"This is my daughter!"
Aunt frowned, picked up Lingyin and put her on her legs.
"Doesn't she look like me?" Aunt was a little unhappy.
How could she look like you? She looks nothing like you... The old aunt's face with a faint smile froze slightly, and then recovered in an instant, smiling gently and saying:
"Look carefully, the eyebrows and eyes are really similar, I am shortsighted."
Yes, the eyebrows and eyes are similar to the coachman outside.
No words along the way.
Xu Pingzhi drove the carriage to the vicinity of the Observatory. First, he heard a noisy sound. Turning the street, he saw a long sea of people.
He took a rough look. The crowd he saw was at least one or two thousand. And this is only a small part of the people. You can imagine how many people radiate from the Observatory in all directions. It is an appalling number.
"This is more lively than the Spring Festival..." Xu Pingzhi pulled the reins and stopped the carriage outside.
"Why did you stop?" Auntie's voice came from the carriage.
"There is no road ahead, and it's full of people." Xu Pingzhi explained: "Let's get off here."
Auntie opened the window and got off the carriage with the help of her husband. Xu Lingyue also got off the carriage with the help of her father, and Xiao Douding was carried down by Xu Pingzhi.
The old aunt frowned. She usually had a maid bring a small wooden stool to greet her when she got on and off the carriage. This time she was a little uncomfortable.
Fortunately, the carriage was simple and the bottom of the carriage was not high from the ground, unlike her luxurious carriage made of golden nanmu, where the board could be as high as a person's waist.
She jumped off the carriage easily.
Xu Pingzhi waved his hand and called a sword guard on the street, and ordered: "Take good care of the carriage."
While speaking, he showed his sword guard waist badge.
The young Imperial Sword Guard agreed respectfully.
Xu Pingzhi led his wife and children around the crowd and walked towards the passage cleared by the Imperial Guards. The passage was full of Imperial Guards on both sides, blocking the people and forming a "safe passage" specially provided for dignitaries.
At the intersection of the passage, two Imperial Guards crossed their spears and stopped Xu Pingzhi and his party.
Xu Pingzhi took out the waist badge given by Xu Qian'an, and the Imperial Guards took a look and let him go.
"Ning Yan's status is getting higher and higher now," said the aunt happily: "Master, I never dreamed that I would sit with the dignitaries in the capital."
Xu Xinnian couldn't help but bite the lemon and snorted: "Mother, you will become a lady of imperial edict in the future."
Xu Pingzhi backstabbed him: "Think about how to stay in the capital first."
Xu Xinnian immediately wilted.
According to the meaning of the academy, it is to find a way to let him go to Qingzhou, away from the capital, to show his ambitions.
But Xu Xinnian didn't want to go. Going to Qingzhou meant being away from his parents, elder brother and younger sisters. If he couldn't return to the capital after his three-year term, he would have to serve in another three years in another place.
Three years after three years, he could only see his family when he returned to Beijing to report on his work.
Of course, there was another reason. If he couldn't enter the Hanlin Academy, he would basically have no chance of becoming a cabinet minister.
His father's words "my son has the talent to become the prime minister" really became an empty talk.
After walking through the "safe passage", the family looked up and saw the huge officialdom, with many awnings built. Civil officials, military generals, and nobles were sitting in their respective areas in an orderly and clear manner.
In addition, there were many noble ladies and daughters, who basically brought their families to watch the fight.
For these noble women, the face of Dafeng was secondary, and watching the excitement was the most important thing.
While Xu Pingzhi was scanning, he took his wife and children to the area where the night watchman's office was located. The main seat was occupied by a man in a green dress with gray hair.
On both sides of him were all golden gongs, behind the golden gongs were silver gongs, and the copper gongs were assigned to guard duty and were not qualified to stay in the pavilion to watch the show.
Xu Pingzhi approached with his wife and children, bowed, and quickly took his wife and children and the strange woman to sit down.
The famous Wei Yuan and the golden gong ignored him, which made Xu Ershu feel relieved. It would be better to be a nobody.
The old aunt also breathed a sigh of relief. It was really good to be a nobody.
........
Among these pavilions, the most luxurious one was a resting platform wrapped in yellow silk cloth. There were tables and desks at the bottom of the pavilion, and members of the royal family and clan sat beside the tables.
The queen and Chen Fei, who almost had their brains beaten out in the harem, also came. Everyone was talking and laughing, as if they had always been harmonious sisters without any filth.
The four princesses arrived, Huaiqing sat in the first seat, and Bian Bian sat next to her.
