The Aloof Prime Minister is Pregnant with the Rival General’s Child - Chapter 9

Although sparks flew between the two and a full-scale battle seemed imminent, the fight, in the end, did not actually happen.

It was not because Shi Hanshang suddenly became afraid and fled, nor because Sheng Yuli had a sudden stroke of conscience and decided to stop fighting him.

Rather, both men had already stormed onto the martial arts arena. One in black and one in white stood tall in the wind, their robes fluttering and snapping loudly. Just as a massive clash seemed inevitable, an unexpected accident occurred.

Due to the sudden nature of the challenge, Shi Hanshang had not had time to don his silver armor. He wore only a straight, white robe that offered no protection. Yet, there was no fear in his eyes. His gaze toward Sheng Yuli remained a mix of cold indifference and loathing as his long fingers gripped his jade dragon sword, looking sharp and merciless.

Seeing this, Sheng Yuli snorted coldly. “If others see you like this, they will think this General is bullying you!”

As he spoke, he raised his hand and stripped off his own armor. It fell to the ground with a loud clang, leaving him in only a thin layer of inner clothing.

With his back teeth grinding together, Sheng Yuli vowed to take full revenge for the difficulties he had endured over the past two months. He announced loudly, “Shi Hanshang, it is not too late to admit defeat! Do not wait until I beat you to a pulp before you beg me to stay my hand and spare your life!”

Shi Hanshang let out a cold laugh and said word for word, “Sheng Yuli, you should save those words for yourself!”

“Ha!” The veins on the forehead of Sheng Yuli pulsed with rage. He spoke no more and charged forward with his sword raised.

As the weapons clashed, cold light flashed. The clattering and clanging sounds reached the ears of those below the stage, sending shivers of terror through them.

Qin Zhen watched their vicious swordplay, and his palms instantly began to sweat. Even when these two fought hard in the past, they had never used such lethal moves.

Unsure of what had transpired between them, Qin Zhen wiped away cold sweat and thought to himself, It is over. They are playing for keeps.

Shi Hanshang and Sheng Yuli had no protection on their bodies, relying entirely on raw strength and physical reflex. Swords have no eyes, and neither man was willing to yield. Their strikes grew faster and more ruthless with every exchange. If a blow truly connected, the arena would surely be splattered with blood.

Below the stage, the face of A-Sheng turned white with fear. The expression of Zi Mo was also grim. Although he knew his master was a man of reason who surely had a sense of proportion, he could not help but worry.

A-Sheng’s worry went even deeper.

Having served his master since childhood, he understood the body of his lord better than anyone. For the past half month, the face of the young master had been pale; he suffered from bouts of retching and nausea, and he had grown visibly thinner. Even though Shi Hanshang forced himself to hide these signs from others, he could not hide them from A-Sheng.

A-Sheng feared that the body of his master would give out and he would fall into a disadvantage. However, his status was lowly. If he tried to intervene, neither man on stage would stop easily, and it would only make Zi Mo and his companions laugh at them.

After hesitating, A-Sheng gritted his teeth and stomped his foot. Before Zi Mo could react, he dashed away like a startled rabbit, heading straight for the camp where the high officials were resting.

“Hey! Where are you going?!” Zi Mo was startled, but it was too late to stop him. He thought, This is bad. Is that boy A-Sheng going to report this to His Majesty?

Looking back at the two lords fighting tooth and nail on the stage, and then at the direction in which A-Sheng had run, Zi Mo also steeled his heart. He threw out a sentence, “General Qin, please keep an eye on things here!” and chased after him.

Qin Zhen complained bitterly, wondering why every difficult task was pushed onto him. When he looked back at the stage, he nearly fainted.

Shi Hanshang and Sheng Yuli were provoking each other with words as they fought. Their voices were just loud enough for only the two of them to hear.

Qin Zhen watched as the lips of Sheng Yuli moved. He did not know what was said, but in the next second, the sword of Shi Hanshang lunged straight for the throat of the general, frighteningly fast.

Sheng Yuli laughed heartily and quickly spun away to dodge. He mocked, “Shi Hanshang, you are only so-so! You claim my speed is lacking, but what about you, Master Shi? You would be better off going back to being a civil official and Prime Minister. Stop crossing paths with me!”

Shi Hanshang sneered, “General Sheng is the Great General of the imperial armies, yet you cannot even defeat a mere civil official like me? If that is the case, General Sheng should abdicate and let someone more capable take your place!”

Sheng Yuli frowned, his expression turning serious. He said in a low voice, “Shi Hanshang, why exactly do you keep making things difficult for me? Is it still because of what happened two months ago? I told you, I did not do it on purpose!”

