Aunt Chen is back from the world of cultivation

After staying at Cihang Temple for half an hour, Duke Dingguo finally got his chance to show up in front of Taoist Master Huiyun.

Although the Taoist Master Huiyun was very young, he did not show any flattery towards the powerful Duke. He did not even invite him to the meditation room for a cup of tea. He just spoke a few words in a light tone.

Towards other people, even merchants, the same gentle and distant attitude was applied.

It truly embodies what is meant by a world beyond the ordinary, where all beings are equal and treated equally.

Such integrity made Duke Dingguo even more fascinated by the abbot of Cihang Temple.

It is precisely because the master of the temple has such extraordinary abilities that the people in Cihang Temple have the confidence to not bow to any powerful person.

On the return journey, it was the Qin family who directed all vehicles and horses to turn around and evacuate.

The carriage of the Duke's Mansion was at the end, so it was naturally the first to leave. Before leaving, Duke Dingguo thanked Qin Dafu for his hard work.

After getting in the car, the wife of Duke Dingguo asked in confusion:

"My Lord, Qin Dafu is just a businessman. Why do you have to treat him with such respect?"

Duke Dingguo glanced at her and saw that her eyes were full of contempt for Qin Dafu. Thinking that he was often away from Nandu and needed his wife to burn incense and offer sacrifices on his behalf, Duke Dingguo could not help but teach his wife seriously:

"Am I honoring a mere businessman named Qin Dafu? I am honoring the most respected believer in front of the temple master!"

"The abbot of Cihang Temple has divine powers and can cure all kinds of diseases and injuries. No matter how respectful and flattering he is, it is not excessive. When his reputation spreads, there will be many people like us who are as cunning as him. How can our Dingguo Mansion stand out?"

"We are late. If we want to catch up, we have to make friends with the managers and followers around her. Only in this way, at the critical moment, we can successfully obtain the elixir and save our lives like the Zheng family. Do you understand?"

The wife of Duke Dingguo has been in charge of the inner court for many years, so she is naturally not a fool.

Her husband had explained everything to her in so much detail, how could she not understand?

I dare not look down on those merchants and believers anymore.

Otherwise, if she ruined the impression in front of the abbot, the old man would definitely not forgive her.

She said quickly:

"Don't worry, Duke. I will do my best to become a devout believer of Cihang Temple as soon as possible."

Seeing that she had taken it seriously, Duke Dingguo said:

"Yuan Nai said that the matter of Cihang Temple should not be easily spread to others. Remember to ask the people who follow you to keep their mouths shut."

He had originally explained this matter in the letter, and the wife of Duke Dingguo also knew the seriousness of the matter, so she immediately agreed solemnly.

The two of them took a car back to the mansion.

However, they didn't know that in the Yulong Temple across the mountain, many people were anxiously waiting for the wife of Duke Dingguo to appear.

Someone of the status of the wife of Duke Dingguo would be admired by countless people wherever she went.

Many people even deliberately showed up in places where she often appeared in order to have some contact with her.

Yulong Temple is such a place for those who want to get close to her.

On the first day of July, as usual, there were many merchants, low-ranking military officers and noble families guarding Yulong Temple.

However, everyone waited in Yulong Temple from dawn until the temple closed at dusk, but the wife of Duke Dingguo did not show up.

The wife of Duke Dingguo was a person of such an important status that she was one of the most important pilgrims even in the popular Yulong Temple.

During this period, even the people from Yulong Temple sent people to the intersection to look around several times.

In the end, everyone returned disappointed.

After returning to the city, many people went to inquire about the news. Could it be that the wife of Duke Dingguo was sick, so she didn't go to Yulong Temple?

Otherwise, with her piety of burning incense on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, it would be impossible for her not to go.

However, the news brought back by the people sent out was that the wife of Duke Dingguo was fine and not sick at all.

This is strange.

What is even more strange is that the wife of Duke Dingguo not only did not go to Yulong Temple on the first day of the lunar month, but she also did not go on the fifteenth day.

This made those who were waiting to meet her even more confused.

Even the Yulong Temple began to wonder if it had done something wrong in its temple and offended the wife of Duke Dingguo.

On July 18th, wives of officials from all walks of life gathered together for a tea party at the wife of the prefect's house.

The ladies of the marquis and earl families could not avoid talking about this matter.

Although these noble families had nice-sounding titles, they now had no real power in the court and were gradually declining.

There are many sons in the family, but there is only one quota for imperial favor. He cannot study well, so he hopes to find a way out in the army.

If you want to get into the army, the only powerful people you can rely on in Nando are the Minister of War and Duke Dingguo.

The Minister of War is a civil servant, and cannot compare with a nobleman like the Duke of Dingguo. He is a natural ally of them.

Therefore, on weekdays, the wife of Duke Dingguo was often surrounded by a group of wives of marquises and earls who competed for her favor.

