Chapter 314: Rumors

Luoning's forceful appearance pressed the stop button on this one-sided bullying.

He observed the opposite side; the three men and two women in the lead were dressed relatively luxuriously and appeared to be noble children, though their specific identities were not easy to determine.

Judging by the seven or eight knights in light armor beside the five of them, their backgrounds were likely not small.

"Luoning, you have a lot of nerve, actually daring to make a move and injure my attendants!"

The man who spoke had a handsome appearance, and what was more conspicuous was the other party's hair color, a deep red even darker than Ruidar's, more like a flame burning brightly.

"Who are you?"

Luoning's brows furrowed slightly; the other party knew him, yet he did not know the other party.

It seemed it was time to gain some understanding of the member information of the major noble families in the Kingdom.

Upon hearing this question, the red-haired man's expression immediately sank.

Basically, everyone who could enter the Golden Feather Palace was a noble; among these nobles, the Wushan Family was conspicuous for their silver hair, and likewise, there was only one great noble family with red hair.

As long as the family was determined, and then based on the other party's age, one could roughly judge the other party's identity.

Yet at this moment, Luoning asked such a question, which in his view was clearly pretending not to know on purpose.

"Grandfather was right indeed; the Wushan Family is a family that does not understand etiquette. Being able to rank among the Marquises is entirely the grace of His Majesty Kelinsiman!"

Someone echoed, saying: "His Majesty Kelinsiman likely sympathized with Earl Lulansi being deposed and the pain of losing his son, which is why he bestowed the Marquis position upon the Wushan Territory."

These two sentences immediately drew jeers from the crowd.

They looked at Luoning just as nobles look at peasants who do not understand etiquette, with a sense of utter contempt.

"If sympathy could be exchanged for a Marquis position, I suggest that those Earls, Viscounts, and Barons of the Auduin Kingdom don't need to fight on the battlefield anymore; just give birth to a few more sons and daughters, then go perform a few tear-jerking dramas in front of His Majesty Bruno, and perhaps you could be promoted to a title."

Luoning chuckled coldly and retorted: "As for whether the Wushan Family has etiquette, I don't know, but for those families who love to slander others behind their backs, their etiquette wouldn't be much better."

The red-haired man's expression changed; he had not expected Luoning to have such a response, and he had even dragged His Majesty the King into it.

In reality, among great nobles, especially those outside the Auduin surname, none relied on gaining others' sympathy to obtain titles; without exception, they all relied on the accumulation of merits over several generations to have their status today.

Using this matter to slander the Wushan Family was indeed untenable.

Luoning could not be bothered to engage in a war of words with the other party and turned to walk toward Tangmu and Dawei: "How are you two?"

Tangmu and Dawei stood up, grimacing; although it was only one exchange of blows, both had suffered not-insignificant injuries.

"Feels like two ribs are broken."

"Me too..."

"Then lie on the ground, don't stand up."

Tangmu and Dawei were stunned for a moment, then lay back down; they must have aggravated their injuries, as both groaned in pain twice.

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Mentioning this, looks of anger flashed across both their faces.

"They insulted you, saying you..."

Dawei was anxious to say it, but when the words reached his lips, he dared not continue.

"Saying what about me?"

"Saying you are a piece of trash, and that being able to become an Earl relied entirely on being propped up by Lord Lulansi."

Tangmu also added in a low voice: "They also said you had relations with many women in your early days and are completely unworthy of Her Highness the Princess."

"They also said you are cruel and irritable in temperament, and that you forced Earl Aosen's granddaughter to her death..."

"We stepped forward to stop their remarks, but didn't expect to be insulted by them instead!"

The two spoke one after another, describing the general course of the whole incident.

Luoning had been wondering before where Tangmu and Dawei got the nerve to provoke nobles; it turned out it was for his reputation and dignity, which was indeed what followers should do.

He revealed a gratified and encouraging smile: "You did well; just lie on the ground and rest now."

He turned around, his expression sank, and his cold gaze swept the circle: "The person who injured my attendants, step out!"

At this moment, the two knights just injured by Luoning had already returned to the other party's group, and their companions were simply treating their injuries.

Compared to the broken rib injuries of Tangmu and Dawei, their superficial wounds would heal faster.

"What, does 'Earl' Luoning want to seek justice for your attendants?"

The red-haired man bit the word 'Earl' quite heavily, making Luoning's Earl position seem very cheap, unworthy of their notice.

Then he asked back in a sarcastic tone: "But our knights were also injured by you; should I also seek justice for them?"

"Let's duel!"

Luoning drew the Yanliu Sword, stuck it into the ground, and poured Battle Qi into it; flames rose fiercely, completely changing the atmosphere of the verbal sparring.

"You have the most to say, so let you and me have a life-and-death duel between knights! Regardless of who wins or loses, this matter will be wiped clean!"

He was not acting on impulse to stand up for his subordinates.

Although it was unknown whether the other party injuring Tangmu and Dawei was premeditated, they were definitely intentional in spreading Luoning's past negative news at this time.

Although the marriage alliance between Luoning and Blanche had not been announced to the public on the surface, some great nobles had their own channels for obtaining information, and the several interactions between the Royal Family and Wushan Castle were already enough to explain some things.

But some people did not wish for the Royal Family and Wushan Castle to form a marriage alliance.

Because doing so not only increased the political weight of King Bruno but also brought not-insignificant benefits to Wushan Castle and Luoning himself.

If this marriage alliance could be sabotaged, on one hand, it could keep Blanche from being married off, thereby making the outside world believe the King had problems managing royal affairs, and stir up greater public opinion pressure in society, affecting the King's authority, status, and even decisions and actions;

On the other hand, it also weakened the political status of Wushan Castle and Luoning, and made it even harder for Bruno to conveniently intervene in the affairs of the Wushan Territory.

As for the methods to sabotage the marriage alliance, they were nothing more than diplomatic means, economic temptation, lobbying and persuasion, military threats, and negative rumors.

Regarding the matter of Bruno wanting to arrange a marriage for an older princess, the former few methods were almost difficult to be effective.

Only the last method had a chance of success—

Using negative information to damage Luoning's reputation and status, thereby forcing the Princess or the King to change their minds.

And this method didn't even require much effort; they didn't even need to fabricate rumors, they only needed to bring up things Luoning had done earlier.

To say nothing of anything else, the mere act of forcing himself upon Selina and driving her to suicide is a massive stain that Luoning can never erase.

For Luoning, most of the things that happened in the past are unchangeable facts, and there is absolutely no need to argue with others about them.

All he can do is use his current self to cover up the stains committed by his predecessor.

The best method is to demonstrate his own strength, letting the outside world perceive him through new angles and events, rather than through the preconceived negative impressions brought by these rumors.

Having a grand and stirring life-and-death Duel with this bunch of troublemakers who don't look very strong is clearly a good choice.

However, as soon as he said these words, the expressions on the faces of the group opposite him changed.

They certainly do not think highly of Luoning, and even hold a skeptical attitude toward the rumors that he possesses Silver-rank strength.

But this does not mean they would risk their lives, betting their lives to head to the Duel arena over a small dispute.

Are you kidding? Once a life-and-death Duel is agreed upon, being killed in the Duel arena is a legal matter.

By then, even if they have families behind them, they would have no way to use this as an excuse to attack the victor's family.

"Are you crazy?" (End of chapter)