No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 348 The inexplicable surge in merit

Just when Yuan Huaimin was still thinking hard about who "Qi Ji" was.

Ouyang Rong had a straight face, nodded and said:

"If you are late today, your salary will be deducted as usual."

"I cry out, brother Lianghan, hold your hand high."

Yuan Huaimin, who thought he had survived, howled and grimaced.

Knowing that he had such a wealthy ancestor, Ouyang Rong now had no sympathy for this guy.

The Jingzhao Yuan family is indeed in a state of decline, not as good as the prominent Qiwang and Guanlong families of the Five Surnames in the Daqian and Dazhou dynasties.

But 300 years ago, our ancestor's predecessor, the Tuoba clan of the Northern Wei Dynasty, was the original founder of the clan system that prevailed in the Northern Dynasties for the next 300 years.

In other words, the top families and aristocratic families that have emerged since then all have to thank his family in a sense.

You may be down and out, but the top families still look up to you, because respecting the descendants of the Yuan and Wei dynasties is, in a sense, maintaining their own lintel glory.

No wonder the descendants of Jingzhao Du family and other wealthy families are willing to get to know Yuan Huaimin, and Yu Yin can still eat it now.

Ouyang Rong looked at Yuan Huaimin, who looked hopeless after being fined, and sighed:
"Can you please make some progress?"

Yuan Huaimin frowned for a while and said, "It seems that we have to find Brother Wang and fight against the autumn wind."

His face became cheerful and cheerful again.

"..."

Ouyang Rong stared at him and asked, "When did Du Shuqing meet you?"

Yuan Huaimin scratched his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head: "I forgot, when did it come last month."

Ouyang Rong asked calmly: "Except for Wang Junzhi, I didn't introduce anyone to Brother Huaimin."

"Know who?"

"Mr. Li."

"Who is this?" Yuan Huaimin looked confused.

"Li Zhengyan."

Yuan Huaimin was in a trance:
"Oh, I've heard of the relegated celebrity, the former governor of Meizhou, and he also came to Jiangzhou a while ago."

"Didn't you recommend it to you?"

"No. But I have indeed admired his name for a long time."

"So I only met Du Shuqing and Wang Junzhi?"

"Ah."

Yuan Huaimin answered calmly. Ouyang Rong looked at it for a while but couldn't see anything.

He was on guard. Liulang had been sending people to follow Li Zhengyan in Xunyang City and report daily. Ouyang Rong did not remember that the group went to Xingzifang to meet Yuan Huaimin.

How did you miss it?
If the two parties had really met, wouldn't it mean that they could easily bypass Yan Liulang's spy, which is not something ordinary people can do.

Ouyang Rong faintly smelled some strange wind direction.

But... what could such an obscure guy like Yuan Huaimin do in secret?
Yuan Huaimin couldn't help but ask: "Brother Lianghan seems to care about them very much."

"I'm just afraid of leading you astray." Ouyang Rong said casually.

Yuan Huaimin thought for a while and asked cautiously:

"They should know that I, the Sima of Jiangzhou, am in vain and do not hold power. I am idle all day long."

Ouyang Rong sighed: "Well, that's true, maybe I know it better than you yourself."

"..."

Yuan Huaimin always felt that this sentence was strange, as if he said it out of tune, Yuan Huaimin wanted to refute.

Ouyang Rong suddenly asked:

"At the end of last year, you helped me draw a picture of a lady with hairpins on an oil-paper umbrella, but I still remember it."

Yuan Huaimin stroked his beard and looked pleased:
"That's what happened. Why, brother Lianghan also thinks that the picture of the lady wearing a hairpin is not as good-looking as the picture of the horse emerging from the bath. Do you want to change it?"

Ouyang Rong shook his head:

"No, I just want to say that there was a bit of a fuss after the umbrella and painting were sent out. I asked about it afterwards and it seems that your painting technique is a bit particular."

He sighed: "It is said that the orchid leaf painting of 'Wu Dai Dang Feng' belongs to a certain famous painting saint's unique skill when the Second Saint came to court."

"Is there such a thing?"

Yuan Huaimin was stunned for a moment and replied:

"I learned my painting skills when I was in Chang'an. Once I sobered up in a roadside temple and bumped into an old master who was painting murals. I became familiar with it after a few visits. He asked me to start and he taught me.

"When I asked him where he was from, he said he was from Zhongnan Mountain. Hey, is he an expert?"

Ouyang Rong stared at Yuan Huaimin for a while, then nodded:

"Perhaps he is indeed an expert who hides his secrets."

Yuan Huaimin was immediately overjoyed and rubbed his hands:

"Brother Lianghan, I'm not lying to you. I'm a master of poetry and painting. Why don't you take care of me for being late today and deducting your salary..."

Ouyang Rong nodded in praise, interrupted and asked:
"Brother Huaimin, who is a master of poetry and painting, is there anything else that I don't know? If so, brother Huaimin can tell you now, don't be like an assassin and stab me from time to time."

Yuan Huaimin said with a bitter face: "Brother Lianghan is making fun of me again."

