Chapter 3265 Persuasion
Zhou Man: "We are here to have fun."
Daoxu was surprised, "So free?"
He was very suspicious. "I thought you were very busy. The Buddhists who came to burn incense these days all said that the master from India met you and was in trouble. Shouldn't you be busy fighting right now? How can you still have time to play in the Taoist temple?"
Zhou Man: "You know a lot."
"Of course. After all, I've been here for a while."
Zhou Man declared with a serious face: "There is no fighting, we are in a cooperative relationship, everything is for His Majesty."
Daoxu looked full of disbelief, while Daohe's expression didn't change much. He nodded gently and just reminisced about the past with Zhou Man, occasionally talking about the landscapes and customs they had seen in the places they had visited over the years.
It was not until noon, when Zhou Man was about to go see Abbot Zhang, that he said, "My junior brother and I are temporarily staying at Xuandu Abbey to practice. If you need our help, you can send someone to find us."
Zhou Man smiled slightly and nodded, "Thank you."
Daohe smiled, took Daoxu and said goodbye and left.
Mingda looked at Daohe's departing figure thoughtfully, "If father wants to practice Taoism, it would be a good idea to invite this young Taoist priest to the palace to discuss Taoism. It would be better than indulging in the vain hope of immortality."
Zhou Man: "This is different. It's because of the timing. If it weren't for your Majesty's illness..." She paused here and didn't say anything else.
A few years ago, the emperor also scoffed at this, but he has been in poor health in the past two years. People are like this, when they ask for something, they will have doubts.
The emperor's original intention was not to seek the truth, but to survive and live longer.
Mingda said nothing more.
In the afternoon, when little Bai Ruoyu was still taking a nap in the side room, Zhou Man took Mingda and Bai Er to see Master Zhang.
Master Zhang was there to greet them at the gate, and it didn't look at all like he had been in seclusion before.
Mingda's eyes swept across Master Zhang's face, and he lowered his voice and asked, "Is this what you meant by over sixty?"
Although Master Zhang's beard was gray and his hair was a mixture of black and white, he did not look like a man over sixty at all. He looked about the same as her father, or even younger than her father.
Zhou Man counted on his fingers and said in a low voice, "Next year I will be seventy years old."
Mingda was surprised. Bai Erlang also whispered beside him, "Taoists who know how to maintain their health live longer and look younger than ordinary people. Master Zhang can also make elixirs. Manbao and I have seen it."
Master Zhang, who was still quite sharp-eyed and sharp-eared, stood at the gate of the courtyard with a smile on his face, waiting for them to slowly move over.
After saying this, Zhou Man quickened his pace and walked forward with Mingda. "It's been many years since we last met. Master Zhang is still so energetic."
Master Zhang smiled and bowed, saying, "Master Zhou has grown up quite a bit. I pay my respects to the princess and her husband."
Knowing that they had something to discuss, Taoist Master Yu served tea and then left without staying to disturb them.
As soon as the bystanders left, Zhou Man conspired with Master Zhang, oh no, it was to persuade him with both reason and emotion.
Master Zhang almost choked on his own saliva, "What? You want me to make an elixir?"
He immediately refused, "No, no, Master Zhou, you know me. The pills I refine are only for treating minor illnesses, and they are all for maintenance. They don't have much effect."
If he wanted to make elixirs, he would have participated when Changsheng Temple and Minister Cui came to him and asked them to participate. He just didn't want to get involved in this mess, so he wanted to write to Zhou Man and ask her to come back.
Although the letter was not sent, but...
He never expected that Zhou Man would ask him to make elixirs after returning to Beijing.
Zhou Man said hurriedly: "I am not refining the elixir for His Majesty, but for Princess Mingda."
She lowered her voice and said, "No matter what kind of elixir is refined, it will be useful to the princess. Xuandu Temple can use this reputation to suppress Na Luoer."
"As far as I know, Naraku entered the palace to refine elixirs for His Majesty. Xuandu Temple twice rejected Changsheng Temple's invitation to refine elixirs. Now its reputation among the people has plummeted, and it has even been criticized within the Taoist sect. Doesn't the temple master want to salvage some of this?"
Master Zhang said seriously, "My Xuandu Temple pursues the heart of Taoism. Cultivation is about asking questions of the heart. It is not a school of alchemy. Master Zhou has invited the wrong person."
"Oh, this isn't a conflict. We're just collaborating for a while, and it won't last long. Once we get what we want, the cooperation will end. If Master Zhang doesn't want to become too famous in the alchemy world, he can stop refining pills after that."
Master Zhang couldn't help but look at her, "What do Lord Zhou and the princess want?"
Zhou Man lowered his voice and said, "Then Luo Er's blood."
Master Zhang looked at her with horror, and Zhou Man quickly said, "Don't worry, it's not much, just make him bleed a little. A bowl is enough, and I wouldn't mind half a bowl."
Zhang Zhenren then recalled the Indian monk's supposed lifespan of two hundred years. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Did Lord Zhou request this blood himself, or did Your Majesty..."
Zhou Man was about to answer, but Mingda said quickly, "That's what I want."
She smiled slightly and said, "Luo Er claims to be two hundred years old, but I don't believe it. I want to take his blood and see if he is really two hundred years old."
Although Master Zhang didn't know how to tell age from blood, shouldn't age be determined by feeling the bones and taking the pulse?
But thinking that Zhou Man was a doctor, she must know more than him in this area, so he pondered, "That pill..."
Zhou Man said, "When the time comes, Master Zhang can just refine a furnace of elixirs to calm the mind and nourish the body. The princess will definitely agree."
Master Zhang was in a dilemma. This matter was not a big deal, but it was not a small matter either. If it got out of hand, the harm would be severe.
After a while, Master Zhang said, "I need to think about this matter. I can't give the princess an answer for now."
Mingda nodded and said, "I'm waiting for Master Zhang's reply at the Princess's Mansion."
Master Zhang looked at Zhou Man, and Zhou Man winked at Mingda and Bai Er, and the two of them said goodbye first.
When there were only two people left in the room, Master Zhang relaxed a lot. He sighed and said, "Master Zhou, isn't this just putting my Xuandu Temple on the fire?"
Zhou Man disagreed. "As long as we withdraw in time, it will be a win-win situation. After refusing to refine the elixir twice, Xuandu Temple's reputation is far less than before. Why don't you seize this opportunity?"
"You're the imperial physician, so why don't you just feel his pulse and rub his bones? It doesn't take much blood, so it shouldn't be difficult to get, right?"
"It's really difficult," Zhou Man said, spreading his hands. "I asked him to come, but he wouldn't even feel my pulse, let alone touch my bones and ask for blood."
Master Zhang hinted, "Your Majesty's divine instruction..."
Zhou Man shook his head. "Although many civil and military officials dislike this eminent monk, he has indeed done nothing bad to tarnish his reputation since entering the capital. On the contrary, he enjoys a good reputation among ordinary people. The Great Jin is a great country, and Your Majesty is the Heavenly Khan. It is impossible to force him."
Master Zhang: "...Aren't we forcing people now?"
"We are us, and His Majesty is His Majesty," Zhou Man said, "We are all small people, and we don't have much of a reputation burden. Besides, the princess doesn't mind, so why should we mind?"
Master Zhang said unhappily, "You have nothing to do with this matter, so of course you don't mind."
In this plan, Xuandu Temple and the princess are the ones at the forefront, okay?
(End of this chapter)
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