Longevity begins with slaying demons and eliminating demons

Chapter 292 Brothers
The person responsible for escorting "Xiangrui" into Beijing this time is Shen Hua, the eldest son of the Shen family.

Although he is often criticized behind his back by his half-brother Shen Qiu, who is called "my stupid brother", but as the heir of a big family, it is impossible for him to be useless any more.

He has a slender figure, regular facial features, and a sharp, upright face. Although he can't enter the ranks of handsome men, he can still be called dignified - if he stood with the dwarf Shen Qiu, he would not be able to stand at all. It is impossible for anyone to believe that they are two brothers.

On his body, there is also an extremely powerful aura of true essence.

This proves that he has already become a fourth-level powerhouse before he was 30 years old—even though he is not as good as top talents like Chu Fengge and Zhao Yan, he can still be regarded as a leader in the Qi Dynasty.

If not, it is impossible for the Shen family to place high hopes on him and let him represent the family in the "Luoshui Conference"; it is also impossible for the royal family to list him as a candidate for the son-in-law and consider marrying Princess Zhaoning to him.

At this moment, Shen Hua was leaning on the silk cushion and sitting in a luxurious carriage.

He frowned tightly, his face covered with haze.

Beside him, there was a little book boy with delicate features and fair skin, who was carefully massaging his shoulders.

After a short silence, the little book boy suddenly said, "Young master, the palace has arranged for you to enter the palace tomorrow. What are your plans for today? Do you go directly to the family's other courtyard, or—"

"—That guy Shen Qiu, what's the name of the elixir workshop he runs recently?" Shen Hua interrupted the little book boy.

"It's called 'Shouchangfang', young master," the little book boy replied, "it's the property under the name of Gu Xu, the head of the Exorcism Division."

It is no secret that Gu Xu owns an elixir workshop in Luojing City.

Recently, under the management of Shen Qiu, it can be said that there are a lot of people, many big figures came to join him with presents, and many organizations and wealthy households signed large orders with him.

"My rebellious brother," Shen Hua said with a frown, "I wrote a letter not long ago to break up with the family, just to be a guest at that Gu Xu's house.

"I really don't understand what he's thinking.

"Our Shen family in Jinling is a descendant of immortals and a famous family in the world; that Gu Xu is just an insignificant sixth-rank official, a little viscount who cannot be hereditary.

"What Gu Xu can give him, the family can also give him."

When speaking, Shen Hua's expression looked very complicated, and there seemed to be a lot of thoughts hidden in her eyes.The little book boy next to him didn't dare to respond for a while.

He paused for a moment, and then ordered: "Since they arranged for us to enter the palace tomorrow, I might as well go to that 'Shouchangfang' today... Well, there is something important that I have to tell myself that brother.

"Baoqin, go and tell Guanshi Lu, and ask him to send 'Xiangrui' to the Shen family's other courtyard first."

"Yes, master." The little bookboy named "Baoqin" responded respectfully.

…………

At the same time, in Shouchangfang.

With a warm smile on Shen Qiu's face, he sent an old man with white beard in brocade clothes out of the gate.

This old man is Ni Jingxiang, Marquis of Dongping in the Great Qi Dynasty, whose ancestors were heroes who followed the emperor Taizu to pacify the world.

But after the founding of the People's Republic of China, since this family has never produced a particularly powerful monk in history, it has now become an idle nobleman with little real power in his hands.

Today, the reason Dongpinghou came to Shouchangfang was to buy a batch of "Eternal Brightness Pills" for his grandson—that little boy only had a second-level cultivation, but he clamored every day to imitate Gu Xu, the leader of the Lantern Festival competition. , At the "Luoshui Conference", he killed the Quartet and shocked the whole country.

"If I remember correctly, this workshop belongs to Mr. Gu!" Dong Pinghou said with a smile, "The person my grandson admires the most is Mr. Gu."

Responding to the polite words, Shen Qiu couldn't help sighing silently in his heart: Mr. Gu's reputation in the capital is really high recently - if he lined up his admirers, he might be able to go around Luojing several times.

After Dongping Hou left, a gorgeously decorated carriage slowly drove up from the end of the street and stopped in front of the "Shouchangfang".

A tall, well-dressed young man stepped out of the carriage.

This person is Shen Hua.

He raised his head, glanced at the plaque hanging on the top of the gate, and murmured, "Which one of you wrote this? It looks quite strong."

Seeing his elder brother's figure, Shen Qiu clasped his hands in front of his chest, and involuntarily narrowed his eyes.

Even though he was standing on the steps outside the workshop door, the height of his head still only reached Shen Hua's ears.

"Mr. Shen, what's your business?" Shen Qiu said in a cold tone.