Among the princes, the crown prince was still in confinement and could not go out, and the rest of the princes were all here.
For the royal family, this fight is not only a fun event, but also a matter of face for the court and the royal family.
"Where is Xu Qi'an? Why didn't he come out? Can he beat the bald donkeys? How are the bald donkeys going to fight..."
Lin'an chattered endlessly, her watery peach blossom eyes looked around, but when she didn't see her dog servant, she was a little discouraged.
"It's hanging!"
The seventh prince shook his head, "Xu Qi'an is a warrior, how can he fight with the Buddhists? Besides, with his humble cultivation, can he really deal with it?"
The third prince smiled and echoed: "Unless the Buddhists compete with him in poetry."
The two princesses and the princes couldn't help laughing.
Lin'an was furious, and he glanced at his brother and sister fiercely, and scolded: "Are you happy that he lost? Do you want me to cast a Buddha statue for each of you?"
The third princess frowned and said: "We are just talking, what are you doing, Lin'an."
The other princes frowned.
Since the case of Concubine Fu, Lin'an's temper has become irritable. He is not polite to his brothers and sisters, and his words are getting more and more aggressive.
Huaiqing said lightly: "If it is a battle between Taoist sects, whoever is stronger will win, and the same is true for other systems. But Buddhism is different. Buddhism emphasizes enlightenment, Buddha's heart, and Zen.
"Xu Qiyan is indeed only a seventh-grade warrior. There are many people with stronger cultivation than him, but what's the use of high cultivation? Can it be as high as the Arhat of Deliverance? "
Huaiqing's words always leave people speechless and unable to refute.
The princes and princesses were silent.
........
Next to the royal shed, Prime Minister Wang Zhenwen took a sip of wine and noticed that his daughter's eyes were always looking at the area where the night watchman's office was located.
He frowned and asked, "Mu'er, what are you looking at?"
Miss Wang retracted her gaze and responded with a faint smile, "This is the first time my daughter has seen the famous Duke Wei. He is indeed extraordinary."
After that, she glanced at a handsome little brother from the corner of her eye.
"By the way, why didn't you see your majesty?" Miss Wang calmly changed the subject to distract her father's attention.
Prime Minister Wang turned his head to look at the imperial shed and smiled, "The two of you in the palace are fighting fiercely, and your majesty is annoyed and doesn't want to come down. He should be overlooking from the Bagua Terrace now. "
Miss Wang said "Oh", and then asked: "Dad, what is the purpose of the Western Regions delegation coming to Beijing this time? This unreasonable proposal of fighting is really puzzling. "
The delegation will not come as it pleases, it must have a purpose, and the explosive behavior of the Buddhist sect in the past few days makes people realize that the Western Regions delegation came to Beijing this time with bad intentions.
"Maybe it is related to the Sangpo case." Wang Shoufu said lightly.
Miss Wang frowned and extracted two pieces of information from her father's answer. First, her father, as the chief minister, was not very clear. Second, the Sangpo case seemed to hide a deeper inside story.
Just as she was about to ask more questions, Wang Shoufu waved his hand impatiently: "You are a girl, don't ask about the affairs of the court. Use your cleverness on your husband in the future. "
Miss Wang curled her lips and stopped talking. While her father was not paying attention, she turned her eyes to the night watchman's office.
When the fight is over, I will hold a literary gathering in the mansion... She thought secretly.
On the other side, Xu Pingzhi, relying on his many years of experience in the capital, swept through the sheds one by one and saw the big men he recognized. Of course, there were more big men he didn't know.
However, with the imperial shed as the core, the closer the distance, the higher the status of the big men.
Suddenly, there was an illusion of stepping onto the power stage of the capital, and all this was brought by Ning Yan... After this fight, if Ning Yan wins, he will be famous in the capital and in Dafeng... If he loses, I am afraid he will be despised for a long time. If the history books record it again, he will have to bear the infamy for thousands of years.
Thinking of this, Uncle Xu felt very complicated.
"Master, look at that princess, is she the one who came to worship Ning Yan that day? "Auntie was also watching the scene and recognized Princess Huaiqing, who was as cold as a lotus and bright as a bright sky.
Xu Pingzhi said "hmm" in response to his wife.
Auntie continued: "The princess in the red dress next to her is also very pretty, but... her eyes seem to be seductive and she doesn't look very serious."
Xu Pingzhi was startled and whispered: "Nonsense, don't talk about the princess in such an occasion, do you want to kill the whole family?"
Auntie quickly shut up.
"What can't be said? There is no good person in the royal family of Dafeng." The old aunt said lightly.
