Chapter 51 Gift

Although Li Zaifang was ordered to remind the prince, in reality nothing happened. Because in the evening of that day, the transport envoy in charge of the inner treasury was ordered to register and hand in the deposit of 25,000 taels of silver that the Burmese envoy had entrusted to the Ministry of Rites. The emperor only took a look at the list, and was immediately delighted - twenty-five thousand taels were only enough for Master Feixuan to hold two fasting and prayer ceremonies, which was not a big deal; but the sincerity of the Prince of Mu, who was always concerned about the emperor and was loyal to the emperor, was truly precious and could not but move Master Feixuan.

There are so many people in the court who are greedy for money and power. There are more than a thousand of them. But among these thousands of corrupt officials and parasites, who can always remember the emperor and father and think about the emperor and father's share at all times? Moreover, the proportion of the profit sharing was so appropriate and the way of sharing was so clever that it greatly comforted the True Lord and further confirmed a certain unbreakable cognition:

Where the money is, there is loyalty. Judging from this ratio, the prince is indeed a loyal man with a sincere heart!

Faced with such a loyal and loving minister to his king and father, even if he is personified as Fei Xuan Zhen Jun, it is really difficult to blame him for anything. He hesitated for a moment, and simply revoked his previous instructions. Instead, he ordered Huang Shanggang to reward the Prince of Duke Mu with a box of top-grade health-preserving pills made from hundreds of herbs on behalf of the palace, and also asked him to take the opportunity to convey a message in a tactful way, reminding the prince to be a little more careful in the future.

The so-called "indirect message" basically means not mentioning a word in practice. Eunuch Huang knew this trick very well, so when he issued the oral decree, he emphasized the extraordinary nature of the reward to flatter the prince:

"This is the pill that your majesty uses for himself. It is a miraculous medicine specially made by Xuanzhen Temple. Ordinary people don't even have the blessing of seeing it. Now it is specially bestowed on the prince. It is also a unique honor!"

Mu Qi, who had just received the health-preserving pill with both hands: ………

——Wait, you said this is Lao Deng’s secret elixir?

Mu Qi is torn apart!

Baiyao Yangshengdan is a tonic commonly used by emperors of all dynasties. Most of them are made with precious medicinal materials such as deer antler, ginseng and ganoderma lucidum. Apart from being too hot, there is nothing wrong with taking it. But only Lao Deng had a different idea. He ordered people to add a lot of ingredients according to the alchemy classics, claiming that the medicine had "unique effects" and was "close to an elixir of life". The prescription was kept secret and it remained a huge unsolved case in the court and the public.

...However, according to later historical archaeology, this so-called "secret recipe" was nothing more than adding "red mercury" made from a mixture of deer blood, human milk and rhino horn powder, and "autumn stone" extracted from the urine of boys and girls to the original medicine; it relied on exogenous hormones to stimulate the human immune system and create the illusion of being energetic and not afraid of wind-evil. The high protein content in it may also neutralize the toxicity of some heavy metals, which is an important guarantee for the old Taoist priest to survive until now.

After being strangled to the point of nearly kicking his legs by a palace maid many years ago, Old Wall Lamp no longer dared to perform any disgusting sorcery. But just thinking of the so-called "Autumn Stone", Mu Qi felt his scalp tighten!

He held the pills wrapped in silk in his stiff hands, and felt the skin that accidentally touched him getting hot, burning and itchy. In the awkwardness and stiffness, he seemed to have vaguely sensed some unspeakable liquid. He wished he could throw away this box of strange medicine immediately and rub his hands ninety-nine and eighty-one times!

Perhaps he interpreted his dullness and numbness as flattery, and Eunuch Huang spoke happily:

"This is a reward personally selected by His Majesty. You must use it well, Prince, and don't let His Majesty down."

