After bidding farewell to Gewanshan, Xu Chong set off on the same day and headed east at full speed. It took him a full month to reach Zhentianfu, the easternmost town in Daqing.
Judging from the abstract map, Zhentian Mansion is backed by the ocean, so logically it should be called Zhenhai Mansion more appropriately.
Xu Chong originally thought that the word "zhentian" was to cope with the specifications of the capital, but he didn't know until he arrived that it was more than that.
As a companion capital, the city wall of Zhentian City is far less flashy than that of the capital city, but... it is built on a mountain!
And this mountain... is too high!
No, it can’t be called a mountain, it should be called a mountain range!
This is a city built on a giant mountain!
"No wonder the capital is here. Just this sea of clouds makes it possible for me to live here all my life."
Xu Chong stood on the edge of the cliff, just looking at the rolling sea of clouds, the fatigue of traveling under the stars and night disappeared.
"Is this brother's first time coming to Zhentian?"
Someone next to me suddenly asked a question in a clear voice.
"It's indeed my first time here."
Xu Chong looked over with a smile.
He has a high-spirited figure, sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, and is wearing a sky-blue gown. He looks like a good young man...if you ignore the "city dweller"'s arrogant expression.
"Ha, I am Su Ruochen, a native of Zhentianfu."
As he said that, the young man dusted off the non-existent dust on his clothes and said, "Now, I want to keep my facial features straight."
"..."
Xu Chong was silent.
The five sense organs are upright, which is a subordinate position of Qin Tianjian. Their duty is to record changes in celestial phenomena and predict good and bad luck.
"Um?"
Seeing Xu Chong's expressionless face, Su Ruochen thought for a while and thought that Xu Chong didn't know what the concept of official was, so he added word by word: "Zheng, Ba, Pin."
The character "eight" is also deliberately emphasized.
"...It turned out to be Mr. Guan in person. I've really admired him for a long time."
Xu Chong had no choice but to bow his hand perfunctorily.
Then he saw Su Ruochen suddenly became serious.
"Long admiration?"
Su Ruochen stared into Xu Chong's eyes, "Where are you from, brother?"
"Uh, what happened to Zhang Hua Mansion?"
Xu Chong was stunned.
"Zhanghua Mansion... thousands of miles away?!"
Su Ruochen's eyes suddenly widened, and his voice began to tremble, "My name, Su Ruochen, has actually spread so far?"
"this……"
Xu Chong was dumbfounded.
He has never seen such a shameless person!
"Good brother!"
Su Ruochen grabbed Xu Chong's neck, like a close friend for many years: "I want to thank you. It was you who made me recognize myself...Tell me, what do you want, money? Beauty? Good wine?"
"Thank you, Brother Su, for your kindness..."
Xu Chong broke away calmly.
"What? Do you think I'm boasting about Haikou?"
Su Ruochen straightened her face, "I'm afraid you don't know my brother's importance in this Tianzhen City. It's no exaggeration to say that even if I'm supervising him, I have to sell my brother a little less."
"Jian Zheng?"
Xu Chong's heart moved slightly and he asked: "If I remember correctly, Qin Tian Jian Zhengzheng seems to be only the fifth rank, right? From what Brother Su said, why does it seem like Jian Zheng is bigger than the Sixth Division?"
"You don't know this."
Su Ruochen smiled enigmatically, "In terms of rank, the Liubu Department is naturally bigger, but in terms of status, the six Departments that accompany the capital together may not be as noble as Jianzheng, but I can't tell you this.
.”
"Oh yeah?"
Xu Chong looked at him calmly, with strong doubts in his tone.
"..."
How could Su Ruochen bear this grievance? He looked around and whispered: "I'm only telling you this, you can't tell others... Yuan Jianzheng's mother is His Majesty's wet nurse, and the two of them have eaten together since childhood. I didn’t say anything when I drank, but later I became a reading companion for His Majesty.”
"I know this."
Xu Chong continued to look at him calmly.
"..."
Su Ruochen was speechless, and then felt fierce in her heart.
I still don’t believe it when I step on the horse. I’ve been with Jian Zheng for so long, and I’m not as good as you, a foreigner?
Gritting his teeth, Su Ruochen lowered his voice a little lower: "Then you must not know why Yuan Jianzheng came to Zhentian."
"Isn't this a normal transfer?"
Xu Chong frowned.
He was nagging for a long time, trying to trick Su Ruochen into telling the truth. But even King Qian and Dou Tianyuan didn't know the reason why Yuan Shouyi left the capital. How could Su Ruochen know?
