In the dead of night, the shadows of trees shimmered on the white temple wall like ghost claws. There was a burst of sound in the sky, and Chen Bai, who was standing under the temple wall, raised his head.

Xiaobai flew back.

Chen Baiqi stretched out an arm, Xiaobai folded his wings and stood on it obediently and quietly.

She took off a bamboo tube from its leg, pulled it out, took out a piece of silk cloth and rolled it out. The burning firelight behind her spilled out from the door's inner slant, and the font of the letter was familiar to her——

Huanxian, my master learned that Lord Mengchang imprisoned Yuelu's disciples in the Tianfu Water Prison, and he will go to Xue Yi in the near future.

This wording seems quite firm.

When Chen Baiqi saw the content, he suddenly felt a headache.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead.

She hasn't yet thought of a way to get Mengchangjun to let disciple Yuelu go, but if the mountain chief is involved in this matter, things will probably get out of hand again, so... what should she do?

The spring was cold, and the night was as bitter and cold as winter. After standing outside for a long time, Chen Baiqi felt his hands and feet were cold.

She let Xiaobai go and continued to watch the mountain leader Mo Lai, then returned to the temple.

Throwing the finger-long silk cloth in your hand into the fire, the cloth curled and deformed with a "pop" and was burned to ashes.

"Why don't we... let's play it big this time."

Chen Baiqi stared at the bright and swaying firelight, his eyes getting darker and longer.

——

The next day, the sky was clear and blue, the sun rose in the east, and the mist gradually became lighter.

Sijiang woke up leaning against the wall covered with thick hay, and saw Chen Baiqi standing at the door of the temple. She was dressed in a white robe, plain and tall, with flowing black hair. The red light shone in front of her, blurring the outline of her figure.

, also inlaid with a bright gold edge.

She faced the vast world outside the door, with her back to him, as if she was in a state of ecstasy, seemingly dominating the entire world under the support of the sun.

At this time, everything was silent, and suddenly there was a call of a forest bird, breaking the silence.

Chen Baiqi felt movement beside him, raised his eyelashes and turned around to look at Si Jiang who had woken up.

Si Jiang lowered his head in embarrassment for a moment.

"woke up?"

A fresh voice that is soft and as clean as rain.

This young man's voice was different from the delicate and brittle voice of the girl "Chen Jiao Niang", but when he heard it, he felt like the same person was speaking.

Si Jiang shook his head, so that his sleepy head could wake up a little from the cold morning light, and he stood up with his body propped up.

He walked up to her and looked at her: "You didn't sleep all night?"

Chen Baiqi put on a casual smile and shook his head: "I can't sleep...there are too many things to consider."

"Don't push yourself too hard. If you have anything... you can discuss it with me." Si Jiang said seriously.

Chen Bai opened his eyes, and the light reflected was like a colorful cloud: "It's just that I haven't slept all night, so it doesn't matter."

Seeing that she was very energetic, Si Jiang had no choice but to give up persuading her.

He simply packed up and prepared to go to Yuelu Mountain to pick up her brother for her. Chen Baiqi told him his address and name, and handed him a token.

Si Jiang took the token and told her to take good care of herself. He would go and come back quickly, so he started on his way without further delay.

After Si Jiang left, Chen Baiqi went down the mountain with Gou Er and returned to Tian Mansion according to the original plan.

This time, she was well prepared. She bought a medium-sized worship box from Xue Yi's store, made a greeting card out of fragrant bamboo, and wrote a brief introduction to her place of origin, name, a tribute, and sent it off.

Posted on Tianfu.

Since she came according to the rules this time, Tian Mansion naturally treated her according to the rules and did not chase her away at will.

She wanted to be loyal to Tian Wen, so after sending her greeting card, she naturally waited patiently in front of the house.

Around noon, someone came from the mansion. The person who came was a steward with a brass plate. He was about eighteen or nineteen years old. He was wearing a blue cloth. He stood on the six steps and looked at Chen Baiqi with arrogant and mean eyes.

After looking at him, he turned around, ordered the guard in front of the door to take the person for examination, and left without stopping.

The guard bowed and listened, and after the steward left, he asked Chen Baiqi to follow him into the mansion.

"I passed the first level. The next step is the assessment."

Gou Er followed Chen Bai with a low eyebrow and his eyes were low. He was originally worried that Chen Bai's invitation would be lost in vain, but when he saw the brass-plate steward arriving, he knew it was done.

Chen Baiqi followed the guard a few steps away, talking quietly to Gou Er.

"Who was that person just now?"

"The one with the brass medal on his waist is the third-class steward of the Tian Mansion. There are many big things in the Tian Mansion. Even the stewards are divided into three ranks. The first class has a red bronze medal, the second class has a red bronze medal, and the third class has a brass medal. That person just now

He is a steward who specializes in assessment matters, has leadership, and the power to recommend, follow, and kill."

