The eldest son Heng formed alchemy at the age of ten, and when he traveled abroad at the age of twelve, he alone subdued a mountain charm that harmed the people. Since then, he has become famous as a young man, with both virtue and appearance, and has always been a model for comparison among his peers.
Soon after, the four-yearly Jiaolong Festival will begin. It is a contest specially held for young talents. It is a tradition in the world of cultivating immortals for thousands of years. Almost all the Tianjiao who have left their names on the road of immortality have been in the limelight since they were young.
Zong Ziheng has also been preparing for the Jiaolong meeting this time, because Emperor Ninghua has high hopes for him and ordered him to win the first place in the Jiaolong meeting. He practiced diligently every day, day and night. He knew that the emperor didn't care about their mother and son in the past. It was only after he showed his talent that he was valued. Even if it was for his mother, he dared not disappoint her.
In fact, asking about cultivating immortals is lonely and boring. As the eldest son, Zongzi Heng dare not be lazy, but what he really yearns for is neither attaining enlightenment nor ascending to the top of the list. He loves flowers, birds, landscapes, chess, calligraphy and painting, and delicious food Good wine, there are so many interesting things in this world, and he wants to learn more, which is probably more meaningful than blindly pursuing cultivation and swordsmanship.
It's a pity that such thoughts can't be spoken out, otherwise even his mother will reprimand him for being ignorant.
This afternoon, the golden crows began to set in the west, and the sun was not so bright. Zong Ziheng thought that a lot of snails had grown in his orchid garden recently and gnawed his flowers in a mess, so he led Zong Zixiao to catch snails and weed.
His orchid garden was built in an uninhabited side hall, which was filled with more than 100 varieties of orchids and other flowers that he had collected over the years. a scene. Although there are servants to take care of it on weekdays, Zong Ziheng prefers to do it himself, this is his pleasure after practicing.
Zong Ziheng was squatting on the ground to catch snails, and Zong Zixiao was running around in the flowers with his bare feet. From time to time, he stared in fear: "Xiao Jiu, be careful, don't step on my flowers."
"Will not."
"Don't run away, come here quickly."
Zong Zixiao smiled slyly, tripped suddenly, and threw his whole body forward.
"Why-"
Zong Zixiao supported the ground with one hand, bounced his body nimbly, turned around in the air, and landed firmly outside the flower garden, laughing loudly.
Zong Ziheng pretended to be angry and said: "How dare you lie to your elder brother? Is it itchy."
Zong Zixiao spread out his small hands: "I'm helping you catch the snail, so I'll throw it back?"
"Throw it in the bucket."
Zong Zixiao bouncingly ran to Zong Ziheng's side, pressing his whole body on Zong Ziheng's back: "Brother, why do you keep making these flowers?"
"Aren't the flowers beautiful?"
"beautiful."
Zong Ziheng handed him a shovel: "Come on, work."
Zong Zixiao squatted aside, and imitated his elder brother's manner to get busy. His heart, which had been a little scorched by the sun, gradually calmed down.
Zongzi Heng turned his head to look at him, showing a nice smile: "Xiao Jiu, Confucius said that orchids have the virtue of a gentleman and the fragrance of a king. Big brother likes orchids the most. Do you like orchids?"
Zong Zixiao nodded: "As long as the eldest brother likes it, I will like it."
"There are 171 kinds of orchids in this orchid garden. Jiangnan is the hometown of orchids. Next year, my brother plans to go to Jiangnan to collect more varieties."
"When I can leave the palace, I will accompany my elder brother to travel around Kyushu and plant all the orchids in the world in this orchid garden."
"Really?" Zong Ziheng said with a smile, "You won't just coax me with sweet words just for food." He picked up a clean cloth handkerchief and wiped Zong Zixiao's sweat.
"Of course it's true." Zong Zixiao's eyes were extremely bright, as if shining stars, "You always say that a gentleman is like an orchid, and elder brother is a gentleman, and elder brother is like an orchid."
Zong Ziheng said dotingly: "What do you want to eat tonight?"
"I want to eat braised pork!"
Zong Zixiao was muttering to order food when he heard the sound of footsteps and conversation approaching from a wall away. The two are cultivators of immortality, with sharp eyes and ears, and if they listened intently, they could hear far away. When they caught the word "Concubine Shen" in the vague conversation, they both stopped.
"Did you notice Concubine Shen's expression when the empress said those words today?"
