Chapter 25 Huaiyuan Returns to Daoist Master, My Master is Interrogating Someone in the Dungeon...
As soon as summer arrives, the weather gradually becomes sweltering, and even the floor tiles get hot from the sun.
After Zijing and Xie Cheng left, the temple suddenly felt much emptier.
For two consecutive days, Yu Nie felt rather uncomfortable.
It was lively with lots of people around, and since she didn't like quiet, it was rather boring without anyone to argue with.
"Boring, so incredibly boring," she muttered to herself, resting her chin on her hand under the shade of the awning. Her bright eyes were slightly narrowed, and she looked as if she were about to fall asleep, as she stirred the paint in the medicine pot.
Seeing her lazy appearance, Ah Hui thought she was dizzy from the sun, so he went to the storage room and found a bamboo mat.
A mat was placed on top of the shade, which immediately blocked out much of the summer heat.
She kept complaining about being hot in the sun, so yesterday he set up a simple shed under the eaves, which works very well for providing shade and shelter from the rain.
The pigments made for the Rong family are now mostly complete. It will be finished in two more days.
Having found a good opportunity, things become twice as efficient with half the effort. Compared to the first time we agreed to work with the Rong family, the delivery date is now more than half a month earlier.
Langxi was carefully wrapping the paint in oil paper when he noticed Yu Nie looking drowsy. He couldn't help but say softly, "Junior Sister, if you're tired, why don't you go back to your room and lie down for a while? Ah Hui and I will take care of things here, so nothing will go wrong."
Yu Nie lazily stirred the paint in the pot, yawned a long yawn, rubbed his eyes, and seemed a bit more energetic: "I'm not sleepy, Junior Sister, it's just that sitting here for so long is making me feel stuffy and a little bored."
Lang Xi smiled and said, "Since Commandant Huan and Guard Xie left, you've seemed listless these past two days. If you miss them, why don't you go into the city and visit them?"
“I’m not going.” She turned the spoon in the medicine pot. “The day before yesterday, when we went to return that box of gold to the Rong family, didn’t Madam Rong say that the entire county government, from top to bottom, had been dismissed, and the He family, with more than a dozen members, had all been imprisoned? Right now, those two must be extremely busy. If I go, I’ll just be causing them trouble.”
As she spoke, she seemed to regret it a little: "It's all because we entered the city too late, and the county government is in the south of the city, which is far away. Otherwise, we could have joined in the fun and seen what happened to He Renzhi."
"And then there's He Chenlao. I ran into him at the tavern last time. He was spewing filth, so I taught him a lesson with powder made from blister beetles. Now that he's in jail, I don't think he'll have the chance to act arrogantly and spout nonsense again."
"That's for sure. He Chenlao's sins are even greater than those of his father, He Renzhi. According to the laws of Beiye, it's uncertain whether he can live."
All the prepared pigments were carefully wrapped up. Langxi counted the dozens of sealed packets of peacock blue pigment and placed them into the wooden box in order: "Sixty-six packets, more than half. Make another sixty packets, and we can deliver to the Rong family."
Thinking of the Rong family's affairs, Lang Xi paused for a moment: "Speaking of which, your mastery of this peacock blue technique is inseparable from the He family. If they hadn't been pressing the Rong family step by step, how would we have known that the Rong family was in need of this color? If we didn't know, we naturally wouldn't have been able to earn this money."
Langxi remarked with deep feeling: "All things in this world are truly interconnected, and fortune and misfortune are interdependent."
"Junior Sister is right, but we don't need to thank the He family. It's fortunate that I was able to concoct the Peacock Blue. If I hadn't been able to, and the Xuan Ce Army hadn't discovered his embezzlement and treason, wouldn't the Rong family have been in deep trouble and probably wouldn't have escaped annihilation." These words perfectly echoed Ah Hui's thoughts, and he gestured to praise her for being right.
The three of them were engrossed in their conversation in the backyard, completely unaware of the shouts coming from the front yard.
Just then, Aunt Liu returned from picking wild vegetables outside and led the man to the backyard.
