Three days later, Seventh Uncle’s people brought back news—Xu Laifeng and the other three had indeed appeared in villages and towns near Yanling Mountain. Jing Wuwei had also secretly met with them and discussed something unknown. After they hastily met face-to-face, Jing Wuwei returned to Jinling, while Xu Laifeng and the others stayed two more days before changing course westward to an unknown destination.

“So Yanling Mountain may truly be connected to the mystery of Wu Run’s folding fan?”

With only seven days until the military examination, Qingcheng Courtyard was under strict control—all students were forbidden from leaving the courtyard without permission.

Not wanting to attract attention by coming and going too frequently, Changling changed her meeting place with Ye Qi from Seventh Aunt’s dining hall to the large tree by the courtyard wall. The two sat side by side on a thick branch. Ye Qi held a hot roasted sweet potato in his hands, carefully peeling it. “It should be. Even if it’s unrelated to the folding fan, anything connected to Jing Wuwei is probably also connected to the Yue family. Or perhaps…”

“Perhaps what?”

Ye Qi smiled. “Anyway, you’re definitely going to check it out, so won’t you know then?”

Changling said curiously, “How do you know I’ll definitely go?”

“It’s written all over your face.” Ye Qi said in a low voice, “Everything has to wait until after the military examination. Yanling Mountain doesn’t have legs—it can’t run away.”

Changling wasn’t in a rush about these three to five days, but with the military examination imminent, she inevitably felt somewhat anxious. Ye Qi watched her for a moment. “Are you worried Little Zhou won’t pass? Or are you worried you won’t become the top martial scholar?”

“What would I do with being top scholar? Didn’t you say that passing the examination means I can participate in the Martial Arts Assembly?”

“Oh, so you’re still worried about Little Zhou.” Ye Qi handed her the sweet potato. “I think she’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t draw a master opponent right from the start. If her luck is really that bad, then there’s nothing to be done… If your master really does show up at the Martial Arts Assembly, you’ll still be able to see him when you go, right?”

“What if my master doesn’t recognize me and doesn’t appear?”

“Then leave it to fate. Master Jiaye is such an accomplished person—are you really worried something will happen to him if you can’t find him?”

Changling bit into the sweet potato without responding, thinking to herself: If I can’t find Master, who will extend your life?

At this moment, if the young marquis could hear her thoughts, he’d probably be laughing all the way to heaven.

Unfortunately, he knew nothing. After finishing the sweet potato and hearing the bell ring, he patted the crumbs off his clothes. “Jing Wuwei arrived in Jinling yesterday. He might come looking for you. If there’s any trouble, tell Seventh Aunt to inform me. I have some matters these next two days and might not be able to get away. Don’t miss me too much, okay?”

By the time he said “okay,” he’d already leaped toward the wall. Changling’s palm strike failed to knock him down from the tree.

After he’d escaped without a trace, Changling discovered a large pouch hanging from the branch. She untied and opened it to find a pair of shoes inside—white silk soles embroidered with silver thread in subtle patterns, extremely simple. A note was attached: Flowery feminine shoes don’t suit you. From now on, this marquis will provide the hero’s shoes.

After Changling changed into them and lightly leaped down from the tree, she discovered the shoes were perfectly balanced between soft and hard, unexpectedly comfortable to wear. If used for kicking people, they’d probably feel even better.

On her way back to the classroom, she discarded the “flowery” shoes she’d long disliked, her steps becoming imperceptibly lighter.

The day before the examination began, Jing Wuwei indeed came looking for her personally, bringing the “written examination topic scope” he’d obtained from who knows where. He furtively pulled her into a corner, repeatedly urging her to strictly keep it secret.

Changling felt a slight admiration in her heart. Surnamed Jing had been rushing about nonstop from east to west, returning to Jinling only two days ago, yet he could still think of her. It seemed at the Martial Arts Assembly, he truly had his heart set on this pair of children standing out.

As soon as Jing Wuwei left, Changling turned around and called Zhou Qin over, making her pull an all-nighter to memorize several military formations and martial classics inside and out.

