Chapter 420 A Dilapidated Taoist Temple in the Tang Dynasty: The Little Female Taoist Priest (The End)
After her apprentice left, Jiang Yue stayed alone in her room. Bored, she watched some videos. The journey that followed was similar to the one before. Bringing Jiang Yue along didn't help much. She was gone for more than half a year and didn't return to Chang'an until the summer of the following year. On the surface, everything seemed peaceful, but in reality, turbulent emotions were brewing beneath the surface.
Several waves of assassins came along the way, but the emperor quietly dealt with them all. Jiang Yue also realized that bringing them out was just to make them targets. Look at all the people here, who hasn't been targeted? The main problem is that although the things the protagonist has done over the years have benefited the people, he has offended all the powerful families.
If people don't go after him, who else can they turn to? The emperor is even more of a threat. If he didn't support the protagonist, how could he have done so much? He's not someone to be trifled with, even when people are driven to the brink. And the assassins he keeps at home aren't just sitting around doing nothing either.
After returning to Chang'an, the protagonist's research institute was established. The establishment of the research institute meant that the Tang Dynasty was about to enter an era of rapid development. It's been a while since the little apprentice has been home. Jiang Yue didn't bother to find out what they were researching, mainly because it wouldn't be of much use to her.
Jiang Yue wasn't idle either. Since there was no hope of her little apprentice taking over the Taoist temple, she found a disciple for him. This disciple was the granddaughter of the owner of the shop in Chang'an City where Jiang Yue used to buy medicine. In recent years, some changes had happened in her family, and the little girl was neither loved by her maternal grandmother nor her uncle. So Jiang Yue simply took her in as her disciple.
It just so happens that she has been exposed to medicinal herbs since she was a child, so learning Jiang Yue's medical skills will save her a lot of time. In this era, a Taoist priest cannot rely on others; having a skill is the best way to survive. When her little apprentice came back to see Jiang Yue, Jiang Yue told her about this directly.
Then, while she was at home, Jiang Yue asked her to take care of the child and get to know him better. As for teaching him, she didn't have time anyway, so Jiang Yue would teach him. The child was very cute, and Jiang Yue wasn't worried that her apprentice wouldn't like him. Both the master and apprentice were attracted to good looks, so if the child was cute, it was basically a sure thing.
Formal apprenticeship will have to wait; it will take several years to assess her character and so on. Jiang Yue is confident that a young girl can't be fooled. Taking on apprentices now is possible, but people can go astray, so it's better to set a longer probationary period. Just like when Jiang Yue took on her apprentices, didn't she wait several years?
The grand-apprentice was not as smart as the young apprentice, but he was hardworking, serious, and able to concentrate on his studies. He also had more talent in medicine than the young apprentice. In the following years, Jiang Yue was busy studying and teaching the grand-apprentice, while the young apprentice stayed at the research institute. During holidays, he would go back to the Taoist temple to accompany Jiang Yue and her apprentice. Although the two did not see each other often, they still had a good relationship.
When her youngest apprentice was in her twenties, Jiang Yue had mastered almost all of Jiang Yue's medical skills. Jiang Yue had taken her along for the free clinics at the Taoist temple over the years, and now it was time for her to go out and make her own way. Jiang Yue gave her some money and sent a puppet to travel around, so that she could broaden her horizons and visit famous teachers to study medical skills.
Five years after his grand-disciple left, the protagonist finally managed to tinker with the steam engine, and the railway from Chang'an to Luoyang was completed after three years of construction. Of course, we won't go into the cost and how many Japanese died during this process.
When the first train of the Tang Dynasty was put into trial operation, Jiang Yue was already over 70 years old. She wanted to ride the train, but her apprentices, grand-apprentices, and grand-grand-apprentices all disagreed, on the grounds that there were still risks in the first trial operation. They would invite Jiang Yue to ride when the train was officially opened.
Two people each held onto one of Jiang Yue's arms, and another person held onto her leg. None of the three would let her leave. Helpless, Jiang Yue had no choice but to give up. After all, being over 70 years old was already quite old these days. Jiang Yue looked towards the direction of the railway tracks with a bit of regret. This first run was very memorable, but it was a pity she was going to miss it.
