The Xima of the Zhanshi Mansion was of the fifth rank, and logically should have participated in the grand court meetings.
However, in everyone's eyes, Xu Chong was first the descendant of Taizu, and then the horse groom.
So no one really cared about anything. Gongsun Mang just sent someone to notify everyone about the grand court meeting. It was up to everyone to go or not.
Then Xu Chong really didn’t go.
Until late at night.
——Squeak!
The door of the Economic Bureau was pushed open and Jiang Xinghe walked in.
"You knew that a long time ago, didn't you?"
Jiang Xinghe staggered closer, reeking of alcohol.
"I don't understand what your Highness means."
Xu Chong frowned slightly.
"You already know that natural disasters can be predicted, and the previous emperors... no, including my father, have been using natural disasters to harm the people of Daqing, right?"
Jiang Xinghe raised his head and took a few gulps of the liquor as he spoke.
Xu Chong's expression changed: "What happened?"
Jiang Xinghe laughed bitterly and spoke slowly: "At the court meeting today, Du Qianchuan impeached the previous emperors for the crime of murdering the people..."
Xu Chong managed to remain calm, but his heart was in turmoil.
There is no doubt that this must be the work of Lou Youzhi.
But why?
Wouldn't it make ?
What's the deeper meaning behind this?
Xu Chong pondered for a long time without saying a word.
Jiang Xinghe took a few more sips of wine and continued, "Although Du Qianchuan only talked about the late emperor from beginning to end, I know that my father also had a part."
As the Crown Prince of Daqing, Jiang Xinghe also participated in the grand court meeting.
Like King Qian, he didn't say a word from beginning to end, but his mood was completely different from King Qian's.
Unbelievable, suddenly enlightened, ashamed...
"Why doesn't Du Qianchuan mention the emperor?"
Jiang Xinghe laughed self-deprecatingly, "I think it's not that he didn't mention it, but that he simply couldn't mention it, because my father's luck is better than that of the previous emperors."
"Binzhou is in a state of boiling water. He doesn't need to do anything else. The boiling water has killed enough people."
"And the methods used by our father are more sophisticated than those of the previous emperors."
"Before the locust plague in Yongzhou, they destroyed granaries in various places. After the plague, they had a good excuse to delay disaster relief."
"There's just one thing I can't figure out."
Jiang Xinghe looked sad and said with a lost tone, "When did he cooperate with Taiping Dao, and at what price did he get Taiping Dao to help him so much?"
"etc."
Xu Chong frowned and asked instead of answering, "Such a big thing, why is there no movement at the Zhanshi Mansion?"
Although he and the proofreaders and clerks from the Sijing Bureau did not attend the court meeting, there were other people from the Zhanshi Mansion who attended.
Such a big thing should have spread long ago.
So much time has passed since the court meeting, but there has been no movement at all.
The entire Zhanshi Mansion was as peaceful and idle as usual.
"Because the clan government controls the 'Six Covenants'."
Jiang Xinghe explained, "The Six Covenants are the basis for the operation of the household registration system. In addition to the limitations of household registration, the clan order can use the Six Covenants to tamper with the memory of a single individual or a specific event."
“…”
Xu Chong's heart suddenly tightened, and he remembered his hidden 'Purple Mansion Seed Dao'.
There is no doubt that it was King Qian who did it.
"Why do you still remember?"
Xu Chong suddenly asked.
"Because I was with Prime Minister Lou at the time, the moment the court meeting was tampered with, my memory of the court meeting became ordinary, as did Lou Youzhi. Du Qianchuan only submitted an insignificant memorial, and he did not die by hitting his head against the pillar in the end."
Jiang Xinghe sighed, "However, at that time, Lou Youzhi had the real memorial in front of him...Du Qianchuan's memorial impeaching the late emperor, written in blood."
"I see……"
Xu Chong breathed a sigh of relief.
Firstly, since Lou Youzhi had been prepared in advance, it meant that the situation was still under control.
The second reason is... Fortunately, I am alert enough and have not exposed the Purple Mansion Seed Dao so far.
This matter may be far more serious than imagined.
I should pay more attention to it in the future.
"I want to know more of the truth, but Lou Youzhi refused to tell me... If I hadn't just happened to find him, I'm afraid even Du Qianchuan wouldn't have remembered it."
