Chapter 716 Not Paying Homage to the Lotus Sect, Paying Homage to the Zen Sect [Seeking Monthly Tickets!]
A quiet courtyard, the main room.
The morning light shone on the messy bed.
The exposed skin of the sleeping, pretty young girl radiated a fiery red glow.
Her small face was flushed red, whether from the strange spiritual energy or from the recent playful moments with her sweetheart.
With each breath, the fiery red halo waxed and waned, like the breath of a dragon.
Wardrobes, beams, beds, desks... the whole room creaked and groaned.
The swing in the courtyard was flying wildly and haphazardly.
Within a radius of tens of meters, it seemed as if a tremendous, invisible pressure was being exerted.
At a certain moment, all the strange phenomena ceased.
The swing swung lower and lower.
Zhao Qingxiu slowly opened her pair of blind, starry eyes.
Inside the bed.
A bronze longsword hangs upside down above his head.
She sat up nonchalantly, turning her ponytail-tied head toward the empty pillow beside her.
A moment later, the girl, having overcome her nightmare, hugged his pillow tightly, burying her face in it.
He completely ignored the surging dantian that had already reached the sixth rank and even revealed the "trapped dragon wonder".
Finally, she found a trace of her beloved's warmth on the pillow.
Zhao Qingxiu was suddenly overjoyed.
...
Jiangzhou Main Hall.
After seeing off the messenger sent by Wang Caozhi, Ouyang Rong sat alone for a while.
He then met with Yan Liulang and Pei Shisan Niang before leaving the Jiangzhou government office.
I was supposed to be enjoying a proper holiday, but then some unexpected news came up, and I still had to come here.
Ouyang Rong shook his head.
"What a life of toil..."
Under the slightly strange gazes of the clerks and minor officials around him, Governor Ouyang, who had taken leave, left the Jiangzhou main hall with nothing but his pockets clean.
Ouyang Rong returned to the carriage.
Ali waited outside for a while, but there was no movement from inside the car. He asked in a low voice:
"Young master, where are you going?"
Ouyang Rong seemed to have come to his senses.
"Go back to Huaiye Lane. Junior Sister should be here today, discussing birthday gifts with Auntie. Go back and check on her."
"Yes, young master."
"By the way, I didn't go home last night. Did no one come looking for me at home?"
"Reporting to your young master, no."
"Okay, I understand."
Ouyang Rong closed his eyes again. Actually, after getting on the bus, he went to the Merit Pagoda for another look.
Last night, Ouyang Rong spent the night in a quiet courtyard, which was unexpected... mainly because he didn't expect the embroiderer to be so moved.
In fact, the embroiderer was originally a person who lacked love and was deeply infatuated. Once she was ignited, she was indeed a bit hard to resist.
Ouyang Rong happened to have over 1,300 merits left over, with nowhere to put them.
So the dry wood met a raging fire... and burned all night.
In the past, if he didn't come home, the women in Huaiye Lane would definitely be worried and might even go to the Xunyang Prince's Mansion to look for him.
Now, Ouyang Rong doesn't go home to spend the night; he just sends someone back to inform them... and no one says anything.
Everyone knows where he is.
Inside the carriage, Ouyang Rong stretched.
This time, over 1,300 merits were injected into the embroiderer at once. It's unknown whether she will react to this, or in terms of her cultivation.
Previously, after each injection, the embroiderer was completely unharmed, except for a charming rosy glow on her face and skin. She didn't look very well, and oh, she blushed more easily.
This made Ouyang Rong doubt the quality of the Merit Purple Mist.
A thousand merits can be exchanged for a few decent blessings. The effect of converting them into spiritual energy cultivation doesn't seem to be anything special. Otherwise, why hasn't the embroiderer broken through to the next realm? Ouyang Rong remembers that the embroiderer was previously at the seventh rank of cultivation... Could this purple mist of merits be some kind of divine power that he hasn't discovered?
Regardless, this time more merit was poured in, which strained my back a bit, but I don't know if the effect will be more intense.
As Ouyang Rong pondered...
The carriage suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Ouyang Rong asked curiously. He glanced at the scenery outside the window and saw that the carriage was not far from the Huaiye Lane mansion. The carriage had arrived at the next street.
"Young master, someone is waiting for you."
"who?"
Ali, who is well-informed, said:
"Judging from the carriage and the maids, they seem to be from the Prince's mansion."
Ouyang Rong lifted the carriage curtain and glanced at it.
It is Her Highness the Little Princess.
They ambushed him again on the street outside Huaiye Lane.
Her personal maid, Caishou, was blocking Ouyang Rong's carriage when she came up and exchanged a few words with Ali.
Ouyang Rong immediately got out of the car.
...
"What brings you here, Your Highness?"
"There's been a situation with Dalang. Let's go to the Prince's Mansion."
Inside a modestly luxurious carriage, Ouyang Rong had just boarded when Li Guo'er spoke a few words, drawing Ouyang Rong's attention.
