Chapter 74

The eldest brother of the Lin family asked, "May I ask...how do you address me, great man?"

Li Chengqian made up a pseudonym: "My last name is Chen, and my name is Chen Xian."

"So it's Master Chen. Thank you for escorting me back. Where are you going next?"

Li Chengqian raised his eyelids: "It's not decided yet."

It means to stay.

After all, he was the benefactor who escorted Lin Nanjie back, so the Lin family naturally couldn't chase him away.

Lin Nanjie was talking to the eldest and second brothers of the Lin family in the yard when a woman suddenly walked out of the room in the middle.

Lin Nanqi's gaze passed over the shoulders of his elder and second brothers, and met the old woman's gaze in the air, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

This is the original body’s mother, Fang.

Judging from her age, Fang is already over 50 years old, with half of her hair gray and an old face. Perhaps it is because she inherited the body of her original owner that she has empathy. Lin Nanjie felt sad at the first sight of her.

The original body entered the palace at the age of three, and probably has long forgotten what her biological mother looks like.

But the jade pendant hanging on his chest was rubbed until it was smooth and soft. The palace was solemn, but the original owner must have missed his family.

Fang held the door open and asked, "But Nanjie is back?"

Lin Yonghui immediately turned around and said, "Mom, my third brother is back!"

Fang walked quickly to Lin Nanjie and grabbed her hand: "Finally, you've come back!"

Lin Nanqi's hand was held by a warm hand, and he called out in an unskilled way, "Mom."

Fang wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes and said, "I'm glad you're back. I'm glad you're back."

Li Chenghuan looked at Lin Nanjie reuniting with his family, and a touch of emotion flashed in his eyes.

"Mom, I heard that Dad is seriously ill. I want to go and see him." Lin Nanqi pulled his hand away from Fang's.

A hint of something strange flashed across Fang's eyes, but it disappeared in an instant: "Okay."

The Lin family's house was better than any other in the village. It had three tiled rooms, a large square courtyard, and a mud wall around it. There were strings of smoked meat hanging under the eaves. In addition, there was a simple cowshed outside the courtyard.

Li Chenghuan looked around the Lin family's house calmly, with a hint of weirdness in his expression.

If the Lin family were placed in the capital, they could be considered a poor family. However, as they passed through the village just now, they saw that the houses of the villagers were low, mostly thatched houses, and their faces were hungry, yellow and thin. One could tell at a glance that they were not well fed and clothed.

Although the Lin family's house has some design, it is built with blue bricks. The Lin family members have rosy faces and strong bodies. Even Fang is much healthier than other women of the same age in the village. It can be seen that the Lin family is not a poor family in this place.

Since they were not from a poor family, why did they send their son to the palace to be a eunuch?

Li Chengqian looked serious and sat beside Lin Nanjie without saying a word.

Lin Dalin and Lin Er were frightened by Li Chenghuan's cold attitude. They also heard Lin Nanjie say that he had escorted them all the way, so they thought he must have some martial arts skills, so they didn't dare to talk to him.

Lin Nanjie followed Fang into the room where Lin's father was lying in bed. As soon as he entered the room, he smelled a strong smell of medicine. Lin Nanjie looked at Lin's father lying on the bed with his eyes closed, his face pale, his body weak, and he groaned in pain from time to time.

Fang walked to the bedside and said to Lin's father, "Old man, Nanjie is back to see you."

Father Lin slowly opened his eyes, and after a long while his gaze focused on Lin Nanjie's face.

"My son is back... I had a dream last night. I dreamed that the Black and White Impermanence were standing at the door to pick me up. I thought I would never see you again." Father Lin's voice was weak and intermittent.

Lin Nanjie said in a dry tone: "Dad, I'm back late."

Father Lin raised his hand tremblingly, as if trying to feel for Lin Nanjie's direction. Lin Nanjie quickly stepped forward and held Father Lin's hand.

