Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 102 Izumo, Khitan, Goguryeo, and others arrive in droves.
With the imperial examinations approaching, nothing in the world is more important than the examinations. It is said that there are four great joys in life, one of which is passing the exams with flying colors. How delightful!

After more than twenty years of recuperation, the Song Dynasty had recovered much of its national strength and had a very solid foundation. Three countries sent envoys to offer their congratulations, each with their own objectives.

One was the Kingdom of Izumo, whose envoy was Princess Toshihide, the most beautiful woman in Izumo, who wanted to establish a marriage alliance with the Song Dynasty.

His personal bodyguard is named Wumaru, a disciple of the Tantric sect. He created the Fiery Cloud Poison Blade by combining the Flaming Blade and the Poison Sand Palm. With just a light touch, he can cause excruciating pain to his victims.

One was Goguryeo, whose envoys consisted of two princes and a princess. Their goal was also a marriage alliance, and their accompanying bodyguard was Choi Gwang-ho, known as the number one swordsman in Goguryeo.

The last one is the Liao Kingdom. There was no princess. The envoy was Yelü Yancai, the eldest son of Yelü Chuxiong, the military marshal, and the Liao Kingdom's number one scholar. They were probably going to compete in literary talent.

Yelü Chuxiong had four sons.

The eldest son, Yelü Yancai, was exceptionally talented.

The second son, Yelü Liangcai, was a master swordsman.

The third son, Yelü Juncai, was skilled in leading troops.

The fourth son, Yelü Wencai, was gentle and refined.

Twenty years ago, Yelü Yancai, under an assumed name, infiltrated various academies in the Central Plains to study culture. Later, his identity was exposed, and he was expelled from the academies. He had a photographic memory and forcibly memorized the classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections during his studies.

After returning to the Liao Kingdom, Yelü Yan studied diligently, even resorting to extreme measures, and mastered the knowledge gained from these books.

Yelü Yancai originally wanted to teach a few students, but unfortunately, the Liao Kingdom had many who admired martial prowess and few who valued talent and learning. Even his own relatives paid little attention to him.

It cannot be said that the Liao Dynasty had no learned people; there were indeed learned scholars in the Liao Dynasty, but their numbers were very small.

Apart from a handful of people like Yelü Alian and Yelü Wencai who were willing to listen to his lectures, the rest either went hunting on horseback, with bows drawn and hawks at their disposal, or became his disciples to learn martial arts.

Yelü Yancai had only one thought: to test whether the students of the Song Dynasty were truly talented or just charlatans as the imperial examination approached.

When Li Zhaoting returned to the capital, envoys from the three families arrived at the same time, and a large crowd gathered outside the city.

Looking around, one sees a sea of ​​people. Tall and burly imperial guards, clad in armor and wielding spears, stand in neat formation outside the city. Grand Tutor Zhuge Zhengwo, Grand Preceptor Pang, and Grand Preceptor Hua personally come out of the city to welcome the delegation, their troops forming a long, winding line.

The Imperial Guards of this period were not yet completely corrupt; they were not the same as the artisans created in the late Northern Song Dynasty who were just there to collect salaries without working and exploit soldiers. They had undergone rigorous selection.

Some members of the Imperial Guard could be "hereditary".

The imperial court would selectively allow tall imperial guards to marry tall spouses, which made the imperial guards much taller than average. These strong men were clad in heavy armor, wielding spears and halberds, and looked very imposing.

The Liao delegation didn't care much about the Imperial Guards.

Goguryeo and Izumo were intimidated by the Imperial Guard.

Li Zhaoting led Lao Jiu to watch the excitement from the sidelines. Lao Jiu drank half a barrel of wine and snorted excitedly. The honor guard had many fine horses, mostly mares.

Young horses are too spirited and, apart from rare gems like fine wine, are not suitable as mounts.

Mares and geldings are more popular.

In other words, from the perspective of the old wine, what it saw before it were three thousand beauties in the harem and a group of eunuchs. If Li Zhaoting hadn't been holding the reins, it would have long since been unable to resist.

Animals are very particular about lineage.

