Chapter 22 Chapter 22 I won’t change anyone’s fate except you…
"Master's Wife..."
Pei Zichen panicked and quickly opened his mouth to stop her, but Jiang Zhaoxue raised her fan, interrupting him. She looked at the woman who was hesitantly approaching and asked uncertainly, "Little girl, what do you mean by that word?"
"Literally." He smiled and held the fan out to the old lady. "If you can't tell me for sure, I'll pay you."
Upon hearing this, people around immediately started talking.
The old lady's eyes lit up, and she asked, "How much do you want for a fortune-teller?"
“This number.”
Jiang Zhaoxue raised a finger.
The old lady hesitated: "One cent?"
"One silver."
This was equivalent to one month's rent for the house they rented. The old lady's face changed instantly, and she angrily said, "Swindler?"
With that, the old lady walked away, "You're just a young girl, and you're already lying to me at such a young age? Humph."
Jiang Zhaoxue said nothing. She fanned herself and said slowly, "Auntie Dan, please be careful this afternoon."
"Are you still threatening me?"
The old lady turned back angrily: "You..."
Before she could finish her words, the old lady froze in shock and couldn't help but ask, "How do you know my last name is Dan?"
Jiang Zhaoxue smiled without saying anything. She raised her hand to her forehead, closed her eyes and rested, "I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow at noon."
She looked very young, but when she said this, she sounded a bit like a master.
Aunt Dan stood there in a daze, suddenly feeling a bit of awe. She didn't dare to speak for a moment, but she was aware that everyone was watching her and was afraid of losing face, so she just snorted coldly and turned away.
The fortune-telling stalls nearby all looked over secretly, some with curiosity, some with contempt, but no one exposed him.
Anyway, those who set up stalls here are all charlatans. Who would set up a stall here to tell fortunes as a serious immortal master?
After what happened to Aunt Dan, everyone around just looked at her curiously. Pei Zichen breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one came up. He sat with Jiang Zhaoxue for a whole day and closed up his stall in the evening and went back.
As they walked along the road, it was already nightfall. Taizhou City was deserted at night. As the two of them walked along the alley, Pei Zichen said worriedly, "Master's Wife, you boasted so much. Are you really going to tell the fortunes of these mortals?"
Jiang Zhaoxue listened with her arms crossed, then raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "Why, are you worried about me?"
Pei Zichen was speechless for a moment. Being told so bluntly, and knowing that this was the truth, he actually felt a little embarrassed.
He didn't know why he was embarrassed, so he pretended not to know his own emotions and said slowly, "Prying into the destiny of heaven will harm the master's wife herself, so I am naturally worried."
"How long will you worry about me?"
Jiang Zhaoxue looked back at him and asked questions that were always different from what he expected. He didn't dare to force Jiang Zhaoxue to answer him, and he didn't know how to answer this question.
Seeing that he was in a dilemma, Jiang Zhaoxue didn't force him. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, I know what to do. If reading horoscopes damages your luck, then I won't do it."
"Can you tell for sure?"
"I can't tell."
"That Aunt Dan..."
"Oh, I sprinkled some Yin Yang Powder on her." Jiang Zhaoxue said truthfully, "She will see ghosts all night tonight."
Hearing this, Pei Zichen immediately understood Jiang Zhaoxue's plan, but he remained silent as he pondered.
Seeing Pei Zichen silent, Jiang Zhaoxue thought he was unhappy and explained, "But don't worry, they can only see me. The Yin-Yang Powder is contaminated with my aura, so ordinary evil spirits won't dare to get close to me."
"Oh," Pei Zichen realized that Jiang Zhaoxue was explaining to him, but he didn't seem to care. He just nodded and said, "It's okay. I'm just worried about Master's Wife. Aunt Dan is relying on drugs, but where are the others?"
"Others?" Jiang Zhaoxue laughed, "Then it depends on my ability."
The two chatted as they returned, and Pei Zichen began to clean the house. He had simply cleaned Jiang Zhaoxue's room and started to clean his own. Jiang Zhaoxue listened to him tossing and turning outside for half the night, sighed, turned over, opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling.
Anan was tortured by Jiang Zhaoxue and couldn't help asking, "It's so late, isn't he tired?"
