Chapter 10 My hand hurts a little.
Xiang Ruzhen pondered for a moment, then said in a serious tone, "It is indeed a fine poem, a masterpiece for all time. Let's have three cups."
Finally, of course, it wasn't just three cups.
The next morning, Ye You, Yan Wuxin's close attendant, came to wake him up.
When I opened the door, I was almost speechless with shock.
Swords, spears, and halberds lay scattered haphazardly on the ground, nearly tripping her. The pear wood table was cracked in two, and cups and plates were strewn all over the floor. What she couldn't understand most were the three arrows stuck in the ceiling; she simply couldn't fathom how they had ended up there.
It was getting late, so she carefully stepped over the things on the ground and began to call for help.
"Young mistress, wake up!"
Ye You lifted a corner of the blanket, only to see a sharp and deep-set unfamiliar face. She quickly lifted the other side, and the person there was handsome and refined, but it wasn't her young mistress either.
In his haste, Ye You ripped off the blanket and dragged Yan Wuxin out from under the two men's feet.
"Young mistress, wake up! You have an exam today!"
"An exam?" Xiang Ruzhen shouted, her eyes snapping open. "Wake up!"
"Hmm?" Yan Wuxin opened his eyes groggily, his head heavy and throbbing. "Oh no! It's too late, wake Jinlan up quickly."
"She's too drunk. I'll take her to the exam hall first." Xiang Ruzhen carried the unconscious Lu Jinlan on her shoulder like a pig, rubbed her eyes, and walked out.
"Wait for me." Yan Wuxin tried to catch up, but his legs gave way as he got out of bed, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
Lu Jinlan opened her eyes headfirst, her stomach churning. She patted Xiang Ruzhen's back hard, "Put me down, I'm going to throw up."
The moment she landed, Lu Jinlan scrambled to the side in a disheveled state.
Yan Wuxin was dazed and confused after the fall. Hearing the noise, he rushed out, "This is my koi pond, my koi... Ugh..."
Ye You chased after them and saw the two vomiting violently by the pool, while Xiang Ruzhen anxiously urged from the side, "Are you done vomiting? Can we go now?"
Ye You shouted loudly outside, "Quickly, someone come and prepare a hangover soup!"
The well-trained servants moved with alarming speed, each carrying different tools. The three of them quickly washed up and climbed into the same carriage.
Lu Jinlan slapped his forehead, "My sword!"
Yan Wuxin quickly lifted the curtain and ordered, "Send Lu Shaoniang's sword and my Phoenix Cry Longsword to the examination hall."
"They'll deliver it on time, don't worry. We'll just need to get there first. We might not draw you first, but the weapons will definitely arrive before you go on stage."
Lu Jinlan looked at her hands, feeling a little guilty. "I don't know what happened, my hands hurt a bit. I hope it won't affect my performance."
"I know what happened." Yan Wuxin vaguely remembered some fragments from last night, "It was caused by your fight with Ruzhen."
Lu Jinlan tried hard to recall that things had gone in an absurd direction ever since they started drinking last night.
It must be said that when they're drunk, they lose their sober restraint and become more like sixteen or seventeen-year-old teenagers. Because they admire each other, they quickly become friends and start dreaming together.
Yan Wuxin: "I really hope you two can both be admitted. If we are together, I will definitely be very happy for the next three years."
Lu Jinlan: "I'm confident. What about Ruzhen?"
Xiang Ruzhen: "I am determined to succeed."
Lu Jinlan: "Speaking of which, who taught you your marksmanship?"
Xiang Ruzhen: "Who do you look like you learned this from?"
Lu Jinlan chuckled: "You look like you've never studied anything and just rely on brute force to win."
Xiang Ruzhen nodded slightly, "Winning is enough, how you win doesn't matter. Don't you know I have superhuman strength? Why don't we have a practice session now?"
When the local student provoked Xiang Ruzhen, Lu Jinlan had already guessed that his hand would hurt if he fought Xiang Ruzhen.
