Outside the window, the night is as cool as water.

The house was dimly lit.

A piece of moonlight shines in front of a couch.

The young county magistrate sometimes stood up to check his luggage for tomorrow's departure; sometimes he lay down and counted sheep with his eyes closed.

Tossing and turning, it was almost dawn before he fell asleep.

Sleeping very lightly.

The rising sunlight shines through the paper window and shines on the slightly frowning sleeping face. It is warm, and Ouyang Rong suddenly wakes up.

After only two hours of sleep, he stared at the empty room for a while, then silently got up, put on his clothes and shoes, and opened the door.

"Junior sister, Dalang, what are you doing here?"

In the courtyard, there are figures of Xie Lingjiang, Li Fusu and Li Baoer quietly sunbathing.

"Tanlang, you're awake!" Li Fusu stood up happily.

Ouyang Rong looked at them and asked softly:

"Didn't you say that the afternoon boat to Xunyang City is ahead of schedule?"

Li Xian and his wife first went to Xunyang City to "recuperate", while Li Dalang and Li Guo'er stayed in Longcheng to sort out the relocation of the Su Mansion.

It happened that Ouyang Rong was about to take up the post of governor of Jiangxi Province.

The two parties agreed to take a boat together this afternoon and set off to Xunyang City, the capital of Jiangzhou.

"The boat hasn't moved ahead, it's still afternoon."

Xie Lingjiang jumped off the swing, held his sword and shook his head, explaining:

"However, in order to celebrate the senior brother's promotion, as well as the exemption of mediocrity and the adjustment of the second tax in the county, led by Diao Xiancheng and some squires, the scholars, farmers, industry and merchants in the county organized a promotion lunch for the senior brother at Yuanming Building.

feast."

She laughed and said:

"In the morning, Senior Brother did not go to the county government office, so County Magistrate Diao asked me to convey that you, the protagonist of the lunch, must be present."

Ouyang Rong patted his forehead and said, "I'm confused." He walked over, fetched a bucket of well water, and washed his face.

Li Fusu looked at his friend's face and said with a smile: "Tan Lang, I'm tired and can't sleep, so I'll take this jujube kernel soup."

"..."

Ouyang Rong's mouth twitched.

After washing up, he passed by the three of them and strode out:

"Let's go."

Xie Lingjiang and the others quickly followed.

On Luming Street, at the gate of Meiluyuan, a long-awaited carriage slowly started and drove towards one of the largest restaurants in the county.

"Congratulations to Tan Lang for being promoted to Jiang Governor!"

In the carriage, Li Fusu smiled broadly and looked happy.

"My father and mother are also very happy. They are waiting for Tan Lang to give him a promotion gift..."

Li Fusu, who was sitting upright, and Li Guo'er, who was wearing a veil and nodding lightly, talked about how to celebrate the gift after returning to Xunyang City.

Even though the Li family and the Tianhuang nobles are down and out, they still have a lot of rules. This is the top lintel.

Ouyang Rong looked out the window, slightly distracted and didn't listen much.

He moved closer to Fusu and lowered his voice:

"Tan Lang, my father is over there in Xunyang City. It's a bit difficult to pretend to be sick. The female officials and doctors are guarding the area. The effect of the elixir is strong, but it is really powerful. No one can see the clues.

"Now my father is looking forward to the stars and the moon every day, waiting for us to deliver the antidote..."

Ouyang Rong nodded: "I'll bear with you a little longer, thank you for your hard work, uncle."

"This is not considered hard work." Li Fusu shook his head: "Without Tanlang's clever plan, my father and we are still shrinking in the Dragon City and trembling in fear. How could we dare to hope to restore the title of King Xunyang."

"Brother is right."

Li Guo'er looked at Ouyang Rong with a pair of wonderful eyes and said crisply:

"With the restoration of this royal status, and the attention from my grandmother, Wei Shaoxuan and his ilk will no longer dare to blatantly threaten us. At least we are safe in Xunyang City."

"Yes." Li Fusu and Ouyang Rong looked out the car window together with longing on their faces:

"My father's palace is in Xunyang City, and Liang Han happened to be promoted to a state official and went to Xunyang City. We can be together again and we won't be separated!"

"Oh, that sage will arrange official positions."

Ouyang Rong nodded lightly.

He looked at the lively street scene outside the window for a while, then suddenly turned back:

"After the luncheon, when will the boat scheduled to go to Jiangzhou in the afternoon leave?"

"The first moment of the unitary hour."

Ouyang Rong pursed his lips, it was already around five o'clock.

