Eight years earlier, on the road to Liang, the officials from Jin had warned the hostages.
The embarrassing affairs of their families absolutely could not be brought up in official circles. Even in private, it was best not to mention them!
Things like Liu Jingming's live-in son-in-law father, or Lei Lixing's stepmother... at most, they could only be discussed behind people's backs!
Wu Youren was no exception. There was a story behind his status as a "grandson," too.
There was no question that the hostage delegation was packed with people with powerful fathers, but most of the hostages themselves had been sidelined within their families.
Whether Great Liang had noticed this makeup or not, they certainly could not expose it themselves and stir up needless trouble.
That was the principle: the hostages from Jin could fight among themselves, but leaking information was strictly forbidden.
As she watched his retreating back, a trace of ruthlessness flashed through Yan Sanmin's small eyes.
She sneered under her breath. "Heh, you really think you can escape the palm of my hand?"
Wu Youren also knew he had provoked another enemy, but... did he have a choice?
Still, it did not really matter. At worst, he would be unable to attend the martial academy. Life still had to go on.
Another day passed, and the second list was announced. Another ten people.
An uneasy feeling rose in Wu Youren's heart. At this rate, it would take another two days before the third list came out.
But Shi Linyuan and the others would be able to produce their first batch of strong liquor tomorrow.
Once they realized that the method he had provided had not been watered down at all, wouldn't that introduce a whole host of new variables?
Yet he truly had no other choice, much less the ability to influence the situation, so these worries... were not really necessary.
Fortunately, when the third list was announced, his name was still on it. Not a single person who had appeared on the earlier lists had been replaced.
But anyone who thought that was the end of it was far too naive.
Along with the third list came a rule: anyone who considered someone on the list unsuitable could raise an objection.
It felt just like the public notice periods for name lists on Blue Star. What had been released was not the final result.
For Wu Youren, this was terrible news-now that they were invoking the rules, it would be difficult to bring up a private deal.
At least there was one piece of good news: Lei Lixing had made the list too.
The "public notice period" lasted five days, and for the first four, almost nothing happened.
Unsurprisingly, something unexpected happened on the fifth day. What scion of a noble family did not know how to launch a surprise attack?
Two people were replaced outright, presumably through private agreements, while another nine faced challenges.
In other words, some of those who had not been selected felt the chosen candidates were inferior to them and demanded challenge matches.
The people of Jin had no qualms about pulling this sort of maneuver. They were not at all afraid of becoming a laughingstock in Liang's eyes.
The capable rose, the incapable fell, and it was all publicly announced... in any country, that would count as proof of an enlightened system, wouldn't it?
The one feeling the pressure was Wu Youren.
He rather wanted to curse. Other people usually faced just one challenger, two at most!
But no fewer than five people wanted to challenge him!
Two of them were not even hostages, but guards from the guard unit. How the hell was he supposed to beat them?
Fortunately, the challenged party could choose the form of the contest. It did not have to be a fight to the death; strategy or even literary talent would do.
If the challenger disagreed, however, they could keep negotiating... in short, it was very enlightened competition.
But Wu Youren felt utterly sick about it. Do they all fucking think I'm an easy target?
After the list was released, even Jin Garden's administrator could not help asking: had that boy offended a lot of people?
Wu Youren carefully analyzed the situation and found that four of his five challengers were people he could not beat.
The remaining one was about evenly matched with him, but half a year younger, and also came from a family connected to the royal clan.
"Then I might as well lose to this one." Wu Youren was not thinking of winning, but since he was going to lose no matter what, why not maximize the benefits?
As for the other four challengers, he noted them down too-the mountains were high and the rivers long; there would be plenty of days ahead!
He had no idea what path he should take in the future, but that did not stop him from keeping accounts in his little notebook.
Since his predecessor's knowledge was rather limited, he even went to consult Liu Jingming.
"Brother Jingming, do you think... I'm right to think this way?"
Liu Jingming gave him a rather strange look-he had not made the list this time, nor had he found a suitable person to challenge.
He could have challenged Wu Youren, but upon learning that the latter already faced so many challengers, he had decisively given up.
Even if he could beat him, with so many challengers waiting afterward, he would never hold out to the end.
So he might as well take a gamble and stay out of it. At least he would not offend any of those six people.
When he heard that Wu Youren intended to give up, the disappointment on his face could not have been more obvious.
But he had already chosen to extend goodwill, and in the end, he forced himself to say, "Try to hold out a little longer. It'll be better for you!"
It was sincere advice. Although defeat was already inevitable, the more difficult he proved to deal with, the less trouble he would face in the future.
Wu Youren had his own choice in mind and did not consider this the most suitable advice.
Still, hearing those words, he could not help revealing his true feelings. "So that's how this public notice period has gone. Who knows whether there'll be another one?"
He truly was going to give up, because the way these people did things really... offered no sense of security whatsoever.
