The person responsible for escorting "Auspicious" to Beijing this time was Shen Hua, the eldest son of the Shen family.
Although he was often scolded behind his back by his half-brother Shen Qiu, who called him "my stupid brother", as the heir to a powerful family, he could no longer be a coward.
He has a slender figure, regular facial features, and an angular, upright face. Although he cannot be considered a handsome man, he can still be called a handsome man. If he stood next to the dwarf Shen Qiu, he would not look like a handsome man at all. It was impossible for anyone to believe that they were two brothers.
His body also exudes an extremely powerful aura of true energy.
This proves that he has already become a strong man in the fourth level before he is thirty years old - even though he is not as good as the top talents like Chu Fengge and Zhao Yan, he can still be regarded as the leader of the Daqi Dynasty.
Otherwise, the Shen family would not have placed high hopes on him and let him represent the family at the "Luoshui Conference"; the royal family would not have included him as a candidate for the consort and considered marrying Princess Zhaoning to him.
At this moment, Shen Hua was sitting in a luxurious carriage, leaning on a silk cushion.
His brows were furrowed and his face was filled with gloom.
Beside him, there was a little book boy with fair features and fair skin, who was carefully massaging his shoulders.
After a brief silence, the little book boy suddenly said: "Master, the palace has arranged for you to enter the palace tomorrow to meet the saint. What are your plans for today? Are you going directly to the family's villa, or -"
"——That guy Shen Qiu, what's the name of the elixir workshop he recently ran?" Shen Hua interrupted the little book boy.
"It's called 'Shuchangfang', young master," the little book boy replied, "it's a property under the name of Gu Xu, the head of the Exorcism Department."
It is no longer a secret that Gu Xu owns an elixir workshop in Luojing City.
Recently, under the management of Shen Qiu, it can be said that there is a bustling crowd, with many big shots coming to show their appreciation with gifts, and many organizations and wealthy households signing large orders with it.
"My rebellious brother," Shen Hua said with a frown, "he wrote a letter not long ago to break up with the family just to become a guest in Gu Xu's house.
"I really don't understand what he thinks.
"Our Jinling Shen family is a descendant of immortals and a famous family in the world; that Gu Xu is just an insignificant sixth-grade official, a little viscount who cannot be hereditary.
"What Gu Xu can give him, the family can also give him."
When speaking, Shen Hua's expression looked complicated, and there seemed to be a lot of worries hidden in his eyes. The little book boy next to him didn't dare to respond for a while.
He paused for a moment, then continued to order: "Since they have arranged for us to enter the palace tomorrow, then I will simply go to the Shouchangfang today... Well, there is something important that I must tell in person. That brother.
"Baoqin, go and tell Manager Lu and ask him to send the 'Auspicious' to the Shen family's villa for display first."
"Yes, Master." The little book boy named "Bao Qin" responded respectfully.
…………
At the same time, Shouchangfang.
With a warm smile on his face, Shen Qiu sent an old man with a white beard in brocade clothes out of the door.
This old man is Ni Jingxiang, Marquis of Dongping in the Daqi Dynasty. His ancestors were heroes who followed Emperor Taizu to bring peace to the world.
But after the founding of the People's Republic of China, because this family has never produced a particularly powerful monk, now it has become an idle nobleman with almost no real power.
Today, the reason why Dongping Hou came to Shouchangfang was to buy a batch of "Eternal Brightness Pills" for his grandson - that little kid only has the second level of cultivation, but he clamors to imitate Gu Xu, the leader of the Lantern Festival Tournament every day , killed all parties at the "Luoshui Conference" and shocked the whole country.
"If I remember correctly, this workshop is Master Gu's property!" Dongping Hou said with a smile, "The person my grandson admires the most is Master Gu."
Shen Qiu responded with polite words, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Mr. Gu's reputation in the capital has been really high recently - if his admirers were lined up, they would probably be able to circle Luo Jing City several times.
After Marquis Dongping left, a gorgeously decorated carriage drove slowly from the end of the street and stopped in front of the door of "Shuchangfang".
A tall, well-dressed young man stepped out of the carriage.
This person is none other than Shen Hua.
He raised his head, glanced at the plaque hanging on the top of the door, and murmured: "Who wrote this? It looks very powerful."
Seeing his brother's figure, Shen Qiu folded his hands on his chest and narrowed his eyes involuntarily.
Although he was standing on the steps outside the workshop door, the height of his head still only reached Shen Hua's ears.
"Master Shen, what are you doing for me?" Shen Qiu said in a cold tone.
