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

Chapter 102 Granny Gongsun Steals the Statue of the God! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

When the word "rebellion" came up, Granny Gongsun shrugged, feeling it was too difficult:

"I have no soldiers, no food, no family background, only my beloved sister Meiniang and the Taoist priest who always does what I want. Besides, His Majesty is his own grandson, so let's just forget it, why bother?"

She generously decided not to rebel and focused on figuring out what the statue of the God of Fortune was all about.

Gongsun Da Niang had always lived in a troupe of entertainers and had a very superficial understanding of faith. She only knew to worship the City God whenever she went to a new place, and knew nothing else.

She was completely clueless about the so-called God of Fortune and Virtue. After racking her brains for a while, she still couldn't figure out which deity it was. So she simply left her room at the inn and prepared to ask the manager there.

Chang'an City is a melting pot of all sorts of people, with countless Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries. You might just find a stone statue of the God of Fortune and Virtue.

Stepping out of her secluded courtyard, Granny Gongsun ran into the innkeeper:

"You've come at the right time. Where in Chang'an can I find a stone statue of the God of Fortune? I need to speak with this deity."

The deacon paused for a moment:
"Isn't Fude Zhengshen the same as the Earth God? There's a newly built Earth God temple just outside the inn, to the left. The stone statue was just brought over from Zhongnan Mountain yesterday. It's currently covered with straw and yellow silk cloth. It's said that the Holy Monk Huifan will personally come tomorrow to consecrate the Earth God's statue."

Is Fude Zhengshen actually the Earth God?
This was the first time I'd ever heard of the divine lineage of Lady Gongsun. But wasn't that so-called holy monk Huifan just a wicked monk from India? What right did he have to consecrate Chinese deities?
"The Taoist priest said that anything that bothers me is a stumbling block on my path of cultivation. Since this Huifan is bothering me, then I should kill him... Evil spirits and heretics should be killed by everyone!"

Although she hadn't spent much time in Hunyuan Palace, this girl had already become a typical angry young woman.

How dare this wicked monk from India act so arrogantly in Chang'an? Then let's take this opportunity to wipe him out... It's time for me, the steward of Yiyuan Temple, to show my power!
Lost in thought, Gongsun Da Niang left the inn, turned left, and saw a newly built earth god temple at the street corner. Inside, a raised structure more than a meter high was surrounded by straw. Yellow silk cloth could be seen through the gaps in the straw, and when touched, one could feel the unique coolness of the stone.

Gongsun Da Niang looked around and, finding no one paying attention to her, quietly returned to the inn. She planned to steal the stone statue when it was time to go back to Hunyuan Palace, to teach that foreign monk a lesson.

"I hope that my brother Li Bai can come to Chang'an as soon as possible. It would be more meaningful for us to join forces to kill that evil monk."

Back in her courtyard, Granny Gongsun ate some snacks, recited the "Treatise on the Response of the Supreme Being" once, then took out her backpack, stuffed everything she needed into it, and prepared to run away at any moment.

As night fell and the gates of the neighborhood were locked, she finally had a clue that she could go to Hunyuan Palace, and quickly took out a small bag of dried tangerine peel peanuts to celebrate.

After finishing the peanuts, around nine o'clock in the evening, Granny Gongsun slung her backpack over her shoulder, closed the door, nimbly climbed over the courtyard wall, and quietly arrived outside the inn.

The guards were on patrol and didn't notice the female thief sneaking along the wall.

Upon arriving at the Earth God Temple, Granny Gongsun looked around, lifted the straw, untied the yellow silk cloth, reached out and touched the head of the statue, and whispered:

"Come on, I'll take you to visit someone!"

After she finished speaking, she and the statue disappeared into thin air at the same time.

Inside Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yigang used a drawing software in conjunction with AI to create a rendering of the land temple. He planned to refine it tomorrow and then send it to Du Chunyi. If there were no objections, they would build it according to this design.

Making graphics is tiring, so Zhou Yi stretched and went to the kitchen. He took out a handful of dried noodles and planned to treat himself to a bowl of stir-fried noodles, following Chef Sui's instructions.

Just as the pot was placed on the stove, the crisp voice of the female thief who had leftover food rang out from outside:
"I'll add more noodles to my bowl, two poached eggs, two small spoonfuls of chili oil, and a little bit of aged vinegar..."

Zhou Yi looked outside with some surprise:
Why are you here at this hour?

When Chen Tang left last time, he said he would come back after reaching the Protectorate General's Office. Huo Qubing needed to train the cavalry, and Li Bai had to travel, so everyone's visit to Hunyuan Palace would be postponed.

Zhou Yi had assumed that Gongsun Da Niang would also be delayed, but to his surprise, the girl wasted no time at all. Adhering to the principle of "come as soon as possible," she came over as soon as the appointed time arrived.

Grandma Gongsun opened the refrigerator door and confidently took out a small crispy cone:

"This is my home. Am I not even allowed to come back to my own home?"

Zhou Yi smiled silently:

"Yes, yes, what else do you want to eat besides noodles?"

After thinking for a moment, Aunt Gongsun said:
"It would be even better if there was some meat in it, but of course, it's fine if there isn't. I'm not picky about food."

Zhou Yi opened the freezer, took out a bag of frozen chicken wings, and put the package into cold water to soak. After the chicken wings thawed, he washed them, squeezed out the blood and hair roots remaining in the pores, cut them, fried them in oil, and poured in cola to start stewing.

Once the noodles were cooked, the cola chicken wings were also ready. The two sat in the restaurant and enjoyed a delicious late-night snack.

