The Crown Prince is Actually a Princess! SEASON 1

Chapter 61 - Close Combat in Full View

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A total of thirty-six young talents participated in the Competition for the Recruitment of the Consort Husband, and now that Fan Xiao Wen was dead, only thirty-five of them remained.
Due to the large number of people, Murong Ci and He Guang, the Minister of the Ministry of Etiquettes and Rituals, agreed that the Martial Arts Test would be divided into two days.

In the first match, the thirty-six young talents were supposed to be divided into groups of three people each, forming a total of twelve groups.
They would fight each other in each group, determining only twelve winners to enter the final match, the following day.
However now there was one person missing for one group, and they decided that the group would have had only two people in it.

The Martial Arts Test would take place in the Wenhua Palace, which was a magnificent and majestic Hall.
It had always been used as a Palace venue for Grand Ceremonies, such as the Emperor's Throne Ascending Ceremony, the Emperor's Wedding Ceremony, the Queen's Proclamation, and so on.

In addition, the Three Major Festivals of the Year, Longevity, New Year's Day, and Winter Solstice, were also held here.
During those events, the Emperor would proclaim civil and military officials, congratulare to them, and held a banquet for the Princes and Ministers of the Country.

The venue in front of the Palace was wide, and the Martial Arts Test was set here.
The officials of the Ministry of Etiquettes and Rituals set up three carved chairs and a small table on the corridor of the Hall, and a red carpet was placed under the front steps of the Hall for the Martial Arts Test matches.

There were many chairs on both sides for the ministers of civil and military affairs, and their families to sit and watch the matches.

On this occasion, the family members of the participants to the Competition were given special permission by His Majesty the Emperor to enter the Palace to watch the Competitions.
This was mainly to demonstrate the grandeur of the Recruitment of the Consort Husband and the importance of this event.

Differently from the scorching sky and shining sun of the previous few days, today's weather was cooler and the sky was covered with gloomy hazy clouds.

Before the starting time came, the Wenhua Hall was already full of people, and the voices were noisy.
He Guang, Minister of the Ministry of Etiquettes and Rituals, led a group of colleagues and servants to prepare the event.
He gathered the young talents together, and explained the way of drawing lots to determine who would compete with whom in the same group:
the number of groups would have been written on thirty-five pieces of paper, and each of them would draw one of them, determining the groups.
If three people draw into the same group, they would compete with each other.
Whether they drew a strong opponent or a weaker one required a bit of luck.

After the lottery was drawn, officials from the Ministry of Etiquettes and Rituals started the registration of the names.
Some people were happy, some were sad, some were indifferent, some were calm, some sighed, and some smiled...

The hour was approaching, and everyone was waiting anxiously.
Finally, the Crown Prince and the Royal King arrived.