Jingming knew that Mu Xiuyu was trying to build momentum for him, so he went along with his words and began to act.

"Amitabha Buddha, it is indeed this humble monk!"

Mu Xiuyu bowed deeply to Jingming once again.

"Abbot, I was nearly killed by bandits! Thanks to your temple's precious treasure, I was able to return to the capital safely. I am truly grateful!"

Jingming helped him up and returned the greeting.

"Your Highness is too kind. Marquis Anding was ordered to guard the border and protected the millions of people in Pingzhao. We have all received great kindness from the Marquis, so naturally we must protect Your Highness!"

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Mu Xiuyu finally got to the point.

"Did the abbot come to Xuanguang Temple to exchange Buddhist teachings?"

Jingming's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, but his words were full of sarcasm.

“Amitabha, to be honest, Your Highness, that is indeed the case! But perhaps the Buddhist teachings of my Fuhua Temple are not profound enough, for we cannot even enter the gates of Xuanguang Temple. The novice monks said that the abbot is receiving distinguished guests, and we, as mere idlers, naturally have no time to meet him!”

Upon hearing this, Mu Xiuyu's temper flared up, and he looked at the plaque of Xuanguang Temple with a mocking expression.

"It seems that this temple can no longer save all living beings, but only those so-called nobles!"

Jingming followed suit and kicked him when he was down.

"It seems this humble monk has no affinity with this temple, and I shall depart!"

Mu Xiuyu then gestured an invitation to Jingming.

"I wonder if I, the young master, would have the honor of inviting the abbot to the Marquis's residence for a chat?"

Jingming clasped his hands together and replied to him, "Amitabha, Your Highness, please!"

Mu Feng and Mu Xiao lifted the carriage curtain and helped the two people into the car.

The abbot of Xuanguang Temple broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly stepped forward to apologize.

"Your Highness, Abbot Jingming, please wait! The novices in the temple are ignorant and I know nothing of this matter!"

Jingming ignored him, and Mu Xiuyu only said two words.

"Return to the manor!"

Mu Feng turned the carriage around and looked at the abbot of Xuanguang Temple with disdain.

"Abbot, you should hurry back to keep your esteemed guest company! Our Marquis of Anding's residence is not so precious as to dare to disturb you!"

Then, accompanied by the temple keeper and his fellow disciples, including Jingming, they headed towards the Marquis's residence.

The abbot of Xuanguang Temple nearly fainted from anger. Offending the heir of the Marquis of Anding—what good could come of it?

This man, who didn't even respect princes, glared furiously at the novice monk guarding the gate.

However, there were too many people around, so he couldn't beat him up on the spot. He could only flick his sleeves and turn to enter the temple.

The onlookers overheard the entire conversation.

Knowing that Fuhua Temple had given away its most precious treasure in order to save the young master, everyone was extremely grateful to Fuhua Temple!

In contrast, Xuanguang Temple actually turned away the prince's benefactor for the sake of a so-called noble person, which is truly a sign of the decline of morality.

Gossip always travels exceptionally fast in the capital; in just one hour...

The esteemed person learned of this and stopped donating to the glazed pagoda of Xuanguang Temple.

He then ordered someone to send the blueprints for the glazed pagoda and some silver to the Marquis of Anding's residence, saying that it was to be donated to Fuhua Temple!

Mu Xiuyu and Jingming exchanged a smile when they saw the blueprints and the silver.

He then instructed Mu Xiao to investigate the background of that important person.

Mu Xiao was extremely efficient; in just half an hour, he had thoroughly investigated the person's background.

This man was Fu Peng, a royal merchant and a renowned philanthropist. When the drought was first reported, he donated hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

Mu Xiuyu was very satisfied with this person, so he had someone inform him to send his grandson Fu Ling to the Marquis's residence to be his study companion!

On this day, Xuanguang Temple was shrouded in gloom, and the young novice monk guarding the gate was nearly beaten to death.

Fu Peng, who donated the glazed pagoda to Fuhua Temple, was all smiles!

Although he was incredibly wealthy, none of his four sons passed the imperial examinations.

Now, by donating a pagoda, he could get his grandson connected to the heir of the Marquis of Anding. The smile on his old face simply wouldn't stop.

He then had lavish gifts and 30,000 taels of silver prepared and sent to the Marquis of Anding's residence.

The generous gift is to express our gratitude to the Crown Prince for his support, and the silver will still be donated to Fuhua Temple!

He knew the Marquis of Anding's household wasn't short of a few coins, but it was always better to be generous with gifts; after all, money was the last thing he needed.

What they most wanted to change was their family's status as businessmen.

Although they were imperial merchants, they were still merchants at the very bottom of the social hierarchy!

Now that the opportunity to change his social class is right in front of him, he cannot let it slip by no means!

Looking at the mountain of gifts, Mu Xiuyu thought of Qin Luo.

When he returned to the capital, Qin Luo also prepared a gift for him that filled almost half a carriage!

"Brother Jingming! When will you return to Chiling Mountain?"

Jingming counted on his fingers

"I still need to visit a few more temples, and then I'll head back! I'll write to you when I set off!"

Mu Xiuyu was getting impatient.

"Then you'd better hurry up and visit, I want to see my elder sister as soon as possible!"

Jingming touched the diamond resting on his chest and spoke as if making a promise.

"Okay, I'll do it as soon as possible!"

If it weren't for the late hour, the two could have continued chatting about Qin Luo for ages...

The seventh day of the eleventh lunar month, the day of the Beginning of Winter, is also the opening day of the martial arts school.

Not only did the Qin family come today, but Qin Ling also invited Village Chief He's family and Shui Ying's clan.

There were also some villagers from Danruo Village who came on their own to give gifts!

Either they have someone in their family working as a foreman on the Qin family's land!

Or perhaps it's because their own child is about to come to the martial arts school to learn!

Mr. Li and his mother, along with Mrs. Liu, also came, bringing not only congratulatory gifts but also homemade cakes for the children!

Qin Luo, Shui Ying, and the Cloth Bag Squad, plus Wu Hua and He Sui Sui, two little rascals.

I ran to the entrance of the martial arts school and looked at the pair of exquisitely carved stone lions.

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