The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 189 Yuanchun's Foundation Building
Flying has been an ability that humans have dreamed of since ancient times.

There were no airplanes those days, so the only way to fly was by relying on supernatural powers.

After eating Tanchun, Master Zhan finally gained this ability and was able to ride on the clouds and ascend to the sky.

In the past, every time Mr. Zhan wanted to enter the palace, he had to sneak in. Now, he can sit on the clouds and descend from the sky.

However, the speed of this cloud driving is a bit slow, about the same as that of a motorcycle. It will be much more convenient when I can awaken the Five Elements Escape Technique.

During this period of time, Empress Yuanchun has been studying and practicing diligently. She has completed many foundation-laying methods such as the practice of mouth, hands, chest, feet, etc. She is only one step away from completing the 100-day foundation-building, and all that is left is for Master Zhan to come and consecrate her.

Mr. Zhan was such a considerate person. Knowing that she had practiced the last few pages of the Supreme Yoga Tantra, he came over happily.

"Yuanchun greets the master."

Seeing Master Zhan descending from the sky on a cloud, Yuanchun hurriedly prostrated herself on the ground and saluted respectfully.

Before, Master Zhan came here invisibly, which was not very classy. Although he had the abilities of an immortal, he did not have the demeanor of an immortal. But this time was different. After seeing him, Yuanchun naturally became more restrained.

As for whether such a large cloud coming directly from the sky would alarm the guards inside the palace, Master Zhan didn't care.

It was late at night and he was so fast that he disappeared in the blink of an eye. Even if the guards saw him, they would just think they were dazzled. Who would dare to come and investigate?

Especially in recent days, the current emperor has been very cold towards the virtuous concubine and has never come to visit her even once. The people in the palace are all used to reading the situation and are now avoiding this place as much as possible. How could they rush over to curry favor with her? What if they are misunderstood by others? Wouldn't that be terrible!

Master Zhan smiled and helped Yuanchun up. He rubbed her golden breasts with his hands and praised her with a smile:

"That's right, Yuanchun, your Golden Bell Dao Body is indeed suitable for cultivation. It has only been a short time and you have made great progress in this Golden Bell."

Yuanchun blushed and puffed out her chest, allowing Master Zhan to measure her bones, saying modestly:
"It is all thanks to the master's gift of divine power and the secret medicine that Yuanchun has been able to make rapid progress."

Master Zhan smiled and shook his head:
"Otherwise, your sister Xichun also received the master's gift of magic and secret medicine, but although her golden bell has also grown, it is just a side effect brought about by the opening of meridians and rich nutrition. The growth rate is far less than yours."

"This secret medicine only plays a role in accelerating growth and providing energy, but the scale it can eventually achieve still depends on personal qualifications."

"You have the Golden Bell Taoist Body, while Xichun only has the Jade Legs Taoist Body. She is inferior to you, so you don't have to be too modest."

Hearing Master Zhan's praise, Yuanchun was also happy in her heart, with a bright smile on her face, and smiled:
"The golden bell has its own merits, and the jade legs have their own charms. The key is to rely on the master's true teachings. Otherwise, we sisters can only sink into this mundane world and cannot transcend it."

"Haha... yes, that's true." Master Zhan hugged Yuanchun and laughed triumphantly, "Come on, let's review what we have learned in the past, and then I will help you build a perfect foundation."

Yuanchun hurriedly took off her thin gauze dress and changed into the special training suit provided for her by Master Zhan.

The Supreme Yoga Tantra requires the upper body to be exposed to the sky, allowing the skin to be in contact with nature as much as possible. This special suit for practice not only does not cover the defect of the skin, but also allows the wearer to better receive spiritual energy.

This set was meticulously designed by Mr. Zhan. It does not contain any piece of cloth, but is made entirely of silk threads, hung with tiny relics and hung above the golden bell. It is more conducive to absorbing the spiritual energy of the Nine Heavens, covering the vital parts, and has the effect of sharpening a steel knife for scraping bones.

Throughout the ages, countless evil demons and heretics have fallen under this exorcist light.

Even a master as calm and composed as Master Zhan felt a little shaken and unsure of himself when he saw this.

