The martial arts training ground was located west of the palace complex, several hundred meters beyond the Western Four Residences where the princes lived. Commonly referred to as the Western Garden, it was built almost flush against the winding western palace wall.Exiting the palace in this direction led to vast imperial estates, beyond which lay several low hills that formed a large royal hunting ground.As the venue for the princes’ daily equestrian, archery, and martial arts practice, this area was permanently garrisoned by a contingent of guards. The princes’ instructors also resided here—four in total, all skilled martial artists who had distinguished themselves in the military and were later honored as First-Class Warriors of the Empire.Among them, the instructor for equestrian skills was Nakoda from the northern Mongol tribe, whom the princes addressed as Master Na. The archery instructor was Master Liu Yiying, who hailed from a renowned martial arts family in the jianghu and was celebrated as a peerless military archer capable of hitting a target from a hundred paces without fail.Additionally, there were instructors for hand-to-hand combat and another for cold weapons.Since the selection of study companions did not include tests for hand-to-hand combat or weapons—only equestrian and archery skills—the examiners for this round were solely Masters Nakoda and Liu Yiying.By the time the group arrived at the training ground, the two masters were already waiting in the arena, with guards stationed around the perimeter. The eunuch who had guided them handed over his duties to a eunuch from the Imperial Stables, who stood by the sidelines, silently awaiting any potential orders from the princes or Princess Zhiling.This was Fu Xuechen’s first time setting foot in the royal training ground, and it was truly a case of “seeing is believing”—the sight took her by surprise! She had expected the royal training ground to be sizable, but she never imagined it would be so vast. The entire arena was comparable in area to four international football fields combined, and this didn’t even include the adjacent spaces like the Imperial Stables quarters, the guards’ barracks, and the horse stables and tracks.The spring chill had yet to subside, and the open grounds were particularly biting with cold winds. For this reason, the two martial arts masters prioritized assessing the princess’s study companions first.Four gentle mares were led over and assigned to the four young girls. Their test was quite straightforward: mount the horse and complete a lap around the training ground. Their rankings would be determined by the time taken from start to finish.According to Zhang Chuyang’s gossip, the four girls consisted of two from noble military families and two from civil official households.Fu Xuechen had assumed the two girls from military families would easily win, but to her surprise, a big-eyed girl wearing a sable fur coat and sporting double buns secured first place with an outstanding lead of over two horse lengths. This girl was none other than Cui Xiaoyue, the eldest daughter of Cui Jin, the Minister of Revenue—a civil official—and she had also topped the women’s literary examination.It seemed likely that the position of princess’s study companion would fall to this young girl. Fu Xuechen couldn’t help but take a few more glances at her.In terms of appearance, Cui Xiaoyue was exceptionally pretty and, unusually, carried a hint of heroic spirit. Lively and cheerful, if not for her background being revealed, anyone would have mistaken her for a daughter of a military family.Dismounting from her horse, Cui Xiaoyue wore a bright smile, radiating confidence. The other three girls, overshadowed in both demeanor and performance, appeared somewhat dejected in comparison. One of them couldn’t help but pout, her dissatisfaction nearly spilling over from her expression.Next came the archery competition, with the girls again given priority. The young men had no choice but to endure the cold wind while watching from the sidelines.To Fu Xuechen's great surprise, the young girl Cui Xiaoyue, despite her tender age, was quite skilled in archery. She hit the target with all ten arrows, and although none struck the bullseye, each landed close to the inner ring, with not a single arrow missing or flying astray.This result was far better than Fu Yuchen's, and Fu Xuechen admitted to herself that her own archery skills were even inferior to Fu Yuchen's, let alone compared to this young girl. If she were also competing for the position of the Princess's companion, aside from possibly excelling in