After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Jiangpu City.

Training ground.

The weather in January was bitterly cold.

Shen Shi Shi Fen

The sky was bright, not dim.

The tall Li Sanzhuang, dressed in brown, stood on the training ground, his skin several shades darker than a few months ago, carrying a golden mace, his body covered in dust.

Standing behind him were several friends he had invited, each dressed in leather armor, their eyes displaying different expressions.

Some people have timid and hesitant eyes, while others have stern and fearless eyes.

San Zhuang wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead, staring defiantly at the person opposite him, his back ramrod straight.

Opposite them were several armored guards, all glaring angrily at the burly, bull-like barbarian.

The leader of the personal guards was a fifth-rank military officer with a breastplate, a leopard-like head and piercing eyes, a swallow-like chin and a tiger-like beard.

Dong Anguo stood between the two groups, looking helpless, and glanced at Li Sanzhuang to his left.

He glanced again at the commander on his right—Feng Xi, the young master of the Marquis of Zhongzhen's mansion.

Feng Xi had a rugged appearance and a generous personality. He was on good terms with Shi Kuan and was also a nobleman, so he was very popular in the army.

It seems that these guards were afraid of really offending the Grand Prince Consort, so they invited Feng Xi, this reckless fellow, to step in and take charge.

Feng Xi has a very large head.

Dong Anguo looked at this big-headed nobleman, a vein throbbing at his temple, and said angrily:

"Li Sanzhuang won the wrestling match. Feng Xi won the horsemanship match. Let's get this straight, don't even mention the whole 'kneeling and calling me grandpa' thing! This damn bet is null and void. Anyone who mentions it again, I'll give them fifty lashes!"

Both sides hummed a few times, but neither spoke. The absence of objection meant both sides had tacitly agreed.

Dong Anguo then placed his hand on the sword at his waist and nodded in satisfaction, saying:

"Alright... Next, let's have the third match! Archery! The loser will have to lie on the ground and receive ten strokes of the military rod, how about that?"

"Obey the general's command!"

The crowd looked indignant, opened their mouths, and shouted in unison.

Next, the group arrived at the shooting range.

Dong Anguo rubbed his forehead, feeling both angry and helpless.

Young people are competitive and boastful.

It's better to guide than to suppress. Forcing them to stop will likely lead to a second round sooner or later, and it won't work if a winner isn't determined.

The Grand Prince Consort had just saved Shih-kuan's life yesterday, and the wounded soldiers' camp he set up had saved countless lives. He just wanted to end this farce as soon as possible and not hurt feelings.

Although the loser is supposed to receive ten strokes of the military rod, it's just a symbolic punishment, and it won't prevent the Grand Prince Consort from bringing Li Sanzhuang to his side.

The archery skills tested in this third competition were a family secret passed down through generations in the Feng family.

San Zhuang is a stubborn kid. Feng Xi put archery skills into it, and this kid actually agreed? Since he agreed, he's bound to lose. Dong Anguo sighed inwardly.

Feng Xi chuckled and spread his hands, his five fingers outstretched.

One of his subordinates ran up excitedly and handed him a powerful bow weighing seventy pounds.

As soon as Feng Xi picked up the bow, his hand sank.

He held the powerful bow upright with one hand.

He took a feathered arrow from the quiver held by his subordinate.

The arrow is nocked.

Feng Xi, who started practicing archery at the age of four, drew his bow and nocked an arrow, his thick arms gradually bulging.

A chilling sound rang out from the powerful bow as it was slowly drawn back.

Seeing how easily the young marquis drew a powerful bow, the guards cheered loudly, their eyes filled with pride.

Dong Anguo couldn't help but secretly admire him, feeling that although the other party was a noble son, he had not disgraced his father and grandfather.

Even the incredibly bold San Zhuang couldn't help but swallow hard and mutter under his breath, "Hmph... nowhere near as good as Big Black Brother..."

However, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. He could draw the bow, but shooting it was out of the question.

On the drill ground.

The young master of the Marquis's mansion, whose head was unusually large, wore a helmet specially made for him by the army.

His eyes were like those of an eagle, his bow like a full moon, and he stared intently at the target thirty feet away.

The instant the light in the sky was blocked by the clouds.

"Buzz!"

He loosened his grip, and the string trembled slightly!

