The orioles were chirping outside the window, and the shadows of trees fell on the bookshelves. The slightly tipsy spring breeze secretly wandered through the study, and was frightened away by the tense atmosphere.
Cui Wan slowly raised his head and hummed in a low voice: "Well... he is a good friend of my daughter. I was in a hurry yesterday and did not report it to my father. Please don't blame me!"
Cui Luo frowned and said in a deep voice: "He bumped into Wang Chuo? And why!"
"Wang Chuo came to the house to provoke and humiliate himself. No one else can blame him." Cui Wan straightened her neck slightly and spoke in a clear voice. The mood of her little daughter just now disappeared immediately.
Cui Luo looked slightly relieved and said calmly: "You are young and reckless, and you dare to hurt people without knowing the depth. You are not a wise person. Wan'er, it is a good thing that you have many friends, but you must also look at your character and family background.
. Don’t want any kid with unknown origins to come to my Cui Mansion to stay temporarily. If outsiders hear about it, won’t it ruin your daughter’s family name?”
Cui Wan was secretly angry: This Wang Chuo didn't know what was good or bad, and he came to his father to talk nonsense. He must be taught a lesson someday.
When she raised her head to look at her father, she bowed happily: "My daughter knows. But Yang Shaoxia's origins are by no means unknown. He studied under Li Changyuan, his Taoist name is Chong Lingzi, and he has practiced Taoism at Shangqing Temple since he was a child. His martial arts are even better.
Yes! Five years ago in Taiwei Palace, my daughter was defeated by his sword. Now that my swordsmanship has been perfected, my daughter should be no match for him."
Cui Luo's thick eyebrows raised: "If you have such martial arts, why don't you join the army? Why did you come to my Cui Mansion?"
When Cui Wan saw that the words were ripe, he sighed: "He came here because of my senior sister Luo's business, and stayed in the mansion for a few days... Dad, my daughter wants you to recruit him to be an aide in the Cui mansion. With his talents,
Coupled with my father's virtues in raising scholars, I will definitely be able to accomplish something great!"
Cui Luo stared at Cui Wan with burning eyes and said, "Is that all?"
Cui Wan nodded: "If dad gets this person, he will be of great use."
Cui Luozhong picked up the tea cup again, took a sip slowly, and then said: "The Cui Mansion does not recruit fake people. Even if it is true as you said, dad must have someone test him carefully before making a decision."
Cui Wan bowed again and said, "It's all up to dad to make the decision." After saying that, he turned around and left.
"Wan'er!" Cui Luotu stopped her again and said thoughtfully, "There is another matter. The current prime minister Yuan Zai and Yuan Gongfu were recently seeking to marry his third son Yuan Jineng to a well-known man. You and I
I know that after the meeting, I have handed over your birthday note to the trustee. Regardless of whether it can be done or not, you must be prepared."
Cui Wan felt a chill in her heart, and soon a feeling of helpless sadness came up from the bottom of her heart, making her feel cold all over: what should come will eventually come, and even though she was born into a rich family, she could not escape the fate of marriage.
She suddenly turned her head and looked at her suddenly unfamiliar father: "Daughter, I will not marry!"
Cui Luo said in a deep voice: "This matter is not a trivial matter! Give me a reason."
Cui Wan knew his father's temper very well, and if he contradicted her, there would be no room for change. Thoughts in her mind were racing, and suddenly her eyes lit up: "Dad, Yuan Zai's favor is so great that it is no less generous than Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong back then. But.
My daughter has been practicing Taoism since she was a child, and she knows that when the moon is full, it will wax and wane, and when it is strong, it will decline.
I have long heard that Yuan Zai was excluding dissidents in the court, was corrupt and self-serving, was domineering, and had a very bad reputation. Such evil-looking people will definitely not end well! If my daughter really marries her, the trees will fall down and the buildings will fall. How can it be done?
Survived?"
Cui Lu said angrily: "Who are you listening to? Yuan Xiang is a harmonious person, can argue well, and is favored by saints. How can you, a yellow-haired girl, be able to judge!"
Cui Wan said sadly: "Dad, do you have to push your daughter into the fire pit?"
Cui Luo was startled when he heard the words, and suddenly thought of something. He knew that what his daughter said was not groundless. But as the head of Cui Mansion, he had the dignity to fulfill his words, but he did not allow others to provoke him, so he said coldly: "I have made my own decision, you
No need to say any more. Someone is here! Send Miss Six back to her room."
When the maid standing outside the study heard the words, she immediately came in and helped Cui Wan out of the study.
In front of the plan in the main hall, the mistress Lu, several concubines, and Cui Wan's two brothers were eating lunch in silence. When they heard the faint scolding in the study, they knew that Cui Wan had made the master of the family angry again, and they couldn't help but
He raised his ears and paid serious attention to the situation in the room.