"Hehe, externally it is said that the transfer is normal, but in fact... it is not."
Su Ruochen regained her composure, her expression became clear again, and she even put her hands behind her back.
Standing on the edge of the cliff, her long hair swaying lightly in the majestic wind, she looked like a master...if she didn't have the words "Ask me quickly" on her face.
Xu Chong resisted the urge to push him off the cliff and asked: "Why is that?"
"hey-hey."
The master broke through the kung fu in a second, came over to him in a humble manner, and pointed his index finger to the sky: "I broke up with that guy over a woman."
"..."
Xu Chong was silent for a moment and shook his head: "I don't believe it."
"Don't believe it?! How can you not believe it?!"
In an instant, Su Ruochen became anxious, so anxious that he broke his voice, "I, Su Ruochen, whose reputation has spread thousands of miles, can I still deceive you? I don't want my reputation anymore?"
"Although I am not as good as Brother Su in background, I have heard about the affairs in the DPRK."
Xu Chong looked upright and said: "As far as I know, Yuan Jianzheng has never been with women in his life, and he has kept himself clean and has not even been contaminated by fireworks. How can he have a quarrel with His Majesty because of a woman?"
Half a month ago, Dou Tianyuan stopped him through 'space teleportation' again, and sent him customs clearance documents, appointment documents and other procedures, as well as Yuan Shouyi's files.
Now he doesn't just know the name Yuan Shouyi.
After a pause, Xu Chong said again: "Brother Su, you must not talk nonsense anymore, be careful of trouble coming from your mouth."
"..."
Su Ruochen's face suddenly turned the color of pig liver.
Xu Chong looked at the sea of clouds, the old god was waiting for the next step.
Suddenly, a chaotic breath came from around him.
Xu Chong's expression changed and he looked at Su Ruochen, and suddenly found that the other person's eyes had become extremely confused.
The cheerful and arrogant look just now is completely gone.
"This is!"
Xu Chong thought of Dou Tianyuan's words, and immediately moved his energy to the tip of his tongue, shouting like thunder: "——Brother Su!"
"……Um?"
Su Ruochen froze, and her eyes quickly returned to clarity: "Where did we just talk? Oh, woman, yes."
Xu Chong: "..."
"Originally, I didn't believe this either. I regarded it as gossip in Beijing and just listened to it."
Su Ruochen seemed to have no memory of the chaos just now, and kept talking more and more enthusiastically: "It wasn't until I joined the Imperial Heavenly Prison... Once the Minister of Rites paid a visit, and after waiting for a long time, I didn't see the prison guard come down, so I went to the Star Observation Tower to shout He, I just happened to catch him looking at a portrait of a woman!"
"Portrait of a woman?"
Xu Chong opened his mouth wide, "Who painted it?"
"I don't know, I don't know him. If you just look at the portrait, his appearance is very ordinary."
Su Ruochen scratched his head dejectedly, "The prison officer hung me up on the Star Observation Tower for a few days, saying that the woman had nothing to do with His Majesty..."
"Hang on the stargazing tower...because you talk about it everywhere?"
Xu Chong asked.
"What if?"
Su Ruochen glanced at Xu Chong as if he were a fool, and continued: "Anyway, I think the more he says this, the more it proves that there is something wrong in his heart. You don't know how fascinated he was when he was looking at the portrait, even when I was close. Without realizing it... I stood behind him and watched for a long time."
Didn't he kill you directly?
It seems that King Qian and Dou Tianyuan did not lie. Yuan Jianzheng is really a good person.
Xu Chong was thoughtful.
"Okay, I'll tell you this much first."
Su Ruochen patted Xu Chong on the shoulder, "If you want to know more details, just come to see me in Qintian Prison."
After saying that, he shook his head and walked towards the city gate.
After walking a few steps, he turned back.
Xu Chong thought he wanted to ask her name, but...
Su Ruochen once again dusted off the non-existent dust on his clothes: "I forgot to tell you, as an eighth-grade official like me, there is no need to queue up when entering the city."
After saying this, Shi Shiran left again.
This time he really left.
"... Niubi!"
Xu Chong gave a thumbs up to Su Ruochen's back.
Looking at the sea of clouds again, I suddenly felt that it wasn’t that tall anymore...
"Forget it, let's enter the city."
Xu Chong shook his head and walked towards the city gate as well.
The procedures were all in order, and naturally we didn't face any difficulties, so we entered the city smoothly.
