Chapter 561: Chapter 553: Let’s Discuss How to Repay Favors
Qin Liuxi finished her dinner at An Residence and received a reward of ten thousand taels of gold, which almost dazzled her eyes and made her fingers tremble.
Grandmaster, did you see that? Your little ancestor was outstanding—I’m the strongest at earning money!
No wonder the halls of Jinhua Temple all have gilded roofs, and the statues are made of gold; there really are too many wealthy people in Shengjing!
But out of the ten thousand taels, she only touched them briefly, taking three thousand taels of gold and not touching the rest.
“Why did the Junior Temple Master only take part of it?” Mrs. An couldn’t help but ask, worried it might have been too generous a gift.
What a good person indeed!
Qin Liuxi explained, “Qingping Temple is devoted to the Dao and also accumulates yin de. Please use the remaining reward money in the name of Li City Qingping Temple to exchange for rice, clothing, quilts, and other necessities to be delivered to various Charitable Halls and refugee camps.”
Mrs. An was stunned.
Lord An looked over too, evidently somewhat distressed yet surprised by her generosity.
“Take it away, take it away,” Qin Liuxi pushed away the tray of gold, avoiding looking at it, for fear of being reluctant to let go.
Mrs. An couldn’t help but laugh, saying, “If the Junior Temple Master wishes to do good deeds, we can also make donations in the name of your temple separately. You should keep these rewards. The issue with my son was resolved so perfectly, and you have also brought us a household immortal; you deserve this reward.”
Qin Liuxi shook her head: “Madam, there’s no need, for every reward we receive, we must give back a portion to help the commoners; it’s also about forming good connections and accumulating yin de, so you don’t need to give anything more. Let this reward be a good cause of Qingping Temple, I hope Madam can instruct people to implement it properly, allowing these good intentions to really reach the people who need help.”
Actually, this was also good enough. Since part of it needed to be given back anyway, it might as well let these good people directly carry out these good intentions. They have the resources and channels, which also saves us the trouble.
Hearing this, Mrs. An instructed the maid to take back the tray, saying, “Junior Temple Master, your kindness is great. Rest assured, I will arrange everything properly.”
“Blessings to the Infinite,” Qin Liuxi bowed in a Taoist ceremony, pleased to see the An family was so cooperative, she generously offered a few peace charms before she and Teng Zhao left in the carriage of An Residence.
Teng Tianhan stayed a bit longer, following Lord An to his small study room, and sipped a cup of tea.
Lord An occasionally glanced at the embroidered rune wallet on his waist, almost wanting to scrutinize through it.
Noticing his superior’s gaze, Teng Tianhan silently unhooked the wallet…
Lord An was delighted, thinking his subordinate knew how to handle matters well, deserving a positive evaluation this year.
Unexpectedly, Teng Tianhan did not give him a deep mountain spiritual fruit like he had hoped; instead, he tucked his wallet back into his sleeve.
Lord An’s face turned sour, such stinginess! Definitely deserves a poor evaluation!
Teng Tianhan thought to himself, there were only four fruits in total, not enough to go around, so how could he give any away?
But he could not offend his superior, so he congratulated with a smile, “Lord, it is truly joyous and commendable that your family worships a household immortal. Not to mention anything else, just ensuring the security and disaster relief of your household is wonderful indeed.”
Lord An’s mood slightly improved: “Indeed, that is the case.”
“Considering what Lord Yellow Immortal mentioned, he also conducts business in the secular world. I am unsure if such fruits will be sold, but if your household immortal could facilitate a purchase, you must not keep it private, Lord.”
Upon this reminder, Lord An thought, indeed, Qin Liuxi had mentioned that the Yellow Immortal Clan was adept at treasure hunting, capable of finding fruits and medicinal herbs, and since they also collaborate with people, that means they could be bought.
They could always ask the house immortal and buy some; this is not charity from the house immortal, but a purchase with real gold and silver. Surely this wouldn’t go against the house immortal’s intention of settling in, right?
