The next morning, Di Yan came to Li Zhen's house. Uncle Lin, the housekeeper, opened the door for her. Uncle Lin had already seen Di Yan, so he smiled and said, "Miss Di is here to find my son!"

"Hmm! Did he wake up?"

"The young master has already gotten up. In his own yard, I will take the girl over."

"Thank you, Uncle Lin, I'll go there myself."

At this time, Li Quan quickly walked out of the outer hall. She was about to go to the wine shop, but she met Di Yan. Li Quan's eyes immediately showed unhappiness. Last night, Di Yan sent Li Zhen home without discussing with her, which caused the banquet to become cold later. Everyone did not have the fun, so they went back.

Of course, Li Quan knew that his brother was drunk, but she had prepared for it. She arranged for Wang Qingyu to sit next to his brother just to let Wang Qingyu take care of him. Unexpectedly, Di Yan took his brother home in advance. In the end, Liang Wang Wusi came to congratulate him, but he was missing a seat and was very rude, which made Li Quan very dissatisfied with Di Yan.

In fact, Li Quan also knew that Di Yan would definitely be unhappy if he let Wang Qingyu sit next to his brother, but Li Quan had his own considerations. She didn't like Di Yan from the beginning, including now, Di Yan still carries a sword behind her, which makes her feel uncomfortable when she sees it. On the contrary, Wang Qingyu is gentle and considerate, and is a typical virtuous wife and mother-like woman, more suitable for her brothers than the popular Di Yan.

Li Quan had long regarded Wang Qingyu as his future sister-in-law, so she had to do everything possible to fulfill Wang Qingyu. As for Di Yan, it was not that she was not good. She was a lady from a wealthy family and a daughter of the prime minister. She looked very good. Of course, it was a blessing for ordinary people to marry her, but there could only be one sister-in-law, so Li Quan could only be partial to Wang Qingyu.

"Miss Di came so early. My Azhen drank too much last night and seemed to be still resting! Otherwise, Miss Di came back soon?"

Di Yan didn't want to offend Li Quan, but thought that Li Quan deliberately arranged Wang Qingyu to Li Zhen last night, and obviously neglected herself. Thinking of this, Di Yan couldn't show a smile on her face. She was not good at smirking, so she said to Li Quan with a stern face: "Uncle Lin said just now that Brother Li has gotten up, and I have something to look for him!"

"Oh! Has he got up?"

Li Quan's face was a little unnatural, and he glared at the butler Uncle Lin fiercely. At this moment, Li Zhen walked out of the yard and saw the eldest sister and Di Yan talking from afar. He hurriedly walked up to him and smiled, "A Yan, when did you come here?"

Seeing that his brother showed up, Li Quan had to forcefully smile, "Miss Di just arrived, you guys talk! I'll leave first."

She turned and walked out of the gate and rode her little donkey towards the wine shop.

...

"Brother Li is resting today?" Di Yan asked with a smile on her face. Since she discovered Wang Qingyu, a strong enemy last night, Di Yan's attitude towards Li Zhen has changed a little.

"Um!"

Li Zhen scratched his head and smiled, "The Lord gave me three days off. Although it doesn't matter whether the Ministry of War will go or not, I think about it, it's better to go there. Today, the martial arts jury list is issued, and all those who are listed must report to the Ministry of War. It's not good if I don't go."

"I happened to have nothing to do, so I'll go with you."

"Okay! It won't take much time anyway, I'll treat you to a drink later."

"I'll just ask!" Di Yan said with a smile: "I made twenty coins of money by betting on your bet yesterday."

Li Zhen smiled, "Then I will be competing with the wealthy female."

"go!"

Di Yan said coquettishly: "You have received a reward of 300 taels of gold. My poor woman's monthly money is only 5 jin. You are so embarrassed!"

The two talked and laughed, heading towards the imperial city. As soon as they arrived at the bridge in Tianjin, the sound of wheels came later. Someone was calling him vaguely. Li Zhen turned around and saw dozens of horse-riding warriors guarding a gorgeous carriage coming quickly. The carriage was shining with dazzling luster in the sun, and could be seen from afar.

Li Zhen recognized the carriage, which was the carriage that Princess Taiping was inlaid with gems. He quickly pulled Di Yan to the side of the Tianjin Bridge.

The gorgeous and dazzling carriage slowly stopped in front of Li Zhen and Di Yan. The milky white curtain opened, revealing Princess Taiping's plump face. Her slender eyes seemed to be inlaid with gems, which were particularly shining. Her slender eyebrows were gently raised, making her look particularly energetic.

"Commander Li, I want to congratulate you."

Princess Taiping's mouth bent a beautiful curve, took out a thin, flat white jade box and handed it to Li Zhen, and said with a smile: "This is my small profit. Congratulations to Commander Li for winning the top scholar in the martial arts competition."

Li Zhen took the box, bowed slightly and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your kindness, Li Zhen accepts it."

Princess Taiping's eyes turned to Di Yan again. She was not surprised that Di Yan appeared beside Li Zhen. As if she had known about their relationship, she said with a deep meaning in her smile: "Miss Di and Commander Li are together, I'm afraid someone will be unhappy!"

Princess Taiping chuckled, gently waved her delicate jade hand, the carriage started, and went up to the Tianjin Bridge, and drove into the imperial city along the wide bridge.

Looking at Princess Taiping away, Di Yan raised her eyebrows lightly and asked Li Zhen with confusion, "What does she mean?"

"What are you referring to, this jade box?"