At this point, Jiang Xinghe looked at Xu Chong with hope and eagerness: "You should know more, right?"
"Whether I know more or not, since Prime Minister Lou is hiding it from you, it means he doesn't want you to get involved."
Xu Chong said calmly, "This may not be a bad thing for you."
"hehe……"
Jiang Xinghe smiled helplessly, as if he had expected it. "In that case, you do yours and I do mine."
"you……"
Xu Chong frowned.
"You are worried that I will become like my father and the previous emperors in the future. I am worried too."
Jiang Xinghe shook his head and walked out, "So, while I'm not that kind of person yet, let's do what I can."
To the best of your ability?
Xu Chong felt a bad feeling in his heart.
The crown prince is the heir apparent of a country and has many supporters in the court. The scope of his influence is extremely large.
However, just as Xu Chong was about to speak to stop him, he suddenly thought of a problem.
Was it really just a coincidence that Lou Youzhi woke up Jiang Xinghe and made the tampering of the Six Covenants invalid?
Is it possible that Jiang Xinghe’s reaction and possible subsequent actions were also within Lou Youzhi’s calculations?
Thinking of this, Xu Chong was in a dilemma.
He was afraid that Jiang Xinghe would mess up and ruin the situation, and he was also afraid that Jiang Xinghe was Lou Youzhi's plan.
"That's right."
Jiang Xinghe suddenly stopped, took out three beads from his arms, turned around and handed them to Xu Chong.
Xu Chong reached out to take it, not understanding what it meant.
"Lou Youzhi asked me to bring this to you."
Jiang Xinghe turned around again and explained as he walked, "People like us who have the blood of Taizu age quickly. I am not even thirty yet, but I already look old. Although this skill passed down by Duke Rong's family cannot increase our lifespan, it can keep us young... It's a pity that only a few people in the entire royal family can master it."
Keep the truth, determine the truth, and be true?
Xu Chong was slightly stunned.
In fact, even if Jiang Xinghe hadn't sent it, he was going to get one.
If one wants to maintain the identity of a descendant of Taizu and display more power, the best way is to let one's appearance age along with him.
However, the three bodies are independent in terms of lifespan, life and death. Currently, only the body that entered Chunqiu Hall shows obvious signs of aging in appearance.
Since there is no way to grow old in the capital, the only thing he can do is to "practice" some other magic to make it come true. Even if it seems outrageous, at least it can be explained.
Xu Chong had planned to go to the armory in the near future to obtain this skill openly, but he did not expect that Lou Youzhi would deliver it to him first.
This made him not quite understand.
"I need this side skill to cover up the fact that I am not the descendant of Taizu. Why does Lou Youzhi want to do this?"
"Does he think I am someone who cares a lot about appearance?"
"Or...he has figured out that I am not a descendant of my great ancestor?"
Xu Chong seemed to be thinking about something as he watched Jiang Xinghe leave.
at the same time.
On the other side, in the Chunqiu Hall, Xu Chong opened his eyes.
"It seems that Lou Youzhi intends to face Emperor Yongtai alone."
"So sudden, so confident... Did you find some clues, or acquire some new means?"
"Time is running out..."
Xu Chong sighed and called up the panel.
【Name: Xu Chong】
[Purple Mansion: Seven Transformations of Yangshen]
[Huang Ting: First Grade Dan Formation]
[Jade Pond: Nine Turns of Iron Bones]
[Side skills: Breaking the sky with one hand (beginners just starting to practice), Splitting light and turning it into shadow (beginners just starting to practice), Keeping the truth (beginners just starting to practice)]
[Rule: Immortality (consumes 10,000 spiritual energy to activate)]
[Spiritual Source: 30]
In three months, the panel generated a total of 630 spiritual sources in the three caves.
Six hundred points of them pushed Xu Chong's Purple Mansion to the seventh level of Yang God, and he was not far from the legendary Immortal God.
However, this was not his greatest achievement.
His greatest gain was cultivating the Dao in the Jade Pond.
That’s right, Nine Turns of Iron Bones!
It is two small realms higher than the Seven Transformations of Yang God which is directly improved by spiritual source!
Three months in the outside world, and twenty-five years in Chunqiu Hall.
Judging from the results of his initial self-cultivation, twenty-five years would only be enough for him to cultivate to the eighth level of Bronze Skin.
