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Once the Beiliang heir left, Yangchun City finally regained its peace and happiness. No matter how the scholars of Huting County denied it, as long as His Royal Highness was in Yangchun City, they felt uncomfortable all over. They had originally hoped that the Imperial Concubines in the Palace would put pressure on the widow in Linlang's Lu family mansion. Unexpectedly, there was more thunder than rain, and the matter was left unsettled. Later on, Sir Bian Chengzhai was unexpectedly beaten to death. It was rumored that the entire Imperial College in the capital was in an uproar. No less than several thousand students joined together to write a petition. Unfortunately, they were still unable to request for an imperial edict to be sent down to Jiangnan. That eldest brother of the dynasty had eaten his fill, patted his buttocks, and left Yangchun City.
The caravan of horses left the city from the Lu manor. They did not linger in Yangzhou, heading straight for the Taoist celestial capital, Mount Longhu. There were two carriages. Blue Bird, whose body had recovered at lightning speed, and the old God of Swords, who was bored to death, drove separately. Hsu Fengnian had Yu Youwei and Princess Jing An sit together in the same carriage. The two women, whose fates had been filled with trials and tribulations, were probably in the same boat. Although they did not talk much, when pondered over it, there was a hint of a common enemy. However, Yu Youwei was clearly a bit colder, while Pei Nanwei was more fervent. Hsu Fengnian turned a blind eye to the little schemes of this princess consort of the rouge evaluation. He treated it as a small amusement that did not affect the overall situation. He believed that Yu Youwei would not switch camps with just a few words. Hsu Fengnian sat in the carriage, counting his belongings on his fingers. He muttered to himself, "I have more than half of the Fu General's red armor in my hands, but it is too damaged. I don't know if it can be repaired to its original state. Generally speaking, I can confirm that the Fu General's battle power is directly linked to the strength of the puppet when it was alive. Mount Longhu is the ancestor of this school of exorcism and enslavement, so I cannot return empty-handed from this trip up the mountain. From the Purple Forbidden Villa's "Whale Slaying Sword", he took the most murderous move, "Stacking Thunder", from the "Green Water Pavilion Sword Practice Manual", from Aunt Zhao's sword manual, he secretly learned the old God of Swords' "One Sword Immortal Kneeling". During this period of time, he flipped through the "Book of Arms" and learned from Qing Niao that reversed the meridians of the Armor Removal. The Drawing Technique was learned from the Dongyue Imperial Family, and he imitated the Steadying Disturbance of the Nanhai Nuns. All in all, together with Old Huang's Nine Swords, he could be considered to have gathered more than twenty moves. .............
Xu Fengnian caressed Wu Meiniang's head and said with a smile, "Gu Jiantang is the number one saber user in the world. I wonder how many sabers he can block in a real fight?"
Yu Youwei had expected this. She said lightly, "I don't know."
Hsu Fengnian did not expect to get an answer from Yu Youwei. No matter how brilliant her sword dance was, it was not the way of the sword to kill. He flicked the white cat's head with his finger and said to himself, "Cao Changqing inadvertently said that Old Man Li, other than the Two-Sleeved Green Snake, also has an even more domineering sword to open the Gate of Heaven. It seems very arrogant, but why have I never heard of it before? There are no rumors of it in the Jianghu either. The old God of Swords' Two-Sleeved Green Snake sword technique focuses on the sword will. Each time, it is complicated and simple. It is said to be one move, but in fact, it is full of changes. Every time, it is too late to dodge and escape. It is very difficult to divert attention to secretly learn it. The old God of Swords made it sound nice, saying that he wanted to impart an absolute art. He was clearly venting his anger on me because he was bored. "
Princess Jing'an said sarcastically, "A man whose heart is not content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant."
Hsu Fengnian followed suit. He went tit for tat and ridiculed, "Swallow? I know that Princess Consort's little mouth is very clever. Don't show off in front of me. Be careful that you go for wool and come home shorn. I will punish Princess Pei on the spot. "
Princess Pei had been teased and humiliated by His Highness over and over again about her private matters. She felt as if her weakness had been caught. In the past, she would fly into a rage out of humiliation every time. But today, her expression did not change. She just looked at him coldly and mocked, "I thought Your Highness was not even afraid of the vassals. I have a whole new level of respect for you at the Reed Marsh. I didn't expect that you would be exposed as soon as you left Qingzhou and arrived at Yangzhou. You are just a paper dragon crossing the river. When you meet a Jianghu official, you have to pinch your nose and be bullied, obediently offering your maid to him with both hands. From this, it can be seen that even if you go to the Dragon Tiger Mountain where several Taoist Masters are in charge, you will only be rebuffed."
Hsu Fengnian's face darkened. He smiled darkly and said, "Princess Pei's little mouth is becoming more and more unkind. Congratulations."
His Royal Highness took the Embroidered Winter Scabbard and lifted the curtain. He raised his voice and said, "Shu Xiu, don't ride the horse. Take our Princess Pei to sit in the carriage at the back. Let her temper her backbone."
Princess Pei was about to speak when she was kicked out of the carriage by Hsu Fengnian. Then, Shu Xiu reached out and grabbed her. Yu Youwei shook her head, but her thin face did not reveal any joy or anger. Hsu Fengnian glanced at her and then sat near the carriage door. He hooked the curtain and looked at Blue Bird's slender back. He smiled softly and said, "How is it?"
