Outside the imperial capital, there is a bitter bamboo mountain.

It is named because of the abundance of bitter bamboo.

There used to be a temple on the mountain, because the years are long, the name is no longer available, it has been abandoned for a long time, until Zhang Mingyuan funded the reconstruction, adopted orphans, and then changed its name to Tuogu Temple.

It is said to be a temple, but in fact, there is not much shadow of Buddhist architecture.

It's more like a huge manor, a village.

Hundreds of orphans and beggars were adopted, and local monks were responsible for daily care, and later Su Chen invested in and expanded, and specially sent people to take care of and train.

According to the landlord's instructions, in the past two years, his subordinates have selected a total of 30 children with excellent qualifications from hundreds of orphans, all aged between six and nine years old. However, there is no special training yet, so you need to wait until you see it in person before making a decision. ”

On the mountain road.

Su Chen wore a black robe and slowly walked up the stairs.

Behind him, Zhang Mingyuan, who had changed into civilian clothes, followed respectfully, introducing the situation of Tuogu Temple as he walked.

This scene, if those dignitaries in the capital saw it, it is estimated that their jaws would drop in shock.

The commander of the dignified city guards is also a figure who can shake three times by stomping his feet in the imperial capital, but now in front of this black-robed old man, he is trembling, his eyebrows are low, and his expression is extremely humble.

It is estimated that even in the face of the emperor, it is just such a posture.

"Hmm. You're doing a great job. ”

Su Chen nodded with satisfaction, and then glanced at him.

Zhang Mingyuan has almost reached the age of fame this year, although because of the practice of martial arts, his body bones are still quite tough, but the sideburns have also begun to leave traces of time, plus in recent years, he has been pampered and pampered, at this time, he looks like a pot-bellied rich man, a little less vicious and evil.

"At the end of the month, this seat will ask people to bring you two more Guiyuan Pills."

If you have merit, you will be rewarded, and if you have done it, you will be punished, this is the rule set by Su Chen, and it has been like this all these years.

"Thank you, landlord!"

After Zhang Mingyuan heard Guiyuan Dan, a look of joy appeared on his face.

That Guiyuan Dan is specially used by the landlord to give benefits to his subordinates, and he and high-level people like Taohong will have a quota every month.

After taking it, it can greatly enhance one's own qi and blood vitality, improve the strength of martial artists, and prolong the life of ordinary people.

Although Zhang Mingyuan knows that his qualifications are limited, and he may not have the opportunity to touch the innate in this life, it is no problem to nourish his vitality and live for a few more years.

This shows the preciousness of Guiyuan Dan, which is a good thing that cannot be bought with money.

Soon.

Under the leadership of Zhang Mingyuan, Su Chen came to Tuogu Temple, and saw many children playing there in the courtyard from a distance.

In the house on the other side, there was still a faint sound of reading.

This made Su Chen a little surprised.

Although now that Da Chu has undergone some rectification by the empress, there are more people among the commoners who can read, but there are still not many who can afford to read.

Zhang Mingyuan not only rescued these orphans and ensured that they had no worries about food and clothing, but also built a small private school, although it was not possible to teach them any advanced knowledge, but at least these children could be literate and reasonable.

This point really made Su Chen a little impressed.

"After all, my subordinates are from the scholar clan and know the benefits of studying. When these children grow up, they will always have a way to make a living, and it is impossible for their subordinates to support them for a lifetime. If you can read and write, it will always be easier to live. ”

Zhang Mingyuan said with a smile.

The vicious scar on his face squirmed with his smile, but it didn't feel so terrible.

"You're a merit."

Su Chen nodded, didn't say anything, but secretly remembered this matter in his heart.

Soon, the abbot of Tuogu Temple also got the news and took the initiative to greet him.

This is an old monk who looks very kind, with some martial arts foundation, but not strong.

Su Chen didn't waste much time on him, and soon, he went to the backyard and met the selected children.

It looks very clever, and the root bones are not bad, but most of them can only be regarded as mid-to-upper qualifications.

