The land of Qinlu is located in the westernmost part of the Great You Empire, although the geographical area is slightly smaller than that of Beiyu, but its cities are even more than Beiyu, with a total of thirteen main cities, and the Xiliehou Mansion is located in the largest and most luxurious city - "Deer City".

……

Although the area of the Xiliehou Mansion is not smaller than that of the Beiyu Marquis Mansion, the overall layout inside is completely different. Beiyu Hou Mansion has nine pavilions and thirteen palaces, and the overall layout belongs to the kind that is winding and twisting, and there are caves. The Xiliehou Mansion is boxy, open and close, and it looks much more complete than the Beiyu Marquis Mansion. However, there are similarities between the two mansions. For example, the most heavily guarded places in the Beiyu Marquis Mansion are the Yunyu Pavilion and the Library Pavilion, and the Xilie Marquis Mansion also has two most heavily guarded places, one is called the "Zhulu Palace", and the other is the study of the Xilie Marquis Ji Yuan. The role of the Zhulu Hall is probably equivalent to the Yunyu Pavilion of the Beiyu Marquis Mansion, and all the drafts and promulgations of the Xilie Marquis Mansion are from here. And Ji Yuan's study is very mysterious, in the huge Hou Mansion, there are only three people who can freely enter and exit the study, one is Ji Yuan himself, the other is his descendant Ji Yan, as for the last person, neither the second brother whom he trusts extremely much and is willing to entrust all the military power, nor the wife who has shared the bed with him Qin Se and Ming for many years, but a character who does not know his name, only knows that he has followed him for many years, as if he is his shadow.

In Ji Yuan's study, Ji Yuan was sitting in front of the huge table, holding a pen and ink.

When I took a closer look, I saw that Ji Yuan was writing on the white silk paper the twelve characters of "The beginning of chaos in the south, half of Xinjiang in the north, and the world in the west".

After finishing writing, Ji Yuan stared at the twelve big characters and fell into deep thought.

Although Ji Yuan has already entered the age of not being confused, his appearance looks much younger than his actual age. He had a fair complexion, and a very sparse beard on his chin. He is seven points similar to Ji Yan's appearance, with the same Danfeng eyes and the same thin lips...... Of course, because they are father and son, it is normal for them to look alike.

I don't know how long it took, and suddenly a soft voice came from the darkness: "Master Hou, the prince is here." ”

As soon as the words fell, I saw a "creak", the door of the study was pushed open, and I saw Ji with a smile on his face and strode in.

"The child has seen his father." Ji Yan bowed in front of the table.

But Ji Yuan turned a deaf ear to this, his eyes still stayed on the twelve characters, motionless.

After Ji Yan finished saluting, he also stood up straight, and then walked to the chair next to him and sat down.

I don't know how long it took, Ji Yuan slowly raised his head, looked at Ji Yan, and asked, "Is there anything to find me?" ”

"Father is overjoyed." Ji Yan stood up and said with excitement on his face.

"Oh! Ho Hi? Ji Yuan asked.

Ji Yan explained excitedly: "Back to my father, Xiahou Wenyuan has secretly replied, saying that he will be in my Xilie Marquis Mansion......"

"yes, got it." Ji Yuan nodded, then he didn't know what to think, looked at Ji Yan and smiled slightly, and praised: "Yan'er, you have done a very good job in this matter, you can get Xiahou Wenyuan alone, better than 100,000 elite soldiers." ”

Ji Yan didn't have the joy after being praised, but frowned, puzzled: "What? Wasn't my father surprised? ”

Ji Yuan looked at Ji Yan, waved his hand and said, "No, Yan'er, you have done a good job, you can persuade Xiahou Wenyuan to vote for me Xilie, it is the blessing of my Xilie......"

Ji Yan became more and more puzzled when he heard this, and said: "Even if this is the case, why is my father a little stunned? ”

"Is there one?" Ji Yuan couldn't help but smile slightly.

Ji Yan nodded and said: "As the saying goes, 'knowing the son is better than the father', in fact, this sentence can also be reversed to say 'knowing the father is also the son', when I reported the news to my father just now, my father did not reveal the joy I expected." ”

Ji Yuan smiled slightly when he heard this, and said, "You kid is good at everything, but you are too suspicious."

Immediately, he said, "It's none of your business...... For Xiahou Wenyuan to be able to vote for me Xilie, I am happy from the bottom of my heart, but between the joy, I sigh a little helplessness of 'fish and bear's paws can't have both', and I have the feeling of gaining mulberry elm and losing the east......"

