Although the Youzhou Zhao family, together with the Xiangyang Chen family and the Jinling Shen family, are known as the "three great clans of the Da Qi Dynasty", their origins are different from those of the other two families.
The ancestors of the Chen family, the Shen family, and the exterminated Lu family were either instrumental in helping Emperor Taizu establish the country, or they had made outstanding contributions in the war against foreign enemies, and were therefore awarded the title of "Gong of the Country" and received The iron certificate of fiefdom and alchemy passed down from generation to generation.
The history of the Zhao family in Youzhou is much longer, dating back thousands of years.
At that time, the Zhao family established themselves as kings in the north and established the "Great Yan Kingdom".
The Chu Dynasty in the Central Plains had launched wars against them more than once, and wanted to incorporate this "Great Yan Kingdom" into its own territory, but it failed.
Until more than four hundred years ago, Emperor Taizu of Daqi, who was born as a beggar, suddenly rose up in troubled times.
Holding the "Tai'a Sword" in hand, he led the army to overthrow the Chu Dynasty, defeated all the princes, and then ascended the throne as emperor in Luojing City, which shocked the world.
Next, he waved his riding whip and pointed it at Dayan Kingdom.
After all, for a hero like him who aspires to dominate the world, how can he allow others to snore on the side of the bed?
The King of Yan in the north was also afraid of his power.
In order to avoid war, King Yan chose to give up his title and surrender to Emperor Taizu of Qi.
In addition, the people of Yan also gave up their original belief in the "God of Fire". From then on, like the people of the Central Plains, they believed in "Tai Shang Haotian" and "Emperor Ziwei" - it is said that this is Emperor Taizu A condition that I firmly refused to compromise back then.
Emperor Taizu canonized the surrendered King of Yan as "Gong of the State of Yan" and allowed him to retain his private army and autonomy over the Youzhou area to a certain extent, and even allowed him to appoint parts of Youzhou on his own Officials; when the imperial court formulates policies related to Youzhou, it will also refer to the opinions of Duke Yan.
No other aristocratic family has such great power.
In addition, the current Duke of Yan, Zhao Changying, has the strength of a saint.
To exaggerate a little, Youzhou can be regarded as a "state within a state" within the Daqi Dynasty.
When Zhao Yan was a child, when she heard the stories of her ancestors from her elders, she imagined more than once that if the King of Yan had not surrendered to Emperor Taizu of Da Qi, wouldn't she be a princess now?
Of course, although she does not have the title of princess now, her status and treatment in the family are actually the same as those of a real princess.
…………
At this moment, Zhao Yan looked at her disheveled father lying in the pavilion, smelling the strong aroma of wine in the air, and felt extremely complicated.
She has been in the border guarding army for these years and witnessed the Qi court dismantling the Zhao family's private army bit by bit like a soft knife slicing meat. Prophecies such as "Fire will dominate when it rises".
She didn't think her father had any rebellious intentions.
She only felt that this should be a way for the imperial court to weaken the power of the clan, just like the recent investigation of tax evasion and tax evasion at Jinling Shen's industry.
But under such circumstances, Yan Guogong Zhao Changying was indifferent to this and acted extremely decadent. He didn't even bother to stop the rumors and allowed them to spread everywhere.
"Yan'er, there's something I forgot to tell you before," Zhao Changying burped and continued, "When something happened in Qingzhou Mansion last month, I went there and had a fight with the Yishan Snow Girl. After a fight, both sides suffered losses - she returned to the ice cave and fell into a deep sleep, and some of my meridians were frozen by her spell, making it difficult for me to move my true energy normally.
"So when you come to the capital, you should try to be more prudent in your actions. If you offend someone you can't afford to offend, I won't be able to support you like before."
Zhao Yan folded her hands in front of her chest, narrowed her eyes and said, "Yishan Snow Girl... a majestic Saint of Qi, can't even defeat such a little-known ghost?"
"Ghosts don't necessarily mean the stronger they are, the greater their fame," Zhao Changying chuckled and responded, "For example, Kong Xuan Sanren, no one knew of his existence until he held the ceremony to be promoted to Ghost King. "
Zhao Yan did not speak immediately.
She once learned about the disaster in Qingzhou Mansion from the imperial palace newspapers and other people's discussions. Kong Xuan Sanren's meticulous plan and the method of erasing his own cause and effect made her shudder.
