The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 11 Brother Shen, You Deserve the Title

Feeling the cheers from the entire training ground, Shen Yuan and Jiang Fan smiled at each other with a calm look, and continued their competition.

The next horse archery will still be at a distance of eighty steps.

After ten arrows, all hit the bull's eye, and there was still no clear winner.

At this time, the shouts on the parade ground were getting louder and louder.

"Brother Zhang, what do you think?"

Someone on the sidelines asked Zhang Huan, he had previously scored 25 out of 30 in horseback archery, making him the best performer among all the current candidates.

Zhang Huan shook his head helplessly and sighed, "I am far inferior to these two."

"They have only shot ten arrows so far, the result is still unknown, who knows if you can win, Brother Zhang."

Zhang Huan was silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "They started shooting from 80 steps. Just based on this point, I have already lost."

People who practice martial arts are all heroic, and Zhang Huan is not the kind of person who is jealous of others' talents.

"What they have won is not just this autumn exam, but perhaps the entire era!"

“I wonder if it’s lucky or sad to be in the same generation as these two people?”

Everyone else around him remained silent.

Who doesn’t want to be a trend-setter of the times? Swimming in the middle of the stream, the waves stopping the boat from flying!
But there are always some people who are beyond the reach of others. Either you crush them or follow them.

The test of Shen Yuan and Jiang Fan was still going on. As time passed, neither of them had hit the target with a single arrow.

Rather than an assessment, it is more like a special competition between two people.

十箭
Twenty arrows.
Twenty-five arrows
Until all 28 arrows were shot, they still all hit the bull's eye.
Seeing what happened later, everyone became a little numb and just kept shouting without worrying about anyone missing the target.

"Xululu!"

After Shen Yuan shot the 28th arrow, he reined in his horse and stopped.

Seeing this, Jiang Fan also stopped and moved over.

"Brother Jiang." Shen Yuan looked at Jiang Fan, shook his head and smiled, "Even if we shoot ten more arrows, it's hard to tell who's the winner. How about we try riding and shooting from a hundred steps?"

Jiang Fan's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he smiled happily, "That's exactly what I meant!"

The people on the sidelines were curious when they saw the two stop talking in private.

"Why did you stop?"

"No more competition?"

"What are they talking about?"

"I guess they want to increase the shooting distance again!"

"."

Just as that person finished speaking, he saw Shen Yuan and Jiang Fan on the shooting range galloping on their horses again, as if they wanted to push their horses’ speed to the limit.

As expected, Shen Yuan and the other man drew their bows and pulled the strings when they were a hundred steps away from the target. Suddenly, two arrows left the strings and shot out.

"clank!"

Two more arrows hit the target.

However, this time there is a difference.

Shen Yuan's arrow still hit the bull's eye.

Although Jiang Fan's arrow did not miss the target, it hit the edge.

"hiss"

This scene once again aroused everyone's interest, and they were all amazed at Shen Yuan's steadiness.

On the stands, the officials looked surprised.

Commander-in-chief Shi Ding clapped his hands in admiration and could not help cheering for Shen Yuan: "Good! Good! This kind of archery skill is comparable to shooting an arrow through a target from a hundred paces away!"

The other civil servants did not say much. The governor's son was in an unfavorable situation. Who would want to say too much and bring bad luck to his superiors?
The provincial governor Zhong Huai's eyes flickered, and he pretended to be serious and said, "The governor had already made an exception and agreed to change the 50-step rule to 80-step rule. Now he's changing it to 100-step rule. This is simply treating the imperial examination as a joke."

Then, he looked at Jiang Zhongnian and said humbly, "Your Excellency, I think this arrow should not be included in the assessment, and the shooting distance should be changed back to eighty steps."

Shi Ding was furious when he heard this. "Zhong Huai, you son of a bitch flatterer, why didn't I see you fart when the distance was changed to 80 steps? Now you are making a fuss again. I will definitely file a petition to impeach you, old man!"

Zhong Huai was exposed in public, and he was embarrassed. He pointed at Shi Ding with a trembling finger and said angrily: "Marquis Zhongjing, please watch your words! You are full of vulgar words, which is simply a disgrace to society. I am going to report you!"

"Old thing, ugh!"

"you"

The officials ignored the quarrel between the two and turned their eyes to Governor Jiang Zhongnian.

But the governor Jiang looked calm and said in a frank tone: "The imperial examination regulations of the Great Zhou stipulate that archery on horseback must be conducted at a distance of fifty steps. It does not violate the regulations whether it is eighty steps or a hundred steps."

After these words were spoken, other officials once again witnessed Jiang Zhongnian's upright side.

Since the governor has said so, the others will naturally not say anything more. Who wins the championship has nothing to do with them.
Only Jia Yucun was worried. He was thinking about how to repair his relationship with Shen Yuan and became even more resentful of the doorman who was incompetent.

