Chapter 313 Phoenix Terrace

Time passed quickly, and soon it was the day of the competition to choose a husband.

The emperor and empress arrived at the Phoenix Tower, and all the officials gathered there, as well as the royal family and relatives, were present to celebrate the event.

The people in the city gathered here in three layers inside and three layers outside to join in the grand event that only happened once in a century.

Some people even set up a betting pool to bet on who would be the unlucky one to marry Princess Xiling.

Among them, Liu Yanliu ranked first.

Seventy percent of the people placed their bets on Liu Tanhua, and the rest of the young officials in the court each accounted for a small portion.

Perhaps because this matter was related to money, the people who came to watch the excitement were all very enthusiastic and kept pushing forward.

The imperial guards were spread all over the Phoenix Tower, guarding the safety of the emperor, empress and the adults. Seeing this scene, they had to push the onlookers back again and again.

In the best seats for viewing the Phoenix Terrace, Queen Wang sat with the Emperor, the Thirteenth Princess sat next to her mother, Chunzhi and Huo Zheng sat to the Emperor's lower left, the Princess of Xiling sat to the Emperor's lower right, and then followed by Prince Rui and his wife and others...

When the time comes, the gong is sounded to start the performance.

Grand Tutor Wang was ordered to host a martial arts competition to select a husband for Princess Xiling. He took a list and picked out the young talents who met the requirements one by one. Among them were some of the sons of powerful families in the capital, such as Wang Wulang and General Xu, who were famous for their extravagance.

Everyone was reluctant to participate in this competition to choose a husband, and only got up and went up to the Phoenix Terrace reluctantly after their names were called.

Grand Tutor Ren Wang was talking nonsense, praising the emperor's wise and brave move, all for the sake of peace between the two countries. He lied with his eyes open, saying that the talented people in the court were fully cooperating and were very willing to marry Princess Xiling and make a hundred-year agreement.

So after hearing this, these young officials and children of powerful people could only force out a stiff smile, saying that what Grand Tutor Wang said was absolutely right, but in their hearts they all thought about how they could avoid being elected.

Liu Yan and Shao Feiyang, one was a third place winner in the imperial examination and the other was a young general. Both were extremely good-looking and very young. They were much calmer and more composed than the other candidates, and appeared to be particularly dignified.

Shao Feiyang didn't know what Liu Tanhua was thinking, but it was impossible for him and Princess Xiling to be together.

Princess Xiling was captured alive by him and became a prisoner of war. She hated him so much that she didn't even have time to take revenge on him, so how could she possibly marry him?

Shao Feiyang thought about it these days. When he was in charge of Princess Xiling, the princess always teased him, probably to create an opportunity to escape. But he was too young and did not see through it at the time. Instead, he was teased by Ye Ninglan until his face turned red and he had to run away.

These days, officials in the court have been discussing the emperor's order to select a husband for Princess Xiling. They all say that Liu Tanhua is the most likely to be the unlucky one. At this moment, Shao Feiyang walked up to the Phoenix Terrace with Liu Tanhua, and he couldn't help but feel deeply sorry for this young and promising Tanhua man.

"Liu Tanhua."

Shao Feiyang called out to Liu Yan and gave him a sympathetic look.

Liu Yan was a little puzzled, but he still smiled back and nodded slightly, saying, "General Shao."

There were twelve young talents in the first batch who were named. There were a total of forty-eight people participating in the election at this time, divided into four batches. The ones who appeared on Phoenix TV at this time were the first batch.

These twelve people drew lots on the spot and took turns to fight with Princess Xiling.

After Liu Tanhua went up to the Phoenix Tower, Princess Thirteen kept her eyes on him and never took them away.

Queen Wang coughed lightly, and Princess Thirteen reluctantly withdrew her gaze.

Seeing this, the emperor glanced at Queen Wang and asked, "Is the Queen feeling unwell?"

Queen Wang said slowly, "It's just a little itchy in the throat, nothing serious."

The emperor ordered the eunuch to bring a bowl of pear and wolfberry soup to the empress, which led the ministers to praise the harmony and deep love between the emperor and the empress.

Queen Wang smiled, thanked the Emperor, and slowly turned the conversation to Princess Xiling. "Today's grand event is to select a husband for Princess Xiling. The ministers should focus on the martial arts competition."

All the ministers responded in agreement.

Huo Yanran had never imagined that looking at Liu Tanhua for just a few more seconds would cause so much trouble for her mother, and she lowered her head in shame.

Chunzhi shook her head gently towards Huo Yanran, signaling her not to think too much.

There were more than a dozen young talents standing on the Phoenix Terrace, and so many people were looking at the stage. The light cough that Queen Wang had just given might not have been to tell Princess Thirteen to stop staring at Tanhua Liu, but perhaps she wanted her to look at other young talents as well.

The two exchanged glances, and Huo Zheng held Chunzhi's hand under the table.

It is already early April, and the sun is shining brightly today, so the weather is already a bit hot.

Chunzhi was already used to such crowded occasions, and she wasn't as nervous as she had been when she first arrived in the capital. She glanced at Huo Zheng, her eyebrows slightly raised, "What's wrong?"

Huo Zheng looked at Chunzhi with eyes as dark as ink and sighed softly, "The princess is sitting next to me, but her heart is with someone else."

Chunzhi couldn't help but smile when she heard this and asked, "Yanran is your sister, why are you jealous of your own sister?"

Huo Zheng stopped talking and just looked at her quietly.

"Alright." Chunzhi took Huo Zheng's hand and coaxed him softly, "You and I are together every day, but it's rare for me to get together with Yanran. And it was you who asked me to pay attention to her marriage. Why don't you help me with it now, but instead you're feeling jealous?"

Huo Zheng's eyes flickered when he heard this, and he whispered to Chunzhi, "You've seen it too. Besides Liu Tanhua, is there room for anyone else in Yanran's eyes?"

Princess Thirteen knew in her heart that she had no say in her marriage, but she liked Liu Tanhua. Even though she didn't say it, her eyes revealed her feelings.

Liking someone is the hardest thing to hide in this world.

Chunzhi and Huo Zheng were talking in low voices when Grand Tutor Wang asked someone to bring the already prepared lottery box to Princess Xiling. He said loudly, "The lottery has the names of each of you talented people written on it. Princess Xiling will draw the lot herself. We will compete against each other, and the winner will enter the next round..."

"Fighting two on two is too slow." Ye Ninglan interrupted, "How about this? Whoever is willing to fight me can come forward and fight me. This way, the result will be faster and more in line with my wishes. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

The emperor was displeased with Princess Xiling's rudeness, but in front of so many people, he had to appear tolerant and magnanimous, so he smiled and said, "Yes."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ye Ninglan stood up and bowed to the emperor. He casually tossed the fortune stick box to the eunuch beside him and said with a smile to the young talents on the Phoenix Terrace, "Teachers, if you want to fight me, please step forward."

Shao Feiyang stood there without moving. He wanted to have another fair fight with Ye Ninglan, but definitely not in a martial arts competition to choose a husband.

As a result, he stood upright, but the young talents standing in a row on the Phoenix Stage all took a step back...