The bronze carriage had been traveling for an unknown period of time. The old man was still sitting on the carriage, looking at the dark city that was getting closer and closer in front of him.
"Wangjing, the capital of Da Qi, well, this city is quite impressive!"
This bronze carriage was driving on the official road outside Wangjing City. It is said that the shape and style of this carriage are very different from the carriages in Qi. It looks very abrupt and eye-catching on the road, but both pedestrians and vehicles on the official road The horse seemed to turn a blind eye to the carriage.
Not only that, every time the bronze carriage approached, the bustling carriages and horses on the official road seemed to unintentionally give way to one side of the road, and only returned to normal after the bronze carriage passed. No matter whether they were driving, riding, or walking, they were not even aware of it.
Even the city guards who were responsible for checking pedestrians at the city gate couldn't see the bronze carriage. They gave way to each other in unison. After the bronze carriage passed, they started to question those who were leaving the city and entering the city again.
After entering the city, the bronze carriage slowed down amid the bustling crowds on the streets of Wangjing. After turning a few turns, it entered a neat and quiet street.
This street is extremely clean, and there are no shops doing business on both sides. The tall pink and white walls extend along both sides of the street. It is obvious that the walled courtyards on both sides should be the residences of princes, ministers or wealthy families. The street outside this street is very busy with people coming and going, but there are not even half a pedestrian on this street. It seems that the family I want to go to is already waiting, and has already ordered the street to be cleaned in front of the door, and is specially cleaning the street. Wait for this bronze carriage to arrive.
Qian Mansion, the residence of Qian Jiangyun, the Prime Minister of Da Qi, is exactly where this bronze carriage is going.
The gate of Qian's Mansion has been open for a long time. With the power of the prime minister, usually only the emperor issued an edict to allow the Qian family to open the middle gate. Now not only the middle gate is wide open, but the courtyard of the mansion is filled with people standing in darkness. Almost They were all wearing plain robes and were waiting there quietly.
However, with Qian Jiangyun's powerful position, he could not stand at the top among this crowd.
At the front of the crowd stood two people.
The one at the front was a slightly stout middle-aged man in a beige brocade robe. Although this man was standing in the Qian Mansion, Qian Jiangyun, the prime minister, did not recognize him.
Standing behind is a middle-aged man in black robes and black beard, who is in his fifties and has a thin face. This man in black robes is the great-grandfather of Qian Jiangyun, and he is a Qi refiner of Wuling Sect, a large practice. Disciple, due to serious injuries in the early years, had no choice but to return to Qian's home from the place of practice.
Although Qian Jiangyun is a master of officialdom, he doesn't know much about spiritual practice. Originally, he regarded this great-grandfather as a god-like figure, but today he saw his great-grandfather was interested in the beige-robed man who appeared inexplicably. If the person's attitude is very humble, you know that this person must be an extraordinary person. He neither dares to neglect nor asks more questions, and just waits respectfully behind his great-grandfather.
The bronze carriage turned in front of the gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion and then went straight into the Prime Minister's Mansion. The old man was still sitting on the carriage and had no intention of getting off the carriage when he passed the door.
"coming."
Upon seeing Qian Jiangyun's great-grandfather, he immediately lifted the front of his robe and knelt down. Qian Jiangyun followed suit and knelt down. After kneeling down, he glanced back and saw a dark figure. Everyone in the big courtyard fell to their knees.
At first, the man in beige robe just stood in front of people and bowed his hands to the carriage, but for some reason, he trembled all over and immediately lifted his clothes and knelt down.
The carriage stopped, and the old man got off the carriage and walked to these kneeling people.
When he got closer, he heard the man in beige robe say:
"The junior Qi Guo and the Tian family, Tian Shuangzhi, have met the seniors. The Tian family learned that the Wuling Sect hosted the election for Prime Minister Qian's family, and the junior came here specially to watch the ceremony."
People from the Tian family! Why did the people from the Tian family also come to watch the Qian family's first election? It's interesting, the old man thought.
Before I came out of the sect this time, someone in the sect told me that the Tian family in Qi State was becoming more and more powerful, and it seemed that some inappropriate ideas had emerged, and the way they did things was a bit ugly.
It is said that there were originally four jade tablets in Daqi, but less than three hundred years ago, now only the Qian family is left. It's interesting, but a little impatient!
