"Master, there is another unusual news. Liu Zian, who is in charge of Guyue Sword Shop, suddenly summoned a small group of qualified swordsmiths this morning and gathered at Longshou Terrace by the river. Outsiders are not allowed to approach within half a mile.
, even the swordsmiths who forge swords in nearby sword furnaces are not allowed to watch."
Ouyang Rong was curious, "What is this going on? Is there any shameful thing going on?"
Liu Ashan considered:
"I suspect it may have something to do with the products released today by the Jia San Sword Furnace. The two things are too close together. The Dragon Head Platform by the river is very close to the Jia San Sword Furnace.
"I remember that in a sword shop, when a famous sword of good quality is released, there will be a sword cleaning ceremony."
"The ceremony will be presided over by a priest from the temple, some sacrifices will be killed, and the sword body will be watered with water from the Butterfly Creek. This is the same process in the past, and it may be the same this time."
Ouyang Rong muttered: "Then why are you still hiding it? What is coming out is something shameful... By the way, killing a sacrifice? What kind of sacrifice?"
Liu Ashan could see some concern from the expression of the young county magistrate. He shook his head and explained: "They all use chickens, sheep and livestock."
Ouyang Rong nodded thoughtfully, "The new sword is coming out, and there is a sword cleaning ceremony... The news about the Liu family is really confusing."
"Master, what should we do now?"
Ouyang Rong sighed: "What else can be done? The West Bank Sword Shop is their private property, almost a small autonomous kingdom. The county government has no reason to intervene... This is the hateful thing about these powerful squires.
"
Liu Ashan hesitated and couldn't help asking:
"Master, haven't the Liu family bowed their heads now? They are cooperating with the county government to build the Di Gong Gate. Do we still need to continue to monitor it?"
Ouyang Rong said seriously:
"The more friendly you are, the less you can let down your guard. Ah Shan, will you be able to be friends with the jackal because of its submissiveness?
"The matter between me and the Liu family is not over yet. I even suspect that Di Gong Gate is just a stop-gap measure for the Liu family. The Zheyi Canal built by the county government may very well touch on the core interests of the Liu family.
"But what this core interest is, I haven't thought about it yet... The main reason is that the time I came to Longcheng is too short, and I still know too little about the Liu family, so I need you to help me find out more."
He squinted: "Sometimes some key clues are hidden in trivial things."
Liu Ashan nodded heavily: "I understand, sir, I will ask someone to find out more about the details of today's sword washing ceremony and the new sword."
"Okay, let everyone pay attention to safety."
Ouyang Rong nodded, and Liu Ashan clasped his fists to say goodbye. But just as the latter turned to leave, Ouyang Rong, who was thinking hard, suddenly felt something in his heart. He raised his head and asked:
"Wait a minute, Ah Shan, when did you say the sword-washing ceremony took place in the morning?"
Liu Ashan thought for a moment and replied: "It's the second quarter of the first lunar month."
Ouyang Rong stood up and walked around the room with his hands behind his back, as if recalling something, and whispered:
"The inexplicable merit just now seems to have happened around this time. It's almost the same. Could it be related..."
But how could he be related to the sword-washing ceremony that took place at Guyue Sword Shop on the far west bank?
Ouyang Rong frowned.
According to the principle of not caring about one's heart, every time one gains merit, it affects certain people or things and produces some kind of positive effect. The greater the influence, the greater the merit returned... This is the general logic.
And now, what influence can Ouyang Rong exert on the Guyue Sword Shop on the other side, which he has never set foot in before, and it is still positive.
And this "influence" was exerted before this morning, and then this morning, it had a special intersection with this thing that was probably the sword washing ceremony, and then the merit value was fed back.
Ouyang Rong nodded slowly, this is a logical chain that can be explained relatively well.
Of course, if you insist on saying that this is a disaster relief camp and other past actions and coincidentally saved a family, so the merit points were returned, this logic is not impossible, but it is too coincidental.
Ouyang Rong touched his chin and thought carefully about what he had done in the past few days.
"So, who have I had an impact on in the past few days... There must be some aunts, Wei Lai, but they never leave the gate of Meiluyuan.
"Little junior sister? She was at the Su Mansion in the morning and would come to the county office in the afternoon to take care of the child care department. It doesn't look like her.
"Ah Qing? It was her birthday yesterday. She came over to have dinner and I gave her a gift. This should be considered an influence. Then she is now... Hey, where does Ah Qing work?"
Ouyang Rong suddenly turned around and asked Liu Ashan, who was stunned:
"Where is Ah Qing?"
"At the Sword Spike Workshop."
Ouyang Rong immediately asked: "Where is the Sword Spike Workshop? Is it Guyue Sword Shop!?"
Liu Ashan nodded.
"Ah Qing works for the Liu family, why didn't you tell me before?"
Liu Ashan blushed and said:
"This is a trivial matter, I didn't bother the master... A while ago, when the relationship between the master and the Liu family was tense, I asked her to come back and not go. But later, after Mrs. Liu bowed her head, she ran over by herself, saying it was a habit.
This is the only way she can help her family...
"I didn't stop her. My sister is usually soft-tempered, but even ten cows can't get her back on something she's sure of... And I think the sword shop has such a big industry, with so many craftsmen, slaves, and thousands of people on the West Bank, the Liu family should
You don’t notice such small things.”
"Don't think so! Don't take chances either!"
Ouyang Rong immediately interrupted and frowned:
"Local snakes like the Liu family have far more information channels than we do, so don't underestimate them!"
