Chapter 100 She is still so bold
On the high platform, the fairy lady was still singing and dancing. Just like last time at Erya's house, she would dance for a while until she was sweating profusely, then rest for a while before continuing to dance.
By the time she finished dancing, half an hour had passed. Finally, she did her signature move, raised her peach wood sword, pointed it westward, and bellowed, "Three or five will be complete, the sun and moon will rise, demons and monsters, leave!"
Then he picked up the bowl on the incense table, took a sip, and sprayed it on the prepared paper talisman. He swung his sword a few times, and several blood marks appeared on the talisman.
When everyone saw this miracle, they opened their mouths in shock.
"The Fairy Goddess has appeared! The Fairy Goddess has appeared!" someone shouted.
Zhuang Wan nudged Erya and Tiedan: "It's your turn, go up."
Leading the charge was Tiedan, a mischievous fellow, as his name suggests. He ran up to the platform in his crotchless pants, brandishing a small wooden sword in a serious manner.
"What's so difficult about this?" He sniffed his nose and said, "I can do it too!"
A child suddenly appeared on the high platform. The fairy was stunned for a moment, then her face turned bad and she went to chase the child away.
"Where did this little kid come from? Get down here!"
But she was fat and slow in movement. Tiedan, as nimble as a loach, slipped under her armpits and reached the incense table. He imitated her, drank some water, and then sprayed it on the paper talisman.
The small peach wood sword was swung twice, and several blood marks immediately appeared on the paper talisman.
The audience was in an uproar: "What's going on? How come this kid also knows immortal magic?"
The fairy woman's face changed drastically and she rolled up her sleeves to catch Tiedan.
Tiedan made a face: "Lululu... come and catch me!"
At this time, Erya, with her hair in two buns, also ran up to the platform and said, "I also understand magic. If you don't believe me, just watch."
She took out a few pieces of paper from her body, took a big sip of water and sprayed it on the paper, then also waved the peach wood sword.
Several bright red bloodstains soon appeared on the paper.
"What...what is going on?"
The people below began to whisper.
"Could it be that these two children are also fairy children?"
"They are not fairy children. I recognize them. They are from Liu Dazhu's family in Lihua Lane."
"Yeah, then how come they also know fairy arts?"
Someone in the crowd realized that the situation was out of control and was about to step forward to stop it. However, after taking a step, he felt a pain in his knee and fell down immediately.
The fairy was furious and anxious, her face filled with panic. She waved her fat hands and said, "Whose children are you? If you disrupt the fairy's practice, don't blame me for being rude!"
She rushed over in anger to grab Arya, but the next moment she tripped and fell to the ground with a thud.
Zhuang Wan retracted her foot and clapped her hands for everyone to be quiet.
"My fellow villagers, please listen to me."
She was pretty, with red lips and white teeth, and dressed in men's clothes. Compared with the fairy woman just now, she looked more like a fairy who had descended to the earth.
The crowd below the stage gradually quieted down.
Zhuang Wan took out a piece of paper and spitted it on. This time, she didn't use a wooden sword, but simply scratched it with her fingers. The marks quickly turned red, looking like blood.
Everyone was stunned.
Then she took out a piece of white silk cloth, poured water on it, and then stepped on it. Soon, the footprints on it turned red, still like blood.
"Did you see that?" Zhuang Wan said loudly amidst the crowd's astonishment, "What you just saw wasn't some magical technique; it was just some quackery."
She pointed at the bowl and said, "The water here is laced with alkali, the same salt we use in cooking. And I've smeared turmeric on my fingers. When the alkali water touches the turmeric, it turns red. Everyone can do this trick. I can, these two kids can, and any of you can do it. If you don't believe me, try it yourself at home."
As soon as these words were spoken, the place suddenly became lively.
The fairy woman fell to the ground and was struggling at first, but now her face was ashen.
Zhuang Wan added, "She's just lying to you about her supposed immortal abilities. Even the woman in the cage you just saw isn't possessed by an evil spirit. She's in cahoots with her, putting on a show for you."
Everyone looked at the lady in the cage, only to see that her face had changed. The crazy expression she had before was gone, and only panic remained in her eyes.
The audience was becoming increasingly chaotic, as if some kind of faith had collapsed, and after disappointment came anger.
