The Second Prince is indeed the oldest among all the princes except Jiang Xinghe.
Living longer always gives you an advantage when it comes to memorizing texts.
Taizu's Great Edict has 330 items in total, and only one of them is wrong.
However, Xu Chong was picky about the wording and gave him a grade of "C" for the two items he set.
That is three votes.
"Including the first round of assessment, we are already seven votes behind."
Xu Chong thought secretly, and then shouted loudly: "Third Prince, Jiang Xingyun!"
In this way, one prince and princess after another passed by Xu Chong.
Except for the Sixth Prince and the Third Princess, who had no faults to be found in their performance and had to be given an A grade, the rest were more or less deducted points by Xu Chong.
Of course, points cannot be deducted for no reason.
Otherwise, the results of this assessment will be completely invalidated and someone else will have to host it again.
And Xu Chong himself would also be convicted for this.
Although he didn't care or was afraid, there was no need.
"There is only one left now, let's see if she is the Jun'er..."
Xu Chong looked at the list in his hand and nodded with satisfaction, "Ninth Princess, Jiang Shengjun!"
——Squeak.
The eunuch at the door opened the door.
Then, a little girl who looked only seven or eight years old walked in.
Xu Chong was stunned for a moment.
Judging from his facial features, it is indeed that Jun'er.
But this temperament...
In addition to the lively and agile nature that comes with her age, and the gracefulness and subtlety that comes with her gender, there is actually a hint of gentleness?
It seems that since they parted at the armory, this girl has really regarded Jiang Xinghe as her life mentor.
Xu Chong was a little shocked.
At this time, Jiang Shengjun spoke crisply: "May I ask Lord Xu, can Jun'er start now?"
This is the first among the many princes and princesses to address himself with a surname.
The preparations are very sufficient.
Xu Chong nodded and said, "Please."
"The first great edict is that all those who wish to celebrate the great event..."
Jiang Shengjun began to recite.
After a moment, Xu Chong had to admit that this girl was not just learning from Jiang Xinghe superficially, but was really trying hard to follow Jiang Xinghe's path.
That is the path to becoming the crown prince.
The entire recitation process was smooth and natural, and he recited the 330 laws fluently without any pause or error.
You know, there were nearly fifteen princes and princesses who passed the first level of the assessment.
Among them, there are only two people who can do what Jiang Shengjun did.
The other two were older and were already married.
Jiang Shengjun is only seven years old, but he got the same full score in this level where he was not at an advantage.
Originally, Xu Chong was prepared to take the risk and give five votes to Manjia and others.
Now……
I am afraid that no matter who comes, they will not be able to give a rating lower than A.
"When did you start studying Taizu Dagao?"
Xu Chong asked.
"It's been many years since my mother taught me when I was still illiterate."
Jiang Shengjun blinked his big black gemstone eyes, revealing a bit of shame: "Did Jun'er recite it wrong?"
"No."
Xu Chong shook his head. "Your answer is very good."
"Thank you, sir. Thank you for your help."
Jiang Shengjun bowed happily and left the room.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Xu Chong looked at the votes of the various heirs on the list and touched his chin. "The gap has widened so much. If the subsequent assessments can maintain this level..."
"Xu Chong."
A voice sounded, and King Qian stepped in.
"Your Highness."
Xu Chong stood up and bowed.
"You just said the gap is widening, what do you mean?"
Prince Qian asked as he approached.
"Your Highness, please look."
Xu Chong presented the list with both hands.
At first glance, King Qian noticed Jiang Shengjun.
"Again, Grade A?"
Prince Qian raised his eyebrows.
“The whole article is flawless and flows very smoothly.”
Xu Chong nodded.
"oh?"
Prince Qian was a little surprised. "I thought you knew her a long time ago, so you did it on purpose."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Chong was shocked.
He was not afraid of being discovered for his ulterior motives. After all, apart from being a little harsh, he did not show any real bias in the assessment. It could even be considered completely fair.
He was horrified.
Shocked by King Qian’s attitude.
seem……
Are they allowing, or condoning, their own bias and using false assessments to influence the selection of the crown prince to a certain extent?
