Chapter 315

"The Wenxin Trial is upstairs. You can go upstairs from here to the top floor." Song Tingfeng took him to the stairs and pointed upstairs.

"There are no requirements for this trial, but you have to remember to follow your heart. If you are too pretentious, your score will be lowered."

"What's the point of scoring?" Xu Qi 'an asked.

"Why do you test your aptitude? There were four grades: A, B, C, and D. The higher the aptitude, the better. Song Tingfeng raised his chin and said, "I am B."

Zhu Guangxiao said in a muffled voice, "I am C."

"I am a strong man …" Xu Qi 'an silently made up a joke and went upstairs alone. When he reached the second floor, he saw a simple bronze mirror hanging on a red lacquered pillar facing the stairs.

The mirror reflected his figure.

Xu Qi 'an's heart palpitated for no reason. His muscles tightened uncontrollably and then slowly relaxed.

The distracting thoughts in his heart settled, and his mind became calm. He let go of all the fame, wealth, and selfish desires.

There is something wrong with this mirror … As soon as this thought flashed through his mind, it sank into the bottom of his heart.

Forcibly entering the Sage Time … The thought also sank.

He turned the corner with light steps and came to the hall on the second floor. There was a Buddha worshiped here. He was plump and dignified.

Offerings were placed on the shore, and incense smoke curled up.

An official stood in front of the Buddha, looking at him.

Xu Qi 'an calmly looked at the Buddha for a while, then stopped looking and walked toward the stairs to the third floor.

The official watched him leave, then lowered his head and wrote on a piece of paper, as if he was evaluating.

…

The third floor worshiped the Taoist Lord. He wore a Taoist robe, held a wooden sword, and stood on auspicious clouds.

There was also an official in front of the Dharma Idol, quietly watching Xu Qi 'an's arrival.

After Xu Qi 'an took a few casual glances, he turned around and left. The official also picked up his pen and wrote his evaluation on the paper spread out on the table.

…

The fourth floor worshiped the Confucian Sage. He wore a Confucian robe and a Confucian crown, looking into the distance.

The official was still standing in front of the Sage statue, quietly watching Xu Qi 'an.

This statue is exactly the same as the one in Yunlu Academy … Xu Qi 'an sighed in his heart and left without hesitation.

He came to the highest floor, the fifth floor.

The one consecrated on the fifth floor was a man in a yellow robe. He stood there majestically with a sword in his hands. His eyebrows were sharp like swords, and his eyes were bright like stars.

Xu Qi 'an did not know this person, but the bright yellow dragon robe explained everything.

He was a king of the Daibun Dynasty, or the Founding Emperor of the Empire.

At this point, he suddenly understood the true meaning of the "Test of Conscience". Testing one's aptitude was only a part of it. Its true meaning was to test one's moral character.

The mirror's function was to prevent people from doing things that went against their will, such as deliberately offering incense and worshipping.

… Oh no, I didn't worship Buddha, Taoist Primogenitor, or Sage. This means that I don't worship God, Buddha, or the Four Books and Five Classics …

… These are all fine, but I must worship the one on the fifth floor … If I don't worship him, I'll be done for … A person who has no master, no father, and ignores the gods is not allowed to exist in this era …

The Emperor Watchmen were.

They could disrespect the three religions, but they could not be loyal to the Emperor.

"So the Mirror of Conscience" was a moral screening.

Therefore, the "conscience examination" was a screening of one's moral character.

Xu Qi 'an was undoubtedly a failure. He went up to the fifth floor in one go without worshiping a single person.

"I will be kicked out of the Yamen of the Night Watchmen …" "That's fine. The key is that the Night Watchmen know that I framed Zhou Li. Who knows if they will avenge me …"

These thoughts flashed through his mind one by one, then settled and automatically ignored.

Xu Qi 'an anxiously fought against the "Sage Mode" and forced himself to worship the Emperor. The two consciousnesses were fighting wildly. His body was stiff and his muscles were trembling.

The official standing in front of the Emperor observed Xu Qi 'an for a moment, then passed him and went downstairs.

After a few minutes, the official returned. Xu Qi 'an was still standing in the same place. His body was stiff and trembling, as if his limbs were cramping.

The official looked at Xu Qi 'an like he was looking at a rare animal. He said in a low voice, "I have already exchanged comments with my colleagues downstairs."

The official continued, "When Duke Wei set up the Mirror of Conscience, he made it clear that if anyone went up five floors in a row without kneeling or worshiping, he must be a heinous criminal."

"… Brother, give me another chance!"

