Seven days ago, there were a total of 100 people who stood out from thousands of other candidates and participated in today's combat examination.
The combat examination was held in Hibiscus Garden. The order of the 100 people would be changed and they would be divided into 10 groups. Each group would have one winner. As long as they could defeat Princess Shouning, they would become the Prince's son-in-law.
Of course, if two or more people defeated the princess, they would have to compete with each other again. In the end, only one son-in-law would be left.
As for whether the groups would be unfair or not, there would only be one son-in-law. There was no difference between the second and the 100th place.
The courtiers were very worried about this. Everyone knew that although Princess Shou Ning was a woman, she was well-versed in both the pen and the sword. Her martial arts skills were extremely outstanding. Last year, when the imperial court was recruiting martial arts scholars, she secretly disguised herself as a man and forced her way into the top ten …
At that time, the officials had already realized that Princess Shou Ning had few rivals among her peers, even those who were one or two generations older than her.
Those who were more skilled than her had been practicing martial arts for many years and would not be able to participate in the combat examination.
Of course, this was something that the Prince's son-in-law had to worry about. The officials were happy to see this.
In the middle of Hibiscus Garden, there were 10 arenas set up on a large empty plot of land.
The officials of the capital were not outside. Instead, they were in a large hall. There was wine and food as they chatted with each other.
They did not care about the competition outside. In a while, when the final 10 people were selected, they would come here.
A few white-bearded elders sat together, their faces beaming with joy.
"In this year's Prince Consort selection, there were many good seedlings. They are worth paying attention to."
"That Mu Zi is definitely a talented minister. Even I am ashamed of myself when it comes to politics..."
"Forget it. You make it sound like other than politics, you can't compare to him in anything else. In the entire capital, there are not many who can compare to him in poetry. He even reminds me of the Gyeong Of Silla. The strange thing is, I have never heard of such a person before..."
"To be compared to the Gyeong Of Silla, that is too much of an exaggeration... Actually, other than this mysterious Mu Zi, there are a few others who performed well..."
…
Inside the hall, the officials and nobles of the imperial court were enjoying the show, not minding the matter from getting out of hand. Beside the arena in Hibiscus Garden, the people who had already been assigned to their respective groups had worried expressions.
A scholarly looking young man suddenly waved his hand with a face full of resentment. "The written examination is just a written examination. Why do we have to compete in martial arts? This is a disgrace to the cultured, simply a disgrace to the cultured …"
The person beside him nodded in agreement and said, "We are here to bring peace to the world. How can we act like boorish men …"
A eunuch walked over and said, "Gentlemen, please enter the arena!"
Hearing this, the two of them silently walked up the stage.
It was not easy to stand out from thousands of people. Even if it was a disgrace to them, they would not let go of this opportunity.
The rules for the second round of combat examinations were simple. There were no rules.
There were ten arenas, and after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the person standing on each of the arenas would be the victor, and would be able to enter the Inner Sanctum and proceed to the final stage.
There were many spectators around the arena. As a eunuch lit the incense and announced the start of the combat examination, the atmosphere on the arena changed immediately.
Even the judges at the side of the arena could not believe what they were seeing.
They had seen young talents writing beautiful essays in the examination hall, but they had never seen a frail scholar who fought with each other, scratched their faces, and used all sorts of methods to seduce them.
Thinking about it carefully, it was not strange for such a scene to occur.
It was rare to find someone who was well-versed in both literature and martial arts. The first round of the written examination was extremely difficult. Those who remained in this round were mostly talented scholars. There were many who did not even have the strength to truss a chicken. It was fine for them to write essays, but it was better for them to compete in martial arts.
Of course, the ten arenas were not all so unsightly.
There were two arenas where two young talents from the capital's aristocratic families were fighting. They had martial arts skills, and the rest of the people on the arenas were quickly cleared out by them.
There was another arena where nine people gathered together, which was a rare sight. They were chasing after a fatty and beating him up. No one knew what was going on …
The strangest was probably the first arena.
