Ouyang Rong got up early in the morning and made excuses to send away the white-haired maid who was going to help him get dressed.

"What happened last night..."

Wintersweet blossoms were blooming outside the window. In the quiet room, Ouyang Rong stood up, muttered, and walked to the table to sit down.

He closed his eyes and sank into the Tower of Merit.

"It's strange, I suddenly gained a lot of merit in the middle of the night..."

Go inside the tower.

Ouyang Rong touched his chin and looked above the small wooden fish. There were more than 500 more merit figures than before going to bed last night.

He couldn't help but fell into deep thought.

In the past, Ouyang Rong had long been used to the crisp sound of wooden fish ringing in his ears from time to time. Sometimes he couldn't sleep without hearing its rhythmic sound.

But at midnight last night, while he was sleeping soundly, a series of rapid and crisp wooden fish sounds suddenly sounded.

Ouyang Rong opened his eyes in confusion, was stunned for a moment, then turned over and went back to sleep.

I only realized this in hindsight this morning, and it was a bit strange.

"Already have 1,589 points of merit? Last night it increased by more than 500 points."

Ouyang Rong lazily supported his chin with the back of his hand, his tone a little confused:

"It's a bit strange. I slept well, and where did I earn merit? I don't seem to have done any good deeds worthy of note recently...could it be an unintentional act?"

After he got up, his chaotic thoughts became clearer, and he muttered in thought:

"He also said that it was the folks from Longcheng who erected another monument and statue for me."

Ouyang Rong pondered for a while and shook his head.

If you can't figure it out, don't worry about it anymore.

Anyway, as long as he did a good deed, it didn't matter to him as to whether it was salvation or who it affected.

Someone who does good deeds every day smiled sheepishly.

"Very well, a gentleman's day begins with five hundred meritorious deeds."

Ouyang Rong was in a good mood and called Ye Weila. After washing and eating, he took out Dongmei and went out with his two attendants.

Go to Jiangzhou lobby for check-in.

Now that the Yuanzheng holiday has passed, the decorations full of New Year's Eve festive atmosphere have been put away by every household on the streets he passed by while riding Dongmei.

Every market place in Xunyang City returned to normal fireworks.

The second year of God's blessing brings a new start to the new year, but the affairs of the Jiangzhou lobby were extremely busy at the beginning of the year.

The "one-year plan" in many states and counties requires Ouyang Rong, the long history, to initiate it.

For example, at Jiangzhou Official School, scholars and students have gradually arrived from all over the country, and they need to pay tribute before the school starts.

That is to say, go to the temple of the Most Holy Master and set up wine and food to offer libations to the Holy Master.

For another example, according to the local boatman customs in Jiangzhou, a sacrificial ceremony needs to be held at Xunyang Ferry at the beginning of the year.

To worship an ancient sage who died by drowning, and to bless the boats on the Xunyang River with good weather.

This is the official sacrifice officially recognized by the Zhou Dynasty, and it is not considered an evil ritual.

It even requires the local governor and chief historian to personally take the lead and preside over it.

This is called adapting to the place and staying close to the people.

There are many things like this.

Just when many officials in the Jiangzhou government who came to report were still immersed in the lazy inertia of the holidays and found it difficult to extricate themselves,

Ouyang Rong had already sorted out his thoughts and devoted himself energetically to the official affairs of the state.

In the morning, after sorting out the process plan for Jiangzhou Official School’s Buddhist memorial ceremony and Xunyangdu Sacrifice,

Ouyang Rong was in the main hall at noon, ate the lunch brought by his entourage, lay down at his workstation, and took a short lunch break.

Suddenly I was awakened by a series of footsteps outside the main hall.

"Mingfu, the boat of the eminent monk Mahahui has arrived at Xunyang Ferry."

Ouyang Rong woke up suddenly, and his knees that were sitting cross-legged "clacked", indicating that he was committing a crime.

He was a little confused: "Who is the great eminent monk Mahamati? Who is he?"

Yan Liulang, who took the lead in delivering the message, scratched his head:

"Oh, I forgot, that's what the flag on the ship said, it should be Master Shandao.

"I heard that Master Shandao spread the Buddhism of the Lotus Sect widely and became famous among the people of Luo Jing. Before leaving the capital, His Majesty specially conferred the title of 'Mahahui' and granted him the title of eminent monk who protects the country."

