"Everyone who can pass the literary test and the first half of the military test, standing here, is the leader of the younger generation of Jingguo..."
According to the usual practice, before the final session begins, a stylized speech is required to be given by the official in charge of the Ministry of Rites.
Li Yi had never met the official from the Ministry of Rites. He glanced around just now, and there were many old faces, but more new ones.
He had been away for five years, and countless officials had been promoted or relegated in the court. The eyes of the surrounding officials and dignitaries swept over him and returned, but there were two eyes, but they were always on him.
Those were two gazes in the same direction.
Having been in a high position for a long time, Mingzhu already possessed a trace of supreme majesty, which was not found in Li Xuan, who was doing nothing.
All the youthfulness and innocence could not be seen on Shouning's face, she was wearing a palace dress, sitting beside Mingzhu, wearing light makeup, her eyes kept looking in this direction.
Li Xuan turned his head, looked at Shouning and Mingzhu, and asked, "Why are you not in a hurry at all, do you know something?"
No one answered him.
The official from the Ministry of Rituals had already reached the end: "The first half of the martial arts test is over, and in the second half of the martial arts test, Princess Shouning will personally test your school..."
What was done just now was only the first half of the martial arts test, and only after passing the first half would he have the opportunity to accept the test of Princess Shouning.
The test for the princess is very simple, the one who can beat her is the son-in-law.
If no one wins, or if many people win, the decision must be made jointly by the queen mother and the concubine.
Shou Ning came down from above, holding a sword in one hand.
A young man in the crowd walked into the hall, held a long knife in his hand, saluted her respectfully, and said, "Your Highness, I have offended you!"
Among the courtiers, there was a whisper.
"It's the younger generation of the Zheng family, no wonder it's able to break through two levels and stand here."
"In this generation of the Zheng family, there is an all-round talent in civil and military affairs."
"I don't know if he can beat Her Majesty the Princess. If he can marry Princess Shouning, the Zheng family's prosperity will be just around the corner..."
…
While all the officials were talking in low voices, the official from the Ministry of Rituals rang the gong to signify the start of the competition.
The young man had already drawn his sword at the same moment as the gong was struck. Last year when he competed for martial arts, he narrowly lost to Princess Shouning dressed in men's clothes by three strokes. During the past year, he practiced hard, The strength has been greatly improved, and I think the victory or defeat is between five and five.
Clang!
He draws his sword very fast, but Shou Ning is faster than him.
He drew the knife halfway, and a white shadow flashed in front of his eyes. When he came back to his senses, a cold long sword was already resting on his neck.
Seeing this scene, a fat man who just sat up from the ground lay down again.
Among the nine people, several people couldn't help but shuddered and took half a step back.
"I... , I lost." The young man turned his head, looked at the long sword on his neck in disbelief, and said with difficulty.
Baiguan was also stunned.
Looking at the situation, those who finally passed the literary test may not be able to pass the martial test of Princess Shouning at all.
This junior from the Zheng family is already considered a rare all-rounder in both civil and military affairs. A person like him will never be able to achieve the ultimate in both civil and military aspects...
And he is already an extremely outstanding leader among these ten people.
Shou Ning retracted his long sword, threw it on the ground, and said, "Next."
After the official from the Ministry of Rites came back to his senses, he immediately said, "The next one is Peng Er."
No one responded.
An eunuch walked over to have a look and said, "Peng Er has passed out."
The person who fainted naturally couldn't compete with the princess, so he treated it as abstention. The official of the Ministry of Rites crossed out Peng Er's name and said, "The next one..."
"I abstain..." A young man hurriedly said, "I am not an opponent of Her Royal Highness, I abstain..."
Among the people present, many people shook their heads one after another.
If you are not an opponent, you are not an opponent, but if you don't even have the courage to make a move, you are a bit too timid.
This time, it's not just about choosing a son-in-law for Princess Shouning, the court officials also want to see if there are any of these people who have both ability and political integrity, so that they can be supported in the future...
Apparently, the young man's abstention had already disappointed those who looked up to him.
From above, watching those people being eliminated by Shou Ning one after another, when only two people remained, the queen mother shook her head and said, "This child... should have had a martial arts test first, and then a literary test. She and Mingzhu have practiced martial arts for so many years. , these young juniors, how can they be her opponents?"
Beside her, Concubine Yan smiled slightly and said, "It's not necessarily..."
Seeing those people being eliminated one after another by Princess Shouning with lightning, the official from the Ministry of Rituals stood in the main hall with a helpless face and said, "Next one, Muzi."
Li Yi was not the last one. He didn't know how the list was arranged. There was one person behind him.
Shou Ning thought for a while, walked up to the official from the Ministry of Rites, pointed to the last person, and said, "I'll compare with him first."
The official from the Ministry of Rites was startled, "Your Highness, this..."
"No, right, no, I won't compare..."
"Okay, okay..." The official of the Ministry of Rites dared to say no. What's the difficulty in changing the order of the competition? If His Highness does not compete at this time, it will be a major mistake for the Ministry of Rites. He will not be skinned by Lord Shangshu afterwards. Strange…
He looked at the list again and said, "The next one is Long Tao."
The courtiers didn't know what Her Royal Highness the Princess said to the official from the Ministry of Rites. They were just a little strange about the sudden change of the order of the competition, and didn't take it to heart.
The last young man who came up was a frail scholar, looked at Shou Ning, and said in a trembling voice: "Return, Your Highness, please be merciful."
"I won't hit you!" Shou Ning thought for a while and said, "Why don't you abstain..."
The expression on the young man's face became serious, and he said: "A man should face up to difficulties, how can he retreat when he faces difficulties, even if he is not His Highness's opponent, Long will give it a try."
The eyes of some people around them lit up slightly.
"It's a bit courageous..."
"Knowing that you can't do it, that's right..."
"Although the defeat is glorious, I don't know how much better than the previous ones..."
…
Shou Ning looked at him, nodded, picked up the long sword that had been put down after the first match, and said, "Then you make a move. In order to respect you, I will not show mercy..."
The young man's heart trembled when he thought about the fate of those who were eliminated just now, and then looked at the sword she picked up.
The next moment, his face revealed a look of determination, and he strode forward to meet him.
So what if you fail, shrinking from fear is more embarrassing than failure!
Plop!
He suddenly sprained his foot and fell to the ground.
He hugged his ankle, with cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, "Foot, sprained ankle..."
Contestant No. 9 was carried down for treatment due to an accidental sprain. When he was carried down, he still looked disappointed, as if I would never back down if it wasn't for the sprain.
So far, among the ten people, there is only one person named Muzi left.
Of course, this does not mean that he is a son-in-law. If he is the same as the previous people and fails to pass the test of Princess Shouning, his fate will be no different from the previous people.
The few people who had been eliminated couldn't help looking at him.
As long as he loses, they still have a chance.
The official from the Ministry of Rites cleared his throat and said, "Next, Muzi."
Li Yi took a few steps forward, stood in the hall, and looked at the woman opposite.
Shou Ning was also looking at him, with a lost expression on his face, and stood there in a daze.
She just looked at it.
After a long time, the official from the Ministry of Rituals walked up to Shou Ning, cleared his throat, and whispered, "Princess, the competition has already begun..."
Shouning looked back and nodded.
Holding the long sword in his hand, he strode towards the hall with great strides.
Suddenly her feet sprained, her body swayed, and she dropped the long sword in her hand to the ground.
"I sprained my ankle..." She stabilized her figure, limped to Li Yi's side, raised her head, with mist in her eyes, and said, "I admit defeat."