The Dumb Prince of the Ming Dynasty

It was still dark.

The Cao family mansion was quiet all around; even the guard dogs were curled up and dozing.

The lights were on in Li Jinglong's room.

"Someone come here!" he shouted.

Two maids rushed in, rubbing their eyes: "Young Master, what's wrong?"

Li Jinglong was already sitting in front of the bronze mirror, his hair disheveled, and he waved his hand: "Do my makeup."

The maids looked at each other in bewilderment.

One of them mustered his courage and asked, "Young Master, what are you going to do?"

"What are you standing there for? Apply foundation first!" Li Jinglong glared at him.

The maid was completely dumbfounded; it was the first time she had ever seen this master get up before dawn to put on makeup.

In the next room, Li Zengzhi was woken up by the noise.

He rubbed his eyes, put on an overcoat, and walked over. He leaned against the door frame and was stunned when he saw his elder brother in front of the bronze mirror.

"Brother, it's not even dawn yet, what are you doing?"

"You forgot? We have to practice today."

Li Zengzhi was even more bewildered: "I know about the drills. Duke Fu Youde of Yingguo is in charge of the drills, and all the sons of noble families have to go. His Majesty said that if the court uses them, their fathers' achievements will not be disregarded. Today, there will not only be drills, but also competitions, and the young ladies from noble families will all come to watch the excitement."

Li Jinglong stared at himself in the bronze mirror, examining him carefully: "Here, deepen the lines a bit more, to give that feeling of sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes."

The maidservant did as she was told.

Li Zengzhi walked over, his face full of doubt: "Brother, isn't it enough to just wear armor for drills? Why are you putting on makeup?"

"The battle starts at six, so we have to get up at four to put on makeup."

"I'm going all out with a full face of makeup today!"

Li Zengzhi: "???"

Li Jinglong argued vehemently, "Think about it, in today's scene, every single one of the noble sons was eager to show off their martial arts skills. In terms of fist and foot techniques, who could I possibly defeat?"

"Play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. In terms of martial arts, I'm the worst. But in terms of looks, I'm the son of the most handsome man in the Ming Dynasty."

Li Zengzhi's lips twitched: "Brother, tell me the truth, is it for the sake of those young ladies from the Xun Gui family?"

Li Jinglong's expression turned serious: "Of course, it's for the sake of the face of my Great Ming Dynasty."

Li Zengzhi: "..."

The sky gradually turned white.

Li Jinglong finally finished his full makeup.

He stood up from in front of the bronze mirror, turned to face Li Zengzhi, spread his hands, and raised his chin.

"How is it?"

Li Zengzhi opened his mouth.

The eldest brother was clad in silver armor, a sword at his waist, and combat boots. Two pheasant feathers on his head stood out high, swaying gently with his movements. Combined with his meticulously groomed face, with his sword-like eyebrows slanting upwards, bright eyes, and high-bridged nose, he was indeed a man of imposing heroic spirit.

"Isn't he incredibly dashing?" Li Jinglong praised himself first.

"Yes," Li Zengzhi had to admit.

Judging by his appearance alone, the eldest brother is indeed a formidable fighter.

His gaze fell on the two pheasant feathers, and the more he looked, the more puzzled he became.

"Brother, what are those two whiskers on your head for?"

"Pheasant feathers!" Li Jinglong corrected, "What whiskers?"

"Alright, alright, pheasant feathers. What are those for?"

Li Jinglong tilted his head back and exclaimed, "For the sake of looking cool!"

Li Zengzhi rubbed his forehead.

"Brother, today is supposed to be a competition. It'll be inconvenient for you to have these two things on your head during the fight, won't it? Someone could just grab you and pull you off your horse."

Li Jinglong said nonchalantly, "Do you think I'd give them the chance to pull off my feat?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you can't beat them, just admit defeat," Li Jinglong said matter-of-factly. "I don't make a living with martial arts."