After hearing these people's various speculations about the reasons why the wife of Duke Dingguo did not go to Yulong Temple, Madam Yan, who was sitting below, picked up the teacup but smiled without saying a word.

Among all the people present, only she and Old Madam Yuan knew where the wife of Duke Dingguo had gone.

But she would not be so kind as to tell these people and create more rivals for her family.

Moreover, it seems that even the Duke Dingguo and his wife, after discovering the wonders of Cihang Temple, made an effort to keep it secret.

Otherwise, with these smart people in front of us, how could we still not get any news after more than half a month?

Her family now has a bottle of elixir, which is better than the Duke Dingguo's mansion.

Thinking of this, Mrs. Yan couldn't help but feel a strong sense of superiority.

Just when he was feeling proud, he heard the wife of the prefect at the top say with a smile:

"What are you laughing at, Madam Yan? Do you know the inside story?"

All the ladies' eyes were immediately focused on Madam Yan.

Mrs. Yan was so happy that she turned into sorrow and her whole body froze involuntarily.

Her mind was working rapidly, and when she saw Old Madam Yuan present, an idea suddenly came to her mind.

"I just heard about the happy event of the family of Censor Yuan, and I am very happy!"

Since both families are now believers of Cihang Temple, their relationship is naturally much closer than before. She knew about this before she came.

The topic then shifted to Old Madam Yuan.

Everyone couldn't help but ask with concern:

"Has the marriage of Old Madam Yuan's granddaughter been decided?"

In the past few months, Old Madam Yuan has been looking for a suitable family for her granddaughter, and many people present have been involved.

Although she was used as a raft by Madam Yan, this was done to cover up the incident at Cihang Temple, and Madam Yuan was not unhappy at all.

Moreover, she felt that she had found a good marriage for her granddaughter, and she was also very happy, so she smiled and replied:

"It's definitely settled. The wedding will be on the thirteenth of next month."

Everyone immediately said that she was unkind for not even sending them an invitation.

Old Madam Yuan smiled and said:

"Isn't this the opportunity I've been looking for to tell you? My daughter Mo will have to rely on you aunts to take care of her when she lives in the southern capital city!"

Everyone asked which family it was.

Old Madam Yuan said:

"It's not a rich family, but it's a decent family that has been passed down from generation to generation through farming and studying. The young man is a student of the Imperial College. He is handsome and has a very good reputation and conduct. There is only one widowed mother at home. She is very kind and has a good temper. When she heard about our Mo Niang, she was very satisfied and said that she would let her be the manager of the household after she got married."

"A student of the Imperial College? That proves that he passed the imperial examination at such a young age. You have great potential!"

Hearing someone praise her future grandson-in-law, Old Madam Yuan felt proud and tried to be reserved and said:

"Indeed, he is not bad. He passed the imperial examination at the age of 19 and will go to the capital to try his luck next year."

Someone else asked:

"So, you're already in your early twenties, why didn't you tell anyone about her before?"

Madam Yuan was in a good mood and patiently answered everyone's questions:

"This child is very ambitious. He said that it was not easy for his mother to support him to study alone, and he would never get married without passing the imperial examination. Later, his mother was attracted by our Mo Niang's gentle personality, so she forced the marriage to be settled!"

After hearing this, everyone praised the child for being filial and ambitious!

Although this scholar's family background was not high, he passed the imperial examination at a young age and had a good appearance and character. For a young lady from an official family like Mo Niang who was not valued by her biological father, he was a good husband.

Everyone congratulated them and asked Old Madam Yuan to remember to send them wedding invitations so that they could attend the wedding banquet.

Old Madam Yuan naturally agreed readily.

The reason why she put aside past grudges and frequently attended these banquets was not just to make Mo Niang's wedding a grand one and to make her respected in her husband's family.

*

August is approaching.

For many official families in the southern capital, there is another extremely important thing, that is, the provincial examination.

All noble families have only one quota and one title, and the rest have to earn their own future.

The imperial court valued civil officials over military officials, and most noble families had to squeeze into the narrow path of the imperial examination.

Especially for a family like theirs, if they had a juren title, they would find a way to make it happen and let their children become officials.

Therefore, the provincial examination becomes particularly important.

In order to prevent cheating, the selection of the chief examiner for the provincial examination in the southern capital city is particularly critical.

As everyone was eagerly waiting, the candidates for the chief examiner of the provincial examination were finally sent to the Nandu government office today.

Counting the days, I'm afraid it won't take long for this person to reach the Southern Capital.

Tongzhi Yan didn't care much about the provincial examination at first.

After all, his son had already become a juren, and there would be no illegitimate sons in the mansion this year.

The examination for a bunch of young officials who were not even scholars was not worthy of his attention at all.

However, when he saw the examiner's name, he was so shocked that he almost fell off his chair.