However, this is not the case.
He discovered that with constant self-cultivation, the Jade Pool Dao Seed and the Pure Yang Energy became more and more compatible.
Originally, one point of strength could only produce one point of effect after being integrated into the Tao Seed, but now one point of strength can produce ten points of effect.
Although after crossing a great realm, more energy was required for each , this still made his cultivation speed faster and faster.
At first Xu Chong was a little surprised and thought that he was special, but then he changed his mind and thought that maybe everyone was like this.
Take Dou Tianyuan for example.
Dou Tianyuan should be less than seventy years old now. If it takes twenty-five years to reach the eighth level of bronze skin, even if he has been cultivating the Tao since his mother's womb, it is impossible for him to reach the ninth level of golden body at the age of seventy.
This should be a common phenomenon.
However, due to the potential of Tao seeds, many people stopped halfway and were unable to go any further.
"If I'm not mistaken, most of the people in the Fang family should follow the Yuchizhong Road."
Xu Chong sighed, "With the blessing of a hundred times of time, this breakthrough speed is faster than using spiritual energy to add points... It's a pity that it can't be delayed any longer."
During the twenty-five years in Chunqiu Hall, he had gone to Fang Lezhong to replenish his blood talismans twice.
After the first ten years, he revealed to the outside world the second level of body cleansing.
This made Fang Lezhong extremely disappointed.
It took ten years to go from the ninth level of Tongmai to the second level of Xishen?
The pigs raised by the Fang family are of better quality than this one.
However, seeing Fang Xianzong's almost unchanged expression, Fang Lezhong guessed something and felt that there was nothing wrong with this matter. He only told Xu Chong to speed up his efforts to improve his realm.
By the time the second decade had passed, Xu Chong had only revealed the fifth level of body cleansing...
This time it wasn't Fang Lezhong who was disappointed, but the whole family was furious, and Xu Chong narrowly escaped being dragged out for public criticism.
However, he was fearless and pushed the matter to another practitioner, and promised that he would be able to cleanse himself to the ninth level next time he came out.
Although everyone in the Fang family was angry, what else could they do since Xu Chong had already made the promise?
Finally, the old woman spoke, half warning and half trying to win over Xu Chong, saying that she would give him another chance and asked how long it would take him to reach the ninth level of cleansing.
Xu Chong’s answer at the time was five years.
And now, five years have passed in Chunqiu Hall.
"Whether it is the process of cultivating the Tao or the cultivation of supernatural powers, it is a process that takes a long time. If you want to enter Chunqiu Hall again, you have to think of other ways."
Xu Chong pondered over it, then stood up and stuck the blood talisman on the groove.
Rumble.
The moment the stone door opened, Xu Chong frowned.
Chunqiu Hall has only three stone rooms, arranged in the shape of a V.
Xu Chong's stone chamber is on the right, opposite the stone chamber on the left.
At this time, the stone door opposite was slowly closing.
A young figure is disappearing behind the stone gate.
This back view gave Xu Chong a very familiar feeling.
"...Xiang Xue?"
A face flashed through Xu Chong's mind, "No way?"
"Li Xiangxue should be in Taiping Township, following the clone of Emperor Yongtai."
"No matter how skilled Emperor Yongtai is, the direct descendant of the Fang family will never let him get involved..."
"An illusion?"
Xu Chong took a deep look at the stone gate opposite, and then left Chunqiu Hall with confusion.
As soon as I came out, I was met with two indifferent gazes.
Fang Lezhong and the elder of the eldest branch of the family, the old woman named Fang Manxia.
"Xianzong is disrespectful."
Xu Chong didn't say much, he just clasped his fists and punched Fang Lezhong fiercely.
A gentle breeze blows by.
The punch was blocked without even a sound.
"Yes, it is the ninth level of body washing."
Fang Le felt relieved and said with a smile.
"Le Zhong and I sent someone here, and we were thinking it was about time for you to come out."
Fang Manxia nodded slightly, her eyes gentle, "You didn't disappoint us."
"Send someone over?"
Xu Chong's heart sank, and he said in surprise, "Xianzong just met a young boy in Chunqiu Hall. He looked to be less than ten years old. Is he the one the elders are talking about?"
"It's him."
Fang Manxia nodded, "You didn't have a conflict with him, did you?"
