At three quarters of noon the next day, the final selection for the "Jichun Craftsmen's Guild" was finally settled.
When the results of the "Spring Appreciation of Silver Coins" were read out from the first floor of Wujue Temple, the people present were stunned for a moment and then were greatly surprised.
I have to say that this year’s “Jichun Craftsmen’s Guild” is simply so interesting.
In the past, all the competitions for shortlisted exhibits were based on your vote and my vote, and it was hard to distinguish between equals.
But this time, among the ten shortlisted exhibits, the votes for the bottom nine were considered normal, but the number of votes received by the first and second places dropped dramatically.
This is something that has never happened to the "Jichun Craftsmen's Guild" for decades.
The head of Wujue Temple read: "The Panlong Chariot of Ye State was among the top ten, and the number of silver votes for the spring reward was four hundred and sixteen."
The second place, Thousand Spiders, only scored eighty-three.
The remaining three, four to ten are also dozens of votes.
More than 200 wealthy gentry, merchants and craftsmen from various countries voted together, but they cast such a disparity in votes. This was truly the first time in the "Jichun Craftsmen's Union".
In the past, when the votes were balanced, the difference was only a dozen or twenty at most. You must know that there are hundreds of kinds of people, each with their own preferences, aesthetics and requirements.
But this time, the Panlong Chariot built by Ye State was almost unanimously recognized.
The leader said: "Congratulations to the top ten. Tomorrow will be the finals for the best. I hope you will go to Qianshu Palace on time."
"Thousand Tree Hall, Thousand Tree Hall! Ah Qing, we are shortlisted! We are shortlisted!"
Mu Gaoyi and Shi Hetong excitedly grabbed Zheng Quchi's arms and jumped up and down excitedly, so happy that they didn't care about their image.
Zheng Quchi was also happy: "I'm a finalist. How much bonus will the top ten get?"
She looked at them expectantly.
"Aqing, there is no prize money yet. The top ten finalists have to compete for the top spot. Only after they are defeated, the conference will give money and silk to the unsuccessful craftsmen as an encouragement and reward." Mu Gaoyi explained to her.
When he heard that he had to lose the election to get money, Zheng Quchi's happiness was immediately reduced by half.
"...You still have to lose the election."
Wei Yao stepped forward with a smile, and Wang Zebang also showed a rare smile. Runtu still had a poker face, but the relaxation between his eyebrows also showed that he was happy to be shortlisted.
"Oh, can you be so happy just by being shortlisted? The craftsmen of Ye State have really never seen the world. Think about it, they are just the votes of a group of profit-seeking business people. How can it be accurate? Tomorrow will be the real decision of the craftsmen. .”
A tall man with a mean face sneered at the side and passed by Zheng Quchi and the others.
Zheng Quchi was insulted for no reason. She asked, "No, who is he? Does he have to care whether others are happy or not?"
"Yes, I think he is just jealous that we won the first place in the finals." Makoto agreed with her unhappily.
Shi Hetong recalled for a while and remembered: "It seems that he was among the top ten... By the way, he is Yu Manqi, the disciple of Zuo Mo, the master craftsman of the Southern Chen Kingdom."
Zuo Mo, the master craftsman of Nanchen State?
When Zheng Quchi heard the name, her expression changed suddenly. Her somewhat sulky eyes before became long and deep, and she looked at Yu Manqi's back.
It turns out that he is that person’s apprentice.
Zuo Mo, the Nanchen Kingdom craftsman who harmed Uncle Mu and his senior brother.
Although she has fulfilled Uncle Mu's last wish, the revenge of Uncle Mu and the others has not yet been avenged... If she has the chance, she will definitely meet Zuo Mo and see what kind of person he is.
But looking at the arrogant look on his disciple's face, he would only be an ugly and merciless person.
Uncle Mu and the others were defeated by the deceitful and vicious Zuo Mo at the "Jichun Craftsmen's Guild" back then, so this time she came to see how much his apprentice weighed.
——
After the exhibits were shortlisted, they still needed to be installed. Naturally, Wang Zebang and Mu Gaoyi took care of this matter. After the matter was put aside, Zheng Quchi and Runtu went to the "good residence" arranged by the temple to rest.
It should be mentioned here that all food and accommodation in the temple are charged, but
If you are among the top ten, all fees will be waived.
"lady."
Back at Shanju, Fu Rong came to the door, thinking that since he had never shown up before, he should be working with Yu Wensheng.
But now he came back, but Yu Wensheng was not there yet, so she asked, "Where is the general?"
Fu Rong looked around and whispered to her: "The general is injured..."
Zheng Quchi's expression tightened: "Why are you injured again?"
Has he been taking pleasure in getting hurt lately?