"A third-class steward still has the power to kill with a stick?"

"Isn't that right? This steward of Tian Mansion is more prestigious than some petty officials. However, Lord Mengchang has always treated his diners very favorably and kindly. If you can get into his eyes, these stewards will not dare to show any slights.

"

Chen Baiqi remembered something and said, "How did you get the right to assess in the first place?"

She discovered that it was really not just a matter of standing in front of the door and saying that she had any abilities, so that she could enter the house at will. However, this dog passed the assessment so smoothly, although he failed in the end due to the content of the assessment.

Speaking of this, Gou Er chuckled: "Master Gou, I picked up a famous post from a slightly famous scholar, so I was able to enter the government for examination."

Chen Baiqi actually heard that the word "shi" was probably replaced by the word "steal".

"If you fail this test, will you all be kicked out?"

Gou Er glanced at her and saw that she looked calm, neither afraid nor hesitant, so he carefully worded his words: "If you fail the test, you will be considered a liar, uh, you will be beaten out, but...

…This is just a formality. Look at me, I’m not seriously injured.”

In fact, he was somewhat afraid that "Chen Huanxian" would shrink, and he wanted to rely on her to sneak into Tian's house.

Chen Baiqi understood.

After all, not everyone can take a bite of this piece of fat in Tianfu. If you are capable, you can eat as much as you want. If you are not capable, don’t blame Tianfu for insulting you and kicking you out.

He has gained a bad reputation as a person who is just trying to gain fame. I am afraid that once the news spreads that he has defeated Tian Mansion, he will be like a dog in the water and will have no place in other vassal states.

Each person only has the right to take the assessment once, and Gou Er failed the assessment before, and now he can only choose to be her attendant.

The guards took a circuitous path through Tian Mansion and finally led them into a living room before returning to their posts.

Chen Baiqi politely thanked the guard.

As soon as they stepped into the hall, they felt that the hall was very grand, the furnishings were strict and orderly, and the space was spacious and regular. The passage leading into the inner room from the outside was more neatly furnished, quiet, sparse and spacious.

The guest seats are placed on both sides of the central axis, and the main seats are in the east.

There are three tables placed on the chair, and three old men with sparse white hair tied into buns are leaning on the tables and looking majestically.

At this time, except for Chen Baiqi and Gou Er, who had just arrived, eight people had already arrived in the hall.

These eight people were obviously here for the assessment. They gave a salute and were bowing to the three old men.

Chen Baiqi had never seen these eight people before. She was stationed in front of the door every day, and she was very discerning when coming and going. Looking at the clothes and accessories of these eight people, they were all well-dressed, and you could tell at a glance that they were not ordinary civilians.

He should be from a noble family.

Generally speaking, both official and private recruitment are done through two methods: recommendation and assessment. The former involves recruiting through connections, while the latter involves climbing up the ranks step by step based on strength.

Chen Baiqi originally thought that relying on the reputation of Yuelu Academy, she would be able to succeed in becoming a scholar in the future, but she didn't know that Yuelu Academy was now being suppressed by Lord Mengchang, and she didn't know any big shots, so naturally she couldn't recommend him.

The eight people bowed and stepped aside. Chen Baiqi asked Gou Er to stay outside the door. She stepped forward and bowed politely.

System: The Desire of Colleagues (2). In order to win over a master, you will do your best. You will overcome all difficulties and pass the assessment of the three elders. Accept/reject? Note: This task has three levels, normal (reward:

Experience value 40,000), excellent (reward: experience value 60,000), perfect (reward: experience value 80,000, special medicinal material - Purple Gold Star*1)

Chen Baiqi raised his eyebrows: Accept.

Don’t know how to rate?

She looked at the three shriveled old men sitting above her with stern looks. The corners of their lips were drooped, the bags under their eyes were deep, and their hazy eyes flashed with a hint of forbearance from time to time. They clearly had weird and gloomy personalities, and they were hard to please.

I guess...it will only reach the "perfect" level if all three of them are satisfied.

The three veterans put their hands in their sleeves and sat upright, kneeling firmly on the three tables.

"If you are here for the assessment today, you should know the rules of Tian Mansion." An old man said coldly.

"Disciple knows." Everyone responded immediately.

"The three of us have a total of three assessments. If one of them catches my eye, you can stay. If you are eliminated in all three rounds, you will be kicked out." Another old man also answered.

"...Here." Everyone's response this time was obviously lacking in confidence.

"You can call me Hei Lao, he is Gray Lao, and he is Bai Lao." The last old man introduced to everyone, pointing to the first person who spoke and the second person who answered.

Chen Baiqi stood at the end of the crowd, observing the three elders.

The three elders all look similar, except that the "Hei Lao" wears a black robe, the "Grey Lao" wears a gray robe, and the "White Lao" wears a white robe.
To be continued...