Upon seeing the people who had come with Aunt Liu, Yu Nie greeted them warmly: "Butcher Zhang, it's been a while. How have you been?"
This butcher was a burly man with thick eyebrows that looked like ink-stained brush tips. His eyes, though not very large, were bright and piercing. He spoke with a simple and honest tone: "Thank you for your concern, young Taoist priest. Things have been going well at home lately, the butcher shop is thriving, and everything is going smoothly."
Yu Nie said, "That's good, but today is the fifteenth of the month, why is the butcher here today?"
On the fifteenth of each month, the entire Lingbao Temple closes its doors for quiet meditation, focusing solely on chanting scriptures and holding religious ceremonies, and does not receive any visitors. She assumed that Butcher Zhang had come to offer incense, pray to the gods, and seek divination, which is why she asked such a question.
Zhang the butcher smiled honestly, handed over the bamboo basket in his hand, and said, "My wife's family came and brought some local specialties. She asked me to send some to the Taoist priests to try. She said that Taoist Priest Langxi did a very good job with the ritual last time, and she wants to invite him again next time."
Langxi hurriedly stepped forward, clasped his hands in refusal, and said, "No, no, this is not right. The rituals and ceremonies are my duty, and my master repeatedly instructed me before he left, so I dare not forget. The butcher has already donated incense money, so how can I possibly accept any other generous gifts?"
"This is hardly a generous gift, just two bottles of Shaoxing rice wine, three bottles of plum sauce, and two boxes of cumin powder." Butcher Zhang lifted the lid of the basket to show her: "Please don't be so polite, Taoist priest, just accept it."
These items are all rare finds. Even in places like Huaiyuan, they are hard to find in ordinary markets.
Normally, just gathering these few items would require relying on passing caravans to carry them, which would take at least two or three months, and it also depended on luck whether they could be brought to market.
It's the kind of thing that's hard to find even if you want to buy it. Butcher Zhang essentially paid a huge price.
"We are truly unworthy of such a generous gift; how can we possibly accept it?" Langxi declined, saying, "We appreciate the kindness of Brother Butcher and your wife, but we should take these gifts back to share with our families."
Butcher Zhang was adamant and insisted on placing the bamboo basket on the table: "If you insist on not accepting it, you are disrespecting my wife and me."
Just as Lang Xi was about to speak, Butcher Zhang continued, "Taoist Master, just consider this a celebration of the He family's execution. He Renzhi has been running rampant in Huaiyuan for many years, riding high on us ordinary folks. The other day, when we saw his whole family being escorted onto a prison cart by Xuan Ce's army, everyone in and around the streets cheered and jumped for joy. Every citizen in the city was clapping and cheering."
"Taxes are collected seven or eight times a year, driving countless families to ruin and death. Some jump into wells, others sell their children..." As he spoke, Butcher Zhang suddenly wiped away tears, his eyes reddening: "My old neighbors of decades... if they could see this day, they would rest in peace in the afterlife."
Yu Nie understood that the "old neighbor" Zhang the butcher mentioned was the porridge shop owner who had died unexpectedly years ago. The fire that year not only destroyed half of the street, but also caused the butcher shop to suffer an undeserved disaster.
After hearing Zhang the butcher's words, the others remained silent, their hearts filled with sorrow. Only the people of Huaiyuan knew how much suffering they had endured in recent years.
Aunt Liu, being gentle by nature, couldn't hold back her tears and stepped forward to comfort Butcher Zhang, saying, "Brother, don't be sad. He Renzhi is like a demon entering the King of Hell's palace; he can't escape."
“Oh, oh… what elder sister says is true.” Butcher Zhang wiped his face with his sleeve: “Look at me, such a rough man, I can’t stop crying when I talk about the past, it’s making you all laugh.”
Yu Nie shook his head and said softly, "What are you saying, butcher? If you weren't a person of deep feelings, why would you shed tears for an old friend?"
Lang Xi also said, "My junior sister is right. The butcher is just a man of character. How could we juniors laugh at him?"