Some people started hurling curses at the fairy, and then more and more people started throwing things. Zhuang Wan quickly dodged to the side to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
After everyone finished venting their emotions, Zhuang Wan asked them to calm down.
She looked at a sad and desperate couple in the crowd. They were the parents of the child in the cage.
"Actually, your child isn't possessed by an evil spirit," Zhuang Wan told them. "He's just sick."
"There are all sorts of strange illnesses in this world, some of which we rarely see. But they are truly just illnesses, not evil spirits. If you're sick, you need to seek treatment and consult a doctor. What's the point of asking these charlatans for help? Go and ask carefully: have the sick people in the past who have consulted a shaman recovered?"
"Yes, that's true..." Someone also slowly recalled: "Many families have asked the witch to treat their illnesses, but none of them worked. Some even died not long after."
"No wonder she performs rituals for us at the Caishikou every three months. She wants us to trust her. This damn old hag, I almost broke the bank last year when she treated my father. But she scammed me out of my money, and my father died not long after."
There were many people in the crowd who had been deceived by the witch. They became angrier and angrier as they spoke, and finally rushed up to the platform.
The scene began to become chaotic.
While Zhuang Wan's goal was to expose superstition, she also didn't want anyone killed. Seeing the witch, her face bruised and swollen, gasping for breath, she anxiously looked toward the alley entrance.
Fortunately, the people from the yamen arrived in time and quickly controlled the situation. The fairy woman and others were detained.
.
At the beginning of August, Pei Xingju set out to leave the palace.
Early in the morning, Chen Yi came to see him off and had breakfast with him.
Pei Xingju drank two mouthfuls of porridge and saw that he looked worried. He asked, "You looked like this. I thought you couldn't bear to leave me."
Chen Yi raised his head and gulped down the porridge, sighing, "The auspicious date for Princess Wu Jing and I has been set."
"Which day?"
"The Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated it to be November of this year."
The wedding was scheduled in July and was held in November, so there was only four months to prepare, which was indeed a bit rushed.
Chen Yi said, "It usually takes a year or two for a normal family to prepare for their children's marriage. Princess Wu Jing is still a princess of Lu, after all. Why is the emperor so anxious?"
"I think it's not difficult for you to guess." Pei Xingju said.
Shen Yi leaned closer and whispered, "Is there any movement in Lu State?"
Pei Xingju nodded. "According to news from Lu, the emperor is seriously ill, and his princes are fighting among themselves. I'm afraid Prince Wenle can't wait to see you get married, and will return to Lu soon."
"No wonder!" Chen Yi said, "The Emperor is probably afraid of changes, so he wants us to get married as soon as possible."
"So..." Shen Yi pondered, "It won't take three years."
"What three years?"
"Ah, nothing, just the agreement between me and Princess Wu Jing."
After dinner, Chen Yi escorted Pei Xingju out of Lingxiao Courtyard. When they reached the south gate of the palace, the Ministry of Justice and several other officials were waiting there.
Pei Xingju said goodbye to them one by one and then got on the carriage.
Not long after, the secret guard caught up with him on horseback and handed him a letter.
It was just a simple letter, but Pei Xingju read it very carefully. After reading it, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
After a moment, he asked, "Are there any other suspicious people around her?"
The secret guard said, "We didn't find anyone suspicious, but the mother and daughter living next door seemed to have known Miss Zhuang for a long time."
Pei Xingju frowned: "Recognize him? How did you recognize him?"
Zhuang Wan had just arrived in Luyang and should have been unfamiliar with the place, but she was able to meet a mother and daughter who lived thousands of miles away.
The secret guard said, "My subordinates have investigated and it is said that the mother and daughter used to work with a caravan traveling to the capital. They have been to the capital before and may have met Miss Zhuang there."
After a moment of silence, Pei Xingju ordered, "Go and find out what caravan the mother and daughter are working with, and also check who the caravan has contact with."
"yes."
"Oh right..." Pei Xingju ordered, "Send a message to Jingzhe, asking her to protect him secretly and not leave at any time."
The secret guard was puzzled when he heard Pei Xingju helplessly say, "She is still so bold after leaving the capital. She dares to destroy other people's jobs alone."
"Yes." The secret guard went there immediately.
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