Li Zengzhi was completely speechless.

Li Jinglong turned back to the bronze mirror, looking at himself from left to right: "I'll just ask you one question, am I handsome or not?"

"So handsome it's making me lose fans," Li Zengzhi said, looking at his face.

Li Jinglong waved his hand: "Those who dropped out were all fake fans of the rival brother; the die-hard fans definitely wouldn't drop out."

……

Dust billowed in the air on the training ground.

When Li Jinglong and Li Zengzhi arrived, the venue was already full of people.

They were all sons of noble families, each one fully armored and neatly dressed.

Then, Li Jinglong arrived.

All eyes turned to him. To be precise, to the two pheasant feathers on his head.

"Is this guy here to fight, or to perform in a play?"

"A martial arts training ground, not a stage for a play, is it?"

"What are those two whiskers on his head?"

"Look at his face, he's even wearing makeup!"

"His father hasn't been dead for long, has he? Is he observing mourning or widowhood? Why is he dressed up like that?"

The young men laughed and complained.

On the other side of the martial arts arena, the young ladies of the Xun Gui family, who were specially permitted to watch the battle today, were all sitting demurely in the stands. But the moment Li Jinglong appeared, the demeanor of these refined young ladies instantly changed.

"Wow! Who's that?"

"Brother Li! The young Duke of Cao's mansion!"

"How heroic!"

"Those two pheasant feathers, how majestic!"

"He's looking this way! He's looking this way!"

Several bolder girls stood up and waved their handkerchiefs, calling out, "Brother Li! Brother Li!"

Li Jinglong smiled and turned his head to wave elegantly towards the stands.

"Aaaaaah! He waved at us!"

"Brother Li looked at me! He looked at me!"

The ladies were absolutely thrilled.

The faces of Xun Gui's sons instantly turned cold.

Everyone worked so hard, donning their armor and weapons, and warming up at the training ground before dawn. What was it all for? Wasn't it to show off in front of the ladies? But then you, Li Jinglong, came along and stole all the limelight with just your face and two beards?

Who can bear this?

Li Jinglong rode his horse at a leisurely pace to the group of noble sons.

He sat there high above, two pheasant feathers swaying gently above his head.

He looked down at them, his gaze sweeping over them.

From the crowd, a burly man looked up and said in an unfriendly tone, "Li Jiujiang, this is a martial arts training ground, not a theatrical troupe."

Li Jinglong tilted his head: "Who are you?"

"I am Tang Jingzu," the man roared.

He was the son of Emperor Shengzong of Tang and the eldest son of the Marquis of Yan'an.

Li Jinglong sat on his horse, leaning slightly forward: "A mere marquis's mansion? I only need three quarters of an hour to bankrupt your Yan'an Marquis's mansion."

"Pfft."

I don't know who laughed first.

Immediately afterwards, everyone burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Li Jiujiang, you drank something this early in the morning, didn't you?"

"Bankrupt the Marquis's mansion in three-quarters of an hour? Who do you think you are?"

"That's hilarious! You weren't this arrogant even when your dad was alive!"

Tang Jingzu laughed too, a laugh born of anger: "Li Jiujiang, you haven't inherited the title of Duke yet. Wait until you do, then come and show off your power to me. What are you now?"

The laughter grew even louder.

In their eyes, Li Jinglong was a joke.

In terms of martial arts, he's a complete idiot.

His father is now dead.

All that's left is a face. One face, who can you scare?

Li Zengzhi stood next to his elder brother, rubbing his forehead.

I shouldn't have gone out with my older brother today.

So embarrassing.

Li Jinglong bent down from his horse.

The two pheasant feathers were lowered, almost poking Tang Jingzu's face.

"Useless trash." Li Jinglong straightened up, his two pheasant feathers raised high. "Kneel down and apologize to me."

Li Zengzhi was behind, covering his face with one hand and holding the reins with the other.

Brother, what brings you here today?