Chapter 34

Chapter 34

The Engineering Imperial Examination hall was next to the Martial Arts Imperial Examination hall.

The Martial Arts Imperial Examination required a riding arena and a drill ground, while the Engineering Imperial Examination needed space for tools and to showcase the candidates' craftsmanship, so the two exam halls were placed next to each other.

As the chief examiner of the first Engineering Imperial Examination, Xie Yiguan arrived early at the examination hall. He divided the candidates into groups and identified those he found particularly promising.

However, just as the examination began, the neighboring hall became noisy and chaotic.

"What's happening?" Xie Yiguan furrowed his brow and was about to send someone to check the situation when a guard in armor rushed over.

The guard handed him a letter, saying it was from Yu Chiyi.

Xie Yiguan's right eyelid twitched twice, sensing it was bad news. He opened the letter to see Yu Chiyi's bold handwriting: "Brother Zhi Wei, rush to the Martial Arts Imperial Examination hall for help, urgent urgent urgent!"

Xie Yiguan: "..."

He looked at the guard and asked, "Where is your general?"

The guard replied, "The general said he has fallen ill with a stomach ailment and won't be able to come for a while."

Only Su Yu had the authority to temporarily reassign Yu Chiyi. Remembering the secretive interactions between Su Yu and Yu Chiyi that month, Xie Yiguan lowered his eyes in thought.

He asked again, "And what about General Xiao?"

With Yu Chiyi absent, Xiao Cheng should be present. Logically, with Xiao Cheng's reputation in the army, the examination hall shouldn't fall into disarray.

The guard hesitated and said, "General Xiao sent word that he too has fallen ill with a stomach ailment and won't be able to come for some time."

Xie Yiguan: "..." The two of them are quite in sync with their excuses.

He pressed his temple to calm himself, forced a smile, and handed over the engineering matters to Shang Guanyi.

Shang Guanyi looked at Xie Yiguan with a mix of sympathy and satisfaction, glad to see someone more unfortunate having to rescue the Martial Arts examination hall.

Xie Yiguan: "..."

The candidates for the Martial Arts Imperial Examination had known for some time that the chief examiners for this session were Yu Chiyi and Xiao Cheng. Many had traveled from afar to the capital, hoping to catch a glimpse of their idol, General Yu. While taking the exam was secondary, meeting the general was a must. Neither of the chief examiners was present!

Someone in the crowd deliberately stirred up trouble, and with the candidates already having fiery tempers, they quickly flared up and started causing a disturbance.

When Xie Yiguan arrived at the examination hall, the candidates and the guards were at each other's throats, on the verge of a fight.

"Stop!" Xie Yiguan, in his bright red chief examiner robes, stood out clearly. Seeing him, the candidates exchanged glances and fell silent.

But soon, someone shouted, "What is a civil servant doing in our martial arts examination hall? Is the new chief examiner a civil servant? Are we being disrespected?"

The calm crowd stirred again.

Xie Yiguan walked to a nearby high platform where the bows and arrows for the day's examination were hung. He casually picked up a bow and an arrow, drew the bow fully, and shot the arrow into the crowd.

The sharp arrow struck the person who had just incited the crowd. The person fell to the ground in shock, the arrow pinning him to the earth.

The once noisy candidates fell silent, first staring at the person on the ground, then up at the imposing figure of the scholar on the platform.

With a cold expression, Xie Yiguan shouted, "Seize this troublemaker who disrupted the imperial examination and take him to prison."

He then calmly surveyed the cowed candidates, most of them large and imposing, exuding an aura of authority.

Xie Yiguan calmly spoke, "Today, I have the honor of being entrusted by the emperor to oversee this year's military examination. Though I am but a scholar, what does it matter? If we were only selecting those with the highest martial prowess, we could simply set up a fighting arena and see who emerges victorious in the end. Why go to great lengths to hold a military examination? What we seek are not just those skilled in martial arts, but those who will, in the future, expand the empire's territories for the emperor, those who will defend against foreign enemies and protect the people of Great Qi.

He then shifted his tone, "Civil servants and military officers follow different paths but share the same goal, both keeping the nation's rise and fall in mind. Today, you are all here because you have set your hearts on a purpose. Should you lose your resolve because of a few inciting words from some petty fool? Those who can be so easily swayed are nothing but foolish hotheads, unfit for great responsibilities."

The candidates fell silent, afraid of being labeled as mindless fools by Xie Yiguan.

Seeing that his words had the intended effect, Xie Yiguan smiled slowly, "I know you are all men of ambition, but whether you have the real skills or not, we shall see on the examination field."

He signaled to the guards, who were already prepared, to lead the candidates to their respective examination areas. Then he turned to ask the person next to him, "Have Generals Yu and Xiao arrived yet?"