After eating and drinking her fill, Granny Gongsun washed the dishes, took a change of clothes, hummed a song, and went to take a bath. Then she dried her hair with a hairdryer, preparing to return to the Kaiyuan World of the Tang Dynasty.

This unusual behavior surprised Zhou Yi:

"Aren't you planning to stay a few more days?" Granny Gongsun waved her hand and said:

"I'm waiting over there to watch the show. I can't stay too long, or I'll miss a good show... It's a pity that my brother Li Bai can't make it. It's a bit of a shame."

Zhou Yi asked in confusion:
"Are Li Longji and Princess Taiping about to fight?"

"No, no, no, it's the evil monk Huifan. He's going to bless the local earth god tomorrow, and I've prepared a huge surprise for him... Oh dear, I can't help but laugh out loud just thinking about it."

The girl packed some snacks into her backpack and took a few extra small crispy cones. After doing this, she hurriedly returned to Xiaopenglai and left Hunyuan Palace through the main hall.

Reappearing in the Earth God Temple, Granny Gongsun found some wood, haphazardly tied it into a frame, covered it with yellow silk cloth, and covered it with straw, trying to make it look like a deity. Then she happily left the Earth God Temple, climbed over the wall into the inn, returned to her courtyard, and entered her room without anyone noticing.

I first ate the small crispy cones I brought to celebrate, then brushed my teeth, lay in bed, and drifted off to sleep, looking forward to the consecration ceremony tomorrow.

Inside Hunyuan Palace, after Zhou Yi finished washing his clothes, he contacted Zhao Wei via WeChat to confirm that the excavator operator had returned from clearing the rubble and transferred 1,600 yuan to him.

Zhao Wei's excavator starts at 800 yuan, and the price will increase if it exceeds three hours.

The small temple was completely demolished in just over an hour today. I only paid the starting price, plus the cost of the dump truck, so I gave them 1,600.

Zhao Wei refused:
“I made several thousand yuan clearing the ruins, but I won’t charge you for demolishing the temple; consider it a referral fee.”

The Book of Changes does not follow this:

"Calculate it however you want. Even if you don't want it, the dump truck driver can't help you for nothing."

Zhao Wei accepted the money, but soon transferred another 3,600 yuan to him.
"I'm planning to buy a Formula Leopard soon. Could you get me a safety tag that's suitable for hanging on the truck? I can put it on as soon as the truck arrives, just to avoid any accidents."

Zhou Yi knew that Zhao Wei was returning the money to him in this way, so he couldn't very well refuse.
"Okay, I'll pick out a good peace charm for you tomorrow, so you won't have any problems even if you travel through mountains and rivers."

After the chat ended, he continued to worry about the statue. He even searched online and found that there were quite a few manufacturers selling such stone statues, but none of them met his requirements.

The next day, right after breakfast, Zhou Yi went to the artifact room and took out a peace pendant shaped like the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) with a string of tassels at the bottom, suitable for hanging on the rearview mirror.

He took it to the Xuanyuan Hall and offered it before Emperor Fuxi.

After doing all this, he went to the gate and waited for Xue Ruijie, the tax specialist from the flour mill, to teach him how to print tax invoices.

I have all the necessary tax filing documents and a complete set of equipment, including a dot matrix printer, but I'm not sure how to print tax invoices. I need guidance from a professional.

On the other side, in the Kaiyuan world of the Tang Dynasty.

When Gongsun Da Niang woke up, she happily washed up and even put on a face mask, which was unusual for her.

After doing all this, she ate breakfast, changed into a pomegranate-red robe, tied on a matching lotus crown, held a red whisk in her hand, and had a red sword hanging at her waist.

After everything was settled, she left the inn and quietly waited for the consecration of the local earth god temple.

Before long, a group of monks from the Western Regions walked in a line, playing Western musical instruments as they went. Some devout men and women followed behind, crying and laughing, just like the fanatical fans that Gongsun Da Niang had seen online.

"They don't believe in the good Chinese gods, but instead believe in this kind of foreign unorthodox practice. When retribution comes their way, they'll be crying and wailing!"

Gongsun Da Niang coldly watched this scene, intending to take the opportunity to purify the faiths in Chang'an City, and to restrict all religions such as Jingjiao and Zoroastrianism!

After the Hu monk arrived, he first chanted Indian scriptures around the local temple several times. Then, a huge carriage drawn by eight fine horses appeared in the distance, and countless devout men and women rushed to the front of the carriage, even if they were knocked to the ground by the horses.

Seeing this, Lady Gongsun couldn't help but grip the sword hanging at her waist even tighter:
"The wicked monk Huifan has finally arrived!"

Inside Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi learned how to issue tax invoices and produced the invoice for the 30,000 yuan from the village committee, planning to bring it to Du Chunyi next time he visited.

After seeing Xue Ruijie off, he wandered aimlessly around the Hunyuan Palace while pondering the matter of the statue.

As he walked, he arrived at the entrance of Little Penglai. Zhou Yi hadn't been here since the last time he sprayed herbicide, but since he had come here today, he decided to go in and take a look.

If the weeds are still growing, spray pesticides again to prevent the area from becoming barren.

Pushing open the door, Zhou Yi saw that all the weeds in the courtyard were withered. He glanced at them and was about to leave when he turned around and noticed that a stone statue of the God of Fortune was quietly placed at the entrance of the main hall of Xiao Penglai.

This...your prayer from yesterday came true?!

(End of this chapter)