My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 209 Exam
Ten-day examination.

The students sat separately, with paper and pens placed in front of them.

Yang Wang sat in the seat of honor, his eyes narrowed.

Minor officials, such as clerks, would make rounds and rounds of inspections.

Judging from Yang Wang's position, it's clear that the students' seating arrangement was quite deliberate. They were centered around Li Xuanba and spread outwards. Yang Hao, who should have been sitting in the first row, was now sitting to Li Xuanba's left.

The other nobles sat next to Li Xuanba according to their rank; the lower their rank, the farther away they were from Li Xuanba, and the higher their rank, the closer they were to Li Xuanba.

This ten-day exam also consisted of very simple questions.

After Yang Wang stated the question, Li Xuanba picked up his pen and began writing without the slightest hesitation. Yang Hao slowly peeked out, glancing anxiously at Li Xuanba. The others were also silently observing him.

The question this time was actually quite similar to the one last time. Yang Wang's question was: "The King of Chu and Wu, according to the Spring and Autumn Annals, was named Zi."

Yang Hao hesitated to put pen to paper, waiting for Li Xuanba to finish writing.

Finally, taking advantage of the moment when Li Xuanba put down his pen and ink to examine the ink, he coughed softly a few times. Li Xuanba looked at him and saw his expression, which was almost pleading.

Li Xuanba put down his pen, pondered for a moment, then pointed to the sun in the sky, held up two fingers, shook his head, and made a "one" gesture.
Yang Hao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered something.

He quickly lowered his head and began to write, "The Book of Rites says: There cannot be two suns in the sky."

Yang Wang's question was actually asking why the King of Chu and the King of Wu were not called "King" in the Spring and Autumn Period, but instead used other titles. Yang Hao was inspired at this moment and wrote very quickly. When he smiled and filled the paper in his hand, he realized something. He turned his head and saw the longing look in the eyes of Duke Jiang, Liang Qia, which was exactly the same as his own just now.

Yang Hao had no choice but to imitate Li Xuanba and do the same thing.

For a moment, the sound of students diligently answering questions could be heard throughout the examination hall.

Yang Wang sat in the superior position, still keeping his eyes closed, and spoke softly.

"Li Xuanba, if you've finished writing, then sit down next to me."

Li Xuanba quickly stood up and left, heading to Yang Wang's side. The officials also took away his article, which caused a chorus of sighs to rise from those around him.

Li Xuanba obediently sat down next to Yang Wang, gazing longingly at the students below.

Yang Wang then began reading Li Xuanba's article. At first, he was somewhat dismissive, but after a few glances, his expression gradually became solemn. Soon, his mind seemed to be completely absorbed in the article in his hands, and he was thoroughly enjoying it.

"it is good!"

Yang Wang suddenly cried out.

Then he realized what was happening, put away the article in his hand, gestured for everyone to continue writing, and then looked at the little child beside him.

"No wonder the Emperor specifically named you to make an exception and admit you to the Imperial Academy; the Imperial Academy has never accepted children under the age of fourteen."

Yang Wang spoke up.

Li Xuanba kept his head down, and Yang Wang continued to ask, "Judging from your answers, it doesn't seem like you figured it out on your own, but rather like you have a lineage of teachings. Who enlightened you?"

"He is Zheng Shi from Xingyang, whose given name is Faxian."

"Oh, I know Zheng Faxian, but your way of answering the question is too rough, it's not like Zheng Faxian's style. Could it be that you have a teacher?"

“Master Zheng was my mentor, and another teacher taught me.”

"My mentor, whose surname was Liu and given name was Xuan, taught me this subject."

Yang Wang's lips twitched. "Liu Xuan?!"

He wanted to say something, but in front of the disciple, he suppressed his anger and simply commented: "No wonder the solution is so crude. Liu Xuan is very talented, but unfortunately, because he cannot be a high-ranking official, he is angry and makes random criticisms and radical annotations. You can listen to him, but do not imitate him."

Li Xuanba did not answer.

After everyone finished answering the questions, Yang Wang stood up and gave everyone a rare day of rest before leading the officials away.

Yang Hao and the others hurriedly went to Li Xuanba's side.

