The Long Journey to Immortality

Wen Erya replied, "However, it may just be a facade; we'll only know the truth when we meet in person."

Although there was no dirt on Wen Qing in the information she had, Wen Er Ya was still quite cautious when making her judgment.

Two maids led Han Lu and Wen Erya to the study, then bowed and left.

In the study, Wen Qing, having received news of Wen Erya and Han Lu's visit, was already sitting upright, ready to receive her elder sister and Han Lu.

The furnishings in the study were as simple as those in a garden.

Several bookshelves, a desk and chair set, a few chairs for entertaining guests, and an ancient zither on display.

The books on the bookshelf were not the kind of books that ordinary women would like; most of them were literature and history books, and there were even quite a few biographies written by officials.

Among these books, Han Lu saw "Common Sense," which she and Wen Erya had edited.

She noticed that the book was covered with a cover, but it was still somewhat tattered.

The cover also features Wen Erya's signature, which Wen Qing clearly obtained from Wen Erya at some point.

Seeing this scene, Han Lu thought to herself, "I'm afraid Wen Qing has already begun to study governing the country and being an official, hoping to leave the capital after the age of thirty and become a female official in a certain place to benefit the people."

Considering Wen Qing's current upright and serious demeanor, Han Lu added another sentence in her mind.

"Now, that wish has probably changed from being a good official to being a good emperor."

Because of their blood relation, Wenqing's face bears a striking resemblance to Wenerya.

Despite possessing the cultivation level of the fourth level of Qi Refining and being in the prime of her youth, Wen Qing exudes an aura of maturity and composure, much like an "elder" with fifty or sixty years of life experience.

"Royal sister, you've finally arrived," Wen Qing greeted her, hugged Wen Erya, and said with a smile, "The last time we met was three years ago. Judging from your aura, you must have already advanced to the Golden Core Realm."

Although Wen Qing's talent was average, she had cultivated in the Zhengyi Sect for a full five years. She had only met Wen Erya a few times. Every year when Wen Erya returned home for the New Year, Wen Qing was the junior who liked to stay by Wen Erya's side the most.

In terms of intimacy alone, Wenqing and Wenerya are at least friends.

"Wen Qing, your cultivation level is not high, but your eyesight is really good." This was the first time that someone from the family had recognized that she had advanced to the Golden Core Realm, so she was naturally in a good mood. "I just advanced a few days ago, and not many elders in the sect know about it."

"Congratulations! With your talent, it's no surprise that you'll advance to the Nascent Soul stage in the future. You might even ascend to the Spirit Realm and see a whole new world." Wen Qing said this with envy in her eyes.

Clearly, if Wenqing's talent were like Wenerya's, she would definitely be devoted to cultivation now, instead of thinking about making a name for herself in the mortal world.

After greeting Wen Erya, Wen Qing looked at Han Lu, bowed respectfully, and said, "Hello, Fairy Han. I have often heard my elder sister talk about you. Today I am finally able to meet you. Now it seems that Fairy Han is even more beautiful than the one in my elder sister's stories."

Although Han Lu was in a good mood after hearing this, she still felt that Wen Qing's flattery was a bit deliberate, so she couldn't help but speak up and give her a few words of criticism.

"Warmth and flattery towards me and your elder sister won't get you the throne."

"I'm just telling the truth," Wen Qing said, putting on a serious face as she returned to her seat behind the desk. "Please feel free to ask me any questions, Imperial Sister and Fairy Han. I will answer them to the best of my knowledge."

After being saddened for half a day upon receiving the paper sword, Wen Qing began to make preparations, already looking forward to the day when Wen Er Ya would come to her door.

The young Wen Qing had not yet experienced even a single day of training outside, and the reason she was included on the list was largely because of her potential in "governing the country." Therefore, Han Lu and Wen Er Ya's questions mainly revolved around "governance strategies."

"Wenqing, if you were the emperor, what would be the three things you would do first?"

“First of all, we need to reform the bureaucracy…” Wen Qing cited two examples she had seen to illustrate that, in her view, the current bureaucratic system of the Southern Dynasty was fully capable of further improvement.

