Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 48 The Doctrine of the Hunyuan Palace! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Aunt Gongsun didn't care about any of that. She skipped and hopped into the courtyard, opened the refrigerator door, took out two small crispy cones, and happily began to eat them.

"Taoist Master, what are we having for lunch today?"

"We'll talk about it later. I need to take care of some things first."

If he earns merit, he'll have stewed meat; if he doesn't, he'll eat noodles... Zhou Yi returned to his room, took out his black notebook, and looked at it, discovering that his merit had increased by three coins:
[Liu Rengui's early deployment of the online army earns him +1 merit]

[Li Shimin reflects on the strategy of marriage alliance, merit +1]

[Gongsun Da Niang, by using the name of Hunyuan Palace, reverses the fate of the kitchen staff, merit +1]

Wow, looks like I really should make some stew for this girl for lunch.

Zhou Yi then turned to Gongsun Da Niang's page and discovered that the girl's merit had skyrocketed from zero to two coins:

[Propagate the Hunyuan doctrine and save others' destinies, merit +2]

doctrine?

When did Hunyuan Palace start having its own doctrines?
Closing his notebook, Zhou Yi went outside and looked at Granny Gongsun, who was eating a small crispy cone, and asked:
"What are the doctrines of Hunyuan Palace?"

Grandma Gongsun lifted her leg and sat on the motorcycle, looking at Zhou Yi with surprise:

"No way, Daoist Master, as the abbot of Hunyuan Palace, you don't even know our teachings?"

The Book of Changes: ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

It is precisely because I am the abbot of Hunyuan Palace that I do not understand what you mean by doctrine... Neither of the two abbots of Hunyuan Palace has ever fabricated a single doctrine.

Fearing that this girl might develop into an evil organization that harms society in ancient times, he quickly asked:
"What doctrines did you preach to them?"

Grandma Gongsun pointed in the direction of Yunwu Town:
"Isn't that the big sign by the intersection leading up the mountain the doctrine of our Hunyuan Palace, with things like **, **, **, **..."

Zhou Yi now understood. There was a sign for Hunyuan Palace at the intersection at the foot of the mountain. Some time ago, the town officials felt that the intersection was too spacious, so they put up a sign next to it, which was then taken by Granny Gongsun as the doctrine of Hunyuan Palace.

To be fair, this girl is quite resourceful, treating those twelve words as dogma, and avoiding demons and monsters as far away as possible.

He wanted to correct it, but since the black notebook had already acknowledged it as doctrine and even rewarded merit, he decided to let it go.

“You can use these words as doctrine over there, but not here. They’re easy to cause ambiguity and misunderstanding. It’s better for us to keep a low profile.”

Gongsun Da Niang nodded, seemingly understanding:
"I know, what are we having for lunch today? I came here hungry, and I'm starving now."

Without saying a word, Zhou Yi went to the kitchen to stew pork ribs and also brought over a marinated fish to make a spicy and appetizing dish.

During lunch, Granny Gongsun talked about the changes in the Kaiyuan world:

"When the Governor of Yuzhou heard that your disciple was in Changlong County, he immediately issued a travel permit and sent the Commandant of the Governor's Office to personally escort him. After arranging this matter, I took a carriage and traveled to Chang'an under the protection of a group of people. After traveling for several days, I arrived at the Luoyang post station yesterday and rested for two days."

The Book of Changes asks:

"Has your journey been smooth?"

"It went very smoothly. In the past, when the troupe went out to perform, they would always encounter bandits and bullies, but this time they didn't encounter anything. Everything went exceptionally smoothly... Oh, right, there was a little incident when we arrived in Luoyang. A group of people who claimed to be from the princess's mansion wanted to take me away, but as soon as they showed up, they were surrounded and killed by another group of people. I was so scared that I kept chanting the name of the gods, afraid that I would be affected."

Princess's Residence?
This must be Princess Taiping's people trying to interfere, right?
Unexpectedly, Princess Taiping and her nephew Li Longji's power struggle in Chang'an has even affected Luoyang.

Gongsun Da Niang originally went to the capital to present auspicious omens, but unexpectedly became a lucky charm that both sides tried hard to win over.

"Master, what shall we do this afternoon?"

"You stay at the God of Wealth Temple this afternoon. Replace the incense when it runs out. I'm going down the mountain to take a look."

I haven't come down the mountain for the past few days, and I don't know how Han Lao Er's fishpond is going. While Gongsun Da Niang is on the mountain, I'll go and make a follow-up visit to make sure there are no evil spirits causing trouble in the fishpond.

Aunt Gongsun picked up a piece of pork rib with cartilage and put it in her mouth, chewing it with a crunching sound.

