Chapter One Hundred and Seventy Six: Golden Jade Fate
Three days later.
The magnolia at the door was just blooming, and Xiaowen's sedan chair greeted her home.
On the wedding day, the house was full of guests.
All the prominent people from Shiliting Town came, the neighbors sat at dozens of tables, and the wedding banquet was placed all the way to the street.
Yan Chixia was sitting in the high hall, wearing a red robe. She did not appear as a master, but as a foster father. With a full beard, she looked exactly like Zhong Kui.
But Zhang Heng could tell that he was very happy.
He tried his best to suppress his smile, but it was like wrinkles that he couldn't hide.
"Worship heaven and earth!"
"Two thanks to Gaotang!"
"Couple greetings!"
"Send to the bridal chamber!!"
After a complete set of ceremonies, accompanied by lively applause, Xiaowen entered the bridal chamber with the support of the matchmaker and maid.
Yan Shi was not so lucky.
He is the groom, and he has to go to each table to toast and ask for good luck.
After a wedding, we were busy until midnight.
It was late at night and the guests dispersed.
Yan Chixia sat on the steps, looking at the messy wedding scene, and said to Zhang Heng who was sitting aside: "I picked Yan Shi up. He was only over a year old at the time. I kept thinking about it when I picked him up.
I thought I couldn’t survive.”
"This kid is lucky. He survived with a mouthful of rice cereal and a mouthful of goat milk."
"Today he is married and has his own family and wife. He doesn't have to spend half his life wandering around like me. I have no regrets in my heart."
Zhang Heng nodded silently.
September.
Autumn exams begin.
Cui Hongjian took the money and the peace charm given to him by Zhang Heng and headed to the prefecture to take the exam.
If this step is accomplished, the carp will leap over the dragon gate.
Even if you fail to pass the Jinshi examination in the future, you can still teach in a school in the prefecture or county. If you have connections and money, you can be recommended to an eighth-level official such as county magistrate or chief registrar. If you do well, you will be promoted from juren to
There were also many county magistrates and prefects who went up.
more importantly.
There are many names for poor scholars in the market, but there is no exhaustive list.
Juren are exempted from taxes and corvee.
The Dasong Dynasty may not look at the current bad times, but it has nothing to say to scholars.
The only clear stipulation is that one person can be exempted from the land tax of two hundred acres.
In reality, in addition to Juren's own land, the surrounding squires would also come to join him.
County officials in various places are also scholars. As long as they are not too outrageous and have 1,800 acres of land in their name, they don't have to pay a penny in tax.
The tax saved is your own land, so it belongs to you.
If you don't have any land, and the land in your name is obtained by a squire, then you will be given twenty pounds of grain per acre, or other money and goods of equivalent value.
Don’t be too short. Twenty kilograms of grain per acre of land, and twenty thousand kilograms of grain for one thousand acres of land.
If you win the imperial examination, even if you do nothing every year, you will still earn tens of thousands of catties of millet.
This money is enough for you to have three wives and four concubines, and support a dozen servants at home.
Of course, if you are arrogant and follow Hai Rui's example, allocate your land to the clan members and only take the salary from the court, then there is nothing you can do.
Throughout the ages, few officials have lived solely on salary.
Mid-October.
Accompanied by playing and playing, Cui Hongjianrong returned to his hometown.
In this autumn examination, Cui Hongjian performed extremely well and won the third place in the Central Provincial Examination. He was selected as the chief economic officer and was awarded the title of Juren.
The so-called Thirty Young Scholars, Cui Hongjian is 28 years old this year, and he has a promising future.
Even he himself found confidence in this provincial examination.
He also told Zhang Hengyan that he was going to double his review and compete in the spring exam next year to go to the capital to pass the Jinshi exam.
At the moment, Cui Hongjian is gaining momentum and writing like a god. With this momentum, he might really be able to pass the high school exam next spring.
December.
There was light snow falling outside the window and it was extremely cold.
