Firefly Journey

Chapter 267 Chu Ting’s Grand Stage (4)

In the Chu state, apart from the emperor, crown prince, and the left and right prime ministers who were usually present, the other officials attended court in batches.

Simply put, if there are any important matters concerning your position that require consultation with the emperor, you will be invited to the palace. Most of the time, you don't actually need to go.

Lin Yuanran's official position was not particularly high. Apart from the day he returned from Yunzhou and needed to report to the emperor, he had no other need to attend court assemblies.

Upon returning to Danyang, Lin Yuanran had no place to stay and temporarily resided in the post station. As a third-rank official, how could he not have his own residence?

Lu Jianming secured a sum of money for him to purchase property, which was considered a work benefit and a form of salary payment.

However, Lü Jianming seemed to be aware of Lin Yuanran's frugal nature. If he were to give him the money directly, he would probably only use a small amount to rent a small hotel and save the rest.

Therefore, the money did not pass through his hands, but was transferred from the Ministry of Revenue to the Ministry of Works, and used to purchase a nice mansion for Lin Yuanran.

Lu Jianming personally escorted Lin Yuanran to the official residence. After sitting for a while, he took his leave. He was no longer like he was in St. Louis, where he could play and sleep whenever he wanted. There was a lot of government affairs that required his participation. After all, he was the crown prince, and he needed to familiarize himself with many things in advance.

The house that Lü Jianming chose for Lin Yuanran was a villa in the eastern part of Danyang. It was not large, only about four or five hundred square meters, and was a typical garden-style residence.

Originally, Lü Jianming had also arranged for him to hire many servants, but Lin Yuanran resolutely refused.

He wasn't used to having strangers in his home, and since he was an extraordinary being, having too many people around made things inconvenient.

Lü Jianming went along with it.

After strolling around this exquisite residence, Lin Yuanran was quite satisfied. There was a rockery, a small pond, and green plants in the yard, making it a nice living environment.

All of these are fine. What Lin Yuanran is most satisfied with is that this place is very close to the Ministry of Rites. It takes less than ten minutes to walk there, which is very convenient.

If we use magic, it will be even faster.

Lin Yuanran lived in a daze for a week, and on this day, he came to work at the Ministry of Rites as usual.

His job was very simple; it was all about slacking off. He sat from the start of the workday until the end, with virtually no worries. All he had to do was review some engineering documents sent down from above. He was so idle that he was practically going crazy.

Today is different from usual.

Minister of Rites Fan Xinran strode up to Lin Yuanran.

"Good job, Minister."

"Hmm." Fan Xinran stroked his beard, not daring to show any arrogance. This was His Highness the Crown Prince's classmate, and he couldn't be negligent.

"What are your orders, Minister?"

Lin Yuanran knew that the other party wouldn't come without a reason; they must have come to arrange work.

He guessed correctly.

Ever since Lin Yuanran started working at the Ministry of Rites, Fan Xinran has been thinking about what kind of work he should be given.

After much thought, a decision was finally reached.

Fan Xinran, acting as if they were old friends, sat down opposite Lin Yuanran, took a sip of the tea on the table (which had too many tea leaves), and frowned, saying:

"Lord Maurice, I have come here to ask you a favor."

Looking at his expression, Lin Yuanran felt a little embarrassed. He didn't know anything about tea ceremony, so he put in too many leaves, and the flavor was definitely too strong.

"Your Excellency is too kind. You are my superior, how can I ask you to do this? Just assign it directly!"

Fan Xinran thought to himself, "I am your boss, that's true, but the Crown Prince is my boss. You have such a good relationship with him, so your promotion is only a matter of time. If I don't take it easy, what will I do if you retaliate against me in the future?"

“Look, our Great Chu has always been a country that embraces all rivers. All the major ancestral god churches have set up branch churches in Danyang, and even some unknown small churches have branches.”

Lin Yuanran had long been aware of this. The Chu Kingdom was a country without absolute faith, not an extension of any ancestral god church, and did not respect any ancestral god church.

In the eyes of the people of Chu, even a patrolling constable on the street was far more powerful than a missionary.

After staying in Danyang for several days, Lin Yuanran became even more convinced of this.

“Normally, those high-ranking church officials negotiate with our Ministry of Rites. In a few days, it will be the annual procession of the gods. Whenever this happens, those churches will use all sorts of methods to proselytize and make people believe in the gods they worship.”

Lin Yuanran almost laughed.

Hearing him say this, it's not that people want to believe in God, but rather that, like a sales pitch, the church is begging them to believe. And that so-called missionary work is really just a competition of who has the most skillful salesmanship…

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Lin Yuanran asked.

Fan Xinran said, "The procession of the gods is a grand event. The capital will definitely be bustling with activity. Bustling means a lot of people, and with a lot of people, all sorts of accidents can happen."

Lin Yuanran asked, puzzled, "Shouldn't the city defense army be responsible for security issues?"

It seems like this has nothing to do with me, right?

Fan Xinran shook his head.

"The city defense army is just an ordinary army, while the missionaries of the major churches all send out extraordinary individuals."

Lin Yuanran said, "The Chu Kingdom has existed for hundreds of years, so there must be many extraordinary individuals here, right?"

“That may be true, but the Ministry of Rites is responsible for managing foreign churches. We can’t leave them unsupervised; if something goes wrong, the Ministry of Rites will be held accountable. Lord Morris, your job is to keep an eye on things and make sure they don’t go too far.”

Lin Yuanran pondered for a moment and said, "You mean, they will stop at nothing to spread their religion, and their methods may even affect the security of the capital."

But they are also extraordinary beings, falling under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, so should I be the one to handle this?

“Smart, that’s what I mean.” Fan Xinran smiled.

Lin Yuanran asked, "May I ask Minister Fan, where is the Danyang Church of the Holy See located?"

“North of the city. Look at my memory, Lord Maurice comes from the Papacy, so naturally he's close to them.”

Lin Yuanran rolled his eyes inwardly. Old man, almost everyone in Chu Ting knows that I come from the Duchy. You probably valued that, which is why you put me in charge of the procession. At least I can speak for the Holy See.

Lin Yuanran didn't expose his thoughts and readily agreed.

He had been staying in Danyang for some time, but had not yet visited the Vatican's branch church.

His relationship with the Papacy stemmed not only from his St. Louis origins but also from the high regard of Pope Blair, who even entrusted him with the Ancestral Artifacts.

The Pope was an enigma; he sent him to Chu and then left him to his own devices. Lin Yuanran couldn't fathom his thoughts and could only settle in as planned.

In reality, Lin Yuanran, who possesses the "sun," can mobilize members of the Vatican in any location in the world, but he does not want to abuse this power.

Now that he has official business to attend to, he has no choice but to pay a visit and also take the opportunity to inquire about the details of the Parade of Gods.

He knew the origin of the festival of the gods' procession.

Legend has it that it evolved from the worship of the gods in the local mythology of the Chu Kingdom. Since the Chu Kingdom did not have a church to support it, which gods did they worship?

According to Lin Yuanran, the native gods of the Chu Kingdom have many similarities with the gods in his original world mythology, and even their names are exactly the same.

He needs to figure out the relationship between them.

Is it just a parallel coincidence, or is there some kind of connection?

The best people to answer this question are undoubtedly the followers of the sun god.

The missionary stationed at the branch church in Chu was an archbishop of the Court of Judgment. He had been operating in Chu for a long time and might know something.