Aunt Chen is back from the world of cultivation

After a day and night of trekking, Chen Qingzhu finally returned to Nandu the next morning.

Without taking time to rest, she went straight back to Cihang Temple.

From a mile or two away, you can hear the sound of children from the Salesian Church reading aloud.

Chen Qingzhu used the invisibility technique and landed on the roof of the entrance of the Salesian Church, watching the situation inside.

Five or six months later, the entire Salesian Church was expanded with some more buildings.

Now, Mo Niang is teaching about a hundred children in a large house.

The children sat in order from short to tall, with a sandbox in front of them for learning to write.

On the other side, Kundao from the Discipline Hall was practicing marching and boxing with about a hundred children.

Some of the kids were taking care of younger babies.

There were many new women with unfamiliar faces in the laundry room, kitchen, etc., doing laundry and cooking.

Inside the Cihang Temple, some of the female Taoists were practicing, some were cleaning and receiving pilgrims.

There were still scattered pilgrims burning incense in several halls.

Everything is in order.

It can be seen that the imperial edict from the capital has not yet been delivered.

Chen Qingzhu felt relieved, turned around and left for the Nandu government office.

When the imperial edict was delivered, the first stop was the Nandu government office, so that she could understand their actions at the first time.

Chen Qingzhu rested near the government office for more than two hours. The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict and a dozen imperial guards also arrived at the Nandu government office.

The other party arrogantly stated that all the nobles and officials above the fifth rank in Nandu would come to the government office in two hours to receive his orders.

Yan Qingzhi had no choice but to send yamen runners to various prefectures to invite people.

Two hours later, all the dignitaries in Nandu gathered in the courtyard of the government office, and the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict read it out in public.

The gist of it is that the abbot of Nandu Cihang Temple, who was later named the Supreme National Master, is now discovered by His Majesty to be a traitor and an evil heretic. His position as National Master is now abolished, and anyone who privately worships him or has dealings with him will be treated as a traitor.

At the same time, he ordered the Nandu garrison camp to send 5,000 soldiers to Cihang Temple to capture all the disciples of Cihang Temple.

All devout believers of Cihang Temple must go to the imperial commissioner to surrender and confess their crimes in order to seek lenient treatment. Those who admit their mistakes sincerely will be forgiven.

After hearing the imperial edict, the expressions of all the officials present changed drastically.

Ever since the second son of the Qin family was appointed as the Chief Clerk of the Imperial Preceptor's Office, the identity of the abbot of Cihang Temple, now the Grand Imperial Preceptor, has spread throughout the city of Nandu.

Therefore, even though the abbess was not in Nandu, officials and nobles in the city still rushed to Cihang Temple to offer sacrifices in an attempt to please her or at least not offend her.

Every single person present went to the Cihang Temple to burn incense.

Most of them did not know Chen Qingzhu's true ability. They only knew that she seemed to be good at medicine, and guessed that she was favored by Emperor Yong'an because of her medical skills.

Now, after hearing this imperial edict, they immediately began to turn against their allies.

"Your Excellency, please be clear. We just followed the trend and went to the Cihang Temple to burn incense. We have nothing to do with the abbot of the Cihang Temple!"

"Yes, we are loyal subjects for generations. How could we ever think of betraying His Majesty?"

For a moment, ordinary pilgrims who confessed their crimes almost surrounded the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict.

Minister Li of the Ministry of War's expression changed for a moment, and he immediately walked out.

Seeing this, Yan Qingzhi, the prefect of Nandu, quickly blocked his way:

"Master Li, what are you doing?"

Minister Li stared at him coldly:

"Of course I will lead the troops myself to capture the rebels in Cihang Temple!"

"Are you trying to stop me, Prefect Yan?"

Yan Qingzhi tried to maintain a calm smile:

"Master Li, you are joking. At such a critical moment, we naturally need to find out everyone's movements so as to prevent anyone from tipping off Cihang Temple."

Minister Li looked at him mockingly:

"I am loyal to His Majesty, but you, Lord Yan, I heard that your wife often goes to Cihang Temple to burn incense. It is possible that you tipped off Cihang Temple!"

Yan Qingzhi naturally expressed his loyalty immediately, saying that it was just a woman's matter and he never got involved. He always had a clear distinction between right and wrong.

Minister Li sneered:

"Whether they are colluding with Cihang Temple or not, we will know once I catch those Cihang Temple rebels!"

After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and left.

The internal garrison commander Liang Bao also followed after him.

Eunuchs love to take credit, and it was obvious that they went to compete with Minister Li for credit.

Yan Qingzhi watched all this and felt extremely confused.

He never expected that the situation of the temple master in the capital was obviously very good, but it suddenly turned out like this.

Not only was he labeled a traitor to the party, but he was also implicated in Nandu.

But he has a deep connection with Cihang Temple. When the temple master went to the capital, he was received by the Yan family. How could His Majesty believe that he is innocent...

He subconsciously looked at Duke Dingguo, hoping that he, who was also a devout believer and held military power, could make an idea.

However, Duke Dingguo clearly met his gaze but then looked away without giving any response.

Yan Qingzhi's heart sank immediately.

Duke Dingguo is a first-rank duke in the Wei Dynasty, which is already the highest honor. How could he give up all of this for the sake of the temple master and openly go against the court?

Without hesitating for too long, he made up his mind.

Rather than being a criminal in the court, it is better to support the master of the temple unwaveringly.

At least in the eyes of the temple master, he is considered one of the top veterans.

At this point, the best option is to bet on the strength of the spectator.

Thinking of this, he immediately left while no one was paying attention to him and sent his confidant to deliver a letter to Cihang Temple.

In addition, he also sent someone to find Qin Dafu, informing him of today's imperial edict and the current situation, and gave him a token for passing through Nandu City at night.

The abbot has always trusted Qin Dafu, and perhaps he told him something else before leaving.

If the other party is informed of the situation at the first possible moment, perhaps a way can be found to rescue the disciples of Cihang Temple and resolve the crisis facing these devout believers.

Finally, he asked someone to tell his wife to pack up her belongings immediately and be ready to escape at any time.