Nine Princes Struggle for the Throne: The Mad Prince

Chapter 136 Palace Banquet: The Extraordinary Woman Gu Qingyue (Women Can Be Generals)

After the Empress Dowager was carried away.

Many people saw this and began to discuss it.

"Didn't the Empress Dowager just arrive? Why has she left already?"

"Yes!"

"Something's not right. The Empress Dowager seems to be acting strangely."

Someone noticed something was wrong, but he didn't dare to look closely enough to see it clearly.

"The Empress Dowager is definitely not right; she seems to have fainted."

Someone knowledgeable in medicine said.

After all, anyone with even a little medical knowledge could tell that the Empress Dowager was in a bad state.

"Does anyone know what happened? Wasn't the Empress Dowager at the Lakeside Pavilion? How did she end up unconscious?"

Someone asked out of curiosity.

It also voiced the doubts that many people had.

"Shut up. Do you think we have the right to inquire about the affairs of the Lake Pavilion? If you want to die, don't drag us down with you."

At this moment, someone whispered a rebuke, saying that the people in the pavilion in the middle of the lake were all people from the power center of Eastern Qin, and they were not people they could inquire about.

Moreover, sometimes, knowing less isn't a bad thing.

Knowing more isn't necessarily a good thing.

Upon hearing this person's rebuke, everyone else fell silent and dared not discuss the matter further.

However, the fact that the Empress Dowager had fainted from anger at Qin Wu could not be kept secret and spread very quickly.

Only then did everyone realize why the Empress Dowager had left so soon after arriving.

People are so angry they've fainted. What else can they do but leave? Are they supposed to stay and eat at the banquet lying down?

However, no one dared to discuss it further.

After all, the Divine Martial King didn't even give the Empress Dowager any face, and directly made her faint in public. If their discussions were to reach the ears of the Divine Martial King, who knows how he would settle accounts with them.

They did not consider themselves comparable to the Empress Dowager, or even of higher status.

The Emperor Emeritus also received the news.

Finally, the retired emperor directly ordered that the empress dowager should never leave the palace again and should instead stay in her own palace to eat vegetarian food and recite Buddhist scriptures.

The farce ended, and things quickly returned to normal in the pavilion in the middle of the lake, with everyone chatting again.

Noon.

After everyone finished lunch, they began their afternoon activities.

To keep everyone entertained, the Queen also arranged a number of activities.

The competition was designed to allow young people to compete, and many rewards were offered.

This filled the Imperial Garden with cheers and joy.

At the end of Shen Shi.

After the palace activities concluded, everyone went to the banquet.

"I heard there was a competition today for archery, spearmanship, and horsemanship. I wonder who won?"

As the banquet began, the Emperor of Eastern Qin asked a question.

Now that we have conquered the Southern Qi, we are preparing our army. Once we are ready, we will launch a military campaign against the Western Zhou.

The army needs a large number of military commanders to lead troops. The fact that these competitions were set up at this palace banquet was also intentional on the part of the Emperor of Eastern Qin, who wanted to select some outstanding talents from the younger generation to fill the army.

I heard today that quite a few talented people have emerged from this field, so I'd like to see what they are all like.

Could it be put to great use?

"Xiao Jiu, take a look at these people later. They are very capable."

The Eastern Qin Emperor spoke to Qin Wu, who was not far away.

Qin Wu instantly understood the meaning of the Eastern Qin Emperor: he wanted to select generals.

"can."

Qin Wu agreed, then picked up his wine cup and looked down at the audience.

At this moment, more than a dozen people came out, including a woman.

This was something the Emperor of Eastern Qin hadn't expected, and he couldn't help but frown.

It should be noted that there are no women serving as officials or generals in the Eastern Qin at present, and she began to feel some dissatisfaction with her subordinates.

These people are really unreliable.

"Greetings to your majesty, long live your majesty."

More than a dozen people bowed to the Emperor of Eastern Qin.

"No need for formalities. You must be the top five in these three competitions! Not bad, you're all young and promising."

"There will be rewards for everyone."

The Emperor of Eastern Qin suppressed his displeasure and said with a smile.

"Xiao Jiu, how are these dozen or so people?"

The Emperor of Eastern Qin then looked at Qin Wu.

Why are there only thirteen people?

Qin Wu inquired.

Upon hearing this question, the expressions of the twelve men among the thirteen people below instantly changed.

Qin Wu observed their expressions.

"Come out here and tell me, shouldn't there be fifteen people?"

Qin Wu looked at the only woman and asked her to come out and answer.

"Your Highness, I won first place in all three competitions, therefore there are only thirteen people."

The woman was not intimidated and stepped forward, saying...

Her words stunned everyone except those in the know.

They never expected that a woman would win all three matches.

This left the men present wondering how they should react.

"Hahaha, very good, very good, it seems that our Eastern Qin is about to produce a female general."

Qin Wu laughed loudly.

"Your Highness, no, there has never been a precedent of a woman serving as a general in any country."

A minister immediately shouted.

"Your Majesty, you can't do that!"

Another minister shouted.

Then, ministers continued to speak up.

"Your Majesty, Divine Martial King, this is absolutely unacceptable."

The Grand Tutor stepped forward and knelt in obeisance.

"If there is no precedent, then let's set one. If women are capable, I do not believe they cannot serve as officials or generals."

Qin Wu said in a cold voice.

In his view, nothing is impossible as long as you have the ability.

"Grand Tutor, look at this! Today, the first place in all three competitions was won by a woman. Tell me, what use are these men? They can't even beat women."

Qin Wu looked at the Grand Tutor.

In his view, these people were just useless.

"Your Highness, I refuse to accept this."

One of the men said indignantly.

"You're not convinced? You lost all three matches. If you lost, you should accept it. You should stand up straight when you're being hit. If you can't even accept defeat, what do you have to complain about?"

Qin Wu snorted coldly.

He despises those who can't accept defeat the most.

"You're quite good. They don't respect you. What do you think?"

Qin Wu looked at the woman and said with a half-smile.

He wanted to see if this woman was capable of resolving the matter. If she was, Qin Wu wouldn't mind giving her a chance.

"Your Highness, if you're not convinced, we'll subdue you with force."

The woman smiled sweetly.

"Haha, good, you're very good."

Qin Wu laughed loudly; he had long ago realized that this woman's cultivation had reached the Grandmaster level.

The others were merely Grand Martial Masters; even if they all attacked together, they wouldn't be a match for this woman.

"Whose daughter are you?"

Qin Wu inquired.

"My daughter is Gu Qingyue, daughter of Gu Yan, a senior official in the Ministry of War."

Gu Qingyue understood that Qin Wu's question to her had caught the eye of this Divine Martial King.

"Gu Yan has done a good job in raising his daughter; he is commended."

"You eleven, go back and practice your martial arts diligently. When the time is right, I will test you again. As for you, whoever you are, give your father 30 lashes and get out of here."

Qin Wu gave the order directly.

"Alright, let's do as the Divine Martial King wishes."

Although the Emperor of Eastern Qin did not understand why Qin Wu did this, he knew that Qin Wu must have his reasons.

But now is not the time to ask.