Zhou Qin didn’t know this was leaked test material—she just thought it was her master’s final intensive training before the exam. Seeing that Fu Yanyang hadn’t come, she couldn’t help asking, “Shouldn’t we call Second Young Master Fu too?”

“He doesn’t need it.” Changling said, “In case water gets into his brain and he gives a copy to Fang Zhuyi, dragging you down with him.”

Zhou Qin suddenly understood. “So the Second Young Master and Miss Fang are a couple! I hadn’t noticed before.”

Seeing Zhou Qin holding “Military Strategy” yet digressing into other people’s relationships, Changling smacked her head. “Study your book. If you can’t pass tomorrow’s written test, just wait to be expelled from the school.”

Early in the morning, the examination grounds were already filled with various test-takers. A total of 240 candidates were participating in this examination—200 of them were students from Qingcheng Courtyard who had undergone three years of provincial examinations and layer upon layer of selection, while a small remainder were specially recruited candidates from Western Xia.

The first day of the military examination tested strategic essays and military texts in the inner examination hall.

This first examination reportedly left a wave of martial world faction candidates with their souls knocked out of their bodies.

Those who had problems were all new martial world students. In just over a month, they simply hadn’t had time to learn any military formations and battle tactics. The provincial selections only required fighting ability. But once they sat in the examination hall, they were either shocked into blindness by the difficulty of the test questions or became desperate.

Not long after the exam started, some people were carried out of the examination hall. Several who tried to cheat were caught red-handed by proctors and directly sent to the Ministry of Justice’s prison.

Military formation diagrams—for Changling who’d experienced hundreds of battles, these were basically free points. As for the martial classics being tested, not a single question was among those leaked last night. Changling thought to herself: The young marquis said most civil officials in court favor the one surnamed Fu. Sure enough, at least the person setting the exam questions had pulled this trick on Jing Wuwei.

Now she didn’t know whether Zhou Qin could smoothly pass this round…

She wandered in thought for a while and spaced out for quite some time before finally hearing the proctor shout “Stop writing.”

After leaving the examination hall, the sun was about to set. Changling followed the flow of people out. After walking just a few steps, Zhou Qin grabbed her arm from behind, her face written all over with irrepressible excitement. “Master! Last night I memorized for an hour before falling asleep. This morning I woke up thinking I was doomed, but unexpectedly, today’s martial classics essay questions were exactly what I’d memorized! Haha, isn’t that miraculous?”

Changling asked, “Did you also draw out the Wild Goose Formation and Snake Formation?”

Zhou Qin nodded repeatedly. “Originally I was most afraid of those chaotic formations, but I really love eating wild goose meat and snake soup, so while reading, I got hungrier and hungrier, and the hungrier I got, the better I remembered… Do you think the official who set the exam questions also really likes wild geese and snakes?”

Changling glanced at Zhou Qin flatly. “Zhou Qin, were you born in the Year of the Dog?”

“How did Master know?”

Half an hour later, Ye Qi in a private room at Supin Pavilion blurted out after hearing this account, “Little Zhou, were you born in the Year of the Dog?”

Zhou Qin was astonished. “Why do you all say that?”

Ye Qi blinked. “All?”

“My master said the same thing.” Zhou Qin said, “It’s so strange—I never mentioned it before.”

The young marquis busily cast Changling a look that said “we really are kindred spirits.” Fu Yanyang picked up some food and studied Zhou Qin. “Otherwise, how could you be filled from head to toe with the smell of dog shit luck?”

Zhou Qin asked, “How did Second Young Master do?”

“Not bad. These things we’ve been reciting since childhood—Jinling City has no shortage of armchair strategists.” Fu Yanyang picked through several dishes, finding them increasingly tasteless. “Master, why is the whole table vegetarian?”

Ye Qi said, “Tomorrow’s archery test—I’m afraid if you eat too much, everything in your stomachs will be jostled out.”

After supplementing them with a meal of five vegetable dishes and one soup, Zhou Qin and Fu Yanyang were sent back to Qingcheng Courtyard to rest. Changling could tell Ye Qi had something he wanted to say to her alone. After they left, she asked, “Has something else happened?”