But what impressed her most in this incident was the name "Gu Xu".
She really couldn't figure out what kind of method a monk who had just been promoted to the third level used to escape from a certain death situation set by a "fierce god" level ghost.
Previously, she sent her maid to challenge Gu Xu in the Lantern Festival Arena, which was driven by this curiosity to a certain extent.
"I heard that the young man named Gu Xu has been very popular in Luo Jing City recently -"
"——I suggest you not to provoke this person for the time being."
Before Zhao Yan could finish speaking, Zhao Changying interrupted her.
He was still lying lazily on the chair, but the dazed drunkenness in his eyes disappeared without a trace in an instant, and his tone of voice suddenly became serious.
"Why?" Zhao Yan frowned, "Is he very powerful?"
She had never seen her father treat a young man with such an attitude.
In the past, even if she wanted to go to the prince for a duel with a spear, Zhao Changying would only say lightly: "Be gentle, don't kill or maim him."
Zhao Changying cleared his throat and said, "I once met this Gu Xu on the observatory of Luo Si Shou. When he appeared, Luo Si Shou not only stood up to greet him, but also greeted him politely. Pour him tea with your own hands...even I don't get this kind of treatment!"
"Does he have a deep background?" Zhao Yan guessed.
Her tone sounded unsure.
After all, as we all know, Luo Sishou of the Exorcist Department has always been an aloof, arrogant, and self-respecting person. Regardless of whether they are other saints or relatives of the emperor, he would not stand up to greet them, let alone pour them tea himself.
Only the emperor's imperial decree could make him move his butt a little.
But in this world, what background can be deeper than the royal family and the saints?
"Who knows?" Zhao Changying said slowly, while conjuring a new wine flask out of thin air, and poured wine into his mouth again, his eyes becoming blurred again.
Crimson wine flowed from the corner of his lips, wetted his beard, and dripped on his clothes, making the pavilion filled with a stronger aroma of wine.
Zhao Yan snorted coldly, then turned and left the pavilion.
…………
Zhao Yan's room is the most spacious and luxurious room in the entire mansion, and it looks more magnificent than Duke Yan's room.
Inside the house is a canopy bed with string silk and carved patterns, hung with green gauze curtains. Next to it are a coral door cabinet, a carved fine wood imperial concubine couch, and several pear wood carved chairs.
The walls are hung with famous people's calligraphy and paintings, there are ancient bronze stoves and golden cranes on the table, and the floor is covered with wool carpets from the northwest frontier.
The maids had already prepared "five-spice soup" in the bathtub and served her to bathe.
It is recorded in ancient books: "The five-spice soup method uses one pound of orchid, one pound of wattle, one pound of tongxiang, one pound of green wood, and one pound of white sandalwood. Cut up any five things and boil one dendrobium with two and five buckets of water. Two buckets are used to bathe oneself. This soup wards off evil spirits and eliminates unlucky Qi." (1)
"Five-spice soup" is prepared from five different spices. Using it to bathe can dispel yin energy and ward off evil spirits.
Zhao Yan lay in the bathtub with her eyes closed and meditative. The hot water moisturized her skin, which was as white and translucent as gelatin.
The water temperature in the tub was close to boiling.
If it were an ordinary person, he would have been severely burned.
But Zhao Yan, as a "flaming spirit body" and possessing the Zhao family's unique "holy fire totem", was safe and sound inside, and even felt particularly comfortable.
Her personal maid Qiu Yan stood aside and told her about the recent events in the capital.
Qiu Yan's parents died when he was young, and he was taken in by Zhao Yan's mother, who won the trust of Mrs. Qu.
After Mrs. Qu passed away, she has been following Zhao Yan.
For Zhao Yan, Qiu Yan is not only a servant, but also a close sister.
"Qiu Yan, are there any new developments among the geniuses in Luo Jing City recently?"
"Chu Fengge from the Exorcism Department broke through the fifth realm not long ago."
"His breakthrough speed is quite fast. If I guessed correctly, he should also have used the 'Severing Seven Emotions' method, right?"
"That's right. He cut off his 'desire'."
"Cut away the 'desire'... He is such a ruthless person! I am very curious as to why he was so desperate that he would want to use this method to break the situation."
"Miss, didn't you also use the 'Severing Seven Emotions' method to break through the realm?"