How is this possible!!!
Xu Chong couldn't figure it out.
Prince Qian saw Xu Chong's confusion and spoke slowly, "If you want the assessment to be completely fair, you can't use members of the royal family as examiners."
"But this is just a superficial precaution."
"Whether you have a stance or not, as long as you are a normal person, you will definitely have a bias."
"Or based on appearance, or based on speech and behavior, or based on simple impressions from hearsay."
"Since it is impossible to completely eliminate bias, we should make a distinction in importance. This is stipulated by the royal family law."
"For example, the most important qualification assessment must be personally presided over by the clan leader to prevent fraud."
Prince Qian waved his hand and said, "As long as this is guaranteed, no matter how many biases there are later, it won't be too outrageous. After all, the top five will be decided in the end, and admission to the palace will be determined by your majesty himself."
"Your Highness' explanation is very reasonable."
Xu Chong looked deeply at King Qian, "But, in the second level of the assessment, after all, a difference of five votes can be achieved."
"That is to say, to a considerable extent, it can influence which five people will eventually enter the palace."
"And after all the calculations, I am just a descendant of the great ancestor."
"No matter what other background, connections, or official rank one has, they are not worth mentioning in the matter of establishing a crown prince."
Xu Chong said, and then slowly asked: "It's not that I'm belittling myself, but just relying on my status as a descendant of the great ancestor, I shouldn't be qualified to be the examiner of this level, right?"
"You are right. It is impossible to participate in the first two levels of the assessment relying solely on the bloodline of our great ancestor..."
Prince Qian nodded and said, "For example, when I was taking the test with Your Majesty, the late emperor was the first examiner, and the former clan leader was the second examiner."
"Now, Your Majesty will not leave the back hall. Theoretically, I will be the only one to conduct the examinations for these two levels. It is more appropriate to put the descendants of Taizu in the later examinations."
"But..."
At this point, Prince Qian paused and looked at Xu Chong meaningfully: "You are not the descendant of Taizu."
"!!!"
Xu Chong was shocked and his eyes widened suddenly.
If his soul had not given him a warning and he had not sensed any hostility from Prince Qian, he would have almost been unable to resist pushing the door open and fleeing the capital.
"Lou Youzhi gave you the Lu family's set of side skills, but you probably didn't practice them much, right?"
King Qian continued, "Because, you won't age faster as your life span increases, right?"
“…”
Xu Chong was silent for a while, then asked, "Your Highness, do you know this? Is it related to my Zifu Seed Dao?"
"That's right."
King Qian nodded.
Immediately, he repeated to Xu Chong what he had said to Lou Youzhi.
In other words, those who possess the bloodline of Taizu will have an incomplete purple palace and will not be able to successfully cultivate the Tao.
"Is the short life span caused by the incompleteness of the Purple Mansion..."
Xu Chong murmured, feeling even more confused.
Since he already knew that he was not a descendant of Taizu, why did he still treat him like this? He even took him more seriously than before.
There must be other explanations here.
"In short, you have clearly awakened your bloodline memory, and have actually cultivated the Zhengyang Power, and your cultivation speed is so fast, but in this aspect of cultivating the Dao, you broke the iron rule that the royal family cannot cultivate the Dao in the Purple Palace."
Prince Qian sighed and said, "This reminds me of someone."
"who?"
Xu Chong's heart tightened.
Prince Qian slowly uttered two words: "Grandmaster."
“…”
Xu Chong was stunned for a while, then said in a hoarse voice: "Your Highness, do you want to say that I am the reincarnation of Taizu?"
After thinking about it, this is the only possibility.
Sure enough, King Qian nodded.
"The theory of reincarnation is a myth. There has been no real evidence to support it, but this theory has been around for a long time."
King Qian shrugged. "What else can I do except treat you as the reincarnation of Taizu? What if one day you completely regain Taizu's memory through your bloodline..."
“…”
Xu Chong didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "What if, what if I am just a special case with a complete Purple Mansion, and not the reincarnation of Taizu?"