When it was my turn, I realized that not only did my hand hurt, but half of my arm was also numb from the shock. Even after sleeping, my hand still hurt when I woke up.
Xiang Ruzhen vaguely remembered fragments of last night, but she looked at her hands in surprise, "Why do my hands hurt too?"
Lu Jinlan kindly informed him, "You're the one who cracked that pearwood table."
"Ah..." Xiang Ruzhen looked at Yan Wuxin apologetically, "You don't need to pay the four hundred coins."
Yan Wu gave a bitter smile, "You two drunkards, I really can't be bothered to settle accounts with you. You ruined one of my good tables, and I probably can't keep a whole pond of fish anymore. You say your hands hurt? Do you feel any pain than me? Not only do my hands hurt, my whole body hurts."
Lu Jinlan and Xiang Ruzhen exchanged a glance, too guilty to speak.
Last night, it started with Lu Jinlan and Xiang Ruzhen sparring, but they quickly realized that the difference in strength was too great. One was born with superhuman strength and practiced diligently every day. The other was born weak and had only been training for less than two months.
Xiang Ruzhen, having drunk some alcohol, was a bit reckless. Every time Lu Jinlan took a move from her, he felt so much pain that he wanted to turn around and run away.
She used all the lightness skills, movement techniques, and top-level swordsmanship she had learned from the system to withstand thirty moves. When she could no longer take it, she asked Yan Wuxin to be Xiang Ruzhen's sparring partner.
Yan Wuxin received systematic martial arts education from a young age, studied under many famous masters, and was well-versed in various martial arts styles, making her proficient in all eighteen weapons. Under the influence of alcohol, and not wanting to embarrass themselves in front of their new friend, she used her best skills to practice with Xiang Ruzhen with various weapons for most of the hour.
Young Madam Yan was already exhausted and drenched in sweat, but she still pretended to be relaxed. Before she could even sit down, Lu Jinlan said, "Why don't you practice with me for a while?"
And so, Yan Wuxin spent the entire night sparring with two opponents. When she woke up, her body felt like it had been trampled by a horse, and she grimaced in pain.
The three of them felt ashamed at their predicament before the exam, and each held their aching hands as they fell into deep thought.
Lu Jinlan felt somewhat ashamed. Today's exam was crucial to her future and destiny, and she really shouldn't have indulged herself last night.
She thought that Yan Wuxin was already an admitted student, so there was nothing to be afraid of. As for herself, if she didn't pass the exam, she could simply go back to Yunzhou and be a rich second-generation heiress. But she was worried about Xiang Ruzhen.
Mianzhou was an impoverished place, and Ruzhen's family was not wealthy. It's unimaginable how much hardship she must have endured to obtain this permit to enter the capital. It would be a real pity if she ruined her future because of this drinking session after all the difficulties she faced.
Lu Jinlan: "Ruzhen, if drinking with us affects your exam, will you hate us?"
Xiang Ruzhen shook her head, "No, it's not like you forced me to drink it, why should I hate you?"
Lu Jinlan smiled but didn't say anything. She had always thought Xiang Ruzhen was a bit stubborn, but now she realized that stubbornness had its advantages; she was very reasonable.
Xiang Ruzhen added, "This little problem won't affect the exam. I will definitely accomplish what I set out to do. There will only be two outcomes on the stage today: either I win, or I die."
She said this while looking out the window casually, but her tone was incredibly firm.
Lu Jinlan and Yan Wuxin took a deep breath, both feeling that it shouldn't be that bad.
Yan Wuxin was about to say something, but Lu Jinlan pressed down on her wrist, signaling her not to speak.
People from backgrounds like theirs simply don't understand what "future prospects" mean to the poor, let alone have the right to advise others to live an easier life. Such advice would sound more like mockery.
The carriage finally arrived at the examination site. Thank goodness, because there were an unusually large number of onlookers this year, the nearby traffic was congested, and both the examinees and examiners were stuck on the road, delaying the start of the exam by half an hour.
Seeing the severe traffic congestion, the three of them immediately abandoned the carriage and walked from a mile away. Seeing the street vendors lining the way, they understood why the traffic was so bad.