In the eyes of human aesthetics, aged liquor is a dark, ugly, and greedy glutton; in the eyes of warhorses, aged liquor is the king of horses, its charm unparalleled.

Red Hare is roughly equivalent to... an empress.

A man dressed in armor, with a sword at his waist and braids in his hair, rode up on horseback, examined the old wine carefully, and asked, "Are you selling your horse?"

"Do not sell!"

Li Zhaoting snorted without turning his head.

"I'll offer a thousand taels of gold."

"I wouldn't sell even if you offered me a mountain of gold."

"You won't listen to reason, kid. Do you know who I am? I am the son of the Marshal of the Liao Dynasty. If I want something, you'd better hand it over obediently."

"What if I say no? Do you think your father would send an entire army south for a horse? Tsk tsk tsk~ Does the Liao army have the final say, or does your father have the final say?"

"According to the rules of the Liao Dynasty, the most powerful warriors possess divine weapons and precious horses. I can take your life, but you Song people have a saying: 'A wise man submits to circumstances!'"

"My surname isn't Wei, and my name isn't Junjie!"

"Asshole! You're looking for death!"

The man with the pigtail drew his sword and slashed at Li Zhaoting.

Li Zhaoting sneered disdainfully, flicked his finger, and with a soft sound, the sword was sent flying by the force of his finger. The man with the pigtail lost control of his strength and fell flat on his backside.

"With martial arts skills like this, you're not even qualified to use a sword!"

Li Zhaoting waved his hand, signaling for the boy with the pigtail to get lost.

The boy with the pigtails got up from the ground, staring at Li Zhaoting with a look of terror on his face: "My name is Yelü Juncai. If you have the guts, leave your name. I will come back to take my revenge on you in three years."

"To be honest, with your talent, practicing swordsmanship is a waste of time. You are rich and have countless riches and honors, so why bother practicing swordsmanship?"

Li Zhaoting earnestly advised Xiao Bianzi.

Yelü Juncai was completely bewildered. It wasn't until he vaguely returned to the delegation's convoy and asked Yelü Yancai that he learned Li Zhaoting's so-called advice was actually an insult.

Thank God, Li Zhaoting absolutely did not curse anyone.

Practicing martial arts requires not only exceptional talent but also diligent effort. One must train hard in the coldest winter and hottest summer. The slightest slackening can easily breed laziness.

With a background like Yelü Juncai's, he should have had three wives, four concubines, five maids, and six servants, parading around town every day with a few lackeys, and spending his free time fighting cocks and dogs.

Practicing martial arts is so tough!

Why not be a carefree playboy!
As Li Bai once said, "One should enjoy life to the fullest when one is successful."

With such a good background, it's such a waste not to be a spoiled brat. He has nothing better to do than court death.

When a mission enters the capital, the Ministry of Rites and the Court of State Ceremonial are in charge.

After watching the excitement outside the city, Li Zhaoting took the old wine and returned to his rented house to reunite with his wife and children.

This trip to Jiangling for exploration and investigation only lasted about ten days, but it felt like half a year had passed.

No see in one day, like every three autumns.

Li Zhaoting's temper had long been uncontrollable.

A big wave of his hand.

Five Luo Light Smoke Palm!
Her clothes fluttered in the wind, and the waves rolled on.

Feng Suzhen and Meizhu screamed in alarm.

Lan Fenghuang cursed the Hua family's craftsmen for being lazy and sloppy, taking more than half a year to repair a house!
The five rats received their pocket money and went on a shopping spree at the Daxiangguo Temple snack street. They ate their way from one end of the street to the other until their bellies were round, and then they returned home.

It was already evening.

No one in the family cooks.

Lan Fenghuang ordered takeout from Cuiyunlou Restaurant, angrily tearing into the roast chicken, making a crunching sound with her mouth.

That's right, food delivery existed during the Northern Song Dynasty.

Many restaurants offer delivery services.

It is said that one night, Emperor Renzong of Song stayed up late to handle state affairs. He was hungry and wanted to order takeout, but he didn't want to trouble anyone, so he went back to rest on an empty stomach.

This is indeed Zhao Zhen's style.

Feng Suzhen and Mei Zhu, their faces flushed, changed into comfortable clothes and drank tea in the pavilion.