Ouyang Rong's face seemed to have remembered something, and he asked directly:
"By the way, after working together for so long, I have never asked Brother Huaimin why he was demoted to this point."

I saw that this Sima from Jiangzhou, whose house prices in Xunyang were expensive and difficult to live in, once again looked up at the sky and said in a hissing tone:
"Hey, it's a long story."

"Then make a long story short."

When Yuan Huaimin heard what he said, he said concisely and concisely: "I said the wrong thing."

"It is unreasonable to say that the court is still a saint."

Yuan Huaimin was dejected.

"Brother Lianghan, you can't tear yourself apart even if you are in trouble."

Seems to have guessed right.

Ouyang Rong did not expose the scar again, glanced at the sun outside, stood up, and prepared to leave the main hall.

When he reached the door, he stopped and said without looking back:
"Brother Huaimin."

"Well, what's wrong, Brother Lianghan."

Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes, straightened his sleeves, and said softly:
"If you have anything, you can tell me at any time."

Yuan Huaimin was stunned and nodded: "Okay."

"in addition."

Ouyang Rong looked serious and added:
"Remember to report on time in the future. From now on, I will wait for you every day."

Yuan Huaimin: "...!"

After leaving the main hall, Ouyang Rong stood still at the door for a while, looked to the horizon, and took a long breath.

He didn't like this feeling of being slightly out of control and having frequent accidents.

But since Li Zhengyan, Wang Junzhi and others arrived, everything was wrong.

Especially Wang Junzhi, in a short period of time, he socialized with more people in Xunyang City than Ouyang Rong, the governor of Jiangxi Province, and he had figured out all the connections in the city.

Ouyang Rong almost admired his energy and stretched out his hands so long.

He is worthy of being the former Chief Registrar of Chang'an and a child of a noble family from Chang'an.

Shaking his head, Ouyang Rong turned and left.

In the main hall behind him, Yuan Huaimin turned his head and watched as a certain "salted fish killer" officer walked away and disappeared.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to look south, dazed for a while.

At a certain moment, this descendant of the Northern Wei royal family, whose ancestors were rich, rubbed his face, then smiled and spoke in an open-minded tone:
"Yuan Jia hastily sealed the wolf in Xu, and won the hasty visit to the north... Good words, good words."

He tasted the product with a smile on his face, but soon his face became visibly depressed again, and he sat alone and murmured:
"I heard from my grandfather that during the Yuan-Jia Northern Expedition 200 years ago, even if there were 'hanshi' in the Southern and Song dynasties, they didn't win and ended up rushing north in a hurry.

"Since ancient times, it seems that it has been difficult to win from south to north...

"Hey, why is this, strange, strange."

...the next few days.

In addition to listening to Junior Sister and Liu Lang's daily reports on Wang Junzhi's social interactions,
Ouyang Rong devoted his energy to welcoming the garrison troops returning from the north soon.

On this day, Jiangzhou Hall received a message from the envoy Hu who went south to pardon the garrison soldiers.

This letter is very solemn.

The letter first contained good news, that is, the envoy Khufu had arrived at a place called Tanfu and met with the [-] garrison soldiers returning from the north.
On the same day, the emperor's edict of pardon was read out.

The garrison soldiers who returned to the north were successfully comforted by him.

It was a near miss.

Envoy Hu Zhong promised the garrison soldiers in public that he would return them to Hongzhou and Jiangzhou, and would order officials along the way not to stop them.

Allow them to return north in peace.

Ambassador Hu even said that he could help them prepare a boat and take the fastest waterway.

The [-] garrison soldiers returning from the north did not hesitate much. They immediately put down their weapons and supported the emperor's personal envoy who was like a life-saving straw.

Now, this letter from Khufu,
That is to inform Jiangzhou Hall and Hongzhou Governor's Office to prepare in advance to welcome the garrison troops returning from the north.

It is considered as an announcement of good news and ventilation.

Ouyang Rong finished reading the letter and let out a sigh of relief.

The situation in Jiangnan Province that had been tense before has finally eased a lot.

According to what the letter said, Khufu's trip went relatively smoothly, and he was returning north with the [-] garrison soldiers who had laid down their weapons.

It seems that Ouyang Rong's preparations in the past few days are correct. Now the only thing left is to prevent Wang Lengran and others from framing the situation on the day when the garrison enters the city.

"Wait a minute, Jiangzhou is fine, but how will Hongzhou deal with it?"

Ouyang Rong frowned and thought for a while:
"But it seems that Zhu Lingxu is not from the Wei family, but from Prince Teng's palace. There is no need to work so hard for the Wei family's dignity.

"And Ambassador Hu is not stupid. He must have thought of this, so he comforted the soldiers and chose to return with the team. The first stop was Hongzhou City. This should be to prevent changes..."

Ouyang Rong sat alone, thought carefully for a while, and continued to check and fill in the gaps:
"I'm going to talk to Uncle Li tomorrow night. The next time I submit a letter to plead for mercy, I'll also include the 1000 and [-] garrison soldiers from Zhechong Prefecture in Hongzhou and see if we can be 'punished' to come to Jiangzhou to make statues and give them extra insurance. .