As soon as we entered the city, the feeling of "high class" dropped again and again.
Chessboards and gambling tables can be seen everywhere.
They are so brightly placed on both sides of the main road, each attracting many young and old men to stop.
In addition, pedestrians, carriages and horses all moved slowly, just like walking.
In contrast, the ones who gained the fastest speed were actually the children playing and playing.
"I understand, I mainly focus on the word "idle"."
Xu Chong seemed to have some realization, and immediately stopped stopping and walked quickly towards his destination.
Not long after, Qin Tianjian arrived.
From the outside, except for a seven-story building protruding from the backyard, Qintian Prison is no different from a normal yamen. They all have a ceremonial gate, a front yard, and a main hall.
Surprisingly, as soon as Xu Chong stepped forward, before he could speak, a man in a sky-green shirt approached: "But the new deputy supervisor, Mr. Xu Chongxu?"
"Exactly."
Xu Chong nodded.
"Jianzheng has been waiting for a long time. Please come with me."
The man cupped his hands and turned around first to go inside.
Xu Chong followed behind, and as soon as he entered Qintian Prison, a fresh breath enveloped him instantly.
The same breath as Lingyuan!
Although it is far from as rich as the spiritual source, it is better than Qianhusuo or Zhifu Yamen, and it is clear enough that it can be clearly felt.
At the same time, Xu Chong's mind also calmed down. There was no sadness or joy, and there was no wave in the ancient well.
"Is this the rule of the blessed land? It's really magical."
Feeling the power exerted on his mind, Xu Chong followed the man through the halls and corridors.
Finally we arrived at the seven-story building.
"The supervisor is on the roof of the Star Observation Tower. Deputy Supervisor Xu can just go there."
The man said something, clasped his fists and left.
Xu Chong didn't think much and went straight up the stairs.
The area of the Star Observation Building is not large, and it decreases from bottom to top. By the seventh floor, it is only about thirty square meters.
There were only a few bookshelves, a few tables and chairs, and no one was seen inside.
"Still up there?"
Xu Chong remembered the shape he saw outside the Yamen, jumped out of the window, and flew upwards.
Sure enough, the roof was not paved with the usual sloping roof of tiles, but was flat.
An old man stood with his hands behind his hands, quietly watching the sea of clouds.
A young man was sitting next to the charcoal stove, as if making tea.
"Xu Chong, the lower official, has met Yuan Jianzheng."
Xu Chong fell lightly.
The young man raised his head in astonishment and glanced at it, his expression changing rapidly.
It was Su Ruochen.
"You go down first."
Yuan Shouyi flicked his sleeves.
Su Ruochen felt like he was being pardoned, raised his sleeves to cover his face, and jumped up.
He didn't even bother to say a word about resigning.
Xu Chong frowned.
"Do you think he is different from when he was outside the city?"
Yuan Shouyi turned around and asked.
Square face, thick eyebrows, and piercing eyes.
Just like in the picture.
Xu Chong nodded: "I thought he would ask me who I am."
"A month ago, Su Ruochen started practicing martial arts and is now at the third level of Tongmai."
Yuan Shouyi looked at Xu Chong indifferently, "This caused him to have a defective state of mind, and he was very happy to express himself in front of others. His father had no choice but to send him to Qintian Prison to use the rules of calming the mind to delay the collapse of his state of mind."
"No wonder……"
Xu Chong thought this was indeed the case.
In addition, starting from scratch and reaching the third level of Tongmai in one month, this qualification is really exaggerated.
"You provoked him with your words and deeds outside the city. Although the person who did not know is not guilty, your actions almost cost his life."
Yuan Shouyi continued, "If his father, the governor of Zhentian Mansion, knew about it, he would never break up with you."
"This...is indeed a result of the subordinate's lack of thoughtfulness."
Xu Chong looked ashamed and asked, "Is there any way to solve his problem?"
It's not that he's afraid, because his identity as Taizu's legacy is his biggest shield.
A mere third-grade governor, even if he is accompanying the capital, cannot be greater than the prince.
The main thing is that this matter is indeed my fault. I have to admit my mistakes and make up for it.
"The theory of state of mind is too mysterious. There is never any direct and clear way, and you can only rely on yourself."
A malicious smile appeared on Yuan Shouyi's face, "But you can try. If you can solve his problem, I can tell you the reason for the rift between me and His Majesty."
???
Xu Chong looked stunned.
Does this count as triggering the prerequisite tasks of the main storyline?