At this time, on the shooting range, Shen Yuan and Jiang Fan's assessment was not interrupted, and they continued to shoot the 30th arrow.

For a moment, the shouting in the field became louder and the atmosphere was pushed to the peak!

Today's martial arts autumn examination was full of twists and turns and was truly spectacular. When everyone returns home, they can brag about it to their relatives and friends for years.

Some people can't help but want to see that their relatives and friends have faces full of disbelief and look like they have never seen the world. It's quite interesting to think about it.

In the center of the shooting range, the two men on two horses took off again, and when they were another hundred steps away, they drew their bows and drew their arrows.

Whoosh!Whoosh!
The arrow shot out quickly, and the sharp sound of breaking through the air rang out again.

Zheng!
After a few breaths, there was the sound of an arrow hitting the target.

Everyone held their breath and was silent for a moment, then deafening cheers broke out.

"Who hit the target? Who hit the target?" A candidate with poor vision did not see clearly who shot the arrow that hit the target, so he hurriedly asked the people around him.

"Shen Yuan. It's Shen Yuan's target!"

"really!"

"Wow, this guy's shooting skills are so terrifying!"

On the grandstand, all the officials were silent again.

Although some civil officials looked down upon warriors, they had to admit at this time that Shen Yuan was too strong and was born for martial arts.

I wonder what these people would think when they knew that Shen Yuan was also a scholar?
Although Xiucai does not have much weight, but when it is superimposed on Shen Yuan, it cannot but make people surprised again.

"Great! Great! This Shen Yuan is truly a rare genius that only appears once in a thousand years."

Shi Ding was very happy. No matter whether he could win over Shen Yuan in the future, at least this year's military champion was not the governor's son. He was happy to see these civil servants suffer setbacks.

At this time, the governor Jiang Zhongnian, with a calm expression, said calmly: "He is indeed a genius. I hope that the Great Zhou can have more such pillars. In this way, perhaps we can hope to wipe out the decline of our border."

He served as governor of a region on behalf of the emperor, not for his own selfish desires. Now that the surrounding troubles were getting worse, a stable rear was especially needed. Even a military commander like Shi Ding sometimes had to admit that although the Jinling governor acted decisively and unfeelingly, he was basically public-spirited and had never been seen to be partial to others.

Jiang Zhongnian looked at the provincial governor Zhong Huai standing beside him and said in a clear voice, "Master Zhong, check the candidates' scores and prepare to announce the results."

"Yes, Your Excellency." Zhong Huai responded.

In the center of the shooting range, Jiang Fan and Shen Yuan dismounted and stood side by side.

"Brother Shen, you deserve the title of Wu Jieyuan today." Jiang Fan was open-minded and showed admiration on his face. He smiled and said, "I am convinced of my defeat."

Shen Yuan looked at Jiang Fan, also smiling, and said sincerely: "Brother Jiang's candor is something I have never seen before. It is admirable. I hope that you and I can be close friends forever."

Hearing this, Jiang Fan laughed heartily, "Haha. Well said! You and I will be friends forever!"

After saying that, the two raised their hands and shook them tightly.

The other candidates were all moved when they saw this scene.

The most valuable thing in life is a true friend, and people from all over the world are like family.

Perhaps, this is the romance unique to men.

On August 12, the sixteenth year of Yuanzhen, people only remembered two names of the autumn military examination in Jinling Province: Shen Yuan and Jiang Fan.

Especially the name of Shen Yuan and that final stunning arrow, which were deeply engraved in the minds of everyone present.

The martial arts examination in autumn, which lasted for a day, finally came to an end, but it left many people with a feeling of wanting more.

Everyone has seen Jiang Fan's limit. He can shoot with two arrows from a distance of 100 steps.

But where exactly is Shen Yuan's limit? It remains a mystery.

No matter what, the young man in blue is already someone that everyone looks up to.

The examinees left the training ground in groups of three or five.

Shen Yuan and Jiang Fan also walked out under everyone's attention. Although other people were looking at them, no one went up to disturb them.

Outside the training ground, Jiang Qiuer was already waiting outside.

Seeing her brother and Shen Yuan in the crowd, the girl smiled and hurriedly ran forward, asking in an expectant tone, "How is it~How is it?"

Jiang Fan looked at his sister's anxious look, smiled, kept the secret, and said, "Guess."

Jiang Qiuer was stunned for a moment, not understanding what was going on. She glanced at her brother, blinked her beautiful eyes, and looked at Shen Yuan. She saw that both of them seemed to be in a good mood.

The girl held her forehead with her jade hand, thinking, her grape-sized eyes rolled around, and she said in a coquettish voice: "I guess my brother will win the first place, and as for Shen Yuan, he will barely get second place."

In fact, in the little girl's heart, the two men are really evenly matched, and it is hard to say who will win.

