grand Camp? If I really go to the Jiangbei Grand Camp, it is to destroy Qi Shan and capture the Jiangbei Grand Camp; otherwise, I will not set foot in the Jiangbei Grand Camp."

  Li Zhen gave a thumbs up and said: "Mr. Zhao is truly a heroic figure."

  Zhao Qingquan raised his head, a hint of arrogance flashing across his face.

  Li Zhen said indifferently, "Mr. Zhao knows not to do things he doesn't want to do, why should I go against my own will? Duan Zhenggang wanted to capture me, of course I would resist. Mr. Zhao is a reasonable person and knows that my counterattack was justified. As for letting the guard slap Duan Zhenggang's ear, it was to shut him up and not cause trouble for the Eastern King, it was a good intention!"

  Zhao Qingquan suddenly realized and understood Li Zhen's intention.

  Circled around, but it was all just to counterattack him.

  Zhao Qingquan gathered his spirits to respond, not daring to be careless again. He glared fiercely at Duan Zhenggang, his face revealing a resentful expression, and said helplessly: "General Li, the prince is waiting for you in the mansion, please!"

  "Please!"

  Li Zhen no longer hesitated and followed the soldier leading the way towards the East Wang's mansion.

  Huang Shi Hai let go of Duan Zheng Gang, followed by his guards behind Li Zhen, protecting Li Zhen's safety. Duan Zheng Gang was humiliated and resentful, hating to kill Li Zhen. However, he did not dare to ruin Yang Xiu Qing's big event, so he could only suppress the hatred in his heart and wait for another opportunity to seek revenge. Duan Zheng Gang even dared not look directly at Zhao Qing Quan's gaze, lowering his head and walking forward on his own.

  Zhao Qingquan said in a low voice: "General Duan, this appearance of yours is hard to show to others, temporarily withdraw for now."

  Duan Zhenggang was taken aback, his face revealing a mixture of shame and anger.

  He opened his mouth to speak, but sighed and left silently. Zhao Qingquan hummed a tune, secretly saying that Duan Zhengyi was not capable of succeeding but only good at causing trouble, then strode towards the East Wang Fu.

  The eastern palace, the soldiers guarding the gate were robust and majestic, their eyes gleaming like knives, with a faint aura of murderous intent emanating from their bodies.

  Undoubtedly, these were Yang Xiuqing's soldiers who came to his aid.

  Li Zhen glanced around, his expression unchanged, and continued walking towards the Wangfu Grand Hall. Just halfway through, he found a large pot filled with boiling water placed on the road leading to the grand hall. It was now in the midst of a scorching summer day, and as he walked past the pot, waves of heat hit him, making it extremely hot. Li Zhen's footsteps remained steady as he continued walking forward.

  This frightening little trick is nothing to worry about.

  Huang Shi-hai and his entourage were extremely nervous and worried.

  Zhao Qingquan saw that Li Zhen was not affected, and secretly thought that Li Zhen was a unique individual. His face showed a thoughtful expression, feeling that recalling the 10,000 soldiers would be somewhat tricky, and it might not be easy to recall them.

  The grand hall of the Wangfu is magnificent and majestic, richly decorated and imposing.

  Li Zhen arrived at the gate of the grand hall, and immediately someone blocked his way. Li Zhen let Huang Shi-hai stay behind, and entered the grand hall with Zhao Qing-quan. Li Zhen walked to the center of the grand hall, cupped his hands and said: "General Li Zhen of the Great Qing, pays respects to the Eastern King!"

  "Scoundrel, why didn't you kneel when you saw the king?"

  In the quiet grand hall, a loud shout suddenly rang out.

  The roar was thick and loud, like a sudden burst of thunder, which frightened many civil officials in the great hall to tremble. Li Zhen had long been prepared, his expression unchanged, not only unafraid, but even smiling, looking at Yang Xiuqing with an air of superiority. Yang Xiuqing also did not speak, looking at Li Zhen.

  "How dare you, don't kneel down?"

  Li Zhen did not respond, and another official stepped forward, shouting loudly.

  PS: The fourth small explosion is complete, Xiaodong will continue to explode tomorrow, please collect it, thank you.