Zhen Zhu smiled, "Don"t be afraid. The guests heard about your adventure. Therefore, they want you to share your story with them. Just a little talk and then you can come back." She said that as she tidied He Danggui"s hair carefully, and then led her to the West Wing-room.
After entering the West Wing-room, they heard Tai Shan apologizing endlessly in her high voice, "I"m guilty and I"ll discipline my disciples strictly. Sorry that they offended you, distinguished guests, and it"s really..."
Then she was interrupted by a low voice, "It"s just a misunderstanding. Therefore, Master, never mind it."
It turned out that since the imperial guards lived in the Taoist Temple yesterday, Tai Shan had sent a dozen Taoist nuns to serve their daily life. Most of the imperial guards were the childes of the aristocracies in the capital. They were used to being served before, so they took the service for granted.
However, those Taoist nuns all pursed to "fly up to be a pretty woman as phoenix". They were all discontented with their lot. Therefore, they took care of the guests so thoughtfully that it had gone too far. They put foods on the guests" plates, urged them to drink as they promoted themselves. One of them even sang a ditty which made some of the imperial guards feel awkward.
However, Duan Xiaolou, Lu Jiangbei, Liao Zhiyuan and others were very refined, especially the natural escort of beauty, Duan Xiaolou, who thought that girls were like the delicate flowers and no one should say harsh words to them. Therefore, although they were extremely uncomfortable yesterday, they still ate the meal reluctantly with the accompanying of the Taoist nuns.
The next day, at lunch, the Taoist nuns came to serve them as before. Gao Jue changed his face immediately. After seating the table and beginning to eat, all of the imperial guards felt more and more awkward, because the enthusiasm of these nuns continued to increase, and some of the nuns even kept their bodies next to them. Gao Jue couldn"t bare it anymore and his anger acc.u.mulated in the last two days exploded. "Bang!" He took out a wide knife with three-finger width from his waist, and inserted it in the middle of the dining table forcibly. All the nuns were scared away.
Except Duan Xiaolou blamed Gao Jue, others all couldn"t help smiling. After the nuns were gone, they had lunch calmly.
Master Geng rinsed his mouth and sighed, "Fried Silver Crucian, Shark Fins of Anchovy... It seems that people here have known something about our ident.i.ty. That"s not good news. After all, we live here to hide our whereabouts."
Lu Jiangbei frowned his das.h.i.+ng eyebrows, "You"re right. There is no such good meal in such a small temple. Chicken and fish are sumptuous enough even for distinguished guests. But they prepared the best meal for us. I"m afraid that they treat us so well because they have known we are officials."
Jiang Pi glanced at Duan Xiaolou and said, "Duan Xiaolou, you told the two little nuns that we were officials yesterday. Did they leak it out?"
Duan Xiaolou raised his eyebrows, "But you also mentioned last night that your baggage was rummaged and a hair in the Guandie (an official certificate) fell out."
Geng Bingxiu shook his head, "Now it doesn"t matter who spoke it out. The only thing that matters is to find out how many people know our ident.i.ty now. We need to keep their mouths shut."
As he was saying, Tai Shan came from the outside. Her voice came first, "Ah! Please forgive us for neglecting you!"
After her apology, Lu Jiangbei asked her directly how she figured out their ident.i.ty. Tai Shan knew that she couldn"t hide the truth, so she said that one of her disciples happened to see their Guandie. Although her disciple wasn"t literate, she was well aware that all of them were officials.
Therefore, Master Geng pretended to be angry. He said that the reason why they came to this remote Taoist Temple was to prevent others from knowing their whereabouts, and those who knew their ident.i.ty must keep it a secret, or they would be jailed for "interference with public function." Tai Shan was so scared that she nodded repeatedly and made a promise, saying that only she and Zhen Xi knew their ident.i.ty and they would never speak it out. She even decided to imprison Zhen Xi after she went back.