the literary examination, her performance in the martial test as a child of a military family would fall far short of the other girl's. Coupled with her age disadvantage, she was almost certain to lose the competition to this girl, who was only eleven or twelve years old.The young girl's outstanding performance in horsemanship and archery drew cheers from the gathered youths. Fu Xuechen glanced at Princess Zhiling and saw the delicate little princess with her eyes wide open, staring intently at Cui Xiaoyue, her gaze filled with admiration that was almost turning into worship.However, after the competition, the final selection of which girl would become the Princess's companion would not be announced publicly. Instead, the examiners would report the assessment results to the Emperor and the mothers of the princes and princesses. The decision would be made after joint deliberation and formally notified to the candidates' families through an imperial decree.Thus, although everyone speculated that Cui Xiaoyue would undoubtedly become the Princess's companion, it could not be confirmed with absolute certainty.The selection for the girls concluded quickly. If they wished, they could now return home. However, it was clear that the boys' competition was about to begin. Not wanting to miss such a rare spectacle, the girls all retreated to the sheltered area by the field to watch the excitement from a distance.The first event for the boys was still "horsemanship." From the start, each boy had to select a horse for himself, followed by a five-lap race around the field, with rankings determined by their finishing order."Yuchen! Choose this one! This horse has sturdy, thick legs—it's sure to run fast!"Zhang Chuyang had already selected a red horse for himself. Seeing Fu Xuechen still examining the horses, he quickly pointed out a horse with a reddish-black coat.Fu Xuechen's gaze swept over but was drawn to a beautiful white horse further away. She walked straight over, admiringly stroked the white horse's nose bridge, and then offered a handful of fresh grass she had prepared in advance—a gesture to win the horse's favor."Ah? Yuchen likes this one?" Zhang Chuyang examined the white horse carefully and expressed doubt: "This is a mare! Its hooves aren't large enough, and its legs are somewhat slender. I'm afraid its explosive power and speed won't match those of the stallions."As if understanding Zhang Chuyang's disparagement, the white mare raised its head and snorted loudly, "Hmph, hmph, hmph!"Fu Xuechen smiled. "Mares are gentler and easier for me to handle compared to stallions." She then turned to Zhang Chuyang and said, "Brother Zhang promised to help me, so I'll rely on your assistance in this competition!"Zhang Chuyang immediately assured her: "Don't worry! I'll keep a close eye on Cheng Defang and Xie Yucheng for you."Fu Xuechen glanced at Cheng Defang and Xie Yucheng not far away and had her own thoughts: "Cheng Defang's performance in the literary examination wasn't strong, which shows he's pinning all his hopes on martial prowess. He's too one-sided. On the other hand, Xie Yucheng was quite impressive in the literary test. If his martial skills are above mine, my chances of winning would be slim. Please focus more of your attention on Xie Yucheng, Brother Zhang."Zhang Chuyang found this reasoning quite sound: "You're right! I understand now!"Fu Xuechen's choice of the white horse actually stemmed from another consideration. Setting aside the comparison of the horses' abilities, this white horse had a particularly outstanding feature—its exceptionally beautiful appearance. Its coat was pure white without a single speck of color, its build was well-proportioned, and even its pair of dark, lively eyes were full of spirit.Among the various colored horses, this beautiful white steed stood out particularly. In terms of looks alone, it could outshine all the other horses. So even if Fu Xuechen didn't rank high in the competition, she could still attract the Sixth Prince's attention with the white horse's striking appearance.While the simple-minded boys believed victory was of utmost importance, Fu Xuechen, with the experience of two lifetimes, knew that leaving a deep impression on the princes was even more crucial.Moreover, everyone has the inherent flaw of judging by appearances. If she couldn't guarantee taking first place and becoming the most eye-catching, then she would at least become the most visually appealing one on the field!At the instructor's command, the young men spurred their horses forward. In an instant, the sound of hooves thundered, and dust