Ye Qi smiled. “What, can’t I keep you behind alone if there’s nothing wrong?”

They hadn’t seen each other for several days. Perhaps it was her imagination, but Changling felt Ye Qi’s face seemed even paler, his lips deep red. It wasn’t exactly that his complexion looked bad, but there was a strange sense of disharmony. “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

“What could be wrong with me… Hey?”

Changling grabbed his pulse one step ahead. He instinctively tried to withdraw his hand but was restrained by her other hand gripping his arm, preventing movement—Ye Qi froze for a moment, watching as she slightly lowered her brows, her expression grave and serious as she silently counted his pulse beats.

This profile was breathtakingly beautiful, yet the person involved was completely unaware.

After feeling his pulse for a while without detecting any major problems, Changling released her hand. Ye Qi smiled cheerfully. “See, I told you I’m fine.”

“Then what exactly did you want to say?”

Ye Qi said “Aiya.” “Actually, I just wanted to ask you a question. Of course, it’s not particularly urgent…”

“Speak plainly.”

“Back then, your Yue family had two great generals—one was Jing Wuwei, now a great hero in everyone’s eyes.” Ye Qi said flatly, “And the other was Wei Xingyun. Back then everyone said he betrayed you, but what was the actual truth? Have you ever thought about it?”

A flicker passed through Changling’s eyes. She immediately understood Ye Qi’s meaning.

“Perhaps back then he didn’t participate in Shen Yao’s conspiracy. But he supported the former Liang crown prince as emperor and has monopolized Western Xia’s court in the name of Grand General for so many years.” Changling said slowly, “Even the yellow-mouthed children of Jinling know he’s just one step away from ascending the throne. I’m afraid he’s no longer the Wei Xingyun of the past.”

“You don’t trust him?”

Changling said, “How could I have doubted Jing Wuwei back then?”

Ye Qi lowered his head thoughtfully, not knowing what he was thinking.

“Why do you suddenly ask this?”

“I was just thinking what if…”

“What if what?”

Ye Qi paused. “Nothing.”

Changling yawned. “Then I’m going back. I have to get up early tomorrow, so I won’t continue chatting.”

“To be accompanied by a beauty to this point is already a great honor.” Ye Qi stood and performed a courteous bow. “I wonder if this humble one has the honor of seeing the beauty home?”

“No need to trouble yourself.”

Ye Qi said “Oh,” “Then this humble one won’t see you off far.”

Not expecting him to slide down so readily, she couldn’t help being stunned for a moment. Ye Qi laughed heartily. “Wait, wait—that expression just now, were you perhaps a tiny bit disappointed? You actually do hope I’ll accompany you back, don’t you?”

Changling rolled her eyes, directly picked up her sword, and left. Thus, the young marquis who’d said the wrong thing ran after her the whole way but failed to win back the beauty’s “heart.”

The next day’s archery examination went smoothly as expected. Both Zhou Qin and Fu Yanyang performed well without any major mishaps. After noon, when all segments ended, all test-takers returned to the courtyard to wait for half the day. By evening, the red announcement board was posted outside the examination grounds—the top eighty scores accumulated over two days could advance to the third day’s martial arts competition.

Zhou Qin and Fu Yanyang stood in the crowd, standing on tiptoes to scan the list from top to bottom, finally seeing their two names in the last two spots.

The two cheered joyfully and rushed toward Changling. Before they could speak, Changling raised her eyelids. “Tomorrow you need to win at least two matches in a row. Are you both confident?”

The two tail-end foolish disciples immediately fell silent.

After dinner, the Qingcheng Courtyard training grounds were filled everywhere with practicing students. Zhou Qin practiced with her staff for a while. Seeing Changling leaning under the tree enjoying the cool air from start to finish, she couldn’t help approaching to ask, “Master, why haven’t we seen the young marquis today?”

“He has matters to attend to.” Changling said, “Don’t practice too much either. Save some energy for tomorrow.”