"Shen Qiu, what did the family do wrong that made you resolutely choose to leave?" Hearing her brother's sharp words, Shen Hua sighed softly and said, "You don't even want to call me 'Brother' now. '."

"Aren't you asking knowingly?" Shen Qiu chuckled.

Shen Hua was silent for a moment.

He and Shen Qiu grew up under the same roof, so he naturally knew that the Patriarch of the Shen family had always looked down upon Shen Qiu, the deformed and ugly concubine son, and had always treated Shen Qiu indifferently and badly; he also knew that his mother, Mrs. Shen, was even worse. He has always regarded Shen Qiu as a thorn in his side, wishing that this servile dwarf would disappear from the world immediately.

To be honest, Shen Hua had some sympathy for this poor younger brother.

After all, such things as background and appearance were arranged by God, and Shen Qiu himself could not make a choice.

However, Shen Hua is a weak and indecisive person.

Although he sympathized with Shen Qiu, he did not dare to confront his parents, did not dare to show a disobedient attitude in front of them.

When his parents wanted to teach Shen Qiu a lesson, he only dared to obediently pass the ruler beside him, and didn't even dare to say a word of intercession.

It is also because of Shen Hua's weak and lack of independent character that after taking over the Shen family's property, he would often listen to slander, be deceived by people with ulterior motives, and make many wrong decisions, which eventually required Shen Qiu to help him Clean up the mess.

Thinking of this, Shen Hua took a deep breath, and slowly said: "Actually, Shen Qiu, Patriarch, Madam... and I all hope that you can go back.

"You stay here and take care of the pill workshop for a small sixth-rank official. It's really a shame for your talent. You can fully display your skills on a wider stage, and the family can also provide you with better resources. -"

"—Shen Qianren taught you this passage, right?" The smile on Shen Qiu's face became more playful.His oddly shaped facial features, coupled with the high corners of his mouth, looked like a clown on a stage.

Shen Qianren is the name of the head of the Shen family.

Hearing this, Shen Hua hurriedly wanted to deny it.

However, he quickly caught Shen Qiu's line of sight and found that the other person's eyes were extremely sharp, as if saying to him "Don't lie, I already know the truth".

In the end, Shen Hua nodded and admitted in a low voice: "That's right."

"It really is like this," Shen Qiu laughed, "Your brain, Mr. Shen, which has been kicked by a donkey, surely cannot think of such a beautiful scene.

"Tell me, what troubles did the family encounter recently, and you need to ask me to go back to save the scene?
"Is a certain censor investigating the family's missed taxes again, or is the emperor trying to abolish the family's property again?"

"You guessed it all." Shen Hua said in a deep voice.

"It's nothing difficult to guess. I've heard people say that the family sent 'Xiangrui' into the capital with great fanfare today, saying that they would dedicate it to the emperor to praise the current peaceful and prosperous world," Shen Qiu said, "The Shen family is also a big family that has produced immortals in history. If you hadn't encountered difficult troubles, why would you do such a self-degrading thing?"

Shen Hua looked at the younger brother in front of her, and felt that there seemed to be great wisdom hidden in his short and stooped body, and his asymmetrical eyes seemed to have the magical ability to see the essence through phenomena.

"You can't judge people by their appearance." Shen Hua thought to herself countless times.

In the past in the family, every time Shen Qiu helped him clean up the mess, such thoughts would pop up in his head.

"Is it okay?" After a short silence, Shen Hua asked, "Come home with me, okay?"

Shen Qiu shook his head without hesitation.

"My dear elder brother," he said in a sharp tone, biting the word 'elder brother' very hard, "The Shen family is a boat with holes in it, and sooner or later it will sink to the bottom of the water.

"You don't want to jump to the shore in time, but you want to drag me into the water... Tell me, do you want to murder your half-brother?"

Shen Hua has long been used to his younger brother's eccentric speaking style.

"Then why did you choose to follow a sixth-rank official of the Exorcism Division?" He continued, "In my opinion, you have to join at least one of the three sects, or be a disciple of a saint, to be worthy of you." identity."

"This sixth-rank official is not an ordinary sixth-rank official," Shen Qiu said with a sneer, "he is a sixth-rank official who survived the catastrophe of the 'fierce god', and a sixth-rank official who even the national teacher asked him for talisman Taoism." Product officials.

"Mr. Shen, are you a fool to go shopping in brothels? You haven't even read the mansion newspaper recently?"

Shen Qiu knew that his elder brother Shen Hua had two major weaknesses: one was weakness and the other was lust.

Mistakes due to indulging in beauty - this kind of thing happened to Shen Hua more than once.