Lu Jiangbei continued to inquire her about the two Taoist nuns they met yesterday when they went up the mountain. He mentioned that one of the two nuns was beautiful and her words were very impressive. However, Tai Shan couldn"t recall such a nun among her disciples. Duan Xiaolou mentioned again that he wanted to visit Miss He who had returned to life after death. Then Tai Shan sent someone to ask He Danggui and Zhen Zhu to come over.
Zhen Zhu was waiting outside the yard. He Danggui wore a green cotton dress and tied her hair in a Suiyun haircut. After entering the house, she saluted the guests by the door, "Respectable guests, may good fortune be with you."
The people sitting in the hall looked at each other and found out that the little nun whom they met yesterday turned out to be Miss He. Lu Jiangbei laughed first, "Hha, that"s it! Miss He, here is the thing. We don"t want others to know we are officials. Yesterday, Duan Xiaolou let slip the message to you. Therefore, I"d like to ask you and another girl we met yesterday not to speak it out."
He Danggui bowed her head and answered, "Sure." Thinking that the officials talked to a little girl kindly while threatened her, a master of the temple, to "be jailed", Tai Shan was indignant.
Duan Xiaolou stood up, took his cup of tea that hadn"t been drunk at all and put it on the last seat, saying gallantly, "It turns out that you are not a nun, but a lady of an aristocratic family. Sorry for our rudeness to stop you for inquiring yesterday. I heard that you just recovered from a seriously ill. You must be tired for standing. Please come and sit." Liao Zhiyuan smiled strangely, but Duan Xiaolou glared at him immediately.
He Danggui sat down. Then Duan Xiaolou asked if her sprained feet were better, where else she felt unwell, what medicine she was taking, and when her family would pick her up.
Tai Shan felt nervous at once. She was afraid that her harsh treatment to He Danggui would be revealed. From Duan Xiaolou"s words, it seemed that he cared about the little girl very much. Alas, Tai Shan thought that she should have treated He Danggui better if she could know it before. Moreover, they just met on the mountain road yesterday, but she lied to these officials that He Danggui had just taken herbal medicine and fell asleep. Tai Shan was worried that if the officials would call her to bear this "crime of deception".
He Danggui was calm. Although she was cared by the handsome and young gentleman, Duan Xiaolou, there were no ecstatic, flattered, or grateful expressions on her face and she just answered his questions one by one obediently. Her answers were beyond Tai Shan"s hope, so she felt relieved.
Liao Zhiyuan smiled, "I heard that Miss He had traveled to heaven for two days before back to our world. Was there anything new on the way?"
He Danggui kept silent for a while. Then she said hesitantly, "I can"t remember anything except... I met an old man with a benign face, white hair and ruddy complexion. I also experienced some adventures... But after waking up, when I thought about it carefully, I felt it might be a strange dream instead of adventures."
"Oh?!" Several people asked together, "What kind of adventure?"
When He Danggui saw they were so interested about her story, she felt stunned, "I can"t recall it clearly... It seems like... I got a pill from the old man. After eating it, I had strength suddenly. Later, I opened my eyes and saw myself lying in the mourning hall."
Lu Jiangbei tapped the table with his forefinger and exclaimed, "It"s really an adventure! Miss He"s encounter is really rare. What do you think, Master Geng?"
Master Geng? He Danggui looked at the man in blue robe who was nodding slightly. When she met them on the mountain yesterday, she had a feeling that he was the head of the 9 imperial guards.
At this time, the man in blue robe sat diagonally opposite to her. She looked up and glanced at him. The man was about 40 with a lean figure, cold look, and high and flat cheekbones. He was not very handsome but his appearance with his deep and sunken eyes made others frightened.
He Danggui stayed calm, but she was worried inwardly. In her previous life, when she worked for Zhu Quan secretly, she had seen all sorts of officials. However, few of them had such aura like that. And she felt instinctively that the awful feeling was more aggressive than domineering.