Zhou Qin sat down and asked, “What exactly are tomorrow’s rules? Why did you say we need to win two matches in a row…”

Before finishing her question, Mo Chuan clapped twice at the front, making the students present look over. “Tomorrow’s competition will pair opponents through drawing lots. Victory must be decided within one incense stick’s time. If no one has fallen within the time limit, the proctors will judge the winner. The victor can participate in the next round of drawing lots. Is that all clear?”

Everyone responded in unison. Zhou Qin softly said “Ah,” “So what opponent we draw can directly affect the next round?”

“Obviously.” Fu Yanyang had somehow appeared behind them and sat down next to Zhou Qin. “In the military examination three years ago, among all students, the two strongest should have been Senior Brother Wang and Senior Brother Mo Two. But Senior Brother Wang only placed twentieth, and Senior Brother Mo Two didn’t even make military graduate…”

Zhou Qin couldn’t help asking strangely, “Why was that?”

“Because they faced each other in the second round.” Fu Yanyang said, “Within one incense stick’s time, reportedly they both gave their all. In the end, Senior Brother Wang won by a narrow margin and eliminated Senior Brother Mo Two…”

Zhou Qin didn’t understand. “Then couldn’t Senior Brother continue to the next round?”

“He did, but because he fought too fiercely with Senior Brother Mo Two, he also sustained internal injuries. So in the third match, after just a few exchanges he fainted and lost.” Fu Yanyang spread his hands. “Someone else just picked up a huge bargain.”

Zhou Qin sighed softly. “Even so, Senior Brother is already a military graduate. Why is he taking the military examination again this year?”

Fu Yanyang was also somewhat puzzled. “That, well…”

Someone suddenly walked up to them and smiled. “Because he owes someone the top scholar position.”

Mo Chuan had been supervising students’ practice. Seeing these three squatting idly in the corner, he walked over. Just as he heard them gossiping about himself, he said, “Senior Brother Wang is aiming for top scholar this time.”

Fu Yanyang asked, “What does it mean to owe someone the top scholar position?”

Mo Chuan looked at Changling and smiled gently. “Miss Changting doesn’t know?”

Changling was inexplicably startled. “Know what?”

Mo Chuan said, “Senior Brother once had a sweetheart. Originally three years ago they privately pledged themselves to each other for life. That young lady’s family was official gentry who looked down on Senior Brother’s merchant family and wanted to marry their daughter to another powerful minister’s son in court… Later, Senior Brother called at their door several times seeking marriage and finally moved that old master. That same year, that powerful minister’s son was also taking the military examination, so the old master said whoever could achieve top scholar would receive his daughter’s hand.”

Zhou Qin’s face already showed a sorrowful expression at this point, because in the end Wang Xun didn’t achieve top scholar.

“Then… what happened after?”

“After that, that powerful minister’s son won top scholar and married that family’s young lady. However, less than a year later, that young lady suddenly died.” Mo Chuan’s expression became somewhat grave. “They said it was sudden illness, but the coroner discovered wounds from frequent beatings on that young lady’s body… This matter even made it to court, but not long after, that young lady’s father committed an offense and was exiled to the border. The matter was thus hastily covered up.”

Fu Yanyang shook his head with emotion. “I wasn’t in Jinling those two years, no wonder I never heard about it.”

“That young lady was truly pitiful, and Senior Brother is so pitiful too…” Zhou Qin’s eyes held a few tears. “Senior Brother is retaking the military examination this year because he owes that deceased young lady a promise?”

“Perhaps.”

“What about that powerful minister’s son? He caused Senior Brother’s sweetheart’s death—didn’t Senior Brother settle accounts with him?” Fu Yanyang said strangely, “That doesn’t sound like Senior Brother’s style…”

Mo Chuan glanced meaningfully at Changling. “It’s not that he hasn’t tried, but he’s too far away, and there are many people protecting him…”

This time Zhou Qin and Fu Yanyang asked in unison, “Who exactly is that person?”

“His name is Jing Can.” Mo Chuan said, “Speaking of which, he’s also Miss Changting’s older brother.”