Xu Qi 'an was extremely anxious.

"Thus, Duke Wei gave us another chance and set up a sixth stage. However, no one has ever gone through that stage before." The official looked at Xu Qi 'an curiously. "You are the only one who has ever been there."

"Relax your body. Don't cramp," he said.

Xu Qi 'an stopped fighting against the Sage Mode in his heart. He adjusted his breathing and successfully stopped his muscles from cramping.

Only then did he realize that his back was drenched.

He followed the official around the Emperor's statue and went deeper into the room.

Mottled sunlight shone through the hollowed windows, illuminating the wooden platform in the room.

There was a line of poetry carved on the wooden platform.

He killed millions of enemy soldiers, and the sword at his waist reeked of blood.

He returned with the Golden Truncheon in his hand, and no one dared to say a word.

The poem was quite domineering … Show me what it means.

Xu Qi 'an turned his head and looked at the silent official. He wanted to give him some banknotes and get some information from him.

But on second thought, how could a mere official understand the mind of the powerful eunuch? It was impossible.

Don't lead yourself astray. It would be a dead end.

Poetry competition? Impossible. The theme was clearly not a competition of poetic talent. The Mirror of Conscience was related to one's moral character. He had to start from there.

Since it was a test of moral character, why did Wei Yuan put this poem here?

Xu Qi 'an cleared his mind of distracting thoughts and actively used his brain.

The sixth Mirror of Conscience was arranged for a materialist like me, who didn't worship gods or Buddha. It was equivalent to the last chance.

Naturally, he wanted to dig out some precious moral character from me. If I didn't, I would be dead.

Precious moral character … Suddenly, Xu Qi 'an thought of the couplet in the hall on the first floor:

Willing to serve the world with a deep heart and not seek personal benefits.

And the duty of the night watchman was to supervise the officials … Wei Yuan's poem also had the meaning of being loyal to the country and intimidating the officials.

Thinking of this, he suddenly understood the eunuch's meaning.

This poem was placed here not for a poetry competition, but for empathy.

If that heinous person who didn't have an army or a teacher was really bad in nature, he would not be able to resist his own heart in the Mirror of Conscience and forcibly write a poem for empathy.

On the contrary, it meant that he still had precious moral character, and Wei Yuan was willing to give him a chance.

Xu Qi 'an sighed and stretched out his hand. "Brush and ink."

The official handed over the brush and spread the Xuan paper on the wooden table.

Xu Qi 'an put the brush on the paper and closed his eyes.

Although I don't have a ruler in my heart and I don't worship gods or Buddha, I am a genuine materialist.

But I am not a heinous person. I have justice in my heart and principles under my feet. I have never abused the people, and I have never used my status as a petty official to extort money, even if this is the normal state of society …

Even if I have tried my best to make money.

If you want empathy, I will compose a poem to fulfill your wish.

Xu Qi 'an put down the brush. Without any psychological barrier, he wrote in an ugly font:

You eat your bread and drink the people's blood and sweat.

The people are easy to abuse, but the heaven is hard to bully.

The official looked at the four sentences on the paper in a trance.

He put away the Xuan paper and stared at Xu Qi 'an for a while. He said, "The Mirror of Conscience is over. You can do as you please. But don't leave the yamen before the result is out."

"The qualifications of every night watchman must be judged by Duke Wei himself. I will send it to Duke Wei now."

He practically ran as he left the floor. Footsteps could be heard coming from the stairs as he quickly disappeared into the distance.

Xu Qi 'an felt exhausted. He held the wooden platform and gasped for a moment, then went downstairs.

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao were waiting for his colleague on the first floor. Seeing Xu Qi 'an go downstairs, Song Tingfeng smiled and waved at him. "How many times did you kneel?"

The way he smiled made him look like a fox.

The official who went downstairs did not tell him the process and the result.

Xu Qi 'an opened his mouth and finally chose to keep silent.

Zhu Guangxiao's serious face slightly wrinkled his eyebrows. "You don't look so good."

"It's more than not good. I feel that I have wandered on the edge of life and death twice. It's more exciting than a roller coaster …" Xu Qi 'an shook his head tiredly and said,

"I want to find a place to sit down and drink tea and rest."

Song Tingfeng smiled and raised his eyebrows. "I will hire a prostitute to massage your shoulders and legs?"

"You are like a crosstalk under the bridge …" Xu Qi 'an nodded with a smile. "Go to the Musical House to invite Miss Fuxiang."

Song Tingfeng was stunned and laughed. "I also had this dream when I was young."