"Oh, I see, if it weren't for His Highness being highly valued now, how could she have dared to show face in public before?"
"That's right, Concubine Shen is not what it used to be. She is just a helpless orphan girl. Back then, she almost made the empress with a strong temper so angry that she wanted to regret her marriage, but now mother is more expensive than her son."
"If His Highness can win the first prize at the Flood Dragon Meeting, that would be even more serious. Hey, it's a pity that His Highness is not as good as His Highness."
Zong Ziheng's face was very ugly. Before he had an attack, Zong Zixiao had jumped over the wall, and the two maids exclaimed.
Zong Ziheng chased them out, and the two of them had already knelt on the ground begging for mercy: "Your Highness, Your Highness Ninth Highness, this servant is wrong, this servant is wrong."
The eldest son flung his sleeve robe, and Ling Kong slapped the two of them to the ground: "You bitch, don't you want your tongue?!" The immature voice was full of threats.
"Your Highness, please forgive me, Your Highness Ninth Please forgive me."
Zong Ziheng was furious: "As servants, you dare to talk about your master behind your back, do you know that this is a felony?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. This servant realizes his mistake. I beg Your Majesty to punish me lightly."
Zong Zixiao looked up at Zong Ziheng: "Brother, I cut off their tongues."
Zong Ziheng saw that the two of them were only in their teens, and they were huddled together in fright, and most of their anger disappeared. He took a deep breath: "Punish you... kneel here all night, if you commit another crime, you will definitely not be lightly forgiven." .”
"Thank you, Your Highness, thank you for your kindness!"
Zong Zixiao frowned and said, "Brother, just let them go like this?"
Zong Ziheng took Zong Zixiao's hand: "Let's go." He looked down and saw that Zong Zixiao was not wearing shoes, he picked him up, returned to Lan Yuan, let Zong Zixiao sit on his lap, and silently put on the shoes for the child.
Zong Zixiao's lips were pursed into a line, and he suddenly put his arms around Zong Ziheng's neck. The two of them were very close. He seemed to be able to connect with the trembling of his chest through his elder brother's suppressed breathing, and feel a kind of quiet sadness.
After putting on his shoes, Zong Ziheng stood up with his usual expression: "Let's go."
Shen Shiyao was taken in by the late emperor since she was a child, and she was taken in by the late emperor. Because of her extraordinary talent, she became the disciple of the Zong family, and she was regarded as Zong Minghe's senior sister. But when they were teenagers, the two had a secret knot. At that time, Zong Minghe's fiancée hadn't married yet. This incident made the two families very embarrassed, so they had to accept her as a concubine. left out.
Zong Ziheng is not ignorant of their status and situation in the palace, but as he grows older and emerges, after forming alchemy, the emperor pays more and more attention to him. He didn't expect that after so many years, these palace people still It's not forgiving, if these words reach the mother's ears, how uncomfortable she will be.
"Brother." Zong Zixiao said in a low voice, "Don't be sad, wait for you to win the championship, and see who dares to disrespect Concubine Shen."
Zong Ziheng sighed: "Zi Xiao, you are still young, you don't understand, the most powerful martial arts in the world can't stop other people's mouths."
"If you are a flood dragon, why should you care about ants?"
Zong Ziheng looked down at Zong Zixiao and smiled slightly. Zong Zixiao's mother looks more like a fairy and is favored, and he himself was born with superior roots, so he has not suffered a single grievance since he was a child, and his arrogance that has never been worn out is really enviable.
Zong Zixiao said seriously: "Brother, don't be unhappy. When I grow up, I will make all the people and things that make you unhappy disappear."
Zong Ziheng kneaded Zong Zixiao's chubby little round face until it deformed: "If you skip classes less, be less lazy, and eat more vegetables, big brother will be happy."
"Then I'm not happy!"
"Do you still dare to be upright?"
The two brothers laughed and laughed, diluting the gloomy atmosphere.
—
As everyone expected, Zong Zixiao formed a golden core shortly after his ninth birthday, half a year earlier than Zong Ziheng.
If fifteen years old is a rite of passage for the general public, then forming an alchemy is a sign that a person has officially entered the fairyland. As long as the alchemy is formed before adulthood, it represents superior aptitude and unremitting efforts, not to mention two geniuses in the generation of the clan. Emperor Ninghua announced this good news to the world, and held a big banquet for it. Whether he is a father or a king, this is an extremely proud moment.
