52. What Happened to My Enormous Blessing?

Ouyang Rong once again arrived at the archaic Tower of Merit hidden in the clouds.

Before successfully controlling the floods, he had actually wanted nothing to do with this place.

Furthermore, when he first discovered it, Ouyang Rong had no intention of redeeming this new fortune. He currently lacked nothing, and his flood-prevention efforts were progressing smoothly. His sole objective was to accumulate ten thousand points of merit to redeem that supreme fortune at the Pure Land Underground Palace—the one that might potentially send him back home. There was simply no need to waste merit on anything else.

However, the new fortune that had inexplicably been triggered on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival kept chiming faintly beside his ear, a persistent reminder emanating from the Fortune Bell.

It felt like a phone left face down on a table with its ringer silenced, yet vibrating relentlessly—and worse, it was a call from his girlfriend.

Ouyang Rong deliberately ignored it for two days, but the buzzing stubbornly persisted. The Fortune Bell, surrounded by swirling purple mist deep within his consciousness, continued to send him an unyielding message: *You heartless jerk, it's time to answer your "girlfriend's call".*

Answer your sister.

You've really latched onto me, haven't you?

Ouyang Rong felt a deep sense of helplessness.

Perhaps out of fear that the new fortune might interfere with redeeming the old one, or perhaps simply to test the true power of the Fortune Bell, and given that the overall situation outside was temporarily settled for the moment, he took some time tonight to re-enter the Tower of Merit within his sea of consciousness.

It was the same old spot: the boundless white mist, the sealed little wooden fish, and—oh yes—the Fortune Bell hovering above like a trio of vibrating sex toys.

Ouyang Rong first glanced at the line of blue-gold clerical script floating above the wooden fish:

【Merit: Nine Thousand Three Hundred and Sixty-One】

"Almost there."

His expression softened slightly as he looked up at the restless ancient bell, which seemed desperate to capture its master's attention, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch.

You weren't like this before. You used to be so cold and aloof, completely motionless. Even when I tried my absolute hardest to strike you once, you wouldn't even make a peep. Why are you shaking like this now? Begging your master to satisfy you?

Ouyang Rong looked with a strange expression as dark purple mist slowly overflowed from the body of the bell. He reached out to grab it; the mist was formless and intangible, yet a wave of telepathic information from an unknown source instantly surged into his heart.

Oh, so it only takes one thousand points of merit to satisfy you?

"So you're this easy to please now..."

Ouyang Rong sighed. "I actually liked it better when you used to ignore me. Fine then... let's restore it."

As if sensing the command, the line of blue-gold clerical script flared brilliantly. The displayed merit value rapidly dropped from "nine thousand three hundred and sixty-one" to "eight thousand three hundred and sixty-one." Simultaneously, a cluster of light in the same hue flew out from the clerical script, transforming into a lifelike "swimming carp" that shot straight toward the Fortune Bell!

This time, the "swimming carp" was not bounced back. Instead, it burst into a brilliant display of fireworks, and at that very moment, the Fortune Bell ceased all trembling... and it rang.

*Clang—*

This was the first time the Fortune Bell had ever sounded.

And this was the very first fortune ever redeemed.

The sound of the bell beside his ear was not loud, but it was deep and melodious, as if piercing through time and space, spreading out into the boundless void.

Ouyang Rong stood in the pristine white space within the tower, waiting expectantly for a short while until the echoes fading by his ears finally dissipated, before looking around in slight bewilderment.

The Tower of Merit returned to tranquility.

The little wooden fish, the blue-gold clerical script, and the Fortune Bell... all of them had reverted to their original states, plunging back into primordial silence.

After waiting for quite a while longer, it remained completely quiet.

"Is it redeemed in reality?"

Ouyang Rong muttered thoughtfully, turned away from the Tower of Merit, and returned to the real world.

Inside the Plum Deer Garden, in the back room of the study, the young magistrate sat on the pitch-black bed, supporting himself with both hands behind his back, pulling the quilt up as he curiously looked left and right.

The room was dead silent, save for the chirping of insects from the courtyard drifting in through the cracked window frames, which only served to make the quietness feel even more profound.

"Ugh, why does it feel like absolutely nothing has changed?"

Ouyang Rong furrowed his brow in doubt, kicking off the duvet and pacing around the bed:

He opened and closed the lattice windows, pushed and pulled the courtyard gates, and even wrapped a cloak around himself in the middle of the night to peer anxiously outside the front gate of the large residence, prompting Lady Zhen and the others to wake up and look out with curious eyes, asking if their dear husband had secretly arranged a midnight tryst to climb over some young lady's garden wall.

"..."

Ouyang Rong offered a series of vague excuses and returned to his room just before dawn, filled with a stomach full of unanswered questions.

Where is my fortune? Where is such a huge fortune of mine? Where did it go?

***

However, once this agonizing night came to an end, followed by the end of the morning, the end of the afternoon, and the end of the entire day, Ouyang Rong finally stopped wondering.

Let's be confident and drop the word "feel"—it really was the case that absolutely nothing had changed!