At this time, Su Chen suddenly found a child in the corner, who was dark and thin, short in stature, but his eyes were bright and bright.

Su Chen secretly used his mana and found that there was a silver light flickering on his body, converging between his chest and abdomen, like a seedling, rooted in the sea of qi.

"It's ...... Spiritual roots? ”

Su Chen was a little surprised.

From the ancient books collected by Qingyangzi, he has seen a description of the spiritual root, the root of spiritual wisdom born from heaven and earth, growing in the sea of qi, from which he can gain insight into the extraordinary and absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

This is the talent that can directly practice the Immortal Family Method.

There is no one in 10,000.

Su Chen has seen Su Chen for the first time for so many years.

"I can't imagine that there is such a good seedling in this Tuogu Temple, this son has spiritual roots, if it is cultivated well, there will be great achievements in the future."

Su Chen thought in his heart.

Ordinary people, because of their limited talent, even if they are cultivated, their achievements are limited, and they are rarely able to break through the innate level, so it is not worth his too much effort.

But if you can cultivate an immortal cultivator, it will be too useful.

"Zhou Yi."

Su Chen glanced down at the roster, compared it with the portrait on it, and remembered the name.

He didn't rush to communicate, because it was not clear where the son came from.

In addition, Linggen qualifications are rare and rare, and if you pay too much attention to the surface, it is easy to arouse the vigilance of others and cause unnecessary trouble.

So, he just left a breath on this child.

I plan to wait until I go back, and then use the dream method to probe and then talk about it.

Next, Su Chen briefly got to know the children, and then gave each of them a Qi and Blood Pill to let them know who they were working for.

Immediately afterwards, he handed over a few basic exercises to the old abbot and asked him to urge these children to practice first and lay the foundation.

When the time is right, he will come back again.

After doing this, Su Chen took Zhang Mingyuan down the mountain and set off to return to the imperial capital.

Halfway, Su Chen asked Zhang Mingyuan to take the first step and go back to Tsing Yi Lou to wait for him.

I bought some incense paper money and went to Wuli Bridge again.

Although so many years have passed, when Su Chen is free, he will still go to worship Gonggong Li.

Before leaving, he went to Li's house again to have a look.

The old lady had passed away three years ago, and she had passed away peacefully.

And the little girl who kowtowed in front of the door at the beginning, now she has grown into a big girl, making a living by weaving straw sandals, saved some money last year, and became a blacksmith in a neighboring village, and now she still lives in the old house of the Li family.

Su Chen saw the renovated courtyard from a distance, heard the laughter and laughter coming from the courtyard, and knew that Gonggong Li's descendants were living happily, so he was completely relieved.

He threw a bag of broken silver into the courtyard and flew away.

If nothing else, he probably won't be here again.

……

"The people in the audience walked by, and the old colors were gone, and the people on the stage were singing, and the heartbreak parting song ......"

Humming a hometown song, Su Chen slowly walked into the city.

He didn't perform light work, and his clothes were changed into ordinary people's cloth clothes, just like an ordinary old man, walking on the street, watching the fireworks on the side of the road, and listening to the voices of people.

The imperial capital is still as prosperous as ever.

It's just that many places have become different from people.

Many shops on the side of the street have changed their signs, and the proprietress who used to sell bean curd has now opened a bean curd shop, so she doesn't have to be exposed to the sun and rain on the street, and there is a little grandson with a little fan by her side......

Time is such a wonderful thing.

It will ruthlessly take everything away, but it will also bring more new things.

Unconsciously.

has arrived in front of the Tsing Yi Building.

But for some reason, the Tsing Yi Building, which was very lively in the past, is actually closed today, and there are several soldiers of the city guard in front of the door.

"Isn't someone making trouble in Tsing Yi Building?"

Su Chen was a little puzzled, took the opportunity to enter the alley next to him, put on a black robe, jumped over, and came to the building silently.

Jingle Bell –

The brass bell rings outside the secret room on the top floor.