After finishing the luncheon, it was probably two or three o'clock, and I still had to leave the city to rush to Xindu Port to catch the boat. My schedule was tight... I wanted to do anything else, but it seemed too late.

"Elder brother, why do you ask this?"

"fine."

Ouyang Rong rubbed his face.

…

The promotion luncheon at Yuanming Tower was even grander than Ouyang Rong imagined.

There were so many visitors that the three-story building was packed to the brim.

Diao County Magistrate and other county government colleagues, more than a dozen local gentry and wealthy people, famous Longcheng scholars, and famous clan fellows and sages from various towns and villages in Longcheng.

Not to mention the people who spontaneously came from all over Dragon City to celebrate and have a feast.

The building was so crowded that there was no room for even an extra bench.

Ouyang Rong didn't expect everyone to be so enthusiastic.

At the main table at the top of the first floor, he raised his glass to greet everyone, drank heavily, and toasted guests from all over the world...

After nearly a corner of the drink was consumed, Ouyang Rong sat down on the chair.

Diao County Prime Minister raised his head and smiled:

"There are so many people in Mingfu... No, I have to change my title. Now I am Lord Changshi. I have admired you for a long time."

"I also have to change my title." He took a package from the junior sister's hand and handed it to the old county magistrate.

The latter opened it and saw that there were light green official uniforms, official seals, ribbons and other items inside.

Ouyang Rong was slightly drunk and said with a smile: "I will have to call you County Magistrate Diao from now on. I will add another piece of uniform for the four seasons. Magistrate Diao is disrespectful and disrespectful."

Diao County Magistrate quickly waved his hand: "Hey, where are you? Master Chang Shi, please don't laugh at me."

With a humble mouth, the old county magistrate could not suppress the grin on his lips, and his face was full of joy.

Ouyang Rong was promoted to the governor of Jiangzhou, and because of his contribution to flood control and the auspicious bonus of being the first to report, he was promoted from the eighth-rank county magistrate to the seventh-rank county magistrate.

The only pity is that he is too old, otherwise he would have great potential in the future due to his political achievements... But Diao Xiancheng is already satisfied.

Diao Xiancheng sighed with emotion: "Sir Chang Shi...forget it, let's call him Mingfu for now. It's easy to pronounce. Well, if I can always follow in your footsteps, it would be great to be a subordinate of Mingfu."

The old county magistrate's tone was joking and somewhat self-deprecating.

After all, there is no doubt that Ouyang Rong will be promoted faster than him in the future. If this sentence is true, wouldn't he also be promoted quickly?

But for now, this statement is quite correct.

Jiangzhou has jurisdiction over more than a dozen counties. The governor of Jiangzhou manages state affairs and is naturally the immediate boss of each county...

Previously, due to the Jiangzhou Jimincang corruption case, the two important positions of the previous Jiangzhou governor and chief history officer had been suspended.

Later, Wang Lengran parachuted in as the governor of Jiangzhou, but the position of chief governor was still vacant. The governor took over the power on his behalf, making him have no sense of existence.

At present, Ouyang Rong was promoted at the right time to fill this position.

At the subsequent luncheon, Ouyang Rong found that the people who came to toast him looked at him differently.

It is reverence and admiration.

In the officialdom, in addition to the big threshold from local official to capital official, the sixth grade to the fifth grade is also an important threshold, which makes many scholars turn their heads.

Ouyang Rong crossed over easily.

To be honest, the speed is a bit fierce...

After serving as the Dragon City Order for a year, Ouyang Rong was deeply impressed by the vast power boundaries of such local officials.

Among the ten roads in the world, in terms of fertility, Jiangnan Road is located in the middle and upper reaches, which is the hinterland of the southern country.

There are only a few Shangzhous on Jiangnan Road, and Jiangzhou is one of them. There are a lot of floods, but it is also accompanied by developed water transport trade routes, which control the lifeline of Jiangnan transportation.

Jiang Governor Shi who is about to take office... doesn't know how many resources he can mobilize and how much profit distribution he can control.

I remember a long time ago, during the Dragon Boat Festival grain price war, a certain big grain merchant who was domineering was said to have a long history from Hongzhou next door. It can be imagined that he had a lot of face.

After a good meal, the luncheon was over.

After bidding farewell to the enthusiastic crowd, Ouyang Rong temporarily returned to Meilu Garden to pick up his luggage.

The Li brothers and sisters have vacated the Su Mansion. On Luming Street, there are ten carriages carrying luggage and dozens of maids and slaves waiting.

Ouyang Rong said goodbye to the concierge, took his backpack and went out lightly.

The two parties met up and drove away from the county town to Zheyi Canal on the outskirts of the city.
To be continued...