He asked curiously:
"Why is it His Highness who came to inform us?"
"Sister Xie, weren't you busy with your aunt's birthday celebration? I just happened to be passing by and wanted to let you know."
"What's going on with Dalang?"
"You'll find out when you get there; it's related to Wei Anhui."
Li Guo'er narrowed her eyes and said.
Ouyang Rong's expression was somewhat strange.
...
The study in the Xunyang Prince's Mansion.
Xie Lingjiang and Lu Ya were not there.
Ouyang Rong and Li Xian's family gathered together.
He carefully examined the letter in his hand, which was written in delicate handwriting. His brows furrowed at first, then relaxed, and finally furrowed again.
Halfway through reading, he couldn't help but look up and ask Li Dalang, who seemed lost in thought:
"Princess An Hui has invited you to Tongfu Temple to worship Buddha again?"
Li Dalang nodded with a complicated expression, "Mm."
Li Xian sat at the head of the table with a frown and a somewhat serious expression.
Princess Wei Mei, who was standing next to him, looked rather displeased. After hearing what Li Dalang said, she snorted coldly.
Li Guo'er said directly:
"Look behind you, to the Buddhist temple where Wei Anhui invited Li Dalang."
"What happened at Guanyin Temple?"
Ouyang Rong asked.
"What about the date?"
"The 15th of this month."
When his gaze fell on the agreed time at the end of the envelope, Ouyang Rong's words gradually fell silent.
He flipped through it again and said softly:
"According to Lady Rong, wasn't Princess Anhui supposed to leave on the fifteenth?"
Li Guo'er nodded and said:
"It was before we parted, the last time I asked Dalang to go, to burn incense and worship Buddha together. And, Ouyang Lianghan, look at the temple that Wei Anhui invited Dalang to."
"Guanyin Temple?"
Do you know where it is?
"That sounds familiar."
"Guanyin Temple is one of the ten famous temples in Jiangnan, located in... Phoenix Ridge, Hukou County."
Ouyang Rong blurted out instinctively, "Hukou County?"
"That's right."
Seeing Ouyang Rong's brows furrowing, Li Guo'er nodded and said:
“I looked up this name and found out it’s from Hukou County, right next door. Ouyang Lianghan, aren’t you a government official investigating in Hukou County? Don’t you think it’s a coincidence?”
"Um."
Ouyang Rong lowered his head and carefully read the letter several times over.
After a moment, he put down the letter and said thoughtfully:
"According to Wei Anhui, on the fifteenth, there will be a temple fair at Guanyin Temple to welcome and send off the Buddha's relics. She is going to pay her respects on behalf of Prince Liang. In addition, she will also enshrine the clothes and hats of her third brother, Wei Shaoqi, at the temple on behalf of Prince Wei and set up an incense tablet..."
Li Xian suddenly said:
"Is Princess Anhui skipping the victory celebration on the 15th and leaving early because of this, hoping to catch the temple fair at Guanyin Temple?"
Wei Mei shook his head, and said in a strange tone:
"Something's not right. If it's just a memorial tablet, why not place it in Xunyang City? Isn't there the Donglin Buddha statue? Or you could send it to Donglin Temple. Why go to Guanyin Temple?"
The group looked at each other in silence.
Li Guo'er said crisply:
"There is a detail that, if I remember correctly, although the Wei family believed in Buddhism, they believed in Zen Buddhism."
"Guanyin Temple is a famous Zen temple, one of the few Zen temples in Jiangnan, while Donglin Temple is a famous Lotus Temple."
Li Xian suddenly realized:
"It seems that it really is true. The Wei family, including the Empress Dowager, used to prefer Zen Buddhism. It was only because Master Shandao of Donglin Temple came to the capital to preach Buddhism a couple of years ago that the Lotus School gained some fame, which led to the Donglin Buddha statue we have today... Thinking about it this way, it makes sense. No wonder Wei Anhui went to such lengths instead of coming here."
After listening, everyone fell silent, their faces showing deep thought.
Ouyang Rong nodded slowly:
"You mean that Wei Anhui's departure before the victory celebration might not be as complicated as we thought, but rather related to the reason she invited Dalang—to go to Guanyin Temple to worship Buddha and settle the memorial tablet of the third young master of the Wei family?"
"It's just one possibility, just in case we're being paranoid." Li Guo'er nodded slightly: "Of course, we can't rule out that there might be other purposes as well."
Ouyang Rong looked thoughtful.
After waiting a while, Li Guo'er asked:
What are you thinking about?
Ouyang Rong glanced at her and said:
"This morning, people from Hukou County reported that they couldn't find the skinny man. He didn't seem to have entered the county town, and they didn't find any unusual activity from Duan Quanwu. The military camp in Hukou County is not seeing anything unusual and is busy suppressing bandits."
"What were your orders?"
"Let them search again. Just as His Highness said, we can't rule out other motives."
"That's right."
Ouyang Rong suddenly said, "Wait a moment, I'll go ask."
