Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

"What a brilliant plan to revitalize the court, forge alliances, and defend against foreign enemies! This young man not only saw the chaos in the court but also foresaw the foreign enemies. However, I don't quite understand his strategy of forging alliances." The king kept pondering.

The phrase "zhen chao gang" (振朝纲) points out that internal strife in the imperial court is also the fundamental solution to resisting foreign enemies; to repel external aggression, one must first secure internal stability.

The ruler could understand the first three and last three characters, but he couldn't understand the middle three characters: what is an ally? Or rather, who is qualified to be the ruler's ally?

Xia Yeran smiled faintly, clearly having guessed what was going on, and said softly, "Your Majesty, why don't you take a look at this person's name?"

The king was so excited that he forgot to remove the wax seal from the name.

Only after Xia Yeran reminded him did the king remove the wax seal, revealing two large characters: Lin Ping!

"It was that brat! No wonder he escaped the pursuit of the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review; he was hiding right under my nose!" The king was furious and tore the examination paper to shreds.

The most dangerous place is the safest place. No one would have thought that Lin Ping would have the courage to participate in the martial arts examination.

"Since this brat has come to me of his own accord, don't blame me for being impolite." A cold glint appeared in the king's eyes.

His anger towards Lin Ping never subsided; having an affair with the princess was unforgivable.

"Your Majesty, please calm down." Xia Yeran hurriedly knelt on the ground to plead for Lin Ping.

He requested that the wax seal be opened, so if Lin Ping is convicted as a result, it would be his responsibility.

"Does Your Majesty still remember what you said before?"

"Of course I remember, I will bring him to justice."

"That's not it. His Majesty also said that he wanted the princess to marry the top martial arts scholar."

Xia Yeran repeatedly explained that the king must not misunderstand her meaning.

“That’s true. Only a martial arts champion is worthy of Linglong.” The king didn’t understand Xia Yeran’s meaning at all. This seemed to have nothing to do with whether or not Lin Ping was arrested.

"Then why did you arrest Lin Ping? Was it because he helped the Lord of Jiangcheng defeat the Lord of Shancheng, or because he had an affair with the princess?" Xia Yeran continued to ask.

"The Lord of Mountain City has been quite restless in recent years, even colluding with Lotus Palace. I have wanted to take action for a long time, and he has done a good job in this matter."

The king answered in a low voice.

"Since it's because of the latter, as long as Lin Ping can obtain the title of Martial Arts Champion, he can rightfully marry the princess, and the previous charge of harassment will no longer hold."

If Lin Ping is capable of marrying Xia Linglong, then his previous close contact would certainly not be considered harassment.

"Hmph, does he really think he can win the title of martial arts champion?" the king said disdainfully.

Ever since he concluded that Lin Ping had harassed the princess, he denied all of Lin Ping's talents and could no longer associate him with the title of martial arts champion.

"How can we know the result if we don't give him a chance to try? Besides, Lin Ping's ability to help Jiangcheng City Lord, who is ranked last among the six city lords, defeat Shancheng City Lord, who is ranked higher, is already a great talent."

“Think about those three words he said again. What does it mean to be an ally? The Lord of Jiangcheng is an ally. Not only that, he can also help you restore order to the court!”

Xia Yeran dropped one bombshell after another, and her final statement, "to revitalize the court," completely won over the emperor.

The biggest concern at present is not external enemies, but internal strife. Whether Xia Linglong is married to Lu Jie or the martial arts champion, it is all to consolidate power, and the ultimate goal is to revitalize the court.

If he could truly reform the court on his own, it wouldn't be a bad idea to let Xia Linglong marry him.

Moreover, Xia Linglong was already in love with Lin Ping, so she would definitely be happy, which lessened his guilt.

"Hmph, I'll give him one chance. If he fails to win the title of Martial Arts Champion, arrest him immediately," the king said coldly, having already set a trap for Lin Ping.

Xia Yeran wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, feeling guilty towards Lin Ping, as this was clearly pushing him into a fire pit.

Moreover, Lin Ping's chances of becoming the martial arts champion are not high. According to the king's wishes, the palace examination will likely be a martial arts tournament, and this kind of real fighting is not Lin Ping's forte.

The current situation left him no time to think; he could only leave Lin Ping to fend for himself.

The next morning, the Ministry of Rites dispatched many soldiers to post notices in all the major central locations of Yingtian Prefecture.

"The results are out! The results are out!" The candidates, who had been waiting for several days, stared wide-eyed, trying hard to find their names.

Some are happy, some are sad; most shake their heads, a few nod.

More than 100 people participated in the martial arts examination, but only 32 passed, less than a quarter of the total.

Lin Ping, sitting in the corner, looked at the list through his left eye.

His name appears near the end, which is fair, considering he abstained from the second subject.

Below him is Jiang Yunlie, who was outstanding for submitting a blank paper in the first subject but still made the list.

If the exam questions concerned the City Lord's Mansion, he could definitely give a good answer sheet, and his ranking would improve significantly.

"Zhang Hongyuan!"

Lin Ping's gaze was fixed on the top of the list, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Based on his understanding of Zhang Hongyuan, he absolutely did not have the ability to reach the top position.

