Chapter 60: Ambush and Contest

At this moment, Xiutu Ge was so furious he was about to explode.

Preserve the Xiongnu’s dignity?

When Cao Mengde brought up this matter in front of so many people inside the Xiongnu King’s Tent, she wasn’t preserving the Xiongnu’s dignity at all—she was openly humiliating them.

She actually compared the Xiongnu to beggars from the Central Plains!

Seeing Tute Chanyu’s tactful response, Mengde’s contempt for the Xiongnu finally lessened a little.

She gave Tute Chanyu a slight nod, then turned to Xiutu Ge.

“I don’t think our negotiations need someone so inconsiderate to butt in. Don’t you agree, Tute Chanyu?”

“I think so as well,” Tute Chanyu replied with a smile.

The next moment, he waved to the guards on either side, then pointed at Xiutu Ge, who was standing a little further in.

“Someone, the Zuo Xian Wang seems a bit tired. Escort him back to his camp to rest.”

“Yes!”

The Xiongnu guards immediately obeyed and moved to escort Xiutu Ge out of the King’s Tent.

Because Xiutu Ge was the Zuo Xian Wang, the two guards didn’t use force.

At first, Xiutu Ge obediently cooperated.

But just as he passed in front of Mengde, he suddenly lashed out, swinging his thick arm and lunging straight at her.

“You bastard!”

Tute Chanyu stared in shock, and Mengde never expected this madman would lose his reason so completely and try to attack her out of nowhere.

For a moment, she was so startled she froze in place.

‘Is this… an ambush?’

‘Am I going to die here?’

‘No!’

The girl’s pupils trembled violently from Xiutu Ge’s sudden attack, but—

Just as Xiutu Ge’s fist was about to strike Mengde’s forehead, a strong hand shot out and grabbed his fist, blocking the sudden blow for her.

“Liu Bei…”

Following the arm back, Mengde indeed saw a familiar face, standing behind her with clear tension.

As she spoke, Liu Bei quickly glanced down at her and said in a hurried voice, “Don’t worry, Miss, I’ll protect you.”

“Mm…”

Mengde nodded, reassured, and her body suddenly went limp, falling backward.

Liu Bei’s free hand caught her just in time, and Mengde ended up in his arms.

Feeling her racing heartbeat, Mengde couldn’t tell if her heart was pounding from the crisis or for some other reason.

She just felt that, somehow, her feelings when looking at Liu Bei now were subtly different from before.

‘What’s happening to me?’

Mengde’s cheeks were tinged with a faint blush.

To calm herself, she grumbled inwardly: This Xiutu Ge is truly shameless.

To try to lash out after losing—if you can’t handle the game, then don’t play politics at all.

Meanwhile, after a moment of shock, Tute Chanyu finally recovered and roared in fury, waving his hand.

“Guards! Guards! Drag this fool out of here!”

The two guards who nearly let disaster happen hurried forward to pull Xiutu Ge away.

“Wait!”

But just then, Liu Bei suddenly stopped them, then lowered his head to ask Mengde, “Miss, about the contest he mentioned earlier—may I challenge him?”

“Do as you please…”

Mengde replied as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

But after she spoke, for some reason, her gaze shifted shyly to the side.

Liu Bei didn’t notice this subtle change in Mengde’s demeanor.

Instead, he turned to Xiutu Ge and sneered, “You said if we lose, we have to give up this business deal, right? Give up a deal worth over a hundred million coins—that’s quite a price. Since we’re risking so much, what will you wager if you lose?”

Xiutu Ge’s face was dark as water.

“What do you want?”

“Your! Life!”

Liu Bei spoke each word with deliberate emphasis.

The entire King’s Tent erupted in an uproar.

People either rushed forward to argue or tried to persuade Xiutu Ge not to accept such an outrageous condition.

After all, Liu Bei truly might take his life—or at the very least, humiliate him and walk away victorious.

The reason was simple: the girl in Liu Bei’s arms was none other than the daughter of Cao Song, one of the Han Dynasty’s Three Excellencies—Mengde.

So what if Xiutu Ge was the Xiongnu Zuo Xian Wang? Even the Southern Xiongnu were just vassals of the Han Dynasty now.

If any Xiongnu dared to harm a single hair on Mengde’s head, the Han armies would sweep through Xiongnu lands three times over.

‘As for the military expenses?’

Cao Song would say: My superpower is being rich.

Curiously, among all those trying to calm Xiutu Ge, neither Tute Chanyu nor Huzheng spoke a word.

They seemed entirely detached from the matter, quietly watching as bystanders.

Previously, the conflict between Xiutu Ge and Mengde could be seen as a dispute between Xiongnu and Han Dynasty, so Tute Chanyu, as leader of the Xiongnu, naturally stood with Xiutu Ge.

But after Xiutu Ge’s attack and Liu Bei’s challenge, the conflict had become personal.

A private feud between the Xiongnu Zuo Xian Wang and others? If not for the crowd, Tute Chanyu would probably have thrown his head back and laughed.

He could hardly wait for Xiutu Ge to drop dead in the upcoming duel!

After all, Xiutu Ge’s tribe was the second most powerful among the Southern Xiongnu, right after Tute Chanyu’s own.

And Xiutu Ge only had a single son who wasn’t even ten years old.

If Xiutu Ge died, his tribe would be plunged into a succession crisis—among the Xiongnu, the weak and the young have no right to inherit power.

***

When the factions within Xiutu Ge’s tribe tore each other apart…

Tute Chanyu could step in as a mediator and divide the spoils—eliminating his greatest threat in the process.

Huzheng’s silence was for the same reason.

Xiutu Ge, after being talked down by everyone, was finally starting to calm down, but then Mengde, still in Liu Bei’s arms, shot him a contemptuous glance and mouthed silently: “Afraid, are you?”

Xiutu Ge was instantly enraged by Mengde’s words.

He shoved aside the people near him and shouted at Liu Bei, “Who’s afraid of who? Bring it on!”

Xiutu Ge’s acceptance left the surrounding Xiongnu nobles at a loss.

But since Xiutu Ge had already agreed to Liu Bei’s terms, there was no turning back.

They couldn’t withdraw now—what would become of the Southern Xiongnu’s face? All they could do was find a way to improve Xiutu Ge’s odds.

After a brief discussion, the Xiongnu nobles decided the contest would be settled by a Riding and Archery Contest.

Mengde’s face darkened.

“Riding and Archery? Of course they’d think of that! Who doesn’t know the Xiongnu are people of the saddle? They’ve trained in riding and archery since childhood! Liu Bei, are you confident about this contest?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll win, Miss.”

Liu Bei nodded to Mengde with a confident smile.

Seeing this, Mengde agreed to let Liu Bei accept the challenge.

She believed Liu Bei wouldn’t make a reckless move.