Master Geng... Was that him? Geng Bingxiu!
Geng Bingxiu was the younger brother of Geng Bingwen, Founding General and Changxing Marquis. He was the Fourth-Grade Deputy Commander of the imperial guards and was known as "the cruelest official in the world."
It was said that he was always calm, respectful, cautious and restrained himself as others. However, once he found out the enemy"s weakness, he would be cruel as Ashura in h.e.l.l when he launched an attack to his enemy. The coldness of his heart and the cruelty of his methods were extremely dreadful. Even Zhu Quan who was keeping a low profile and concealing his ability was also afraid of him. In the next decade, there would be more than 1,000 enemies kneeling in front of his Whip of Death for mercy.
Now it was in Hongwu Period, Geng Bingxiu should be newly appointed. He was now a little-known small potato, and his t.i.tle of "the cruelest official" hadn"t been spread. Lowering her eyes and thinking, He Danggui"s palms sweated slightly. Why did these people come to Yangzhou City? Why did they still keep staying in the Taoist Temple?
Geng Bingxiu asked her suddenly, "What was the character of this old man in your dream? Had he ever said anything?"
He Danggui frowned, pretended she was recalling her memory hard, and then said slowly, "The old man was far away from me, so I only remember vaguely that he held a peach wood stick... By the way, his forehead was more protruding than others. It seemed that he had said that I shouldn"t have died in this age and he would give me a pill for prolonging my life. After all, meeting him was my fate. I bowed to thank him... Umm, he also mentioned that the pill was not special and good, but only made of the leftover slag of the alchemy of Taishang Laojun (the Daoist Ancestor, also known as Daode Tianzun). Only my fate would tell if it would work for me. After hearing his words, an orange pill appeared in my hand."
Everyone present was fascinated by her story. Even Tai Shan didn"t despise He Danggui anymore. After a while, Duan Xiaolou laughed, "That was so fortunate! Miss He had eaten the solidified elixir of life, and returned to life after death. Then she could definitely live a long life!"
He Danggui rolled her eyes, and shook her head hurriedly to explain, "How could that happen! The old man never said that he was an immortal. Moreover, the whole thing was just my dream."
Lu Jiangbei stared at her face and sighed, "You had a great adventure. The old man you met must be the immortal of longevity, one of the three Penglai Immortals, Nanji Xianweng (the Daoist deification of Canopus)! Although his stories had been praised for thousands of years, how many people have actually met him? However, Miss He, you received the solidified elixir of life from him, which should be congratulated!"
He Danggui lowered her eyes timidly and kept silent. However, she thought to herself that all those words were spread by them and she said nothing. Everyone sighed with a few words. Then Geng Bingxiu said that they still had some things to do. Therefore, Tai Shan and He Danggui stood up, said farewell to them and left.
After leaving the yard, they saw Zhen Zhu still waiting by the wall. Tai Shan looked at He Danggui and smiled kindly, "Miss He, I have something to say to Zhen Zhu. You shall go back first to rest. I will send someone to buy some herbal medicine for you to nurse your body." He Danggui expressed her thanks and left.
As soon as He Danggui left, Tai Shan grasped Zhen Zhu"s hand and whispered. Then Zhen Zhu nodded slightly and left quickly.
Zhen Zhu went straight to the side house of the north yard. She saw a few women sitting inside. They were warming themselves by a fire and saying words like "monster" and "jinx". The wooden door was open. Zhen Zhu stood at the door and knocked on it. Looking up and seeing her, these women stood up to greet her with smile.
Zhen Zhu pretended not to hear their words and congratulated to them, "Congratulations, congratulations! Do you know there is a happy event in Luo"s Mansion today?"
The wife of Li Jiuguang was completely at a loss, so she asked, "Master Zhen Zhu, what happy event in Luo"s Mansion?"