The eyes of Shi Hanshang darkened instantly. He growled in a raspy voice, “Shut up! I told you, if you mention that matter again, I will show no mercy!”

Another sword strike lunged for a vital point.

This strike was actually somewhat unstable. Shi Hanshang felt a faint pain in his lower abdomen, and the feeling of a blockage in his throat rose again. However, he refused to show weakness in front of Sheng Yuli. He forced down the nausea, and his left hand instinctively pressed lightly against his lower abdomen through his robe.

Sheng Yuli, being a coarse man lacking in observation, was currently in a fit of temper. He did not notice the subtle abnormality in Shi Hanshang and continued to trade blows.

As the third strike came, Sheng Yuli dodged to the side again, his mouth relentless. “Is it I who want to bring up the past? It is clearly you who will not let it go! Hey, Shi Hanshang, you have scolded me and hit me. What more do you want?”

Surely Shi Hanshang did not actually intend to take his life?

Beads of sweat appeared on the forehead of Shi Hanshang. He did not want to hear another word about those events. His head felt dizzy and heavy, and he could only manage to say, “Shut up. I said, that matter is not to be mentioned!”

To the ears of Sheng Yuli, this was misunderstood. He parried a blow and exclaimed, “Shi Hanshang, you are still not satisfied? What exactly do you want? A hand? A foot? You surely do not truly intend to cut me into pieces, do you?”

Shi Hanshang was truly driven to a cold laugh by his anger. Suppressing the slight tremor in his throat, he said coldly, “Indeed. If you are truly willing to let me cut off one of your arms, I will never compete with you again. How about it?”

Sheng Yuli thought he was serious and his eyes widened. “Shi Hanshang!”

The sword of Shi Hanshang happened to be aimed at his right arm. Sheng Yuli hesitated for a moment, but his body instinctively defended itself.

Perhaps due to this moment of distraction, he accidentally increased his force. The sword in the hand of Shi Hanshang suddenly hit the ground with a crisp clang. The face of Shi Hanshang fell as he suddenly clutched his stomach and dropped to one knee, his face turning deathly pale in an instant.

However, the sword of Sheng Yuli could no longer be stopped.

Seeing his blade at the side of the neck of the other man, Sheng Yuli tried to pull back his sword but it was too late. He looked down in panic into the shimmering, watery eyes of Shi Hanshang. The hearts of both men skipped a beat, but suddenly, two sharp voices cried out.

“Zhige!”

“Lanbie!”

A dark shadow flashed before him. Sheng Yuli felt a sharp pain in his wrist, and the edge of his sword was knocked aside, crashing to the floor below the stage with a sharp ring.

When he looked up again, a plain robe swept past his eyes. Shi Yunhe had rushed up with an expression of intense anxiety. He supported the staggering Shi Hanshang and asked in distress, “Lanbie! How are you?!”

Only then did Sheng Yuli realize something was wrong with Shi Hanshang. He looked up belatedly and discovered that the object that had knocked the sword out of his hand was a small tree branch, which now lay on the side of the stage, snapped in two.

Below the stage stood another person.

“Elder Sister?” Sheng Yuli said in shock.

Sheng Yuesheng still held the pose of having thrown the branch. She looked up at him from below, her eyes flickering with disbelief.

Behind her, A-Sheng and Zi Mo were panting heavily, having clearly just returned from delivering the news.

“Lanbie, how are you?”

Sheng Yuli finally snapped out of it and looked down at Shi Hanshang. The thin lips of the man were now completely colorless. His long sword lay on the ground beside him. One hand clutched his abdomen while the other pressed against his chest. His complexion was terrifyingly poor.

Shi Yunhe thought that Shi Hanshang had truly been pierced by the sharp sword and turned pale with fright, hurrying to check for wounds on his body.

From childhood to adulthood, Shi Hanshang and Sheng Yuli had competed countless times. Occasional bumps and small injuries were common. Shi Yunhe and Sheng Yuesheng were used to it. As long as the two stopped at the right moment and did not endanger their lives, the elders treated it as childish roughhousing and did not interfere.

But things were different now. Both had grown up, and their strikes were fierce and unrestrained. However, being as excessive as they were today was a first.

Shi Yunhe knew the temperament of his brother better than anyone. He was stubborn and tenacious. Even when his strength failed him, he would never bow his head before a victor was decided. Even if a winner were declared, unless it was a life-threatening injury, Shi Hanshang would remain silent and never wish to cause his brother worry. It had been this way since he was a child.

