Now, about this King Lu...

He was a short-lived one.

The current King Lu didn’t even outlive his own father.

He died during the Late Hongwu Period.

Lu Yuan wasn’t sure of the exact year.

Historically, this King Lu didn’t do anything noteworthy, so no one really paid him any mind.

’Thinking about this, and looking at the men before me, I finally understand why this bunch doesn’t take me seriously.’

’If people from any other county knew who I was, they would’ve been begging for mercy and trying to sweet-talk me by now.’

But these guys... they didn’t seem to give a damn about him at all.

’It makes sense, though. After all, this county is part of King Lu’s fiefdom.’

’My status doesn’t carry much weight here.’

’One look at this guy and it’s obvious he has ties to King Lu.’

’Heh, what a coincidence.’

Now, some of you might be thinking, "Hey, how can you just randomly run into someone connected to King Lu?"

"Is the world really that small?"

Well, you’d be surprised.

In a Vassal King’s fiefdom, this sort of thing is actually all too common.

It’s all about flaunting borrowed power.

This guy’s connection to King Lu probably wasn’t that strong.

He could be a distant relative of some steward in the Prince’s Mansion.

Or the cousin of some minor concubine.

Or some other nonsense connection.

Basically, as long as they have even the slightest connection, they’ll dare to drop King Lu’s name.

And the most crucial part is this.

It doesn’t matter if his connection to the Prince’s Mansion is real or tenuous.

Even if it’s tenuous, you still have to speak to him politely.

After all, the name he’s dropping belongs to King Lu.

It’s just like in that movie, *Flying Armor of the Dragon Gate*.

The Factory Guard knew the Duke played by Chen Kun was an imposter, but he still had to obey, even taking a slap to the face.

Why?

Because even if he’s a fake, his current title is still "Duke."

The same principle applies here.

Even if this guy has a ridiculously distant connection to King Lu...

But if you punish him and King Lu finds out...

...well, wouldn’t that be a slap in King Lu’s face?

’Thinking it over... I can’t just bulldoze my way through this.’

’So what if I have a connection to King Yan?’

’Taiping City is in Qilu territory.’

’Besides, my relationship with King Yan isn’t even that great.’

’At best, I just have a good relationship with Gu Gaoxu.’

’But when it comes down to it, King Lu and King Yan are the real family here.’

’Of course, I can’t just go soft on this, either.’

’Why should I back down?’

’I don’t even know if you’re worth the trouble!’

Without yielding an inch, Lu Yuan immediately cupped his hands and said:

"Don’t you try to act tough in front of me."

"Cut the act. You know who you’re dealing with!"

"I’m on my way to Yandu at the personal invitation of King Yan!"

"If I’m delayed because of you, we’ll see what happens!"

’Anyone can bluff by flaunting a powerful name.’

In any case, Lu Yuan refused to believe that out of these dozen or so men, one of them just happened to have a genuinely close relationship with King Lu.

The world wasn’t that small.

Lu Yuan’s words did seem to give the man who was about to cause more trouble pause.

However, this man was used to throwing his weight around in this area. One look was enough to tell he wasn’t the type to take a loss lying down.

Although the man didn’t dare to act rashly anymore, he glared at Lu Yuan and said through gritted teeth:

"What about the fact that you hit me!!"

Lu Yuan replied with a cold expression:

"If you hadn’t run your mouth in the first place, who would’ve hit you?"

In response, the man gritted his teeth and snarled at Lu Yuan:

"If that’s your attitude, then this isn’t over!"

Apparently, not everyone understood the logic Lu Yuan had just laid out.

Lu Yuan was wary of the "King Lu" card the man was playing.

But this man didn’t understand that by mentioning King Yan’s invitation, Lu Yuan was playing his own "King Yan" card.

’Sometimes, a smart opponent isn’t what you should be afraid of.’

’Fine. If you want to do this, let’s do this!’

To be honest, Lu Yuan really hadn’t wanted to play the King Yan card.

After all, he hadn’t even met King Yan yet.

And here he was, already using the man’s name to throw his weight around?

’But what choice did I have? My mother-in-law was insulted. Am I supposed to care about the details?’

’My family gets bullied, and I’m supposed to give *him* a pass?’

’My ass!’

’So you say this isn’t over, is that it?’

’Fine!’

’Then it’s not over for any of us!’

The next second, Lu Yuan glared at the man and snapped:

"Fine!!"

"You don’t want this to be over, is that it!"

"Then it’s not over for any of us!!"

Lu Yuan’s sudden outburst startled the dozen or so men.

The man’s eyes went wide as he yelled:

"You dare!!"

"I’m with King Lu—"

Before the man could finish his sentence, Lu Yuan slammed the butt of his rifle into him.

’I’m no fool.’

’Am I really going to let you finish saying you’re so-and-so from King Lu’s circle?’

’If I let you finish, what am I supposed to do then?’

’Best not to let you say it at all.’

’This way, even if I go too far and really do anger King Lu, if he comes looking for someone to blame later, I can just play dumb.’

’"I had no idea this man had any connection to you, Your Highness."’

’"I really had no idea! Otherwise, even if I had ten thousand times the nerve, I wouldn’t have dared!"’

The moment Lu Yuan made his move, the nearby Zhao Family Travelers knew exactly what to do.

They were, however, reluctant to use the butts of their own precious rifles on these men.

Instead, they used their feet to kick and swung at them with wooden clubs they’d picked up from who-knows-where.

In an instant, the dozen or so men were once again howling in agony.

Just as the commotion was in full swing, another party appeared in the distance.

Soon, a horse-drawn carriage appeared before them.

The man who stepped out wasn’t wearing an Official’s Robe, but his bearing and demeanor told you most of what you needed to know at a single glance.

Sure enough.

After disembarking, the man scanned his surroundings, his eyes immediately landing on Lu Yuan.