"Nan Lie... Your father, I'm sorry for letting you enter the palace at the age of three. Your father's only regret in this life is that you left your hometown at such a young age..."

Father Lin talked on and on, and Lin Nanjie listened silently. After half an hour, Father Lin was tired and exhausted, so Lin Nanjie and others left.

After leaving the house, Lin Nan asked the eldest brother of the Lin family: "Brother, what disease did Dad have?"

Lin Yonghui shook his head. "Years ago, my father went into the forest to hunt and encountered miasma. He has been like this since he came back. His condition has been getting worse and worse, and he is now bedridden. The doctor came to see him and said that the miasma was too deep and there was no way to save him. Now he can only give him some detoxifying medicine to keep him alive."

Lin Nanqi asked hesitantly, "Brother, I was delayed on the road for a while, and I asked a brother to come to my house to help me find a doctor. Have you ever seen a doctor?"

Lin Yonghui paused for a moment, then looked puzzled: "Is there such a thing? I haven't seen it, second brother, have you seen it?"

Lin Yongshan shook his head: "I haven't seen it either. Maybe he deceived my third brother, took your money and ran away."

Lin Nanjie sighed, his tone a little frustrated: "Maybe. I asked him to bring money to find a good doctor for Dad, but I didn't expect to be deceived."

Lin Yongshan patted his shoulder and said, "Don't take it to heart. You are going on this journey alone. It's enough if you can come back safely."

Lin Nanqi nodded and said, "I also brought some banknotes back. Big brother and second brother, take the banknotes and go to Qianzhou City to find a good doctor to treat Dad."

As he spoke, Lin Nanjie took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket and stuffed them all into Lin Yonghui.

Lin Yonghui took it and took a quick look. There were actually several hundred taels. He was stunned: "This... so much money. It seems that Third Brother has made a name for himself as a servant in the palace. By the way, Third Brother, you didn't pawn your jade pendant to get this money, did you?"

When Lin Nanjie heard the word jade pendant, he hesitated for a moment: "What jade pendant?"

Fang interrupted, "It's the jade pendant you've been carrying with you since you were a child."

Lin Nan frowned and tried hard to recall the past, and said helplessly: "Maybe I lost it in the palace when I was a child."

Fang's face turned ugly when she heard this: "The jade pendant can..."

Lin Yonghui noticed that the atmosphere was not right, so he quickly interrupted and said, "It's getting late today, my second brother and I will go get a doctor tomorrow."

Fang then said, "That's right, Nanjie, you and this brother named Chen have been traveling all the way, you must be tired, go to bed tonight and we can talk tomorrow. Mother will go and clean up the room for you."

The sun sets, leaving only a ray of afterglow in the sky. As night falls, the village becomes silent, though the low roars of wild animals can be heard in the distant forest.

Lin Nanjie couldn't help but glance at Li Chengqian: "Okay, this brother, uh, please also arrange a room for him."

Fang was in a dilemma: "There is only one room left in the house. We can only live in the woodshed if we really have to."

Li Chengqian raised his lips and said, "Don't worry, Auntie. Nanjie and I can just stay together."

Lin Nanqi couldn't help but stare at him.

Fang added: "The bed is a little small, you two have to squeeze in."

Li Chenghuan seemed not to notice Lin Nanjie's look and smiled faintly, "It's okay. I've gotten used to it these days."

Nightfall.

Lin Nanjie and Li Chengqian moved into the house that Fang had cleaned out.

As soon as he entered the room and closed the door, Li Chenghuan's face turned cold.

The Lin family is definitely not that simple.

Lin Nanjie was tidying up the bed, looking at the small bed in front of him with distress. There was only one quilt in it, and two adult men had to sleep on it tightly. As soon as Lin Nanjie spread out the quilt, Li Chengqian took it. The quilt was obviously a bit old, but Li Chengqian didn't mind it.

Lin Nanqi and Li Chengqian were squeezed on a narrow bed. Lin Nanqi turned over carefully and said, "You are sorry that you are squeezed together with me, Your Majesty."

