Aunt Chen is back from the world of cultivation

The Lu Ming Banquet is the first step for newly promoted scholars to officially enter the local official circle.

Not only the chief examiner, but also many local prominent officials will participate.

In places like Nandu City, some lords would also come to the banquet.

Originally, the first place winner should have been the most popular among the candidates, but he was already thirty-five or thirty-six years old, and the dignitaries were not very interested in choosing a son-in-law or a disciple.

Several big shots just said a few polite words to him as a routine and then left him aside.

On the contrary, the second place winner, Yayuan, was only nineteen years old, handsome, and good at poetry. He was the most popular candidate in the entire banquet.

The chief examiner and the governor all liked him, and other dignitaries who had daughters or granddaughters of marriageable age also liked him and extended olive branches to him.

The rest of the young, unmarried candidates were also very welcome.

Teacher Qiao was envious.

Once again, I secretly hated myself for getting married too early.

However, he also had his opportunities.

He waited patiently until the examiner, Mr. Zhang, was about to leave, and then he immediately chased after him.

"Master, please stay! Your student Qiao has something important to tell you!"

Before Zhang Jinghong got into the sedan chair, he stopped him.

Zhang Jinghong was somewhat displeased. This scholar was so tactless.

Even a newly-minted Jinshi meant nothing to him, let alone a Juren.

The reason why he came to attend the Lu Ming Banquet was, on the one hand, because of his duty, and on the other hand, he also wanted to see if there were any promising talents who could contribute to the family's power.

As for ordinary candidates, they were able to say a few words to him at the Lu Ming Banquet, but that did not mean that after that banquet, they would still be qualified to cling to him endlessly by relying on the title of the teacher.

However, out of concern for his reputation, he stopped and asked indifferently:

"What do you want to say?"

Teacher Qiao did not dare to talk nonsense, and seized the opportunity to say:

"Master, I heard that the eldest son of the Jingnan Marquis's mansion has suffered from impotence. I happen to have a way to make Young Master Pei recover quickly."

These words immediately aroused Zhang Jinghong's interest.

Although he knew that the other party was trying to curry favor with him by taking advantage of this matter, he didn't mind giving the other party some benefits if he could really find a famous doctor.

"Is this true?"

Qiao's teacher and friend vowed to increase their confidence:

"If I am not absolutely sure, how dare I speak nonsense in front of the teacher?"

"This matter is of great importance. Master, may I have a word with you?"

Zhang Jinghong was a little impatient, but he suppressed it for the sake of his nephew's illness.

Those who can pass the imperial examination have nothing in their heads. Unless they are out of their minds, they should have reliable information.

They found a private room in a nearby restaurant and sat down.

Teacher Qiao also asked to send away all the outsiders and keep only the most trustworthy ones, and Zhang Jinghong patiently satisfied their requests one by one.

"Can you tell me now?"

Teacher and friend Qiao was also very straightforward and told them that the abbot of Cihang Temple could cure all kinds of diseases and injuries, and that even the wife of Tongzhi Yan and the wife of Yushi Yuan were both devout believers of Cihang Temple.

Zhang Jinghong frowned suspiciously.

The main driving force behind the Jingnan Marquis's Mansion's current situation because of a trivial incident was Co-Governor Yan and Censor Yuan.

One of these two people held an open trial of the case and kept accusing the Jingnan Marquis's Mansion.

The other was to write a letter to expose the case in the Jingnan Marquis' Mansion.

Previously, they had always believed that there must be an extremely powerful person behind Cihang Temple who was able to command these two people.

It's just that the person hid too deeply, so they have never been able to find him.

Now, the words of this scholar seem to point in another direction.

"Why are you sure that these people worship the Cihang Temple because of the temple master's ability and not for other reasons?"

Qiao Shiyou said:

"Because my father-in-law Qin Dafu and his family are devout believers of Cihang Temple, and are highly respected by the temple master. Therefore, I am very familiar with the internal affairs and rules of Cihang Temple."

Zhang Jinghong was greatly surprised.

He had an impression of Qin Dafu.

The people sent by the Zhang family to investigate had already found out that many wealthy businessmen's families loved to visit Cihang Temple.

Qin Dafu is the most diligent one among them.

In order to avoid alerting the enemy, the investigators did not dare to question these wealthy businessmen rashly.

Now it seems that they were thinking in the wrong direction.

The Zhang family and the Jingnan Marquisate have been investigating for so long but have not been able to find the big man behind the scenes, not because the other party is too mysterious.

But there is no such person at all!