"Well, the Tian family is really thoughtful, please get up."
"Thank you, senior."
After the man in beige robes finished speaking, he stood up and stood aside respectfully.
The middle-aged man in black robe who was kneeling behind him secretly glanced at the old man who got off the carriage while Tian Shuangzhi was talking. After seeing the old man's face clearly, he felt a little relieved and saw that the Tian family member had already stood up. , the man in black robe hurriedly knelt there and said loudly:
"Qian Shoulin, a junior member of the Jiuxuan Sect of the Wuling Sect, has met Uncle Tang."
After saying that, he kowtowed there repeatedly.
Unexpectedly, there is someone here who recognizes him. He is also a disciple of the Wuling Sect. Originally, the old man surnamed Tang planned to ask everyone to get up, but now he couldn't help but look at the kneeling man in black robe curiously and asked:
"I didn't expect you to be a disciple of the Five Spirits Sect. Which fellow disciple of Jiuxuan are you a disciple of?"
"This junior is stupid and has never been included in the door by the seniors in the sect. He only walks in the master's sect."
"Um"
Elder Tang nodded, but he found that there was a look of defeat on the face of this Five Spirits disciple, so he secretly used his spiritual power to explore it, and then frowned and asked:
"Why did you get so injured all over your body?"
When asked this question, the man named Qian Shoulin looked miserable and said:
"When I was out on business, I was seriously injured by a spirit in the mountains. I could no longer make progress on the great road. I had no choice but to seek help from Elder Jin in the sect. Then I returned to my Qian family from the sect. I just thought that since there was no hope of practicing, It’s better that these bones go to the ancestor’s grave in the future.”
After hearing this, Old Man Tang sighed, nodded and said:
"It's hard for you, get up. I don't like these red tapes, so get up."
He looked around and said to Qian Shoulin: "I have accepted this errand this time. I have many places to go, and you can't delay here. Since your family has made preparations, let's get started."
"yes!"
(Selection A)
Every sixty years, a period is chosen only once, so it is called the first selection.
The children selected in the A selection will be taken away if they wish. It is hard to say what kind of cultivation they will be able to achieve in the future. Some of the children who were taken away will be sent back in a few years, and some have been cultivating for more than a hundred years, but don't they come back with injuries all over their bodies?
Look at that Qian Shoulin. He is injured at the root. Although he looks about fifty, if you look closely, you can see that his age has already appeared between his eyebrows, but it is not eye-catching. You must know that he is already over a hundred years old, and his hard training for nearly two decades has finally come to nothing!
Speaking of which, it's not bad that he escaped with his life. How many monks encountered danger when they went out and were never heard from again.
well! Cultivation is not so easy!
If Qian Shoulin had not gone to the sect to practice, he would have had children and grandchildren in this wealthy family, enjoying family happiness. Even if he had died long ago, it would have been a worthwhile life, and it would not be like this. Sad.
Thinking of this, Old Man Tang sat down behind the table that had been prepared by the Qian family. At this time, Na Tian Shuangzhi and Qian Shoulin stood on both sides. Only the prime minister Qian Jiangyun was directing his family in the courtyard.
Seeing the respect on Qian Shoulin's face, Qian Jiangyun's attentiveness, and the solemnity of the Qian family in the yard, old man Tang sighed again in his heart, alas! For a family like this that has the jade card of being chosen, it is a good thing that they can produce a chosen child after all!
Thinking of this, he glanced at Tian Shuangzhi, who was standing by the side, and thought to himself, if no child of the Qian family was selected this time, the Tian family must be satisfied. I heard that no one from the Qian family was selected in the last election. From the looks of it, Qian Shoulin doesn't have many years left to live. If he dies, the Qian family may not be able to survive for long.
If that were the case, the Tian family would really be the only one in Qi State.
Just as I was thinking about it, I saw that all the children of the Qian family who were waiting for selection were standing together in the courtyard. There were quite a few of them. A rough count should be more than forty. They were all standing there timidly. From time to time, he would look back in the crowd to look for his parents.
Old Man Tang took out a book and turned to a page. Just as he was about to raise his head to speak, he saw Qian Shoulin step forward and respectfully present a jade plaque with both hands.