The bed was too small to accommodate two quilts, so the two of them were almost pressed together.

Li Chengqian poked his cheek and said, "It's an honor."

The mountains were quiet, and at night, everything was even quieter. Everyone in the village was asleep, and only the faint rustling sounds could be heard from the forest.

Li Chengqian turned over and blew out the candle.

Just now, Lin Yonghui and Fang suddenly talked about the jade pendant. Lin Nanjie was filled with doubts and touched the jade pendant on his chest.

[Today, Lin Yonghui asked me about the jade pendant, and I almost couldn’t answer it. ]

Li Chenghuan lay on his side, listening to Lin Nanjie's heartbeat from time to time. When he heard him call Lin Yonghui's name, he knew that Lin Nanjie had not completely let down his guard.

Li Chenghuan then spoke up: "Your father's illness may not be caused by miasma."

Lin Nanqi was immediately attracted and asked in confusion, "Why do you say that?"

Li Chengzhen grabbed Lin Nanjie's wrist out of boredom and rubbed the protruding joints. "When I was young, I read about the symptoms of people who were infected with malaria in the memorials submitted by Qianzhou. Those who were infected with more serious malaria often had chills, headaches, and high fevers, followed by anemia and were very likely to die."

"But your father's face is just pale and his body is weak. It doesn't look like he has serious symptoms of poisoning."

Li Chenghuan stroked Lin Nanjie's wrist gently with his thumb, with a soothing tone.

Lin Nanjie sensed the soothing meaning in Li Chenghuan's actions: "And the people you sent ahead of time are nowhere to be found either."

Li Chengqian: "Fang Wenjue will investigate this matter, and I will get to the bottom of it."

[The original body is barely mentioned in the plot, which is simply confusing. ]

[No matter what, take one step at a time, and you will eventually find a clue. ]

Lin Nanjie was about to speak when Li Chenghuan suddenly covered her lips. Lin Nanjie's body froze. The two of them were already pressed tightly together, and now their posture was even more ambiguous.

Lin Nan regained consciousness and began to struggle.

Li Chengqian noticed that a little cat beside him was restless, so he raised his legs to hold it down.

Lin Nanjie was completely unable to move now.

It was not until he heard rustling sounds at the door that Lin Nanjie realized that there was someone outside the house.

With a slight "creak", the door was pushed open a crack. Lin Nanqi's ears twitched slightly and he heard footsteps tiptoeing towards them.

【？ ？ ？】

[It's not to kill people to silence them! 】

Lin Nanjie closed his eyes tightly, held his breath, and noticed that the figure had walked to the bed. At this moment, he realized one thing, Li Chengqian was sleeping outside, if someone did something wrong, wouldn't the first one to be punished be the dog emperor?

[Please! Don't kill the dog emperor! ]

Li Chengqian: ???

If he ignored Lin Nanjie's tone, Li Chengqian would feel warm in his heart.

Lin Nanjie's mind was in a mess when the soft flesh on his waist was pinched. Lin Nanjie shuddered immediately, but did not dare to open his eyes.

【What is the dog emperor doing! 】

[Is your death not fast enough? ]

[If I had known he was coming, I would have tried my best to stop him. I don’t want to be a sinner for all eternity.]

[Ah! Stop, stop, stop! Stop pinching! If you pinch again, the filling will come out! ]

Li Chenghuan made a movement with his hands. The filling was exposed? The image of white-skinned black-hearted sesame dumplings with the filling exposed appeared in his mind.

The person who tiptoed into the room seemed to notice that Lin Nanjie was sleeping uneasily, so he walked closer to the bed and looked at the two people on the bed.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that the two of them didn't wake up.

Then he walked straight to the packages the two of them had placed on the wooden table.

Lin Nanjie and Li Chengqian knew who this person was.

It's Lin Yonghui.

The eldest brother of the Lin family.