Zhang Heng's heart was on fire because his ten-step flying sword finally reached a hundred steps.
It's not easy.
The flying sword technique was more difficult than he thought.
After a few months, I went from ten steps to a hundred steps, and I initially gained combat effectiveness.
Further up, thousands of steps, ten thousand steps, the sword roars for nine days, and someone's head is taken from thousands of miles away. I don't know how long it will take.
"Mr. Zhang, I have to leave."
Zhang Heng came to Yan Chixia to tell him the good news, but Yan Chixia stunned him with just one sentence.
"Walk?"
Zhang Heng was a little confused: "Where to go?"
"Guobei County, I heard there is a Lanruo Temple there. It is inaccessible and very suitable for seclusion."
Yan Chixia explained: "I have an enemy who lost to me in a sword competition seven years ago. Since then, he has come to me for a sword competition every year. I really don't tire of it."
"I couldn't hide from Yan Shi before, but now that Yan Shi has married and started a business, I don't need to take care of him anymore."
"I'm going to go out and hide for a while. If he comes again this year, I'll let him compete with ghosts."
Hear the sound.
Zhang Heng looked surprised.
It seems that this is the plot of A Chinese Ghost Story 1 about to begin.
"Master Yan, please go ahead. I will visit you when I have time."
Zhang Heng had no intention of leaving with him.
Because he has just completed his flying sword and has not yet tried the sword with the nine demon kings. If he leaves, he will lose his inner elixir.
Go back and kill the Nine-tailed Demon King, and then wait for Scholar Cui to come to Beijing to take the exam. Then it will not be too late to go find Yan Chixia.
After all, judging from the plot, A Chinese Ghost Story 1 should start in July next year.
At the beginning of the movie, when Ning Caichen was collecting his debts, Guobei County was filled with Menglan Festival flags.
As long as you get to Guobei County before July next year, you won't miss Yan Chixia's hunt for the thousand-year-old tree spirit.
"The green mountains will not change, and the green water will always flow. Don't let it go."
Yan Chixia has nothing to offer her.
Now that I had the idea of leaving, I immediately took my sword and bow on my back and a jar of wine and left.
“So cool!”
Zhang Heng shook his head with a smile and continued to practice swordsmanship in Wumenju.
One month later.
"Who are you?"
This day.
Zhang Heng was practicing swordplay in Wumenju as usual, when he saw a swordsman in black.
"I was a passerby. I heard that there was a knight living in seclusion in Wumen Residence, so I wanted to come and pay him a visit. Unexpectedly, the knight had already left. I thought this place was good, so I stayed."
"gone?"
The swordsman in black frowned slightly: "Do you know where he is going?"
"have no idea."
Zhang Heng shook his head slightly: "I've been here for several months and I haven't seen anyone come back."
"Damn Yan Chixia!"
The swordsman in black walked away without any interest in Zhang Heng.
Zhang Heng didn't stop him when he saw this.
Although he knew that the swordsman in black was Yan Shi's biological father Xia Houjian.
But he was not prepared to tell him, because Yan Shi already had his own family, and now he had a happy life and a happy family, so what was the point of letting them recognize each other.
Furthermore.
Xiahou Jian is a swordsman who enjoys revenge.
He has few friends and many enemies.
If people knew that Yan Shi was Xia Houjian's son, some people who wanted to seek revenge from Xia Houjian but could not find him or could not defeat him would probably target Yan Shi.
Yan Shi herself was okay, but Xiaowen was an ordinary girl.
What's the point in doing this if it ends up ruining everyone's lives?
It's good to know that you don't know.
It's half a month again.
Cui Hongjian packed his bags and headed to the capital to prepare for the spring test.
Zhang Heng sent him all the way to the official road and warned: "Although you have the status of being a civil servant, the dynasty is collapsing and your luck is declining. If you encounter ghosts, your status as a civil servant may not be able to protect you.
But don’t be afraid, I have three treasure talismans and a Dharma mirror. You can wear the talismans on your body and hang the bronze mirror on the bedside when you sleep, so that no ghosts can harm you."