"Don't get your hopes up. There's nothing they won't do." There was a little bewilderment in Liu Jingming's eyes too.
Then he sighed softly. "You know? When I left home, my father told me: this world... just pretend you were never here!"
Their relationship had not been good before, but faced with such enormous uncertainty, his defenses had cracked a little, and he dared to say anything.
"It might not be a bad thing." Wu Youren smiled. "A new line of play springs from the break in the board!"
When had any country's hostages ever gone to Liang's martial academy to study en masse before?
There was absolutely a reason the other side was willing to set this unprecedented example!
Perhaps Liang had encountered an unprecedented crisis and had no choice but to do this, so there was really no need to despair too much.
"You really do have a good outlook, Youren." At this moment, Liu Jingming genuinely admired him a little.
"If you manage to get out, remember to take a look at the sky outside Jin Garden for me!"
Those words... how should one put it? They were something to hear and leave at that. The words of noble scions were not to be taken too seriously.
But for him to go this far was already truly rare.
I could take a few extra breaths of free air for you too! Wu Youren smiled. "I've noticed we both like to dream."
Three days later, the challenge matches officially began. Wu Youren was scheduled third.
The schedule was relatively considerate of him. Since he was fighting five opponents alone, they did not make him go first, and he could rest for one match after each bout.
One could say that apart from the private deal being unfit for the light of day and impossible to invoke, the arrangements on the surface were very carefully made.
So hypocritical it's laughable... Wu Youren's face remained expressionless, but he could not help silently scoffing.
His expectations of the seventeenth prince dropped another few notches.
Even his predecessor had thought little of the Hidden Dragon Plan, because His Highness's behavior amounted to enjoying every remaining day while he was still alive.
As for where the collected "Hidden Dragon Funds" had gone, everyone could more or less see it at a glance.
To say His Highness was playing the pig to eat the tiger... that possibility was not entirely nonexistent.
Doing his best to appear harmless in daily life, finding such pleasure here that he gave no thought to Jin... that too was a means of self-preservation.
But this seemingly fair arrangement of challenge matches truly left a chill in his heart.
The backroom deal was indeed unsuitable for public disclosure, but to simply pretend not to know, without even a discreet word of communication...
Perhaps he was simply too unimportant. They could not even be bothered to go through the motions with him.
Neither of the first two challenges took very long. Flesh and blood flew, and one hostage lost half a leg.
The seventeenth prince still did not attend this challenge competition. The Duke of Wei's concubine-born son was in charge.
He did not even blink at such scenes, and a smile even lingered at the corners of his mouth... he had seen plenty of bloodier sights.
When Wu Youren stepped onto the platform, a small stir ran through the crowd.
Most people wanted to take a good look at just how pathetic this fellow was, that he could become the target of so many arrows.
Even the Duke of Wei's concubine-born son paid him a little attention, then gave a soft exclamation. "He's actually... so handsome?"
Great Jin revered martial prowess, and men of the frail scholar type were generally not held in high regard.
Although the youth on the platform was on the thin side, youthful vitality radiated from his entire body, along with an abundance of masculine vigor.
His face was like fine jade, his brows like swords, his eyes like stars, his nose like a suspended gallbladder, his bearing extraordinary...
Many people had seen him before, but a hurried passing glance felt very different from a careful examination.
Some even gave Yan Sanmin a thoughtful look... no wonder!
With a faint, somewhat unhealthy pallor on his face, Wu Youren looked at the guard opposite him.
The guard was twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He had only just come of age when he arrived in Liang, and was now already a knight.
Wu Youren was merely an apprentice knight. The gap in their strength was an objective fact.
Yet the guard's expression was still rather solemn.
He was determined to win, and his family background was not much worse than his opponent's, but ultimately he was only a guard, while the youth opposite him was a hostage.
There was a difference in status, and this was clearly a case of the older bullying the younger. Winning would be easy, but he needed to avoid hurting his opponent as much as possible...
He was considering how he should respond if his opponent proposed some other form of contest when the youth opposite him moved.
He raised his hands in a cupped-fist salute and said calmly, "I concede!"
"You choose... huh?" The guard visibly froze. He was conceding just like that?
Of course one could concede in a martial contest, but on an occasion like this, competing for such an opportunity, how could he concede so easily?
Leaving everything else aside, as a noble scion, and in an enemy country at that, shouldn't he show a little fighting spirit?
Not just him-even the other spectators could not help murmuring among themselves at those words.
Never mind how fierce the first two contests had been. Although this youth's martial abilities were lacking, surely he was not completely without strengths?
Even if he might not win at another form of contest, it would not be as dangerous as a fight.
How could he just give up like that?
What a waste of such a fine outer shell.
Just then, several guards from Liang hurried over, escorting two people.
(Second update. While the book is new, please support it by keeping up with the latest chapters, voting, and adding it to your collection.)