Suddenly, everyone at the table saw Cui Wan looking sad, being helped out by two maids, and walking to the boudoir in the backyard. Mistress Lu threw down the bowls and chopsticks, stood up suddenly, and followed Cui Wan out of the main hall.
Two personal maids hurriedly followed.
Seeing this situation, a beloved concubine did not panic. She gently put down the spoon in her hand, stood up, and walked into the study room, comforting the angry head of the family. The rest of the people looked at each other, as if they were used to it, and lowered their heads.
Continue to taste the food on the plate.
In the west wing of the backyard, there is a flower-scented boudoir, with screen windows lightly covered and curtains half-covered.
Cui Wan fell down on the couch. Thinking of the marriage that he couldn't control, he couldn't help but feel sad. His eyes were like chopsticks. His personal maid was thrown outside the screen, and she listened uneasily to what was going on inside.
Although Mistress Lu was slow, she had already rushed over. Seeing the situation in the room, she dismissed the maids and asked them to wait outside the room. She then closed the door and walked into the bedroom surrounded by screens.
He sat down on the edge of the couch.
"Mother——! Why do you want to send your daughter's birthday sticker to Yuan Mansion? My daughter won't marry!" Cui Wan threw herself in her mother's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Wan'er, you're talking nonsense again. It's time for men to get married, and for women to get married. How can you not get married? If you can marry into a high-ranking Yuanxiang family, enjoy all the glory and wealth, how can you know that you are not in the best position?
A good home?"
Lu said softly, patting Cui Wan's back with slightly wrinkled hands to comfort her.
"Besides, I just handed over the birthday stickers. I heard that the Wang family in Taiyuan and the Zheng family in Xingyang also have daughters who have not yet left the court, so the birthday stickers have been handed over a long time ago. Even if you are willing, the third young master of Yuanfu still has to choose.
!”
After Cui Wan heard this, he knew that the matter had not yet been decided. He was just in a hurry and was confused... Thinking of the man who was still a guest in the house, he couldn't help showing a shy and naive attitude. He lowered his head in a hurry, not daring to let his mother see him.
The spring light is beautiful in the afternoon, and the shadow of the sun falls on the small pond, breaking into sparkling lights.
The floating light swayed, reflected in the east guest room, and hit Yang Chaoxi's handsome brows. The wisps of "sunfire air" were absorbed into the body bit by bit with the breathing and movement around the world, and gradually dissipated.
For own use.
"Du! Du, Du!" A rhythmic knock on the door sounded, and Yang Chaoxi opened his starry eyes. Just by hearing the knock on the door, he knew that he was not a playboy like Wang Chuo, but he was not like Cui Wan. Could it be that he was an aide in the mansion?
Yang Zhaoxi guessed and slowly opened the door.
A man with a broad face, strong cheeks, and no anger or authority appeared in front of him, with his hands behind his back, like a Yuan Ting Yue Zhi. Behind him was a housekeeper who was nearly sixty years old.
This man was about fifty years old, with a purple robe, a belt with jade locks, and an exquisite goldfish bag hanging at his waist. He looked extraordinary from head to toe.
Yang Chaoxi had already guessed the identity of the visitor, and just as he was about to bow his hands, the man said indifferently: "Are you Yang Chaoxi?"
"It's my nephew. I just came to your house for the first time. I didn't have time to meet you. Please forgive me..." Yang Zhaoxi bowed his hands and was interrupted by him before he could finish his words.
"I am Cui Luo, the head of the Cui Mansion, and the father of Wan'er. I am here to tell you that if you just want to join the Cui Mansion and be a staff member, I will give you a chance to practice martial arts tomorrow and show off your skills. I will then make a decision.
If you have any unreasonable thoughts, haha! Leave now and I will not pursue you any further." Cui Luo's tone was indifferent, as if what he said was taken for granted.
"My nephew also practices Taoism, and I'm just staying here. If Cui Shibo wants to test my nephew's martial arts, I can do it tomorrow!" Yang Chaoxi saw that Cui Luo's words were not kind, and he had already felt a little unfair in his heart. But under the eaves of others, Yang Zhaoxi
, and it was not easy to have an attack, so he responded.
"Okay! Young ranger, proud and proud. Wan'er has some good eyesight in recruiting talents and people. Let's go!" After Cui Luo finished speaking, he turned around and left with the housekeeper without waiting for his reply.
There is a wide open space between the main hall of Cui Mansion and Chongping. If in previous years, there were only three festivals: Yuan Day, Hanshi, and Zhongyuan, people from the mansion would gather here to sacrifice their ancestors and pray to the gods.
However, after breakfast that day, a circle of people gathered in front of the main hall of Cui Mansion, including Cui Wan's two brothers who were still in Luoyang, as well as Cui Mansion's aides Shangguan Heng, Du Xiaoke, etc.
