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Liu Sanbai looked at the bewildered Yan Shu and joked with a smile, "Is Yan Shu disappointed because he didn't receive the chrysanthemums from the girls?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Shu immediately shook his head: "No, no, I just want to know who sent it to me, so I can say thank you."
Liu Sanbai smiled and glanced at a girl in the crowd who had been looking at this side, so he teased Yan Shu: "Look over there, that girl has been looking at you."
Yan Shu blushed slightly and shook his head, not daring to look.
But he was a good boy after all, so how could he not harbor feelings? He turned his head and took a peek at her secretly.
Their eyes met.
The wealthy and noble girl in the crowd who was not interested in worldly things had indeed been looking at Yan Shu. She felt that everyone else had taken so many things, but this candidate only took this little.
I heard that we have to stay in there for three days. How can we survive this?
Yan Shu turned his head quickly and blushed.
The rich young lady also found it interesting and started to giggle, which made her maid curious.
Liu Sanbai found it really interesting to see Yan Shu like this.
Liu Xuan came back with the sign at this time. Seeing this scene, he was curious for a moment, but when he saw Liu Sanbai like this, he knew that he must be teasing Yan Shu, and immediately said: "Don't disturb Yan Shu's mood."
Liu Sanbai smiled and shook his head, but still bowed to Yan Shu.
……
In the women's team, Su Linhan stood behind Cui Yuer.
Su Linhan didn't take much, so Su Liushi tried her best to take everything she needed, which were fur blankets, thick quilts, knee pads, thick shawls and other things. What she could eat were some snacks to resist hunger, as well as Hu bing and dried meat, all of which were prepared by Su Changan with recipes written down in advance and sent to the Su Mansion.
Cui Yuer took a lot, but she could still carry it all by herself.
The women's side has mostly yellow chrysanthemums and very few asters, but it is also very lively.
Cui Yuer looked back at Su Linhan, then looked at Su Liu, Su Wan'er, Su Zhaoxin, and Su Liheng in the crowd.
But when he saw Su Liheng holding food in his hand, he thought for a moment and looked at Su Linhan: "Linhan, did you take the food that your fat brother eats?"
Su Linhan was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw Su Liheng eating a Hu pancake that he had taken from somewhere. She smiled helplessly and said, "No, he was probably hungry, so he bought it himself."
Cui Yuer frowned, looked down at Su Linhan's things, and said seriously: "Su Linhan, tell me the truth, are you secretly losing weight? You are so thin now. If you continue to lose weight, don't blame me for reminding you, or you will die."
Su Linhan smiled bitterly and sighed, but was about to speak.
A burst of cheers came from the end of Fangshi Street.
Everyone at the entrance to the Imperial Examination Hall heard it and looked over there.
I saw teams of Chixia soldiers walking through the cheering crowd, with dragon chariots behind them.
At a glance, everyone knew that this was His Majesty's team heading to the Circular Mound.
Everyone looked from afar, and although they could not see the real dragon, they could already feel the majesty of the real dragon's kingly aura. Many students consciously bowed in that direction.
The cheers were deafening.
Liu Xuan said: "I must pass the exam!"
After saying that, Liu Xuan looked at Yan Shu and Liu Sanbai and said, "You two have been to the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet. Have you ever seen the emperor's face?"
Yan Shu shook his head: "I didn't dare to look up that day. After the banquet started, I sat at the back and couldn't see Your Majesty clearly."
Liu Sanbai also smiled bitterly.
Liu Xuan's ambition was higher than the sky. Looking at the figures of the ministers at the end of the team, his eyes were filled with endless thoughts. Then he looked at the two people beside him, and immediately patted Yan Shu and Liu Sanbai and said, "In that case, the three of us, Wei Zijian, Li Ziyu and the other five will all be on the top list and go to the palace examination to see the emperor's face."
Liu Sanbai smiled and bowed: "Let's be on the top of the list together!"
Yan Shu bowed and said, "We are both on the first place list."
There are many candidates like Liu Xuan who have set lofty goals. At first glance, many of them have bright eyes and high morale.
The common people were even more excited. Not to mention the people who were waiting for the dragon chariot team on both sides of Suzaku Avenue in the distance, even the people who saw it from afar outside the Imperial Examination Hall had flushed faces and were extremely excited.
The people are satisfied with today's grand occasion.
If you look at this scene from a high place, it is a picture of a peaceful country with prosperous people living and working in peace and contentment.
This was true in the past and is even more true today.
Just like today, everything is so joyful.
Even though there were many more imperial guards on the streets than usual, the common people did not think it was a big deal. They just thought that His Majesty had gone out of the palace to pray today, and the patrols and guards were just to prevent thieves.
Liu Xuan chuckled: "It's a pity that Wei Zijian and Li Ziyu are at the East Gate, and we are not together."
Yan Shu thought for a moment and said, "If they had seen the dragon chariot team just now, they would have thought the same thing."
Liu Xuan nodded and looked there again. Although there were only palace servants following him, he was still fascinated. But suddenly he thought of something and glanced at the people around him. They were all happy and blessed. He said with emotion: "It is a blessing for us to be born in such a prosperous era of Daxia."
Liu Sanbai smiled and said, "Why don't you tell me why you and Miss Chang'an share this life together?"
Liu Xuan rolled his eyes at Liu Sanbai, then looked at the expressions of everyone and said, "I'm afraid it will be hard to see such a grand occasion as today. However, such a grand occasion should happen every year, every month, and every day, so as not to disappoint our Great Xia."