"That's enough."
Prince Qian glanced at Xu Chong with a strange look in his eyes. "You are not the reincarnation of Taizu, but you have the same qualifications as Taizu. What does this mean? It means that your existence may allow Daqing to prolong its national prosperity for thousands of years... This alone is enough for me to value you."
"All right……"
Xu Chong thought about it and it seemed to be true.
A person with the bloodline of Taizu who is not limited by lifespan and can cultivate the Dao Purple Palace, even if he cannot reach the same level as Taizu in the end, the difference will not be too big.
As for why Daqing's reign would continue...
Because we share the same blood.
Whether he grows up and seizes the throne, or assists in the regent role, Daqing will always be Daqing.
Even if the country's name is changed, it is still the same bloodline, and there is no way to escape this fact.
This is probably what King Qian thought.
pity……
Xu Chong curled the corner of his mouth.
He knew that he was not the reincarnation of Taizu.
The memories of another world do not have any logical inconsistencies, and every detail is very clear.
This is enough to prove that he is still a time traveler.
"That's right."
Prince Qian suddenly spoke up and asked casually, "You are in the Daqing Arsenal, so your vision shouldn't be blocked, right?"
At this point, Xu Chong felt that there was nothing to hide, so he nodded and said frankly: "That's true."
"!!!"
King Qian's pupils suddenly shrank into needle points.
"……What's wrong?"
Xu Chong felt a little uneasy.
"I was testing you with these words, fearing that you would continue to conceal it."
Prince Qian exhaled slowly, "But I didn't expect it to be like this..."
"What's the problem?"
Xu Chong asked.
"The Daqing Arsenal is a Taoist weapon that Taizu created by piecing together many fragments of cave heavens."
King Qian stared at Xu Chong closely. "The preserved cave heaven characteristics endow this Taoist artifact with various magical powers, such as the Xumi mustard seed, the entry of thoughts, the carrying of martial arts skills, the contribution system... For example, it has a control hub."
"Control hub?"
Xu Chong was a little surprised.
"Generally speaking, there is no such thing as a master for Dao tools, magic weapons, and treasures. You can just grab them and use them."
King Qian explained, "Only the blessed land and the cave heaven can become the actual controllers and manipulate the rules within by controlling the hub."
"The control hub of the Daqing Arsenal is a Yang Shen of Taizu."
"So, there has always been a rumor in the royal family that the ancestor's residual thoughts are preserved in the arsenal, and they will guide the children who have not awakened their bloodline to choose the appropriate skills."
No wonder that Jun'er called me ancestor...
Xu Chong suddenly understood.
But King Qian had not finished speaking.
"However, only the ancestors of the past generations know that there is no possibility of the remnant of the great ancestor in the armory."
"Because before Taizu passed away, he cut up and dispersed the Yang God that served as the hub and integrated it into the Imperial Seal, which was controlled by successive Qing Emperors."
"Even if there is any regret, it is in the imperial seal, not in the armory."
"But that's not the point I want to make."
"The point is, apart from Taizu, only the Qing emperors of all generations can retain a complete vision within the Daqing Arsenal without being restricted by contribution."
King Qian pointed at Xu Chong and said, "And you, in this regard, are once again an exception."
“…”
Xu Chong's expression tightened a little, and he asked, "What does this mean?"
"This shows that you have the same spiritual origin as Taizu."
King Qian had a complicated expression on his face. "This is the only explanation I can think of... Otherwise, if you are a completely unrelated individual, how can you avoid the restrictions of the arsenal?"
"The same spiritual origin?"
Xu Chong was at a loss.
Just now, he actually believed that he was the reincarnation of Taizu... Oh no, it should be said that his original body was the reincarnation of Taizu.
But he didn't take it seriously.
After all, that guy who might be the reincarnation of Taizu had been hanged long ago.
But now...
Only with the same spiritual origin can we avoid the restrictions of the arsenal?
Xu Chong has already cultivated the Purple Palace and knows very well that the essence that determines who a person is is the soul.