During the banquet, everyone was full of joy, only the empress looked dull and absent-minded. She was born in a high family, and even the Zong family had to be courteous. It is a pity that the son born on the first line is not bad at all, but compared with the elder brother and the youngest brother, it is not satisfactory.
Shen Shiyao took Zong Ziheng's hand, and said in a low voice with a smile: "Fortunately, my son is up to the challenge, otherwise sitting in that seat and seeing other people's sons are better than your own, it would be so uncomfortable."
Zong Ziheng smiled wryly to himself. The contest between light and dark between concubines has always made him feel helpless. In fact, he and his younger siblings are on good terms, even the second younger brother, they are about the same age, grew up together, and have never had any grievances with each other. In the future when the second younger brother inherits the throne, he and his younger siblings will help them with all their heart to build the century-old foundation of the Zong family. So whether it is the empress or the mother, such a comparison is really meaningless.
But the eldest son Heng didn't want to save his mother's face, so he kept silent.
"Ziheng, Jiaolonghui, you must win the championship." Shen Shiyao held his son's hand tightly, "Although Zixiao is still young, one day, it may cover your light."
Zong Ziheng said softly: "Mother, the son of the Jiaolong Society must go all out, but Zixiao and I... the sun and the moon are each shining, and no one can cover up the other."
"How can the sun and the moon be compared?" Shen Shiyao stared at her almond eyes, her voice was still soft as always, but her tone had changed, "The sun and the moon are not in the same sky."
Zong Ziheng didn't expect that a casual metaphor would be interpreted by his mother in this way, he frowned and said: "Mother, Zixiao and I are brothers, there is no need to compare like this."
Shen Shiyao stared at her son for a while, let go of his hand, and said flatly, "You are still too young."
After the banquet was over, the guests gradually dispersed, leaving only members of the Zong clan in the hall.
Ninghua Emperor Zong Minghe called his eldest son Xiao to him, and looked at his youngest son with pride and love in his eyes: "Xiaoer, today is the celebration of your alchemy, I am proud of you as a father, what do you want? , even if you bring it up."
"Son wants a good sword." Zong Zixiao's attitude was generous, obviously most of his requirements were met.
"Haha, I have already prepared it for you, this sword is..."
"I want a sword made from the Shennong Cauldron."
The hall was suddenly quiet.
Zong Zixiao's mother and concubine Chu Yingruo scolded: "Zi Xiao, don't talk nonsense."
The Shennong Ding, one of the four ancient magic weapons, can refine all things in the world. The swords tempered by this tripod are all rare and famous swords, and they are the treasures that every sword cultivator dreams of. Just opening the furnace once would consume a lot of energy. At least a hundred high-ranking monks would be required to fuel the fire with spiritual power at the same time. So this tripod may not be opened once in decades, even the Zong family will only open the furnace for the head of the family.
Zong Zixiao was young, and he only wanted a good sword that everyone wanted, so he didn't know what waves his words would cause in the hearts of adults.
Zong Minghe touched Zong Zixiao's head: "Does Xiaoer know that Shennong's sword is not available to ordinary people?"
"I'm not an ordinary person."
Zong Minghe laughed loudly: "My son is naturally not an ordinary person. Well, I promise you that I will temper a sword for you with the Shennong cauldron."
There were several suppressed gasps in the hall.
"But..." Zong Minghe tapped Zong Zixiao's forehead with his fingers, "You want to win the championship at the Jiaolong meeting."
"That's another four years." Zong Zixiao pouted.
"Four years? You wanted to win the championship at the age of thirteen?" Zong Minghe said with a chuckle, "What a big tone."
"Only four years." The eldest son Xiao said arrogantly.
Zong Ziheng looked at Zong Zixiao's confident appearance, with a slight smile on his face, no matter whether it was a lie or not, at least Zong Zixiao would work hard for the next four years.
"Okay, I will wait for you for four years."
"By the way, father, I have one more thing."
"explain."
"My son has never been out of the palace. The elder brother promised me last time that when I have formed an alchemy, he can take me out of the palace to play, as long as the father agrees."
Zong Minghe glanced at Zong Ziheng: "Really, where is your elder brother taking you to play?"
The eldest son Heng said: "My son can take the ninth younger brother to get rid of the evil spirits and let him experience it."
"Alright, you can take him out, just go to the Flood Dragon Club with you."
"yes."