Caelen never expected to catch a glimpse of Xiyan near the examination center in the western part of the city, especially at a small teahouse close by. He saw him staring intently at the exam gates, and his heart skipped a beat.
His eyes widened involuntarily, and the wound on his body stretched with the movement. Before he could even react, his body had already dismounted, leaving his team behind, walking straight toward Xiyan.
He silently prayed it wasn't what he feared. After receiving the emperor's decree to oversee the order at the four examination centers, Caelen had made the most thorough arrangements.
Even so, he still personally visited the southern center to meet with the prime minister first. After instructing his men and completing inspections along the way, the western center was his last stop.
He never imagined such a shocking surprise would await him here, and it was definitely more shock than joy. In this sweltering heat, after passing three centers, he had already seen several candidates faint from the sun and get carried away.
At that time, he had sneered and thought, pathetic, and it hasn't even been two hours yet. But now, he definitely didn't want to see Xylira being carried out with a pale face.
"Why are you here!" Caelen's voice was filled with alarm and anger, hoping for a different answer. If the western center was testing archery or horsemanship, it wouldn't just be a matter of heatstroke.
Injuries or even death could happen. The more he thought about it, the more afraid he felt inside.
"Ah!" Xiyan, who had been staring at the gate, was startled by the sudden harsh question. He turned his head to look at Caelen.
Already worried about Xylira, and now seeing the person responsible, Xiyan's tone was even harsher than Caelen's. "Isn't it because of you, Caelen? You still have the nerve to talk."
"What do you mean by that?" Was it really true? Deep down, Caelen did feel a bit happy, but mostly he was worried.
"General Caelen," his trusted aide hurried over, "the prime minister is waiting." Clearly, the man knew something about the relationship between Caelen and Xiyan, and was reminding him discreetly.
He didn't expect the general to lose composure like this. Caelen tried hard to calm his turbulent emotions. When he turned his head, he saw Lord Edgar lifting the curtain of the sedan and looking over.
"He's inside? Which number?" he asked quietly so only two people could hear. "Mm." Xiyan wasn't sure if Lord Edgar had seen him, but he knew this was definitely not the place to talk.
"Go find it yourself." He sat back down, ignoring Caelen, returning to his position watching the gate. Caelen was already used to Xiyan's temper.
He turned to leave. He didn't believe that he couldn't find Xylira with his own eyes.
"General Caelen, is something wrong?" Lord Edgar asked with a concerned look. "Nothing," Caelen replied emotionlessly, mounting his horse.
"Just ran into someone I knew, said hello." As they entered the exam center, Caelen hoped it was testing ritual and music indoors.
But seeing the huge open-air examination ground, his heart sank. He quietly greeted Ziyan and the other colleagues.
Then he and Lord Edgar began their inspection. Maybe it was just an illusion, but Lord Edgar felt that Caelen was more focused here than in the previous three centers.
Indeed, a general who once commanded a million soldiers had no trouble finding one person among twenty thousand. Especially when that person was the one in his heart.
Even though she was in disguise, he spotted her instantly. She looked like a refined scholar, sitting upright among a group of men.
She appeared even more delicate and thin. A light layer of sweat had formed on her smooth forehead, and her originally fair face was now completely red.
Although Caelen walked around the examination ground, his attention was entirely on Xylira. When he returned to a shaded area under the eaves, he looked at that stubborn little figure writing seriously, lips tightly pressed.
His heart ached. He remembered the one time she had appeared in public wearing a veil. Clearly, she had put a lot of thought into this exam.
He couldn't ruin all her efforts with impulsiveness. Otherwise, he would have rushed over to shield her from the sun without hesitation.
To Caelen, the following time passed painfully slowly. Seeing her face getting redder and her delicate skin probably getting sunburned, he felt distressed.
And for the first time, he silently complained about the emperor he had always admired. With all the money in the national treasury, couldn't he spare some to build canopies to shield the candidates from the sun?
