Chapter 28: First Encounter at Tianyi Temple
Green mountains, heavy snow, and beautiful people.
Gu Youan stared at her intently with a very presumptuous look, causing the servants following the man to look at her again and again in surprise.
"Master Li."
The man passed by Gu Youan and his daughter and walked up to the old Taoist priest.
The old Taoist leaned slightly to the side, causing the recliner to sway slightly. "Have you seen your mother?"
"I've seen it. Thank you for waiting, Mr. Li."
"It's alright. The whole sect has received your mother's kindness, and it's only right."
Gu Youan lowered his eyes. Who is this person?
The man seemed about to leave the mountain, but the old Taoist stopped him and said, "It's getting late, and it's snowing heavily. How about you stay for lunch?"
"I have things to do at home."
The man's cloak swept across the steps, his robe fluttered as he walked, and the wind blew the cloak. The group disappeared at the turn of the steps going down the mountain.
After the people left, Gu Youan lost interest and looked lazily at a banyan tree in the yard covered with snow.
"Master, what family does the young general belong to?"
Sitting idle with nothing to do, Mrs. Du moved closer to the old Taoist priest and asked curiously.
The old Taoist priest smiled and said, "He's just a poor fellow. There's nothing much to say."
"That young man is obviously born into a good family, so where is the pity?"
"My mother is dead, my father doesn't care, my brothers are plotting against me, and I'm walking alone in this world. Is that good?"
That... is indeed a bit tragic.
What happened when the Taoist priest just talked about his mother to that young man?
I don't know if the old Taoist priest is just a loose-lipped person, or if he's here to talk about sex. He smiled and pointed to the right side of the Taoist temple: "His mother is buried over there. He always comes to visit several times a year. Well, it's getting cold, so today I came up the mountain to sit with his mother before the heavy snow."
Mrs. Bai couldn't help but sigh: "Children who care about their mothers are all good children."
Gu Youan thought, that’s not necessarily true. It was obvious that the man just now was not someone to be trifled with.
The old Taoist priest laughed and said, "Perhaps, but we Taoists say: Heaven has forty-nine, the Great Dao has fifty, and man has only one. The child's fate is a little bad, but it won't stay bad forever. He will eventually soar."
Soar? What kind of destiny can be said to be soaring?
Gu Youan was just thinking about it when the old Taoist suddenly called out to him, "Little girl, how many years have you been here?"
Gu Youan looked at the old Taoist in confusion.
Mrs. Du was suddenly frightened and said with a forced smile, "What do you mean by that, Taoist priest?"
The old Taoist looked at Mrs. Du and Gu Youan, mother and daughter, for a long time without saying anything.
Just as Mrs. Du was about to speak, the old Taoist suddenly smiled and said, "Many years ago, my senior brother went to Luoyang to find the way and passed by Huazhi Lane. When he returned to the Taoist temple, he told me that your girl had a connection with my Tianyi Temple."
Mrs. Du was overjoyed and suddenly stood up and saluted. "That Taoist priest turned out to be your senior brother? Our family has benefited from your senior brother's kindness. My daughter has been thinking about this matter since she woke up last year. I want to express my gratitude to your senior brother, but I don't know where to find him."
"My senior brother passed away on August 15th last year. I'm afraid you won't be able to find him."
Wasn't it the fifteenth day of August last year when she traveled to the Great Zhou Dynasty? Gu Youan looked at the old Taoist with a strange look in his eyes.
The old Taoist laughed heartily and said nothing more. He stood up and walked slowly, saying, "I asked my disciple to take you to the main hall to burn incense."
"Hey, Taoist priest, Taoist priest, please wait a moment." Mrs. Du called out hurriedly.
The old Taoist's steps seemed slow, but they were actually fast. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared down the corridor. But a moment later, a child of four or five years old came running over, still panting.
"My name is Li Xuanyue. My master asked me to bring a few people into the temple to burn incense."
"Then I'll trouble you, little Taoist priest."