"Besides, Jiangzhou is not far from Hongzhou, and the statues are still paid, so there shouldn't be much resentment."

He nodded lightly.

That night, when he returned to Yinbingzhai, Ouyang Rong and Ye Weilai lay down to rest early.

In the middle of the night, he was sleeping soundly. In the bed, he suddenly opened his eyes and straightened up.

The drowsiness was completely driven away by the clear and crisp sound of wooden fish that kept coming to my ears.

"Has your merit increased?"

Only stunned for a moment, Ouyang Rong first pressed down the little white-haired head under the quilt that was about to raise his head in confusion. Then he quickly closed his eyes and lay down to sleep again.

Ouyang Rong's mind sank into the Tower of Merit and flew directly to Xiaomuyu, who was still forced to open business in the middle of the night.

[Merit: Seven Thousand 160 Eight]

In the line of blue-gold fonts above the little wooden fish, the numbers suddenly became different, and they were still sporadic.

Ouyang Rong looked happy and confused.

Why did the merit suddenly increase by more than 500 in the middle of the night?Before, there were more than 600 merits.

Could it be that the merit ritual of the Buddha's family in heaven is down, stuck in the bag, and given away in vain?
Well, it shouldn't be.

"The sudden surge in merit, is it because the folks in Longcheng built a statue for me again, or is it some other measure to help others and repay the merit?
"Is it the key to Qingmei Luyuan that was given to Du Shuqing last time? But judging from the letter from Magistrate Diao, didn't he move in a long time ago and delayed giving it until now?

"Speaking of which, when Du Shuqing first moved into Meiluyuan, Xiao Muyu didn't seem to have any obvious merit. It seems that he was not grateful for this move..."

He tried to think back, trying to find the source of the sudden increase in merit.

"Forget it, I have done so many good things, I can't even think of them."

Ouyang Rong shook his head, reluctantly giving up, and said to himself, half worried and half happy:
"But increasing merit should be a good thing..."

Ouyang Rong stopped thinking about it, exited the merit tower and continued to sleep.

Soon it was dawn, and he was full of energy and went to go on duty.

Although I missed the seven thousand red blessings of merit that may be related to it,

But Ouyang Rong was still running around, busy protecting the garrison troops returning from the north.

Some things have nothing to do with returns.

in the afternoon.

The third floor of Yunshui Pavilion, the old place.

Ouyang Rong made an appointment with Qin Heng again.

As soon as the two met, he went straight to the point and informed Qin Heng of his plans to discuss with Prince Xunyang's Mansion.

Qin Heng's breathing became thicker, he took a deep breath, his expression calmed down, and he clasped his fists heavily:

"Thank you, Ouyang Changshi, for your righteousness, and thank you, Your Majesty, for being so kind."

He has a determined expression and seems to be bad at expressing his true feelings.

However, listening to the crisp sound of wooden fish ringing in his ears, Ouyang Rong had a rough understanding of Captain Guo Yi, who was not very expressive in words, and felt grateful from the bottom of his heart.

He smiled and said some words of relief.

Afterwards, the two discussed cooperation matters about leaving the city soon to welcome the garrison soldiers returning from the north.

Qin Heng asked casually: "Chang Shi said that on that day, you gave the sword given to you by the last general to Ambassador Hu?"

Ouyang Rong: "Yes, the comfort of the soldiers went smoothly this time. Maybe it was also the reason why Captain Su responded..."

Halfway through his words, he suddenly paused.

After closing his mouth and taking a sip of tea, Ouyang Rong glanced at Qin Heng with a frown.

"What's wrong with Ouyang Changshi? Why are his hands shaking?"

"fine."

Ouyang Rong ignored the trembling bells in his ears, concealed his emotions, and put down the tea cup again:

"A little sleepy."

"Then Ouyang Changshi should rest early."

"It's fine."

Ouyang Rong and Qin Heng continued to talk and laugh freely.

After lighting the incense, the discussion was over, he stood up and said goodbye to Qin Heng.

On a carriage that slowly drove back to Jiangzhou's lobby, Ouyang Rong sat with his eyes closed as soon as he got on the carriage, and immediately flew into the Tower of Merit.

In the Tower of Merit, he looked up at the ancient bronze bell above that was trembling again and flowing with "water mist", and his face couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

The purple mist pouring out of the blessing bell is mixed with blood-red threads, which looks a bit familiar...

That red blessing worth seven thousand merits is back.

From this point of view, the triggering condition is indeed related to Qin Heng.

He said calmly.

After hesitating for a moment, Ouyang Rong closed his eyes and thought.

I saw that the blue-gold font floating above the small wooden fish suddenly turned into a swimming carp, quickly crashing into the trembling ancient clock in the sky with dissatisfaction.

Fortune exchange.

clang--!
Hong Zhong Da Lu resounded in my ears.

Bloody blessing, successful redemption.

Ouyang Rong opened his eyes. Above his head, the ancient bronze bell that was originally trembling and restless was silent.

The green-gold font in front of him was cleared again.

"The landlord's family doesn't have any food left." He sighed with a smile.

After lingering in the tower for a moment, Ouyang Rong looked forward to leaving the Merit Tower...

(End of this chapter)