Chapter 1676: Emperor Ruyan, the County Magistrate Prays for Rain

Facing Miss Liu's expectant eyes, Su Mingzhe did not answer, but walked quietly to her side and helped her tidy up her dress.

Miss Liu's waist is 1.8 feet tall, as thin as a willow, and her 3.2 feet bust looks like a mountain.

After a while.

Miss Liu saw that the man was getting busier and busier, and she was feeling extremely confused and shy.

The maid Ping'er suddenly realized it, coughed lightly, and smiled sweetly at Su Mingzhe:
"Son-in-law, Mr. Lu must have promised you, right?"

"The little girl is quite smart!"

When Su Mingzhe saw the little maid coming forward, he couldn't help but reach out and pinch her pink little face.

After being reminded, Miss Liu suddenly realized what was going on. She shyly bowed to Su Mingzhe and called him "husband".

"No need to be so polite, ma'am!"

Su Mingzhe reached out and helped Miss Liu up. He touched the woman's soft and boneless little hand and asked with a chuckle:

"Madam, I still don't know what your maiden name is?"

Miss Liu said shyly:

"My maiden name is 'Ruyan'."

"Ruyan...Emperor Ruyan?"

Su Mingzhe was shocked by Miss Liu's name.

……

Lu Minghe felt heartbroken when he saw the Third Madam, whose hand he had never even touched, being helped into the carriage.

Seeing this, Su Mingzhe felt amused in his heart, but he still tried to comfort her with sincere words.

No matter what, by coming to Lujiazhuang, I not only earned one thousand taels of incense money, but also got an Emperor Ruyan. I really have to thank Mr. Lu for his generosity.

When Liu Ruyan entered the carriage, Mr. Lu suddenly asked:
"Master, can I come to visit you in the future?"

Su Mingzhe's mouth twitched, and he quickly interrupted:
"Mr. Lu, your fate with the Third Madam has ended. Don't let your imagination run wild in the future!"

Su Mingzhe was afraid that Mr. Lu would come to his Taoist temple and ruin his fortune, so he threatened him.

After hearing this, Mr. Lu could only tremble in silence.

Not long after, the Lu family's housekeeper brought the indentureship between Liu Ruyan and her servant.

Su Mingzhe was afraid that Mr. Lu might have some inappropriate thoughts and irritate him, so he immediately bowed and said goodbye:

"Mr. Lu, if you have any troubles in the future, just come to Mojia Town to find me. Although my magic power is meager, I know a little bit about how to exorcise demons!"

"Master, take care!"

Lu Minghe knew that his fate with Miss Liu was really over, so he could only put on a forced smile and watch the carriage leave.

……

Cars rattling, horses Xiaoxiao.

The pedestrians all had bows and arrows at their waists.

Su Mingzhe was driving a horse-drawn carriage with Liu Ruyan and her servant on the way back to Mojia Town, when they saw many soldiers heading to the border to guard the border.

When these soldiers saw Su Mingzhe driving a carriage passing by and noticed that he was wearing a Taoist robe, they all stood respectfully by the side of the road, waiting for the carriage to pass before continuing on their way.

Now the Emperor of the Great Zhou is in his fifties. In pursuit of immortality, he has successively awarded six blessed caves to the Taoist sect.

Even ordinary Taoists also saw their status rise with the tide.

Therefore, no matter how young Su Mingzhe was, as long as he was wearing a Taoist robe, these soldiers would not dare to provoke him.

……

By nightfall.

Su Mingzhe stopped the carriage by the roadside and asked Liu Ruyan and her servant to get out of the car to stretch their legs and take a rest.

"Husband."

Liu Ruyan looked at the soldiers on the roadside walking on the snow, hurrying on their way. She felt touched and sighed:

"When Mr. Lu took me away from the capital, I heard that there was a locust plague on the grasslands, and the northern Hu and western Rong tribes would move south in the fall... I didn't expect that it's winter now and the border is still being filled with soldiers."

"I'm afraid this war won't be over in a year or two."

Su Mingzhe hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth he knew:

"Madam, you may not know that the locust plague on the grassland was actually released by the 'Eight Wax Gods' sent by the Imperial Master."

The Eight La Gods are eight gods, called "Eight Dana" or "Eight Kings" in some dynasties, who are in charge of agricultural affairs.

