Soon, Princess Zhaoning rode in a small sedan with green curtains carried by two people, walked through the bustling Tianjie, and returned to the Princess Mansion located on the edge of Luoshui River.
The scenery here is unique, quiet and peaceful.
The princess got off the sedan, walked through the door, along the long corridor, and walked into her study.
On the way, she saw the fourth prince Xiao Shangzhen and several servant children climbing on the rockery and playing.
She smiled and did not disturb them.
As the saying goes, "There are gains and losses in life."
While Xiao Shangzhen lost his cultivation, he also lived the happy life he had always longed for.
But Princess Zhaoning could not predict how long his simple happiness would last.
She followed the steps and entered the study.
This is an open and bright house with no partitions in the middle; several rows of bookshelves are placed against the wall, displaying hundreds or thousands of old and semi-old books. The pages are slightly yellowed and there are signs on the corners of the books. Rolled up traces.
In the center of the house is a marble table with pens, inks, paper and inkstones neatly placed on the table. There are also several pen holders filled with brushes.
On the west wall of the study room, there are several simple and freehand black and white landscape paintings hanging.
There is a pair of couplets hanging on the left and right, which were written by Princess Zhaoning herself. The handwriting is straight and vigorous, and quite impressive.
The content is as follows:
The first couplet: To learn deeply, I know that books are interesting;
The second couplet: Observe the clear mind and create light in the room.
Under the service of the maids, she took off her thick crane cloak and the heavy hair ornament on her head.
Then he sat on the wooden chair behind the desk and began to read through the memorials sent to the princess's house today.
She has long known what happened in Qingzhou Mansion, and she has long guessed that the memorial sent today must be related to it.
However, when she saw the contents of the memorial, she was still extremely surprised.
The first memorial: "Luo Chuan, the head of the Exorcist Department, hopes to promote Gu Xu, a veteran of Yishui County, to the rank of sixth-rank chief..."
The second memorial: " The Imperial Master wants Gu Xu to serve as a 'guest teacher' at Longmen Academy and teach the academy students how to draw talisman and seal scripts in his spare time..."
The third memorial: "The Ministry of Rites proposed to grant Gu Xu a seal The title of knighthood..."
"..."
Princess Zhaoning quietly looked through the memorials in her hand, and she only felt that the word "Gu Xu" was between the lines today. The frequency seems to be too high.
To be precise, since she saw Gu Xu’s perfect theory test paper in the promotion assessment three months ago, she often saw it in the official documents on the desk and the words of others. Or hear the name "Gu Xu".
At first she just felt some appreciation for this well-read young man.
But as time goes by, when Gu Xu solves the Lu family murderous house case that has troubled Qingzhou Prefecture for many years...After completing the task, she climbed to the top of Mount Laoshan to obtain the inheritance of Kongxuan Sanren. She had a vague premonition that this young man would become a rising star in the Daqi Dynasty.
Now, her original premonition seems to have come true.
Gu Xu actually survived in front of a "fierce god" level ghost, and also stopped the "fierce god"'s promotion plan that had been planned for decades.
This made Princess Zhaoning feel very unbelievable.
Under normal circumstances, even monks in the fifth and sixth realms may not be able to escape unscathed when they encounter a "fierce god" level ghost.
Not to mention that Gu Xu actually destroyed an altar in front of the "fierce god".
Moreover, according to Luo Chuan, the head of the exorcism department, the "fierce god" level ghost was transformed by a special spell after Kong Xuan Sanren failed to ascend.
It is definitely much more powerful and cunning than the ordinary "fierce god".
Princess Zhaoning racked her brains, exhausted her knowledge and imagination, but could not imagine how Gu Xu could solve this fatal situation at that critical moment.
"According to what is said in this memorial, after Gu Xu destroyed the altar deep in Yishan Mountain, he was brought to Luojing City by Chief Luo. In recent days, he should have been staying in Qishu The Magic Headquarters..."
"I really want to meet him..."
Not long ago, Princess Zhaoning hoped to recruit young talents like Gu Xu to the fourth prince Xiao Shangzhen Under the command of Xiao Shangzhen, as a follower of Xiao Shangzhen, he helped Xiao Shangzhen fight for the "Tai'a Sword".
However, Xiao Shangzhen was assassinated by Du Jingjing, a companion of the "Shenji Camp" while climbing Mount Laoshan. He lost his cultivation and the possibility of fighting for the succession to the throne.
