Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

Pei Dingxuan grasped the back of Yu Guogong's hand, helping Pei Yaojun out of the predicament.

"You're going to let him run wild too?!" Duke Yu exclaimed in shock and anger.

"Your son wouldn't dare, but Father, you shouldn't be teaching your third brother now; the occasion is inappropriate."

Duke Yu followed his gaze.

Countless eyes were fixed on the father and son from all around.

There was the admiration of military generals, the praise of civil officials, and the envy of scions of noble families.

Meanwhile, on the Northern Barbarian delegation's side, Yelü Yuanjia's face was ashen, and he remained silent.

This is definitely not the time to discipline your son.

Duke Yu took a deep breath and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

He glared at Pei Yaojun fiercely, "I'll settle the score with you when we get back!"

Pei Yaojun touched his nose, unusually refraining from arguing, and took the opportunity to slip behind Pei Dingxuan to hide.

Seeing that the outcome was clear, the Emperor of Wei was overjoyed and announced it loudly.

"In this round, our Wei minister skillfully used the horse's strength and the momentum to control the cauldron, revealing the true essence of warfare on the battlefield, which is far superior to brute force. Wei will win this round."

Now, with two out of three rounds won, the Great Wei has already secured two. According to the previous bet, the Northern Di should now pay their share!

As soon as he finished speaking, the officials of the Great Wei cheered and echoed his words, and the military generals were even more triumphant, their eyes filled with smugness as they looked at the Northern Di delegation.

"Your Majesty, please wait."

Yelü Yuanjia stood up with a stern face. "Your Majesty is mistaken. The previous agreement clearly stated that the success would be achieved by lifting the tripod above one's head and holding it for ten breaths."

"The first man sent by the Great Wei could only lift the 800-jin cauldron, and the second man used horses to pull the cauldron. How could they even lift it above their heads?"

"Solving tricks won't win; the second round should have been won by my Northern Di."

"You're talking nonsense!"

Immediately, a fierce general shouted angrily.

"Just now, the third young master of the Pei family pulled the thousand-pound cauldron around the arena, overturning the eighth cauldron. Isn't that more skillful than simply lifting it by brute force?"

"Lifting the tripod is nothing but the act of a reckless fool; Young Master Pei's strategy is clever! Do you understand what cleverness is?"

"Don't you Northern Barbarians accept defeat?"

Despite the chorus of condemnation, Yelü Yuanjia remained unmoved.

"Rules are rules. Lifting the tripod over your head is the second rule."

"Young Master Pei is indeed intelligent and admirable, but he does not follow the rules."

After he finished speaking, he turned to the Emperor of Great Wei on the high platform and clasped his hands in a salute.

"Your Majesty, if the Great Wei finds my words incorrect, they may ask the Third Prince to raise it again. If he can do so, I will be completely convinced and will immediately present the Western Rong King's Cup."

How about we do it again?

Who can lift that heavy cauldron?

Isn't this blatant cheating?

The officials of the Great Wei were furious, but they were powerless to do anything about it.

The atmosphere in the arena shifted from enthusiastic cheers not long ago to tense confrontation.

After pondering for a long time, the Emperor of Great Wei said, "The Crown Prince of the Northern Barbarians is right. Rules are rules and cannot be changed."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the people from Great Wei fell, and some couldn't help but want to offer advice.

The emperor then changed the subject, saying, "But I have also seen the abilities of Young Master Pei. It would be unfair not to count him as the winner."

"How about this, we'll call this round a draw, and the Northern Barbarian Crown Prince can advance to the next round, making it best two out of three. What do you say?"

Yelü Yuanjia was unwilling to dwell on the matter, and now that the emperor had offered a way out, he immediately agreed.

"Your Majesty is fair. I have nothing to say. I will proceed with the next trial as Your Majesty has suggested."

He turned and walked back, huddled together with several envoys from the Northern Barbarian delegation, and began to discuss things in hushed tones.

Time passed little by little.