"Whoosh!"

The arrow leaves the bowstring.

A sharp whistle suddenly ripped through the air...

……

……

"Bang!"

An arrow struck the rabbit squarely in the neck!

Blood blossoms.

Large splatters of blood were spilled on the thick white snow, steaming hot.

A small amount of blood splattered onto a nearby bare pine tree, staining the trunk black.

The arrow pierced deep into the neck of the unfortunate gray rabbit.

After the gray rabbit fell down,

It hopped twice on its hind legs and then went still.

Snowflakes drifted down onto its body.

In just a moment, its body was covered with specks of white.

The warm blood began to frost over.

Xu Cheng, a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was startled. He exhaled a breath of white air, and his swollen and cracked fingers dropped the simple bow from his hand, which he then slung behind his back.

"I won't starve to death..."

His frozen face twitched, unable to produce a smile, and a few drops of ice crystals fell from the frost on his face.

He wore a roe deer skin hat on his head and an animal skin coat inside out, with the fur facing outwards.

On their feet were shoes made of deerskin and sedge grass.

Tighten your thighs and pull hard.

His right foot was pulled out of the thick snow that was above his calf.

The cold wind whooshed through the woods.

His ears were already frostbitten, and carrying his bow, he walked step by step toward the rabbit lying on the ground.

The cold of Changbai Mountain was something he had never experienced since he grew up in Jiangnan. Xu Cheng breathed warm air into his palms.

Occasionally, the cry of an eagle can be heard from the sky.

This forced him to quicken his pace to prevent the rabbit he had finally hunted from being snatched away by an equally hungry golden eagle.

He picked up the rabbit from the ground. He felt a sense of relief.

I looked up, numbly trying to discern the direction, and after looking for a while, I walked in the direction I had chosen.

"It's getting dark... If we don't hurry back, we'll freeze to death outside tonight..."

As he walked, he picked up a pile of branches and swept them behind him to cover his footprints.

Such an action is actually futile; the footprints are too deep to erase and it also consumes physical strength.

Fortunately, the pursuers who were chasing them were also made of flesh and blood.

In this kind of weather, it would be good enough if they could just stay at the foot of the mountain and surround them; who would dare to go up the mountain to search for them?

We walked for about half an hour towards the mountains to the northeast.

In the woods, there was only the sound of the wind, the sound of footsteps on snow, and the sound of his own heartbeat, which he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

After passing through a grove of trees and climbing a small hill, we came across a small wooden cabin.

Xu Cheng's pupils contracted slightly.

Seeing that there were no signs of axe work or fighting in the wooden house, he felt slightly relieved.

The remaining hundred or so feet almost cost him his life.

His feet felt like they were stuck in a white swamp, and each time he pulled them out, his eyelids felt heavy.

"Bang bang bang!"

He pounded on the door of the cabin.

The door opened.

A warm breeze wafted over him, carrying a hint of meaty aroma, which instantly invigorated Xu Cheng.

He went inside, covered in snow and wind.

There was a fire burning inside, and an iron pot was hanging above it, with meat cooking in it.

Zhou Ping, whose nose was red from the cold, took the rabbit from his shoulder, weighed it in his hand, and laughed, "It's quite plump."

Xu Cheng smiled and plopped down in front of the fire.

Besides him and Zhou Ping with the red nose, there were three other people in the room.

Of the twenty people who came from the south together, only five of them remain.

Zhou Ping went to the corner of the room to tidy up the rabbit.

Dong Xiao and Lin Shuo warmed themselves by the fire, smelling the aroma of meat wafting from the iron pot.

"Roe deer," Dong Xiao said, his face somewhat numb.

Xu Cheng nodded.

Lin Shuo, with thick eyebrows, sharpened his knife by the fire and asked, "Have you seen any Tartars or red-haired devils?"

Xu Cheng shook his head: "No."

Lin Shuo nodded and said, "I'll go hunting tomorrow."

Xu Cheng glanced at his feet; the man's toes were frostbitten from not keeping warm enough. He said, "No need. Dong Xiao and I will go instead."

Just then, in a corner of the house not far from them, a woman wearing a roe deer skin hat and sleeping while hugging a broadsword suddenly opened her only remaining eye.

"No need to hunt anymore," she said coldly, looking at them. "We'll break out tomorrow."