In the carriage, Ouyang Rong was stunned when he heard this:

"What is it, is it important?"

Ah Qing silently twisted her baggage straps with her fingers, lowered her head and said:

"The master folded the flowers for me."

"So this is it."

Ouyang Rong breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "It's not important, as long as you don't fall behind."

Ah Qing whispered: "It's very important, this is..."

As if she noticed the eyes of the beautiful elder sister in the carriage who was putting great pressure on her, she paused and explained softly:

"This is a birthday gift... Grandma said that birthday gifts are other people's wishes, and no matter how small they are, they should be kept and cherished."

Ouyang Rong waved his hand: "It's okay, I'll just fold one for you tomorrow."

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered the sudden surge in merit points in the morning, as well as his speculation not long ago.

Is this really the case?

Ouyang Rong turned around and asked directly:

"Wait a minute, Ah Qing, how did you drop the origami flower?"

Ah Qing held the warm bundle in her arms, looked into his eyes, and said truthfully:

"I worked in a breakfast shop in the morning market every day. I met an old craftsman, and I helped him bring wine every day. For a year or two, the old craftsman gave me a lot of money for running errands.

"In the morning, he saw the flowers that the master had folded, and he seemed to like them very much. He asked me for them. I was too embarrassed to shirk them, so I lent them to him. Later, when I was in a hurry and had to rush to the workshop to work, he was still looking at the flowers.

I didn't have the nerve to rush him, so I left first and asked him to pay me back tomorrow."

The delicate girl with a red forehead raised her head and asked:

"Master, can I go over there again tomorrow? Just one trip. I'll get the blue butterfly flowers back, and then I'll give all the wine stored in the kitchen to the old craftsman, and say goodbye to him. By the way, there's also

Sister Cheng who runs the morning shop..."

Ouyang Rong shook his head silently.

"No, we can't go anymore." After a pause, he comforted softly:

"Ah Qing, not all separations require saying goodbye. You are still young, so don't dwell on the past and look forward."

Xie Lingjiang glanced at the senior brother with a gentle voice.

The latter continued:

"Ah Qing, this old craftsman who borrowed your flowers, do you know what he does in the sword shop?"

"He must have made a sword. He wears clothes made by a craftsman. Like many guests, he must be a craftsman who forges swords."

"Do you know what sword furnace the sword was made in?"

"I don't know, but it shouldn't be those big sword furnaces by the lake."

"Then does he have anything special about him, such as his identity or what he said?"

Ah Qing saw the serious expression on the master's face. She pursed her lips and thought hard for a moment, then shook her head helplessly:

"It doesn't seem like that. He just has a lonely personality. I guess... he probably doesn't have a wife anymore and lives alone. Old Jiangzuo hasn't said a few words to me. The most he talked to me was when he borrowed flowers this morning."

"is that so."

Ouyang Rong was thoughtful.

He actually quite suspected that it was this strange old man who borrowed flowers, who intentionally or unintentionally saved Ah Qing, or received some kind of help from the paper flowers.

This is also the possible source of the large amount of inexplicable merit in the morning.

Later, Ouyang Rong asked Ah Qing about the characteristics of the old craftsman's work, but he didn't gain much, but he remembered it in his heart.

Ouyang Rong introduced Ah Qing to Xie Lingjiang again, and they looked at each other for a while.

"Miss Ah Qing's eyes are really big and beautiful." Xie Lingjiang said seriously.

"Sister Xie, too!" Ah Qing raised her face and said.

The last sentence made Ouyang Rong think a little, and he glanced at the broad mind of his junior sister.

After realizing that Ah Qing could not mean this, he quickly took it back.

About a quarter of an hour later, the carriage stopped outside a simple farmhouse, and Ah Qing said goodbye and got off.

The carriage continued to drive.

There were only two people left in the carriage, Ouyang Rong asked directly:

"Junior sister, I remember you mentioned something called a tripod sword before. Does its casting require human sacrifice or something?"

Xie Lingjiang immediately shook his head:

"The tripod sword is not an evil object, so how can it be used as a human sacrifice? Senior brother, please remember that all the evil ways of killing people and offering sacrifices in this world come from the group of alchemists."

Ouyang Rong said with a smile: "I haven't seen them before, but I wonder why everyone shouts about these magicians?"

Xie Lingjiang nodded, "This is the consensus of the world. It cannot be said that there are no good people in that group, but it is a mixed bag."

Ouyang Rong nodded.

…

Early the next morning.

County government.

Ouyang Rong rubbed his face and walked into the office.

"Hey, junior sister, why are you so early today?"

He said to his little junior sister who was looking down at his documents curiously behind the public case table.

Xie Lingjiang was dressed in red clothes today, put the book in his hand back to its original place, and smiled:

"Why, am I that lazy in the eyes of my senior brother?"

Ouyang Rong smiled, did not answer, and walked behind the table.

Ever since that horse-drawn carriage meeting, these days, Xie Lingjiang has been working with him every day, euphemistically called protecting safety.

"Have you thought about the little wish that junior sister mentioned last time?" Ouyang Rong lowered his head and asked.

"Not yet, why, senior brother is a little anxious?"

"I'm not in a hurry, as long as Junior Sister doesn't give me any problems."

"Senior brother, what do you think is the problem?"

"Then junior sister will follow suit, right?"

"uh-huh."

Xie Lingjiang couldn't help but glance again: "Senior brother, why is the left side of your face so red?"

"Is it red?" Ouyang Rong touched the left side of his face and nodded helplessly:

"Recently, my aunt hired a new cook, and the food was a bit spicy. I accidentally ate too much because I was greedy. When I woke up in the morning, my face and mouth felt spicy."

"Brother, wash with cold water more often."

"OK."

The two of them didn't take it seriously and changed the topic. When the clerks in the hall gradually arrived, they started their morning business until Xie Lingjiang came back from outside the office to report:

"Senior brother, someone from the Liu family is here, and Diao Xiancheng is waiting in the lobby to receive them."

"Let's go and have a look."

Ouyang Rong, who wanted to fold another butterfly flower for Ah Qing during his office break, stood up and said.

After a while, Ouyang Rong brought Xie Lingjiang to the county government hall.

As soon as they entered the door, Diao County Prime Minister and the Liu family members who were originally holding cups of tea stood up and saluted.

"Haha, Mingfu came just in time. I would like to introduce you to you. This is Liu Fu, the chief steward of the Liu family. Mingfu may know him.

"This is Uncle Chen from Guyue Sword Shop. He is a famous swordsmith in Longcheng County and is highly respected in Guyue Sword Shop.

"Mr. Chen is also the leading craftsman sent by An, the head of the Liu family, to assist the county government in rebuilding the Di Gong Gate. He has also helped the county government repair the Di Gong Gate once before, so he has rich experience.

"Mingfu, the Liu family is really sincere this time."

Ouyang Rong did not comment, glanced at the familiar lame middle-aged boy servant, passed it, and then turned his attention to another thin old man sitting there wearing a felt hat and a gray beard.

Master swordsmith?

He took a closer look and found that it did not match the old craftsman's work described by Ah Qing yesterday.

However, Guyue Sword Shop has many famous craftsmen, and I think there is more than one master swordsmith of this kind.

Ouyang Rong nodded slightly as a greeting:
To be continued...