Upon hearing this, Mu Qi shuddered immediately. As the one and only giant infant old immortal man in the world, Master Feixuan's rewards are never just honors and favors, but also meticulous examinations of his subjects. The ministers who are rewarded should not only be grateful and loyal, but also use these gifts that embody the emperor's benevolence at any time in their daily lives to show that they are always thinking about the emperor and never forget the endless kindness of Lord Feixuan. If you put the reward aside and never use it after receiving it, you will inevitably be suspected by the Lord of Trueness of being slanderous and disloyal to the Lord, and the consequences will be unpredictable.

——You know, Prime Minister Xia Yan was nearly tortured to death by Master Fei Xuan just because he refused to wear the Qingye crown and plain Taoist robe bestowed by the emperor. He is still frightened to this day.

If it's really something like a Taoist robe with green leaves and a crown, it's fine to just wear it. At most, it'll be like having a little more green on your head. But pills are something that need to be eaten after all, and Mu Qi himself doesn't want to share his membership restaurant with Lao Deng at all!

Seeing that Huang Shanggang's eyes were becoming more and more expectant, Prince Mu couldn't help but sweat a little on his forehead - it was obvious that he had to think of a perfunctory excuse quickly, otherwise Eunuch Huang would have to stay and continue waiting until he saw him put the pill into his mouth with his own eyes!

Don’t do that kind of thing! Who the hell is willing to taste the secret little elixir?

In a panic, the prince suddenly had an idea and bowed solemnly:

"I understand your Majesty's intention. I will respect your Majesty's will and will not disobey you."

Eunuch Huang was stunned for a moment: "What does the emperor mean?"

The emperor only asked him to deliver a reward, what other meaning could there be?

"You don't know, eunuch, that the emperor's will is hidden in this pill." Mu Qi said solemnly, "The Hundred Medicines for Preserving Life Pill is also called 'Shuyi Pill' in the northern area. 'Shu' means 'speed' and 'Yi' means quick. It is obvious that the emperor is urging the progress. How dare a minister disobey the emperor's order? I will do my best to hold the grand ceremony of the banquet and prepare the gifts for the emperor's birthday to show my gratitude."

Eunuch Huang felt a little confused. He had followed Master Feixuan for several decades and thought he was quite familiar with the Holy Will. But now, after thinking about it, he did not feel that there was any urging in the Master's message. It seemed more like he had just randomly found an ordinary reward.

However, no matter how much he thought about it, Eunuch Huang did not dare to make any conclusion. Master Feixuan is the leading riddle teller today, and he likes to hint at his subordinates with riddles. No one dares to say that they have completely guessed Master's thoughts, and no one dares to veto other people's speculations. All rights of interpretation ultimately belong to the True Lord. No matter what the meaning of this box of pills is, it is not the eunuch's turn to judge.

Eunuch Huang could only change the subject: "Prince, are you still planning a birthday ceremony? I thought the rocket was a gift."

No matter what tricks and ingenuity one has, being able to spell out the four words "Long Live the True Lord" with fireworks is already eye-catching and quite impressive.

"It was originally prepared for the banquet, but it was displayed in advance outside the city. Since it has been displayed once, it can no longer be considered a unique gift. How can such a plain thing be presented to Your Majesty?" The prince said calmly, "Besides, many old ministers will come to offer congratulations on the birthday, so we can't make too much noise. I still want to present something new and creative in terms of writing and calligraphy."

This is also the alternative plan that Mu Qi has been planning for a long time. As the Duke's Mansion's treasury had been drained of its treasury by krypton gold research, there was no way to win over all the nobles in the city, so he could only try to find another way; after much thought, he decided to let Zhao Fei take action and force the Two Saints to hand-copy 50,000-word "Tao Te Ching", "Beidou Jing" and "Taishang Ganying Pian", and present them in the name of the secret Taoist scriptures of the Northern Song Dynasty court, with the main purpose of offering large quantities and satisfying all, in an effort to cater to the aesthetic tastes of Master Feixuan.