The person next to him shook their head.

Although Xie Yiguan continued to smile, his eyes grew icy. Something major must have happened in the palace—

Inside the imperial palace, Su Yu and Cui Xuan stood gazing at each other across the long palace road.

Su Yu glanced at the rebellion countdown timer above Cui Xuan's head. The time displayed, "1378," indicated that Cui Xuan was not yet ready to rebel. She wasn't in a hurry to call out Yu Chiyou from his hiding spot.

With great interest, she asked Cui Xuan, "Is Minister Cui also here to protect the emperor?"

Cui Xuan: "..." The use of the word "also" was quite subtle.

He replied calmly, "Indeed, I am here to protect the emperor. General Xiao, seize Zhang Xiu, the traitor."

With Xiao Cheng handling Zhang Xiu, Su Yu retreated two steps, letting her guards concentrate on dealing with the insubordinate eunuchs. Without the support of the Imperial Guards, the eunuchs were swiftly overwhelmed. Particularly after Yu Chiyou felled the chief eunuch with one strike, the remainder were quickly subdued.

After clearing the eunuchs, Yu Chiyou quickly returned to Su Yu's side, still holding his twin blades, not daring to relax.

Su Yu, however, was far more relaxed, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked into the distance.

Cui Xuan had already captured Zhang Xiu, but his followers showed no intention of surrendering, still not dropping their weapons.

Xiao Cheng had brought the Left Imperial Guard, and Zhang Xiu's men were indeed the dissenting faction from the Right Imperial Guard. The two groups clashed, merging into a chaotic mêlée. The only thing Su Yu could clearly see was that Xiao Cheng was indeed quite skilled in battle.

She quietly asked Yu Chiyou, "Ayou, who do you think is more formidable?"

Yu Chiyou replied, "Apart from Xiao Changyan, the rest are all much of a muchness. Your Majesty, these imperial guards in the capital are neither impressive to look at nor effective in battle. I could take on twenty of them at once."

Xiao Luo: "..." He was still standing there listening.

But Xiao Luo knew Yu Chiyou was telling the truth. Whether it was his brother's Left Feather Forest Guard or the rebellious Right Feather Forest Guard, their combat effectiveness was lacking. The two groups were less like fighting each other and more like a clash of weaklings.

Su Yu stroked her chin; she could see it too. The imperial guards in the capital were completely inferior. Fortunately, it was Zhang Xiu and the Right羽林卫 who had rebelled today. If a regional Military Governor had led troops into the capital, she, the emperor, would have been in a perilous situation. This incident was both a fortune and a misfortune for her.

The good thing was that she wasn't afraid of rebellions from the sixteen guards in the capital. The bad thing was that she feared rebellions from regional Military Governors.

From the novel, where Yu Chiyi's initial territory was Weizhou, and the first to rebel was Yu Chiyi, she could already deduce that the Military Governor of Weibo would rise in rebellion in two years, and Yu Chiyi would be deployed to suppress Weibo.

Yu Chiyou also observed, and although the soldiers from both sides were roughly equal in strength, with Xiao Cheng leading the Left Feathered Forest Guard, the outcome was already determined.

He quietly reminded Su Yu, "Your Majesty, my second uncle..." is still crouching in the bushes, feeding the mosquitoes!

Su Yu still wasn't in a hurry to bring Yu Chiyou out, not until the two groups had completely finished fighting. Cui Xuan calmly approached her and, with a rather respectful gesture, bowed. "Your Majesty, General Xiao heard of the disturbance in the palace and came to protect you. With General Yu overseeing the military examination, there shouldn't be any issues."

Yu Chiyou: "..."

Yu Chiyi, hiding in the shadows: "..."

Su Yu smiled, "Minister Cui and General Xiao have done well in protecting the emperor. They deserve rewards."

Cui Xuan lowered his eyes to look at the calm smile on Su Yu's face. There was a hint of testing in his words. He had informed Su Yu earlier that Yu Chiyi was likely nearby. Yet, Su Yu hadn't called Yu Chiyi out. Was she trying to test him, or was this an opportunity to take him out?

Cui Xuan still held his sword. One more step forward, and his sword would reach Su Yu. Although Su Yu had Yu Chiyou by her side, Xiao Luo was also present...

Eventually, he stepped back half a step and sheathed his sword. He had no desire to overthrow the emperor. As long as Su Yu didn’t make a move against him, he wouldn’t make a move against her.

Su Yu asked with a smile, "What reward does Minister Cui want?"

Since she couldn’t make it to the martial exams in the morning, she might as well chat with Cui Xuan now.