No matter who tops the list, she will be happy for them in her heart, but she would never say it was Shen Yuan. This is what a tsundere is.

Jiang Fan laughed, "I knew you would guess wrong."

"No way? This icy guy won the first place?" Even though she was somewhat mentally prepared, the girl was still a little surprised.

When Shen Yuan heard the nickname Jiang Qiuer gave him, his forehead was full of black lines. He wished he could put this arrogant girl on his lap right there and then and slap the pair of round and soft breasts under her waist.

"What? I can't win the title of Wu Jie Yuan?"

Jiang Qiuer met Shen Yuan's compelling gaze and said proudly, "That's right! You're just lucky."

Seeing the two bickering, Jiang Fan smiled and said, "Xiao Qiu, you don't know that Brother Shen's demeanor on the training ground today impressed everyone."

He recounted in detail what had happened on the training ground, his words full of praise and admiration for Shen Yuan, but he only mentioned his own brilliant performance in a few words.

Jiang Qiu'er listened and gradually widened her beautiful eyes. She seemed a little bit unbelieving, but she had to believe it because she knew her brother never lied.

After hearing the whole process, the girl's heart was deeply shocked. In her mind, she seemed to see a series of pictures of the young man in blue clothes, looking heroic and stunning the audience time and again.

When she looked at Shen Yuan again, there were unexpectedly some little stars in the girl's sparkling eyes.

But she reacted quickly, and quickly restrained the expression on her beautiful face. She then secretly glanced at Shen Yuan, wondering if the young man had noticed her little expression just now.

We can't let this icy guy get too proud.

"Ahem. This performance is barely acceptable, but young people should still guard against arrogance and impatience, and never become complacent."

Shen Yuan looked at Jiang Qiuer's cute expression pretending to be old and solemn, and somehow reached out to stroke the girl's bangs, saying softly: "If you don't talk too hard, you're actually quite cute."

"you you."

Jiang Qiu'er was a little overwhelmed by this sudden touch. She even forgot to react for a moment and let Shen Yuan rub her for a few times. Her beautiful face turned red.

After a moment, Shen Yuan seemed to realize that his behavior was a bit frivolous, and he withdrew his hand calmly, saying calmly: "Brother Xiaoqiu, you can be more straightforward with me in the future. You are just hard on the outside but soft on the inside."

Jiang Qiuer was stunned when she heard this, but suddenly she calmed down a little.

By the way, she is now dressed in men's clothes, and Shen Yuan treats her as a brother. Physical contact between brothers is inevitable, and she shouldn't have those shameful thoughts.

Jiang Fan, who was standing by, watched the interaction between the two and thought for a moment. Then he smiled happily and said, "Come on, Brother Shen, let's go have a drink. We should celebrate today."

Shen Yuan looked embarrassed, and was silent for a moment, then apologized: "Brother Jiang, how about I treat you to a big drunk tomorrow? I have something important to deal with today."

Jiang Fan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's okay, there's no need for us to be so formal with each other. Brother Shen, go and do your own thing first, and we'll meet again tomorrow."

Shen Yuan nodded and smiled apologetically again.

Jiang Qiu'er puffed up her cheeks and muttered, "What's the important matter? Are you going to look for a woman?"

Shen Yuan: “.”

Is the girl's intuition so accurate?

After saying goodbye to the Jiang brothers and sisters, Shen Yuan returned to Tongfu Inn and took a bath.

I sweated a lot during the one-day martial arts test. I will be meeting Baochai later, so I cannot smell of sweat.

Just as he was soaking in the bathtub and relaxing, there was a sudden noise on the street outside the window.

Shen Yuan listened attentively, and then he heard the sound of gongs and singing.

"In this autumn martial arts examination, Shen Yuan took the top spot and won the title of Jinling's martial arts champion."

Shen Yuan: “.”

A familiar scene emerged in my mind.

The yamen runner rode a tall horse, which walked very slowly. He also held a gong in his hand, and while beating the gong, he sang along with the tune, and publicized it along the streets. This was to spread the news that he had won the martial arts examination throughout the city of Yingtian.
At the same time, the officials of the Censorate had completed the verification of the results of the autumn military examination, and large red lists were posted on busy streets.

At the top of the list were the words "Wu Jieyuan: Shen Yuan", followed by Jiang Fan, Zhang Huan, and so on.

Yingtian Prefecture, Xue’s residence.

Baochai sat quietly in the pavilion in the courtyard. On her beautiful and fair face, there was a hint of anticipation in her tranquility. Her soft and moist almond-shaped eyes were clear and bright, and she was always looking towards the direction of the courtyard gate.

Suddenly, I saw the maid Ying'er, trotting over excitedly, saying in a sweet voice as she ran:

"Miss, Master Shen, Master Shen passed the exam and became the top martial arts champion!!!"

(End of this chapter)