Elder Tang took the jade tablet, inspected the lines on it, then pressed it in the ink pad and printed it on the book. He returned the jade tablet to Qian Shoulin and said:
"let's start"
The first one to come up was a little girl. She was six or seven years old and quite smart. However, the Qian family's big battle today seemed to frighten the little girl. She knelt in front of the old man Tang. The little girl seemed unaware. At a loss.
"Hurry and say hello to the Immortal Master." Qian Jiangyun saw him and said to the side.
"Greetings to the Immortal Master." After hearing this, the little girl quickly knelt down.
Old Man Tang nodded, then stretched out his hand, and a white, greasy and warm Ruyi appeared out of nowhere. He handed the Ruyi to the little girl and said:
"Here, hold it."
The little girl was stunned, but she followed the instructions and held Ruyi's hands in her hands.
In just a moment, there was no change in the little girl's hands.
"Well, put it down." Old Man Tang said and motioned for the little girl to go back.
Seeing that the little girl was still at a loss, Qian Jiangyun waved her back in disappointment.
In this way, these children came forward one by one, kowtowed to the immortal master, held the wish-fulfillment in their hands, and then went back one by one.
Soon, more than thirty children had been tested by Na Yu Ruyi, but unfortunately, no child was selected.
Whenever a child ran back to his parents in the crowd, Mr. Tang could hear a sigh of joy or regret from the crowd.
Elder Tang also noticed that the Wuling disciple named Qian Shoulin looked even more gloomy every time a child turned back. And his junior, the one who is the prime minister, his face is getting more and more ugly.
Only Tian Shuangzhi stood aside. Although he could not see any expression, whenever a child was not selected, his brows seemed to relax a little unnoticeably.
interesting.
However, according to the wishes of the sect, the Qi State cannot allow the Tian family to dominate. Even if no one from the Qian family is selected this time, even if the Qian family finally disappears in a hundred or more years, by then, this Qi State can only suddenly have a few more jade tablets for the first-class selection. People from my Wuling Sect will still come to your Qi State to preside over the first-class selection for them.
Don't go too far. Even if you kill people according to the national laws of Qi State, it does not violate the taboos in the spiritual world, but if the sect really pays attention to it, I am afraid that the entire Qi State will have to change its national surname!
The old man Tang was thinking as he looked at the remaining children in the courtyard. There were not many, just a few.
Until the last child came to salute Mr. Tang, there was still no child in the Qian family who could pass the first election.
Qian Shoulin's face could be said to be extremely gray, and the wrinkles on his face were more prominent. He lowered his head and his figure became increasingly rickety.
This made Old Man Tang feel a little unbearable in his heart. Before that, he had planned to make a disciple of the same sect a disciple if one of these children could catch his eye. Unfortunately, although he had this intention, the children here were not. All useless.
Let’s see how this last one goes!
The last one is Qian Chao, and this is also a special arrangement of his ancestor Qian Shoulin.
"Greetings to the Immortal Master"
Elder Tang saw a boy who looked to be eight or nine years old approaching and kneeling down. After saying hello, he knelt straight.
Such clear eyes! This was Mr. Tang's first impression of Qian Chao.
This child has a pretty face, and the most eye-catching thing is his eyes, which are as dark as paint and very lively.
Old Man Tang is an accomplished person in spiritual practice. He is very good at observing people. When he saw Qian Chao's eyes, he couldn't help but admire him secretly in his heart. He thought that this is a smart child. Seeing the look in this child's eyes, he also I have only seen it in the eyes of my granddaughter.
But soon Mr. Tang saw the clues. This child had a decent appearance and was extremely smart. His eyes were bright and bright, but there was a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
Elder Tang concluded that this child must be a precocious child. His depth of mind was far beyond that of ordinary people, and his thinking was so serious that no one in the Qian family present could match it.
But the precocious and intelligent son of a wealthy family may not be a very lucky person!
In the eyes of Mr. Tang, this child had a faint aura of being out of the world. Well, this is not a good thing. I am afraid that this child is destined to die young, and his parents will only be heartbroken.
Thinking of this, Old Man Tang raised his eyes and looked at Qian Shoulin, who had his head lowered. If this child was still raised in Qian's family, he would probably die soon. At this time, he had made up his mind that if the child had even some spiritual roots, he would take the child away. With the child's intelligence, he might be able to achieve something.
Even if there is no achievement, at least it can help this child avoid this premature death and allow the Qian family to live in peace for a few more years, which will be considered worthy of this injured disciple of the Five Spirits who returned home.