As an elderly woman, Jiang Yue is no longer suited to moving around. Recently, her young apprentices have been suggesting that she move to the foot of the mountain, but Jiang Yue has resolutely refused. She is not so old that she can't walk. Although she has never taken any health-enhancing pills in her life, she has spiritual energy and willpower to persist in exercising. In fact, even her grand-disciple's unhealthy lifestyle makes her body inferior to hers.
She's so young, yet she's already out of breath after climbing a mountain. How dare she advise Jiang Yue? Even now, Jiang Yue is the one keeping her in check at the Taoist temple. The spiritual energy has become increasingly thin over the years, and it might dissipate in a few decades. If she doesn't exercise now, she might not have this opportunity again. In order to prevent Jiang Yue from having to bury her child, Jiang Yue is forcing her to exercise to make up for the deficiency.
Although they couldn't experience the train's speed firsthand, the apprentice and grand-apprentice took Jiang Yue to the mountaintop, where they could see the train start. The group packed their things and decided to camp on the mountaintop that day. They had prepared everything they needed, including food, drinks, and entertainment. Shortly after they arrived, they witnessed the train starting, which could be considered a form of participation in the trial run.
After spending the night on the mountaintop, we returned to the Taoist temple the next morning. The temple wasn't far from the mountaintop, and over the years the mountaintop has been developed into a tourist attraction. People's living conditions have improved, and transportation is much more convenient. Large cities like Chang'an generate a lot of tourism revenue every year.
Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Er) passed away at the end of the month. He lived a long life, many years longer than recorded in history. However, due to the many injuries he suffered in his youth, he abdicated in favor of Li Chengqian at the urging of the protagonist. The saying "How can a crown prince live for forty years?" became a reality.
The transfer of power inevitably means turmoil. A new person wants to take the throne, but the old one doesn't want to step down. The protagonist who has been out of the court for a long time becomes active again. This is not to say that he is going to fight for power and profit, but to support the new emperor, although the emperor doesn't really need it.
After the Crown Prince secured his position, the protagonist returned to the academy. Everyone thought he wouldn't return to public life, but Jiang Yue knew that Li Chengqian wouldn't live much longer, and his child was still young, so there might be another upheaval. However, this had nothing to do with Jiang Yue; she had a feeling that her lifespan was coming to an end.
Although Jiang Yue has always insisted on exercising and paid close attention to her health, the end of one's life has little to do with whether one is healthy or not. Many people are clearly in good health, but they die suddenly. It seems that Jiang Yue is one of those people in this life. However, Jiang Yue has long since taken life and death lightly. Well, it's not that she has taken it lightly, but mainly that she knows she is not completely dead yet, so she has come to terms with it.
In her final days, Jiang Yue called her apprentice back. The apprentice initially wondered what was wrong with Jiang Yue, but seeing her making arrangements for her final affairs terrified them all.
“Master, stop talking! Let me take your pulse. You’ve always been very healthy, and you’ve hardly ever been sick in decades. Are you trying to scare your disciple to death by saying this?”
"I had a premonition. Let me finish what I have to say. Actually, there's not much to say. The things that needed to be divided have already been divided. My burial plot has been chosen. Just bury me there when I'm gone."
"Master..."
Her apprentice came over and hugged Jiang Yue, telling her not to talk nonsense. Jiang Yue patted the child's back. Her apprentice, whom she had raised, was no different from her daughter. Jiang Yue was also a little reluctant to part with her. When she went to sleep, her apprentice and grand-apprentice stayed by her side. But when they woke up, Jiang Yue had already passed away with a smile on her face.
Jiang Yue didn't see her disciples and grand-disciples weeping bitterly; she disliked such scenes and left early after communicating with 8888. She was unaware that many people came to see her off after her death—the protagonist, the empress, and those Jiang Yue had saved all attended her funeral. The medical books she wrote in her later years became a great work; miraculously, even after 2000 years, later generations couldn't find a single error. Everyone speculated whether Jiang Yue was a time traveler…
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