So now, Princess Zhaoning wants to get to know Gu Xu just out of curiosity.
"It's just that after Gu Xu came to the capital, I haven't got any news about his appearance in public. It is estimated that he has been staying at the Exorcism Department headquarters to practice quietly. In this way, I also It’s not convenient to come and disturb him...
“However, the Lantern Festival is coming soon.
"Because the 'Luoshui Conference' is about to be held in Luojing City, this year's Lantern Festival Night will be very lively. In addition to traditional activities such as guessing lantern riddles and lion dances in previous years, twenty-five people in the Daqi Dynasty will Young geniuses under the age of 10 will gather on the banks of Luoshui and compete in the ring.
“I don’t know if Gu Xu will also go to the ring to show off his skills.
"Perhaps, I can go to Luoshui on this Lantern Festival night to hang out and join in the fun by the ring. Maybe I can meet him..."
Thinking of this , Princess Zhaoning silently made up her mind.
She stood up, walked to the bookshelf in front of the wall, took out an exquisite wooden box from the drawer, and opened it.
There is an exquisite white jade bracelet placed in the wooden box, glowing with luster in the sun.
…………
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it’s the fifteenth day of the first lunar month that everyone is looking forward to.
This is the day when the earth rejuvenates and it is also the first full moon night of the year.
In Luojing City, the Lantern Festival seems to be much grander than New Year's Eve.
Not only are every household making colorful lanterns, but even the Daqi government has recruited many civilians to make lanterns and prepare for the lantern festival.
It is said that last year, 50,000 lanterns were lit in Luojing City, with many kinds of lanterns. The emperor ordered a huge lantern tower to be built, with 20 rooms wide and 150 feet high. The golden light was brilliant and extremely spectacular.
During the festival, the citizens of the capital gather in the streets, where singing, dancing, opera, thaumaturgy and magic are performed in the corridors, and the music is melodious. There are ball kickers, puppet shows, magic tricks, dramas, history lectures, monkey shows, fish jumping through knife gates, summoning bees and butterflies, etc. In short, the activities are so rich that it will keep you awake all night.
Under Shangguan Jin’s care, Shi Xiaohan recovered quickly from his injuries.
On the morning of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, she climbed out of bed excitedly and jumped around the room like a little rabbit.
I have to say that these days of lying in bed, unable to move, really suffocated her, leaving her with no way to release her strong energy.
"By the way, where is Gu Xu now?" Of course, Shi Xiaohan did not forget to ask Shangguan Jin this very important question.
"In the past few days, he has been staying in the 'Qingxiang Pavilion' in the headquarters Yamen and has not gone out." Shangguan Jin smiled and replied, "Three meals a day are served directly by the Yamen Sent to his room. I guess he is busy practicing!
"Actually, I really admire him. Luo Jing City was so lively during the Chinese New Year, but he was able to ignore all temptations and practice diligently. I have only seen this level of self-discipline in the ascetics of Lingshan Temple. "
"He is indeed practicing..." Shi Xiaohan was not surprised by this answer.
When he was in Yishui County, Gu Xu was basically not practicing every day. Even if she was doing tasks to accumulate merit, it was very difficult for her to ask him to have a meal at Piaoxianglou.
At that time, she thought Gu Xu just loved training and wanted to become stronger.
p>
But now, she finally understands Gu Xu’s difficulties.
If he doesn’t become a saint, he can only live to be thirty.
So, in order to extend his life. He would race against time to practice as long as possible.
Whenever he thinks about this, Shi Xiaohan's nose will feel sour.
Gu Xu is such a nasty guy. Hiding this matter from her
If he had told her earlier, she would have given him all the elixirs at home - in this way, he would no longer have to get up early and work late at night. Earn merit by doing ghost-killing missions
"I don't know if he will go to Luoshui with me to watch the lanterns today as promised."Xiaohan thought silently in his mind, "Of course, if he breaks his promise, I won't blame him... He really needs to seize all the time to practice now..."
With this thought, Shi Xiaohan did not go to "Qingxiang Pavilion" to disturb Gu Xu.
In the next period of time, she stayed quietly in this room where she was recuperating, while Shangguan Jin combed her hair and put on makeup for her.
Shi Xiaohan rarely applied makeup before.