Blue Bird, who was in the middle of waving her whip, stopped the horse from galloping forward. She turned her head and looked at him with a vexed expression. She lowered her eyebrows and said, "Two golden dans that are hard to buy even with thousands of gold."
Hsu Fengnian's mood, which had been tormented by Princess Jing An's words, instantly improved. He laughed and said, "Blue Bird, you look very much like the stingy little wife that your husband bought expensive fish at the market. You're frugal and you know how to live your life!"
Blue Bird smiled gently and blushed slightly. Her expression was always light and indifferent. She was different from the waves and winds of death in the reed marsh. It was as if there was never any great sorrow on her face. The yearning for spring and the sorrow of autumn that women often had had had nothing to do with her. Hsu Fengnian and Blue Bird had been talking without holding back. He said bluntly, "Let's let Shu Xiu and Princess Pei stay in the same room. With Shu Xiu's secret disguising technique in the south, I don't know how much of a resemblance she can make. If it's just a look, it's most likely a waste of effort. Before we go to Mount Longhu, let's see if our Aunt Shu's results can really be passed off as genuine. "
Blue Bird asked doubtfully, "Shu Xiu wants to make a human skin mask?"
Hsu Fengnian smiled and shook his head. "It has to be a bit more clever. Shu Xiu roughly explained the steps to me before. It's very complicated. It's the same as the Daoist method of alchemy. It's the most brilliant method of both internal and external cultivation. If she wants to succeed, Shu Xiu will have to suffer a lot. However, only through suffering can one rise above others. This saying is most appropriate for Shu Xiu. If she succeeds by luck, she will become one of the few official consorts in the dynasty. With Shu Xiu's personality, she will fight for this kind of opportunity even if it means her life. "
Blue Bird asked softly and carefully, "King of Jing An is an old fox. He's the most treacherous and ruthless person in the world. How could he not recognize it?"
Xu Fengnian nodded and said, "The lecherous heir, Zhao Xun, might not be able to see through it, but his old man, Zhao Heng, would definitely be able to see through it with just a few glances. Thus, I had to first write a letter to test the waters and simply reveal the truth. If the Prince of Jingan's Estate is willing to accept the fake Princess Consort and put her up as a memorial archway to ensure that they won't lose face, then everyone will be happy. If they aren't willing, then it's also within reason. I'll just treat it as having Shu Xian discipline Princess Consort Pei, then I won't lose anything. Putting aside the fact that I took the risk of keeping the good-looking but useless Princess Consort Jingan, this woman still doesn't know what's good for her and comes to poke at me every few days.
Blue Bird still couldn't believe that the Jing An Palace would accept such an absurd arrangement. Would they allow a fake consort to take over the turtledove's nest? King of Jing An, Zhao Heng, had always been scolded by His Royal Highness as a narrow-minded and jealous woman. Could he endure it? Hsu Fengnian could see the incredulity on Blue Bird's face. He smiled and said, "Just treat it as a gamble."
Hsu Fengnian heard the cry of the green and white luan and lifted the curtain of the carriage. The handsome spirit bird instantly pierced inside. His Royal Highness held up his arm to stop the bird. His right hand took out a section of a jade tube and took out the secret letter. After reading it, he handed it over to Yu Youwei. The latter read it carefully. She raised her head and said, "The imperial court wants to change the system of prefectures and counties to the system of roads. The world will be divided into sixteen roads.
Hsu Fengnian smiled and asked, "Tell me what you think."
Yu Youwei thought for a moment and then said softly, "After the Eight Kingdoms were pacified, the territory of the dynasty expanded several times. Now, there are more than one thousand eight hundred prefectures and counties. The large prefectures that were originally set up to accommodate the old Eight Kingdoms could easily become vassal towns. It is indeed difficult for the central government of the Empire to control them. From the letter, it seems that everything will be messed up. There will be a new system of sixteen roads and seventy-six prefectures. The large prefectures will be split into several smaller prefectures, and the large prefectures will all be raised to prefectures. The changes to the foundation of the one thousand eight hundred counties will be relatively small.
Hsu Fengnian said calmly, "I heard from Xu Xiao that Grand Secretary Zhang Julu has been waiting for this day for almost twenty years."
Yu Youwei frowned and said, "But the prefectures and counties will become level four. Isn't the Empire afraid that the decree will be blocked? If it is to reduce the vassal states, isn't the price a bit too high? "
Hsu Fengnian shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. Except for the seven vassal states including Xu Xiao, the rest of the prefectures and supervisors will be changed every four or six years. However, the decree has not been issued yet. After about three or four years, when the situation is more or less stable, it will be Zhang Julu's turn."
Hsu Fengnian pointed at the secret letter and sneered, "Don't forget that in addition to the road system, the Imperial Court has also taken action against both Buddhism and Taoism. In the past, the management of Buddhism was not strict and only set up the Chongxuan Bureau in the Honglu Temple of the Ministry of Rites to manage the monks and appoint the Three Principles. In the future, there will be the position of Head Monk. It is just that I don't know which monk has the qualifications to be the first head of the world's monks. I guess Yang Taisui may not be willing to show up. As for Taoism, the Imperial Court has a longer reach. All the disciples of Taoism will be tested and divided into eleven levels. Except for the Taoist Mansion, which is the only exception, all the Taoists in the world will be promoted under this framework. Thinking back to the warrior selection system that took the lead not long ago, do you think that the three sects of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism will all be under the control of the Imperial Court? "
Yu Youwei murmured, "Heaven's net has a long grind, but it does not escape."
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