Nightwatcher

"Wen Xinguan is upstairs. You can go upstairs from here until you reach the top floor." Song Tingfeng took him to the stairs and pointed to the upstairs:

"There is no requirement for this level, but you have to remember, follow your heart, if it is too contrived, your score will be lowered."

"What's the use of scoring?" Xu Qi'an asked back.

"Why do you backtest your aptitude? Score four: A, B, C, D, the better the aptitude. Naturally, the easier it is to be cultivated." Song Tingfeng raised his chin: "I am B."

Zhu Guangxiao muffled, "I'm C."

I'm a big man Xu Qi'an played tricks silently and climbed upstairs alone. When he reached the second floor, he saw a simple bronze mirror hanging on the red lacquered pillar facing the stairs.

His figure was reflected in the mirror.

Xu Qi'an's heart palpited for no reason, his muscles tensed uncontrollably, and then he relaxed slowly.

The inner distracting thoughts are settled, the state of mind is peaceful, and all fame, fortune and selfish desires are put aside.

As soon as the thought of something wrong with the mirror flashed across his mind, he settled down in his heart and didn't care about it.

The idea of ​​forcibly entering the time of the sage also settled down.

He turned the corner with ease and came to the lobby on the second floor, where a Buddha was enshrined, with a plump figure and a solemn treasure.

There are tributes on the incense bank, and the incense is curling up.

An official stood in front of the Buddha, looking at him.

Xu Qi'an looked at the Buddha statue calmly for a few times, then stopped looking, and walked towards the stairs on the third floor.

The official watched his back leave, lowered his head and wrote on the paper, as if evaluating.

The third layer is dedicated to Taoist priests, wearing Taoist robes, holding wooden swords, and stepping on auspicious clouds.

There was also an official in front of the Faxiang, watching Xu Qi'an's arrival quietly.

After Xu Qi'an took a few random glances and turned to leave, the official also picked up a pen and wrote comments on the paper spread out on the table.

The fourth floor is dedicated to Confucian saints, wearing Confucian shirts and Confucian crowns, looking into the distance.

The official still stood in front of the saint's clay sculpture, looking at Xu Qi'an quietly.

This statue of a saint is exactly the same as the one in Yunlu Academy. Xu Qi'an felt this in his heart, and left without hesitation.

He came to the highest floor - the fifth floor.

The fifth floor enshrines a man in a yellow robe, standing majestically, holding a sword in both hands, with sword eyebrows and starry eyes, awe-inspiring.

Xu Qi'an didn't know this person, but the bright yellow dragon robe said everything.

A certain king of the Dafeng Dynasty, or the founding emperor.

When he came here, he suddenly realized the true meaning of "asking the heart". Testing aptitude is only a part of it. The real meaning is to test a person's moral character.

The function of that mirror is to make people unable to act against their will and intentionally offer incense and prostration.

Oops, I didn’t pay homage to Buddha, Taoist priests, or saints. This shows that I am a person who doesn’t respect gods or Buddhas and disdains the Four Books and Five Classics

It doesn't matter, but the person on the fifth floor, I must worship or not, I will be finished. A person who has no king, no father, and ignores gods and Buddhas is not tolerated in this era.

What kind of organization is the watchman?

It is a spy and guard agency affiliated to the emperor.

It can disrespect the three religions, but it cannot be disloyal to the emperor.

So "asking the heart" is a screening of moral character.

Xu Qi'an was undoubtedly unqualified, he went up to the fifth floor in one go, and no one came to him.

I'm such a scum in the world, I will be kicked out of the prisoner's yamen, that's all, the key is that the prisoner knows my crime of framing Zhou Li, who knows if it will turn over the old score

These thoughts flashed one by one, then settled down, and were automatically ignored.

Xu Qi'an anxiously resisted the "sage mode", forcing himself to bow down to the king, the two consciousnesses fought crazily, his body stiffened, his muscles spasmed and trembled.

The officials standing in front of the king watched Xu Qi'an for a while, then passed him downstairs.

A few minutes later, when the officials returned, Xu Qi'an was still standing there, his whole body stiff and trembling, as if his hands and feet were cramping.

The official looked at Xu Qi'an as if looking at a rare animal, and said in a low voice, "I've already exchanged comments with my colleagues downstairs."

The official continued: "When Duke Wei set up Wenxinguan, there was an explanation. If someone does not close or pay respects to the fifth floor in a row, he must be a heinous person."

Brother, give me another chance!

Xu Qi'an was extremely anxious.

"So Wei Gong gave another chance and set up the sixth pass alone, but no one has ever gone to that pass." The official looked at Xu Qi'an miraculously: "You are a scorpion shit, the only one."