Nowadays, it has become a trend in Da'an to collect Song Dynasty books, so giving a set of Taoist scriptures from the Song court collection can be considered presentable, but it is just presentable - the old Taoist priest has been practicing Taoism and seeking immortality for decades, and his ministers have searched for them in every possible way to curry favor with the emperor, and basically brought all the rare Taoist scriptures that could be found on the market into the palace. Now they are piled up like a mountain and are no longer rare; a mere rare ancient book can hardly impress the heart of the arrogant and extravagant old immortal Feixuan Zhenjun.

But this year happens to be a critical juncture. After Hai Gangfeng took office in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the affairs of coastal defense reform have been fully launched, and the progress cannot be slowed down or slackened. At such a delicate and tense time, it is imperative to ensure that the old Taoist priest is happy and mentally healthy, and to do his best to maintain the balance of the government. This is also the reason why he endured humiliation and was willing to suppress his disgust in order to do cruel things like "Long Live the True Lord".

Seeing that the progress bar has gone through 90% of the way, at this critical juncture, there cannot be any flaws in the birthday gift!

No one knew what kind of monster Lao Deng could create, so Mu Qi thought about it again and again, but he was still hesitant and couldn't make a decision. He just said something to the factory manager perfunctorily.

But when Eunuch Huang heard this explanation, his heart was slightly moved, and then he smiled and said:

"The prince wants to prepare some writings as gifts, and we dare not ask too much. But we have a talented writer here who is looking for a place to live. I wonder if the prince has any vacancies here?"

Eunuch Huang had vaguely mentioned it before, but he didn't take the time to elaborate, so Mu Qi didn't ask any more questions. Now that he was solemnly entrusted with this, Mu Qi naturally agreed:

"Not just any expert, I am here to serve you at any time."

"How can he be called a 'master'?" Eunuch Huang said with a smile, "He is just a talent recommended by our children and grandchildren. He looks promising. This person is the winner of this year's imperial examination. His surname is Wu, his name is Cheng'en, and his nickname is Sheyang Shanren. Although he has never been successful in the imperial examinations, he has a talent for writing storybooks. The prince should use him according to his talent."

In order to conceal the true face of Wu Cheng'en and "Journey to the West", Eunuch Huang deliberately downplayed the matter, but his efforts were obviously in vain. The prince's pupils dizzied and his breathing stopped. He almost pinched his arm to hold back a cry of surprise. He could only quickly lower his head to carefully look at the two secret little pills that were fortunately modified by Lao Deng, and suppressed his strange ecstasy with the feeling of nausea.

——As early as when he heard of Wu Chengen's great name, Mu Qi had already considered recruiting him privately, but he was worried that Li Jurong would notice something, so he never found a good opportunity. Who would have thought that today his wish would come true and this unique card would finally fall into his hands!

——The novel about gods and demons, start!

The excitement and restlessness at that moment were probably no less than when he drew Zhang Taiyue from Haigang Peak. However, Mu Qi remained rational in his ecstasy, knowing that the governor of the East Depot would never recommend an unknown candidate for no reason, not to mention that Wu Chengen also had a relationship with Li Jurong. So he suppressed his joy and asked tentatively:

"Of course, we should make use of the talents recommended by the factory manager. However, I am only dealing with trivial matters here. I wonder if this Sheyang Mountain native will be wronged?"

"How dare I talk about being wronged!" Eunuch Huang said with a smile, "The guest should follow the host's wishes. The prince can make his own arrangements. How can an outsider have the right to interrupt?"

...From the looks of it, it doesn't seem like there are any cunning arrangements targeting him. It can be estimated that they are just stuffing people into the Duke's Mansion to fill the numbers. In other words, as long as the bottom line of the Eastern Depot is not touched, the prince can use this Sheyang Mountain native normally without any scruples.

Mu Qi smiled, thought for a moment, bowed very respectfully, and spoke in a warm and gentle tone:

"Then everything will be arranged by the factory owner."

·

As soon as the factory owner left, Prince Mu couldn't wait to send someone to invite Mr. Gui Zhenchuan to start planning his great plan.