billowed, making the Princess and the few young girls feel their blood heat up. They couldn't help but let out soft exclamations, their eyes shining brightly."Hmm?" It was Cui Xiaoyue who spoke up. She stared intently at a young man in plain robes riding a yellow horse on the field. "The one in fourth place… is that Xie Yucheng?""It really is!" another young noblewoman exclaimed in surprise. "To think someone from a scholarly family could have such excellent horsemanship—I never would have imagined!""Ah! He's been overtaken! Overtaken!" several girls cried out excitedly.Suddenly, the situation on the field changed dramatically. A young man on a red horse suddenly accelerated, overtaking Xie Yucheng in the blink of an eye and pushing him down to fifth place. Moreover, the red horse rider blocked and hindered Xie Yucheng from all sides. No matter how Xie Yucheng charged or maneuvered, he couldn't break through the obstruction.What was more, the red horse rider clearly still had energy to spare. With a little more effort, he could have contended for second or third place. Yet not only did he not accelerate further, he even slowed down slightly, as if deliberately opposing Xie Yucheng—determined to keep him suppressed and prevent him from overtaking.Cui Xiaoyue was astonished. "That's… Zhang Chuyang from the Zhang family of the Ministry of War, right? What does he mean by this? Does he have some grudge against Xie Yucheng?"The other girls shook their heads, bewildered and clueless.Just then, a beautiful white horse surged from behind, sweeping past the entangled pair and replacing Zhang Chuyang in fourth place.The young man on the horse wore brocade robes and a fox fur coat. His skin was fair and translucent, his features handsome and elegant, yet there was a faint, elusive smile on his lips. Even in the midst of this intense competition, his movements showed no trace of haste or agitation. He merely swayed gently with the horse's gallop, graceful and composed as flowing clouds and water, a sight as pleasing to the eye as listening to a beautiful melody.This person… is so handsome! The girls were utterly captivated."I've heard that the best-looking young man in the Imperial College is him," someone brought up the gossip about Fu Yuchen."He also excelled in both the literary test and poetry discussion earlier."Fu Yuchen… Princess Zhiling's eyes flickered slightly, and in her mind, she couldn't help but recall Ji Ze's recitation: "When the youth are wise, the nation is wise; when the youth are prosperous, the nation is prosperous; when the youth are strong, the nation is strong; when the youth are free, the nation is free…"Even Fu Xuechen herself was surprised—the white horse beneath her was unexpectedly impressive. Though its explosive power wasn’t particularly notable, its endurance was remarkable, and its speed was decent as well. After four laps, it gradually caught up to the black horse in third place, and in the final lap, it surged ahead, ultimately securing third place by a margin of half a horse’s length over the fourth-place finisher. Her rating was fixed as "Excellent."Zhang Chuyang steadily took fifth place, Xie Yucheng sixth, and Cheng Defang followed closely behind in seventh—a result somewhat worse than Fu Xuechen had anticipated. As he dismounted, his face darkened with visible frustration, yet his eyes burned with defiance, refusing to concede defeat.Fu Xuechen smiled faintly. Perhaps Cheng Defang could still surpass her in archery, but with both the written exam and horsemanship lost, even if he took first place in archery, he posed no real threat to her. Xie Yucheng, however, was more formidable. If her archery fell too far behind his, the outcome of the martial exam would become uncertain.And then there was… what if the Sixth Prince preferred someone like Xie Yucheng…She couldn’t help but glance toward Sixth Prince Yunzuo, who was observing from the sidelines. Unfortunately, this time, the prince’s gaze didn’t meet hers but instead lingered on… Zhang Chuyang? Ah, she had forgotten—Zhang Chuyang had also passed the written exam.Moreover, his horsemanship was clearly on par with the first and second-place finishers. Though his background was slightly less distinguished, strictly speaking, he was qualified to serve as a study companion, which was why he had come to participate in the selection.Who knew what the imperial family might think? Upon careful consideration, it wasn’t entirely impossible for Zhang Chuyang to be chosen.Amid Fu Xuechen’s musings, the second round of the competition—archery—began.
Chapter 5
The Prince Does Not Compete for the Throne