C21

After many days of preparation, the Autumn Festival finally began on the middle of July, 112th year of the Chu Dynasty.

"Brother, this time I am divided into the first exam grounds. I am not in the same exam grounds as brother, so we will have to fight for the final exam grounds."

The green-robed man glanced at his sloppy cousin.

"Second brother has learned a good martial art. Mister has always praised second brother's talents as rare. I'm afraid that elder brother cannot compare with you."

"Haha …"

The two of them looked at each other and smiled. Then, they split up and headed towards their respective exam grounds. This kind of scene happened frequently in the central plaza of Yanyang City. Because of the large number of people, there were many exam grounds set up in the center plaza of Yanyang City. There were three exam grounds in the central plaza of Yanyang City, the fourth exam grounds were set up in the grid alley in front of the Duke Huai Palace, and the fifth exam grounds were set up at the foot of the mountain.

Xu Qingzhi and Liu Yan`er were assigned to the first and second exam grounds. The two of them headed to the central plaza together, while Li Han and Wang Ping went to the fourth exam grounds. Chen Zixi, Xu Zhen and Xu Hong were also assigned to the fifth exam grounds.

Mo Yunchang looked at the seven youths walking away and thought of the scene where they drank together last night. This made the little girl feel upset, and she wished that she could participate.

As Xu Qingzhi and Liu Yan`er arrived at the center of the plaza, they couldn't help but be shocked by the sheer number of people in front of them. There were only three exam rooms, yet they squeezed the biggest square in the northwest part of the inner city so hard that not even a drop of water could trickle through. The two of them saw themselves as the holding officials of the exam rooms from the crowd and encouraged each other as they headed towards the exam rooms.

Xu Qingzhi stood behind the signboard bearer as he counted off the number one examinees in front of him, listening to the examiners in front of him read out the exam rules.

"This time, there will be four examinations. The first three exams will be held in the examination rooms you have divided, and they will be called Poems, Projections, and Political Law. Each of the three tests had their own score, and the highest scorer was the best. There were a total of eight hundred people in each exam room, and the first one hundred people from the original eight hundred people would enter the fourth test. The fourth test is the civil and military battles, the paper and the martial arts battles can be chosen for the teachers. Arena is sand table, two battle, the survival of the fittest; combat is arena combat, survival of the fittest. In the end, we left two hundred and fifty people behind. "

There were 4500 scholars in this city, and the scariest thing was that only 250 people were able to pass the hometown exams, and the selection rate was not even 10%.

Xu Qingzhi followed the long line of scholars as he lifted up the signboard and slowly walked to the front of the square, where the rows of tables and chairs stood. He found the rows that belonged to them and sat down in an orderly fashion.

Chu Huainan and the Duke Huai Palace were currently observing the Vermillion Bird Courtyard's third floor, which was the tallest building in the plaza. From this angle, they could see the entire number one exam grounds.

"Where is Qing'er? Is that Qing'er in white clothes?" "How can you be so thin, Qing'er?"

Princess Huai looked anxiously, and under Chu Huainan's guidance, she finally saw Xu Qingzhi sitting at the table.

"Haha, Pei'er, don't worry. Wang Jing is currently teaching Qing'er's sword techniques. His physique has greatly improved."

Chu Yinan smiled like a leisurely old man who had just won a game of chess on the street. However, when she heard his words, she glared at him.

"What kind of sword do you want Qing'er to learn? Practicing martial arts is so tiring, how can Qing'er's body withstand it?"

Chu Yinan was embarrassed, but his face was brimming with a smile. To Chu Huainan, there was nothing that could be compared to this joy in finding his child in this life. When Wang Mingyang was on the verge of death, he had said that he had only felt that his life was in danger three times in his entire life. Firstly, when Bo Wuming heard the news of his child, he would bring up the Overlord Spear Chu Huainan after a period of ten years; secondly, when Wang Danian had come to challenge him; and thirdly, when Xu Qingzhi's spear and sword had both been perfect.

"When the autumn is over, I'll take Qing'er back to the clan. It's time for me to go to Chang'an."

Princess Huai knew clearly why Chu Yinan hadn't gone to the imperial court for dozens of years. Now that Qing'er had returned, the four hundred thousand Steel Cavalry in the northwest should have their own successors. However, when Chu Yinan went to Chang An, he thought that it was because he didn't want to be a successor, so he had to rely on his fists.

No matter what, Chu Yinan was already old. Before Qing'er came back, he had already put down the power in his hands. After a hundred years, the Northwest Armies would definitely send people to take over or disperse them. It was also because of this mutual understanding between the two parties that the imperial government and the Northwest had been peaceful for more than ten years. It was just that now that Chu Yinan had one, how could the imperial government sit back and watch the Northwest grow bigger and bigger and out of control?

At this moment, Xu Qingzhi did not know that Chu Huai Nan and Princess Huai were watching him. As he looked at the questions on the table, the tension between his brows finally dissipated.

The question of the exam was for the examinees to use the topic of "travelling far away" to write poems. Xu Qingzhi finally relaxed Xu Shiji. He believed that as long as Hei Zi could memorize half of what the examinees had said, he would be safe.

At this moment, Xu Qing was no longer concerned. He raised his brush and began to write.

At the same time, Xu Zhen was extremely anxious. He obviously knew that he could write down everything that the crowd had done on the way to the exam, but the key point was that Xu Qing overestimated Xu Zhen's memory.

"Could it be that I will be struck down in the first round? No way, this won't do. That brat Xu Hong is even furiously writing. I can't lose, I can't lose …"

By relying on this unyielding will, Xu Shiji was able to recall a few lines. Immediately, Xu Hei Zi quickly wrote them down, afraid that he would forget about them after a while.

On the side of exam # 1, Xu Qingzhi had already spread out a long piece and was about to close the office when he saw a slovenly young man raise his hand and signal for him to submit the paper. The examiner took up the paper and Xu Qingzhi only saw the name "Su Dingfang" from the cover of the paper.

"Su Dingfang, there are indeed hidden tigers and dragons in the Northern Lands."

Not long after the youth left, Xu Qingzhi also completed his own exam. After examining it once more, he handed in the exam papers.

When he walked out of the square and returned to the examination hall, he found Su Dingfang, the first one to leave the examination hall, lying in the shade. At this moment, Xu Qingzhi had also found a cool spot and quietly waited for the first round of exams to end.

"Hey, over there, I'm Su Dingfang. What's your name?"

Xu Qing heard the voice and looked at the youth in the shade of the tree.

"I am Xu Qingzhi."

"Xu Qingzhi …" "Not bad, interesting."

After Su Dingfang finished speaking, he ignored Xu Qing and closed his eyes. Xu Qingzhi was completely ignored, so he actually felt disgusted by this youth's rude actions. The youth felt that Xu Qingzhi was a little interesting, and Xu Qingzhi also felt that this youth was rather interesting.

Soon, an hour passed. The examiners in the examination halls began to reorganize the examiners in the examination halls. In the center of the square, there were people who had come to remove the tables and chairs and replace them with rows and rows of targets.