With wives as numerous as clouds and soldiers as numerous as a million, you say he's a useless

Whether "The Ballad of the White-Haired Man" deserves to be the best today, Ye Jinglan doesn't know. He only knows that he seems to have suffered a great humiliation!

This unfilial son first praised love as pure as snow in front of everyone, and then described the woman's resolute attitude towards the unfaithful man, thus creating a female image with strong emotions and a straightforward personality.

This reminded him of that stubborn woman from eighteen years ago.

It also reminded him of some extremely unpleasant past experiences with that woman.

Everyone knows that he only became the King of the North by marrying the daughter of the old King of the North and Ye Cheng'an's mother. Everyone avoids mentioning his shortcomings in front of him. Only Ye Cheng'an, this rebellious son, dares to expose his wounds and challenge his authority time and time again!

How dare this unfilial son do such a thing?

Before he could process these negative emotions, Ye Cheng'an directly asked him what he thought of the poem, clearly mocking his behavior of spoiling his stepmother and stepson after that woman's death, ignoring his legitimate son, and abandoning him halfway through his life.

For a moment, he felt as if he had been stripped naked in public, a mixture of shame and anger, his face burning hot.

To prevent Ye Cheng'an from succeeding, he could only grit his teeth and say, "You rebellious son, don't be so arrogant! My Northern Territory is full of talented people, and there may be others whose literary talent surpasses yours! If any of you ministers have poems that surpass 'Ode to White Hair,' you may bring them out!"

After saying that, Ye Jinglan's gaze fell on the northern officials, and he offered them encouragement.

However, those former loyal subjects under Ye Jinglan, who had sworn to serve him to the death, looked at each other in bewilderment and remained silent.

Firstly, they simply cannot compose a poem that surpasses "Ode to White Hair." Secondly, even if someone could, they would need to use the theme of infidelity to criticize Ye Jinglan's favoritism towards his second wife and his mistreatment of his legitimate son, just like Ye Cheng'an did. Who would dare to do that?

The eldest son's move was truly ruthless. Regardless of success or failure, it would cause the prince immense distress, a move that could be described as a blow to the heart.

Seeing that not a single official in the Northern Border court spoke up, Ye Jinglan's eyes turned bloodshot, and he shouted sharply, "Is there no one in my Northern Border who can compose a poem that surpasses 'The Ballad of the White-Haired Woman'? Are all the hundreds of officials in the Northern Border inferior to Ye Cheng'an alone?"

His response was still a deathly silence.

Seeing this, Su Wanrou knew that it was impossible to surpass Ye Cheng'an in the literary contest, so she quickly patted Ye Jinglan's chest to help him catch his breath.

She whispered in his ear, "Your Highness, please calm down. The eldest son went to great lengths to collude with the Western Regions merchants and the princess in order to attend the Thousand Heroes Banquet. This shows that he has been preparing for a long time to embarrass Your Highness in public. Your anger now is just playing into his hands. Why not let him win this round, and Your Highness can then..."

Su Wanrou didn't finish her sentence, but Ye Jinglan clearly understood her meaning. He immediately said, "My beloved consort is indeed wise. Just as you said, in the upcoming martial arts competition, I will have my generals teach this rebellious son a good lesson!"

After saying that, Ye Jinglan coldly looked at Ye Cheng'an, "You must have prepared for a long time to recite this poem in front of me, right?"

"A member of the dignified royal family of the North, yet you disregard the greater good, squander your time, and act so resentfully—you are truly unworthy of the title of Crown Prince!"

"Wang Chengen, let's switch to a physical fight! I want to see how long this rebellious son can keep up his smugness!!!"

Led by Ye Jinglan, the three forces—the Northern Border officials, the imperial envoys, and the Western Region merchant caravan—arrived together on the other side of the Thousand Heroes Hall.

Here, there are arenas that have been set up in advance for martial arts competitions.

Upon arriving here, Ye Jinglan could no longer suppress his desire to teach Ye Cheng'an a lesson, and immediately gave a wink to his generals.

These military officers under Ye Jinglan not only pledged their loyalty to him, but also had an excellent relationship with Su Wanrou and her son. They were all eager to help Ye Jinyu, who had just lost the literary contest, get revenge.

The first to step forward was the mighty General Shi Zhenshan. As soon as the martial arts competition was announced, he took the initiative to challenge Ye Cheng'an, saying, "Young Master was quite impressive just now, which made me very eager to fight. I wonder if Young Master dares to accept my challenge and compete with me to see who is better?"

As soon as Shi Zhenshan spoke, everyone's eyes fell on him and Ye Chengan.

Pei Heng and Han Zhaolie frowned. This Shi Zhenshan was two meters tall, with a burly build and the strength of an ox. He was a fierce general under Ye Jinglan and Su Wanrou. Was it really a friendly sparring match for him to challenge the eldest son?

That's downright bullying!

Everyone knows that the eldest son focuses on domestic affairs and has little skill in martial arts.

