In the evening, with the orange afterglow, more than a dozen carriages drove out of the Martial Arts Academy, carrying the students, along the avenue of the national capital, and drove into the palace.

The carriage passed through the magnificent palace gate, Yang Ming lifted the curtain of the window, looked at both sides of the main road of the palace, and looked at the majestic buildings and pavilions, a pair of black eyes widened.

"This is the palace, what a magnificence. This was the first time the boy had entered the palace, and he couldn't help but sigh.

The green trees are tall, the summer flowers are brilliant, and the young man sitting by the window, looking at these beautiful scenes, because the tension caused by entering the palace for the first time to participate in the state banquet has all disappeared, but thinking about having a dinner with the students of Rongguo tonight, Yang Ming's mood is a little complicated.

Sitting in the same car with Yang Ming were Lin Dong and Weng Lao, Weng Lao saw that the young man had been silently looking out the window, with a little melancholy on his face that a teenager should not have, so he reached out and patted him on the shoulder, and said: "Yang Ming, don't think too much, tonight's state banquet is just a ceremonial reception between countries, we just have to eat, and leave after eating." ”

"Hahaha, it's easy to eat, for tonight's state banquet, I didn't eat at noon, and I'm going to have a big meal tonight. Lin Dong licked his mouth and said.

Weng Lao held his beard, but reminded: "Eat and eat, but you must also pay attention to your manners, and you must not lose your manners, otherwise, you will let the people of Rongguo see the joke." ”

"Hmph, the people of Rongguo, I feel sick to my stomach when I think of the people of Rongguo, they are robbers, we still want them to eat the food of Jiang Guo, what a waste, if you want me to say, let's just poison the food directly and poison these robbers and gangsters of Rongguo. Lin Dong said angrily, especially yesterday in Qionghua Restaurant, Lin Dong lost to the two brothers of "Rongguo", Gao Li Gaohe, which made his hatred for Rongguo deeper.

The young man smiled slightly, Brother Lin Dong's ideas were always so simple, but Yang Ming had already gotten used to it. If these Rongguo students are poisoned, then a war will definitely break out between the two countries, and the lives will be ruined, and it will be the people of Jiang Country who will suffer.

At this time, Yang Ming was thinking about another question, he turned around and asked Weng Lao: "Weng Lao, tonight's state banquet won't last too long, I still want to end it early and go back to practice for a while." ”

The young man considered that the state banquet would not delay his cultivation time, and the merit selection exam was approaching, and Yang Ming was now racing against time, and he didn't want to waste a minute.

"Hahaha, in the end, it's Yang Ming, I'm always thinking about cultivation. However, state dinners generally don't end too early, I'm afraid it will be in the middle of the night. Weng Lao touched his beard and smiled.

"Ah, it takes so long to eat. Yang Ming lowered his eyes in disappointment and said depressedly. However, thinking that I can see Xin'er tonight, my mood is a little better.

Soon, the carriage had arrived at the place where tonight's state banquet was held, the back garden of the royal palace.

The teenagers got out of the carriage and saw that the night had fallen, and the verdant bamboo forest in the garden had now become full of shadows, and with the rising night, it also had a special mood.

If it wasn't for the state banquet tonight, but with Xin'er, how nice it would be, the young man fantasized in his heart, and couldn't help laughing.

"Trainees of the Martial Arts Academy, please come here. At this time, several palace maids came over and guided the students.

Along the stone road, after crossing the mahogany gate, the students came to the state banquet hall, hundreds of red lanterns hung high in the courtyard, sprinkled with red glow to the surroundings, the curtain cloth fluttered lightly, the fragrance of flowers overflowed, the air was filled with intoxicating smell, and the tables made of mahogany had already been placed in order, and the tables were placed with exquisite tea fruits and snacks.

Under the guidance of the palace maid, each student walked to his seat, but did not sit down, because King Jiang had not yet arrived.

Yang Ming and Lin Dong, as well as several other secondary students from the Lower Talent Academy, were arranged in the back position, behind the Upper Talent Academy. After all, the students of the Xia Cai Academy are all from civilian backgrounds, so their natural position is lower.

Obviously different from the noble children of the Shangcai Academy, the students of the Xiacai Academy came to the palace for the first time and saw such a grand scene, they were inevitably a little restrained and nervous. On the other hand, many of them have been in and out of the palace before, and there is no restraint or nervousness on their faces, only undisguised arrogance. Liu Qianyu's position was at the forefront, his expression was indifferent, but he inadvertently revealed a sense of arrogance, which was very eye-catching.

After Yang Ming stood up, he heard the voices of Lin Dong and another teenager behind him.