She then thought about it, no, this is a temple for praying to gods and worshiping Buddha. It is impossible for suspicious persons carrying weapons of destruction to break in on a large scale. If it is an assassin, just like the person before, wouldn't Yu Wensheng be able to solve it easily?
"What the hell does this happen?"
"That's actually true..."
——
Just when Zheng Quchi attracted the attention of most people in the "Jichun Craftsmen's Guild", especially Abbot Miku and Gongshu Jiruo who couldn't help but go, Yu Wensheng started his action.
Fu Rong changed him into a set of black clothes, simply disguised himself, and then broke into the Peacock Tower of Wujue Temple, which was not accessible to outsiders.
The Peacock Pagoda is the book collection and office of the abbot of Wujue Temple. It is three stories high. He successfully reached the Peacock Pagoda using the cover of the dense leaves of trees along the way, and then jumped onto the eaves to enter the second floor.
There was no monk guarding the second-story tower. After entering through the window, he came to the bookshelf where the books were placed.
"Peacock Pagoda, second floor, third row of bookshelves, Julu prepared a rough layout of the field, and reached an agreement with the abbot of Miku of Wujue Temple."
Yu Wensheng's trip to Julu Yongchun City was not to compete with Gongshu Jiruo for a moment, nor was it just for the "Jichun Craftsmen's Guild" organized by Gongshu. It was an urgent letter sent back by Ye Guo. Confidential letter.
When he came to the third row of bookshelves, Yu Wensheng looked at a wooden box placed on it. Is that it?
He stretched out his hand and opened the wooden box. Sure enough, there was a letter lying inside. When he was about to take it away, he heard a "click" sound coming from the wooden shelf, as if a mechanism was activated. Small sound.
If it were an ordinary person, his ears would be weak and he would not be able to hear clearly. However, Yu Wensheng was highly skilled in martial arts and heard the movement immediately.
But it turns out that the wooden box is not just an ordinary storage object.
When the letter inside was taken away, the mechanism would be activated on its own, and a sharp poison-coated arrow shot out quickly, and he turned his head to avoid it.
The arrows bounced heavily into the wooden frame at the rear, causing a lot of noise. The monks guarding the bottom of the tower immediately discovered the clues.
"Who broke into the Peacock Tower?!"
Yu Wensheng glanced at the wooden box and thought to himself, what kind of mechanism is this? Such a slight weight shift can quickly activate the device, and the hiding place is so hidden that there is no trace of it.
He heard the clatter of the stairs and jumped down out of the window. He did not intend to fight with these monks, because he did not want others to notice that it was his hand, and he did not want to leave any evidence afterwards. .
As soon as he landed, the guarding monks who were already guarding the Peacock Tower came out and attacked with fists and sticks. He immediately waved his palms to block them without using any weapons.
When the wind of his palm struck, the monks who were no match for him fell to the ground one after another. Yu Wensheng then spun around and jumped into the air, sucking away an iron rod in the air.
With a wave of his palm, the stick was like a fan and struck at the monks who had gotten up. They were knocked to the ground again.
When Yu Wensheng was about to escape the encirclement of the monks, a flying knife shot out from the window of the second room. This was the monk who had previously chased him up to the tower.
They are good at flying knives with willow leaves, have excellent eyesight and are numerous in number.
He moved to the side, no one was hurt, but he cut off the loose rope of the sugar bag around his waist. Seeing the sugar bag slipping, he knew in his heart that he could not look back or hesitate, but he——
Or he turned around and reached out to grab it.
While holding it in his hand, he was stabbed in the chest.
Blood overflowed on the spot and soaked the entire skirt of his clothes.
He stuffed the sugar bag into
He pulled out the blood-stained lancet and threw it on the ground. Seeing the monk chasing after him again, he jumped and dived into the woods.
After getting rid of the monk's pursuit, Yu Wensheng covered the wound on his chest, and the secret guard immediately stepped forward to treat his wound and apply medicine.
But he had a pale face and eyes as dark as abyss, staring blankly at the sugar bag in his hand.
What happened just now also surprised the secret guards. With the master's skill, he could have left unscathed, but he turned back and was hit by a knife, and they had no time to protect the master.
"My lord..."
Yu Wensheng came to his senses and threw the letter in his hand to them: "Destroy it."
"What? It's ruined, but this..."
This is the layout plan of Shimoda that the Lord finally stole. Why did he destroy it when he turned around?
Yu Wensheng did not explain the reason to them, but he knew that this Tianxia layout map was definitely fake.
But he already guessed where it really was.
"It's bitter, the flying geese leave traces. You confused the public with falsehoods, but in the end you still can't hide them." A bloodthirsty smile appeared on Yu Wensheng's lips.