Lord An glanced at Teng Tianhan, the young man whose thoughts are always active and quick.
Seeing that Lord An understood, Teng Tianhan personally poured him tea, secretly envying the An family for having a Family Guardian Immortal to ensure safety, which is much stronger than anything, and this was a real house immortal, not some fraud roaming the streets.
The fortune of the An family was truly good.
And this good fortune was brought by Qin Liuxi; they should definitely repay her in some way.
Teng Tianhan coughed and said, “My lord, as far as I know, your family is the only one in the whole Shengjing blessed with a Family Guardian Immortal; the Junior Temple Master really made a great effort. This favor is not small.”
Lord An squinted at him: “What are you trying to say?”
“Do you know who the Junior Temple Master’s family is?”
Lord An instinctively sensed a trap and wanted to escape; he didn’t want to know.
“It is Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Qin Yuanshan; the Junior Temple Master is Mr. Qin’s biological granddaughter.”
Clang.
Lord An’s teacup fell onto the table, spinning around. Luckily, it was empty, otherwise tea would have splashed everywhere.
Yun Ya, it’s getting late, shouldn’t you be heading back? I heard your wife is pregnant; you should spend more time with her.” He truly did not want to listen further.
Teng Tianhan picked up his teacup, set it aside, and filled a new cup with tea, saying, “When I first heard this news, I was as surprised as you are, Lord. It turns out Mr. Qin has such an exceptional granddaughter; he kept her hidden very well.”
Let it be, he couldn’t avoid listening any longer.
Lord An picked up a string of beads and calmly began playing with them, saying: “Yun Ya, you’re not trying to overturn the case for Qin Yuanshan, are you? A mistake in sacrificial rites is a major taboo. Now that the Saint knows his destiny and even though the Crown Prince is not established yet, he is becoming more suspicious. Sacrifices are made directly to the ancestors; if something goes wrong, of course, the Saint will be furious.”
A Saint is a saint, but they cannot deny he is just a mortal; afraid of ancestral reprimand for great disrespect and scared of disaster being blamed on him for the lack of virtue.
Such issues, with Qin Yuanshan being the chief officer of Guanglu Temple, yet starting this mess, is indeed digging his own grave.
“I understand,” Teng Tianhan brewed tea and said, “In my spare time, I also checked the personnel movement within the Guanglu Temple. Interestingly, before last year’s Great Sacrificial Rite, Guanglu Temple’s Chief Clerk Lin, due to a mistake, was suspended by Mr. Qin and stayed at home, luckily avoiding that disaster, and now he is still securely in his original position.”
When there was an issue with the sacrificial offerings, the Saint was furious. Without investigation, he directly issued punishments; Qin Yuanshan was exiled as the chief officer, and the rest of the officials were stripped of their ranks, directly demoted to commoners.
Such is the imperial power; if you cross the Saint’s bottom line and he takes offense, whether you are guilty or not, if he believes you were wrong, then you are wrong.
Accompanying a ruler is akin to accompanying a tiger; it is no different.
Lord An said: “If you want to overturn this verdict, how would you do it and under what premise? Qin Yuanshan is also of age; overturning the verdict to restore his official position is impossible, it’d be better to bet on the establishment of the Crown Prince and a general amnesty so he could return from exile.”
Timing wise, establishing the Crown Prince should also not be far off.
“Of course, while a general amnesty allows returning to one’s native place, the stigma of being a criminal official can’t be removed.” Teng Tianhan spoke lightly: “I’m not necessarily trying to overturn the case for Qin Yuanshan, it’s just, the villain hiding behind dared to sabotage the Great Sacrificial Rite, clearly disregarding Da Feng’s laws and imperial power. Who knows if next time, they won’t disrupt Da Feng’s good feng shui during an official state temple report? Lord, I firmly believe, an official exists for justice.”
Lord An: If it weren’t because your son is the disciple of Qin Yuanshan’s granddaughter, hearing these words, I might have almost believed you.