"Elder, Xianzong is almost fifty now, how could he bully a child?"
Xu Chong jokingly asked, "I wonder which family this talented person is from, to be sent to Chunqiu Hall at such a young age."
"He is not a member of the Fang family."
When this topic was brought up, Fang Lezhong shook his head helplessly, "People in my Fang family have to wait until their minds and bodies grow to a certain level... around the age of ten before they can be taught martial arts."
"This was sent by Ji Qingzhi."
Fang Manxia glanced at Fang Lezhong and said, "Using 30% of Baicao Garden's output in ten years to exchange for half a year of Chunqiu Hall, the Fang family still makes more money. Don't be upset."
Xu Chong felt a little cold in his heart.
There is no doubt that the young figure is Li Xiangxue!
As for Baicao Garden.
More than 20 years ago, Baicao Garden was destroyed in a collision with Changshengtian. Now, according to the old woman, it has appeared intact in Ji Qingzhi's hands.
There is no doubt that this was collected and restored by Emperor Yongtai with the efforts of the entire country.
Ji Qingzhi is the incarnation of Emperor Yongtai. This inference, which originally had no evidence to support it, now has evidence to support it.
It is even possible that Emperor Yongtai allowed Ji Qingzhi to become the leader of the Taiping Dao thanks to the Baicao Garden.
"Aunt, your words are too serious. Le Zhong dare not question the decision of the clan leader."
Fang Lezhong bowed.
Fang Manxia didn't care and turned to look at Xu Chong: "If you want to grow the Tao, what are your plans?"
Xu Chong calmed down and replied, "Xianzong intends to follow the path of heaven and man and cultivate the Dao Huangting."
"Huang Ting?"
Fang Lezhong raised his eyebrows, "You have to think it over carefully. If you want to advance to the Dharmakaya realm in your lifetime, you will need to go out into the outside world and you will no longer be able to use the rules of Dou Zhuan Xing Yi."
Xu Chong smiled and said, “Uncle planned for the Fang family and chose Huangting to cultivate the Dao and travel around the outside world, and Xianzong is willing to follow suit.”
“…”
Fang Lezhong was slightly moved, and nodded after a moment's silence, "Well, you have already spent a lot of time, and if you continue to practice in seclusion, your life will be too short."
"In that case, you are now the inner steward of the Fang family."
Fang Manxia was also somewhat relieved. She took out a blood talisman and handed it to Xu Chong. "Don't be impatient about planting the Tao. Be sure to be safe. It doesn't matter even if it takes a little longer. As for the various families, I will come forward to appease them."
The Inner Deacons are one level lower than the Clan Elders Council, and can enjoy the privileges of the Xuan-level Training Hall unconditionally. In addition, they can enjoy the privileges of the Di-level Training Hall for one month every three years.
Generally speaking, one must attain enlightenment before taking up the position of inner deacon, and each room can have no more than ten people.
The current 'Fang Xianzong' does not have the qualifications, but... people who are willing to contribute will always be welcomed.
"Thank you, elder."
Xu Chong was delighted. He took the blood talisman respectfully and returned his blood talisman to Fang Lezhong.
"Go ahead."
Fang Xianzong waved his hand.
Xu Chong said nothing more and turned to walk towards the Earth-level training hall not far away.
The tomb opened and Xu Chong stepped in.
The moment he made sure that there was no one in the passage, Xu Chong turned on his invisibility, and then used one hand to break the sky and directly crossed the space, and reappeared outside the tomb.
The location he chose was some distance away from the three tombs on the top of the mountain. Fang Manxia and Fang Lezhong were still talking and did not notice anything.
"...Aunt, why did the clan leader agree to Ji Qingzhi?"
Fang Lezhong asked in a low voice, "Even if the Fang family can gain a lot of benefits from this exchange, after all, they let an outsider into the Spring and Autumn Tomb, and then they have to let him out alive..."
"There's something more important."
"Who did Ji Qingzhi learn about the Spring and Autumn Tomb?"
"Is there something wrong with the Lin family and the Zheng family, or is there something wrong with our Fang family itself?"
Fang Lezhong's eyes flickered, "If I don't find out the truth about this, I won't be able to sleep or eat well."
“No need to check.”
Fang Manxia shook her head and said, "I went to find Ji Qingzhi."