"Tired." Jiang Zhaoxue yawned in understanding, "But he's in such good health. How can he sleep if he doesn't work harder?"
Jiang Zhaoxue sighed as she listened to the sounds of sweeping, moving things, and wiping tables coming from outside...
Although Pei Zicheng had controlled the sound to be very low, it would start again every time he was about to fall asleep.
As soon as I fell asleep, it started ringing again.
She was tortured to the point of being in a trance. Finally, she couldn't help but get up, put on her clothes, opened the door, and said coldly, "Let's go buy some medicine."
Pei Zichen was puzzled: "Master's wife?"
Jiang Zhaoxue pulled him out and strode from one clinic to another.
Finally, she found a clinic and knocked on the door. The doctor had just woken up and opened the door. When he saw Jiang Zhaoxue, he was so scared that he closed the door immediately and screamed, "Woman!"
"What are you doing?" Jiang Zhaoxue knocked on the door. "Open the door. I'm buying medicine."
The doctor listened, panting rapidly, and said in a trembling voice: "You...you are alive?"
"Nonsense," Jiang Zhaoxue said immediately, "I need a tranquilizer, the kind for cows, ground into powder and eaten immediately."
The doctor listened, slowly calmed down, opened the door carefully, looked Jiang Zhaoxue up and down, and then slowly reacted: "Outsider?"
"Ah." Jiang Zhaoxue nodded. "What are the rules?"
"Oh..." The doctor breathed a sigh of relief and finally opened the door, letting the two in. He put on his clothes and got medicine for Jiang Zhaoxue and the others. "In recent years, women who go out at night will... Sigh, I haven't seen a woman going out at night for a long time."
"Evil?" Jiang Zhaoxue was curious.
The doctor shook his head: "I don't know, but anyway, if everyone stays at home at night, everything will be fine. The Ye family worships the immortal master, so nothing will happen during the day."
As he spoke, the doctor placed the medicine in Jiang Zhaoxue's hand, quoted the price to her, and then reassured her, "Don't worry."
"Thank you." Jiang Zhaoxue didn't take it to heart. Such late-night legends could be found everywhere.
She left with the medicine. Pei Zichen realized it later and said a little embarrassedly, "Master's wife...did I wake you up?"
"yes."
Jiang Zhaoxue handed him the medicine and couldn't help but say, "You really can't sleep. You have so much energy. Why don't you start a family? With a family, you can sleep well."
Pei Zichen listened, not quite understanding what Jiang Zhaoxue meant. He said apologetically in confusion, "Sorry, I won't do that again..."
"Oh, I'm really confused." Jiang Zhaoxue looked at his expression, patted his head, and waved his hand, "Forget it, forget it. Remember to take the medicine every night from now on. Anyway, I've been taking it for a long time..."
"You will suffer from long-term insomnia." Anan continued.
Jiang Zhaoxue paused, took a deep breath, turned around and looked at Pei Zichen, and said seriously: "It will be a new life."
Pei Zichen looked at Jiang Zhaoxue quietly. Jiang Zhaoxue turned around and walked ahead: "Keep going, you will find something that makes you feel happy. Then you won't feel pain anymore. You will just feel that it's great to be alive. I'd like to ask God to lend me another 50,000 years!"
Pei Zichen was holding the medicine and looked at the woman walking in front of him with her hand raised in a menacing manner. He couldn't help but chuckle, then lowered his eyes and followed her shadow.
When the two came back, Pei Zichen calmed down.
Jiang Zhaoxue slept until dawn. Half an hour before noon, Pei Zichen knocked on the door according to the time Jiang Zhaoxue told her. Jiang Zhaoxue washed up casually and followed Pei Zichen to the stall in a daze.
By the way, I think I shouldn’t set the stall time so early in the future.
As soon as she arrived at the stall, she saw Aunt Dan waiting there from a distance. People were still looking at her in confusion. As soon as Jiang Zhaoxue appeared, Aunt Dan rushed over and knelt down in front of Jiang Zhaoxue. Pei Zichen pulled Jiang Zhaoxue behind him, blocking the two of them. He stared at Aunt Dan warily and heard her shout, "Master! Save me, Master!"