Butcher Zhang chuckled heartily. Aunt Liu wanted to go in and pour him a bowl of tea, but he politely declined, waving his hand repeatedly and saying, "No need to trouble yourself. I have things to do at home and need to rush back. I won't disturb your peaceful retreat any longer."
Seeing that they couldn't stop him, Yu Nie and Lang Xi exchanged a glance, then turned around and took some exquisite pastries that Rong Zhai had given them. They carefully packed them into a food box and handed them to him without any room for refusal: "Take these pastries back with you, butcher, so your family can also have a taste."
Unable to refuse, Zhang the butcher thanked him repeatedly and then left the temple gate with his bamboo basket.
After watching the butcher leave, Yu Nie and the others returned to the temple. When they talked about what had just happened, everyone felt uneasy.
Aunt Liu said angrily, "If He Renzhi's head is ever chopped off, I will definitely go and see for myself whether his blood is black or not."
“Whether his blood is black is still uncertain, but his heart is undoubtedly black,” Yu Nie said.
Following her words, Ah Hui gestured in the air for a while, even he, who was usually easygoing, was indignant.
After he finished gesturing, Yu Nie put his arm around his shoulder and said, "Don't be angry, Junior Brother. Tomorrow I'll go and find out when He Renzhi will be beheaded. We can then have a big feast on his death anniversary to celebrate."
When Aunt Liu heard that she was going to the city, she immediately beamed with joy. Without bothering to find out if it was true or not, she quickly added, "That's right, that's right! You have to find out for us carefully. We'll definitely make a big fuss about it later, even more lively than the New Year, with colorful lanterns and firecrackers."
Just as Yu Nie was about to explain that he had only mentioned it casually, Lang Xi solemnly echoed, "I will go with my junior sister tomorrow. If we all go, we can also visit Commandant Huan and Guard Xie."
Langxi was a person who hated evil as if it were her enemy. Usually gentle, she showed a rare sharpness at this moment, wishing she could rush to the government office and ask He Renzhi about his death date.
Everyone was saying that, so she felt embarrassed to say anything else. She opened her mouth and closed it again, and could only agree.
*
The next day, just after noon, the four people in the temple finished packing.
Yu Nie put the harness hook on the little red horse. Today, the four of them were going out, and one horse was not enough, so they had to use a carriage.
After putting on the harness, she and Ah Hui sat on the edge of the cart, waiting for Lang Xi and Aunt Liu to come out.
Aunt Liu specially packed freshly steamed locust flower rice in a food box, along with pumpkin steamed with yellow wine given by Butcher Zhang, before boarding the carriage. Lang Xi helped carry the food box and followed behind.
The carriage creaked and groaned as it swayed along the official road into the city.
They arrived at the government office. Yu Nie looked up at the government office in front of him. It was no different from before, except that the guards at the gate had been changed.
Judging from their attire, they were clearly from Xuan Ce's army.
Yu Nie nimbly leaped down from the carriage, straightened his Taoist robe, and walked to the gate to bow to the guards.
After explaining her purpose to the guard at the gate, he went inside to report. She stood at the gate waiting.
Inside the carriage, Langxi and the others slightly lifted the corner of the curtain to observe their surroundings.
After a while, the guard came out quickly from inside, clasped his hands and said, "My master invites all the Taoist priests to wait in the side hall."
Upon hearing this, Yu Nie turned around and raised her hand towards the carriage.
Seeing that they could go in, Lang Xi and the others immediately got out of the carriage with their things.
The guards led the group through the corridor, and as they looked into the increasingly magnificent and ornately decorated county magistrate's mansion, they were dumbfounded, never expecting the backyard of the county government to be so extravagant.
The guards led them to a side hall where they were seated, and the maids served them tea one after another.
Looking around but not seeing Zijing, Yu Nie asked the guard in confusion, "Where is your master?"
The guard respectfully replied, "Reporting to the Taoist priest, my master is interrogating a wanted criminal in the dungeon."
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Author's Note: Although I didn't make the list again today, I still have 29 favorites!
Thank you all for your support (bows [laughing][laughing])
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