Lin Yonghui opened the two people's packages in the moonlight and rummaged through them. Lin Nanjie heard the sound of his rummaging getting more and more urgent, as if he was eagerly looking for something.

He probably knew what Lin Yonghui was looking for.

【He is looking for the jade pendant.】

Lin Nanjie reached out and touched the jade pendant on his chest. Fortunately, he had kept the jade pendant around his neck since he left the capital, otherwise it would have been found by Lin Yonghui by now.

Lin Yonghui searched for a long time but couldn't find the jade pendant. Finally, he turned his eyes to Lin Nanjie who was sleeping in the bed.

Faint moonlight filtered through the paper-covered windows. The room was a little stuffy and damp. Lin Nanjie, who was sleeping on the bed, was tightly covered with a thin quilt. Li Chenghuan, who was tall and had long legs, was sleeping on the outside.

Lin Yonghui gritted his teeth. If it wasn't in his luggage, it must be on him. He stopped in front of the window, leaned down, and gently lifted the thin blanket on Lin Nanjie's body, trying to unbutton the collar of his clothes.

Lin Yonghui's rough hands were about to unbutton Lin Nanjie's collar when Li Chenghuan, who was sleeping outside the bed, suddenly moved.

Lin Yonghui was startled and retracted his hand in fear.

Li Chenghuan did not wake up, but just turned over, with his arm just resting on Lin Nanjie's collarbone, pressing hard.

Lin Nanjie didn't dare to move, but he could feel Li Chengqian's breath spraying on his neck, making him feel a little numb.

The two men's postures were strange and Lin Yonghui didn't know where to start.

He gritted his teeth and wanted to grab Li Chengqian and throw him out, but he was afraid of Li Chengqian's martial arts and was afraid of waking the two of them, so he had to leave the room reluctantly.

The door was closed again.

Lin Nanjie and Li Chenghuan opened their eyes, looked at each other, and sat up.

Li Chengqian looked at the locked door with a cold gaze: "It's Lin Yonghui."

Lin Nanqi pulled out the jade pendant from his collar, untied it, and held it in his hand: "He is looking for this."

The two looked at the jade pendant in the moonlight. The pattern on the entire surface of the jade pendant was very common, it was a very common Ruyi pattern, but Lin Nanjie couldn't understand the reverse pattern, it looked like a Taotie with a beast face.

Li Chenghuan turned the jade pendant over and found a completely different pattern on the back.

Lin Nanqi said softly: "The front side has a Ruyi pattern, but the back side has a beast pattern. It looks like a Taotie."

Li Chenghuan's expression changed slightly and he said "hmm".

"Do you recognize him?" Lin Nanqi asked curiously.

Li Chenghuan looked at the jade pendant and said after a while, "It looks somewhat familiar. When I meet Fang Wenjue, I'll ask him."

Lin Nanqi yawned: "Okay."

Li Chenghuan tied the jade pendant back around Lin Nanjie's neck and warned her carefully, "Keep it safe and don't let anyone see it."

Lin Nanjie nodded sleepily, lay back on the bed, and fell asleep with his head resting on the pillow.

Under the moonlight, Li Chengzhi carefully described Lin Nanjie's features, with a hint of worry in his eyes.

The common people of Daqi did not use animal patterns, and the nobles also thought it was a sign of great ferocity and avoided using it. If you dare to use the Taotie pattern, you must be confident that you have a strong destiny, and a figure flashed through Li Chengqian's mind.

***

The next morning, Lin Nanjie was awakened by the sound of roosters. When he opened his eyes, there was nothing beside him.

He yawned and subconsciously looked at the bundle on the table with one leg broken. Last night, Lin Yonghui did not forget to restore it to its original state before leaving. If you are not a careful person, you may not notice that the bundle has been moved.

Lin Nanqi got out of bed, opened the door, and saw that all the Lin family members had gotten up in the yard.

Fang held the food bowl and scattered rice bran on the ground. A group of hens flew around and pecked at the food.

