Due to geographical reasons, there is a significant gap between the two regions, Beiyu and Daqing.

For many years, they have roamed the grasslands on horseback, living off the land and the earth. Over time, both men and women in the Northern Region have become strong and robust, possessing a wild beauty.

Daqing, on the other hand, has been located in the Central Plains for centuries. The people here are more gentle, with most men being peaceful and refined, and women being intellectual and gentle.

This is determined by both their positions and their living environment.

For this reason, Gongyang Tingbai gave up the idea of ​​winning with her poetic talent. She knew clearly that even if she didn't compete with Tang Huan in poetry, the other talented men in the capital of Daqing would still be better than those in the Northern Region.

"Starting tomorrow morning, we will set up a competition arena in the largest square in the capital and sincerely invite talented people and lay Buddhists in the capital to compete and spar. Everything will proceed according to the plan."

Gongyang heard Bai give a command to Ada.

This was something Gongyang Tingbai had anticipated before arriving in the capital. She wanted to take advantage of the arrival of the main force to thoroughly dampen the arrogance of Daqing.

If this trip is successful, it will have a very positive impact on the negotiations that will follow soon.

Even if they don't gain much advantage this time, it's just that Ah Da lost, and others from the Northern Region will arrive one after another.

This is a good opportunity to find out what's going on in Daqing.

The next morning, as soon as the curfew ended, people began to gradually return to the streets.

Since the curfew began, more people have been getting up every morning.

No one could stand the loneliness; after being cooped up in the house all night, everyone wanted to get out and move around.

As dawn broke, the capital city was already beginning to cool down.

The vendors have already set up their breakfast stalls, with large pots steaming hot, and people are starting to greet customers.

Zhengyang Street is one of the neighborhoods closest to the imperial city.

The area is filled with restaurants and inns.

This is also where the most vendors are located every day.

During any festival, this place is always the most bustling and prosperous area in the capital, and all the decorations attract crowds.

There is a square within Zhengyang Street, which is slightly smaller than the square outside the Meridian Gate.

However, in terms of fame, this is the most talked-about place in the entire capital.

People enjoyed watching beheadings at the Meridian Gate and also liked watching people set up arenas on Zhengyang Street to compete and spar.

Private fights are prohibited in Daqing, but ring duels are not.

So every few days you could see someone cursing and swearing as they stepped onto the ring, only to end with one person falling to the ground.

Liu Yi was an ordinary, unremarkable street vendor in the capital. He failed to catch the wave of Wanfuji's success, and his business was only so-so.

By getting up early every day to cook porridge and selling steamed buns with his wife, they have managed to make a living in recent years and have even bought a small property of their own in a remote part of Beijing, so they don't have to suffer like the people in the southern district.

He is thirty-one years old this year, which is not young compared to many people.

Although Liu Yi married, he had no children.

His wife was just an ordinary woman, not pretty, and a bit heavier than when she was younger, but she was gentle, hardworking, and good at managing the household. Occasionally, when they had some extra money, Liu Yi would give her some delicate jewelry.

But whenever the topic of having children came up, the two of them remained tight-lipped.

For no other reason than that their small business couldn't afford it.

Liu Yi always thought that in a few years, when the two of them had saved up more money, they might be able to send their child to Yunlu Academy. Even if the child couldn't study at the Imperial Academy, they would still want to provide him with a decent environment.

"Perhaps, in the future, the child will have the opportunity to hear the great poet lecturing at Yunlu Academy..." he thought to himself.

Liu Yi refocused his attention and busied himself serving the customers at his stall.

Because of their affordable prices, their husband-and-wife stall is very popular in the neighborhood.

A man, while drinking porridge, took a big bite of a fried dough stick and casually remarked, "It's been so long since anyone has fought in this square. There's no excitement to watch."

Liu Yi smiled and chimed in, "There's martial law and a curfew all the way. Nobody dares to mess around these days. If they get caught by the Imperial Guards, they might have to stay in jail for ten days or half a month and pay a lot of deposit."

The man shook his head. "I thought the Poet Immortal would have a showdown with those guys from the Ministry of Personnel, but it's all over now."

"The Poet Immortal is just a weak scholar. How can he fight on the stage? If he were to lose his life, countless others would lose their heads as well. Even if he were injured, it would be a great loss."

After his poetic fame spread, Tang Huan's prestige among the people of the capital soared, making him far more popular than he was in the imperial court.

"Huh? What are those people doing?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly noticed a group of people walking towards the square ahead. They started to work busily. Among the crowd, a conspicuous man stood there, looking like a small mountain.

The man eating glanced back and immediately raised an eyebrow, saying, "Looks like this is going to be interesting. Someone suddenly set up a challenge arena. That guy seems to be a northerner who just arrived in the capital yesterday. I think his name is something like Ah Da..."

Liu Yi forgot about A-Da's exaggerated physique and couldn't help but tremble inwardly, saying, "Who can beat this guy? I'm afraid there won't even be anyone who can get on stage."

“I think so too. Although we all hate the people of the Northern Region, if they send out someone like this, and no one is so foolish as to dare to join in the fun, wouldn’t that be courting death?”

Liu Yi agreed with the other person's idea and took a few more glances.

The breakfast stall was still busy, with customers leaving one group and arriving another.

Liu Yi and his wife were busy all morning, with almost no rest time.

As the sun gradually rose and the streets slowly warmed up, Liu Yi began to sweat. He took off his long robe and put it aside.

Several more people suddenly sat down in front of them.

"Boss, two steamed buns and a bowl of mung bean porridge, please."

"Alright, please wait a moment, sir."

Liu Yi glanced at the young man in front of him, then looked at the man and woman beside him, and casually asked, "What would you two like to eat?"

The woman shook her head, but another man said, "Same as him."

After a short while, Liu Yi brought breakfast to the table, and the young man sitting in the middle immediately began to wolf it down, finishing it off in the blink of an eye.

"Boss, what's the purpose of that arena over there?"

"I don't quite understand. I heard that people from the Northern Region have set up the arena and have been busy all morning. They should be ready soon." After saying that, Liu Yi couldn't help but glance at the young man again. He felt that the other man looked somewhat familiar.

It's not surprising that he looks familiar, because the person having breakfast is none other than Tang Huan, who is now very famous.

He sat on a chair at the breakfast stall, turned around and looked at the arena in front of him, almost ready to go.

After getting up this morning, Tang Huan heard that Gongyang Tingbai was up to something here, so he strolled over to see what was going on.

"Thump..."

The gong was struck.

A man stood on the arena, knocked on it, and shouted loudly, "Gentlemen, starting today, Ah Da has set up this arena here for three days, sincerely inviting heroes from all walks of life to come and exchange skills..."