Mrs. Du glanced at the path the old Taoist priest had taken. Li Xuanyue said, "My master has already left. You won't be able to wait for him."
Mrs. Du felt it was a pity as she hadn't said a few more words to the old Taoist priest yet.
After burning incense in the main hall, Mrs. Du donated all the money she had.
Bai sighed, "It's hard to explain the fate between people. I never thought I would meet a Taoist priest who has a connection with your family in this remote mountain."
"That's exactly what you said." Madam Du turned and asked, "Young Taoist Priest, do you know your uncle's name?"
"I don't know. I only know that others call me Uncle Master Tianyan Taoist."
Gu Youan was puzzled. Tianyan? Which Taoist practitioner would dare to use that name? Could he have truly attained immortality?
Mrs. Du didn't know what the name meant, so she just kept praising him: "Master Tianyan is a man of profound Taoism and a kind heart. It's all thanks to his few words that enlightened us back then. My An'an is where he is today, and it's also thanks to Master Tianyan's guidance."
Li Xuanyue took them to the cafeteria and said, "I'm leaving now. You guys should finish your lunch and leave too."
"Thank you, young Taoist priest."
Gu Youan watched the child Li Xuanyue leave, and Du Shi praised again, "This Taoist temple is different from other temples. A young Taoist priest in the temple has such a temperament of a Taoist cultivator. No wonder a figure like Taoist Priest Tian Yan can emerge."
Gu Youan immediately smiled: "Mom, please stop praising me and eat quickly."
During the meal, Mrs. Du praised the food at the Taoist temple again: "Look at this tofu, it's so tender and juicy. Even the tofu vendors in the city can't make tofu this juicy."
Gu Youan: “…”
Mrs. Du believed everything the old Taoist said and was filled with gratitude towards them. In her eyes, every plant and tree in the Taoist temple was excellent.
Gu Youan didn't quite believe it. She felt that the old Taoist deliberately said those mysterious and half-true and half-false words to deceive her, and there must be something hidden in it.
The snow stopped in the afternoon.
The Du family and their two companions left the Taoist temple and walked down the steps. When they reached the bend of the cliff, Gu Youan looked up and saw the words "Tianyi Temple" hanging high above the gate of the Taoist temple.
I don’t know if it’s because I know that the people in the Taoist temple are a bit strange, but now even looking at a wooden plaque has a mysterious taste.
"An An, hurry up and follow."
"Here I come."
After going down the mountain, he still had to go through the city to return home. Just as he arrived at the west city gate, he met the convoy of Prince Qi's Mansion coming out of the city. The carriages and horses were galloping, and the cold wind lifted the curtains. Gu Youan saw the face that he would never forget once he saw it.
The man's eyes turned slightly, and he glanced outside when the curtain fell.
It was too dark in the carriage and too far away, so Gu Youan thought he must have seen it wrong.
Alas, beauty can mislead people.
Xu Zhi, the long-time attendant serving in the car, had good eyesight and also noticed the little girl who stared at his master without blinking at Tianyi Temple this morning.
That girl is really brave. If she knew that their master is the owner of Songjiang City, she would be scared to tears.
However, their master does have a good-looking face. His mother had met the late queen and once said that His Royal Highness Prince Qi inherited the late queen's good looks.
Xu Zhi chuckled secretly, and Prince Qi glanced at him: "What are you laughing at?"
Xu Zhi didn't dare to say anything, so he hid his smile and said, "Master, you will be coming of age next year. When you went to the Meng family earlier this year, the eldest lady of the Meng family mentioned your marriage. The eldest lady's family, the Yuan family, held two banquets this year and also invited you to attend, but you refused. This time you go to see General Meng, I'm afraid they will ask for your explanation."
The Meng family is Prince Qi's maternal family, but after all, the Northeast General Meng Chuan is Prince Qi's cousin, not his biological uncle, which creates another layer of separation.