The eldest and second brothers of the Lin family were chopping wood. When they heard Lin Nanjie opening the door, Lin Yonghui wiped the sweat from his forehead, stood up and said to him, "Third brother, are you awake? The porridge is warming in the pot, go and eat it."

Lin Nanjie's eyes stayed on Lin Yonghui's face for a few seconds. The other party looked natural, without any guilt for secretly looking through things last night. The other party did not reveal the flaws, so Lin Nanjie could only stay still and said embarrassedly: "I got up late."

"Of course not. We've been on a long journey and even got robbed. We need to have a good rest."

Lin Nanjie made a few polite remarks and looked around but couldn't see Li Chengqian: "Brother, have you seen my companion?"

Lin Yonghui: "Oh, he went to fetch water."

As soon as Lin Yonghui finished speaking, Li Chengqian came in carrying a bucket of water.

Lin Nanjie hurried forward, but was stopped by Li Chenghuan with a look.

Lin Nanqi stood still obediently: [Oh my god, I actually let the emperor carry water for work! ]

Seeing that Li Chengqian had finished fetching water, Fang said, "Xiao Chen, go feed the cows after you finish fetching water."

Lin Nanqi quickly said: "I'll do it, I'll feed the cows!"

Lin Nanjie tried hard to lift the bucket of fodder, but halfway through, Li Chenghuan took it over and said, "Give it to me."

Lin Nanjie looked at Li Chenghuan and mouthed: "Your Majesty, please go and have a rest."

Li Chengqian turned his back to everyone and gently kissed Lin Nanqi on the forehead. While Lin Nanqi was distracted, he picked up the fodder and walked out.

Lin Nanqi stood there in a daze for a long time, and then Lin Yongshan asked, "Third brother, why are you blushing?"

Lin Nanjie finally came to his senses: "I, I'll go have breakfast first."

After breakfast, Lin Yonghui said to the others, "Mom, Third Brother, my Second Brother and I are going to the city to find a doctor. We probably won't be back until tomorrow."

Fang nodded: "Go ahead, be careful on the road."

Lin Nan said: "Big Brother, Second Brother, do you want me to go with you?"

Lin Yongshan waved his hands and said, "No need, Third Brother, you stay home and talk to your parents."

Lin Nanjie nodded in agreement.

This wait lasted until the next afternoon.

When Lin Yonghui and Lin Yongshan led the doctor into the yard, Lin Nanjie and Li Chengzhen were both stunned.

Bai Zhang, dressed like an immortal, holding a whisk in his hand and with a small mustache on his mouth, asked as soon as he entered the room: "You dragged me here all the way and showed no respect to doctors. I want to see who is sick and who is so bold as to offend an immortal."

Bai Zhang was talking nonsense while blinking wildly at Lin Nanjie and Li Chenghuan.

Li Chengqian twitched his lips slightly: "Doctor? Wearing Taoist robes? Claiming to be an immortal?"

Bai Zhang threw away his whisk and said with wide eyes, "Medicine and Taoism are inseparable. The deeper your Taoism, the better your medical skills!"

Lin Nanjie looked at Bai Zhang's unreliable appearance and exclaimed "Wow" in support.

Bai Zhang immediately climbed up the pole: "This little brother is really a man of insight."

Lin Yongshan followed Bai Zhang in and said, "This is Dr. Bai from Qianzhou City. He has superb medical skills and may be able to cure our father's miasma poison."

Bai Zhang stroked his mustache and said, "Where is the patient? Take me to see him."

Lin Yonghui led Bai Zhang into Lin's father's house.

Bai Zhang was waving a dust whisk in one hand and resting his other hand on Lin's father's wrist.

Lin Nanjie looked at his professional gestures and couldn't help but look at Li Chenghuan.

[Master Bai Zhang, don’t you think you really understand medicine? ]

Li Chenghuan raised his hand and pressed the corner of his forehead, feeling embarrassed watching his own officials acting so pretentiously here.