After giving examples and explaining the policies, Wenqing added a prediction: "By streamlining the number of officials and arranging promotions with reasonable new rules, government orders can flow smoothly from top to bottom."

"Furthermore, we need to consider the country's current financial situation when constructing new roads."

Wen Qing briefly explained her thoughts and concluded by stating the great significance of such a large-scale construction policy: "Only when roads are open can goods flow smoothly, and residents in remote areas can rely on their own hard work and the opportunities provided by nearby cities to get rid of poverty through their own efforts."

"In addition, it can increase employment, just like using a small weight to lift a big stone, making businesses related to road construction flourish."

“These side effects might actually bring in more tax revenue than the money spent on road construction,” she said, adding a probability factor to the argument, “There’s at least a 40% chance.”

"Finally, the third thing," perhaps because she had too many things to do, Wen Qing thought for a while before continuing, "is to continue promoting the 'Common Sense' compiled by my elder sister and Fairy Han. By using these three books, we can greatly improve the productivity level of the entire Southern Dynasty, so that a single laborer can produce more goods in the same amount of time."

"In this way, prices will decrease, per capita income will increase, and people's quality of life and living conditions will improve accordingly."

"It's like making steamed buns bigger and more plentiful, so that everyone can have a full meal every day and won't have to live on an empty stomach," Wen Qing explained.

After stating her three most important goals, Wen Qing looked at Han Lu and Wen Er Ya with a hint of nervousness in her eyes, fearing that her grand plans might not meet their expectations. However, after only a few words, she was removed from the list of candidates.

Chapter 777 Choosing One of Two

Han Lu and Wen Erya had different expressions.

Han Lu remained expressionless, because she didn't understand economics and politics very well.

She could only barely understand a third of the warm and lengthy speech, and she noticed the difference between her and the other candidates she had interviewed before.

Otherwise, she might even have remained doubtful about the matter, giving a misleading impression full of warmth.

Wen Erya, however, had some knowledge of politics and economics and saw many positive aspects in Wen Qing's response. That's why she smiled and gave her youngest sister an approving look.

However, Wen Erya only expressed her approval; she did not believe that Wen Qing's answer was 100% correct.

Especially if Wenqing is under thirty and has been living in the capital for a long time, all of the above may be just empty talk.

Right now, she only wants to write down Wen Qing's answer completely, and then tomorrow she will ask the cabinet ministers to anonymously submit Wen Qing's and the other candidates' "proposals" to these experts for evaluation.

Han Lu and Wen Er Ya's expressions aroused some doubt in Wen Qing.

She asked herself the question.

"Was my reform plan too radical?"

"Was my flattery too awkward? But I did have that thought. Should I add a few more words to avoid any misunderstanding between my elder sister and Fairy Han?"

"Sigh, the minds of Golden Core cultivators are truly hard to fathom."

Feeling uneasy, Wenqing, who was not good at managing her expressions, naturally couldn't help but show it on her face.

Seeing this, Wen Erya was afraid that Wen Qing, whom she had already vaguely favored, would underperform in the following Q&A session, so she quickly said a few words to encourage her.

"Little sister, that's a good answer."

A simple sentence can lighten the mood considerably.

Since Wen Erya had expressed her opinion, Han Lu felt she should also say a few words.

As a novice in this field, Han Lu decided to ask a few more questions to deepen her understanding of the Wenqing Plan, while also testing Wenqing to see whether this series of governance plans was her idea or the idea of ​​a certain advisor hiding behind her.

"Wenqing, let's talk more specifically about reforming the bureaucracy."

"Which specific aspect does Fairy Han want to know?" Wen Qing asked, wanting to avoid making mistakes by saying less.

Han Lu pondered for a moment and said, "How can you get officials to actively respond to your reforms, even to the point of picking up a knife and killing themselves?"

Han Lu, based on her own understanding, made some rather unpleasant "witty remarks".

The words may be harsh, but they are not hard to understand, and they do indeed represent a major problem in the humane reform of the bureaucracy.

Fortunately, Wenqing had a plan.