Li Zhaoting lay sprawled on the recliner, his eyes vacant as he gazed at the starry sky and admired the Milky Way. Countless thoughts raced through his mind: Does the universe have an end? Does time have a beginning and an end? Where does the past disappear to? Where does the future stop? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Is the ego truly me?

How wonderful the world is!

But I'm such a jinx!
This is not good, it's not good, it needs to be corrected!
Li Zhaoting had never felt his mind so open, his inspiration so bursting forth, and his thoughts so boundless. Even if the man in black were here, he could fight him for three to five hundred rounds.

Bai Yutang looked at the four of them with curiosity.

I have never seen the three mistresses in this state before.

One of them wished he could bite his master to death.

Neither of his two lazy fingers could be lifted.

The master's limbs were weak, his eyes were lifeless, and he looked like he had suffered a stroke; his brain seemed to have been damaged.

Lu Fang and the other three exchanged glances and took a step back in unison, protecting Bai Yutang in front of them.

Bai Yutang looked around, wondering why his brothers were retreating, when Han Zhang stepped forward and kicked him in the butt, sending Bai Yutang flying.

Bai Yutang, baring his teeth and gesticulating wildly, spouting nonsense, scrambled to a stop beside Li Zhaoting, chuckling to himself, thinking to himself that having brothers like you is my good fortune.

"Good disciple, what is it?" "Master, you're back!"

"Am I very old?"

"You have the air of an old man. I saw an old man on the food street today, and your movements just now were exactly the same as his, even more leisurely."

What does he do?

"Selling roasted chestnuts!"

"Is it tasty?"

"Very tasty!"

"Why didn't you bring one for your teacher?"

"what?"

"Go buy one for your teacher!"

Li Zhaoting handed over a money bag.

Feng Suzhen coughed lightly twice.

"Buy one for your teacher's wife too. Never mind, buy a pound of each of the snacks you had today that you thought were delicious. Your teacher is so hungry he could eat a whole cow."

"Disciple, I'll go right away!"

Bai Yutang left the pavilion as quickly as possible.

He never imagined that his lightness skill could make him run so fast. Could this be considered a minor achievement in lightness skill?

Not long after, Bai Yutang returned, carrying more than a dozen oil paper packages, each containing pastries such as roasted chestnuts, wife cakes, and mung bean cakes...

Li Zhaoting took the roasted chestnuts first.

As soon as a chestnut was peeled open, Blue Phoenix quickly came over, opened its mouth, and gestured for it to be fed.

Li Zhaoting fed Lan Fenghuang one.

Mei and Zhu waited nearby.

Feng Suzhen watched with a smile.

The atmosphere in the pavilion was as heavy as the bottom of a thousand-foot sea, the air as thick as mercury, making it hard to breathe.

Lu Fang exclaimed dramatically, "Ah~ I'm so tired I can't stand up anymore, I want to go back to sleep!"

Han Zhang immediately shouted, "I'm so sleepy! I'm going to sleep now. I want to sleep until noon tomorrow."

Xu Qing and Jiang Ping rushed forward, grabbed Bai Yutang's arm, and forcibly dragged him back to the dormitory.

Li Zhaoting peeled another chestnut.

There are many ways to eat roasted chestnuts.

When he was with his beautiful wife and concubines, there seemed to be only one way: Feng Suzhen would eat half of the food, Li Zhaoting would eat the other half, and Mei Zhu and Lan Fenghuang would peel chestnuts.

Blue Phoenix: I'm going to put 1,800 kinds of deadly poisons in chestnuts and let you experience the magic of Miao witchcraft!
Feng Suzhen looked down at Lan Fenghuang.

Blue Phoenix, looking listless, obediently peels chestnuts.

Mei Zhu took the opportunity to freeload a meal.

As a concubine, this was her duty.

Li Zhaoting waved his hand and unleashed another Five Luo Light Smoke Palm. Dark clouds, like gauze, obscured the Milky Way, so that even if the Queen Mother of the West wanted to peek, she wouldn't be able to see it.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder; no further explanation is needed.

The next morning.