This sudden change startled Jiang Zhaoxue. When she reacted, she raised her hand to press down Pei Zichen's hand that was blocking her. She said helplessly, "Auntie Dan, why are you so panicked? You are my guest." Jiang Zhaoxue raised her hand to help Auntie Dan up, and said in a friendly manner, "Come, sit down, Zichen will serve tea."
Pei Zichen listened, poured tea from the pot he brought, and handed it to Aunt Dan.
Everyone gathered around and looked at Aunt Dan anxiously, saying, "Master, just as you expected, I saw a ghost last night!"
"Okay." Jiang Zhaoxue glanced at her, shook the lottery box, and handed it to her, "Take one."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Dan trembled and drew a stick. Jiang Zhaoxue took out the jade stick, scanned the words on it, and sighed, "This calamity... is related to what happened to you back then."
When Aunt Dan heard this, her face changed drastically.
Jiang Zhaoxue raised her eyes and said mysteriously, "Yesterday was the day you became connected with her. She came back to find you."
"Connect...connect? What kind of connection do I have with her..."
Aunt Dan was confused for a moment, but Jiang Zhaoxue said nothing more. She simply threw the jade stick into the stick holder and said calmly, "This is against the moral principles of heaven. I won't accept your money. Go back to the city gate bridge, find the person, and bury him. If you offer sacrifices within seven days, you will survive this disaster safely. Otherwise, there will be bloodshed."
When she heard what was happening under the city gate bridge, Aunt Dan's face changed drastically, her eyes turned red, and her lips trembled slightly.
The people around looked surprised, and after looking at each other for a few seconds, they seemed to understand.
It took Aunt Dan a long time to react, and she said hurriedly, "Thank you, Master, thank you very much. I remember now, she should be twenty years old this year... a full year... I'll go right away... I'll go right away..."
As she said this, Aunt Dan wiped her tears, stood up and hurried away.
As soon as Aunt Dan left, there was an uproar around them. A moment later, a little girl in pink rushed forward, raised her hand and slapped a tael of silver on the table, her eyes full of expectation, and said, "Master, help me calculate it."
"Give me your hand." Jiang Zhaoxue pointed at the girl's hand with a fan, and the girl quickly spread out her hands.
Jiang Zhaoxue took a look and shook her head, saying, "This marriage is not easy."
The little girl was stunned and immediately became anxious: "You...you are a liar? Why is it not easy for my brother and I?"
"He's older than you," Jiang Zhaoxue glanced at her and continued, "He's a kind-hearted person. His status means he has some concerns. Even if he has feelings for someone, he won't show them to others casually."
"That's right." The little girl nodded, "He is a man who says one thing and means another."
"You can try to be brave," Jiang Zhaoxue glanced at the cat fur on her body, and then said, "Give him a cat."
"Give him a cat?" the little girl murmured, then she understood. "Yes, cats are so cute, he will definitely like them. I have to be brave."
“Keep going. Even though there will be some setbacks, as long as you are sincere enough, you will succeed!”
"Thank you so much!" The little girl finally showed gratitude after listening. "Actually, that's what I wanted to ask today. He just rejected me yesterday, and I don't know if I should continue. Thank you so much for your guidance, Master. I'll go back and work hard!"
Jiang Zhaoxue smiled and nodded, saying gently: "If your heart is sincere, heaven will help you. Go."
As he spoke, Jiang Zhaoxue looked at the line that had already formed and raised his hand to call out, "Next one."
In a short while, a line quickly formed at Jiang Zhaoxue's stall.
Although she was wearing a veil, she was obviously beautiful. Pei Zichen standing beside her looked like a golden boy and a jade girl, and they had an extraordinary ethereal aura.
Everyone who left her stall was extremely happy, as if her calculations were very accurate.
At night, when the two packed up their stall and left, Jiang Zhaoxue looked at Pei Zichen, who was walking beside her with a flag. He tapped her shoulder with his fan and said with a smile, "Have you figured out how I told your fortune today?"
"Observe and follow your heart," Pei Zichen concluded. "Speak ambiguously, using broad and pleasant statements, then intersperse them with specific information gained from observation. This will give people a sense of accuracy. If you can guess their personality and intentions, and follow their expectations, then you've become a master of divination. Most of the people at the Yue Lao Temple are scammers. Those who come here for fortune-telling are mostly concerned with trivial matters related to life's troubles and don't take them too seriously."