"it is good!"

"Yuanchun, you are now showing more and more signs of becoming a demon. I believe you will be able to lay a supreme foundation tonight."

After Master Zhan gave the compliment, he also began to donate his physical body to perform acts of great compassion.

Yuanchun had been practicing martial arts diligently for many days, and her limbs had long since become as soft as cotton. Even the experienced dancer was no match for her.

Yuanchun pulled a table over, placed it in front of Master Zhan, climbed up and stood facing Master Zhan, took a horse stance, then arched her body backward and bent her waist like a juggler. She rubbed her head against the table and then passed her head back between her legs, meeting Master Zhan again, opened her mouth gently, and grabbed Master Zhan's belt.

Master Zhan gently reached out his hand, held Yuanchun's head, and said with a smile:

"Let's start with the review of oral training."

"First quarter, stretching exercises, one, two, three, four, two, two, three, four, three, two, three, four, one more time..."

After eighty eight beats, Master Zhan let go of Yuanchun with relief and turned to sit on the chair. Yuanchun also changed her movements, got down from the table, knelt in front of Master Zhan, took off the relic set, took out the golden bell, and began to gather people's hearts.

Master Zhan smiled as he helped Yuanchun get the golden bell to its place. He tapped the bell a few times, creating a resounding sound that cleansed his heart and lungs, and then said with a smile:
"Now let's start reviewing the Golden Bell training."

"Second period, chest expansion exercise, one, two, three, four..."

Another eighty eight beats passed, Yuanchun was already panting and sweating profusely, Master Zhan frowned and sighed:

"Alas, it seems that I have been practicing for too short a time. How can I build a foundation with this much physical strength?"

Yuanchun's tongue gently swirled around her dry red lips, her eyes moving like water as she begged in a low voice:

"Please give me the secret medicine to help Yuanchun continue her practice."

Mr. Zhan was a kind-hearted man. He couldn't stand seeing beautiful women begging for mercy, so he had no choice but to release the secret medicine in advance and let Yuanchun absorb and digest it.

With this help, Yuanchun finally recovered to full health, got up again, and started the next step of practice.

She threw a silk ribbon onto the beam and hung it up. Then she used her arms to hang her body above Master Zhan. She shook her legs and kicked off the high heels that were in the way. She pointed her toes, stretched her whole body into a straight line, and began to spin with the midline of her body as the axis.

"Third quarter, kicking exercise..."

The next step was "lateral body exercise" and "body rotation exercise". After completing them, Master Zhan nodded with satisfaction and applauded:
"Good, you have already laid a solid foundation. Now you can learn 'full body exercise' and 'jumping exercise'."

"Come, come, come, hold on to the wall, and let me teach you how to do a 'full body exercise'."

Yuanchun was overjoyed. She didn't care about the hard work. She quickly got up, supported herself against the wall with one hand, and did a split, saying delicately:

"Master, I am ready. Please teach me carefully."

Master Zhan then performed his duties as a coach, causing Yuanchun's entire body to tremble.

"The key point of this 'whole body exercise' is that all parts of the body must work together and no part should be left idle."

Mr. Zhan was tireless in teaching and explaining in detail. He also set an example himself, guiding Yuanchun to integrate all the previous exercises together.

"Hold your hands tightly and hold them firmly... Yes, that's it."

"Keep your legs tucked in and your toes straightened..."

"The Golden Bell is even more important. Don't forget that you have the Golden Bell Dao Body. You must make full use of the Golden Bell's elasticity..."

Yuanchun is also a talented person. After a simple reminder from Master Zhan, she was able to quickly learn from it and develop more ways of practicing.

After eating Yuanchun, Master Zhan felt that his soul suddenly condensed, and a point of pure yang was born from his soul for no reason. Yin gave birth to yang, and he suddenly became a yang god, taking another firm step forward on the road of cultivating immortals.

This is the biggest hurdle between humans and immortals, a goal that ordinary practitioners can hardly reach in a hundred years. But for Master Zhan, he crossed it so easily.

From then on, Master Zhan could live forever and transcend life and death. Although he could not live as long as the heaven and earth or shine as brightly as the sun and the moon, being called an "immortal" would no longer be a fraud.