Seeing that Shen Hua didn't respond for a while, Shen Qiu continued: "I'd better remind you kindly! After you come to Luojing, you'd better restrain your lust a little bit. Zhao Yan also returned to the capital recently, it is said that She often stays in the teaching department at night. If you two have a conflict, I don't think you can beat her."

"Zhao Yan..." Shen Hua said the name silently, with a complicated expression on her face.Many years ago, he was also the loser under Zhao Yan's spear.

"Of course, if you're going to the Elephant Girl's House, you don't need to worry about this problem." Shen Qiu added in a sarcastic tone.

Xianggu House is a brothel for male prostitutes.

Shen Hua is not only lustful, but also both men and women.

Not long ago, he was exposed to the fact that he often enters Huajie and Liuxiang for the first time, and secretly raises male favorites.

The marriage between him and Princess Zhaoning fell through precisely because of this matter.

According to gossip, when Princess Zhaoning learned of this situation, she was so disgusted that she vomited out her dinner that day.

This also became a big scandal for the Jinling Shen family.

"Can you stop mentioning this matter?" Shen Hua sighed, her face a little embarrassed for a while.

Shen Qiu smiled and changed the subject: "By the way, did my mother come to the capital with you? I remember I wrote to the family at the end of last month saying that I want to take care of her personally."

Shen Hua pondered for a few seconds, then said: "Actually, Shen Qiu, the most important purpose of my coming here today to find you is to tell you about your mother's situation."

"What's wrong with my mother?" Shen Qiu raised his voice, his eyes became fierce like a wild animal.Shen Hua's hesitant tone gave him an ominous premonition.

"She...she..."

"What's wrong with her? Say something quickly! Don't hesitate here!"

Shen Hua took a deep breath and said, "Shen Qiu, the recent troubles encountered by the Shen family are more serious than you imagined. Madam and several elders... They want to force you to go home, so they use your mother as a bargaining chip.

"They claimed that your mother committed the crime of theft while serving as a servant in the family, and sent her to the prefect of Jinling.

"If you don't get home in time, they'll pound her and send her to the northern frontier."

Punishment is one of the punishments imposed on women by the Daqi Dynasty. After inflicting corporal punishments such as tattooing and squatting, they were escorted to the border military camps to serve hard labor such as drying grains and pounding rice.

Shen Qiu's mother Ningxiu used to be a servant in the Shen family's mansion.

Although she was kicked out of the house by the angry Mrs. Shen, she still hasn't escaped slavery.

In the Daqi Dynasty, the status of mortal servants was extremely low.If the masters claimed before the court that they had committed any crime, they had no chance of rebuttal.

In fact, compared with the previous Great Chu Dynasty, the situation of the slaves in Daqi has been slightly better. After all, Emperor Taizu once issued a decree strictly prohibiting the patriarch from punishing slaves by lynching.Emperor Taizu was born in poverty, and knew very well that in front of the dignitaries and practitioners, ordinary people with no cultivation were like livestock and could only be slaughtered.

But even so, if Madam Shen wants to deal with a lowly servant, there are countless ways.

Shen Qiu knew that Mrs. Shen was a very jealous woman, she regarded every woman who was close to her husband as a thorn in her side, and if she had the opportunity, she would wish to kill her.

"Why did you delay talking about such an important matter until now?" Shen Qiu stood on the steps, tiptoed, grabbed Shen Hua's shoulders, and shook violently back and forth.

Anger was written on his face, which made his expression extraordinarily ferocious, like a ghost coming out of hell, in stark contrast to the previous cynical attitude.

Shen Hua was a little frightened by him.

He rarely saw his brother show such an expression.

"Oops..." Shen Hua couldn't help but snorted in pain from being pinched by him, "I... I actually... haven't thought about it...how should I tell you... about this matter..."

Regarding what happened to Shen Qiu's mother, Shen Hua actually felt very guilty.

Because he had witnessed his mother make this decision.

He felt that he had a chance to stop this, to prevent the problems in the family from implicating an innocent mortal.

But because of his weakness, and because of his fear of his mother, he has been standing silently by the side, watching with nothing, allowing the woman named Ningxiu to be escorted to the government.

Shen Qiu took a deep breath, tried to keep himself calm, and at the same time slowly let go of Shen Hua's shoulders.

"Do you have an 'Empty Breaker'?" he asked.

"Yes." Shen Hua replied while taking out a "Empty Breaking Orb" from the stored treasure and handing it to Shen Qiu's hand.

"Give me a quarter of an hour. I'll go and explain the follow-up affairs in this workshop," Shen Qiu said indifferently. At this time, his expression was frighteningly calm, and he did not forget his duty because of the change in his mother. "Then I will go to Jinling."

(End of this chapter)