There were only two people on the first arena. The two of them stood on one side of the arena, motionless.
Li Yi only realized that there was only one person left on the other side after clearing out the few people who were rushing towards him.
The person wore a hood that covered his face, and it was difficult to see clearly from the outside.
The person's body was also covered by a loose robe, and it was difficult to see anything.
Other than Li Yi himself, this was another weirdo who did not want to show his true face to others.
The other party did not move, and neither did Li Yi.
He did not move because the person on the other side was very powerful, very powerful.
Li Yi had just taught Li Han yesterday that there would always be someone better than him. He did not expect that in just one day, some things would come true for him.
He thought that he had a lot of cheats in his life, and now he could not find a match for anyone below the Grandmaster level. Obviously, he was a frog at the bottom of a well.
The person on the other side was obviously not a Grandmaster, but he did not have the confidence to defeat him.
Li Yi did not move, and so the person on the other side moved.
He was very fast, and there was even a residual shadow in front of Li Yi. Li Yi's figure swayed and disappeared on the spot. At the same time, the person's figure appeared where he was just a moment ago.
Li Yi suddenly smelled a familiar fragrance.
It was not the fragrance of perfume.
It was the fragrance of MIngzhu.
"MIngzhu!"
He opened his eyes wide, and because he was so shocked, he even used his original voice.
The figure was about to move, but after hearing his voice, it suddenly stopped.
Li Yi could feel a pair of shocked eyes looking at him from under the hood.
He quickly walked over, but the figure hidden under the hood suddenly took a few steps back, jumped directly off the arena, and soon disappeared from his sight.
Li Yi stood alone in the arena, a little confused.
What was going on?
MIngzhu disguised as a man, and fought with him over Shouning?
Li Yi himself was shocked, not to mention the audience below.
The person in the hood just now actually created a residual shadow. He must be an expert. They were excited, but the opponent suddenly gave up and left the arena. They were surprised and disappointed.
Helplessly, they could only look at the last arena that had not been decided yet.
On the arena, a young scholar with a swollen face pushed a companion off the arena with difficulty. He looked around, and found that other than him, there was only the fat man lying on the side of the arena.
As long as he could drag the fat man off, he would be the winner.
He walked to the fat man's side, grabbed his legs, and dragged him out with all his might.
The fat man did not move an inch.
His face turned red, and he used more strength.
Rip!
The fat man's trousers were torn, and he fell off the arena with a piece of cloth in his hand.
At this point, the ten winners of the wushu test had all been decided.
…
In a hall somewhere in Hibiscus Garden.
Li Xuan looked around, and said doubtfully, "Strange, where did MIngzhu go?"
Just as he finished speaking, a figure walked in from outside.
Li Xuan walked forward, and said, "Where did you go? The last ten people have been decided, we should go to the hall."
"I was delayed by something." MIngzhu tidied up her clothes, and said, "Let's go."
…
"The Empress Dowager has arrived, the Imperial Concubine has arrived!"
"His Majesty has arrived!"
"The Eldest Princess has arrived! Princess Shouning has arrived! "
In the hall, hearing the eunuch's sharp and thin voice, many of the officials and nobles bowed to pay their respects.
"Dispense with the formalities." The Empress Dowager looked below, and said, "Summon the ten young talents into the hall …"
A trace of doubt appeared on Li Xuan's face, and he muttered, "It's already this time, that guy still hasn't appeared …"
MIngzhu looked out of the hall, and then retracted her gaze, and did not speak.
Shouning sat on her seat, and her body was straight. She looked out of the hall without blinking, and her hands were tightly holding onto the hem of her dress …
Under the lead of a eunuch, nine people walked into the hall.
The reason why there were nine people, was because there was a fat man who was carried in.
Li Xuan's gaze swept across the faces of those people, and his face showed disappointment.
Shouning's gaze immediately fell on the figure on the far left, and she could not look away …
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