We don't know you, go away and talk... Xu Xinnian complained in his heart.
Xu Pingzhi exhaled, forced himself not to pay attention to the woman, and warned his wife and children: "In such an occasion, you must watch more, listen more and talk less. If you do nothing, you will not make any mistakes... Lingyin? ! "
When the word "Lingyin" was called out, the voice was out of tune.
At some point, Xu Lingyin walked in front of the blue-clothed eunuch with her short legs. She raised her head, pointed at the food on the table, and said with longing:
"Uncle, can I eat your food?"
Xu Pingzhi, who saw this scene, felt numbness in his tailbone all the way to the top of his head.
The golden gongs around Wei Yuan frowned at the same time, wondering where this child came from, so ignorant of etiquette.
Yang Kaitai, who had worshipped Xu Qian'an, recognized the little kid and hurriedly said, "Mr. Wei, this is Xu Ningyan's younger sister."
The golden gongs looked at Xu Lingyin with gentle eyes, thinking that this child is not afraid of strangers, is courageous, and will become a great man.
Wei Yuan picked up a piece of candied fruit and handed it over.
Xu Lingyin took it and swallowed it in a few bites.
"This is not how you eat candied fruit. The longer you hold it in your mouth, the longer the sweetness lasts. "Wei Yuan said with a smile.
"When the sweetness is gone, the candied fruit will be eaten up by others." Xu Lingyin raised her eyebrows:
"As long as I keep eating, it will always be sweet... Uncle, I want to eat more."
Wei Yuan smiled and fed a few more candied fruits. Xu Lingyin ate for a while and said a little embarrassedly: "Uncle, why don't you eat it?"
Wei Yuan smiled and shook his head.
"You didn't eat it yourself," Xu Lingyin blinked her innocent and clear eyes and cautiously tested: "Uncle didn't eat it, so I ate it all."
"Can you eat it all?" Wei Yuan smiled, glanced at Xu Lingyin's belly, and then looked at the table full of fruits, candied fruits and exquisite pastries.
"Wei, Duke Wei..."
Xu Pingzhi came over with a stiff face, bent his waist, and tried not to tremble in his voice: "My little girl is naughty, don't argue with her. "
Wei Yuan raised his sleeves, picked up a bright yellow pear and handed it to Xu Lingyin.
Jiang Luzhong saw this and said with a smile: "Mr. Wei is talking to the child, you can go back."
Xu Pingzhi glanced at the little kid, then at Wei Yuan who treated him like nothing, and turned away helplessly.
"Dad, what are you afraid of? My eldest brother is a silver gong, and he is highly appreciated by Mr. Wei. Lingyin will be fine."Xu Erlang said.
Xu Pingzhi sighed.
Young people will not understand how terrible Wei Yuan is. Those who have experienced the Battle of Shanhaiguan will not think that Wei Yuan is a kind person.
As time passed slowly, the food in front of Wei Yuan became less and less. He looked at Xu Lingyin's belly, frowned, and raised his hand to press on her head.
Then, he pressed and kneaded the girl's body for a long time.
"What a pity." Wei Yuan said regretfully.
"Foster father, what's wrong?" Yang Yan asked.
"This child is strong and energetic, with a deep innate foundation, but the flexibility of the bones and muscles is too poor, not suitable for martial arts." Wei Yuan shook his head.
"No wonder she eats so much, this girl is a glutton." Nangong Qianrou laughed.
"Tuituitui..." Xu Lingyin spit at him, her shallow eyebrows raised: "You are a bad person."
She still remembers this beautiful sister, who came to her house to lie that her eldest brother was dead, causing her father and mother to cry for a long time.
Nangong Qianrou snorted coldly, pulled out a handkerchief from her bosom, and wiped the saliva on her trouser legs.
Unknowingly, time came to the hour of Si, and Master Du'e, who was sitting cross-legged under the awning, opened his eyes and said in a loud voice: "Supervisor, do you know the mustard seed of Mount Sumeru?"
"Just a trick!"
The sneer of the supervisor came from the nine heavens.
No matter whether they were dignitaries or ordinary people, they were all excited and emotional.
The real show began!
Master Du'e took out a golden bowl from his sleeve and threw it gently.
"Bang!"
The golden bowl weighed more than a thousand pounds, and the stone slabs were cracked and deeply embedded in the ground.
A pure golden light rose from the bowl and unfolded in the sky, revealing a high mountain, and the winding stone steps extended to the end of the forest.
On the top of the mountain, there was a temple.