"I'm different from him. What I get rid of is fear," Zhao Yan opened her eyes and chuckled. "Fear is superfluous to me. It will only affect my determination." , hindering my movement, so cutting it off is beneficial and harmless.
“But desire is different.
"How can a person live in this world without worldly desires, and how can he not have obsessions that he can't let go of?
"If Chu Fengge does this, he will definitely encounter a lot of trouble in his future practice."
Qiu Yan was silent for a moment, and then said softly: "Actually, Miss, you should know that the Duke sent you to the army before, in fact, he hoped that you would sharpen your Taoist heart through the killing spirit in the army, and then break through.
"Perhaps you only need to stay in the army for another year or two before you can break through the fifth level naturally without using the quick method of 'Slaying Seven Emotions'."
"It's too late," Zhao Yan said as she fiddled with the water's surface with her slender fingers, causing it to ripple. "Time never waits for anyone.
"Besides, a coward like Zhao Changying will only choose the safest method no matter what he does, and will always only know how to protect himself.
"I'm over twenty now. There's no need to obey him in everything."
Hearing Zhao Yan scolding her father, Qiu Yan shut up tightly and stopped talking.
After a while, Zhao Yan said calmly: "By the way, Qiu Yan, I remember that you met the young genius named 'Gu Xu' on the Lantern Festival. What kind of person do you think he is?"
As she spoke, the question "What is Gu Xu's background?" lingered in her mind.
Qiu Yan hesitated for a while and replied: "He is very strong, has an amazing understanding, and can also write poetry. When he was in the ring, he wrote a poem with the 'Jinghong Pen' on the spot and created a new spell."
"What word? Say it and listen."
Qiu Yan followed the instructions and memorized "The Green Jade Case: Yuan Xi" from beginning to end.
"This man is indeed talented," Zhao Yan commented, "He is worthy of being the master of the 'Jinghong Brush'. Compared with him, the works of Luo Jing's literati are simply pretentious and unnecessary."
"Miss, do you want to get acquainted with him?" Qiu Yan tried to guess the master's thoughts, "He just moved to Jinyu Lane in Yanqingfang at the end of last month. If you need it, I can go to him and hand him a ticket. Greetings."
"No need," Zhao Yan immediately shook her head, "None of the men in this world are good, so there is no need to have too much contact with them. It is enough to treat him as a sharpening stone."
Half an hour later, Zhao Yan came out of the tub wrapped in a bath towel. The crystal water drops slowly rolled down along the slender legs. The snow-white bare feet stepped on the dark red carpet, and a faint mist hung on the toes.
"Qiu Yan, bring me some light clothes," she ordered lightly. "This afternoon, I want to take another look at the place where my mother was killed."
"Yes, miss."
"Also, send someone to tell Miss Liuli of Jiaofang that I will go to her place tonight and want to ask her to play "Pheasant Flying to the Morning"."
"no problem."
…………
This morning, Gu Xu locked himself in the room and devoted himself to cultivation.
In the magma river of the "Eternal Life Religion", he absorbed too much energy and it took some time to slowly digest it.
In addition, after improving the "Red Flame True Art", the true energy in his body has also undergone qualitative changes, becoming more condensed and purer, and also has longer-lasting burning damage.
Therefore, he also needs to re-evaluate and adapt to the lethality of each of his spells.
In the afternoon, a little book boy wearing a gray shirt walked out of the mural, came to Gu Xu, and handed a note to him.
This note is from Shen Qiu.
Shen Qiu said that the elixir workshop in Luo Jing City had begun to take shape, and he wanted to invite Gu Xu to visit the workshop in person.
"Brother Shen is very efficient in doing things!" Gu Xu thought to himself.
Since discussing with Shen Qiu the establishment of a "Beijing Branch Workshop" at the end of last month, Gu Xu has not interfered with the matter and left all matters such as raising funds, recruiting monks, and purchasing materials to Shen Qiu.
And Shen Qiu did live up to his trust and never let him worry.
Because of this, Gu Xu often thinks about: What happened to a person like Shen Qiu who has both spiritual talent and business acumen to make him abandon the Jinling Shen family without hesitation and come to his own mansion? , become your own customer?
ps: Please double the monthly ticket! !
…………
Note:
(1) "Five-spice soup" comes from "Three Emperors Sutra".
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