"Who should we ask?"
"Lady Rong".
Upon seeing this, Ouyang Rong immediately went out, his figure disappearing down the corridor...
In the afternoon, as dusk approached and the sky was ablaze with the colors of sunset, Li Xian and his family met Ouyang Rong again.
Everyone gathered in the study of the Prince's mansion.
Xie Lingjiang also returned and heard from Li Guo'er about Li Dalang receiving an invitation.
Ouyang Rong rushed back, travel-worn, and arrived at the study without even having a cup of tea.
Everyone noticed that he seemed lost in thought, as if he were pondering something.
"My love, how is it?"
He inquired about matters of concern while away from home.
Ouyang Rong glanced at everyone, hesitated for a moment, and said:
“That’s right. Lady Rong said that Princess Anhui went back early on the fifteenth of the month because she was going to visit Guanyin Temple in Hukou County to worship Buddha and burn incense, and to place memorial tablets for Wei Shaoqi and the others. This matter has been reported to her, and Duan Quanwu will send some people to protect her.”
Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and then exchanged glances.
Ouyang Rong picked up his teacup, drank it all in one gulp, and took a deep breath.
Li Xian tentatively asked, "My lord, it seems we're being a bit paranoid. Should I and my eldest son still attend the victory celebration on the fifteenth?"
Ouyang Rong glanced at Li Xian but didn't speak immediately.
Li Guo'er said, "Ouyang Lianghan, go back and check again. Isn't there someone in Hukou County? Go and see if that's really the case..."
Ouyang Rong frowned and interrupted, "I know."
Wei Mei stepped forward and personally poured tea for Li Xian and Ouyang Rong, saying with a slight smile:
"Whether it's a false alarm or not, Tanlang's contingency plans are all correct. Just in case, in my opinion, being scared like this is good. It makes us more prepared, which is a good thing... Tanlang, thank you for your hard work."
"That's right."
Xie Lingjiang agreed.
As usual, she picked up a pear and started peeling it for him, saying crisply:
"Eldest Brother is indeed the most prudent and perceptive. Let's continue the preparations we're already making and not take them down. As for whether the Prince and the Heir Apparent will attend the victory celebration on the 15th, let's leave that for now and not inform Lady Rongzhen immediately."
"As for Aunt Zhen's birthday celebration on the 14th, we can go as planned. Whether we go to the celebration the next day or not, we'll decide then. Anyway, we've already prepared an excuse, so the initiative is in our hands."
"good."
"Xie Xian's niece is right, we should adapt to the situation."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and then turned to look at Ouyang Rong.
Ouyang Rong glanced around at the expressions of everyone in the study, took the large white pear that Xie Lingjiang had peeled, and pursed his lips.
After a short while, he took a bite of the pear and mumbled:
"Can".
Everyone laughed.
After discussing it again, they prepared to leave. Just then, they heard Li Dalang's weak voice from the side:
“Father, Tanlang, Sister… you haven’t said how to reply to the Princess’s letter yet. She has invited me repeatedly. If she really had bad intentions, she wouldn’t be so foolish as to invite me every time. Now it seems…”
Li Xian and Wei Mei turned to look at him and asked in unison:
"What should we look at now?"
Li Dalang shrank back.
Xie Lingjiang shook her head speechlessly, while Ouyang Rong coughed.
Li Guo'er walked over and gently patted her brother's shoulder:
"Then brother, go ahead and go back to the capital with her to see Prince Liang. You can then directly discuss the marriage."
Li Dalang: ...
...
When we left the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, the sunset was still on the horizon of the distant Yangtze River.
The river view in Xunyang City is beautiful; you can see it from any good vantage point within the city.
Ouyang Rong boarded the carriage and gave the following instructions:
"Go to Xingzi Lake. Also, call Liu Lang over."
"Yes, young master."
Two quarters of an hour later, Yan Liulang entered the carriage, clasped his hands in greeting, and asked:
"What are your orders, Your Excellency?"
Ouyang Rong, who had been resting with his eyes closed, pondered for a moment:
"Immediately send someone to Hukou County, no, you go personally to deliver a message to Wang Caozhi, telling him to stop looking for people in the city and the military camp, and to send someone to Guanyin Temple to ask around and see if there is any trace of that skinny man named Qian Chen."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Yan Liulang accepted the order without asking why, and hurriedly left. He was going to Xunyang Ferry to catch a boat and rush to Hukou County overnight.
Ouyang Rong watched Yan Liulang's figure disappear, then turned to look at the brilliant sunset on the horizon.
He immediately turned around, lowered his eyes, patted his sleeve, and said:
"Let's go, Ali, let's eat in the courtyard."
"Yes, young master."
The carriage immediately headed towards a small courtyard on the shore of Xingzi Lake.
Inside the bumpy carriage, Ouyang Rong muttered almost imperceptibly:
"The embroiderer should have recovered by now, after absorbing so much merit... I wonder how she is now."
...
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(End of this chapter)
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