Unlike Mr. Hai and Mr. Zhang who went to take the exam alone, Guijia from Kunshan was still quite popular in the capital. After the exam, he was busy entertaining relatives and friends and attending banquets everywhere. Only in the past few days did he have time to come to the Duke's Mansion to report for work and continue to organize the so-called "Great Code". However, before he could write two lines, he was called to the hall by the prince and heard a puzzling sentence:

"Mr. Gui, I changed my mind!"

Mr. Gui was confused for a moment: "What did the prince change his mind about?"

"I have changed my mind and will no longer compile the so-called Taoist scriptures." The prince was very happy and said in a cheerful tone: "But I would like to trouble you to write one more thing for me."

Hearing this, Gui Zhenchuan suddenly remembered - more than ten days ago, the prince had asked him a small request, saying that he wanted to compile several Taoist scriptures from the Northern Song Dynasty into a book, and asked him to write a preface to praise this unprecedented literary event. A preface was originally a trivial matter, but the prince had been slow to send the copy of the Taoist scripture, so of course he had no idea where to start. But who would have thought that now that the Taoist scriptures are nowhere to be found, the prince has changed his ways again!

It is common for the children of nobles to have changing minds. Gui Zhenchuan just bowed and said:

"I wonder what the prince is going to write next?"

"That's right." The prince smiled cheerfully, "I've thought about it carefully. A mere Taoist scripture is too cliché and rigid. It can't reflect my sincere feelings. My imagination and creativity are not rich enough. So after thinking it over again and again, I decided to write a novella. If the response is good enough, I will try to extend it."

Not enough imagination and creativity?

Gui Zhenchuan was speechless for a moment. To be honest, after working in the Duke Mu's Mansion for so many days, he had vaguely figured out the ways of the Duke Mu's son. He really couldn't imagine how shocking and beyond-the-sky the "imagination and creativity" that this person spoke of were, and he was even more afraid to speculate on what the "novel" that this person spoke of was - the so-called "novel" was unofficial history; Gui Zhenchuan had lived in Beijing, and had read many notes and stories circulating in the streets and alleys. Basically, they were formulaic and rigid in style, and except for one or two more realistic color stimulations, there was nothing new, and most of them were low-grade stuff that was not presentable. But if the prince takes action, the novel he edited might be...

Gui Zhenchuan was silent for a while, and could only say:

"I am not good at the so-called 'novels' in the market."

This is the absolute truth. Gui Zhenchuan studied under the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties. His writing style is clear, graceful and sentimental. He is best at writing short essays that are profound and moving, rather than novels of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of words that are full of imagination and expansiveness. There is no high or low in literature and art, and everyone has their own specialties. If Mr. Gui's delicate and subtle writing skills were to be used to deal with a lengthy and grand plot, it would definitely not be a good match.

"Don't worry about that." Mu Qi smiled slightly. "In one or two days at most, a master who is very good at writing novels will come to assist you. You just need to help polish the text, and you don't have to worry about the rest. As for now, you don't have to worry about anything else. I have already drafted the outline of the novel, you just need to follow the outline and write a biography of the characters within a thousand words..."

After saying that, he pulled out a densely written piece of white paper from his sleeve and handed it over with both hands.

This was Mu Qi's first choice plan, which he had painstakingly planned for a long time. However, he was troubled by his lack of writing talent and had no way to turn the idea into a written article, so he had to put it on hold temporarily. Now that Wu Cheng'en was in his hands, the original plan was immediately put on the agenda. You know, among the four great classics, "Dream of Red Mansions" is generally recognized as the best in terms of literary quality, and "Water Margin" is equally meticulous. Only "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Journey to the West" were criticized for their writing style. If it were not for the limitation of the subject matter, one of them would probably have been replaced by "Xing Ping Mei". But now, with the friendly joining of Mr. Gui Zhenchuan, wouldn’t this weakness in writing style be immediately solved?

Wu Cheng'en alone is already so amazing, if Gui Zhenchuan is added to the mix, wouldn't he be able to take off?

