In the vast capital city, noble ladies from high-ranking families flocked like fish crossing a river, but only a handful came to take the Imperial Academy entrance exam, and all of them passed.
No matter how difficult the examiners were or how strict the grading was, I still passed.
Their strength is too formidable.
When Shengping arrived at the Imperial Academy, these women were still attending classes.
She looked around from outside the door and saw that some of the teachers were specifically targeting these noble ladies with questions. The ladies answered so well that they almost made the teachers lose face.
On the other side, in the archery competition, Lin Menghuai, the youngest daughter of Minister Lin, dressed in Hu clothing, was number one in every way, whether it was a stationary straw target or a moving target, hitting the bullseye nine out of ten times.
Some ambitious men couldn't stand it and directly mounted their horses with long spears to fight.
The man's friends cheered for him, "Brother Zihong, go up and show this woman what's what!"
"Zihong, don't disgrace us men!"
On the other hand, Lin Menghuai had no one behind her. Her hair was tied up high, exuding a heroic aura. Her sharp eyes were full of fearlessness. She held a bow, but had no weapon in her hand, letting the horse charge straight ahead.
Sheng Ping watched in alarm from behind the crowd; the red tassel of the spear was almost touching Lin Menghuai's face, and he was afraid that Lin Menghuai would not be able to dodge it.
It's a small matter to explain to Minister Lin, but he's only seventeen or eighteen years old. What will happen to him if his face is disfigured?
But looking at the light in Lin Menghuai's eyes, she inexplicably didn't say anything to stop him.
In the blink of an eye, the two horses were right in front of each other. Zihong held a long spear and thrust it straight at Lin Menghuai's chest without dodging or evading.
Lin Menghuai leaped up, stepping on the tip of the spear, and his foot was already close to Zihong's face.
Zihong was startled and turned to dodge, but his other foot was already there, kicking him in the shoulder.
The pain was like being struck by iron; he couldn't hold onto his spear, and it fell to the ground with a "bang."
Yellow sand was splashed up.
He tried to grab Lin Menghuai's foot with his other hand, but Lin Menghuai had already turned over, grabbed his other arm, and flung him away.
It crashed straight down from the horse.
Lin Menghuai also mounted his horse steadily.
"good!"
"handsome!"
"Miss Lin truly lives up to her reputation as a woman who is just as capable as any man!"
A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the crowd.
Sheng Ping also breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Menghuai, with such a small frame, how can he have so much strength?
Zihong lay on the ground, clutching his buttocks and crying out in pain; he had just fallen on his buttocks.
"Outrageous! Lin Menghuai, do you know your mistake?" the white-haired teacher asked sternly.
Lin Menghuai scoffed coldly, "What wrong have I done?"
The master said sternly, "It was just a friendly spar between fellow disciples. How could you be so ruthless? If you're only learning martial arts to bully others, you should quit now!"
Sheng Ping frowned slightly, displeased.
The maid Gao Hongyu following behind her quickly whispered, "This teacher is a minor general from the previous dynasty. He only knows how to talk about war on paper and has never fought on the battlefield. The late emperor placed him here because of his father's military achievements."
Sheng Ping felt disgusted; these kinds of old ministers were the most difficult to deal with.
Lin Menghuai picked at his ear dismissively, "If you want to find fault, you can always find a reason."
Some who truly admired Lin Menghuai's martial arts skills said, "Master, just now Gao Zihong really tried to stab Lin Menghuai with a long spear."
Some, admiring Minister Lin's official prestige and wanting to curry favor, said, "If the teacher is so unable to distinguish right from wrong, he is disgracing the Imperial Academy."
The old master looked at these people with a sinister gaze, glared at Lin Menghuai, flicked his sleeves, and turned to leave.
So what if he's the Minister of War? He wasn't poor before. When his family rose to prominence, the Lin family was still nobody!
What kind of behavior is this, where a woman is neither male nor female?
He's so annoying to look at!
Today, he insists on using his ancestors' military achievements to blackmail the Grand Tutor!
As long as Lin Menghuai is there, he won't be at the Imperial Academy!
Sheng Ping didn't go with them; what trouble could a mere tutor cause?
She gave the person behind her a look, "Go and invite her over."
The maid walked into the crowd and respectfully bowed to Lin Menghuai, "Miss Lin, Princess Shengping invites you."
Lin Menghuai was just about to choose another opponent to spar with when he heard this. He looked up and saw the princess standing far away.
She swiftly flipped her right leg forward and dismounted gracefully.
She came to the Imperial Academy purely because her father forced her to. In her opinion, she could learn martial arts anywhere, but the more rigid and rule-bound a place was, the less she liked it.
However, Princess Shengping was the kind of person who was particularly unconventional, and she was somewhat interested in seeing her.
Lin Menghuai followed the maid to Princess Shengping's side.
Just as she was about to bow, Sheng Ping patted her shoulder and said, "No need for formalities, Meng Huai is quite skilled."
Lin Menghuai smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Princess."
This princess is quite down-to-earth. She had met other princesses at a previous palace banquet, and they were incredibly arrogant and disdainful of everyone else.
Unlike this person, who is so approachable.
Sheng Ping took a step forward, with Lin Menghuai following half a step behind.
When did Menghuai begin learning martial arts?
"In response to Your Highness, I have been learning martial arts from my father and my elder brother since I was a child."
Sheng Ping waved his hand, "Answer casually. Meng Huai's martial arts skills are now highly advanced. Have you thought about what the future holds?"
Lin Menghuai shrugged. "I'll just take it one day at a time."
God knows, her father is already arranging marriages for her, and the thought of a whole bunch of sisters-in-law and relatives after she gets married makes her feel annoyed.
She wouldn't cooperate during each matchmaking attempt, which ruined many marriages, and her mother would scold her every time.
But she still couldn't stand it, couldn't cooperate, and didn't want to get married at all.
Sheng Ping smiled and said calmly, "As the saying goes, 'If you learn both literature and martial arts, you can serve the emperor.' It would be a pity if you didn't achieve something after more than ten years of hard training, like Minister Lin, who had made outstanding military achievements."
Lin Menghuai's eyes widened, and she excitedly slammed her left fist into her right palm. "What the princess says is absolutely right! That's what I've always thought!"
Sheng Ping was amused by her jumpy personality. "Then why doesn't Meng Huai try to make a move?"
Lin Menghuai waved her hand dismissively when she mentioned this, "I said I would disguise myself as a man to go to the military camp, but my father said that if I was discovered, I would be guilty of deceiving the emperor and my entire family would be executed."
Sheng Ping understood that this was Minister Lin's exaggerated explanation, made out of fear that his youngest daughter would run away from home.
"Why does Menghuai dress as a man? Do you think women can't lead troops into battle?" she retorted.
Lin Menghuai hesitated for a moment, then said, "No, I admire General Sun Lan the most!"
General Sun Lan lived during a time of chaos, but now he faces numerous difficulties.
Sheng Ping smiled and said, "I also admire General Sun Lan very much. I imagine that although General Sun Lan lived in a chaotic era, he must have fought against all odds to win the position of general."
She continued, "Does Menghuai think that ordinary women cannot practice martial arts or join the army to fight?"
Lin Menghuai hurriedly shook his head, "Princess, you don't know, there are many female warriors in the martial arts world whose skills and reputation are far beyond my reach!"
Sheng Ping naturally understood this, and she raised her hand to stop Lin Menghuai, "That's right, I have something to do, I'll come and chat with Menghuai another time."
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