"Oh, you're not easy to fool." Jiang Zhaoxue said with a smile, "Do you want to learn it so that you can make a living in the future?"
"But I don't understand," Pei Zichen was curious, "how did you know that the body of the person related to Aunt Dan was under the city gate bridge?"
"Because of the karma in Aunt Dan's life, the blood stained is related to her." Jiang Zhaoxue's tone faded and she said calmly, "And when I asked her about her connection, she didn't even know what kind of connection she had with the other person. It shows that she spent very little time with the other person. That child must have been a very young child. And many places in the human world have designated places for abandoned babies. The place where babies were abandoned in Taizhou City—"
"Under the city gate bridge."
Pei Zichen listened and understood the reason. His expression remained calm as he said, "That's why Master-wife refused to accept her money. She has to pay for her karma herself."
"That's right." Jiang Zhaoxue nodded, her eyes filled with a kind of indifference that was out of touch with nature. "I didn't take care of the child when she abandoned her, so naturally I can't intervene and take care of her when she comes back."
Aunt Dan's story made her famous overnight.
From that day on, Jiang Zhaoxue started to set up a stall as a daily routine, and there began to be a mysterious, beautiful fortune-teller in front of Yue Lao Temple, who could live in a haunted house for a long time without any problem and could travel safely in Taizhou City at night.
Jiang Zhaoxue made a lot of money every day and never got tired of it. Pei Zichen saw that she had almost forgotten her original intention and wanted to remind her of the starting point of her fortune-telling, but seeing that Jiang Zhaoxue was so happy, he did not disturb her.
After counting for more than ten days, there was no movement from the Ye family. In early May, Jiang Zhaoxue was about to close her stall early and take Pei Zichen out for roast duck. As soon as she stood up, she heard a woman timidly ask, "Excuse me...are you Master Jiang?"
Jiang Zhaoxue turned around and glanced at the other person when he heard that.
This is a young couple. They don’t look rich and are dressed simply, but they have a clean temperament and must be an honest family.
The two of them were very close to each other, and they must have a good relationship. The woman's eyes were red and swollen, as if she had been crying for a long time. There was nothing special about her. The only thing that caught Jiang Zhaoxue's attention was the baby in the woman's arms.
In Jiang Zhaoxue's sight, the baby was almost emitting golden light, which was the magical light that only those with great luck could have.
She raised her eyebrows, and her tone couldn't help but become much better: "What can I do for you two?"
"I would like to ask the immortal master to tell my son's fortune."
As soon as the woman heard Jiang Zhaoxue speak, tears filled her eyes. She looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms and sobbed, "This is my new child, but all the immortal masters say that he is destined to be a lonely and evil spirit. If we force him to stay, he will be doomed to lose all his relatives. No matter how hard he tries, he will only live to seventeen. Everyone in the clan wants us to give him up, but this is our child, how can I give up? Please, immortal master, tell him a fortune-"
As the woman spoke, she glanced at her husband next to her. Her husband walked forward and respectfully handed Jiang Zhaoxue a brocade bag. Jiang Zhaoxue could tell at a glance that there were at least ten taels of silver in it.
She only paid one or two taels for fortune-telling, which was already very high at the fortune-telling stalls in Yue Lao Temple. She immediately understood that the couple didn't want her to tell their fortune, but to speak well of them, so that the child would not be discriminated against or oppressed by the clan members, and so that they could love him well.
Jiang Zhaoxue scoffed at the brocade bag, suppressing his anger and saying, "Take the money back. Who told you your fortune? Tell him to come to me. You're a bunch of good-for-nothings. It's fine if you're just lying, but how could you cheat someone with this? Didn't you pay enough?"
The two of them were stunned by this scolding. Jiang Zhaoxue looked at the baby, took out a bag of silver and money, and placed it in the baby's arms. He lowered his eyes to look at the child and whispered, "What is this child's name?"
"He hasn't been named yet...his nickname is Nian Nian."
"I'll never forget him," Jiang Zhaoxue said calmly, looking at the child. "He's a man of great fortune. Take him home and take good care of him. He'll have a smooth and prosperous life, and his relatives will benefit. The clan will prosper. With him, the family will surely thrive."