Li Zhaoting's refreshing morning exercise.

All the anger in his body was released.

The body has recovered to its peak condition.

Even if his master came, he would dare to pick up his halberd and fight him for three hundred rounds until the sky collapsed, the earth cracked, and the sun and moon lost their light, and he would never retreat a single step.

—Because there was simply no chance to retreat!

Retreating is for dodging and deflecting force.

There's no need to hold back when fighting your master.

Being crushed to death by ten mountains is no different from being crushed to death by one mountain; in the end, you'll still be crushed to death by a mountain!
The Blood Saber Scripture's internal cultivation method is excellent.

In terms of swordsmanship, he takes an unorthodox approach, which is extremely sinister. His internal energy cultivation method is very suitable as a form of exercise. Yoga can regulate one's energy and spirit, which is very beneficial to the body.

The secret teachings of various schools of Tantric Buddhism, besides mantras and mudras, are yoga. When the Golden Wheel Monk wanted to take Guo Xiang as his disciple, he taught her Tantric yoga.

The Secret Vehicle of Yoga, the Supreme Yoga, the Incomparable Yoga—this is a gradual process.

Even a powerful Dharma King like the Golden Wheel Monk did not possess the wisdom to cultivate the Highest Yoga Tantra; he could only pass it on to Guo Xiang.

Li Zhaoting disassembled and simplified the Blood Saber Scripture, extracting the most essential yoga exercises to lay the foundation for his disciples. This method does not cultivate qi, but it can make people strong and healthy.

Li Zhaoting led the exercises, and the five rats followed along.

"Master, what kind of cultivation method is this?"

"The Rising Sun"

"What a strange name."

"You are all like the sun at eight or nine o'clock in the morning. As long as you have a solid foundation, you will eventually rise to the zenith."

"so smart!"

"Of course, I've been practicing for over ten years!"

Li Zhaoting led the exercises with great enthusiasm.

Preparatory exercises, stepping exercises, upper limb exercises, chest expansion exercises, side bending exercises, full-body exercises...

After finishing her morning exercise, Meizhu prepared breakfast.

I had mung bean porridge for breakfast today.

The side dishes are pickled vegetables and salted duck eggs.

Q: How do you make the best-tasting mung bean porridge?

A: Add mung bean popsicles when cooking porridge.

If you don't have mung bean popsicles, mung bean cakes will do.

The mung bean cakes Bai Yutang bought last night came from a century-old shop called Hefangzhai, whose family has been making pastries for generations and is very famous in Beijing.

Mei Zhu's pickled vegetables are very good.

Pickled mustard tuber strips, pickled mustard greens with chopped chili, pickled bracken with chopped chili, pickled cucumbers, pickled mini eggplants, bell peppers and chicken giblets...

Just as the dishes were served, Gongsun Ce arrived to pay his respects.

Bao Zheng went to meet the Emperor.

In the previous murder case at the Imperial College, Bao Zheng solved the case in just three days. The Eighth Prince appreciated Bao Zheng and brought him to the palace to meet the Emperor, thus increasing his exposure.

Gongsun Ce was quite helpless about this.

In terms of erudition, Gongsun Ce was superior.

Bao is a master of reasoning, Jun is a brilliant scholar, and the bald guy is invincible!

Unfortunately, Bao Zheng has the buff of a famous detective, which triggers cases wherever he goes, and he solves them in three days. Relying on this superpower, he becomes the young Bao Zheng in three days.

The smartest person in the Song Dynasty!
Abbreviation: Great Wisdom!
"Gongsun, try Meizhu's cooking."

"I have no appetite at all! You know the Liao envoy has arrived, right? The leader is named Yelü Yancai, who is arrogant and thinks he is exceptionally talented. He went to the Imperial Academy to provoke us!"

"Is the Imperial Academy student inferior to Yelü Yancai?"

"This... I mean... the Imperial Academy sent five students to compete with Yelü Yancai in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Liu Changying was the first to be defeated. Tang Yin is currently competing with Yelü Yancai in calligraphy and painting. Next up is the competition in inscription and stone carving."

"What do you want from me?"

"For the sake of the musical instrument."

(End of this chapter)