"You relax your body and stop the cramps," he said.

Xu Qi'an no longer fights against the sage mode in his heart, adjusts his breathing, and successfully stops his muscles from twitching.

Only then did I realize that my back was soaked.

He followed the officials around the statue of the king and went to a deeper area,

The dappled sunlight pours from the hollowed-out windows, illuminating the wooden platform in the house finely.

A line of poetry is engraved on the wooden platform.

Killing millions of soldiers from the enemy's chieftain, the sword at the waist is still bloody.

Returning with a golden mace in hand, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty dare not speak.

The little poem is quite domineering. Show me what the poem means.

Xu Qi'an glanced sideways at the silent official, originally wanting to stuff some cash to get information from him.

After thinking about it, how can a mere official understand the mind of that powerful eunuch? impossible.

Don't lead yourself astray, or you will end up dead.

Dou poetry? Impossible, the theme is obviously not a competition for poetic talent. Asking the heart is related to ideology and morality, and we have to start from this aspect.

Since it is a test of ideology and morality, what is Wei Yuan doing here with this poem?

Xu Qi'an got rid of distracting thoughts and actively used his brain.

The sixth level is arranged for a materialist like me who has no king, no teacher, and no respect for God or Buddha. It is equivalent to the last chance.

Naturally, I want to dig out some precious ideology and morality from me. If I didn't, I'd be dead.

Suddenly, Xu Qi'an thought of the couplet in the hall on the first floor:

I would like to serve the dusty place with a deep heart and not seek benefits for myself.

And the duty of the watchman is to supervise the officials. Wei Yuan's poem also has the meaning of serving the country loyally and coercing the officials.

Thinking of this, he suddenly understood what the great eunuch meant.

This poem is here, not for fighting poems, but for empathy.

If that heinous man with no army and no teacher is really bad in nature, he will not be able to fight against his own heart and forcefully write sympathetic poems in the Wenxin Guan.

On the contrary, it shows that he still has precious virtues, and Wei Yuan is willing to give him a chance.

Xu Qi'an let out a sigh, and stretched out his hand: "The pen and ink will serve you."

The officials handed over brushes and spread rice paper on the wooden platform.

Xu Qi'an hung his pen on the paper and closed his eyes.

Although I have no king in my heart, I also disdain to worship gods and Buddhas. I am a true materialist.

But I am not a heinous person. I have justice in my heart and principles in my feet. I have never exploited the common people, never relied on my status as a subordinate to extort money, even if this is the norm in society

Even though, I was desperately trying to make money.

If you want to empathize, I will compose a poem, as you wish.

Xu Qi'an wrote without any psychological barriers, and wrote in ugly fonts:

You eat Erlu, people's fat and people's ointment

The people are easy to abuse, but the heavens are hard to bully.

The official looked at the four sentences on the paper in a daze.

He took the rice paper, stared at Xu Qi'an seriously for a while, and said: "The questioning is over, sir, please do as you please, but don't leave the yamen until the result comes out."

"The qualifications of every watchman must be judged by Wei Gong himself, and the villain will send it to Wei Gong."

He almost left the floor in a running manner, and the sound of thumping footsteps came from the stairs, and he quickly went away.

Xu Qi'an felt as if he had collapsed, he supported the wooden platform to catch his breath for a while, and then followed him downstairs.

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao were waiting for his colleague on the first floor. When they saw Xu Qi'an coming downstairs, they smiled and waved: "How many times have you kneeled?"

He smiled like a fox.

The officials who went downstairs did not tell him the process and results.

Xu Qi'an opened his mouth, but finally chose to remain silent.

On Zhu Guangxiao's unsmiling face, two eyebrows frowned slightly: "Your complexion doesn't look very good."

It's not just bad, I feel like I've been on the verge of life and death twice, it's more exciting than a roller coaster Xu Qian shook his head tiredly and said:

"I want to find a place to sit down, drink tea and take a rest."

Song Tingfeng raised his eyebrows with a smile: "Are you going to hire another girl who can rub your shoulders and rub your legs?"

You are like Xu Qi'an talking cross talk under the flyover and nodding with a smile: "Go to the Jiaofang Secretary to invite Fuxiang Huakui."

Song Tingfeng was taken aback, and laughed loudly: "I also had this dream when I was young."

PS: Public chapters should consider the number of words and the process of recommendation, and cannot be changed suddenly. Let’s update it after it’s on the shelves. Six or seven thousand words a day should be the bottom line. By the way, there are countless foreshadowings in the book, more than in the second generation of demons. You can look for it.