"Haha, Brother Wang Shi, I haven't seen you for a long time. ”

"Hahaha, yes, I heard that you also passed the lift assessment, and I haven't had time to congratulate you yet. ”

"Because Brother Wang Shi, you are always busy cultivating, you definitely don't have time, by the way, Brother Wang Shi, let me introduce you to the genius of our Academy, Yang Ming. ”

As he spoke, Lin Dong took the young man named Wang Shi and walked in front of Yang Ming.

"You are Yang Ming, I have heard of your name a long time ago, the hero of the Xia Cai Academy, who guarded the martial arts training ground for us and defeated the people of the Shang Cai Yuan for the first time. Wang Shi bowed his hand, then bowed deeply to Yang Ming, and said a little jokingly.

Seeing that the other party was so gifted, the young man was frightened, and hurriedly said: "Don't be like this, how can I afford such a big gift." ”

Wang Shi raised his head, revealing a bright smile, he was very burly, taller than Lin Dong, Yang Ming stood in front of him, only to his chest.

"Yang Ming, this is Wang Shi, two years higher than me, he has passed the lifting assessment three years ago, and now he is a second-class student of the Xiacai Academy. Lin Dong introduced.

Hearing Lin Dong's words, Wang Shi looked a little embarrassed, "Hey, don't say it, I barely passed the lift assessment at the age of seventeen, it's been three years, and I haven't been promoted to excellent school yet, I'm ashamed." There is no comparison with Yang Ming at all. ”

"Hey, is it so difficult to take the meritocracy selection exam?" Yang Ming couldn't help but ask.

"Well, Jiang Guo's annual pass rate for merit selection is less than 10 percent. Wang Shi smiled bitterly and said.

Listening to Wang Shi's words, Lin Dong suddenly thought of something and said, "Brother Wang Shi, this year is your last year, right?"

Hearing this, Wang Shi nodded a little sadly, "I am already twenty years old this year, according to the regulations of the college, if I haven't been able to enter the excellent school at the age of twenty, I can only graduate, and this year is my last chance." ”

"I didn't get into the excellent school, and even if I can enter the army after graduation, I will be a captain at most, and my future will be bleak. Wang Shi continued, his voice revealing some helplessness.

"Brother Wang Shi, don't be discouraged, you will definitely be able to do it this year. By the way, Yang Ming, you don't know, Brother Wang Shi is very powerful, and he taught me Qi Chong Boxing. Lin Dong said comfortingly, also to cheer up Wang Shi.

"Yes. Hearing this, Yang Ming was also a little curious about Wang Shi, the person that Brother Lin Dong admired should also be a great person.

As he spoke, suddenly the voice of Jiang Guo's student stopped abruptly, and Yang Ming noticed that Rongguo's people were coming.

The seats of the Rongguo students and the Jiang Guo students sat opposite each other across the red carpet aisle in the middle.

After the Rongguo students entered, both sides fell into silence, looking at each other with cold eyes, and there was a great tendency to-for-tat.

"The king is ......here," the guard shouted.

Hearing this, Jiang Guo's students turned around at the same time, looked in the direction of the main seat of the central platform, and bowed down. "Greetings to the King. ”

At this time, the guards shouted again: "Liang Guo, Rongguo envoy to ......"

Hearing this, the Rongguo students also turned around and bowed.

After the ceremony was completed, after King Jiang and the ministers were seated, all the students sat down. In a moment, the palace maids brought delicious dishes one by one, and each dish was served with copper, which was very rich.

According to the etiquette of the Great Zhou Dynasty, King Jiang placed seven tripods, the envoys of the two countries and a group of ministers were all five tripods, and the students were three tripods.

Yang Ming glanced at the food on the table and placed a total of three tripods, namely mutton, fish, and pork.

However, the boy cares more about the people at the state banquet than the food. Yang Ming raised his head and looked at the central high platform, in the middle of the high platform, in front of the screen was King Jiang, wearing a high crown, wearing a black royal robe, embroidered with a fierce horse pattern with gold thread, and his waist was gold and jade. The expression is calm, the sitting posture is steady, and the spirit of a king is naturally extraordinary.

Below the left side of King Jiang, there are a number of generals and ministers sitting in the seats, in order of Dazai Jiang Zi'an, Xiangguo Yan Hao, and General Liu Chen...... The ministers are all dressed in crowns and shoes, and their feet are decorated with pearls. Below the right, there are Liang Guo and Rongguo envoys, sitting in the same column with Rongguo students. The envoy of Liang Guo looked indifferent, holding his beard, and looked at the eyes of the Jiang Guo students opposite, with a sense of scrutiny, which was very uncomfortable, at this time, the envoy of Rongguo lowered his body and attached himself to his ear, not knowing what to say, his face was full of flattering smiles, and he looked like an entourage to please his master.

