Several old heavenly masters secretly said that Liu Yuan Gong was indeed knowledgeable and could know such confidential things, which also proved that he did have some background.

The talent must also be extraordinary to achieve such a high level of cultivation by relying on the art of talismans.

Moreover, with his explanation, the emperor and the emperor would be more convinced of what he and others had said before.

Since I and others are practicing the art of inner alchemy, Shi Zhongkui is practicing the art of talismans, and they are in the officialdom, then there is no fundamental conflict between everyone.

It has become inevitable to win over and show goodwill.

The old men glanced at each other and soon saw the defensiveness in each other's eyes.

All Shi Zhongkui needs is an article on inner elixir cultivation methods, and basically anyone can choose.

In this way, if you want to get the method of cultivating Thunder Talisman and Seal Script, everyone needs to ask him.

As for sword control, for one thing, none of us are swordsmen. Although we are keen on it, we are not eager.

The Supreme Elder with the highest cultivation level in the sect is only in the foundation building stage. Even if he obtains the sword control skill, it will only improve his attack ability.

If you can't improve your cultivation level or increase your lifespan, then the talisman technique is not suitable.

"My dear, when the Embroidered Guards were guarding the Ningguo Mansion, they discovered that Jia Zhen, the Ningguo Mansion, has been extremely ridiculous in recent years. But Ning Rong, the two ancestors of the country, has made great contributions to the country. I was really undecided for a while."

Shi Zhongkui knew that the emperor was testing him.

Taking advantage of the gap between his words and not waiting for the emperor to continue speaking, he raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I will punish you if you think it is appropriate. Otherwise, you will inevitably indulge the nobles of the family and become pampered."

When the emperor heard this, he couldn't help but smile and nod. He secretly said that my Lord Liu Yuan still had justice in his heart and would not blindly favor his relatives.

Shi Zhongkui glanced at the emperor and saw him laughing. He secretly thought that if Jia Rong inherited the family business, there was actually no chance of retaining the title.

The key is to see what the emperor thinks.

Then he continued, "Your Majesty, before I came here, I heard that Jia Jing of the Ningguo Mansion had reached a critical moment in his Taoism, so he ordered Jia Zhen to accompany him at Xuanzhen Temple.

And speaking of something else, by chance, I promised to recognize the orphan girl of the Lin family as my sister.

Therefore, I would like to ask your majesty to show mercy. For the sake of the former Lin Gong Ruhai who dedicated his whole life to the imperial court and died, I would like to posthumously confer him the title of Marquis of Guannei to show the royal favor and honor."

The so-called Guannei Marquis, although they were the nineteenth rank among the twenty ranks of military merit in the Qin and Han Dynasties, they were real marquises.

Guan Yu's Shoutinghou and Guanneihou were of the same rank, but they only had titles and no actual fiefdoms.

After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the title of Marquis of Guan Nei was often fictitious, which was almost the same as being a loose official.

He has an official position but no position, let alone power.

It is perfect to be used to posthumously seal a dead minister.

Moreover, when Lin Ruhai's ancestors were five generations old, when it came to him, he completely lost the chance to inherit because he was young and had no chance to make meritorious deeds.

However, he managed to live up to his expectations and got the top spot in the exam in one fell swoop.

The emperor couldn't help but hesitate after hearing this.

It is not impossible to confer the title of Marquis of Guannei to the dead Lin Ruhai, but he was the most beautiful person appointed by the Supreme Emperor more than ten years ago. Is it too much to reward him with such a favor?

And what is surprising is that if Jia Zhen becomes a monk and practices Taoism, the title of the third-rank mighty general in Ningguo Mansion will be irreducible.

If Jia Rong inherits the family business, Ningguo Mansion will be a real noble in decline.

This is of course a good thing for the imperial power, but for the Ningguo Mansion, it is not as big a disaster as annihilation.

When the emperor was hesitating, he suddenly thought that with Shi Zhongkui's cautious character and self-protection, he would never say this without reason.

It is even more unreasonable to want to seek the title of Liehou for her father just because he recognizes the orphan girl of the Lin family as his sister.

There must be other meanings here.

After frowning and thinking for a long time, the emperor's heart moved.

Suddenly he understood that Shi Zhongkui was mentioning Lin Ruhai openly, but secretly he was using the words of pursuing the title of Marquis of Guannei to remind him that he could also show kindness to Jia Rong of Ningguo Mansion.

If he had given permission for the Ningguo Mansion not to be demoted and Jia Rong to inherit the title of a third-grade mighty general, and if Jia Rong was still stupid enough not to surrender to him, then the Ningguo Mansion would be really ruined.

A reputation for being ungrateful turned Ning Guofu into a street rat.

Those families who had been favored by Duke Ning Guo in the past would also take the opportunity to completely cut off all contact with Ning Guo Mansion.

It affected Rongguo Mansion in disguised form.

If these two families are completely destroyed, there will be no threat.

But on the other hand, if we can get the allegiance of these two families, with their influence among the four kings and eight princes, not to mention the other four princes with foreign surnames and the six princes, they will be on their side.