Thinking of this, Old Man Tang said to Qian Chao in front of him:
"Come, take this wishful thinking in your hands."
Qian Chao reached out and held the jade Ruyi in his hands as he said.
After a while, Yu Ruyi remained unchanged.
Old Man Tang deliberately let Qian Tide praise him for a while, but the jade Ruyi remained unchanged.
Qian Shoulin was completely discouraged at this time. He lowered his head, his shoulders seemed to have slumped, and he had lost his energy. The black robe he wore was rustling and shaking, as if a hundred years of time had suddenly caught up with him. The black beard on his face has turned gray, making him look even more aged.
If no one is selected for the Qian family this time, the next time will be sixty years later. With Qian Shoulin's remaining life, he will definitely not survive until then. The most he can do is protect his Qian family. Just over ten years.
After he died, the Qian family was really in turmoil, and the Tian family was always watching.
How could he not know what would happen to the three families who had the same jade cards as the Qian family before? The whole family was killed, and the blood stains were still before his eyes. Outsiders only knew that the three families had ulterior motives and had disloyal intentions. They were impeached and imprisoned. When they were convicted and sentenced, the whole country was shocked, and the onlookers were overwhelmed.
How did they know that no one from those three companies was selected in the first round several times in a row! Even if one of the three of them is selected, no matter how inferior his qualifications are, his family will not suffer such a disaster.
No one from the Qian family was selected in the last election, and this is still the case this time. So who can guarantee that a child will be selected next time? What's more, if the Tian family pulls some tricks... Sigh, is the cigarette line of ancestors of the Qian family really going to be cut off?
In this case, let these future generations make plans early!
Although Qian Shoulin felt sad in his heart, Tian Shuangzhi, who was also standing by, was obviously different.
Tian Shuangzhi's eyebrows seemed to have completely relaxed. The results of the Qian family's first-class election were not much different from what the Tian family had expected. Before this first-class election, the Tian family had spent some time on these children of the Qian family. As a result, After discovering that there were no children to look at, he felt relieved, and now he could just wait for the Qian family's seriously injured Qi refining monk to die. As long as he died, the Qian family... hum!
Only Qian Chao looked at the jade Ruyi in his hand. He couldn't tell whether he was melancholy or happy in his eyes. He was in a daze. When he understood, he looked at the old man Tang inquiringly.
Seeing the signal from the old man Tang, the child put the jade Ruyi in his hand back, gave a salute, and prepared to get up and go back.
"Wait a minute"
The old man Tang opened his mouth to stop the tide of money.
He didn't pay attention at first, and felt a little regretful in his heart. When he was about to take back the jade Ruyi magic weapon, he discovered that there were some bright marks on the jade Ruyi.
This slow sentence surprised both Qian Shoulin and Tian Shuangzhi, and they couldn't help but look up.
Elder Tang took the Ruyi jade and flicked it with one hand, and the bright spots disappeared. He handed the Ruyi jade to Qian Chao.
"Here, hold it tight, hold it with both hands."
Old Man Tang could see the flash of pride on Tian Shuangzhi's face just now. He couldn't help but sneer in his heart. Since the Tian family's actions are getting more and more outrageous, let's take advantage of the Qian family and the Qian family with low qualifications today. Children, just beat the Tian family and see if the Tian family can understand what I did today.
Qian Chao obediently held the jade Ruyi with both hands.
In the courtyard of the Qian Mansion, everyone was having some minor discussions, but now it was quiet. Everyone was looking at the child kneeling there and the jade Ruyi clenched in his hand.
Elder Tang nodded to Qian Chao, and Qian Chao handed the jade Ruyi back again.
"this……"
Qian Shoulin didn't know what to say when he saw the change in Yu Ruyi.
On the jade Ruyi, wherever Qian Chao's fleshy palms came into contact, there was a layer of hazy golden light. Other places remained unchanged and remained the same. At first glance, it looked like there were two golden handprints printed on the Ruyi.
Old Man Tang sighed in his heart. This child's spiritual roots were really bad. It was just dispensable. He wanted to help the Qian family, but he really didn't know if it would be a good thing for the child's future.
He glanced at Tian Shuangzhi, who was standing by the side, and saw that his face was no longer as calm as before, so Mr. Tang still made up his mind.
"Between what is possible and what is not."
Old Man Tang said to Qian Shoulin.