The reason why Cihang Temple dared to ignore the Jingnan Marquis' Mansion and kept pursuing even the slightest offense was probably because it was provoked by these wealthy or noble believers.

But conversely, we can speculate that the reason why Cihang Temple is so popular among believers must be because it has real skills!

Jin'er's illness has not improved despite consulting so many famous doctors. I'm afraid the only hope for a cure is at Cihang Temple!

Zhang Jinghong was already somewhat interested and could not help but ask Master Qiao to tell him more about what the Cihang Temple was capable of.

Teacher Qiao then told the story of how the old lady from the Qin family grew new teeth out of thin air, how the spots on his wife and mother-in-law's faces disappeared in a very short period of time, and how his mother-in-law went to Cihang Temple and came back looking ten years younger.

Zhang Jinghong felt hot in his heart when he heard this.

If the feud between the two families is put aside, he would like to pay his respects to the abbot of Cihang Temple!

The most difficult thing in the world is to create something out of nothing and to regain youth, but the master of this temple can achieve all of this within the time of a stick of incense. Even if he is not a god, he is comparable to a god!

No wonder she had the confidence to be so relentless in the face of the offense from the Jingnan Marquis's Mansion.

How many powerful people would be able to resist bowing down to such a person if they knew of his ability?

He immediately understood why the Jingnan Marquis's Mansion had been seeking famous doctors in Nandu, but had no idea about the abilities of the abbot of Cihang Temple.

On the one hand, everyone wants to keep such a powerful hermit a secret.

On the other hand, these good officials probably also made a choice between Cihang Temple and Jingnan Marquis' Mansion.

In their hearts, the status of Cihang Temple is obviously higher than that of the outsider Jingnan Marquis' Mansion.

"My dear teacher, I want to thank you for providing me with the information about the miracle doctor."

"But now things are difficult to handle. You must have heard about the feud between the Jingnan Marquis's Mansion and the Cihang Temple. I am afraid that the temple master is unwilling to help Brother Jin."

Zhang Jinghong's smile became warmer and he looked at his teacher Qiao expectantly.

He remembered that the intelligence obtained by the Zhang family's investigation said that Qin Dafu was very familiar with the Taoist nuns in Cihang Temple.

It can be seen that he has a say in Cihang Temple.

This scholar has a close relationship with Qin Dafu, and we will definitely be able to find a breakthrough through him.

How could Master Qiao not see that Lord Zhang had been convinced by what he had said? He was extremely impressed by the abilities of the abbot of Cihang Temple and could not help but feel secretly delighted.

But he began to ask for benefits in a tactful way:

"I feel sorry for what happened to Master Pei, but if you ask the believers, you will know that it is extremely difficult to ask the temple master to take action once..."

Zhang Jinghong has been in the officialdom for many years, so he naturally knows that there is no such thing as a free lunch and that all benefits require a price.

"what do you want?"

He was impatient to beat around the bush with such a young scholar, so he asked directly.

Teacher Qiao was stunned for a moment, and then directly stated his request:

"The student wants to be your disciple!"

Zhang Jinghong squinted at him, and he seemed to have a big appetite.

I don’t know if this is what Qin Dafu meant.

Although he was willing to pay a high price for Jin Ge'er's illness, he still tried his best not to affect his official career under certain conditions.

He remembered that this candidate seemed to be ranked last, and his character was unknown. As the leader of the Zhang family of this generation, he could not just accept a student and bring disgrace to the family.

Teacher Qiao felt a little guilty after being looked at, and was about to back off, but then he heard Zhang Jinghong say:

"If you can't become my disciple, you can ask my third brother to accept you as his disciple."

The Zhang family has produced several Jinshi (imperial examination) scholars over several generations. Qiao Shiyou also knows Zhang Jinghong's third brother. Although he does not hold a higher position than Zhang Jinghong, he is now a distinguished Hanlin. He was a first-class scholar in the second class of the imperial examination.

Being able to become his disciple is something that many candidates wish for but cannot achieve.

"Thank you, Master!"

Teacher Qiao said excitedly.

He originally thought that even if he helped cure the young master of the Pei family, he could at most gain the favor of a benefactor. It would still be difficult to become his disciple, and he needed to find another way.

I never expected things to go so smoothly.

"Don't thank me yet. I will keep my promise after Jin Ge'er is cured!"

"Teacher, rest assured, I will do my best to make this happen! Just wait for good news!"

On the way back, Teacher Qiao's face was flushed with excitement.

He had already thought of a plan for this matter, and it would definitely succeed.

It won’t be long before he becomes Zhang Hanlin’s student, and his future will be bright from then on!