Zhen Zhu retold them the description of He Danggui just now and the a.n.a.lysis of the guests vividly. At last she said, "At first, my Master concerned that Miss He was weak, so she kept you here to look after Miss He. Now, Miss He is healthy and her face is ruddy. She is really blessed. Since it"s still early now, why don"t you set off quickly to report this news to Madam Luo and other mistresses in Luo"s Mansion to make them happy?"
These women became more and more surprised when they heard her words. After listening, they looked at each other. The wife of Liu Gui sighed first, "I never thought that the most blessed lady of Luo"s Mansion was Miss He! She received the solidified elixir of life from the immortal in such a young age, which is really enviable."
The wife of Gao Dashan was so envious that her eyes turned red, "Alas, Amitabha Buddha. I also wors.h.i.+p immortals and Buddhas all my life. When can I meet an immortal or a bodhisattva so that I can beg them to give me the solidified elixir of life or holy water to make me live a long life?" Other women who were sent by Luo"s Family to escort the coffin all echoed, saying that they used to burn incense and wors.h.i.+p Buddhas, too.
Zhen Zhu smiled, "There are immortals above you and they can see your kindness and piety clearly. Maybe there will be some return in the future. However, now you shall report this to Miss He"s family to share the happiness with them." Then Zhen Zhu took out a 4 liang silver ingot from her armhole and placed it on the hand of the wife of Liu Gui. She said, "It"s just a little something for your travel expense. Please take it."
The wife of Huang Han was overjoyed. Judging from the size, the silver ingot was over 4 liang. Even if they travelled by horse cart 10 times back and forth, they couldn"t run it out. 1 or 2 strings of 1,000 qian from Second Mistress Luo would be a lot of money for tip. It was strange that a Taoist nun in this Taoist Temple should be so generous. Anyway, this was unreasonable. They had no relations.h.i.+p with Zhen Zhu and they could ask anybody for money but her.
Other women next to her also thought the same, and they looked reluctant. The employer sent them here to hire the Taoist nuns to hold the funeral service. However, the funeral was over before its start. If they took the money from Zhen Zhu, a Taoist nun, that would be unreasonable. However, they did want the money... They were all indignant about their self-paid travel expenses in these days, so everyone was silent.
Zhen Zhu seemed to see through their worries and smiled, "It"s okay for you to take the money. Actually, it was Miss He who gave you the money to buy you a tea on your way. She was worried that you were unwilling to accept a child"s money, so she made me keep the secret. Anyway, she is also your master. Therefore, she should give you the tip for your escort."
These women beamed with smiles and praised He Danggui thoroughly. Then they felt free to take the money and set off down the hill.
When He Danggui returned to the East Wing-room, she saw the door was unlatched. Then she pushed it open and went in. However, she found that Zhen Jing was not here and half bowl of brown sugar congee left in her porcelain bowl on the table.
Leaning on the bed, He Danggui closed her eyes and rested. Last night, although she activated her channels with the embroidery needles and eliminated the heat-toxicity from her heart, her body was still weak. As the saying went, illness went away on foot. Unless she could take some good herbal medicine, she wouldn"t recover until a couple of days later.
He Danggui touched the congee pot and felt it was still hot. So, she poured out a bowl of congee, drinking while thinking. She knew that what she needed the most now was money. Except for the "gold lock" that must be kept well, she had nothing at all. A man without money was no man at all. She needed money to treat her disease, buy herbal medicine, take Zhen Jing away, and run her own business. Where could she get the money?
She thought for a while as she drank the congee, then she gradually thought out some practical plans, which made her smile.
Suddenly, Zhen Jing ran into the door hurriedly. When she saw He Danggui was back, she forced a smile immediately and said incoherently, "You"re back. No one sees through our secret, right? Would you like to have a nap? This congee is so delicious, hha!"
When He Danggui saw her speak incoherently, she raised her eyebrows in confusion and looked at her carefully. Then He Danggui threw away the bowl, grabbed her, pulled out her hands hidden under her wide sleeves, and asked her coldly, "Who hit you?"