I'm not a fortune teller.

Chapter 117 Purpose!

"Dad, that kid is really arrogant!"

After the court session, Minister Qi was followed by a skinny boy with a pointed face and monkey cheeks. He looked very inconsistent with Minister Qi's handsome appearance, but they were father and son.

People around did not find this strange. The bloodline of the sorcerer's family would be affected by evil spirits, and many descendants were even born with ghostly appearances. However, those with poor appearances were mostly willing to take charge of the family business and stay at the rear. Those who were willing to go to the court were mostly of good appearance.

But the Qi family is different. After Minister Qi, there are almost no outstanding descendants of the family. Qi Yan, who follows him, is the fourteenth son of Minister Qi. His aptitude is mediocre. He barely reaches the threshold of a second-rank sorcerer when he is over 40 years old. He is currently the Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites and Officials, a fifth-rank official.

It sounds ordinary, but it is already the most outstanding one in the Qi family, and there is no way to find fault with its quality.

Minister Qi looked ahead calmly without saying a word.

Qi Yan hurriedly continued: "Let's not talk about whether that kid really has the ability to prevent the evil spirit. Even if he does, if others do something bad and kill a candidate, he will have to swallow his words today!"

When Minister Qi heard this, his face was full of helplessness. He didn't understand why there was no decent one among his descendants? It's okay if they don't have the qualifications of a sorcerer, but at least they have a normal brain.
"Dad, did I say something wrong again?" Qi Yan felt his father's unkindness and asked subconsciously while shrinking his neck.

"Have you ever thought about this? During this period, everyone is staring at him, so if you do something bad in secret, does that mean that everyone will also stare at you? Do you think that I, your father, have no political enemies?" Minister Qi suppressed his distress and slowly tried to persuade his 40-year-old eldest son.

"This" the other party reacted immediately.

It seems so. That Zhang man made such a big statement. Once the exam starts, everyone will keep a close eye on it. If he tries to do something bad, it will be fine if the plan is well-planned and has no flaws. But if there is even the slightest flaw, it will not be Zhang Rui's turn to act, and the people around him will be able to find the murderer, especially his father's political enemies.

In this case, deliberately killing the examinee damaged the dignity of the court. To put it in a bigger way, it can even be said that he intended to create chaos and had the intention of treason!
Once the hat is taken off, even Qi Shangshu, a veteran of three dynasties, will be skinned alive.

Thinking of this, Qi Yan immediately lowered his head and dared not speak anymore.

Minister Qi saw his silly son react, he sighed slightly, and then asked: "How is the matter with the child?"

Qi Yan lowered his head. He knew which child the other party was talking about. It was the bastard that his little sister was having outside!
According to the normal behavior of aristocratic families, if a girl from their own family was so ignorant and dared to have a private relationship with a man outside, she would have been drowned as soon as it was discovered. How could there be any bastard left?
But the situation of the bastard named Qi Xuan was a little different. At that time, my younger sister was already pregnant, and she also had a strong yin energy.

When the elder found out, he did not take action immediately, but instead gathered other elders of the Qi family and Minister Qi to observe quietly. Later, he discovered that the younger sister's fetus was born with Yin Jade, which was extremely compatible with the family's Yin God: the Divine Crow!

At that time, all the elders including Minister Qi were so excited that they almost set off firecrackers.

But Yin Yu was extremely unstable, and her younger sister had a rebellious personality and was extremely resistant to the family at the time. Forcing her to stay would easily affect the fetus, so after discussion, they decided to let her elope with the scholar and send someone to protect her secretly.

After the child was born, Minister Qi wanted to take the child directly back to the Qi family. After all, his daughter had been driven out by the scholar and was left alone and helpless. He did not feel sorry for that ungrateful daughter, but such a precious grandson had to be raised well.

But then he thought again, the children of the Qi family have been pampered and none of them have become successful. If this grandson were to be placed in a difficult environment, perhaps his character would be different.

So they sent people to secretly protect and observe Qi Xuan. Over the years, Qi Xuan's growth experience and his ways of dealing with people were all secretly recorded. Minister Qi also discovered that after being abandoned, the ungrateful daughter still had a high self-esteem. She neither asked the heartless scholar nor the family for help. Instead, she quietly raised the child by weaving. He was extremely strict in educating the child since childhood, which led to Qi Xuan's excellent character when he was very young.

This also further strengthened his thoughts. Over the past twenty years, Qi Xuan had indeed developed a good character of diligence and self-reliance as Minister Qi expected, and he was also very smart. With such study conditions, he was able to pass the imperial examination at the age of twenty and come to Beijing for the imperial examination.

"Dad, I've sent people to ask him to come back three times, but that wild... ahem, that child won't come back."

"Hmph, that's up to his mother." Minister Qi snorted coldly. The only thing that made her happy about her ungrateful daughter was her backbone.

"Send someone to Yunzhou and bring that unfilial daughter back!"