"Shen Qiu, what did the family do wrong that made you decide to leave?" Hearing his brother's sharp words, Shen Hua sighed softly and said, "You don't even want to call me 'brother' now." '."
"Aren't you asking knowingly?" Shen Qiu chuckled.
Shen Hua was silent for a moment.
He and Shen Qiu grew up under the same roof. Naturally, he knew that the head of the Shen family had always disliked Shen Qiu, the deformed and ugly concubine son, and his attitude towards Shen Qiu had always been cold and bad. He also knew that his mother, Mrs. Shen, was even more so. He had always regarded Shen Qiu as a thorn in his side and wished that this dwarf born from a slave would disappear from the world immediately.
To be honest, Shen Hua felt a little sympathy for this poor brother.
After all, things like birth and appearance were arranged by God, and Shen Qiu himself had no choice.
However, Shen Hua is a weak and indecisive person.
Although he sympathized with Shen Qiu, he did not dare to confront his parents or show a rebellious attitude in front of them.
When his parents wanted to teach Shen Qiu a lesson, he could only obediently hand him a ruler and didn't even dare to say a word of mercy.
It is precisely because of Shen Hua's weak and lack of opinion that after he took over the Shen family's property, he often listened to slanders, was deceived by people with ulterior motives, and made many wrong decisions, which ultimately led to the need for Shen Qiu to help him. Clean up the mess.
Thinking of this, Shen Hua took a deep breath and slowly said: "Actually, Shen Qiu, the head of the house, his wife... and I all hope that you can go back.
"For you to stay here and manage the elixir workshop for a small sixth-grade official is really unfair to your talents. You can definitely display your skills on a wider stage, and the family can also provide you with better resources. ——”
"——This sentence was taught to you by Shen Qianren, right?" The smile on Shen Qiu's face became more playful. With his weird facial features and raised corners of his mouth, he looked like a clown on the stage.
Shen Qianren is the name of the head of the Shen family.
Hearing this, Shen Hua hurriedly wanted to deny it.
However, he quickly caught Shen Qiu's gaze and found that the other person's eyes were particularly sharp, as if saying to him, "Stop lying, I already know the truth."
In the end, Shen Hua nodded and admitted in a low voice: "That's right."
"As expected," Shen Qiu said with a smile, "Young Master Shen, with your brain being kicked by a donkey, you will definitely not be able to think of such a beautiful scene.
"Tell me, what kind of trouble has the family encountered recently, and you need me to come back to save it?
"Is a certain censor investigating the missed taxes of the family again, or is the emperor trying to find ways to dismantle the family's property?"
"You have guessed this." Shen Hua said solemnly.
"It's nothing difficult to guess. I heard from people that the family sent 'Auspicious' to the capital with great fanfare today, saying that it would be dedicated to the emperor to praise the peaceful and prosperous age today," Shen Qiu said, "The Shen family is also a big family that has produced immortals in history. If we hadn't encountered insurmountable troubles, why would we do such a demeaning thing?"
Shen Hua looked at his younger brother in front of him and felt that there seemed to be great wisdom hidden in his short and stooped body. His asymmetrical eyes seemed to have the magical ability to see through phenomena and see the essence.
"People should not be judged by their appearance." Shen Hua thought to himself for the umpteenth time.
In the past, in the family, every time Shen Qiu helped him clean up the mess, such thoughts would pop up in his head.
"Is that okay?" After a short silence, Shen Hua asked, "Come home with me, okay?"
Shen Qiu shook his head without hesitation.
"My dear eldest brother," he said in a sharp tone, emphasizing the word 'eldest brother' very strongly, "The Shen family is like a boat with holes in it, and sooner or later it will sink to the bottom of the water.
"You didn't even want to jump to the shore in time, but instead wanted to drag me into the water...Tell me, do you want to murder your half-brother?"
Shen Hua had long been accustomed to his younger brother's eccentric speaking style.
"Then why did you choose to follow a sixth-grade official of the Exorcism Department with a humble background?" He then asked, "In my opinion, I have to join at least three major sects or become a disciple of a saint to be worthy of you. identity."
"This sixth-grade official is not an ordinary sixth-grade official," Shen Qiu sneered coldly. "He is a sixth-grade official who survived a catastrophic encounter with the 'fierce god'. He is a sixth-grade official who even the Imperial Master asked him for advice on talismans." Product officer.
"Mr. Shen, have you gone crazy visiting brothels? You haven't even read the newspaper recently?"
Shen Qiu knew that his brother Shen Hua had two major weaknesses: one was weakness, and the other was lust.
Missing work due to indulging in beauty - this kind of thing happened to Shen Hua more than once.
