Chapter Seventeen: The Bet
Early in the morning, carriages from various families gathered at the palace gate, queuing up to enter the palace. The young ladies were all dressed up and came not only to cheer for their own brothers but also to attend a grand gathering where young people could be most free.
Han Jiangxue and Han Jing sat in one carriage, while Han Yajing sat in another with two Liu family cousins who had come to play a few days ago. After entering the palace, everyone went towards the direction of Qín Wǔ Diàn first, because every year the martial arts competition was held first, followed by the literary examination. Because of this, generally speaking, those without great confidence would not choose to participate in both the literary and martial examinations at the same time.
Outside the Kung Wu Hall, a large open space had already been set up with a ring. The central ring, decorated with red and colorful decorations, was reserved for the final competition, while four rings were arranged around it to allow simultaneous matches.
"Sister, your dress today is a bit too simple. Look at others who are dressed up like flowers. With your looks, if you dress up carefully, you won't lose to anyone." Han Jing was visibly relaxed, the exam didn't have anything to worry about for him, it was just a matter of ranking in the top few."
Han Jiangxue smiled and said, "Today is a competition for you men, not a beauty contest for women. Why should I compete with others over this? Whatever makes me comfortable is what I'll do. If I were to dress up like that, even if you didn't think it was strange, I myself would find it strange."
"Hmm, isn't it great that you've been quieter these past few months? I thought your thoughts on this aspect had changed a lot too, but unexpectedly, you're still the same old self." Han Jing was clearly overjoyed. To be honest, he liked the carefree sister even more. Now that he saw her outer appearance had indeed changed a lot, but she still retained those things that truly belonged to herself, he was delighted beyond measure.
"Alright, big brother hurry up and go line up to draw lots. Although martial arts is your strong suit, don't be too confident and be careful." Han Jiang Xue saw that the drawing of lots had already begun on the other side, so she urged Han Jing Xian to go over and draw lots, officially preparing for the competition.
Han Jing saw the situation and didn't delay any further, nodded towards his sister and went ahead first.
The stage was already surrounded by a large crowd of people, and Han Jiangxue looked around quickly, soon discovering many familiar faces.
Han Yajing somehow ended up with Zhang Wanru, Sheng Mengling and others chatting and laughing together, looking like the relationship between them had returned to normal.
According to Zi Yue, Liu's family specially found a pot of extremely valuable and top-grade peony to be given to Zhang Wanru as an apology gift by Han Yajing. Even the noble ladies who had gathered around that day received a gift that they each liked and was quite valuable.
Liu had always been good at this kind of thing and would naturally go all out to clear away the unfavorable influence for his own daughter.
Just then, a familiar voice came from beside me: "Han Jiangxue, why haven't you come out to play for a while?"
Turning his head, who else could it be but Li Xingming from the Zhuang family's royal mansion?
"I was thinking you would definitely enter the palace today, so I came early to wait for you. You've been hard to find these days!" Li Xingming said as he walked up to Han Jiangxue's side. Unlike their usual encounter where they couldn't get along, today Li Xingming had a flattering smile on his face, and it was unclear what had gone wrong with him.
"What are you looking for me?" Han Jiangxue saw the situation, her expression was neither cold nor hot, but extremely calm and composed: "Your face is better, do you want to find me again?"
Li Xingming immediately looked wronged and said, "What are you talking about? Haven't we already settled our past grievances? I'm not the kind of person who doesn't keep promises. I came to find you for something important, but you've been staying at home all day lately, if I wasn't afraid of being beaten by your older brother, I would have gone to your house to look for you a long time ago."
"Is this a serious matter? What other serious matters could you possibly have, I reckon eight or nine out of ten it's about the Green Branch Maiden of Flowerful Tower?" Han Jiangxue couldn't help but laugh, Li Xingming's face was indeed thick enough, but for him, it really did count as a serious matter.
"Hey, Han Jiang Xue, you're getting smarter and smarter! You guessed it before I even opened my mouth, almost like that divine mathematician! Li Xing Ming's face was full of smiles, sincerely praising him, then immediately got to the point: "What you told me last time was absolutely right, that Green Branch is indeed as beautiful as a heavenly fairy, leaving all those famous courtesans in the capital far behind! But that beauty doesn't even give me a glance. I've thought of many ways but none worked. You're so clever, quickly show me the way and help me out. If you can help me win over the beauty's heart, I'll immediately place a big bet on your brother winning today's martial arts competition, cheering him on. How about it?"
