Zhao Douan calmly asked, "Where is the person?"
"In the main hall, Ke Rou is with them."
Zhao Douan nodded his head, parted the crowd, and led them through the bustling central courtyard, passing by the already bare pear tree with only branches remaining, and suddenly saw the doors to the hall wide open.
The main seat at the long table in the hall, which was typically reserved for meetings and belonged solely to Zhao Douan, was currently occupied by a woman military general sitting boldly and upright.
Her skin, slightly reddened and darkened from years of exposure to the sun, exuded a killing aura nurtured in the military; she was not in uniform but simply dressed in gender-neutral clothing, with soft armor faintly visible underneath.
At the moment, she sat with her legs crossed, her eyes closed slightly, a long horse lance lying across the table in front of her, its tip glinting coldly.
Qian Kerou, who stood to the side, hurried over, her round face showing delight, then quickly explained,
"I told her not to sit in your place, but she wouldn't listen."
Tsk, it's just like you, Ke Rou, to do this. If it were any other troublemaker, they would have started a fight already... Hmm, no wonder old Zheng had you stay to entertain the guest, sending the brainless Hou Renmeng to find me... Old Zheng really knows how to utilize people...
Zhao Douan inwardly griped.
And hearing the noise, Tang Zhao, with her eyes slightly closed, snapped them open, revealing a pair of sharp, clear black and white eyes.
Locking eyes with Zhao Douan, and once she saw his handsome appearance, Tang Zhao was taken aback for a moment, a thought flickering through her mind:
Such a good-looking man couldn't possibly be the one who bullied my little brother.
"May I know which military official from which division you are, to come seeking me at Lihua Hall so unexpectedly?"
Zhao Douan sized up the somewhat familiar yet definitely unmet face and asked in a deep voice.
"Are you Zhao Douan?" Tang Zhao raised her eyebrows.
Tang Zhao felt a surge of dislike towards him; she snorted, stood up, and said,
"You may not know my identity, but you should certainly know that Tang Ping has an elder sister."
The Young Master's elder sister? The female military general from the Duke Mansion who had practiced martial arts since childhood and joined the military at the border? Tang Zhao?
Zhao Douan slightly startled, the matching information coming to his mind; naturally, he had looked into everyone in the Duke Zhen Guo Mansion when investigating Tang Ping.
He suddenly understood!
No wonder he had felt she looked familiar; her face shared a resemblance to the white-robed young general, Tang Ping.
Wait... wasn't Tang Zhao supposed to enter the city with Duke Tang today? How come she came straight here? By the timing, she couldn't have even returned home after entering the city and just came looking for me...
Of course, he was unaware that Tang Zhao had the notion of avenging her little brother first before returning home to see him.
That way, it would be more glorious, lifting her spirits and allowing her to avoid her family's intervention.
"So it's Miss Tang Zhao from the Duke Mansion," Zhao Douan, realizing her identity, smiled and revealed her origin.
The Jinyi guards behind him were stunned, exchanging glances and feeling fortunate—they were thankful they hadn't acted rashly and troubled their superior.
The daughter? Miss? Upon hearing these titles, Tang Zhao's expression turned sour, and she said icily,
"Then you should be aware of why I'm here."
Zhao Douan pretended to be clueless, with a smile, he said,
"I have never met Miss Tang before; we bear no grudges from afar nor resentments from near, thus I cannot fathom the reason."
Tang Zhao, seeing his frivolous demeanor, was filled with indignation,
"I can't be bothered with your nonsense. I'll ask you only this: did you, upon taking your post at Divine Mechanism Camp, strip my little brother of his official robe and expel him from the camp? Did you do it?"
Zhao Douan raised his eyebrows slightly and said indifferently,
"What if I did? As a fourth-rank official, I should have the right to deal with my subordinates without interference from outsiders."
Tang Zhao's laughter was filled with anger; always quick-tempered and protective, she suddenly pulled out her waist card and tossed it forward,
"Good, you admit it. There are laws in the country, and rules in the military, which of course I have no control over regarding the Divine Mechanism Camp. That's why I have come today to challenge you to a martial skill contest, do you dare accept?!"
"Snap." Zhao Douan raised his hand and grasped the flying waist card, glanced at the inscription on the copper badge and the tassel shaking below, and slowly said,
"What if I refuse? And what if I agree?"
Tang Zhao replied as a matter of course, "If you agree, we'll fight. If you don't, I'll leave immediately."
So simple? Zhao Douan knew, of course, it wasn't that simple.
Now, far from the naivety of his early days in this world, he understood the military's rules for warfare within Yu Country.
If both parties are of equal rank, one may issue a challenge, and the other may refuse to accept, but if word got out, it would become a source of ridicule, as the military views refusal to accept a challenge as disgraceful.
Tang Zhao, in the border army, had a rank slightly higher than that in the Capital Camp of the interior, so her rank was on par with his.
"Don't worry, I won't use my advantage; I heard you entered the Divine Chapter Realm a few months ago, and I am also of the Divine Chapter Realm, so it wouldn't be bullying you." Tang Zhao adopted a condescending stance.
Yet her tone was extremely confident.
Since Zhao Douan's advancement into the Divine Chapter, his only public combat record was in the Buddhist Tao competition.
But he had used the Taia Sword to "cheat" during that competition, so it didn't count as a genuine accomplishment, and in everyone's eyes, he was just a newcomer to the Divine Chapter for a few months.
Even the number of people who knew he had reached the Middle Grade Divine Chapter was very limited.
However, Tang Zhao was a bona fide top-grade Divine Chapter fighter forged through military experience, with solid foundational martial arts skills and consciousness, being amongst the strongest in the Divine Chapter Realm.
To almost anyone, without cheating, this was seen as a battle of disparate strengths, with a foregone conclusion.
"Sir..." A group of Jinyi guards appeared anxious, wanting to speak up.
But they saw Zhao Douan raise his hand to stop them, his gaze towards Tang Zhao was a bit peculiar, with a smile, he said, "Alright."