So Mu Qi carefully considered it, revised the outline several times, and added all the essence of the cool novels he could absorb before the time travel. Because of this, Gui Zhenchuan was stunned after taking a glance at the nonsense words:

"A Mortal's Journey to Immortality"?

Looking further down, the protagonist in the outline is a peerless young man with the Taoist name "Fei Xuanzi", born with a Taoist holy body and an innate holy spirit root...

Gui Zhenchuan:? !

...No, if you're making innuendos, can you at least be more subtle? Even if he didn't understand things like "born holy body" and "innate spiritual roots", how could he not understand the three words "Fei Xuanzi"? Do you have to be so straightforward?

Well, there are more than one or two jokes alluding to Master Feixuan on the streets now, and Gui Zhenchuan has also secretly read Master’s joke collection in private. But the streets are the streets and the government is the government. You take out this kind of thing openly. Are you feeling too itchy?

Facing Gui Zhenchuan's face that was almost distorted with surprise and fear, the prince was quite calm. Since he dared to write, compile and spread it, he was certainly not afraid of it being leaked to Master Feixuan. Master Feixuan is suspicious, sinister and unreasonable in all matters, but he is incredibly tolerant and kind when it comes to cultivating immortals. As long as he knows the purpose of "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality", this innuendo will be nothing.

Besides, this was a cool story he had carefully planned, and its tactics had been tested repeatedly in the market. How could it possibly make Master Feixuan unhappy?

So he just nodded slightly and smiled without saying anything.

Seeing that the host had no reaction, the poor worker Gui Zhenchuan had no choice but to watch these outrageous things. After understanding the previous hints, the following plot becomes clear at a glance. According to the outline, this young man named Fei Xuanzi lost his father at a young age and was bullied by the sinister and cunning servants in the family, but he didn't take it seriously at all. One of the housekeepers, named Yang, was the most excessive, forcing Fei Xuanzi to disown his biological parents and go against the principles of filial piety. As a result, Fei Xuanzi left in anger, and before leaving, he made a bold statement:

"Don't look down on the young because they are poor!"

Gui Zhenchuan: ...Ah?

No, you have already written it so clearly, why not just write down Yang Ting and Yang Ge Lao’s yellow book and horoscope?

Gui Zhenchuan was in such mixed emotions that he was speechless for a moment. However, there is one thing he is very clear about - judging from this plot alone, the current emperor should definitely not hate this book.

...After all, the court situation changed after the Great Ceremony Controversy, and the people that the emperor hated and loathed the most were probably Yang Tinghe and his son. As long as you are willing to scold Yang Tinghe, you are a good minister who is loyal to the emperor.

Of course, just cursing Yang Tinghe a few times was not enough to have emotional value, so Gui Zhenchuan continued reading.

The synopsis details the difficulties Fei Xuanzi faced after escaping from his family. After leaving the protection of the family, all the old enemies came to the door, and even the housekeeper named Yang sent out killers to deal with the trouble. When he was at his wit's end, Fei Xuanzi accidentally cut his finger, and blood seeped into the jade pendant he had held in his mouth when he was born. Then a green light suddenly flashed, and a fairy figure in white clothes broke through the air from the jade pendant, raised his hand, and a sword light illuminated the nine provinces:

"Sword!"

Gui Zhenchuan's eyes bulged.

·

Seeing that Mr. Gui had not spoken for a long time, the prince finally had to remind him - this outline was carefully drafted by him by integrating the strengths of hundreds of schools of thought, and he did not believe that it would not be appreciated by Lao Deng; but Lao Deng was different from ordinary people after all. Ordinary readers could be attracted by the copywriting and the golden three chapters, but Lao Deng, a tricky guy, had to use big tricks and ruthless tricks to reveal the exciting points first; this required relying on Mr. Gui's great pen to fully reflect the charm of the story in the character biography of hundreds of words:

"Mr. Gui, I think this biography can be named 'If Heaven had not given me Fei Xuanzi, the immortal road would have been long as night'; of course, it can also be called 'Who is the peak at the end of the immortal road? Once I see the True Lord, my way becomes empty'. I have no objection."