——
"Broad map?" When Zheng Quchi heard that it was an important matter in the military, he immediately covered his ears: "Forget it, don't tell me. Such an important thing is beyond the control of a little craftsman like me."
Fu Rong agreed: "I shouldn't have told you in the first place."
Zheng Quchi glared at him: "..." I'm just being polite, are you serious about it?
"However, tomorrow the general will go to the Thousand Trees Palace with his wife. In order to prevent the wife from knowing anything, Fu Rong will tell the story now, hoping that the wife can help the general."
"Me?" She pointed to her nose, shook her head quickly and said, "I'm not very good, I don't understand this or that, how can I help your mighty and brave general."
"Madam, tomorrow the Thousand Trees Hall will hold the finals. Abbot Miku, Gongshu Jiruo, and the master craftsmen of the Seven Kingdoms will all be there. You don't have to do anything dangerous. You just need to stand in a noticeable place and attract people. Just someone’s eyes.”
Zheng Quchi swallowed and confirmed: "Me? Attracting everyone's attention?" The corner of her mouth twitched: "You didn't give me a peerless face, how can I attract others?"
Fu Rong was speechless when he heard this. At this time, Yu Wensheng came in with Wang Zebang supporting "Weak". He looked over and said, "As long as you want, you can."
Zheng Quchi looked at him.
"Although I am not here today, I heard that you brought out the suffering and public loss. In the past, they would never show up at the Jichun Craftsmen Guild's finalist competition. You see, even if my wife only participates in one If you enter the finals, you can attract everyone's attention." He smiled softly at her.
Zheng Quchi saw that his face was as white as a ghost, and thinking that he had been sick and injured recently, miserable and disabled, she sighed: "If I do this, can you be less in danger?"
Yu Wensheng paused.
"If you get hurt again, I'm afraid we won't be able to return to Ye Country, so I will do my best to help you." Zheng Quchi said.
It's not that she didn't know how many people were eyeing them. They relied on Yu Wensheng's reputation throughout their journey. Once someone noticed their identity, without Yu Wensheng to support the situation, they might not be able to return to Ye Country at all. , can only bury his bones in a foreign land.
Yu Wensheng held the candy bag tightly in his hand, but with a smile on his face: "When will you be willing to be with me? Before, didn't you think I was a murderous devil?"
When the others saw the general and his wife talking privately, they retreated silently.
Zheng Quchi was silent for a moment and whispered: "I am afraid of your violent nature, and I respect you for guarding your home and country. I am afraid that your hands will be stained with blood, and I know that you are tolerant to me... Yu Wensheng, even if we can't be a real couple, But I also hope that you will be safe and healthy."
Can't we be a real couple?
He opened his eyes hard, the ends of his eyes were stained with redness, and smile lines appeared at the ends. He slowly raised his eyes.
"Get out."
Zheng Quchi's heart trembled, he avoided his sight, walked around him without saying a word and went out.
Although she wished him well with every word, every word was like a thorn in his side.
"Zheng Quchi, there is no me in your eyes, so why should I show mercy to you?"
He looked at the blood-stained sugar bag in his hand, and it wasn't until today that he realized that just such a cheap sugar bag that she had embroidered with a pattern and given away as a gift could make him forget about life and death and take it back.
Her influence had caused him distress.
He had seen his father going crazy and insane because of his mother. He had no one to love and no need for love. Anyone who stood in the way of his progress should be abandoned...
He walked to the candle, held it, stared at the flame quietly for a moment, and finally put it on...
——
After Zheng Quchi came out, he was a little confused and didn't know what he was thinking.
"Aqing, what's wrong with you?" Wei Yao came over.
Outside, he couldn't call her by her real name, lest others hear her.
"Brother Wei, if the general wants to kill me, you must save me." Zheng Quchi said with a sad face.
Wei Yao was amused: "Why did you make the general angry again?"
They didn't know what kind of feelings the general had for his wife, because the general was born without emotions, but they knew how much the general valued his wife.
"I am not a person who cares about gentleness, nor do I know sweet words. Nothing I say is right."
"You just need to coax the general and he won't be angry."
"coax?"
What to coax? .
Her life?
She shivered from the cold and said, "Forget it, I'd better go back and think about tomorrow. Brother Wei, you should go and rest too."
"Hey, Ah Qing, I'll leave it to you to take care of the general tomorrow." He said solemnly.
Zheng Quchi suddenly felt the hardship and danger of tomorrow. It was her first time participating in such a task, and she was somewhat nervous: "I will do my best within my ability."
Wei Yao knew she was scared and patted her shoulder: "Aqing, trust the general."
She couldn't help but ask, "Why are you and Wang Zebang so obsessed with Yu Wensheng?"
He asked her to trust the general, which meant that in his mind, Yu Wensheng was a person worthy of trust and trust.