Zhang Heng handed the talisman and the Dharma mirror to Cui Shusheng: "Send you a thousand miles away, but you will eventually see each other again. Scholar, please cherish them all the way."
Cui Hongjian bowed down and said, "I will return to high school. Brother Zhang, take care."
Riding on his donkey, Cui Hongjian waved and left.
Three months later.
April.
Zhang Heng received a letter from Cui Hongjian from the capital.
The letter stated that he ranked seventh in the national college entrance examination. Later, because of his outstanding appearance, he was ranked third in the palace examination, Tanhualang.
At present, he has been awarded the title of Editor of the Seventh Rank Hanlin Academy, responsible for giving lectures at banquets and drafting imperial edicts.
At the same time, he also told Zhang Heng some good news.
The Minister of War in the imperial court, Fu Tianchou, Master Fu heard that he had no wife and wanted to recruit him as his son-in-law.
It is said that Fu Qingfeng, the daughter of the Fu family, was both talented and beautiful, and was proficient in all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting.
But Cui Hongjian hesitated and did not dare to agree rashly.
Because he was from a poor family, and the Fu family was from a scholarly family, with the wrong family and the wrong household, he was afraid that someone would gossip about him.
"Fu Tianchou, Fu Qingfeng!"
Zhang Heng looked at the letter and muttered: "The changes are big enough!"
Fu Tianchou is the loyal minister who opposed Pudu Cihang's frame-up in A Chinese Ghost Story 2, while Fu Qingfeng is Ning Caichen's goddess.
The appearance of Zhang Heng changed Cui Hongjian's fate of becoming the immortal in the painting, allowing him to pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi, thus creating a series of chain reactions.
For example, in A Chinese Ghost Story 2, Fu Qingfeng remained unmarried in his twenties, and ended up sleeping with Ning Caichen.
Now, she will be betrothed to Cui Hongjian, so Ning Caichen will have nothing to worry about.
"But this is good."
"Cui Hongjian is a handsome young man with integrity. Compared with Ning Caichen, he is more suitable for Fu Qingfeng."
"There is also Fu Tianchou, the upright Minister of the Ministry of War. With him here, he can also look after Cui Shusheng in the court."
"As for the plot of A Chinese Ghost Story 2, calculating the time, it should be one year after A Chinese Ghost Story 1."
"When the time comes, I will remind Scholar Cui so that he and Fu Tianchou can be prepared."
Zhang Heng thought for a moment and immediately wrote: "Brother Hong Jian, I have received your letter. Mr. Fu Tianqiu is an upright man and has a good reputation among the people. He takes a fancy to your talent and learning and wants to
Marrying my daughter to you, I think this is a good match that should not be missed."
"As for what you think, it's not right for you to be in the right place, and it's causing people to talk about you."
"The pure will be pure by themselves, and the turbid will be turbid by themselves. I believe that with your talents and character, you will leave those people speechless."
"So I think you should agree to this marriage. Believe me, this is an excellent marriage."
Zhang Heng asked himself, he still has a high status in Cui Hongjian's heart.
At home, Cui Hongjian respects him as his elder brother, and Cui Hongjian will definitely consider his words seriously.
If nothing else goes wrong, the marriage should be successful.
The only thing that makes Zhang Heng have some doubts is that Fu Qingfeng not only loves red makeup, but also loves to be armed and has good skills.
If a husband and wife were quarreling, Cui Hongjian could be hung up on the wall with his collar. It was a long night. I really don’t know how he could endure it.
"This letter needs to be sent to the capital as soon as possible."
Zhang Heng is not short of money.
He immediately threw out two silver ingots and asked the postman to deliver them quickly.
"Don't worry, sir. Our inn here often carries official documents from the north to the south. When the time comes, there will be urgent official documents that are five hundred miles away. Just bring your letter there."
The postman accepted the money with joy on his face.