Ji Yan frowned, and after thinking for a moment, he was a little puzzled: "Please forgive the child for being ignorant, the father's words are too profound, and the child is still incomprehensible." ”

Seeing this, Ji Yuan smiled and said, "It's normal that you don't understand, I mean, since Xiahou Wenyuan voted for me Xilie, then, I'm afraid that I'll never be able to get Situ Buqi again." ”

"Situ Buqi?" Ji Yan was a little puzzled: "Isn't that a white body?" Although he is now very powerful in Kyoto, isn't that all due to relying on the shadow of the old lady? How could he be compared to Xiahou Wenyuan? ”

Ji Yuan waved his hand, stopped Ji Yan's words, and said, "You don't know, Situ Buqi's ability is far from what he shows...... This is also to blame for the father, the last time you went to Kyoto, the father only cared about letting you visit the Xiahou family, and deliberately omitted the Taishi Mansion, but he never thought that someone would be the first to get there. ”

"Huh? The more the father said, the more the child did not understand. Ji Yan said with a puzzled expression.

Ji Yuan looked at him and said, "I sent a letter to the old lady before, wanting to propose marriage for you, but I never thought that he would refuse it......"

"Propose? Why did my father never tell me about this? Ji Yan couldn't help frowning.

Ji Yuan ignored his words, but continued: "The old lady has gone through three dynasties, leaving countless disciples and protégés, from the east of the Great Shadow to the west of the Great Shadow, from the south of the Great Shadow to the north of the Great Shadow, this huge empire, but all the officials who have a little ability, seventy or eighty percent of them have an inextricable relationship with the Taishi Mansion, and Situ Buqi is the intermediate hub that connects these inextricable threads...... Not to mention anything else, even Xiahou Wenyuan used to be a proud disciple of the old lady, and his power and political skills were all learned from the old lady. ”

"The child still doesn't understand, as the father just said, these are all left by the old lady." You must know that 'the bustle of the world is all for profit; The world is all for profit', the child does not believe that these people will be willingly driven by Situ Buqi...... Even if they really value love and righteousness, and they are grateful for the old lady's promotion grace at the beginning, Xiahou Wenyuan can also unite them! After all, he is also the proud disciple of the old lady, and the most important thing is that his personal ability is far better than that of Situ Buqi......"

"No, Yan'er, you're wrong." Ji Yuan interrupted, and then explained: "You have to understand one thing, there is still a difference between a disciple and a son, what a disciple inherits can only be his skills, and what a son inherits can be everything he ...... Another very important point is that you underestimated Situ Buqi's ability, and what your father can tell you is that his ability is by no means below Xiahou Wenyuan. ”

"Huh?" Ji Yan couldn't help but be shocked.

Ji Yuan opened his mouth to explain: "Although Situ Buqi's career path is quite tortuous, it is also the result of the old lady's deliberate suppression. In fact, the old lady's trick is the real master. He had long expected that after his death, the world would be in chaos, so he would leave the words that after his death, Situ was not allowed to enter the court and engage in politics. And look at how Situ Buqi did it? He obeyed his father and gave up his future career without hesitation...... The old lady's move is not just to save his own family, but to temporarily keep his head in the dark and wait for a better future. What's even more terrifying is that Situ Buqi was able to comprehend the meaning of the old lady in an instant......"

"Alright! Even so. If his father wants to entrap him, there should be another way, as long as he does what he likes, he scratches his itch, I think he is used by his father, and it is not impossible, right? Ji Yan continued.

"It's different." Ji Yuan shook his head and said, "I also recently figured out that Situ Buqi and Xiahou Wenyuan are actually senior brothers, but any senior brother with outstanding ability like them, they all want to know if they are the strongest one?" Therefore, since Xiahou Wenyuan has taken refuge in my Xiliehou Mansion, then Situ Buqi will definitely not enter my Xiliehou Mansion again......"

Ji Yan said thoughtfully: "Then what should we do to Xiahou now?" ”

Ji Yuan raised his head, looked at Ji Yan, and said, "Naturally, treat each other with sincerity and give him enough rights and stage ......"

Ji Yan nodded and said, "Well, I understand, since Xiahou chose us, then we can only spend all our money to buy Xiahou to become the strongest one." ”

"Hmm!" Ji Yuan nodded with satisfaction.

……

After the two of them were speechless for a long time, Ji Yan's eyes immediately fell on the twelve big characters that Ji Yuan had just written on the table.

"Father, this is ......," Ji Yan was puzzled.

Ji Yuan opened his mouth to explain: "At the beginning, after the old lady passed away, I secretly went to Longhu Mountain for the first time...... This is the mantra that Patriarch Daoyan tested for me. ”

"Is it credible?" Ji Yan couldn't help but be a little suspicious.

"Of course it's true." Ji Yuan said affirmatively: "Don't forget, the reason why Longhu Mountain can be great in Taoism in the world is because Boya Zhenren measured the twelve-character mantra for Taizu at the beginning......"

"Then my father has come to my senses?" Ji Yan asked.

When Ji Yuan heard this, he shook his head helplessly, and said to himself: "Even if it is a truth, how can it be easily seen through......

However, Ji Yuan suddenly remembered the fate that Zhang Fuling had measured for Ji Yan when he came to the Xilie Marquis' Mansion. So he opened his mouth and said: "Yan'er, you can also come and see, since Zhang Fuling once said that you have the appearance of an emperor, then, maybe it is something that your father can't see, but you can." ”