Su Yu brushed the dust off the steps with her clothes and sat down. She looked up at Cui Xuan.

Cui Xuan: "..." Was the emperor telling him to sit down?!

Cui Xuan backed away several steps, as if Su Yu was some sort of dangerous beast. Before Su Yu had a chance to say anything, he said, "I'll stand while speaking to Your Majesty."

Su Yu: "..." She had forgotten about Cui Xuan's germaphobia.

But she wasn’t going to accommodate Cui Xuan. Leaning back lazily, half-reclining, she rested her elbows on the steps behind her and waited for Cui Xuan's response.

Cui Xuan forced himself not to look at Su Yu's dusty sleeves and resisted the urge to fix the emperor's posture. He said, "I don’t need any rewards. However, I promised Qingmei I’d let her go back to her hometown after this, so I ask Your Majesty to let her leave the palace."

Su Yu was somewhat surprised. After this, Qingmei could’ve stayed by her side as another spy, yet Cui Xuan had voluntarily exposed this, asking her to let Qingmei go.

She glanced at Cui Xuan again. The cold, aloof man, despite having led his troops to protect the emperor, still wore wide, flowing robes. His hair was perfectly in place, a bow strapped to his back and a sword at his side. Yet these didn’t seem out of place; in fact, they highlighted his commanding presence.

Su Yu laughed, "I never thought Minister Cui would be good at archery."

Cui Xuan said, "Your Majesty, the six arts of a gentleman—I’ve been practicing archery since I was a kid. I just don’t like showing off my skills to others."

He paused briefly, remembering that Su Yu hadn’t followed the other princes in their studies when she was young. "Your Majesty, as the ruler of a country, should also learn the six arts of a gentleman. Xie Yiguan is very proficient and could serve as your imperial tutor."

Su Yu teased with a smile, "Minister Cui, aren’t you proficient too? Why recommend someone else to teach me?"

Cui Xuan considered for a moment, "I’m not good at teaching others. If I were to teach Your Majesty, I fear you wouldn’t be able to bear it."

Su Yu: "..." He certainly has quite the self-awareness.

She stood up, casually dusting off her clothes, and asked with a smile, "Minister Cui, are you sure you don’t want any rewards?"

Cui Xuan replied, "Your Majesty once saved me. This time, consider it repaying my debt."

Su Yu stepped forward and patted his shoulder, "Then I won’t stand on ceremony with you, Minister Cui."

Cui Xuan: "..." That was the hand that touched the ground...

It was visibly clear that Cui Xuan's expression darkened, the ferocity emanating from him causing Yu Chiyou to instinctively step forward, wanting to protect Su Yu.

On the contrary, Su Yu smiled at him, "As sovereign and subject, you need to get used to me."

Cui Xuan: "..." So the emperor deliberately patted him with her dirty hand!!!

Su Yu waved her hand, signaling Yu Chiyi to come out from the shadows. "General Yu will handle the remaining mess. Thank you, Minister Cui and General Xiao. General Xiao, you should head to the martial examination venue as soon as possible. I will be there after noon."

Xiao Cheng was briefly confused when he saw Yu Chiyi, his eyes widening in shock. So there had been no chief examiner at the martial examination venue?!

He didn’t have time to speak to Su Yu, quickly bowing before rushing to the examination venue, completely missing the signals his younger brother was giving him.

Xiao Luo: "..." Brother, don’t go! First, plead with the emperor to forgive your 900,000 taels of debt!

Cui Xuan also bowed to take his leave, but after taking a couple of steps, he suddenly turned back. He reached out to straighten Su Yu's crooked headpiece, his slender fingers brushing over her disheveled collar, then adjusted her waistband, and finally brushed the dust off her sleeve. Only after making sure she was looking spick and span from head to toe did he breathe a long sigh of relief and perform a deep bow to Su Yu: "As the Son of Heaven, Your Majesty should pay attention to decorum."

Satisfied, he nodded and finally left.

The system also prompted: "Host, Cui Xuan's favorability increased by 5 points, now at 25!"

Su Yu: "..."

She wasn't happy about this increase in favorability at all.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and turned to Yu Chiyi beside her. "You asked Zhi Wei for help at the exam venue."

Su Yu used a declarative sentence. After so much time with no one reporting back, it indicated that everything was fine at the exam venue.

Yu Chiyi smiled. "Nothing can be hidden from Your Majesty."

"Let's get ready and head to the exam venue too," said Su Yu.

"What about him..." Yu Chiyi pointed to the captured Zhang Xiu.

Su Yu glanced at Zhang Xiu, whose shoulder was still bleeding, with Cui Xuan's arrow still not removed. "Lock him in the dungeon first, and then hand him over for a joint trial by the three judicial offices."