Liu Sanbai said immediately, "Brother Liu, don't say such nonsense. You said before that everything was fine, but that day the Huajie Imperial Guards had a conflict with General Zhu Huang's men. Also, before we entered the capital, you said we had a safe journey, but we encountered banditry in Liuzhou. If we hadn't been rescued, we would have died long ago. So, spit three times in a row, don't say such nonsense."
Although it was a joke, Liu Xuan frowned and cursed: "After the scientific examination, I will settle the score with you! And how can someone's words come true!"
Liu Sanbai shook his head: "Others may be like this, but you may not be."
Yan Shu looked at the two people quarreling and smiled helplessly.
And at this moment.
The gate of the Gongyuan opened.
Yan Shu looked up and suddenly noticed a figure passing through the open gate, just like the figures he saw in the alley when he came to Gongyuan today.
But Yan Shu smiled. At the feet of the emperor was the Imperial Examination Hall, so he thought that the people should be arranged by the court to guard the Imperial Examination Hall.
So I don’t think about it anymore.
After an official loudly announced "enter the examination room", everyone looked solemn and stopped joking.
As the examiners began to search the candidates, the candidates entered the Imperial Examination Hall one after another.
In the crowd, Su Liu looked at Su Linhan with a worried look on her face.
Su Zhaoxin grabbed Su Liushi, thought for a long time and said, "Aunt, don't worry. My second sister knows to eat when she is hungry and sleep when she is tired. She answers the test paper whenever she thinks of writing something. She can grasp the key points of the questions right away. She can understand them. She is a girl you don't need to worry about."
Su Liu smiled helplessly when she heard this, but still looked towards Su Linhan with worry.
Su Zhaoxin frowned, thinking that his words of comfort were quite nice. While thinking this, Su Zhaoxin depressedly tore off a piece of Su Liheng's Hu Bing and ate it in one bite.
Su Wan'er looked at so many people entering the examination room with high spirits and felt inexplicably touched.
But looking at the imperial guards around, Su Wan'er was actually a little surprised. It wasn't like this during the summer session this year, so why were there so many imperial guards patrolling in the winter session? It was as if something was going to happen.
but
Su Wan'er chuckled, wondering what might have happened in Luoan City. She thought that it must be that His Majesty's sister-in-law sent people to protect these talented men and women.
But looking at so many people, and the men and women throwing chrysanthemums at the candidates, Su Wan'er thought for a while and decided to go to the palace to find her elder sister and tell her about what happened here.
It must be very quiet there, she doesn't know how lively it is here.
Candidates entered the Imperial Examination Hall one after another.
After a long time, all the candidates entered the Imperial Examination Hall. Although some candidates were found to have smuggled books with them, they were taken away immediately and did not affect the efficiency at all.
In front of the Imperial Examination Hall, soon only ordinary people and the candidates' families were left.
Naturally, these people left one after another, with smiles, prayers, and worries on everyone's face.
Put it all together
It is truly a peaceful place.
……
Inside the Su Mansion.
Old Master Su did not attend the sacrifice today, but asked for leave, citing poor health and leg pain as the excuse.
Although Su Zifeng held the official title of Xielü Lang, his rank was not high enough to qualify him to follow, so he did not need to go.
present.
Inside the lobby of the Su Mansion, Old Master Su looked at the armor placed in front of him.
He wore this armor three times. The first time was when he followed the late emperor to Longyou to repel the Tubo army, the second time was when he went to the north to kill the barbarians, and the third time was that night when he wore it and killed people in Luoan City with Zhu Huang and others.
Looking at the armor, Old Master Su looked at Su Zifeng who was trotting in: "Where is your majesty?"
Su Zifeng immediately said, "We just passed the Imperial Examination Hall."
After that, Su Zifeng said again: "Dad, Wu Xingba and his men are already waiting with the imperial guards. Meng Wu's cavalry battalion has already taken action against those who are still loyal to the Queen Mother."
Old Master Su touched his armor without changing his expression: "Where are Ran Wanxiang and his left and right guards?"
Su Zifeng immediately said, "They have already moved quietly. Seventy thousand people are divided into five directions. Calculating the time, they should arrive a little later than your majesty and his men."
Old Master Su was silent for a moment: "Any news about the fourth master?"
Su Zifeng shook his head, "No news yet."
Old Master Su didn't say anything, but stood up and said, "Help me put on my armor."
Su Zifeng frowned, but was about to say something, but he stopped talking and silently took the armor off the shelf and put it on his father.
……
Inside the Xingqing Palace of the Imperial Palace, the Queen Mother was eating with a bowl in her hand.
After Xiang Hong entered and bowed, she immediately came to the Queen Mother and said, "Your Majesty, all the examinees have entered the Imperial Examination Hall, and His Majesty and the others have also set off."
The queen mother ate her meal expressionlessly and asked, "Is there anything else unusual?"
Xiang Hong shook her head: "I just got the news, everything is going according to plan. Ran Wanxiang also sent someone to report that the army has set out."
The Queen Mother picked up a piece of bamboo shoot and took a bite, then asked, "How is Lingqi Pavilion doing?"
Xiang Hong immediately said, "Nothing happened, but Lu Cai went there to give flowers. But I thought he would know about it soon, so I deliberately made Lu Cai smell like gunpowder."
Hearing this, the Queen Mother looked at Xiang Hong and said, "You are good at doing things."
After saying that, the Queen Mother thought for a while and then looked at Xiang Hong with a smile: "If I let you take those people outside to Lingqi Pavilion, can you catch Su Changan?"