Next to Yan Liulang, there was a middle-aged man who was proficient in Buddhism and couldn't help but interject:

"This eminent monk who protects the country has only one title among the Buddhist sects in the world. He is truly an expert."

The eyes of all the officials were solemn and respectful.

"Mahili?"

Ouyang Rong couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye.

Good guy, this Master Shandao came back from a long trip. Not only did his demeanor change, his name was gilded, and he almost didn’t recognize him anymore.

Is it possible that there is already a sadly thick barrier between me and Master Shandao?

Ouyang Rong thought to himself secretly.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go to Xunyangdu to meet Shandao... No, eminent monk Mahamati."

A certain Jiang governor nodded and stood up calmly.

Among the officials on the corridor, a junior official asked:

"Sir Changshi, there seem to be officials from the Ministry of Rites accompanying the ship. They are all nobles from the capital of God. Why don't we inform the governor?"

Ouyang Rong rubbed the red right side of his face that was numb from sleep, calmly passed by Yan Liulang and other officials, and walked outside.

Everyone heard the slender back of the weak-headed official say something lightly:

"Master Wang must have gone early. He never misses this kind of thing. Do you still need us to inform him?"

He curled his lips and said, "If we need to notify him, he won't go. If he will go, we won't need to notify him."

Yan Liulang and others were stunned, nodded suddenly, and quickly followed.

When they arrived at Xunyangdu Pier, everyone suddenly discovered that what Master Chang Shi said was indeed correct.

Jiangzhou Governor Wang Chajia, who had never been seen during the day, had arrived quietly long ago and was parked quietly under a row of tall locust trees outside the pier.

Looking over, Wang Lengran had already received the "Great Wisdom Monk" and the officials from the Ministry of Rites, and was walking out of the pier while chatting with them.

Ouyang Rong could see the shiny little bald head in the front row of the team from a distance.

This shiny little bald man stood obediently next to a certain amiable old monk with an immortal spirit in the front.

Seeing these two familiar figures, Ouyang Rong smiled.

After taking a second look, I saw that Master Shandao and the monks were not very grand, but rather low-key.

Of course, except for the purple gold cassock worn by Master Shandao that almost blinded everyone's eyes in the sun.

He is indeed an eminent monk who protects the country.

Someone murmured in his heart.

However, after chewing it for a while, he felt that the title given to him by the "Great Wisdom Monk" was a bit strange, especially the word "Great Wisdom".

Wait, doesn’t Mahamati mean great wisdom, a great wise monk?

After a while, Ouyang Rong and Wang Lengran received Master Shandao and his entourage at the gate outside Xunyangdu.

Wang Lengran was smiling and full of enthusiasm. He wanted to hold a banquet in Xunyang Tower to entertain the old abbot of Donglin Temple who was very popular in the court and public circles of Luoyang and a celebrity of the Buddhist sect in front of His Majesty.

However, Master Shandao declined the banquet with a kind and kind expression, citing the long journey and the fact that monks should not be extravagant and wasteful.

Immediately, the "Great Wisdom Monk" took Xiufa and other closed disciples to Lin'an Temple in Chaisangfang to stay temporarily.

Wang Lengran is not easy to force.

However, in the afternoon, the Jiangzhou governor took his close officials and ran to Lin'an Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha. By the way, he invited Master Shandao to talk about Zen and debate. After struggling for a while, he left...

Ouyang Rong did not join in the fun in the afternoon. He only exchanged a few words with Master Shandao and then turned around to receive the officials of the Ministry of Etiquette.

Ouyang Rong understood some of the situation, and then returned to the Jiangzhou lobby to work.

In the evening, when the last bell rang, he got up immediately and returned to the Huaiye Lane mansion.

At the door of the house, he took the hot towel and wiped his face, then turned around and ordered his entourage to take a message to Prince Xunyang's Mansion to find his junior sister.

The night is getting darker.

Half an hour later, Xie Lingjiang's driver arrived at the entrance of the Huaiye Lane mansion.

The door opened, and Zhen Shuyuan, who worshiped Buddhism every day, walked out dignifiedly, taking Ye Weila out in an unusual manner.
To be continued...