After Yang Ming swept over these people, he continued to search for them, and soon he found the girl. Tonight, Xin'er was dressed up extremely brightly, wearing a pale golden flowing gauze dress, revealing Qianqian's white shoulders, black hair like flowing black ink, sprinkled behind her, her eyebrows and eyes were also extremely moisturized, lined with the girl's delicate face and shining black eyes, as if the person in the painting.

Compared with the girl, the people around her were suddenly overshadowed, except for one person. Beside Xin'er sat a very handsome young man, his countenance, even in the light of a lantern that was not too bright, still looked very fair, giving people a sculptural beauty, and for a moment, it would give people the illusion that this face was not born, but the work of a skilled craftsman.

He is Jiang Shaobai, Xin'er's brother Wang, the genius of the Martial Arts Academy, and now the academy ranks first.

Jiang Shaobai glanced around indifferently, and it was only when his black eyes looked at Xin'er that he revealed a rare tenderness. At this time, Xin'er was talking to him, and seeing the smile on the corner of Xin'er's mouth, she should be saying something happy.

Suddenly, Jiang Shaobai's afterglow saw Yang Ming, and for a moment, two pairs of black eyes looked at each other in the air. The former's eyes were slightly bright, and his ice-like expression changed slightly.

Noticing the change in Brother Wang's expression, Xin'er also looked over, and after seeing Yang Ming, the corners of the girl's mouth raised lightly, shook her little hand at the young man, and then pointed at Yang Ming and said to Jiang Shaobai again, it should be to introduce Yang Ming to Brother Wang.

After finishing speaking, Jiang Shaobai looked at the young man's gaze again and became a little curious.

Yang Ming had no choice but to smile awkwardly, and quickly withdrew his gaze, because Jiang Shaobai's gaze made the young man feel a little dazzling,

"Whew, his eyes are so cold, like an ice sword. Yang Ming muttered in his heart.

Hearing the young man's words, Zu Ze joked faintly: "It's not that the young master is worried about other people's sisters, and the elder brother must be unhappy." ”

Yang Ming couldn't help but roll his eyes in his heart, "you." ”

Everyone was seated, the moon was in the middle, as the palace dancers danced, and the musicians beat the slow and soft music, the state banquet officially began.

King Jiang raised his glass, glanced at the envoys of the Liang Kingdom, and said with a smile: "It is really an honor for the Jiang Kingdom to welcome the envoy of the Liang Kingdom, Lord Cheng Yu, today." Immediately, he raised his glass and faced everyone, "Come, ministers, Jiang Guo students, the moonlight is just right, why don't you raise your glass and drink this cup with Lone." ”

"Yes, my lord. Minister Jiang Guo and the students all raised their glasses and drank for a long time.

Cheng Yu also drank the wine in the cup, only the envoys and students of Rongguo held the wine glass, not knowing whether to drink it or not. After all, King Jiang didn't mention Rongguo's name at all.

The face of the Rongguo envoy was a little ugly. But King Jiang turned a blind eye to this, and only talked to Cheng Yu, the envoy of the Liang State, at the banquet.

To put it bluntly, Jiang Guo held this state banquet only out of national etiquette, if it weren't for the envoys of Liang State, the people of Rongguo would not even want to take a step into Jiang Guo's land.

At this time, the envoy of Rongguo raised his glass and saluted King Jiang: "King Jiang is above, Huang Zheng, the envoy of Rongguo, toasts to you on behalf of King Rong, thank King Jiang for his generosity, and is willing to hold this merit selection examination with Rongguo." It is hoped that the results of this examination will be used to completely resolve the border issue between the two countries. ”

After speaking, Huang Zheng smiled slyly, and then slowly drank the wine in the cup, and then, the Rongguo students all understood, raised their glasses and echoed in unison, "Xie Jiang Wang Meiyi." “

Rong Guo's voice echoed in the state banquet, but it was harsh, and on the surface it was grateful, but in fact it was sarcastic.

Everyone knows that Jiang Guo and Rong Guo jointly held the excellent selection examination this time, which was really Jiang Wang's helpless move, because under the pressure of Liang Guo, Jiang Guo had no choice but to agree to Rong Guo's request. Taking one's own country's land as a stake, for a country, this is the greatest humiliation. Huang Zheng's words were undoubtedly a slap in the face to Jiang Guo's dignity.

King Jiang clenched the wine glass, angry from his heart, his body trembled slightly, and his eyes were coldly pointed at the envoy of Rongguo, Huang Zheng.

Feeling the king's anger, Jiang Guo's ministers and students burned with anger in their eyes, and for a while, the venue was suddenly full of gunpowder, as if as long as a little spark, a fire could be ignited......