Li Zhen raised the jade box and stared at Di Yan, "Or what she said last?"

Di Yan glanced at the bridge guarding soldiers more than twenty steps away, pointed to the box in Li Zhen's hand, "Be careful, there may not be any good things inside!"

Li Zhen opened the jade box and saw a thin piece of gold foil inside, which looked like a golden leaf, about the size of a palm, and was carved with an autumn pear and a plump red date.

Di Yan was stunned for a moment, "This...it should be a wedding gift! Did she get it wrong?"

Li Zhen sneered and said, "It's not that she is 'being ready for me', she is actually hinting that I am 'being ready for me'."

Di Yan laughed silently, "This princess is quite thoughtful and actually gives you this thing. If you are not in the imperial city, who would she ask for you?"

Di Yan smiled meaningfully and said, "Brother Li, I'm waiting for you in the Lixiang Tavern, go and go back quickly."

"Okay! I'll come out soon."

Li Zhen urged the horse to get on the bridge, whipped the war horse lightly, and spread the strong war horse's four hooves and ran along the two-mile-long Tianjin Bridge towards the Imperial City Duanmen Gate.

Di Yan looked at Li Zhen's burly and tall figure running away, but she was thinking about what Princess Taiping said in her mind. Who would be unhappy if she was with Li Zhen?

.........

Li Zhen did not waste much time in the Ministry of War, which was different from the grand treatment received by the imperial examination and Jinshi. The martial arts examination was much simpler. After passing the martial arts examination, it was just that the Ministry of War registered. Civilians who had no official positions may have to spend more time, but for positions like Li Zhen, it was actually not very meaningful.

Li Zhen did not have to go to the Ministry of War, but considering the need for the expansion of the internal guards, he had to discuss with the Ministry of War. Some civilians who passed the military examination could be converted into internal guards. Secondly, he could also select internal guards from the military scholars who failed the military candidates.

As soon as he came out of the Ministry of War, Li Zhen met Zhang Xi. Zhang Xi had just been promoted to the seventh grade of Qianniu Guard. It is precisely for this reason that he was not interested in joining the inner guard, although he knew that as long as he made a request to enter the inner guard, Li Zhen would definitely agree.

In fact, on the day of receiving the news of the expansion, Li Zhen implicitly hinted at him, and Zhang Xi was also moved for a moment. The inner guard was treated generously and had a high status. However, compared with the looseness and freedom of Qianniu Guard, the inner guard's rules were very strict. Even if it was a hidden guard, he had to obey the call at any time.

This is undoubtedly an unbearable challenge for Zhang Xi, who has always been lazy and free. Besides, he has just been promoted to Qianniu Shicheng and has a hundred brothers under his command. After all, he became the chief. Unless he was allowed to become a lieutenant like Zhao Qiuniang, he would give up his official position and become a soldier. This is undoubtedly a loss-making business. So Zhang Xi thought about it over and over again, and finally gave up the opportunity to join the inner guard.

However, although Zhang Xi gave up, many of Qianniuwei colleagues who had been in the past wanted to enter the inner guard with their relationship. He intercepted Li Zhen when he just came out of the Ministry of War.

Zhang Xi smiled and said, "Brother Li, I know you have the conditions to recruit inner guards, so I don't want to bother you too much. I have two brothers here, both of whom have been in the palace for four or five years, and I have no experience or connections. But they don't want to stay in Qianniuwei and want to find a future. Do you see if you can-"

As soon as Zhang Xi finished speaking, Li Zhen's head grew bigger. These days, he talked to him about lovers. There were dozens of people who wanted to hire connections to enter the inner guards, let alone find Li Zhen's guards directly. If he could not resist the situation, he would not need to replenish fresh blood from the martial arts scholars.

It’s not that Li Zhen is unkind. If he is the guards of the Yulin Army or Qianqi Camp, he can consider it. But the guards of Qianniu Guards, who are called the ‘Embroidered Pillow’, want to squeeze in to the inner guards, how can he accept it?

However, he didn't want to refuse directly, so he frowned and asked, "Neither of these two have any special skills? You also know that I will not accept people who are good at eating, drinking, gamblers."

"Of course I know, so I rejected so many people asking me for help. I think these two people should meet your conditions. Both of them have good martial arts and may be a little worse than riding and shooting, but their swordsmanship is very powerful and can rank in the top 20 in Qianniuwei. They are especially bold and meticulous. You should have heard of it, one is called Song Tao and the other is called Wu Liangsi."

Li Zhen has indeed heard of these two people and seen them. They don’t seem to be the kind of person who is not very good at being a person with bad habits. He thought about it and said with a smile: “Let them find the captain Wang Zongyi. If they can pass Wang Zongyi’s martial arts test, I will have no problem.”

Zhang Xi was overjoyed. Although he had to test it again, Li Zhen made a fuss after all, which gave him a face. He patted Li Zhen and said with a smile: "I know I will make things difficult for me, so I will never go out to promote it, nor will they, please don't worry."

Li Zhen smiled bitterly, "I just give them a chance. Whether they can succeed depends on their own performance."

"Of course, if I were a mediocre person, I wouldn't introduce this to me. Thank you, I'll take the lead."

Zhang Xi bowed and went proudly. Li Zhen thought about it. Although the affairs of the Ministry of War were over, he had to meet Shangguan Wan'er again. It was estimated that at most half an hour, Li Zhen would turn over and slowly rode his horse towards Yingtianmen.
Chapter completed!