The couple looked shocked when they heard this.
Pei Zichen turned to look at her, wanting to say something, but stopped himself.
Jiang Zhaoxue didn't care at all and just teased the baby. The child seemed to hear Jiang Zhaoxue's voice. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Jiang Zhaoxue. He was not afraid at all. Instead, he babbled and stretched out his hand, as if he wanted to grab her.
Jiang Zhaoxue was amused by him, and the unhappiness in her heart also dissipated a little. She just looked up at the couple and said, "Go back and don't listen to their nonsense."
"But..." The husband was incredulous, "But even the one worshipped by the Ye family..."
"Let him come to me."
Jiang Zhaoxue squinted her eyes and said directly, "This child has been ordered by me to approve his decision, so he'll follow my orders. If anyone disagrees, come and challenge me."
Jiang Zhaoxue turned around and said, "Let's go."
Jiang Zhaoxue took Pei Zichen back. Pei Zichen was a quiet person to begin with, and he spoke even less along the way.
Jiang Zhaoxue noticed something was wrong with him and turned around to ask, "You looked unhappy just now. What's wrong?"
"Master's wife... do you like children very much?"
Pei Zichen hesitated to speak. Jiang Zhaoxue didn't understand why he asked this, so she said casually, "It's okay."
"Then..." Pei Zichen didn't know what he was asking, "With Master..."
"Oh my God, my ears hurt." Jiang Zhaoxue immediately raised her hands and covered her ears, obviously not wanting to hear about this.
Pei Zichen froze, thinking of Jiang Zhaoxue's time in Lingjian Xian Pavilion, and immediately realized that he had been an asshole.
Jiang Zhaoxue is not made of clay, so how could she not have a temper? She must not like those days.
Seeing that he remained silent, Jiang Zhaoxue covered her ears and turned back: "What exactly do you want to ask?"
"Master's Wife just now..." Pei Zichen hesitated. The moment he opened his mouth, he didn't know why, but he felt a deep and bitter pain in his chest, which was already terribly empty. "Are you changing the fate of that child?"
Just like what you did to him, change his fate to be lonely and without relatives.
Jiang Zhaoxue listened and looked at him strangely: "How is that possible? He has good luck. I gave him money just to earn some luck from him in return, right?"
These words made Pei Zichen stunned.
Jiang Zhaoxue glanced at him with disdain, then walked forward: "Except for you, I won't change anyone's life."
Pei Zichen stood there, speechless.
He just felt that his heart suddenly jumped, and then suddenly fell.
At that moment, he suddenly realized that when she turned around to look at him and said, "I will not change anyone's life except you," he suddenly seemed to feel less pain.
She could see him.
He seemed to have a desire, but he didn't dare to identify it.
I could only walk forward silently, step on her shadow, and follow her home.
The next day, Jiang Zhaoxue followed Pei Zichen to work at noon. As soon as they arrived at Yue Lao Temple, they felt something was wrong. There was a loud noise in front of them, and a group of people were standing around the entrance of Yue Lao Temple.
Leading the way was a white-haired old man in a Taoist robe, holding a whisk and standing at Jiang Zhaoxue's original stall, looking at the banner hung by Jiang Zhaoxue.
Jiang Zhaoxue stopped and Pei Zichen immediately stepped forward, protecting Jiang Zhaoxue behind him but leaving her space to observe others.
The old man heard the sound and realized that Jiang Zhaoxue had arrived.
He turned around, his eyes swept over Jiang Zhaoxue, and said slowly: "Are you Jiang Zhaoxue?"
"yes."
Jiang Zhaoxue immediately understood the other party's intention and asked directly, "It was you who gave Nian Nian the fate of being destitute and unlucky?"
"Yes." The old man answered without hesitation, flicked the whisk in his hand, raised his hand to salute, and said seriously, "I am Ye Wenzhen from Tianji Academy, nice to meet you, young friend."
-----------------------
The author has something to say: [Small Theater]
Jiang Zhaoxue: "Fortune-telling is a unique form of psychological therapy for the Chinese. Psychological counselor Jiang Zhaoxue is online to serve you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