It was indeed that matter. Han Jiangxue smiled again, but didn't rush to answer and instead asked: "Is it still possible at this point?"
"Of course, such an important matter usually only ends after the first round of trials!" Li Xingming excitedly introduced Han Jiangxue: "Your big brother is also a candidate for the top spot in the martial arts trial, but he's not yet a hot favorite. I'll help him warm up and create some momentum for you, guaranteed to make his reputation soar, how about it?"
"How much do you plan to give me?" Han Jiangxue asked with a smile, and suddenly had an idea for making money. In this life, she had many places where she needed to spend silver, and it was necessary to spend silver everywhere to inquire about news or find people, and the little monthly salary was not enough.
"So you really have a way to help me win the beauty's heart?" Li Xingming wasn't stupid, and his eyes lit up immediately. He stretched out a palm in front of Han Jiangxue and waved it back and forth.
"Not enough, add half more!" Han Jiangxue stretched out her hand and compared: "At least a thousand or two silver coins are needed, how can a few hundred be enough to play?"
Li Xingming originally thought that throwing away 500 taels of silver was already a good deal, but he didn't expect Han Jiangxue to suddenly double the amount. His heart ached a bit, but as soon as he thought of Lu Zhi, that beautiful woman, it naturally became no big deal.
"Alright, a thousand taels is just a thousand taels. If I weren't a bit strapped for cash recently, it wouldn't matter even if I added more!" He said with an air of extravagance, and the matter of handing over the money was settled quickly. As he spoke, he gestured to his attendants beside him to hurry back and fetch the silver to place their bets.
"Wait a minute, don't bet on my big brother winning!" Han Jiangxue immediately said: "Remember to bet on the young son of General Song's family, Song Qin."
"Why did you bet on Song Qin? Why is that? That kid's winning rate isn't even higher than yours, and what does he have to do with you anyway?" Li Xingming couldn't understand why Han Jiangxue would suddenly bet on an outsider, it didn't make sense!
"Whoever you bet on, just bet on them, why so much nonsense? Anyway, I'll teach you the way to win the beauty's heart later!" Han Jiang Xue ordered decisively: "Remember, if we win, it's three for you and seven for me, don't even think about embezzling, otherwise I have a way to make Green Branch girl ignore you again."
"Huh, so I lost?" Li Xingming heard the two words "green branch" and became a lot more honest.
"You lost, you lost. Didn't you plan to throw the silver into the water earlier when you bet on my brother? " Han Jiang gave Li Xingming a white eye: "Hurry up and let someone go down to place a bet, after seeing the ticket root, I'll teach you a trick!"
As soon as he saw the ticket stub, Li Xingming immediately called his attendant to rush out of the palace to handle the matter, thinking that there was still enough time, and urged him to hurry up, if he delayed his good deed, he would twist off the attendant's head and use it as a stool.
Not long after, the people who participated in the martial arts test on that side had already drawn lots. Compared to the written test, there were significantly fewer people, with only about fifty or so in total. After all, regardless of their performance, young masters of a certain age must choose one or the other, and it's naturally easier to fake literary talent than genuine martial arts skills. At the very least, they wouldn't lose face as much in front of everyone.
The draw is also quite particular, and the organizer has considered the distinction between strong and weak teams, so it won't happen that a strong team will be eliminated in the first round. Moreover, the martial arts competition is not compared to the literary competition, only the top ten rankings are taken, and the rest will no longer be ranked all the way to the end.
The first round of the trial began quickly, but because it was not very exciting to watch, there were not many spectators. The royal family members had also not yet appeared. However, as time went on, more and more people came to watch, and by the final round, even the emperor himself would come to observe.
At the end of the first round, Han Jing naturally entered the next round with ease, leaving those who advanced together to rest in the hall, which didn't require Han Jiang Xue's concern. The number of people had already been reduced by half after this round, and the second round would also directly eliminate more than half of the remaining people, leaving only ten people to enter the final round.
