"Eh? Even when you were fighting?" she asked him, to which he nodded . "Ah, I see . " She replied nonchalantly . "Let's go then . " She turned around . Rong Jian followed her as they walked back to where they were staying .

. . .

The next day was the day of Shen Tianyu's battle with the Crown Prince . As usual everyone gathered . Some thought she would give face to the Crown Prince and let him win, while others thought she wouldn't . Regardless, the two still had to fight, even if just fro appearances .

Like yesterday's pair, the two did some perfunctory greetings before officially starting the duel . The Crown Prince Jing Yiqiu, arguably the most talented of the kingdom and the next Emperor . He was born of Empress Cheng, who is still alive . The fact that the mother and son pair had managed to survive and hold onto their positions for this along attests to both of their intelligence level . In the battlefield of women known as the glorious Imperial Harem, where even princes could die under "mysterious circ.u.mstances", it really is admirable they have both managed to come so far .

Shen Tianyu licked her lips and smiled . 'Let's see how good you are, oh Crown Prince . ' She held her wooden sword in front of her . Jing Yiqiu launched himself at her, striking from her left . She deftly blocked the blow and jumped back several steps to create distance . He charged at her again, and this time, she also charged at him . This time, Shen Tianyu attacked first, striking straight down while still in midair . However, Jing Yiqiu blocked her with both of his hands holding the sword . She then proceeded to kick him with her left foot . Caught off guard, as that usually doesn't happen in sword duels, Jing Yiqiu was sent flying to the right of the stage .

"Hey! She;s cheating! Referee! Referee!" someone shouted from the crowd . Others began to follow denouncing her .

She put her wooden sword on her shoulder and turned to the direction of where the instigator came from . "Last I heard, this was a duel, not a sword fight . " She said in a loud enough voice that carried across the whole plaza . She then turned to the Official with a domineering aura masked in questioning eyes .

"Ehem . Yes, this is to help everyone get used to real world fights as some do not have adequate experience . It is good to experience many different fighting styles . " Though it sounded flowery, he did admit her fighting style was . . . "different" from the norm . But he didn't plan on condemning her, not yet . Well, it doesn't matter, she just needed to win .

By this time, Jing Yiqiu had gotten up already but didn't attack . Probably to keep up his image, he didn't take advantage of her when she had her back turned to him . Not that Shen Tianyu would ever let her guard down . They both started fighting again, alternately attacking and defending . No one could tell who would win, but Shen Tianyu's "special methods" were concerning for those that wanted to curry favor with the Crown Prince, which was essentially everyone there . Rong Jian, however, had no doubt in his mind that his future wife would win . She was not one to give in just because the other had a lofty t.i.tle or position . No matter what she did, she would do her best within a reasonable range, he had personally witnessed it in the Forest of Death . Not once had she asked for help from him, even when she was facing a demonic beast much more powerful than her . In fact, when he did help her, she would pull a sour face behind his back and thank him with a monotone voice . The girl was really too prideful for her own good . Though she is holding back in this tournament, she had no intentions of loosing .

Due to other people's complains and concerns that the referee would disqualify her of she used other methods again, Shen Tianyu didn't use any more tricks . Even though she was fighting only with her sword, she was still slowly pus.h.i.+ng the Crown Prince back . Some people were already concerned about how the Crown Prince would react is he lost . Shen Tianyu kept striking Jing Yiqiu's wooden sword as he got more on the defensive . Skid marks were seen on the stage as he stubbornly refused to move yet was still pushed back forcibly by the seemingly soft and pet.i.te woman in front of him . As they say "Don't judge the book by it's cover" .

'Really stubborn . . . as expected of a crown prince I suppose . If I wasn't already giving you face, you really think you would last this long?' She thought to herself as she continued to barrage him with her attacks .

In Rong Jian's eyes, it seemed as if she was bullying the Crown Prince, or even looking down at him . Though in the other people's eyes, it looked like a close enough fight . They, as well as the Crown Prince were waiting for an opening to take advantage of . However, up until, the Crown Prince was pushed off the stage, there were no visible opportunities at all . Shen Tianyu looked at the Official with dangerous eyes .

"Mr . Official won't call white black right? This is my win . " She warned him not to show favoritism when the result was already this obvious . The Official cleared his throat and announced Shen Tianyu the winner of this round . Everyone filed out of the plaza with uneasy faces, worried that the Crown Prince might lash out at them due to the humiliation . Shen Tianyu jumped off the stage and landed next to Rong Jian .

Jing Yiqiu walked up to Shen Tianyu and Rong Jian . He cupped his hands together and bowed to them . "This humble one has learned a lot from the two seniors, please accept my thanks . "

"How could we ever accept such an honor from Your Highness . " Shen Tianyu exclaimed as she helped him to straighten up .