This kind of opportunity for transformation is rare, and the one who benefits the most is Yuanchun.

When that spot of pure yang appeared, Yuanchun, who was connected to Master Zhan, felt it, and in a trance, a fetus was conceived and born in her womb. It was a natural pure yang body, destined to be a boy.

These practitioners focus on refining crystals into qi. The more powerful a life is, the more difficult it is to give birth to offspring.

Mr. Zhan had never taken any contraceptive measures before, because he knew this and knew that it would be difficult for an ordinary woman in the mortal world to conceive a child with him.

Who would have thought that when the Yin God turned into Yang, Yuanchun actually became pregnant, which was really beyond his expectations.

This is not a strange way to get pregnant. In ancient times, people could get pregnant by stepping on the footprints of gods.

For someone like Master Zhan, who at least has some of his parents' blood on him, it's not surprising.

However, the fetus had not yet developed at this time and still only had a little yang energy, so the two of them had no way of detecting it.

After Master Zhan achieved Yang Shen, he was delighted and trained with Yuanchun for a while longer. He also passed on the "sorting exercise" to Yuanchun. After consolidating his foundation-building achievements, he left on a cloud with great satisfaction.

In the following days, Master Zhan would come over on a cloud from time to time to loosen the soil for Yuanchun to make her foundation more solid.

Yuanchun could clearly feel that her physical fitness was constantly improving. She felt better day by day, and even her skin became more moisturized and radiant. Naturally, her trust in Master Zhan was growing day by day. When she had nothing to do every day, she would practice the supreme yoga secret skills several times.

Master Zhan was flying around so recklessly that he was finally discovered by the guards. He could pretend he was dazzled once or twice, but after so many times, he couldn't pretend he didn't see it.

Although Empress Yuan has fallen out of favor, and it is better to have less trouble than more, a queen who has fallen out of favor is still a queen. If something really happens to Empress Yuan, they, the guards, cannot escape responsibility.

So after careful consideration, the guards reported this unusual incident to their superiors.

Of course, the chief eunuch did not believe it. After hearing this report, he immediately spitted at the guard leader's face and cursed:

"Pooh!"

"You black-hearted people, if you want to curry favor with other ladies, don't use our family as a raft!"

"We don't care who ordered you to do this. If you want us to be the first to take action, there's no way."

The guard leader had a bitter face and said humbly:

"Eunuch, this is not something we made up, and there is no one behind it. Clouds really fell into the courtyard of Concubine Yuan, and it happens every few days. If you don't believe it, you might as well come and see it yourself at night."

The eunuch was stunned for a moment, but then he cursed again:
"You have arranged it, right?"

"Once we get there, we'll be caught red-handed and tortured into confessing!" "Spying on the queen's bedroom is an unforgivable crime. We won't be able to escape by then, and we'll just be at your mercy."

"No, eunuch, we really are not..." The guard leader was speechless. No matter how he explained, he couldn't make the eunuch believe him.

There is no way. This palace is the dirtiest place in the world. There are countless dark plots going on behind the scenes. If you are not careful and cautious while living in this deep palace, you would have been eaten to the bone.

Seeing that the chief eunuch still refused to believe it, the commander of the guards had no choice but to give up and withdraw.

Fortunately, he had already said it, so it didn't matter whether the eunuch believed it or not. He had pushed the responsibility away anyway, so if something really happened in the future, it wouldn't be blamed on him.

As for the Zhan Mansion, after being bustling for a while, it finally calmed down.

There was harmony in the backyard of the Zhan family, and the sisters were as close as a family. Mr. Zhan began to think about Wang Xifeng again.

Now it is simple, Wang Xifeng herself has agreed, and all that is missing is the ceremony of taking a concubine.

In fact, when Sanchun got married that day, Master Zhan wanted to ask her to come along as well, but Wang Xifeng was furious at the time and refused to go with the others. She insisted on holding a lively concubine-taking ceremony of her own and inviting all relatives and friends to witness it in order to really annoy Lian Er.

As for the dowry and other things she asked for, Wang Ren agreed to them all, but in fact these things were all paid by Master Zhan and just passed through Wang Ren's hands once.

