"Your Kung Fu has improved a lot. When you were in Ningguta, you had a lot of moves. But your foundation was not good enough, so you couldn't reach the first-class level. Now your foundation is much more solid than before." Pang Yi looked at He Chengzhi in front of him with a smile, and recalled the scene when the two of them competed in Kung Fu in Nanshan Villa. It seemed like it happened just yesterday. "You must have practiced a lot in the past year, right?"
"Yes, for more than a year, I have not dared to take a day off. Later, I received personal guidance from General Qiakhtu, and only then did I achieve some success. But how can I dare to be praised by Master Pang?" He Chengzhi bowed hurriedly. He said respectfully, "I was young and ignorant at that time, and I made mistakes. Fortunately, Master Pang did not worry about it. Instead, he treated me well in every way. I am very grateful."
"How did I treat you preferentially? You became the martial arts champion because of your boxing skills. I didn't treat you preferentially at all." Pang Yi said with a smile, while helping He Chengzhi up. He patted his arm and whispered, "The emperor personally came to watch your last victory. You were appointed as the martial arts champion by the emperor, which is the first in our Zhou Dynasty. So, you can tell the emperor about your gratitude later."
"What? I, the martial arts champion, was chosen by His Majesty?" He Chengzhi was stunned. "I... I didn't know anything about it."
He Chengzhi's surprise was justified, because the martial arts examination was different from the imperial examination. It is said that there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts, so at the end of the imperial examination, the Emperor would decide the top three winners after the palace examination. But the martial arts examination was different, because under the watchful eyes of the public, the first and second place winners were watched by so many pairs of eyes, and there could not be any mistakes. Therefore, the martial arts examination had always been supervised by the Ministry of War, and the Emperor did not have to worry about it.
"Your Majesty originally didn't intend to attend the competition, but when he heard that you made it into the top three, he became interested and went to watch the last match. His Majesty was full of praise for you," Pang Yi said with a smile, and then suddenly changed the subject, "Chengzhi, do you plan to stay in the capital as an official, or are you willing to be sent out of the capital?"
A man of both civil and military talents like He Chengzhi would naturally be entrusted with important tasks. According to the current situation, Zhong Mingwei would either keep He Chengzhi in the Ministry of War or send him out of Beijing. However, it would depend on He Chengzhi's wishes, so Pang Yi asked this question.
"This..." He Chengzhi looked embarrassed. He really didn't expect Pang Yi to ask this question. He didn't know how to answer it. He had naturally thought about this question in his mind, but...
"Your subordinate greets Her Majesty the Queen! May Her Majesty be at peace!"
He Chengzhi was still in a dilemma when he saw the door curtain of the imperial study being lifted by the chief eunuch, and Mei Ya came out. Pang Yi hurriedly went up to her and bowed to her.
He Chengzhi hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Your subordinate greets Her Majesty the Queen! I wish Her Majesty the best of health!"
"Get up," Mei Ya nodded. She looked at the young man following Pang Yi and felt that he looked familiar. She seemed to have seen him somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where he was. So she asked Pang Yi casually, "This general looks unfamiliar to me. Is he a new official in your Ministry of War?"
"Your Highness, this is this year's top martial arts student, He Chengzhi," Pang Yi introduced hurriedly. Seeing that Mei Ya hadn't remembered, Pang Yi added in a low voice, "Your Highness, you once met this young Master He when you were in Ningguta."
"Oh... it's him," Mei Ya suddenly realized. She looked at He Chengzhi, who was ashamed and didn't even dare to raise his eyelids. Mei Ya just felt funny in her heart. She took two steps forward and said to He Chengzhi, "Okay, this is the capital, not Ningguta. You are the top martial arts scholar, and you don't have any other status, so don't be so depressed all the time. Go in quickly, the emperor is waiting for you."
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