Prince Qi is now running Songjiang City. Seeing that the business is becoming more and more prosperous and the land reclamation is quite effective in turning it into a small granary, it makes sense that Meng Chuan wants to win over Prince Qi through marriage.
However, Prince Qi did not take the daughters of the Meng and Yuan families seriously.
It would be fine if Prince Qi was willing to return it, but Prince Qi is unwilling to do so now. From Prince Qi's perspective, the Meng family has been too arrogant in recent years and needs to be punished.
Tapping his fingers lightly on his knees, Prince Qi asked, "How is things in the palace?"
Xu Zhi said seriously, "The news from Luoyang in the past two weeks shows that the situation in the palace is pretty much the same as it was a few months ago. The new concubines of lower rank who have entered the palace are in high spirits, and with the Empress's support, they are fighting back and forth with Concubine Liu's faction."
"That person..." Xu Zhi didn't dare to say.
"Go on."
Xu Zhi lowered his head and said, "In the past few years, he has completely purged the old ministers left by the previous emperor. Some have retired, some have been exiled. Now the court is full of his yes-men. Even after several rounds of changes in the censors, no one dares to make a report that will displease him. News from Luoyang said that last month, the southwest was in chaos due to the mishandling of taxes, and the people revolted. But the news didn't even reach Luoyang."
Prince Qi showed a sarcastic smile. This was the heir chosen by the old man.
Back then, the old man was afraid that he would favor his maternal grandfather, the Meng family, and exclude the royal family and his group of incompetent brothers and nephews. Even though important officials of the court jointly recommended him as the crown prince, the old man had no intention of making him the crown prince.
In fact, the old man was afraid that he would take the throne. Although he was obviously dying at the time, he still insisted on sending him to Songjiang City. Only then did he issue an order to choose Zhou Xuan, the second son of the deposed crown prince, to succeed him.
Zhou Xuan was the old man's most valued grandson, the next emperor chosen by him with great care. Only five years had passed, and he had already brought the Great Zhou to such a state of turmoil.
He didn't even need to do anything. A few natural disasters and man-made disasters were enough to lead to the demise of the Zhou Dynasty.
"There's another matter. Last month, the Minister of Revenue submitted a memorial stating that the issue of last year's Taihu Lake breach had not been fully resolved, and that drought in the north had also occurred, resulting in a significant reduction in tax revenues. The Minister of Revenue suggested cutting military supplies, but the Minister of War disagreed, leading to a huge argument in the court."
Prince Qi opened his arms, slowly leaned back on the pillow, and stretched his neck comfortably. "How did my good nephew judge?"
"He agreed to cut military supplies, with a focus on reducing military spending in the southwestern border areas. In the north, only the Northeast Army was mentioned."
Prince Qi sneered at his nephew who always put his schemes on the table. If he had known to be more tactful, he wouldn't have let others know that he was narrow-minded so quickly.
Nor would they turn the military's support to him so quickly.
The Northeast Army's military supplies will be unstable next year, and their dependence on Songjiang City will increase, which will be more conducive to Prince Qi's control of the Northeast Army.
Gu Wen has always wanted to find out the news from Luoyang, but his connections are limited, so he only heard some superficial news, and it was difficult to find out the undercurrents in the imperial city.
Gu Wen thought about it and decided that his family probably wouldn't enter the country again in the short term, so as long as Songjiang City was stable, that would be enough.
It snowed again, making it difficult to go out frequently. Gu Wen stayed at home reading, and occasionally went up the mountain with Master Guo and others to hunt, or to collect firewood.
Gu Youan often went to Zhang's house after winter.
Doctor Zhang Shinan's reputation gradually spread, and more and more patients went to Zhang Shinan for medical treatment and medicine. The Zhang family did not have enough medicinal materials, so Zhang Shinan had to buy medicinal materials from herbalists.
Zhang Shinan took Gu Youan to several valleys where herbalists lived and bought a lot of medicinal herbs. The words those herbalists used to Zhang Shinan were completely different from the words they used to send Gu Youan away at the beginning of the year.