"What you just said refers to the saying in the Book of Rites that there cannot be two suns in the sky, is that right?"

Li Xuanba nodded slightly, "That's exactly right."

"Hahaha, the Spring and Autumn Period has been unified! I did the right thing, the right thing!"

Yang Hao was quite happy, as were most of the young noblemen around him. They all bowed and thanked him. Yang Hao then pulled the others aside to compare answers. He was worried that everyone would write "There is no second sun in the sky." If the repetition rate was too high, how could Yang Wang tolerate it?
Yang Wang was not the kind of amiable scholar he was. In his youth, he was unruly and loved to fight, often injuring others. Later, when he began his studies, he stopped harming ordinary people and targeted prominent scholars. He had a fiery temper and ruthless methods. Coupled with his high official position, these young noblemen dared not easily provoke him. While they were chatting, Li Xuanba packed his things and secretly left.

After leaving the examination hall, he prepared to return to his own residence.

"My dear brother!!"

Suddenly, a shout was heard.

But Yang Gongdao, whom he had just met not long ago, stood in his way again.

Yang Gongdao looked at him with a smile, "Brother, why haven't you come to see me these past few days?"

"Brother."

Li Xuanba politely bowed.

Yang Gongdao said, "Perfect timing. I have something I'd like to ask you to do. I won't let you work for nothing. When your elder brother comes back, I'll tell him myself and praise you in front of him."

"You come with me."

As Yang Gongdao spoke, he grabbed Li Xuanba's shoulder.

"What do you want to do."

Suddenly, a cold question came from the side.

Yang Gongdao was taken aback. He looked up and saw a group of people standing to the side, more than twenty young noblemen in total. Yang Hao was standing at the front, staring intently at him.

Yang Gongdao was stunned for a moment, then let go of her hand.

"Your Highness, I am quite familiar with Xuanba's elder brother."

Before he could finish speaking, several people walked up to him and bumped him with their chests, asking, "Where do you think you're going now?"

A burly man stared into Yang Gongdao's eyes.

"I must return to my residence."

"Then go on your way and go back."

The rather robust young man was none other than Duke Yiyang, Huangfu Si. He stared at the other man as if he were about to make a move. Yang Gongdao's face turned red, but he did not say anything and turned to leave.

After Yang Gongdao left, Huangfu Si turned to Li Xuanba and said, "You should stay away from this person from now on."

"You don't know, when you first came here, there was a guy named Lai Yuan, who was the son of General Lai Huer. He said a lot of bad things about you to us and said he wanted to teach you a lesson. But we didn't do anything because you were young. This guy named Yang Gongdao is the son of Prince Guan, Yang Xiong. He is very close to Lai Yuan. In short, these two people probably both want to deal with you."

"Be more careful in the future."

Li Xuanba quickly bowed and thanked him, "Thank you, brother."

Huangfu Si laughed, "We should thank you! If it weren't for you, this exam would have been a disaster, hahaha~~"

The noble sons around him laughed. Yang Hao stepped forward and said helplessly, "I can't help with the affairs of this manor. If I get involved, things will only get worse. However, these scoundrels can interfere. If anyone bullies you, just go find them!"

"I can't help much inside the manor, but I can still speak up when it comes to matters outside!"

Yang Hao grabbed Li Xuanba's shoulder. "Come on! Today I'll take you to see Luoyang!"

The crowd laughed, and without waiting for Li Xuanba's reply, they escorted him outside.

When they came out, there was a long line of carriages outside, each one more luxurious than the last. There were even a large number of soldiers outside, fully armed, to protect the students.

Li Xuanba was led out of the Imperial Academy by these people and quickly disappeared on the road.

Yang Gongdao stood at a distance, watching them leave, his eyes filled with resentment.

Lai Yuan stood beside him and advised, "Forget it. With those people watching, let's give up. Li Jiancheng should be arriving soon. Let's cooperate with the Duke and deal with the people we really need to deal with."

"If it weren't for Yang Hao and his gang, things would definitely have succeeded today!"

"This kid is lucky. There's no point in saying anything more. Let's just go see the Duke as soon as possible."

"We can no longer target Li Xuanba."

(End of this chapter)