Finally, I did not forget to warn Zhang Heng: "Master, you have to be careful when you go out recently. The nine-tailed demon king who has not been seen for half a year has come out to cause trouble again. I heard that it has killed more than a dozen people."
"There is such a thing!"
Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
In the past few months, he had been practicing swordplay all day long, and he was not in a hurry to go to the Nine-tailed Demon King to test his sword.
Unexpectedly, her scar healed and she forgot about the pain. Now that she had healed her injury, she started to be active again.
"I also heard from people that the Nine-tailed Demon King came down from the mountain before and suffered a loss at the hands of an expert. It took him several months to recover from his injuries."
"Right now, I'm busy arresting the blacksmith. He said he wants to make weapons for the demon soldiers and go down the mountain to find people to seek revenge."
The postman travels all over the country and is a well-informed person: "The nine-tailed demon king occupies the mountain as the king and has thousands of demon soldiers under his command. I really don't know who is so powerful that she is so afraid and has to build weapons for his soldiers before he dares to find them."
hatred."
Well...
Zhang Heng thought to himself, of course it was me, could it be Ip Man?
But this nine-tailed demon king seems to have learned wisely.
If you don't come here by yourself, prepare to gather all the troops and horses before going down the mountain, are you going to surround him?
"For your reward."
Zhang Heng threw a piece of silver to the postman.
After returning home, he began to make offerings to the magic sword, blessed the sword with incantations, and put the demon-killing spell on the Taiping Sword over and over again.
So for three days.
Before the Nine-tailed Demon King could find him, Zhang Heng picked up his sword and went up the mountain.
As the saying goes, strike first to gain strength, strike later and suffer disaster.
He wanted to see if the nine-tailed demon king could defeat his hundred-step flying sword.
Dalingshan!!
Dashanling is not a mountain, but a collective name for mountains that stretch for hundreds of miles.
The nine-tailed demon king occupies the mountain here and is king, looking like a bandit bully.
In the past, the caravans and nearby farmers who passed by the mountain would hand over offerings to her.
If anyone disobeys, demon soldiers will come down from the mountain and eat your whole house.
On the mountain, in addition to the nine-tailed demon king, there are seven generals: pigs, sheep, cows, dogs, corpses, ghosts, and mandrills.
Needless to say about sheep.
The goat spirit had been killed by Zhang Heng a long time ago, and the fur was turned into a coat.
Moving on, the other six generals also have their own abilities. In terms of momentum, although Grandma Shu from Lanruo Temple is stronger than her, her momentum is simply not comparable to hers.
"The Demon King said he would take us down the mountain to seek revenge. I don't know if our brothers can catch us all this time."
"Man, I've almost forgotten what it tastes like. I don't feel anything about eating meat. As long as you give me a sip of soup, I'll be satisfied."
On the big mountain ridge, close to the outer perimeter, stands the front fortress.
There is a flag on the fortress with four characters written on it: The Nine-Tailed King.
Zhang Hengfei was in the sky and looked down.
If it weren't for the fact that the people patrolling the mountain were not humans but some weird monsters, the Nine-tailed Demon King's fort would look just like an ordinary bandit camp.
Even at the official level, it is not recognized as a demon village.
The sphere of influence of the Nine-tailed Demon King is determined by the government to be the Nine-tailed Bandits.
There are no monsters, there are just a group of humans who dominate the mountain. The so-called nine-tailed fox is not a fox, but a bandit leader who is two feet tall and ugly.
Of course, calling monsters bandits and insisting that monsters eat people is just a fig leaf used by the officials above to whitewash peace.
The people within hundreds of miles around knew exactly what was going on. It was because the Nine-tailed Demon King was so powerful that the government did not dare to destroy it, so they were just living their lives in a muddle.
"Brother Jackal, have you heard any strange noises?"
A wild dog spirit and a jackal spirit are standing guard on the sentry tower.
"I think I heard it."
Jackal subconsciously raised his head: "It seems to be coming from above."