Gu Youan knew that Zhang Shinan did it on purpose to discourage her from doing the medicinal materials business.
With the help of Zhang Shinan, Gu Youan gradually became familiar with the herbalists. The one with whom she had the best relationship was the herbalist named Hu who lived on the east side of Laohuling.
The Hu family, originally from Wumeng Prefecture in the southwest, had made their living collecting herbs for generations. The Hu family was divided into several branches, and the branch that had come to Songjiang City was the sixth branch of the Hu family, comprising thirty or forty people. Add to that other herbalists who had close ties with the Hu family, and the Han family collected a significant amount of herbs from them each year.
After Gu Youan became familiar with the Hu family, he curiously asked them why they didn't run their own pharmacy business. After all, the Hu family had their own people in many places where various medicinal materials were produced.
Hu Changpu, the eldest grandson of the Hu family, said with a smile, "A tall tree attracts the wind. Our ancestral precepts forbid the descendants of the Hu family from engaging in commerce. We, the Hu family, are born to be herbalists wandering the mountains and forests."
Gu Youan didn’t understand the Hu family’s ancestral precepts. She only needed to know that the Hu family’s medicinal herbs were good and in large quantities.
Gu Youan made no secret of her intention to find the Hu family, and the Hu family knew it. Hu Changpu's grandfather just smiled and said, "Young people have lofty ambitions. Once you go out into the world, you'll understand the benefits."
Hu Changpu privately told Gu Youan that their Hu family had been doing business with the Han family since they came to Songjiang City. Unless there was a major accident, the Hu family would not change people.
Apart from the Han family, the Hu family would only sell some bulk goods to other medicinal material merchants, just like what they sold to Zhang Shinan.
After Gu Youan knew what the Hu family meant, she didn't say much. Every time Zhang Shinan went to the Hu family, she followed him. It was always good to know more about medicinal materials.
The Hu family treated Gu Youan as a junior from a friend's family, and occasionally taught her some rules of the pharmacy. Gu Youan listened and remembered.
After this winter is over, Uncle Du should come to Songjiang City. I wonder how the medicinal herbs he brought back to Yizhou Prefecture are selling.
After this winter, Gu Youan stopped growing taller, and his thin muscles and bones gradually became plump, making him look more and more like a 28-year-old girl.
As the spring of the sixth year of Ruixing arrived, after the snow melted, each family went out to repair canals and plow the fields. Many people were surprised to see the eldest daughter of the Gu family again after a winter.
Many women who were on good terms with Mrs. Du went to her to inquire about the news, and their implicit meaning was: Your eldest daughter is seventeen years old now, it's time for her to get married.
No matter who approached her, Mrs. Du would evade the question: "My An'an is still young. It won't be too late to find someone else in a year or two."
The one who came to propose marriage this time was Bai. She wanted to propose marriage to her eldest son, but was rejected by Du.
Bai smiled and said, "In another year or two, your An'an will only be eighteen or nineteen, and my Dalang will be twenty-three or twenty-four. We can't wait any longer."
"I didn't ask your family to wait. You should find another good daughter-in-law."
The Du family and the Bai family have a good relationship, and the two families are friends who have been together for life, so naturally they say whatever they want when they talk.
Mrs. Du was like this, and so was Mrs. Bai. After being rejected, Mrs. Bai did not get angry, but only sighed: "Your An An is smart and so beautiful. I don't know whose son will be lucky enough to get her in the future."
Mrs. Du was also worried. She had asked her daughter a few days ago that the sons of the Tian and Zhang families, who had close ties with their family, were not interested in An An.
Gu Youan didn't care about these things. She knew that her appearance was too eye-catching, so she put on makeup to cover up her fair complexion. When she went out, she took her martial arts master Guo Su with her, so she didn't have to worry about anything wherever she went.
It's spring now, and the pharmacy business in Songjiang City is booming. She has to go and take a look.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