At least it can win over some of them and divide the twelve families.

Even as long as the Jia family remained neutral in name but actively supported Shi Zhongkui as their son-in-law, it was actually no different from taking refuge in themselves.

At the same time, it can save some face for the Supreme Emperor, so as not to anger the Supreme Emperor and cause disaster.

Thinking of this, the emperor smiled, and the more he looked at Shi Zhongkui, the more he liked him.

"Since it was recommended by your beloved, Mr. Lin indeed made great contributions to the court back then, so I will grant this."

After saying that, he looked at Shi Zhongkui's expression and saw that although he was grateful but not excited, he secretly thought that he had indeed guessed it right.

Then I don't know what I was thinking, but I suddenly thought of what the eunuch Liu Changji reported that Shi Zhongkui should be a womanizer.

Could it be that Shi Zhongkui also fell in love with the orphan girl of the Lin family, otherwise why would he recognize her as his sister?

He couldn't help but say with a sense of ridicule and a good show, "When Mr. Lin was named on the gold medal list and became the most beautiful woman in the world, I was still studying in Qiandi.

I also thought in my mind that if I take the imperial examination one day, I don't know if I can get the top prize or the second place in the exam, and come back with the best score.

It is a pity that Mr. Lin passed away within a few years of his thirties in just seven or eight years. Now that I think about it, it is indeed a pity that the country has lost such a talented person.

Since Mr. Lin died of overwork for the imperial court, I will grant the orphan daughter of the Lin family the title of head of Fushun County."

Xia Zhouzhong and several young eunuchs who were standing by were suddenly surprised. They looked at Shi Zhongkui with envy, jealousy, and deep fear.

The county lord is a prince, and only the daughter of the county prince is eligible to be granted the title. In order to win over ministers, the royal family of all dynasties has indeed had a precedent of granting the title of county lord to the daughter of an important minister or hero.

Moreover, they basically only granted titles to important ministers who only had daughters in their families but no descendants.

But Lin Ruhai had been dead for several years. The emperor did this not because of Lin Ruhai's contribution, but to give Shi Zhongkui face.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that there is no other holy family.

But Shi Zhongkui was not happy.

Although the daughter of a lieutenant has a noble status, she has no father, no mother, and no brothers. In fact, it is just like that.

He still has the opportunity to take Lin Daiyu as his concubine, but if Daiyu has the status of the county head, it is impossible for others to take him as his concubine.

If Jia Baoyu had no fame, official status, or title, it would be equally difficult to marry Lin Daiyu.

Most likely, it was used by the emperor to grant a marriage to a certain prince or the bastard son of a county prince.

The emperor couldn't help but laugh in his heart when he saw that Shi Zhongkui, who had always been expressionless, rarely managed his emotions well.

Not only was he not angry because Shi Zhongkui showed a dissatisfied expression, but he was very happy thinking about it, a good woman is good.

There are many beautiful and charming girls in the world. When Shi Zhongkui performed meritorious services, he was rewarded with several beautiful concubines.

Not only can you win him over, but you don't have to reward him generously and generously every time, so that after a few times there will be no reward at all.

And since I came to the throne, I have realized firsthand that a person's energy is limited.

If Shi Zhongkui is obsessed with beauty, it will definitely consume a large part of his energy and time.

Whether it is official career or cultivation, it will be affected, which is also a good thing for the royal family.

After thinking so much, the emperor felt even better.

He looked at Shi Zhongkui with a smile and asked, "Ai Qing, do you think it's inappropriate?"

Shi Zhongkui came back to his senses and sighed, "I would like to thank Your Majesty on behalf of the Lin family's sister. If you know Mr. Lin, I will be deeply grateful for the Emperor's favor."

The emperor chuckled and said, "In that case, I will order someone to choose a mansion for Lord Fushun County, and then reward her with four nuns, twelve maids, and eunuchs."

After saying that, Shi Zhongkui's face turned dark and he felt even happier.

"However, since Aiqing is a communist brother from Fushun County, it is better to leave these matters to Aiqing. I will ask Xia Shouzhong and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to assist."

Shi Zhongkui couldn't help but rolled his eyes.

By this time, he almost understood that he had been tricked by the emperor.

"I thank you for accepting the decree."

After agreeing, Shi Zhongkui couldn't help but think in his mind, if I were to choose, I would choose a house that was big enough and in a good location to at least make the emperor feel pain.

But people who are accustomed to being cautious will habitually think too much even if they are angry.

I soon thought of Lin Daiyu's county chief's mansion. It was better to be small and exquisite than large and empty.

It is most suitable to be far away from the palace and not close to the prince. The prince's palace is the most suitable.

Moreover, it is best to be close to Ning and Rong's house or his own home, so that Lin can visit relatives, or even stay at his grandmother's or adopted brother's house to have someone accompany him.

Otherwise, it is really no different from going to jail.

But if you think about it carefully, there is a high probability that you can only live in your own home.
To be continued...