The most eye-catching thing is naturally an armchair in front of the main hall of Cui Mansion. Cui Luoduan, the head of Cui Mansion, is sitting in it, looking at the slightly fierce fight in the circle, smiling and saying nothing.
Aristocratic families often recruit staff in this semi-public manner. Firstly, they want to show off the profound and powerful heritage of the rich family, so that they will feel wary when criticizing them. Secondly, they want to show off the broad-mindedness of the wealthy family's courteous and virtuous corporals, so as to attract people.
More talents come to join us.
The two people fighting in the circle at this time were Yang Zhaoxi and another warrior.
The warrior's name was Zong Wanxiong. He was more than eight feet tall. He wore Buddhist beads on his chest and carried a long-handled sword. He wore a wrought copper headband on his knotted messy hair, and he was actually dressed as a tutu.
The Mo Dao is heavy. If it is just a matter of martial arts, ordinary warriors would often discard it instead of using it. But in the hands of Zong Wanxiong, the Mo Dao is not sluggish at all, but its moves are fierce and fierce. The wind of the sword passes over the willow branches, and unexpectedly
Some branches and leaves were chopped by Qi Jin and fell, which was frightening.
A knowledgeable person like Du Xiaoke can guess from this decisive killing sword technique that Zong Wanxiong once served in the army and killed many people.
Yang Chaoxi usually used wooden swords and bamboo swords to fight with others, and the blades were not opened. Therefore, even if he accidentally hit the opponent, he would not kill the opponent. However, the rules of the Cui Mansion were to fight with real swords and guns.
Under the silver light, it looked even more sinister.
Thinking about it, if ordinary people self-recommend themselves to join the mansion, they will be turned away from the first level of the martial arts test. If they are accidentally injured or killed, with the ability of Cui Mansion, subsequent troubles can be easily solved.
.
Yang Chaoxi was handing out moves while his thoughts were wandering. In Zong Wanxiong's eyes, he looked absent-minded. It was obvious that he was perfunctory and contemptuous to the extreme.
Scholars can be killed, but not humiliated! When Zong Wanxiong's husband was angry, he took ten steps to splash blood, and a Mo Dao suddenly danced several dragon spins around his body, and then beheaded him!
Yang Chaoxi suddenly felt his scalp numb, and the surging murderous intent slanted down from above, making him aware of a hint of danger. Fortunately, the steel whip in his hand was also a sharp weapon, and he immediately blocked it with a wave of his hand as his energy shot through his right arm.
"Dang!" A sharp collision made everyone in the courtyard tremble slightly, and their ear points were numb! And the seemingly incomparable knife stopped on the steel whip, and was caught by the bony protrusion of the steel whip, giving the order
The sound of a person’s teeth grinding together.
Yang Chaoxi suddenly said: "Could it be the 'Supernatural Succession Sword' that Brother Zong used?"
"That's right! Killing you is like killing a chicken!" Zong Wanxiong's eyes widened with anger and murderous intent.
"So, who are you, Zhuang Wankuan?" Yang Zhaoxi said with a smile.
Zong Wanxiong's fierce light stopped for a moment, then returned to normal: "It's my junior brother! Could it be that I have a grudge against you? Today is a good day, so I will kill you and save my junior brother from a problem!"
"Brother Zong, wait a minute! The flood has washed away the Dragon King Temple, and the whole family no longer recognizes each other. Zhuang Wankuan is my senior brother, and he is still practicing Taoism in Shangqing Temple. This fight lasted for a long time, and there was no winner, so let's count it as a
How about a draw?" Yang Zhaoxi suggested.
"One code equals another code! Don't get close to me. Today, the master is going to test you. Even if I am willing to let go, neither the master nor the sword in my hand will agree." Zong Wanxiong sneered, returned the sword and slashed again.
.
Yang Zhaoxi shook his head with a smile and stopped talking to him. The "Thunder Whip" move in his hand was swung out like flowing water: lightning, flint, bolt from the blue, piercing the clouds and cracking the ground... Another ten breaths passed, and suddenly the ground
A "thundering" move hit Mo Dao where he swallowed his mouth.
With a crisp sound of "clang", the slender blade broke off and flew out. The direction of the attack was Cui Luo who was sitting in front of the main hall!
However, Cui Luo remained indifferent. He didn't know whether he was stunned or didn't react.
A person suddenly rushed out from the side, waved his robe sleeves, and grabbed the knife head with his bare hands! He immediately threw it to the ground, clasped his palms together and said, "Amitabha!"
Yang Chaoxi and Zong Wanxiong looked sideways, but they saw a fat-headed and big-eared monk.
Yang Zhaoxi couldn't help but be startled: Isn't this the monk Bu Jing whom he met by chance in a wine shop that day?