The crowd was growing impatient, and some began to whisper among themselves.

"It seems the Northern Barbarians are truly afraid; they can't even figure out the third challenge!"

"Exactly, they're clearly sore losers and deliberately stalling for time!"

After a long while, Yelü Yuanjia returned to the center of the arena.

The officials of the Great Wei immediately fell silent, rubbing their hands together and listening attentively.

Everyone was determined to conquer the third level and completely crush the Northern Di.

"Your Majesty, we need time to prepare for the third round. We will hold the competition tomorrow."

As soon as the words were spoken, the Wei side burst into laughter.

Yelü Yuanjia remained unmoved, ignoring the jeers of the crowd, and simply gazed silently at the emperor on the high platform.

The Emperor of Great Wei laughed heartily, "Very well, I will give you one night to make arrangements. No matter what difficulties you encounter tomorrow, Great Wei will handle them with ease and make you completely convinced!"

Yelü Yuanjia clasped his hands in greeting and returned to the Northern Di delegation.

Tomorrow, he will not let the Wei people succeed so easily again.

The competition was temporarily suspended, but the hunt continued.

The provocations of the Northern Di people stirred the bloodlust of the men of Wei, making the hunting grounds exceptionally lively today.

The sounds of horns rose and fell, the thunderous clatter of horses' hooves filled the air, and the whistling of arrows piercing the sky was incessant.

Everyone was eager to be the first, and everyone was determined to vent all the pent-up anger they had just been holding in in the mountains and forests.

Crown Prince Xiao Chenlin of the Great Wei Dynasty, along with the Second Prince Xiao Yiheng and several other princes, came before the Emperor.

"Father, I request permission to lead my brothers into the forest to hunt beasts, so that the Northern Di people may see the true strength of the princes of our Great Wei."

The emperor clapped his hands and laughed, "Good! As expected of my son! Go ahead and do it, but don't disgrace the Great Wei!"

"Your subject obeys the decree!"

Everyone responded in unison, and Xiao Chenlin cracked his whip and charged ahead.

Xiao Yiheng followed closely behind, the two fine horses galloping side by side, the wind whistling and filling their sleeves.

The two raced side by side, while the other princes behind them tried their best to catch up, but they always lagged behind.

Xiao Chenlin glanced at Xiao Yiheng, who was tightly gripping his clinging to him, and suddenly smiled.

"Second brother, there are Northern Di people present today. Don't make a mistake at this crucial moment and disgrace the imperial family of our Great Wei."

Xiao Yiheng responded easily: "Your subject would never bring shame to Father or Great Wei, elder brother, please rest assured."

Xiao Chenlin's smile deepened, and he spurred his horse, causing it to accelerate again and widen the distance between them.

Xiao Yiheng calmly spurred his horse to follow closely, always trailing by half a horse length, yet never being left behind.

As the two chased each other, suddenly, a crisp click came from Xiao Yiheng's saddle.

Almost as soon as the sound rang out, he slumped to the side.

The saddle came off!

Caught off guard, Xiao Yiheng slipped off his horse.

One of his legs was tightly entangled in the stirrup, and he was being dragged along by the galloping horse, hanging precariously to its side.

"Your Highness!"

The guards following behind cried out in alarm, but it was too late to come to their aid.

Ahead, Xiao Chenlin glanced back, reined in his horse, turned around, and charged towards Xiao Yiheng.

"Don't panic, second brother, I'm here to save you!"

He shouted loudly and rode closer.

He raised the riding whip high in his hand, as if to lash the out-of-control horse.

But instead of striking the horse, the whip swerved around its body and struck Xiao Yiheng's wrist, which was gripping the reins.

At the critical moment, Xiao Yiheng exerted force from his waist and abdomen, flipping in the air like a swimming fish.

He easily shook off the stirrups that were wrapped around his legs, grabbed the remaining leather straps on the saddle with one hand, and with a swing, landed steadily back on the horse's back.

…………