Seeing that Shen Hua didn't respond for a while, Shen Qiu continued: "I'd better remind you out of kindness! After coming to Luojing, you'd better restrain your lust. Recently, Zhao Yan also returned to the capital. It is said that She often stays in the Jiaofang Department at night. If you two have a conflict, I don’t think you can beat her. "
"Zhao Yan..." Shen Hua recited the name silently, with a complicated look on his face. Many years ago, he was once defeated by Zhao Yan's spear.
"Of course, if you are going to Elephant House, you don't need to worry about this problem." Shen Qiu added in a sarcastic tone.
Xianggu Pavilion is a brothel for male prostitutes.
Shen Hua is not only lustful, but also a man for both men and women.
Not long ago, it was revealed that he often visited the streets and alleys of the Flower Street, and secretly kept a male favorite.
The marriage between him and Princess Zhaoning fell through precisely because of this incident.
According to rumors, when Princess Zhaoning learned about this situation, she was so disgusted that she vomited out her dinner that day.
This also became a major scandal for the Jinling Shen family.
"Can you please stop mentioning this matter?" Shen Hua sighed, looking a little embarrassed for a moment.
Shen Qiu smiled and changed the subject: "By the way, has my mother come to the capital with you? I remember that I wrote to my family at the end of last month and said that I wanted to take care of her personally."
Shen Hua pondered for a few seconds and then said: "Actually, Shen Qiu, the most important reason why I came here to see you today is to tell you about your mother's situation."
"What's wrong with my mother?" Shen Qiu raised his voice and his eyes became as sharp as a wild beast. Shen Hua's hesitant tone gave him an ominous premonition.
"She...she..."
"What's wrong with her? Say something quickly! Don't hesitate here!"
Shen Hua took a deep breath and said: "Shen Qiu, the troubles the Shen family has encountered recently are more serious than you think. Madam and several elders... they wanted to force you to go home, so they used your mother as a bargaining chip.
“They claimed that your mother committed theft while working as a servant in the family, and sent her to the prefect of Jinling.
"If you don't come home in time, they will torture her and send her to the northern frontier."
Punishment by beating was one of the punishments imposed on women for committing crimes in the Daqi Dynasty. After being subjected to corporal punishments such as tattooing and stabbing, they were sent to border military camps to perform hard labor such as drying grain and pounding rice.
Shen Qiu's mother Ningxiu was once a rough servant in the Shen family.
Although she was kicked out of the house by the angry Mrs. Shen, she still did not get rid of her slave status.
In the Daqi Dynasty, the status of mortal slaves was extremely low. If the master claimed before the authorities that they had committed any crime, they had no chance to refute it.
In fact, compared to the previous Da Chu Dynasty, the situation of slaves in Da Qi was slightly better. After all, Emperor Taizu once issued a decree strictly prohibiting family heads from lynching slaves. Emperor Taizu was born into a poor family, and he knew very well that in front of the powerful and spiritual practitioners, ordinary people with no cultivation were like livestock and could only be slaughtered by others.
But even so, Mrs. Shen has countless ways to deal with a humble servant.
Shen Qiu knew that Mrs. Shen was a very jealous woman. She regarded every woman who was close to her husband as a thorn in her side and wanted to kill them if given the chance.
"Why did you delay talking about such an important thing until now?" Shen Qiu stood on the steps, tiptoeing, grabbing Shen Hua's shoulders and shaking him violently back and forth.
His face was filled with angry emotions, making his expression particularly ferocious, like a demon emerging from hell, which was in sharp contrast to his previous cynical attitude.
Shen Hua was a little frightened by him.
He rarely saw his brother show such an expression.
"Ouch..." Shen Hua groaned in pain as he pinched her hard, "I...I actually...have never thought about...how to...talk to you...about this matter..."
Shen Hua actually felt very guilty about what happened to Shen Qiu's mother.
Because he had witnessed his mother make this decision.
He felt that he had a chance to prevent this and prevent the family's problems from involving an innocent mortal.
But because of his weakness, and because of his fear of his mother, he stood silently and watched, letting the woman named Ningxiu be escorted to the government.
Shen Qiu took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm, and at the same time slowly let go of Shen Hua's shoulders.
"Do you have any 'empty beads' in your hand?" he asked.
"Yes." Shen Hua replied, taking out a "sky-breaking bead" from the storage magic weapon and handing it to Shen Qiu's hand.
"Give me a quarter of an hour, and I'll explain the follow-up affairs in this workshop," Shen Qiu said calmly. At this time, his expression was frighteningly calm, and he did not forget his responsibilities because of what happened to his mother, "Then I will go to Jinling."
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