On the second day, during the early morning assembly, the young magistrate walked through the gates of the county yamen with a completely expressionless face.

"Master Brother... why do you have such dark circles under your eyes?" asked the waiting junior sister-apprentice with genuine curiosity.

"No, it's nothing," he shook his head. "I'm fine."

I've just been scammed out of a thousand points of merit by a heartless bell...

Wait, is it planning to swindle another ten thousand next time?!

Ouyang Rong suddenly felt a profound sense of listlessness wash over him.

***

"Dear husband, has the price of rice dropped a lot? Wasn't it twenty coins per dou before the Dragon Boat Festival?"

"It seems... so, yes."

Dragged along to go shopping, our protagonist was completely lacking in enthusiasm today. The beautiful matron walking beside him, however, seemed entirely oblivious, continuing with a cheerful smile:

"Tsk tsk, twelve coins per dou is truly cheap. Thank you goodness we didn't buy any before the Dragon Boat Festival."

The Silla maidservant, trotting closely behind the beautiful matron and the handsome gentleman, chimed in joyfully:

"Eldest Mistress, the price of rice changes every single day now!"

"Oh?"

"I heard that every morning when the East Market opens, people sell grain at a low price—one dou of rice costs only five coins."

"Such a good thing? Could it be that they're dumping spoiled old grain at a cheap price?"

"No, it's top-quality white rice."

Bansui shook her head and added, "However, I heard that this 'five-coin rice' is only sold for a fixed period of two hours every morning, and each household is limited to half a stone per day. Nowadays, loads of people go and line up for it."

"Sounds like charity, but the method is certainly effective."

Lady Zhen nodded, a knowing smile playing on her lips. "No wonder the rice prices at these grain shops have plummeted, changing by the day."

"Eldest Mistress, should we also send the servants to queue up tomorrow?"

Lady Zhen couldn't even be bothered to turn her head back.

"What kind of family are we? Do we lose our dignity just to queue up for cheap rice? Besides, your master is a magistrate of a county; how can he compete with the common people for profit? Leave it to the folks who actually need it."

Bansui was momentarily stunned. "Oh, oh! Eldest Mistress is as thoughtful as ever, and so generous in managing the household!"

Beneath her veil of black gauze, Lady Zhen gently shook her head. In her heart, her evaluation of the Silla maidservant behind her gained yet another trait: alongside "attracted to power yet timid, quick-witted yet indecisive," she now added "obsessed with petty gains while losing sight of the greater righteousness."

Though, upon closer reflection, a foreign slave girl who had fled from the Eastern Yi region yearning for the civilizing grace of the realm, and who had never even read a book, being short-sighted was only natural. Did one really expect her to be well-read and deeply versed in grand principles? She was certainly not some fallen princess of Goguryeo from a vernacular romance novel...

Therefore, as long as she was obedient, pretty, and possessed a graceful figure, that was quite enough—because the most crucial thing was pleasing the master of the house.

This was Lady Zhen's absolute minimum standard: as long as he liked her dear husband, that was all that mattered.

It was just a pity that her precious husband seemed to have rather unusual tastes. Furthermore, he remained lukewarm and overly polite toward all the maids in the household... Wasn't that just a polite way of saying he didn't like them? If he liked them, where would the need for politeness be? A direct "bullying" would have sufficed.

This only made Lady Zhen more determined than ever that today's trip to the West Market was an absolute necessity.

She casually remarked, "Since the price changes every day, let's not buy too much. Today, just fetch five dou of rice back to the Plum Deer Garden; we can buy more once we finish it."

Bansui had no idea that her score had just plummeted in her mistress's eyes. Instead, she was thrilled simply to be shopping with the master whom she hadn't seen for days.

"Understood! Master and Eldest Mistress, please wait a moment."

Bansui nodded eagerly, pulling the rice shop clerk inside to measure out the grain.

She left Lady Zhen, Ouyang Rong, and Liu Ashan waiting at the entrance.

This rice shop was located not far from the archway in the West Market. The main street beside it was bustling with heavy traffic during the morning hours, brimming with lively activity and still deeply immersed in the festive atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival celebrations.

This year's Dragon Boat Festival regatta wasn't just a one-day affair; it lasted for half a month, with the entire city rejoicing together. Even Lady Zhen, who usually kept to herself as a widow, had put on a veiled black gauze hat and brought along her maids and servants to watch the dragon boat races and seize the opportunity to drag her dear husband out shopping.

Originally, Lady Zhen had wanted to invite Ouyang Rong to go shopping together on the holiday of the Dragon Boat Festival itself, and had even sent Xie Lingjiang to fetch him over.

However, the young magistrate, who loved the people as if they were his own children, had chosen to work through the holiday, busy organizing the festival events, and had sent his junior sister-apprentice to decline the invitation.

In the following days, Ouyang Rong had been busy extending warm regards to Wang Caozhi and other out-of-town grain merchants... After a flurry of activity, he finally managed to find some free time today and was promptly nabbed by his aunt.

Right now, as they strolled all the way from the East Market to the West Market, it was almost entirely Lady Zhen and Bansui doing the talking.