Shopkeeper Taohong and Zhang Mingyuan, who were busy downstairs, heard the bell, and immediately changed their faces slightly, and hurriedly got up and rushed upstairs.

Soon, there was a knock at the door.

Su Chen opened his mouth and motioned for the two to enter.

"Meet the landlord!"

The two bowed.

Su Chen waved his hand and motioned for them to get up, and then asked, "What happened?" ”

"It's not a big deal, it's just that a court official is involved......

Zhang Mingyuan shook his head, and then hit the peach next to him with his elbow, motioning for her to come.

Peach had no choice but to step forward and tell the ins and outs of the matter.

It turned out that there was an Oiran named Xianglian in Tsing Yi Lou before, who was born beautiful, quite talented, and very popular.

At that time, many dignitaries came here and were willing to spend a lot of money for her.

Who knows, this Xianglian is very arrogant, she doesn't look down on those laypeople, and Tsing Yi Lou is not an ordinary hook, and she is very tolerant of the girls, so she is not overly persecuted.

But unexpectedly, this girl was confused for some reason, and secretly hooked up with a poor scholar.

not only promoted a lot of business for him, but also took the initiative to sponsor his studies, helping the scholar to participate in the scientific examination and seek fame.

The scholar was originally busy, but suddenly seemed to have opened his mind, and he went to high school last year to explore flowers, and also found a position as a counselor in the imperial capital Hanlin Academy, which can be regarded as a success.

At this point in the story, the ideal script should be: the scholar does not forget his roots, redeems himself for Xianglian, regardless of other people's fingers, Ming Media is getting married, and the two live happily ever after......

But in fact, even the script that will be happy with everyone will not be written.

Su Chen had almost guessed what was going to happen next.

It's nothing more than that after the scholar became famous, he looked down on Xianglian from a humble background more and more, and at this time, he happened to be taken by the daughter of a nobleman, and wanted to recruit him as a fast son-in-law of Chenglong, facing the opportunity to soar into the sky, who was not tempted?

The truth is exactly as Su Chen expected.

The scholar changed his mind, not only wanted to cut off relations with Xianglian, but also insulted her, Xianglian couldn't stand this stimulation, so she committed suicide by hanging herself from a beam in the building.

Someone's life is actually big or small.

With Zhang Mingyuan's means and identity, it is not impossible to suppress it, but what happened to Xianglian made the other sisters in the building very angry, and they couldn't bear to see her die so wronged, so they implored Taohong to make decisions for them and seek justice for Xianglian.

If it is an ordinary person, this matter is easy to do, Zhang Mingyuan directly led someone to arrest it.

After all, she is also a girl in her own building, how can she be bullied by outsiders?

But the matter involved the officials of the imperial court, and Zhang Mingyuan didn't dare to mess around.

You can only follow the procedure first, and then think of another way.

"Landlord, this kind of trivial matter, I don't dare to bother you to worry about it. Rest assured, the subordinates will definitely handle it properly and will not delay the business in the building. ”

Zhang Mingyuan knew that the landlord had a lot of affairs, so he didn't dare to let him worry about such a trivial matter, so he hurriedly expressed his position.

Su Chen waved his hand, turned his head to look at Taohong, and asked, "What did you just say, what is the name of that scholar?" ”

"It seems to be called Chen Shiqing, a native of the imperial capital, and he is not young, in his thirties......"

Chen Shiqing?

Su Chen recalled this name, and always felt that it seemed a little familiar.

In fact, although he was sympathetic to what happened to that Oiran, with his current status, he really shouldn't have personally asked about it.

It's just that when I heard the scholar's name, I felt a little familiar.

He can never forget it, and he won't feel familiar for no reason, this name, he must have heard or seen it.

"Wait. I remember, on the cover of the book "The Legend of the Ghost Fox", the signature is these three words! ”

Su Chen's eyes lit up.

In my mind, the image of a down-and-out scholar in tattered clothes came to mind, and it was the crazy showman who sold him "The Legend of the Ghost Fox" ten years ago!

That guy, can he actually get into the Tanhua exam?