On the one hand, because she is inherently pretty, with fair and rosy skin, and big and bright eyes, she does not need makeup to decorate herself;
On the other hand, she has always claimed that "Hero" is always careless in doing things, gobbling down food and paying little attention to his own image.
So today, when Shangguan Jin dressed her up seriously, she almost didn't recognize herself in the mirror.
"Where did this fairy come from?" Shangguan Jin pointed at her reflection in the mirror and joked with a smile.
At this time, after dressing up, Shi Xiaohan lost a bit of his childishness and gained a bit of grace and nobility.
She is no longer the carefree heroine, but more like a real rich lady.
"Sister Shangguan, don't make fun of me..."
"I'm not making fun of you, I'm telling the truth," Shangguan Jin said seriously, "According to previous customs, in On the Lantern Festival, all the girls in Luojing City will dress up and go to the Luoshui River to watch the lanterns. From a distance, it is a beautiful scenery.
"But I believe it. , with the appearance of Xiaohan's sister at this time, she is the most outstanding among them. "
"But I'm going to the ring today, so there's no need to dress up like this..."
"Sister Xiaohan looks as beautiful as a fairy now. The moment your opponent sees you, he may put down his weapon and surrender directly. ”
“…”
………
At the same time, Qingxiang Pavilion.
Gu Xu opened his eyes, He slowly stood up from the bamboo mat, took a deep breath, and ended his practice.
He had to admit that climbing the 4,999 steps of "Homesickness Ridge" was more difficult than before. The cultivation process in the first realm and the second realm was completely different.
It was very smooth at first.
Under the effect of "Du Er Dan", he had almost no effort. He climbed up more than two hundred steps in one go.
However, when he climbed to the 240th step, his pace began to become extremely slow.
The howling of ghosts and wolves around him became more harsh and dizzying than before.
The fog on the mountain became thicker, making it difficult for him to see the road in front of him clearly; the temperature gradually became colder, and it seemed that even his body was getting colder. His consciousness can be frozen.
Sometimes, illusions appear in front of him, affecting his judgment of the path in front of him.
In this case.In this situation, Gu Xu felt that he would fall into the terrifying abyss next to the mountain road if he wasn't careful.
Out of caution, he temporarily stopped moving forward.
At this time, Gu Xu remembered what Chen Jisheng had said to him before: practitioners who climb the "Wangxiang Terrace" need to find their own ordinary mind as an anchor point to avoid their own spiritual path in the future. disoriented.
"Fanxin..." Gu Xu silently repeated this word repeatedly.
As expected, the path of spiritual practice becomes more and more difficult the further you go.
To this day, with his understanding far beyond ordinary people, he still has not grasped the true meaning of the word "ordinary mind".
Like Chen Jisheng, his cultivation has also been stagnant at the peak of the third realm for many years.
It wasn’t until he risked his life to climb Mount Yi and enter the Snow Girl’s territory to pick the snow ginseng that he suddenly had an epiphany and found his “ordinary heart.”
"Perhaps, I should take a break and go out to find inspiration," Gu Xu thought silently in his heart, "It is not a good idea to stay in the house and practice.
"Practice without playing, and smart children will become stupid.
“This sentence is absolutely a wise saying for the monks who want to break through the 'Wangxiangtai'!
At this time, he remembered that today is the Lantern Festival.< /p>
“That girl Shi Xiaohan is probably still waiting for me to see the lanterns! "
Thinking of this, he smiled, then opened the door and walked out of Qingxiang Pavilion.
Then he walked along the corridor towards the house where Shi Xiaohan was recovering from his injuries.
p>
When the officials at the Exorcism Department Headquarters saw him, they all started talking around him
"This Master Gu is finally willing to walk out of the 'Qingxiang Pavilion'..."
“I thought Master Gu was so strong because of his great talent, but I didn’t expect that he would work so hard. ”
“People who are more talented than me also work harder than me. Ordinary people like me simply don’t have to live..."
"I don’t know if I will have a chance to see this Master Gu take action in the ring near Luoshui tonight. It must be very exciting. ..."
(Change first and then change)
PS: The new monthly ticket extra has been released! The title is "Life After Marriage", you can find it in the directory, vote for it You can unlock it with a monthly pass! It’s the end of the month, please give me a monthly pass~
…………
Notes:
(1) “Know the book for learning” If there is a taste, watch the light in the clear mind room. "——A couplet of Liquan inscriptions written by Ouyang Ledeng.