When he traveled through time, it was his soul that traveled through time and occupied his current body.
But the question is, does my soul have the same origin as Taizu's soul?
It has to be said that this new argument made Xu Chong begin to waver a little about his own origins.
After all this time, it turns out that Taizu’s reincarnation is not his original self, but himself?
In other words, he first created Daqing in this world, traveled to Earth after his death, lived an ordinary life in a world without spiritual energy, and then traveled back here?
Isn’t that a bit far-fetched?
Xu Chong fell silent.
"To be honest, I'm beginning to regret asking you this question."
King Qian curled his lips, "Because I don't know how to face you now."
The implication is that Xu Chong was confirmed to be the reincarnation of Taizu.
“…”
Xu Chong hesitated for a while, and then asked tentatively: "How about we just talk about our own affairs? I call you His Highness, and you call me Ancestor?"
Prince Qian's face darkened, and he glared at Xu Chong in frustration: "Unless you regain Taizu's memory, it's impossible."
"Just joking, just joking..."
Xu Chong waved his hands awkwardly.
"In short, this is the fundamental reason why I arranged for you to take the second test."
King Qian then said, "Now it seems that this arrangement is correct..."
"All right."
Xu Chong sighed, suppressed the doubts in his heart, and said: "The final result of the assessment may be beyond expectations. This ninth princess Jiang Shengjun crushed all the princes. I see that she is very calm, so the subsequent assessment should not be difficult..."
“It was indeed somewhat unexpected.”
King Qian stroked his long beard and frowned.
"It's a pity that she is a girl after all. It's useless even if she becomes one of the five people entering the palace."
Xu Chong pretended to be regretful and spoke tentatively.
"As a girl..."
Prince Qian thought for a moment and said, "There is no gender restriction for the crown prince and emperor of Daqing. You have been in the Zhanshi Mansion for so long, you should know this."
"I know."
Xu Chong raised his eyebrows. "But from what I know about history, Daqing has never had a female emperor, right?"
That’s not all.
He remembered that Jun'er had cried to him in person, saying, "Mother blames me for not being a man."
This should prove the problem.
“It has not happened.”
Prince Qian replied, and then changed the subject: "However, it is not that Daqing cannot have a female emperor, but there has never been a royal woman who could pass the layers of assessment and become one of the five people to enter the palace."
"Why?"
Xu Chong was puzzled.
"Because of the positive yang energy."
Prince Qian looked at the list in his hand and sighed, "Other assessments are fine, but this is the first time that a princess has been rated as A-A or above in terms of her aptitude for cultivating Zhengyang Jin... No, it should be said that this is the first time that a princess has been rated as C-Middle or above."
"What's the meaning?"
Xu Chong was stunned.
"Literally."
King Qian said calmly, "Yin and Yang, women are Yin and men are Yang. Men are inherently more suitable for practicing positive Yang energy than women."
"Forehead……"
Xu Chong was stunned.
It turned out that Jun'er's mother blamed her for not being a man, and blamed this.
etc……
Xu Chong suddenly thought of a question and asked curiously, "Zhengyang Jin is more suitable for men to practice, so what will happen if women practice it? Will their bodies gradually become more masculine?"
"Masculine? That word is... really dirty!"
King Qian was going to say "fresh", but after just a brief thought, he couldn't help but have his eyelids twitching and goosebumps all over his body.
"That's what I asked."
Xu Chong curled the corner of his mouth.
"Zhengyang Jin is neutral and peaceful, and can be practiced by both men and women. Throughout history, there have been women from royal families who have awakened their bloodline memories and practiced Zhengyang Jin."
King Qian tried hard to dispel the images in his mind and continued, "It's just that few people can use it to cleanse their bodies and then cultivate the Tao... and no changes will occur in the flesh."
"That's good."
Xu Chong breathed a sigh of relief.
He couldn't help but feel sorry when he thought about how the once delicate and fragile Princess Jun'er would eventually turn into a nine-foot-tall, muscular Barbie doll.
Fortunately, I don’t.
After a pause, Xu Chong continued, "In other words, this Jiang Shengjun has a chance to become the crown prince and enter the East Palace?"