"Yes"

"In this exam, you must protect him well. If he makes any mistakes..." Yin Shangshu turned around and glared at Qi Yan gloomily. Qi Yan was so scared that his neck shrank: "Dad, don't worry, I will never let our rough diamond make any mistakes!"

"That's great!" Minister Qi looked at the other person deeply, then turned and left.

Several of my sons dislike Qi Xuan, but if you have a little bit of talent, why would you support a man of outsider bloodline?
He knew his sons very well. Although they were not very capable, they had learned a lot of dirty tricks. It would be best if they knew the seriousness of the matter this time. If they dared to interfere in this matter, they could not blame him for not caring about the father-son relationship.
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"Attention, candidates!" Outside the Suzaku Gate, many candidates waited for two full hours, and finally a eunuch came to announce the decree.

"The examination is going on as normal. Due to some trivial matters, the examination has been postponed for one day. All candidates are now allowed to rest in the palace. Accommodation has been arranged for all candidates in Mingde Hall. Three meals a day will be prepared by the imperial chef. The examination will be postponed to tomorrow morning. The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Lord An Lusheng, will be the chief examiner, and the presidents of the eight major academies will be the invigilators. The safety of all candidates in the palace will be the responsibility of Lord Zhang, the chief judge of the Dali Temple!"

As soon as the decree was announced, most of the candidates were curious about the last name that appeared.

This was the first time I heard that officials from the Dali Temple would intervene in the Spring Examination. Moreover, Lord Zhang's reputation had already spread throughout the capital yesterday, and many candidates from other places had heard of it.

Especially the children of the secluded families, they were all excited. When they were in the Golden Sparrow Tower, Zhang Rui had clearly stated that he was one of them. Now His Majesty had arranged such an important event for him. It seemed that His Majesty really intended to make use of people from the secluded families.

"Qi Xuan, did you hear that?"

Beside Qi Xuan, Fatty Zhou said excitedly, "Master Zhang is responsible for our safety."

"Why are you so happy?" Qi Xuan said with a smile, "Master Zhang is in charge of security but not grading papers. Besides, he is not familiar with you. Even if he is in charge of grading papers, he can't give you more points. Why do you look so happy as if you found money?"

"Tsk, Fatty, do I need someone to help me cheat?" Fatty Zhou glared, "With my ability, as long as the exam is fair, I will definitely be on the list. We are happy because Lord Zhang is responsible for our safety. Didn't you hear that another scholar died yesterday?"

Qi Xuan frowned upon hearing this: "I did hear some noises. It's really bizarre that there are evil spirits in this important place in the capital that can threaten the safety of the candidates."

"What the hell, didn't you hear that hundreds of candidates died in the last exam? The murderer hasn't been found yet, and they died in the palace. Do you think you're safe with the imperial court around?"

"Oh?" Qi Xuan smiled and looked at the other party: "You mean, you feel more secure with Mr. Zhang?"

"Isn't it?" Fatty Zhou whispered, "We have seen what Mr. Zhang is capable of. I think he is much more capable than some academic officials who are just sitting there doing nothing."

Qi Xuan nodded slightly. He and the fat man agreed on this point. The reason why he insisted on following the other party in that strange temple was because he could clearly feel that Mr. Zhang was not at all panicked after encountering such a strange thing. It seemed that he was calm and composed in any situation.

Furthermore, he was able to make the Qi family suffer such a huge loss this time, so his ability must be quite great.

It would be great if I had this ability
Qi Xuan suddenly felt a little envious. If he could have the ability of Lord Zhang, he should be able to help his mother stand up for herself, right?
All the candidates who were discussing the issue did not notice that among their group, there was someone who made even the guardian Yin God of the Suzaku Gate feel uneasy.——
"Brother Zhang, you are so reckless!"

Inside the Mingde Hall, Wei Jiaming and Gong Tianyang both looked gloomy as they looked at Zhang Rui who was already reciting the palace rules.

This guy made this decision without even discussing it with the two of them, and it seemed like he didn't even consider them as his own people.

"Don't worry, uncles." Zhang Rui put down the palace rules he had just recited and turned back to say with a smile: "Since I dare to issue this military order, I am sure of it."

"Are you sure?" Wei Jiaming frowned and said, "That evil spirit's methods are so powerful. There are thousands of candidates coming this time. Are you sure you can keep them safe?"

"It shouldn't be a big problem, right?" Zhang Rui laughed.

"You..." Wei Jiaming knew he was taking a risk by looking at his expression, but he was a little curious, what on earth was this guy taking such a risk for? To show off in front of others?

Even if he wins, he will only get a praise from His Majesty. The prince will still continue to target him. What's the point?

At this time, only Murong Yunji, who was standing outside the Suzaku Gate, roughly understood why Zhang Rui wanted to do this.

With his Heavenly Secret Box, the more powerful evil spirits he collects, the more diverse his own methods will be. But the problem is that powerful evil spirits are also more dangerous. The ability to devour other people's memories is extremely important to Zhang Rui.

His real purpose was not to show off in front of others, he wanted to capture the evil spirit!

(End of this chapter)