Su Cheng looked him up and down and asked, "Who are you?"
"Your Highness the Third Prince." Su Xiaoxiao introduced again.
Su Cheng thought about it seriously, his expression suddenly became serious, he stretched out a hand and made a gesture to stop him: "Don't come to my house to play!"
The son-in-law will be jealous!
Xiao Chonghua: "..."
The victory on the first day was a good start. Qin Canglan and the old marquis felt extremely proud and complicated.
What they were proud of was that their Cheng'er had proved his strength in front of everyone, but what was complicated was that Cheng'er's performance today was somewhat different from the past.
It should be said that it is more fierce and more murderous.
From the perspective of the competition itself, this is not a bad thing, but if combined with Su Cheng's situation, one can't help but wonder if Su Cheng has suffered another blow.
The old marquis gave Qin Canglan a wink.
Qin Canglan said seriously: "Cheng'er, I will take you back."
The group left the palace and got on a carriage back to the clinic.
Su Xiaoxiao and the old marquis were in one car, and Qin Canglan and Su Cheng were in another.
Along the way, Su Cheng was quite silent, completely different from his fierce and domineering appearance on the arena.
Qin Canglan seemed to be hesitant to speak.
The carriage swayed along the long street, and the sound of traffic could be heard from time to time.
"Cheng'er..." Qin Canglan finally spoke, "Do you... remember?"
Su Cheng lowered his eyes, with a layer of gloom hanging over him.
"Yeah." He responded softly.
Qin Canglan guessed it, but when he heard him admit it himself, he still couldn't help but feel a tightness in his heart.
He had imagined the scene of father and son recognizing each other countless times, but when the moment finally came, he found that he had thousands of words to say, but he didn't know where to start.
He lowered his head in shame: "I'm sorry, Cheng'er."
What happened back then was his fault.
It was because he failed to protect his wife and children that his wife was murdered and his son became an exile.
It has been thirty years since we last met.
As his son grew up, he grew old.
Life is so fleeting, and in the end, it was all missed.
Su Cheng said: "I want to be alone for a while."
…
When Su Xiaoxiao returned to the clinic, Su Cheng had just come out of Su Ergou's room.
He sat in the corner of the yard, holding in his hand the pendant he had worn since childhood.
The slanting setting sun shone on him, stretching his lonely shadow very long.
Su Xiaoxiao walked over and sat down next to him on the bench: "Dad."
Su Cheng raised his hand and wiped the corners of his eyes, and said nonchalantly: "My daughter is back, Ergou is fine, I just went to see him."
"Yeah." Su Xiaoxiao nodded without saying anything, just quietly accompanying him.
Su Cheng lowered his head, touched the jade pendant in his hand, and asked casually: "Do you still remember your childhood?"
"I remember a little bit." Su Xiaoxiao said.
"Then do you still remember your mother?" Su Cheng asked.
"I remember." Su Xiaoxiao searched her mind for memories of Chen. "Mom was very beautiful and capable. She loved washing my and Ergou's hair. After washing, half of her hair was bald."
Su Cheng: “…”
My dear, it is hard for me to remember you like this...
Su Xiaoxiao turned to look at him, her eyes clear and gentle: "Where is Dad's mother? What is she like?"
"Very fierce." Su Cheng said, "He always wants to beat me with a feather duster."
Su Xiaoxiao : That's because you like to make trouble when you were a kid?
"No." Su Cheng shook his head. "It's the father's fault if the son is not well educated. She beat my dad."
Su Xiaoxiao: “…”
Su Xiaoxiao said: "What an open-minded mother."
Su Cheng whispered: "I don't want to forget her anymore."
The scene of her tragic death caused him pain.
But the days they spent together are his most precious memories as Qin Che.
He wanted to remember her as a son.
…
There were changes in the competition on the second day.
It was originally planned that the martial arts competition would be on the first day, the horseback archery test on the second day, and the military strategy and literary test on the third day.
However, the military strategy written test was temporarily moved to the next morning, and was jointly supervised by the Ministry of War and the Hanlin Academy.
Su Yuan was the Minister of War, but in order to avoid suspicion, he did not participate in the invigilation and subsequent marking of the examination papers.
He did not enter the palace, but went to the Shengong Camp outside the capital.
Written examinations were Qin Jiang's strong point, and he completed the test paper very easily.
Su Cheng grabbed the brush irritably, finished writing with a bitter and resentful look, and handed in the paper with a gloomy face.
Qin Jiang knew that Su Cheng had not been to school in the countryside. Even if he recovered his memory, it would be impossible for him to understand the art of war based on the superficial knowledge he had learned before the age of six.
Su Cheng's frustrated expression also confirmed all this.
In order to ensure the fairness of the competition, officials from six ministries were invited to mark the papers. The final results were submitted to the three highest officials for review. The results would only be announced after the three highest officials had no objections.
But this in itself is already very unfair.
If practicing martial arts can strengthen your muscles and bones by relying on your own talents, the art of war is solid book knowledge, which requires literacy! Su Cheng had a hard time filling his stomach in the countryside, so where did he get the spare money to study?
Everyone could see that Emperor Jingxuan was partial, but who could say anything? Emperor Jingxuan could have directly taken the military power and given it to Qin Jiang, but he had to set up a big competition, which was also a good intention.
While marking the papers in the afternoon, Qin Jiang and Su Cheng continued to compete in horse riding and archery.
"Are you in such a hurry? Are you worried that Big Brother and Old Five will arrive in the evening?"
Su Yu muttered.
The Imperial College is on holiday today, so Su Qi and Su Yu also came.
Emperor Jingxuan didn't say it openly, but who could guess that he did this because he was worried about the consequences?
Emperor Jingxuan's favoritism towards Qin Jiang is simply too obvious!
The old marquis and Qin Canglan didn't speak.
How could they not see what Emperor Jingxuan was thinking? Emperor Jingxuan wanted to take back the Qin family's military power, but he didn't want to be branded as a traitor, so he used the Qin River as a raft.
"How about the competition in the afternoon?" Su Qi asked.
The old marquis pondered, "In theory, horseback archery is just shooting at a target, but judging from your majesty's behavior, I'm afraid there may be some changes."
The old marquis guessed it right; the afternoon's horseback archery activity was actually hunting.
Emperor Jingxuan ordered his guards to release a white-tailed fox into the woods. Whoever caught it would be the winner.
Su Yu wondered, "It's not that simple, is it? Qin Jiang is no match for my uncle. If we really go into the forest, aren't you afraid that Qin Jiang will be beaten up by my uncle?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Jingxuan announced that in order to prevent sudden attacks from wild beasts in the forest and to prevent casualties on both sides, imperial guards would accompany the trip.
Su Yu snorted: "No wonder."
One imperial guard followed Qin Jiang, and the other followed Su Cheng.
The gong sounded, and the four people entered the forest of the royal hunting ground one after another.
Su Qi's expression suddenly became strange.
"Second brother, what's wrong with you?" Su Yu asked.
On Su Qi's right is Su Yu, and on his left is Su Xiaoxiao.
Su Xiaoxiao also looked at him when she heard that.
Su Qi looked at the imperial guards beside Qin Jiang and murmured, "That man's back... looks familiar..."
There is one more
(End of this chapter)