The only problem now is that Master Zhan just took a concubine a few days ago, and the guests from various families have already sent a wave of gifts. If he takes another concubine so soon, it will seem like Master Zhan has an ugly appearance.

So there was no other way, Master Zhan had to postpone the ceremony of taking a concubine. Anyway, Wang Xifeng couldn't leave, and Master Zhan had no shortage of women, so he was not in a hurry to eat her up.

A few days passed quickly, and suddenly an imperial edict arrived at the Jia Mansion.

Jia Zheng and the others hurriedly set up the incense table and came out to greet him. They saw that it was an old acquaintance, the young eunuch who often came to the mansion to extort money. He was Xia Shouzhong's man. They were startled and hurriedly stuffed the silver into his hand and asked in a low voice:

"But is there anything going on with the queen?"

The eunuch took the silver and said with a smile:

"Congratulations, Master Zheng. This is a good thing. Please accept my order!"

As he spoke, he unfolded the imperial edict and read it aloud. Jia Zheng and others knelt hurriedly to listen attentively.

Only after hearing this did I realize that it was actually about Jia Lian.

"...Now there is a man named Lian, the descendant of Lord Jia of Rong State, who led his troops to wipe out thousands of bandits. He killed the enemy on the battlefield, led the troops himself, fought bravely, and captured the bandit leader. Because of his merits, he was promoted to Qianzong and was granted the sixth rank...I decree this."

Jia Zheng and the others were stunned after hearing this and could not believe it at all.

What about leading by example and striving to be the first? Is that referring to Jia Lian?
Could it be that the Ministry of War made a mistake?
Jia Zheng was doubtful in his heart but dared not show it. He thanked the emperor respectfully, took the edict and put it away, then went through the routine of distributing red envelopes, holding a banquet and celebrating with great enthusiasm.

But then he turned around and hurried to find his familiar friends to inquire about the news.

Many things in the court were kept secret from the top but not from the bottom, and Jia Zheng soon figured out the situation.

Jia Lian was lucky, he took Jia Zheng's letter to see Wang Ziteng. Wang Ziteng knew that Jia Lian had no ability and did not dare to entrust him with an important position, so he arranged a position for him as deputy general.

This deputy commander was a minor official of the eighth rank, and a military position, so he did not need to be conferred an official title by the imperial court. He only needed to report to the Ministry of War and keep a record of the title. But if he wanted to be promoted to a higher rank, he had to have merits. Wang Ziteng could not just do whatever he wanted, as there were so many people watching him.

Wang Ziteng thought of letting him be someone's deputy, learn some military affairs first, and then help share some credit. After a few years, he could become a seventh-rank official, and that would be it. It would be equivalent to repaying the favor of the Jia family.

And since this position is in the rear, I think it should be safe.

Who knows, with the world in turmoil now, who knows where some local tyrant or evil gentry will suddenly explode with a huge bomb.

It was clearly the rear area, but suddenly a group of tenants who could not make a living raised their arms, picked up pitchforks and sticks, killed the local gentry, and started a rebellion.

If someone rebels, the local soldiers must definitely suppress it!
Those tenants were just a bunch of peasants who didn't even have decent armor, and their weapons were even worse than before. However, with the increased steel production by Master Zhan, even the weapons and armor of the local soldiers were very sophisticated, and this wave of rebellion was easily suppressed.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, the general was too unlucky and died accidentally.

Jia Lian followed the captain around and somehow became the highest-ranking military officer in the local area. Naturally, the greatest share of the credit went to him.

When the petition for merit reached the Ministry of War, the person who reviewed it happened to be a man of the Supreme Lord, who was in cahoots with the four kings and eight ministers. Seeing that this man was one of their own, they simply gave Jia Lian some extra credit and sent him to the rank of Qianzong, a captain of the sixth grade.

After understanding all this, Jia Zheng felt so sad!

With the support of his family, he spent half his life and finally got a fifth-rank position as a Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works. However, Jia Lian went out for a while and became a Qianzong, a sixth-rank commander.

Although civil officials are respected and military officials are despised in the court now, in the coming troubled times, the power of military officials will surely increase again soon.