The problem was that Shi Yunhe looked over Shi Hanshang thoroughly but found no obvious sword marks. Unsure where the injury was, he did not know where to start.

Yet, looking at the expression of Shi Hanshang, it did not seem like he was faking. Shi Yunhe was worried to death.

Could it be an internal injury?

Shi Yunhe supported the weakened Shi Hanshang to his feet, which was a bit of a struggle. Sheng Yuli instinctively tried to help, but his hand was shoved away by Shi Yunhe, who said angrily, “General Sheng! I do not know how my Lanbie has offended you. Small scuffles on normal days are one thing, but to strike so ruthlessly today?!”

“I…” Sheng Yuli instinctively wanted to defend himself, but once he opened his mouth, he did not know how.

Was his strike truly that heavy?

But he clearly remembered that he had not touched Shi Hanshang.

By now, Sheng Yuesheng had also hurried onto the stage. Before anyone could react, she grabbed the ear of Sheng Yuli and pulled him behind her, rebuking him sternly, “Sheng Zhige, there must be a limit to martial arts competition. You child, how could you be so reckless with your strikes!”

She also did not expect that her usually sensible brother would suddenly lose his mind today and actually injure someone.

And the one injured was the Prime Minister of the current dynasty.

“No, Elder Sister, let me explain!”

Sheng Yuli shouted in pain, but he could not justify himself. Sheng Yuesheng gave him a secret glare when her back was turned, warning him not to speak further.

She then turned to Shi Yunhe, cupped her hands, and said, “Minister Shi, it is my brother who was in the wrong today. I apologize to you both on his behalf.”

“There is no need!” Shi Yunhe said angrily. “I must take my brother to see the imperial physician for his injuries. General Sheng, please move aside!”

When a loved one is injured, it is the family who feels the most pain. Thus, Shi Yunhe was anxious and had a sharp temper. He was about to voice more rebukes when he felt the person in his arms stiffen. Shi Hanshang suddenly reached out and pressed down on the wrist of his brother.

Shi Hanshang had just recovered from a wave of discomfort. Suppressing the rising urge to vomit, he said in a low, firm voice, “There is no need.”

“Lanbie?” Shi Yunhe was startled.

Sheng Yuli also looked at him.

Shi Hanshang suppressed the bitterness in his throat, cast a glance at the bewildered Sheng Yuli, and said forcefully with lowered eyes, “Today’s matter is not his fault. It is my own body that is unwell.”

The heart of Sheng Yuli trembled. He could not help but say, “You…”

But Shi Hanshang avoided his gaze and bit his pale lip. His footsteps were still somewhat unsteady.

Allowing his rival to see his weakness was embarrassing enough; Shi Hanshang did not want to linger any longer.

Furthermore, he had not actually sustained any injuries. He simply did not know why he felt nauseated and wanted to vomit. This feeling came and went quickly, and now it had suddenly vanished.

Thus, turning his head, Shi Hanshang used the hand of Shi Yunhe to steady himself and said in a low voice to his brother, “Brother, I am fine. Today was just a misunderstanding. Let us leave it at that.”

After saying this, Shi Hanshang forced himself upright and began to walk.

He had not taken many steps before a dense, dull pain returned to his lower abdomen. He staggered and nearly fell again.

Fortunately, A-Sheng supported him, preventing another loss of composure.

“Brother, I am going back to my room to rest,” Shi Hanshang said through gritted teeth.

“This…” Shi Yunhe watched the staggering back of Shi Hanshang as he left. He wanted to ask more about why he was unwell, but it was clear that Shi Hanshang did not want to speak. He guessed that Shi Hanshang was mindful of the presence of Sheng Yuli. He could only suppress his questions for now and wait until they returned to their room.

Since even Shi Hanshang said it was not the fault of Sheng Yuli, then it indeed had nothing to do with him.

Shi Yunhe was anxious to follow, but after two steps, he remembered the siblings of the Sheng family were still nearby. Both were standing there in a daze, like statues.

Shi Yunhe had to stop and hurriedly nodded to the two. “Apologies. Today was sudden, and I have been impolite. Once I have ensured that my brother is safe and sound, I will come to apologize to you both.”

“It is nothing!” Sheng Yuesheng shook her head repeatedly. “It was Zhige who was reckless today. I will certainly punish him when we return! Minister, please go. If there is anything you need help with, feel free to find me!”

The two elders exchanged words of apology and dismissal. Meanwhile, Sheng Yuli kept his eyes fixed on the departing back of Shi Hanshang, his mind filled with confusion.

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