This scoundrel is a bit of a swordsman.

"Why does this princess possess such power? Even the crown prince probably couldn't do that, could he?"

Daji looked around in surprise, puzzled.

"It's based on seniority, and on the status of legitimate son." Xiao Xingchen had often known the difference between legitimate and illegitimate sons, but only after witnessing it firsthand today did she realize how much importance this world placed on the eldest legitimate son. This concept was deeply ingrained in everyone's bones, an unchanging truth.

"Rotten," Daji shook her head dismissively.

"Yes, with such power, many people probably won't be able to sleep."

He looked up at the top of the city wall, where several people were watching everything below. They must be the ones who couldn't sleep.

"Gentlemen, rise. I am new to Yong'an and should naturally follow the Empress Dowager's rules,"

The eldest princess stood upright on the carriage, her head slightly raised. Even through the ghost face, Xiao Xingchen could sense that she was smiling.

She seemed to be saying, "Yong'an, look, so many years have passed, but the people here still treat me with utmost respect, and my power remains."

"Thank you, Your Highness,"

As the kneeling crowd rose, Ling Xue spoke again.

"Now that everyone is here, why hide anything? Come out and have a chat. I will accept the Empress Dowager's test."

"Sister..." Ling Feng said worriedly.

"Ling Feng, watch carefully. This is our first battle in Yong'an. We will repay our mother's grievances one by one from this moment on."

"Yes," Ling Feng shouted, stopping his horse beside Ling Xue, his longsword pointing at the city wall.

"Get off!"

The sound of clapping rang out, and finally a few people emerged from the city gate tower.

The leader was imposing and dignified, clad in a yellow robe. Even from a distance, one could still sense his unparalleled aura.

Behind him, the most conspicuous figures were four young talents, all clad in python robes. All five princes of the dynasty were present.

Seeing this, Xiao Xingchen looked puzzled, glancing at the city wall and then at Ling Feng. In Xiao Jianren's memory, there were only five princes in Daqian, so where did this Huangfu Ling Feng come from?

Only then did he realize the problem: there was an extra prince. Had he misremembered, or what was going on?

"When the Empress returns to the capital, the brothers should welcome her with open arms, but the Empress Dowager has set a challenge for us. Please do not blame her, elder sister."

The Crown Prince's words were calm and composed, slowly illuminating the area outside the city gates. When everyone saw his python robe, they were shocked. Others were less affected, but the appearance of the Crown Prince made many realize something. Some, more astute, already retreated to report. Even before the Princess had arrived in the capital, the power struggles among the princes had begun.

This is their Yong'an, and now a fierce tiger has been let in. Naturally, they will unite to drive it away, which is something many people tacitly agree on. Otherwise, Consort Xian wouldn't have set a challenge to prevent this.

Consort Xian, being the Crown Prince's birth mother, was naturally the one least willing to see the Eldest Princess enter the capital. The position of Crown Prince could not be taken lightly. Even though the Eldest Princess was a woman and not qualified to inherit the throne, they would nip any potential problems in the bud.

Today's test was designed to tarnish the Princess's image. First, they provoked Huangfu Lingfeng to draw his sword, but unfortunately, his attack was blocked. Otherwise, the Princess would be facing soldiers right now.

Since Ling Feng's plan failed, he used a test question with no answer to completely bring the princess down from her pedestal. Making her look foolish before even entering the city nipped the threat in the bud. Even if she entered the city later, no ministers would come to her aid.

If this show of force succeeds, the Ling Xue and Ling Feng siblings will have no further opportunity to influence the political situation.

"Your Highness has a good plan, and so do you. Since that's the case, there's no need for further words. What test has the Empress Dowager set? Make your move."

Ling Xue responded calmly, "Let's wait and see."

"Someone, put down the test questions set by the Empress Dowager. Let my elder sister take a good look. This Yong'an is no longer the Yong'an of yesteryear."

"To ensure fairness, the chief examiner for this exam will be the esteemed scholar Confucius from the academy. I believe my elder sister has no objections, right?"

"Dean Kong is highly respected and I have no objection to him taking the lead. Now, tell me, how do you plan to test me?"

The eldest princess did not back down. This was a test under the watchful eyes of everyone. If she won, her fame would spread even before she entered the capital, and might even reach all the other countries. At that time, her prestige would reach its peak.

Defeat would be utter defeat, and then the Great Qian Princess would be accused of lacking virtue.

The Crown Prince and all the other princes wore broad smiles, seemingly brimming with confidence in the exam questions.

"Please welcome Mr. Confucius,"

The crown prince replied with a smile. As his voice fell, a carriage slowly drove in from inside the city gate. When the carriage arrived at the city gate, an elderly man in his sixties stepped out.

"I am Kong Li from the Academy, entrusted by Her Highness the Virtuous Consort. In this battle, I will only ensure fairness. A win is a win, and a loss is a loss. I will absolutely not favor anyone. The people of the world are my witnesses. I greet you."

"We naturally believe in Confucius's words, but we would like to ask him to give us a question."

The princess answered him. Ling Xue was full of confidence in herself, even though she knew the question to come would be very difficult.

"What kind of questions do you think they'll ask?" Daji asked, looking at Xiao Xingchen.

"If it were me, I would definitely pose a question that has no answer,"

He couldn't judge the level of cultural development in this world at the moment, so he couldn't say anything. As for writing poems or composing couplets? Such questions without standard answers would definitely not be included. If they were to be included, they would be questions with a single answer or no answer at all; otherwise, they would be redundant.

"But nothing in this world is so absolute. There is never only one way to do things, so it is difficult to find a single answer. I'm afraid this princess will have a hard time."

Daji shook her head slightly, seemingly not optimistic about the eldest princess.

"Let's see, I'm curious too, what kind of difficult questions they can come up with to make things difficult for people."

Xiao Xingchen was just watching the show with a gossipy heart. Whether the princess could get in or not was none of his business. As long as those people didn't provoke him, they could do whatever they wanted.

However, Xiao Xingchen did spot some people in the crowd, including Chen Miao.

He carefully concealed his intentions, clearly not wanting Chen Miao to discover that it wasn't the right time for them to meet. He needed a new identity after entering the city, and he wanted to handle this discreetly, not wanting to make his acquaintance with Chen Miao public.

Moreover, he had a deeper idea: Chen Miao represented Dali, and he himself was hiding from Emperor Wu. If they were to cooperate, it would be a good partnership, since both sides had leverage over each other.

After all, given Xiao Jianren's identity, he had to be careful no matter what he did in Yong'an.

"Very well, since the princess has agreed, then this old man will be the examiner. This time, Consort Xian has set three questions: one on swordsmanship, two on arithmetic, and three on calligraphy. You only need to answer two questions correctly to pass. Does the princess agree?"

"allow!"

"Since the Princess agrees, let's move on to the first question. Guards, bring out the question."

"Yes, Master Kong."

Cui Yuan was prepared. As soon as Confucius gave the order, all the people in front of the city gate began to look up and wait. This way of setting questions was quite novel.