She then launched into a long-winded three-step strategy, outlining measures such as decentralization, replacing the old with the new, promoting and appointing capable mid-level officials, and differentiating bureaucrats.

With so much content, Han Lu, who had intended to use it to test herself and find some answers, ended up with even more questions.

Wen Erya's smile grew wider as she listened. At the same time, she telepathically told Han Lu that when she went to find cabinet ministers to help "judge" the matter, this long passage should be omitted to prevent Wen Qing from revealing the truth too early after taking the stage, which could affect the smooth implementation of her grand plan.

Starting with the first question, Han Lu, Wen Erya, and Wen Qing talked for a full hour before concluding their conversation.

Judging from the length of the interview alone, both Wen Erya and Han Lu were clearly satisfied with Wen Qing's performance.

However satisfied you may be, the final step is still essential.

Han Lu cast a spell, and Wen Erya asked questions to temporarily control Wen Qing's mind, in order to examine whether she had been boasting and being hypocritical during the interview.

Hypnotized, Wen Qing unabashedly revealed her desire to wear the emperor's crown in front of Han Lu and Wen Er Ya.

This was neither a negative nor a positive factor for either of them, so they didn't pay much attention to it.

When asked the same questions as before, Wen Qing's answers were basically the same, but she became more extreme, often using economic and political terms that Han Lu and Wen Erya could not understand at the moment.

When Han Lu and Wen Erya tried to use hypnosis to find out if Wen Qing had any secrets, she showed a resistance that a Qi Refining cultivator shouldn't have. Even Han Lu couldn't overcome this resistance without harming Wen Qing's consciousness.

"Never mind, never mind," Wen Erya said with a hint of helplessness, "This is enough."

"Thinking back, Wenqing may have experienced some kind of trauma in his childhood, which made him mature beyond his years and think about how to govern the country and how to change the Southern Dynasty."

Han Lu nodded slightly, agreeing with Wen Erya's statement.

After dispelling the spell and letting Wen Qing lean back in her chair as if fast asleep, Han Lu and Wen Erya left to continue their journey to the residences of the last two candidates, aiming to complete their assessment of all seven candidates before the end of the day.

Currently, warmth and compassion are ranked first.

The latter two candidates did not perform as well as Wen Erya had imagined.

Especially Wen Xing'an, who was previously ranked first, could only be described as mediocre in front of Han Lu and Wen Erya.

Although this kind of conventional approach is considered excellent.

Everything was good, around 90 points, but none of them were able to break 100, which surprised Han Lu and Wen Erya.

In particular, in his future governance plans, Wen Xing'an advocated non-interference and only made minor changes, determined to continue his rule in a mild manner.

It's not that this ability or attitude is bad.

Rather, it was because of the brilliant example of Wen Qing that Wen Xing'an's performance was naturally overshadowed and appeared ordinary.

Fortunately, Han Lu and Wen Erya were both conservatives who didn't understand politics and didn't advocate reform. Wen Erya was also very clear that her ultimate goal in choosing a successor was to continue the rule and make the Southern Dynasty run even better.

Political integrity and economic prosperity are merely byproducts.

It is not the decisive factor influencing the final decision.

Given this, Wen Xing'an remains a popular candidate. In fact, after a day of evaluation, Han Lu and Wen Erya have eliminated many unsuitable options from this multiple-choice question with numerous choices, turning it into a two-choice question.

Warmth or Wenxing'an.

As the questions became easier, Wen Erya felt increasingly pressured.

She became increasingly convinced that her choice would affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the Southern Dynasty for at least the next fifty years, and would also impact the foundation of the Wen imperial family in the Southern Dynasty.

Unlike Wen Erya, Han Lu felt completely relaxed after the day.

In her opinion, both options were good.

As an outsider, she could fulfill her mission perfectly regardless of which side she supported, so there was nothing to worry about.

The following day, Han Lu and Wen Erya summoned the six cabinet ministers again and anonymously circulated the political declarations of the seven heirs, hoping that these six experienced ministers, who were well-educated in politics and good at managing the country, could comment on and analyze these policies and give advice to help the two make the final decision.