Liu Ashan was a stubbornly taciturn man, so his silence was completely normal. Ouyang Rong, on the other hand, seemed to be in low spirits, his complexion looking somewhat... devoid of the will to live.

In fact, Lady Zhen, Bansui, and the other maids had all been carefully observing his expression both overtly and covertly along the way.

Ouyang Rong probably didn't realize that as the sole male pillar of the household, the slightest shift in his mood could directly influence the atmosphere within the family.

Outside the rice shop, Lady Zhen lifted a corner of her black gauze veil with her fingers, revealing a pair of charming phoenix-shaped eyes that gazed at him unblinkingly.

The veil she wore was made of black silk, featuring a wide brim with thin, translucent gauze hanging down from it all the way to her neck to conceal her face—also known as a "light veil." This accessory was very popular among aristocratic matrons and young ladies of the Great Zhou, who frequently wore it when venturing out onto the streets.

Right now, Lady Zhen wearing this lightweight black gauze light veil looked rather striking. It suited her identity as a widow, exuding the distinct air of someone bereaved—especially when standing alongside Ouyang Rong, who was dressed in a slender white robe and looked as refined as jade. They drew many admiring glances from pedestrians on the street.

The matron asked softly, "Is dear husband tired from walking?"

Ouyang Rong nodded honestly. "A little bit, but it's no matter. Auntie and the others should enjoy yourselves; your nephew is just going along with it, and it's nice to get out for a walk and clear my mind."

Lady Zhen let out a soft sigh, her expression filled with heartache. She lifted the black gauze, pressed a red handkerchief scented with gardenia fragrance between two fingers, and reached out to touch the dark bags under Ouyang Rong's eyes. The latter instinctively leaned back in resignation to dodge her touch.

"The yamen is busy with affairs, but you should delegate more to the subordinates. We pay their salaries precisely so they can do the work. Dear husband is dedicated to serving the public, but you don't have to do everything yourself. You are the one who labors with your mind; let them labor with their brawn..."

His aunt chattered away endlessly, and Ouyang Rong nodded obediently, answering with agreeable words. But in truth, despite the long list of admonitions from his aunt, not a single one hit the actual nail on the head. They blew past him like a passing breeze.

Because she didn't know the specific reality of the situation, the suggestions she offered—whether stemming from this reason or that—were unhelpful to him. And for Ouyang Rong to carefully explain his thoughts and concerns to Lady Zhen was simply impractical and required a level of patience he lacked.

What could he do? Facing this kind of familial concern, Ouyang Rong temporarily distilled it into a single guiding mantra: remain calm and peaceful, and avoid arguing.

"Hmph, you always nod your head so diligently with that honest look on your face, but whenever I look back, nothing has changed at all. Are you trying to coax your aunt like a little girl?"

Lady Zhen playfully gritted her teeth in mock annoyance, poking Ouyang Rong on the shoulder with her index finger.

The latter simply smiled without a word.

At that moment, Bansui emerged with the rice-carrying clerk.

"How much?" Lady Zhen asked casually.

"Thank you for your patronage, sixty coins."

The rice shop clerk set down the sack of rice and reported the sum with a beaming smile. Bansui reached into her money pouch, but Ouyang Rong reached inside his robe instead, fished out some remaining loose change, and stepped forward to hand it over first.

He turned around and smiled at the curious Lady Zhen:

"The ten strings of copper coins Auntie gave me last time—after deducting the banquet at Yuanming Tower and Ashan's redemption fee for his freedom—left me with exactly sixty coins... It just so happens to have used up every last cash. Feels great."

Lady Zhen couldn't help but chuckle. "So dear husband is such an economical householder. Very well, you paid for the rice, so whatever we buy next will be paid for by your aunt."

Ouyang Rong, who was just about to bend down to shoulder the rice sack, froze. "What do we need to buy next?"

Lady Zhen didn't answer. Instead, she turned her head and gave a slight flick of her chin toward the tall, thin man standing behind her who wore a headband.

Liu Ashan immediately stepped forward and heaved the bulging sack containing five dou of rice onto his shoulder.

"Auntie, Ashan is not our household servant; he is a free man."

Ouyang Rong frowned to stop him, but Lady Zhen only smiled and nodded.

Ouyang Rong reached out to take the rice himself, but Liu Ashan stubbornly refused to budge.

Lady Zhen suddenly asked, "Why didn't dear husband sleep the night before last, and instead went out fussing about?"

Ouyang Rong opened his mouth to reply, but this wasn't a question she wanted answered—it was a fill-in-the-blank question.

Lady Zhen nodded with an expression of absolute certainty, answering her own question:

"It must have been because the night was long and empty, and your bedroom felt lonely. Come, today we must pick a warming maid to take back with us. Dear husband promised last time."

"..." Ouyang Rong.

His aunt's map of Yan was growing shorter by the day.

*(This is a long chapter, running a bit late... Two chapters are guaranteed every day now. Also, dear brothers, don't wait up for the next chapter. Go to sleep early and read it tomorrow... You can't outlast little Rong, sigh!)*

*(End of Chapter)*