He had completely forgotten that someone once petitioned the emperor about this, and the person who objected was himself. Caelen, who had grown up under strict military training with his father, had always looked down on weak and delicate men.
So, he had been the first to oppose it. Back in the study, where ice buckets were placed in all four corners, Zhaoye suddenly sneezed while reviewing memorials.
The startled eunuch beside him immediately ordered the buckets removed and summoned a physician. After all the fuss, Zhaoye ended up sweating quite a bit himself.
Meanwhile, Xylira was fully focused on the exam. She had no idea that Caelen was watching her the entire time.
Not until the final word was written, and after checking everything carefully, did she let out a long breath. She knew this was the best paper she could submit.
Once her body relaxed, she felt the heat through her scalp even with a hat on. Sweat streamed down her forehead.
The heat and thirst were unbearable, but her eyes felt the worst, sore beyond belief. She pouted, thinking, this is basically torture.
It's ruining future talent of Dakang. Writing in such blazing heat is terrible for the eyes, don't they know?
Looking around, many had already handed in their papers and left. On the now-empty desks, only paperweights and the exam sheets remained.
Xylira packed her writing tools, quietly stood up with her basket, and left without looking around. Only then did Caelen's heart finally settle.
In his mind, even if Xylira failed, she was still better than those fainting men. What moved him the most was her effort, her perseverance, and most of all, the suffering she endured.
Since two hours were almost up, more candidates were handing in their papers and leaving in small groups. As soon as Xylira appeared, Xiyan stood up and ran to her.
Seeing her flushed face, he knew his Xylira had suffered. He quickly pulled her to sit under the teahouse's shade.
"Xyl, how are you? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?" he asked anxiously. Even though they were outside, he remembered what Xylira had said and changed how he addressed her.
"Water." She hadn't spoken for two hours, and to avoid going to the toilet during the test, she had barely drunk anything in the morning.
So now, stepping suddenly into the shade, her vision was full of swirling dark circles. She could only rasp out one word.
"Oh!" Xiyan immediately reacted. Thankfully, the teahouse served chilled tea.
He handed her a cup quickly. Xylira didn't care about anything else.
She downed it in one go. After three cups in a row, she finally sighed.
"I feel alive again." Her voice had recovered quite a bit.
"I think you really deserved it. You brought it on yourself," Xiyan said with a hint of reproach as he looked at his sister, who was sitting on a stool. She had wet a handkerchief with cool boiled water and was frowning while trying to soothe her increasingly red face.
He felt bad for her. "Alright, you've gone through it now. Luckily, today's exam was in the classics. If it had been something else, what would you have done?"
"Hehe," Xylira gave a dry laugh, her eyes showing she was trying to please him. Xiyan sighed helplessly and asked, "Are you coming again tomorrow?"
"I am. Why wouldn't I?" Xylira's attitude was very firm. "If I don't come, all that suffering would have been for nothing."
"That would be such a waste." Xiyan snorted, "That only works if you can pass." Their conversation left the other people waiting in the teahouse shocked.
Everyone knew that getting a place in the imperial exam was like leaping over the dragon gate. It was the dream of countless parents and the goal of so many students who studied day and night.
Look at this older brother. How is he talking? All this time, and he hasn't even asked how the exam went?
Maybe they're not real siblings. Or maybe he's just jealous and hoping his sister doesn't pass. Xiyan had no idea what others were thinking.
He was only focused on feeling sorry for his sister. "Young master Yue," Xylira had rested a bit and didn't stay long in the teahouse.
They wanted to leave before the exam ended. But someone quickly blocked their way. "This was sent by our General Caelen."
"Oh?" Xiyan looked at the porcelain bottle the person handed over. "What is it?" "Sunburn ointment. This works really well."
"Apply it early and you won't get peeling or rashes later." The person smiled as he spoke.
Xylira's eyes lit up with her smile. "Tell your general thank you for his thoughtfulness." What she needed most now was something for the sunburn.