The three of them tugged at each other to squeeze inside. Yan Wuxin frowned and complained, "They're too good at business. Have all the small vendors from the country come? This is even more lively than the Lantern Festival."
Before he could finish speaking, an old woman next to him called out, "Look! Take a look! 'A Collection of Literary Examination Papers of Nineteen Out-of-Town Candidates' - 500 RMB a copy, limited quantity, first come, first served!"
Yan Wuxin immediately tossed over a tael of silver, "Give me two books."
Lu Jinlan said helplessly, "At a time like this, you still have the mood to look at this."
Yan Wuxin: "With the traffic jam like this, there's nothing anyone can do. I happen to have some time to read your two masterpieces."
Xiang Ruzhen couldn't wait any longer and grabbed their arms, "Stay close to me."
She pushed and shoved her way through the crowd, and the three of them managed to get seated ahead of time.
The circular arena was used for the competition, with out-of-town candidates and admitted local students seated in two opposing areas. Most of the candidates had arrived, but two seats at the front for the invigilators were empty.
Seeing that the competition hadn't started yet, Yan Wuxin lingered in the area for out-of-town candidates, squeezing in next to the two of them.
The out-of-town students around them were all discussing, "I heard there are an unusually large number of daughters of royalty this year, and the number of local students admitted from Shenjing has also reached a new high, totaling eighty-nine."
"So many? Then we out-of-town students are in big trouble. The Royal Academy admits no more than one hundred new students each year. That means that of the nineteen candidates who came to Beijing to participate in the selection this year, at most eleven can be selected."
"That's ruthless? Does that mean almost half of us here will have to go home?"
Amidst the murmurs of complaints around him, Yan Wuxin said in a low voice, "Don't be nervous, you two. Without exaggeration, my kung fu is among the best of the local students in Shenjing. The local student who fought Ruzhen yesterday was also one of the best among the local students, otherwise, how could she dare to be so arrogant?"
Yan Wuxin looked at Lu Jinlan as he spoke, "I'm not worried about Ruzhen, I'm worried about you. Your physical condition is weaker than that of the average martial artist, so you need to be extra careful."
Lu Jinlan thought to herself that there was nothing she could do about it; the starting point was too low. Since she took over this body, she had tried her best to train.
With the system's support, her body is now vastly different from what it was two months ago. Last night, she fought the two men to a standstill, and she felt quite proud. But it's impossible to achieve in one fell swoop what others have accomplished in over a decade.
Lu Jinlan secretly vowed that after the exams, she would definitely take a break to study her internal energy. These past few days she had been so focused on practicing martial arts moves that she had neglected her internal energy. She secretly blamed the system for not being powerful enough; it could only allow her to study one skill in her dreams each night. If she could study ten, she wouldn't be so stressed today.
Soon, the invigilators arrived, and the weapons were delivered. The martial arts test was about to begin, and the instructors who were taking attendance sent someone to call Yan Wuxin back to his seat. Yan Wuxin reluctantly stood up, his gaze sweeping over the local candidates waiting to go on stage, and suddenly exclaimed in astonishment, "How come she's here?"
The two hurriedly asked, "Who?"
"Ling Zhaoren, she's not a local candidate; she's the daughter of royalty. Royalty doesn't need to take the civil and military exams; they're directly admitted. So why is she here? Is she going to take the exam?"
Lu Jinlan asked, puzzled, "So what if she goes on stage?"
Yan Wuxin said worriedly, "This person is the daughter of Marquis Dingbei, Ling Zhijing. Her mother holds great military power, and her biological father is the Emperor's younger brother. Her family has a long history of martial arts, and she is a martial arts prodigy, so her martial arts skills are extremely high. She is also known for her bravery and ruthlessness. If she goes into battle, she will not care about the lives of others. If you two encounter her, be very careful and prioritize your own safety."
Lu Jinlan took a deep breath. She had to think of a solution quickly; she didn't want to die.
A note from the author:
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