"aunt……"
Fang Lezhong was stunned.
"Well, I'll let you know about this."
Fang Manxia looked at the tombs all over the mountain and sighed, "The hub of the Spring and Autumn Tomb has cracked."
"What?!"
Fang Lezhong cried out in horror.
The crack in the hub indicated that the cave had come to an end.
In other words, Chunqiu Tomb, the direct ancestral land of the Fang family, is on the brink of collapse!
Fang Le's mind was shaking like crazy, and it took him a long while to calm down. He asked in a hoarse voice, "How long will it take?"
"The clan leader first discovered the crack in the hub three years ago."
Fang Manxia replied, "In two years at most, the Spring and Autumn Tomb will collapse."
"Two years..."
Fang Lezhong's mood plummeted.
"In fact, our Fang family has been secretly searching for a new cave since three years ago."
Fang Manxia continued, "Over the years, those people of the Le generation who suddenly disappeared or died in the Spring and Autumn Hall for various reasons were not really dead. Instead, I secretly sent them out of the Spring and Autumn Tomb and took on the important task of finding a new cave heaven."
"It's a pity that the world is too big. The entire Daqing is so vast, not to mention the endless sea that completely surrounds Daqing."
"For three whole years, there has been no clue about the ownerless cave."
"I can only start from the cave that exists in plain sight."
"Don't even think about the imperial court. The caves are all in the capital. Even if we seize them, we may not be able to bring them out."
"On the Taiping Dao side, only Zheng, Lin, and the main sect have caves."
"The Zheng and Lin families are not weaker than us, so it's not that easy to plan."
Fang Manxia narrowed her eyes, "After all the calculations, only Ji Qingzhi is easier to deal with."
"I see……"
Fang Lezhong took a deep breath and asked, "Do you need me to do anything?"
"Not for now."
Fang Manxia shook her head. "The Fang family is powerful enough to crush the entire Taiping Township, but if we do so, we will definitely attract obstruction from the other two families If we want to quietly seize Baicao Garden, we must lure Ji Qingzhi out... The agreement I made with him is that he will come to pick up the little kid in person."
Fang Lezhong frowned slightly and said hesitantly: "Aunt, Ji Qingzhi is not an easy person to deal with. If he unites with the Zheng and Lin families, and we expose the location of the forbidden coffin..."
"I understand your concerns."
Fang Manxia interrupted Fang Lezhong, "Ji Qingzhi was able to restore Baicao Garden and persuade the three families in a short period of time to ascend to the position of Taoist master. He is certainly not a simple person."
"But if we don't seize the new cave, where will the tens of thousands of direct descendants go?"
"Expelling an ancient clan is a small matter, but severing its heritage is a big matter."
As she spoke, Fang Manxia looked towards Chunqiu Hall, her eyes twinkling, "Besides, there are still two years left, which is enough time for us to come up with a foolproof plan."
"That little doll?"
Fang Le's heart moved, "Can he play a role?"
“There are two directions at the moment.”
Fang Manxia said meaningfully, "One is to control him and make him a puppet of the Fang family."
"This...I'm afraid it won't work."
Fang Lezhong thought about it, shook his head and said, "Since Ji Qingzhi dared to send him here, he may have prepared some means to prevent him from being controlled."
"I know."
Fang Manxia smiled and said, "So, I don't plan to use direct means to force control... I will take him out in a month and communicate with the young people of the Fang family. He will understand that our Fang family is far better than Taiping Township."
Fang Lezhong hesitated for a moment and said, "This cannot guarantee that it will be foolproof."
"You are right. It is indeed impossible to guarantee that everything will go wrong just by bribery."
Fang Manxia nodded and changed the subject: "To be absolutely sure, we must find a Wuxiangyi."
"A fragment of the Illusionary Heaven?"
Fang Lezhong's eyes lit up, "Yes, if I have the fragments of Huan Zhen Tian, ​​I can transform into his appearance as long as I kill him... Then I don't even need to reveal the location of the forbidden coffin."
"I have ordered the people outside to investigate secretly."
Fang Manxia narrowed her eyes, "Once there is news, I am even the clan leader, and I will personally take it."
So vicious and cruel.
Sadly, I now know about it.
Xu Chong sneered secretly and looked towards Chunqiu Hall.
"One month later..."
"I've become a big guy now."