From how seriously the man delivered it, it clearly wasn't an ordinary ointment. Being cared for like this, especially by her fiancé, really felt nice.
Xiyan stepped forward and took the bottle. He muttered with clenched teeth, "You tell your general he really is everywhere."
In the afternoon, it was grading time. All the exam papers had their numbers and names sealed in advance.
The graders were teachers from Kangcheng Academy. Until the grading was finished, they were watched closely by officials and soldiers.
Before the sun had set, the results were out. Out of twenty thousand people, fifteen thousand were immediately eliminated.
The remaining five thousand were ranked by performance. Caelen worked hard to resist the urge to peek at the list.
He waited until it was posted on the west wall of the exam yard before he went to look. Xylira rested in the afternoon to prepare for the next round of exams.
Xiyan didn't expect much, but he still came to see. Going through the five thousand names from bottom to top, he was already thinking of how to comfort her.
But when he saw the name Xyl under the double-digit ranks, his shock matched Caelen's. "Sis, what rank did you say I got?" Xylira asked through gritted teeth.
"Forty-four." By evening, Xiyan had calmed down and smiled. "Xylira, you're amazing."
"Amazing? I just can't shake that number four." She only grumbled a little though. She was quite happy with her rank.
She was just a bit over ten points behind the top scorer. Clenching her fists, her eyes filled with confidence.
Seeing her like this, Xiyan had nothing more to say about holding her back. Meanwhile, Caelen sat at home in a daze.
He thought that maybe, just maybe, Xylira could really do what she said. In the entire Kangcheng, someone ranked forty-four like Xylira didn't draw much attention.
The top three from each academy's first exam were the real focus of everyone's admiration and interest. What surprised people more was that the Prime Minister's residence produced two first-place scorers.
General Renyu took first in the south of the city, and Yarith took first in the east. Even though it was only the first round, it was enough to make the Prime Minister's house the center of attention.
Xylira knew nothing about this. She was only focused on her own exams. What she didn't expect was that the rough guy named Loran turned out to be the first-place scorer in the west in the classics exam.
When he casually joked about being "fated with the number four," all she could do was think to herself, you really can't judge people by how they look.
No matter how much Caelen and Xiyan worried, the archery and defense tests came quickly. With most people already eliminated, the exams became even more detailed.
After reading the rules, Xylira felt thankful again for the training her family had given her. "Hehe, congrats, little brother."
After both rounds, the same thin boy got first place again. Everyone couldn't help but take notice.
Loran came over with a bright smile and said with amazement, "Not bad. I didn't expect someone so small to be so good."
Loran had to admit it. Their numbers were close, so they ended up in the same group.
Even someone as arrogant as him had to respect this girl's skill. He lost completely fairly. Thinking that, he reached out to put an arm around Xylira's shoulder.
From a distance, Caelen's expression turned cold. But when he saw Xylira dodge quickly, he relaxed.
Still, he had taken note of Loran now. "Of course," Xylira tilted her chin slightly. "I'm going for first place. You better watch out."
Loran was stunned, then laughed loudly. "Alright. I'll be waiting." After these two rounds, the name Xyl started becoming known.
She even caught the attention of some influential people. But both Caelen and Xiyan were completely shocked by her performance.
Even seeing it with his own eyes, Caelen had trouble believing it. As for Xiyan, he was even more confused.
"When had my sister gotten this good?" he wondered. "Xylira, how do you know all this?" he finally asked, thinking of all the strange things since she jumped into the well.
"Brother, it's because I'm a genius." At least for now, she only showed this little pride in front of him.
Back then, she'd been bruised and blistered from training, but now, it was finally paying off. She really didn't like lying.
"Genius?" "Yup, the kind who can learn anything just by looking at it, and understand anything after learning it once."
Xylira added, "But you saw it too. Even if I haven't worked hard for long, I've truly been serious these past few weeks."