When Liu Ruyan learned the reason, she did not dare to comment on the government affairs. She could only sigh slightly and say nothing more.

Su Mingzhe went to collect some firewood and cooked a hot dinner. After dinner, Su Mingzhe spent the night in the carriage with the two women.

……

On the second day.

The three of them continued on their way.

Su Mingzhe drove a horse-drawn carriage and completed the three hundred-mile journey in two days.

After returning to the town, the first thing Su Mingzhe did was to help Liu Ruyan and her servant settle down.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had been established for more than 50 years and was at its peak, and its household registration policy was also very strict.

If you don’t want to be an illegal resident, you must have a household registration.

When Liu Quan, the mayor of Mojia Town, saw Su Mingzhe coming back so soon, he casually asked about the results of his trip to the provincial capital.

Su Mingzhe talked about what he could, and after Liu Quan had completed the registration process, he returned to the Taoist temple with the bamboo cards that marked Liu Ruyan's identity as master and servant.

……

"Qingyun Temple?"

Liu Ruyan looked at the plaque on the temple gate and asked curiously:
"Husband, what is the relationship between your Qingyun Temple and Baiyun Temple?"

"It's ok."

After Su Mingzhe entered this Taoist temple, he just wrote the name of the temple in memory of the "Zhu Xian" plane.

It has nothing to do with the famous Baiyun Temple of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The three of them entered the Taoist temple, and Su Mingzhe first cleaned up a room for the two women to use as a bedroom.

Although Su Mingzhe called Liu Ruyan "Madam", the real identities of the two women were "Daoist slaves" according to the household registration.

……

In the Taoist temple, those who have the right to speak are all Taoist priests with Taoist scriptures.

Having a Taoist certificate means that one has been granted a Taoist certificate by the gods, and is considered a Taoist monk, which is equivalent to being included in the Taoist organization.

People like the Taoist priests who work with fire and Taoist boys are all non-staff personnel.

A Taoist fireman is a handyman who wears Taoist robes but is only responsible for doing odd jobs. His status is similar to that of a worker in a state-owned enterprise.

As for Daoist boys, due to age restrictions, they have not yet been "ordained", and their status is similar to that of young novice monks in a temple.

As for Taoist slaves, their status was roughly equivalent to that of eunuchs and palace maids in the imperial palace. Not only did they have no personal freedom, they even had to take on the responsibility of making the Taoist happy.

In Qingyun Temple, there are only Su Mingzhe and Liu Ruyan, the master and servant. The three of them do not need to be clearly divided. However, in order to avoid criticism from outsiders, their residences still need to be separate.

As for where Liu Ruyan and her servant sleep at night, even if outsiders guess it, they cannot come in to verify it.

……

Winter passes and spring comes.

The dead tree sprouts new branches.

Liu Ruyan and Ping'er have lived in the Taoist temple for more than half a year.

That day was April 15th.

There has been no rainfall in the county for more than a month.

Rice is mostly planted in the Jiangnan area. There was no rainfall in January, and the rice that was about to bloom and produce ears of rice dried up and died.

In order to avoid missing the farming season, the magistrate of Shuizhu County sent invitations to various Taoist temples, inviting the magicians from each temple to come to the city to pray for rain.

Mojia Town is now the most important town in Shuizhu County, and Su Mingzhe is praised by the county's gentry as the number one magician. He is definitely indispensable in praying for rain.

Su Mingzhe received the post two days in advance, but he did not take action yet.

This day has come.

Mayor Liu Quan came to the Taoist temple and saw Su Mingzhe was still sweeping the courtyard with no intention of leaving. He immediately became anxious:

"Master, why haven't you set out yet? Today is the day for all the magicians in the county to pray for rain!"

"Mayor, didn't you check the almanac?"

Su Mingzhe looked calm:
"The almanac says that today is a bad day to pray for rain. It will definitely not work if we pray for rain today!"

After hearing what Su Mingzhe said, Liu Quan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry:

"Master, this almanac... the almanac may not be accurate! You know, praying for rain is a big deal, we really can't delay it!"

"Don't worry, Mayor. It's only one day. It's nothing serious!"

Seeing that Liu Quan wanted to persuade him further, Su Mingzhe simply waved his sleeves and sent him out of the mountain gate.