"God's means..." Aunt was stunned and dumbfounded.
Except for the martial artists with great cultivation, ordinary people who saw this scene could not control their expressions, and there was an uproar.
"Foster father, what is the mustard seed of Mount Sumeru?" Nangong Qianrou frowned.
"This is an allusion in Buddhism." Wei Yuan glanced at Xu Lingyin, who turned a blind eye to the things around him, and said lightly:
"Mount Sumeru contains mustard seeds, and mustard seeds contain Mount Sumeru. It is said that there is a mountain in the hand of Buddha, called Mount Sumeru. That is his dojo. No matter where he goes, the dojo is there."
Yang Yan remembered the Battle of Shanhaiguan 20 years ago, and the scene of Buddhist monks transporting troops, and suddenly said: "The Buddha Kingdom in the palm of your hand?"
Wei Yuan nodded: "There is a mountain hidden in the golden bowl."
"Jingsi, you go into the mountain and sit in the second pass." Master Du'e ordered.
The handsome monk in green Nayi stood up, put his hands together and saluted, and then, in full view of the public, in front of countless people, stepped into the golden bowl.
The next moment, the painting unfolding in the sky had a young monk climbing the mountain.
He climbed the steps slowly, came to the mountainside, and sat cross-legged.
Rays of golden light fell from the sky and gathered on him. In an instant, his body was covered with a layer of golden light, and the whole person looked like gold.
.........
"It turns out that there are really Sumeru mustard seeds in this world." Xu Qian'an was amazed.
Yang Qianhuan, who had his back to him, nodded and said, "Sumeru mustard seeds, also known as the Buddha Kingdom in the palm of your hand, but this should be an ownerless world hidden in a golden bowl.
"If it is a "Buddha Kingdom" with an owner, then the victory or defeat depends on the thought of its owner, which is fair."
Chu Caiwei stuffed a bag of cakes into his arms and said in a tender voice, "Xu Ningyan, go ahead and eat on the way up the mountain."
"....Thank you, I'm not hungry. "Xu Qian'an declined.
Behind him, a group of white-robed magicians encouraged him, "Go, Master Xu. Although I don't know why the supervisor teacher chose you, the teacher must have his reasons."
"You must return victorious, Master Xu."
Whether you can return victorious or not, let's talk about it later. This is a good opportunity. In front of the whole capital, I will show off first... Xu Qian'an patted Yang Qianhuan on the shoulder and said:
"Brother Yang, after today, you will understand what it means to show off in front of others!"
.......
Outside the venue, on the roof of a restaurant, the blue-shirted swordsman Chu Yuanzhen and the burly bald Hengyuan stood side by side. Looking at the golden light of the young monk Jingsi, the top scholar said, "Tsk":
"The golden light casts the body. This Xumi world has strengthened Jingsi's diamond body. With Xu Ningyan's current strength, it is impossible to cut it off. "
Hengyuan was in a complicated mood. Logically, he was a Buddhist disciple and should have stood on the side of Buddhism. But he was also a Dafeng person, and the one who went to fight was Xu Dashanren.
"By the way, what happened last night? Why didn't you receive my letter?" Chu Yuanzhen asked.
"Master Jinlian blocked it." Hengyuan said.
This morning, Chu Yuanzhen came to him to "watch the show" together, and asked about the letter last night. After the two of them exchanged their statements, they agreed that it was Master Jinlian who blocked No. 4.
"I know it was Master Jinlian who blocked my letter, but why?" Chu Yuanzhen was puzzled.
"Master Jinlian doesn't want you to say that Xu Qian'an represented the Sitianjian in the fight?"
"Oh, do you think it makes sense?" Chu Yuanzhen sneered.
"It doesn't make sense." Hengyuan shook his head.
"I always feel that this matter is not simple. "Chu Yuanzhen pondered, he did not dwell on this question, and turned to say:
"You have been at Sanyang Post Station for three days, did you gain anything?"
"The Diamond Sutra cannot be taught easily. Master Du'e told me that if you want to see the Diamond Sutra, you can go back to the Western Regions with him and practice in Mount Xumi for three years." Hengyuan said.
"Wait until you become a Buddhist from the inside out, and have nothing to do with Dafeng?" Chu Yuanzhen raised a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Not so," Hengyuan argued: "The Diamond Sutra is not something that ordinary people can cultivate. Aren't you surprised that it was Jingsi who came forward to fight, not others?"
Chu Yuanzhen's heart moved: "Among the Western Regions delegation, only Jingsi cultivated the Diamond Sutra?"