He stared at Liu Ashan and said word by word:
"And we must never take risks with our loved ones. No matter how stubborn they are, we have to pull them back, because if something happens, we can't afford it!"
This was the first time Liu Ashan saw his master speaking so seriously and angry to him. He was in awe and nodded vigorously:
"Master, I was negligent. This brother failed in his duty. I...I will go and bring Ah Qing back now!"
"etc."
Ouyang Rong turned around to change clothes and said without looking back: "I'll go with you!"
…
afternoon.
Next to Penglangdu Pier.
A carriage parked quietly under the shade of willow trees by the river, in sharp contrast to the bustling streets next to it.
In the carriage, Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang were silent.
Ouyang Rong opened the curtains from time to time and glanced at the boat at the ferry not far away.
Xie Lingjiang looked at his senior brother curiously.
She was called over temporarily by her senior brother, as if there was something important.
"Brother, are you okay?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head and looked at the scenery outside the window.
On the other side of the Butterfly Creek, there are sword furnaces erected, spitting out green smoke all the time. Looking from a distance, these sword furnaces of Guyue Jianpu give people a heavy feeling in their hearts.
Ouyang Rong was a little worried that the Liu family had already noticed A Qing and tried to obstruct him.
He has always been quite pessimistic about many things and always prepares for the worst.
However, many things just slide in the expected pessimistic direction.
It seemed to be the case now, and he didn't know whether it was because he was too impatient or because he really couldn't wait for a long time. Ouyang Rong tightened his cuffs for a while.
In his heart, Ah Qing is more than just his subordinate's sister.
Ouyang Rong woke up in Donglin Temple and met A Qing and her family for the first time. This was his first contact with the lower class people in Longcheng County.
It can be said that this was one of the original motivations that inspired him to go down the mountain to provide disaster relief and flood control.
Ouyang Rong clearly knew for whom he, the magistrate of Longcheng County, was going to benefit.
It is true that he is the parent official of Longcheng County, but if it is more specific, he should be the parent official of most poor people, not the local tyrants and gentry of several surnames.
This is an important point.
Ah Qing's family is the starting point for this concept to gain a foothold.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was quiet.
Xie Lingjiang stared at the senior brother who frequently opened the curtains and looked outside for a while, and opened her mouth to speak, but at this moment, she saw her senior brother's tense expression suddenly relaxed.
As if a heavy burden had been lifted from his mind, before Xie Lingjiang could get curious, there was a sound of footsteps coming from outside the carriage.
A tall, thin man covered in sweat came to the carriage under the shade of a tree with a delicate girl carrying a baggage. The two of them had the word "Yue" tattooed on their foreheads, and they boarded the carriage together.
Liu Ashan picked up the reins, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and drove away from the ferry.
As soon as Ah Qing entered the carriage, Ouyang Rong immediately took over the baggage and grabbed his thin wrist. He was relieved and stared at him.
"Master, what are you doing?" Ah Qing asked shyly.
"No...it's okay."
Noticing the glances from the junior sister next to him, Ouyang Rong reacted, quickly let go of Ah Qing's wrist, and sat back down.
After leaving the official's office in the morning, Liu Ashan listened to Ouyang Rong's words and immediately went to find a reliable brother under him and asked him to take a boat to Guyue Sword Shop to bring a message to Ah Qing. He found an excuse that his mother was sick and told Ah Qing to do whatever he wanted.
All must return immediately.
Liu Ashan did not go to the sword shop on the other side in person. He followed Ouyang Rong's advice to prevent Liu's people from discovering him.
Fortunately, Ah Qing returned safe and sound, and Mrs. Liu didn't seem to notice anything unusual.
In the slowly moving carriage, Ah Qing blushed for a while, remembering something important, and immediately asked urgently:
"Sir, what happened to my mother at home? My brother didn't tell me anything on the way."
Ouyang Rong shook his head, "Your mother is fine. Your brother and I were worried about your safety at the Liu Family Sword Shop, so we found an excuse to let you come back quickly. Don't blame your brother."
"this……"
Ouyang Rong looked at Ah Qing's somewhat troubled expression.
The girl seemed to understand something. Obviously, Liu Ashan should have discussed the pros and cons with her before and asked her not to work at the Liu Family Sword Shop anymore, but the little girl was obviously quite stubborn.
Seeing that Ah Qing seemed to be hesitant to speak, Ouyang Rong asked first:
"You don't even listen to what I say?"
"Ah Qing listen... listen to the master."
Ah Qing looked at the clothes Ouyang Rong was wearing today. It was the new robe he gave him yesterday, and she replied in a low voice.
Ouyang Rong nodded with satisfaction and exhaled. As if he saw something with his eyes, he pointed at the girl's slightly red forehead and asked:
"Why is your forehead so red? Who did it?"
Ah Qing covered her red forehead from being poked by a thin-lipped female ear worker, and she shook her head like a rattle:
"It's okay, I just... accidentally fell it."
Ouyang Rong gave her a meaningful look and didn't ask any more questions.
Immediately he looked serious and said in a broad voice:
"Don't go to Guyue Sword Shop anymore. Your brother helped you quit the Sword Spike Workshop, and there is also the matter of leaving the humble family. I will help you take care of it in the next few days. You don't have to worry. You can stay at home with your mother."
, find some other work to do.”
Ah Qing saw the unyielding gaze cast by her master, looked at each other, turned away, swallowed all the words and nodded lightly.
"Ah Qing listens to the master, but..."
In the middle of speaking, the delicate girl suddenly raised her head, and her beautiful eyebrows tattooed with the word "Yue" wrinkled in a cute way:
"But there was something else I left in the sword shop, and I forgot to take it back."