Once the eldest young master accepts Shi Zhenshan's challenge, he will only be subjected to a one-sided heavy blow. Moreover, the other party has a very good relationship with Su Wanrou and her son, so it is hard to guarantee that he will not deliberately strike the eldest young master hard during the sparring. At that time, even if the eldest young master does not die, he will become crippled.

Out of concern, Pei Heng stepped forward and said to Ye Cheng'an, "Young Master, you have already won the literary contest, so let's forget about the martial contest. Don't risk your life for a moment of anger."

Han Zhaolie nodded in agreement.

However, Ye Cheng'an chuckled lightly, "No, he challenged me in front of so many people. If I don't accept, wouldn't I be a coward?"

"Shi Zhenshan, listen up. I accept your martial arts challenge. Now, please come up on stage and fight me."

Upon hearing Ye Cheng'an's words, everyone present gasped in shock. He'd gone mad! Ye Cheng'an was absolutely insane!

His frail physique was no match for Shi Zhenshan.

Even Mu Yanqi, who always trusted Ye Cheng'an, frowned. She had practiced martial arts for many years and could tell at a glance that Shi Zhenshan completely overwhelmed Ye Cheng'an in terms of both martial arts and strength. So why would Ye Cheng'an accept the challenge?

As far as she knew, this young master from the North was not a brainless person... What exactly did he want to do?

Even Zhao Xuefu couldn't understand why Ye Cheng'an would accept the challenge against his opponent knowing that he was no match for him.

At the Thousand Heroes Banquet, a bet was set up. Knowing he was no match for Ye Cheng'an, he still accepted the challenge. She really couldn't understand Ye Cheng'an anymore. However, it was fine. As long as Shi Zhenshan made trouble for Ye Cheng'an later and pushed him to the brink, she could provide timely help, capture the heart of the young master of the Northern Border, and make him serve the court!

Su Wanrou and her son looked at him with mockery and disdain. This Ye Cheng'an was really arrogant and conceited. He had never practiced martial arts, yet he dared to accept the challenge from their fierce general Shi Zhenshan. Wasn't he courting death?

Very well, let Shi Zhenshan teach Ye Cheng'an a good lesson. Even if he can't kill him at the Thousand Heroes Banquet, he can still leave him with some kind of disability if he's not careful.

No matter how outstanding a person's political achievements or how noble their birth, a cripple can never inherit the North and become a powerful ruler!

Ye Cheng'an, today's banquet for a thousand heroes will be the beginning of your lifelong sorrow and nightmare...

After Ye Chengan accepted the challenge, Shi Zhenshan snorted coldly and leaped directly onto the dueling platform.

He had already planned how to torment Ye Cheng'an and avenge the princess and her son, but he did not expect that the wooden plank beneath his feet would shatter with lightning speed as soon as he jumped onto the fighting platform!

boom!

The fighting platform, which was over a meter high, was simply shattered.

Shi Zhenshan's body fell from a height, jagged wooden planks pierced his body, and blood stained his clothes.

The accident happened so suddenly!!!

Everyone was stunned. How could this be?

Shi Zhenshan only wanted to teach the eldest son a lesson through a martial arts fight, but the arena collapsed, and the broken wooden planks even pierced through his body...

Could this be karma?

For a moment, the northern vassals whispered among themselves.

Although Ye Jinglan couldn't hear what they were saying, he could roughly guess what they were saying.

Ye Cheng'an's poem "Ode to White Hair" evoked memories of that woman among the officials of the Northern Border, and also made them question his years of doting on his stepson and second wife.

Now, Shi Zhenshan was seriously injured when the arena collapsed during his challenge to that rebellious son. Naturally, everyone attributed all of this to the dissatisfaction of that woman's spirit in heaven, which sent down a warning of retribution.

He absolutely could not allow this kind of public opinion to ferment in the Northern Court; he had to find a scapegoat for this matter!

Ye Jinglan coldly swept his gaze across the assembled civil and military officials in the hall. "Outrageous! Who was in charge of arranging the Thousand Heroes Banquet?!"

Seeing Ye Jinglan's ashen face, Ye Cheng'an's lips curled into a mocking smile. The real show was about to begin!

He knew, of course, that at this stage, he was no match for Shi Zhenshan in terms of strength, so why did he still accept the challenge?

It's all because, after he abdicated his position as heir apparent, Su Wanrou used her influence to seize all the important affairs of the Northern Frontier into the hands of her cronies.

Before attending the banquet, he had already learned from Zhongbo that all the decorations and materials used in this Thousand Heroes Banquet were of the lowest quality, and that two-thirds of the funds allocated by the Northern Royal Court for this banquet had ended up in the pockets of Su Wanrou and her son.

Shi Zhenshan is a brave and combative man. Once he accepts a challenge, his opponent will inevitably jump onto the ring in an extremely pretentious way in order to show off in front of others.

How could that crudely made arena withstand Shi Zhenshan's immense power?

Now, the people under Su Wanrou's command who were in charge of organizing the Thousand Heroes Banquet are doomed...