"Could you buy me a few fried cakes from Uncle Wu's stall? I've been suffering from a sudden surge of anger lately and almost went into a qi deviation. I need these to neutralize the qi within my body." Zhou Yi nodded and agreed to the girl's request.

After the meal, Zhou Yi rode his motorcycle down the mountain and arrived at Han Lao Er's house.

In just a few days, the fishpond in front of his house has undergone a complete transformation, from a low-lying, collapsed, muddy pond to a clean and upscale new fishpond.

All the silt at the bottom of the pond has been cleared out, making it not only deeper but also flattened by an excavator. This increases the water capacity, allowing for more fish to be raised, and makes it easier to catch fish with trawls at the end of the year.

When Zhou Yi arrived, Zhao Wei and his hired driver had just finished lunch and were preparing to compact the embankment several times and smooth the surrounding slopes to make it easier to pour concrete.

At Zhao Wei's suggestion, Han Lao Er plans to turn the open space in front of his house into concrete, connecting it with the concrete of the fishpond. This would not only be cleaner, but also very suitable for drying crops such as corn.

Zhou Yi arrived at the newly renovated pond bottom and used his compass to measure it again. He found no problems and was relieved.

When Han Lao Er saw Zhou Yi, he grinned from ear to ear:
"Thank you so much, Xiao Yi. I feel so much more at ease now that the fishpond has been dug. I ate two big bowls of cold noodles for lunch today, it was so satisfying!"

The stagnant pond has been transformed into a clean, tidy, and upscale place; anyone would be happy to see it transformed.

The Book of Changes says:

"You'll feel even better once the concrete is poured and the fish are raised again."

As they were talking, Zhao Wei jumped off the excavator and said to Zhou Yi:
"Xiao Yi, I'm planning to trade in my old excavator for a brand new Sany 200. I'll need you to put a 'No Taboos' sign on it when I do."

The 135mm excavator is suitable for some rural work, but it's not enough for larger earthmoving projects. So Zhao Wei plans to replace it with a larger one to take on more earthmoving projects.

Zhou Yi naturally welcomed this kind of business that came to him with open arms:

“Okay, when you’re replacing the excavator, let me know two days in advance so I can prepare a safety badge. Just attach it as soon as the excavator arrives; it works better than setting off firecrackers.”

After leaving Han Lao Er's house, Zhou Yi rode his motorcycle to town to buy food for Gongsun Da Niang.

As soon as I arrived at Uncle Wu's stall, I saw that the old man, who had been running a fried food stall for decades, had a worried look on his face, with an unyielding sense of depression between his brows.

"Uncle Wu, what's troubling you?"

Uncle Wu wiped his hands and sighed:

"Don't even mention it. Your brother Min is already thirty and still hasn't found a marriage partner. I've introduced him to so many people, but none of them have worked out. I don't even have the energy to work anymore... Xiao Yi, do you have any ways to get someone married quickly?"

Method?

Are you parents resorting to mystical powers to pressure your children into marriage?
The Book of Changes says:

"Yes, there are peach blossom charms, single-get-out-of-single charms, love charms, marriage charms, as well as embroidered ball charms, matchmaker charms, and so on. But does Brother Aimin want to get out of singlehood and get married? It all depends on the person's wishes."

Uncle Wu couldn't answer either, and finally said:
"Here's what we'll do: I'll have Aimin come up the mountain to find you tomorrow. You can check if he has a destined partner. If not, I'll let it go and just go about my business, so I don't have to think about it every day."

Zhou Yi thought this was a good idea. He could have a good talk with Comrade Wu Aimin to see if he didn't want to get married or if he really couldn't find a partner.

I'll draw a few peach blossom charms and single-finding charms tonight to keep in mind.

As for the Love Talisman, forget about it. That thing is for people who are in unrequited love. Using it will have consequences, so try to use it as little as possible unless absolutely necessary.

Uncle Wu filled a bag full of fried foods for Zhou Yi, including fried dough sticks, banana leaves, fried dough twists, vegetable dumplings, fried cakes, and sesame balls, making it seem like Zhou Yi was going down the mountain to buy supplies.

Back on the mountain, he handed the food to Granny Gongsun and went back to his room to prepare the talismans.

Meanwhile, in the world of the Tang Dynasty during the Zhenguan era, Li Shimin stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the glass mirror presented by the Chief Steward of the Imperial Household Department, his eyes filled with delight:
"Is this made of polished glass?"

"Your Majesty, this is a piece of colorless glass presented by Persia. The craftsmen have finished studying the precious book bestowed by the immortal and are working day and night to try to create the first... monocular telescope of our Great Tang!"

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Second update delivered, please vote with monthly tickets, brothers!

(End of this chapter)