Moreover, if Jia Lian could make more achievements and have his own family connections to look after him, he might be able to earn back the title.

At that time, he, a civil servant with little power, might have to live his life according to Jia Lian's mood.

"But isn't this just killing innocent people to claim credit? Will the court just ignore it?" Jia Zheng had a sour face, full of indignation that the country was about to fall apart.

His colleague smiled and said:
"How can this be considered killing innocent people and claiming credit?"

"Those bandits also have weapons in their hands!"

"Wasn't it because the general underestimated the enemy that he was killed by the enemy army?"

"Besides..."

The colleague looked around, came over and whispered to Jia Zheng:
"I heard that the ministers in the court are discussing turning a blind eye to some of the military officers' inappropriate behavior and not pursuing it too much, at least... until the world is at peace."

After Jia Zheng heard this, he felt something in his heart.

The implication of this statement is already very obvious.

In the past, the world was peaceful and military merit was not easy to obtain. In order to gain military merit, many generals killed innocent people to claim credit. Naturally, the court had to strictly guard against such things, and how the military merit was obtained had to be strictly examined.

But now the world is in chaos, with rioters everywhere. To put it bluntly, there are military merits everywhere. There is no need to kill innocent people to gain credit. All you need to do is find some rioters who can't survive and are rebelling and kill them, and you will naturally get the credit.

All the court wants is stability, and stability overrides everything.

If you can't solve the problem, solve the person who caused it!

If we can't provide enough food to help the disaster victims, then killing them all can also be considered a way to save the country!
Then what is there to review?

Aren’t they just some official positions? As long as you dare to kill, the court will give them to you!

As for whether you will be held accountable after the world is at peace, that depends on whether you behave yourself at that time.

After all, Jia Zheng had been in officialdom for many years, so he knew all about this very well.

Of course, he had no opinion on these things, but the existence of Jia Lian was involved, which made him feel particularly blocked and uncomfortable.

After returning to the mansion, he walked around the room, pondered for a long time, and finally slapped his thigh and said to Mrs. Wang:
"Madam, I want to join the army and make achievements on the battlefield!"

"What?" Mrs. Wang was terrified and hurried over to touch his head. "You don't even have a fever, why are you talking nonsense?"

"Master, don't be jealous just because Lian Er has become an official. He got there by luck, and it's hard to say what he will be like in the future!"

Jia Zheng stroked his beard and said:

"Madam, you don't know that the world is in chaos right now, but those who are rebelling are all poor people who don't even have weapons or armor."

"I have learned about Lian Er's situation. He only had about a hundred people, but he defeated more than a thousand rioters."

"During the entire process, Lian Er actually didn't kill anyone. All the killing was done by his men."

"If Lian Er can do it, why can't I, Jia Zheng, do it?"

"Master, I have thought about it. When I change from a civilian position to a military position, my rank will definitely be promoted. At least I will be a garrison commander or a guerrilla, with at least a thousand men under my command."

"After I took office, I focused on defending the city and never went out to fight. It would be difficult for me to lose."

"If I have made some achievements and my official rank is promoted, I will feign illness and return to the court, and then find connections to transfer my position to the Ministry of War. Maybe I can become a minister."

His blood boiled as he spoke, but Mrs. Wang kept curling her lips.

"Master, Miss Lin heard about Lian Er's meritorious service and reward in her precognitive dream, but she never mentioned anything about you."

"Lian Er can do this kind of thing, but the master may not be able to do it!"

"Why would you take the risk of going to another place instead of being a clerk?"

Jia Zheng snorted coldly and said:

"A woman's view!"

"Long hair but short knowledge!"

"We are doing OK now, but we don't have a title, and Baoyu refuses to study hard. If Jia Lian really wins a title, won't we have to live by his will?"

"There is no need to discuss this matter any further. I have made up my mind. I will use my connections to start the job transfer tomorrow."

The couple had a quarrel, and Mrs. Wang was so angry that she went to the underground devil's cave again that night to put out the fire.

Thanks to the deacon "Mutai Zhoushui" for the reward of 939 coins!


(End of this chapter)