Hengyuan nodded: "Either he is born with the root of Buddha and can understand the mystery. Or, go to Mount Xumi to listen to the Dharma, or there is a chance to comprehend the Diamond Sutra. "
Chu Yuanzhen suddenly thought of something, clapped his hands, and was a little annoyed: "In other words, even if Xu Qi'an won the fight and got the Diamond Sutra, it would be useless?
"Because a lustful person like Xu Qi'an can't have the root of Buddha."
Hengyuan was silent for a moment, and nodded slowly.
During the conversation, the two heard Master Du'e say loudly: "This fight is called mountain climbing! If you reach the top of the mountain and enter the temple, if you still don't want to convert to Buddhism, then my Buddhist sect has lost. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau has three chances."
Hearing this, Wei Yuan smiled.
"Mountain climbing......" Yang Yan pondered: "There must be many difficulties along the way. If you are not careful, you will be defeated directly."
After Du'e Arhat finished speaking, he stopped talking and meditated quietly.
Inside and outside the venue, the audience waited for a long time, but still did not see the Imperial Astronomical Bureau send someone to fight, and there was a lot of discussion for a while.
"Why is there no movement from the Si Tian Jian? Are they scared?"
"Where is the Jian Zheng? Say something."
"What's going on? If the Si Tian Jian is scared, why did he agree to the fight? Don't you think Da Feng is not embarrassed enough?"
Suddenly, someone shouted in surprise: "Someone came out of the Observatory."
In an instant, countless people turned their heads at the same time, and countless eyes looked at the gate of the Observatory.
In the lobby on the first floor, a cloaked man slowly walked out. He was holding a wine jar in his hand, wearing a hood, and his head was lowered, so his face could not be seen.
The moment the cloaked man stepped out of the steps, the low chanting sound spread throughout the venue, accompanied by the aura, and entered the ears of everyone.
"When I was fifteen or twenty, I traveled the world in a green shirt and wielded a sword."
The cloaked man took the second step, and his low voice suddenly became high: "When the great roc rises with the wind, it soars up to 90,000 miles."
This... In those pavilions, the civil servants stood up unconsciously and saluted the figure.
The cloaked man took the third step, pointed to the sky with one hand, and his voice changed from high to powerful: "The sea ends and the sky is the shore, and I am the peak of martial arts!"
Inside and outside the field, the warriors raised their eyebrows and looked strange. Some of the people outside the field even responded with agitation.
The cloaked man took the fourth step and whistled: "I have fought in three thousand miles, and my sword has been as powerful as a million soldiers."
Wei Yuan raised his eyebrows and leaned forward slightly.
The generals stood up suddenly.
The cloaked man took the fifth step and sighed: "If I, Xu Ningyan, had not been born, the nine states would have been like a long night!"
Xu Xinnian was so angry that he was shaking all over. This was the pinnacle of his life, created when he was frustrated.
Big brother is so shameless.
He looked around in anger and saw a lot of dull faces. They were so focused on looking at the cloaked man who was slowly walking into the venue.
I was laughed at by my family for reading this poem, but when big brother read this poem, he was the focus of everyone's attention and admired by everyone...Xu Xinnian thought angrily:
Big brother is so shameless.
In anger, Xu Xinnian glanced at the woman next to him again. She looked at the cloaked man and was a little absent-minded.
Bian Bian looked at the cloaked man infatuatedly, as if there was no room for anything else in her eyes.
Huaiqing's eyes were shining. For the first time, she felt that this man was so dazzling.
Xu Qian'an did not recite any more poems. He carried the wine jar and walked into the venue step by step. He finally stopped beside the golden bowl. Then, he took off his hood and raised his head to drink.
The wine flowed down his chin, soaking his clothes, wantonly and bold.
Suddenly, he threw the wine jar to the ground, and laughed wildly in the sound of "clang":
"The heroes of the world are born in my generation. Once I enter the world, the years will destroy me. I can't beat the drunkenness of life while talking and laughing about grand plans and hegemony."
With wild and bold laughter, he jumped into the golden bowl.
At this moment, the whole venue was silent.
After a long time, suddenly, the noise came, like a tide, sweeping the whole venue.
"Dafeng, you must win!"
"Dafeng, you must win!"
This high-profile appearance, the birth of these masterpieces, instantly crushed the Buddhist sect in style and overlooked the Buddhist sect in momentum.
It also gave back confidence to the people of the capital.
The civil and military officials nodded slowly, showing appreciation. It turned out that Xu Qian'an's high-profile entry this time had a deep meaning.
Sweep away the decline and regroup.