“There is a chance.”
Prince Qian nodded, "Even once she enters the East Palace, as long as she doesn't do something stupid like Xinghe, she will definitely become the emperor of Daqing in the future."
Xu Chong felt a little absurd.
Even though he had thought about cheating in the assessment to help Jiang Shengjun before, he didn't really think that Jiang Shengjun could become the crown prince and the Emperor Qing.
"As long as Jun'er can be like the Crown Prince, or even do better than the Crown Prince, mother will definitely not be angry with Jun'er anymore."
This is what Jiang Shengjun said in the armory.
Now, I’m afraid that the mother’s attitude has reversed drastically, right?
"It's almost time."
Prince Qian looked at the sky outside, closed the list in his hand, and walked out. "Go and do your thing. I'll deliver the list for you."
"I don't have anything to do. If you want to show your goodwill to me, you can just say it..."
Xu Chong curled the corner of his mouth and said to himself.
Immediately, he frowned again.
After the conversation with King Qian just now, he always felt that he had overlooked an important point.
I didn't catch it at the time, and I had no clue afterwards.
It seems to be just an illusion.
"Grandmaster, Grandmaster's reincarnation, Empress..."
“This is probably the most important thing.”
"What did I overlook?"
Xu Chong frowned and paced outside.
Three days later.
The imperial examination is over.
Five royal children entered the Tianji Palace to undergo the final assessment by Emperor Yongtai.
Jiang Shengjun is one of them.
No, it can't be said to be one or the other.
It should be said that she is the best among these five.
Xu Chong was not wrong about one thing.
Jiang Shengjun is not just able to recite Taizu Dagao. Her overall talent and learning can be said to be no less than that of a juren.
Compared with the entire capital, it is certainly not worth mentioning, but compared with her brothers and sisters who have long been slack, she is already much stronger.
then.
On the morning of the fourth day, an imperial edict was sent from Yongqing Palace to all parts of Daqing.
Jiang Shengjun really won.
And became the crown prince of Daqing...
…
…
"The main body of the Spring and Autumn Tomb is actually covered by a coffin made of forbidden stone. The Fang family is really generous."
Qing Wu looked at the coffin floating quietly on the sea with a slightly surprised expression, "I'm afraid without the power of the Iron Bone Realm, I can't even open it, right?"
"My dear little friend, you have good eyesight."
Fang Shuyue glanced at Qing Wu and said with a smile: "For the sake of inheritance, any sacrifice is worth it."
After saying that, he added another sentence in his mind.
Any means can be used.
Soon, under Fang Shuyue's control, the two entered the Spring and Autumn Tomb silently.
As soon as they entered the Spring and Autumn Tomb, Fang Shuyue arranged for Qing Wu to wait in an empty tomb, and then opened the Spring and Autumn Hall, used the Cave Heaven Hub to force open one of the stone chambers, and without any explanation, brought out Li Xiangxue who was inside.
Until Li Xiangxue met Qing Wu, the whole process did not attract anyone's attention...mainly because it did not attract the attention of the 'Emperor Yongtai's clone'.
"The Taoist master has ordered you to return to Taiping Township immediately and report in detail what you saw and heard at the Spring and Autumn Tomb."
Qingwu went straight to the point.
Hearing this, Li Xiangxue's heart sank suddenly.
At this time, he looked to be nearly thirty years old.
Yes, he did not listen to Xu Chong's words and wait in vain in the Spring and Autumn Tomb.
On the contrary, after he parted with Xu Chong, he not only returned to Chunqiu Hall immediately, but also practiced even harder than before.
Why?
Naturally, it was to be able to have enough power to help Xu Chong when he dealt with Emperor Yongtai.
Now, he has broken through to the ninth level of body cleansing.
Just when he was planning to take the risk and try the planting method, Qing Wu showed up here and asked him to return to Taiping Township immediately?
So suddenly...
Could it be that Ji Qingzhi had noticed the transformation of his inner demon?
Li Xiangxue thought frantically, looking for a solution.