In other words, the other party has undergone some changes, even a qualitative leap, in the past few months.

Lin Ping didn't want to know how he became stronger; he only wanted to know how he disappeared.

If the opponent doesn't get stronger, the upcoming palace examination will be rather dull.

Below Zhang Hongyuan is Lu Jie's name. As the son of a great general, even if he were an idiot, he could still make it into the top three.

It was inevitable that they would know the questions in advance, and it's also possible that people from the Ministry of Rites secretly helped them.

With so many resources accumulated, it would be difficult for him not to be in the top three.

As for the names of the other people, Lin Ping was not interested; they were irrelevant anyway.

"My wife, I won't keep you waiting too long," Lin Ping thought to himself.

Passing the martial arts championship would bring Lin Ping many benefits, not only clearing him of his crimes but also granting him power and even the ability to send troops to attack the Lotus Palace.

With only three days left until the imperial examination, Lin Ping didn't want to waste any time and hurriedly returned to the Zhou family's old residence.

"Lin Ping, you're courting death. The Imperial Examination is personally administered by His Majesty, and the experts from Chiyang Pavilion can't even get close," Xiao Chengyou, hidden in the crowd, sneered.

He hated Lin Ping to the core and was involved in the recent assassination attempt. He thought that the two masters of Lotus Palace could easily end his life, but unexpectedly, people from Chiyang Pavilion appeared.

After that battle, Feng Wuhua was injured, and Mo Youying was depressed.

Zhang Chengming wasn't a fool; he roughly guessed the strength of the expert from Chiyang Pavilion and didn't dare to invite trouble by attempting an assassination.

Left with no other choice, Wu Xin decided to reveal himself, hoping to rely on the power of the imperial court to arrest Lin Ping and bring him to justice.

Unfortunately, even with the joint efforts of the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review, they were unable to capture Lin Ping.

Since they had captured Lin Ping's relatives, it was unlikely that Lin Ping would back down like a coward.

Seeing his name on the list now, Zhang Chengming was not angry but amused.

The most satisfying thing would be to kill one's enemy with one's own hands; Lin Ping will surely die at the hands of Zhang Hongyuan.

During these three days, besides practicing his swordsmanship, Lin Ping also met several mysterious guests, but Jiang Xiuwen did not show up for a long time.

On the eve of the imperial examination, Lin Ping tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.

This was due to nervousness; Lin Ping had never been this nervous since he transmigrated.

Even when he accompanied Jiang Yunying to the prefect's mansion, he had never been this nervous. After all, the title of martial arts champion was not only related to personal gain or loss, but also to the lives of his family and loved ones.

He felt a greater sense of responsibility, and could not afford to make any mistakes, which inevitably led to feelings of tension.

Fortunately, he was mentally strong enough that he fell asleep after going through about a tenth of the impending situation in his mind.

The next morning, more than thirty successful candidates waited outside the palace.

Since the palace examination was held in the royal palace, nosy commoners were allowed to enter, which made it quiet.

After their identities were verified, the thirty-two candidates entered with pride.

Lin Ping finally met Zhang Hongyuan, who had been missing for a long time. His aura was noticeably stronger.

"Could it be that this guy also engaged in dual cultivation with someone? The other party must be an old man, and then they staged an earth-shattering battle of top and bottom." Lin Ping thought to himself, but did not imagine the scene.

He was afraid of tainting his pure heart.

"Don't worry, brother-in-law, if you are defeated, I will definitely avenge you!" Jiang Yunlie said, patting his chest, completely unaware of the situation.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, brother," Lin Ping replied with a smile, as he couldn't possibly let the other party's kind intentions go to waste.

On the way to the palace, Lin Ping took out a pre-written match list.

He deduced this based on the order on the list, so there shouldn't be many mistakes.

According to his prediction, this should be an elimination tournament with two-on-one matches. Winning one match will advance you to the top sixteen, winning two matches will advance you to the top eight, winning three matches will advance you to the top four, winning four matches will advance you to the top two, and winning five matches will be the only way to win the title of martial arts champion.

He was very lucky; he didn't encounter any truly skilled opponents in the first four games, and you could even say he entered the finals without any problems.

Jiang Yunlie's luck wasn't too bad either. He didn't encounter any strong opponents in the first two rounds, but he would face Zhang Hongyuan in the third round, where he would likely lose.

Escorted by a group of guards, the thirty-two candidates arrived before the magnificent hall, and were all impressed by its grand and imposing atmosphere.

It's just like Grandma Liu's first visit to the Grand View Garden.

Lu Jie smiled faintly and scoffed at this.

He wasn't just a martial arts graduate, nor was it his first time entering the palace.

Lin Ping didn't have many feelings, after all, he had been here a few times before.

Moreover, he is a modern person who has traveled through time. He has seen all kinds of great things. Not to mention those skyscrapers, even if we compare the Forbidden City in Beijing to the palace in Wu Kingdom, the palace in Wu Kingdom would probably be inferior.

The king sat majestically at the entrance of the palace, looking down at the crowd below the steps, sending chills down their spines.

The officials, both civil and military, lined up on both sides, looking down at the audience with the same imposing air.

The candidates knelt down in unison, enjoying the feeling of being bathed in holy light, their yearning for power only intensified.