Having satisfied his curiosity, the middle-aged man dismissed the guards with a wave of his hand. As soon as the man left, a carriage stopped in front of the farmhouse. A young man ran in excitedly and asked, "Uncle, do you know anything about the Loyal and Brave Marquis's Mansion?"
"I know how, but what if I don't know?" The middle-aged man picked up a travel book and flipped through it, his expression rather nonchalant.
"You claim to be knowledgeable, but if you can't guess how Madam Lin cured Marquis Yongxin, you will not be able to sleep at night. I guess you will definitely send someone to keep an eye on Madam Lin recently, right? You must know about the affairs of the Marquis Zhongyong's family." The young man bumped the middle-aged man's shoulder with a playful smile on his face.
"So? You ran away from the imperial city for such a small matter?" The middle-aged man put down his travel notes and his expression became serious.
The young man shrank his neck and stammered, "How can this be a small matter? Madam Lin cured the Marquis of Yongxin and his daughter one after another, which shows that her medical skills are very superb. She should be able to cure your illness, right? Why don't we go find her to take a look?"
The middle-aged man shook his head and said nothing.
The young man persuaded him earnestly: "Uncle, our great grandfather has been dead for decades, and those evil Taoists have been executed. You really don't need to have such a deep prejudice against Taoists."
"I have no prejudice against Madam Lin. She is a good person."
"Why don't you seek medical help from her?"
The middle-aged man was silent for a while before he sighed and said, "Let's wait and see."
"How long will you wait? Summer will soon be over, and when autumn and winter come, you will have to... endure the pain that is worse than death again. Your nephew feels sorry for you!" As the boy spoke, his eyes became red and his voice choked with sobs. His uncle got all these illnesses because he was trying to save him. How could he bear to watch him suffer from the illness?
The middle-aged man squeezed the book so hard that it was deformed, but he still said the same thing: "Let's take another look."
The boy understood why he was so hesitant, because he had received a lot of hope, but was thrown into the abyss of despair time and time again, so he dared not have any expectations for fate anymore. He moved out of the imperial city and came to this quiet mountain forest to live in seclusion, perhaps with the intention of sleeping quietly here forever.
The more the young man thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. He wanted to tie him up immediately and take him to Xuanqing Temple, but he couldn't do such a heinous thing. He rubbed his red eyes, said in a muffled voice that he was going outside to wash his face, then hurried out of the main room and came to the outside of the yard.
"The emperor's uncle is unwilling to receive treatment. Perhaps he has already made up his mind to die." The young man said to his subordinates who were accompanying him.
The man lowered his head and dared not say a word.
"I think Madam Lin may be able to cure my uncle, but he doesn't believe it. So, you go find some people with rare and complicated diseases and send them to her to see how capable she is." The young man said in a low voice.
The subordinate accepted the order and was about to send someone to do the job when he heard the young man add, "Remember, you must find the most bizarre disease, the kind that even the imperial physician can't cure!"
"As you command." The subordinate left quickly. The young man wiped his tearful eyes with a handkerchief, walked back into the house, and said with a smile, "Uncle, let me boil a pot of hot water for you. It's the end of summer now, and it's much colder at night than during the day. Remember to soak your feet before going to bed."
"Okay." The middle-aged man, Prince Jin, did not reject his nephew's kindness. This kid had lived with him in the Northern Wilderness for a long time, and had done a lot of rough work like making fire and cooking.
Prince Jin had just moved in two days ago. The pots and pans in the kitchen were all new, and the firewood piled in the corner had never been used. There was no trace of life at all. The young man walked in eagerly, first grabbed a few handfuls of straw and stuffed them into the stove, then took out a flint and started knocking on it.
Two servants squatted beside him, sweating profusely, and said cautiously, "Sir, how about we, the servants, light the fire? Can you go in and talk to the master?"
"No need, you guys stand aside, I used to do these jobs often. I still have to help my uncle wash his feet later, I have to watch him fall asleep before I leave." The boy's respect and filial piety for the man were by no means false.
The two servants failed to persuade him and could only let him go. However, they did not dare to leave and stood by to take care of him carefully. After the straw was lit, the boy continued to add firewood to the stove. His procedures were all correct, but for some reason, thick smoke kept pouring into the kitchen, choking people and making them cry and cough.
The young man was dragged out of the kitchen by two servants, his face covered with black dust, looking extremely miserable. Thick smoke was still pouring in, even into the main hall. Prince Jin could no longer sit still, and came out with a book in his hand, asking worriedly, "Did you burn the kitchen? Is anyone hurt?"
"I didn't burn the kitchen!" the boy explained hastily, his face already flushed red. It’s only been a few years since he returned to the capital, how come he can’t even make a fire?
Prince Jin took his nephew and stood a little further away. Two servants quickly carried buckets to the lotus pond to scoop water to put out the fire. But they heard a soft voice from outside the courtyard: "There is no fire in the kitchen. Your chimney is blocked."
Prince Jin and the little emperor looked back and saw Lin Dan holding Xu Miaomiao's little hand, standing on a path not far away. She was carrying a basket full of herbs on her back. Her ash-gray Taoist robe was stained with mud, but she did not look disheveled at all. Xu Miaomiao pursed her lips, as if she wanted to laugh, but held it back.
What big scenes have Prince Jin and the little emperor not seen? However, somehow, when facing this master and disciple pair, their ears turned red at the same time and they looked embarrassed.
"The chimney is really blocked. I'll poke it with a pole right away." A servant rushed into the smoke-filled kitchen to check and ran out coughing violently.
"Go quickly, go quickly! Didn't you guys check before uncle moved in?" The little emperor was a little annoyed.
The two servants did not dare to delay any longer and found a bamboo pole to climb onto the roof.
"Wait a minute," Lin Dan suddenly raised his hand and said, "I seem to hear birds singing. There must be a bird nest in your chimney. Do you have a hook and a rope? I'll help you take out the bird's nest."
"Is there?" Prince Jin looked at the two servants.
"Yes, yes, yes." The two servants quickly put down the bamboo poles and went to get the rope and hook.
After getting the things, Lin Dan jumped onto the roof with a light tiptoe. The hem of her gauze skirt was blown open by the wind, and her ethereal figure was like a floating cloud. Prince Jin stared at her without blinking, and his heart, which had not beaten for a long time, suddenly began to beat. He originally thought that the so-called internal martial arts were all scams, but it turned out that he was just too short-sighted.
The little emperor stared at Lin Dan with his mouth open. After a long while, he gasped for breath and said in shock, "Uncle, she, she is actually an extremely skilled expert!"
Prince Jin nodded without saying anything, but his eyes were brighter than ever. Every man worships strength, let alone a man like him who once conquered a vast land.
Since Lin Dan has made up his mind to become a living immortal, why would he hide his strength? It is said that the people should not fight against the officials. If she wants to completely crush the Wan family and the Xu family, she needs to climb to the top of power as quickly as possible. This seemed harder than climbing to the sky for a middle-aged woman who was divorced by her husband's family, but it was a piece of cake for Lin Dan. She was able to completely turn the situation around without relying on anyone's help.
She carefully took out the bird's nest, flew down, and showed Xu Miaomiao a few little chicks that had not yet grown feathers.
Xu Miaomiao touched their heads with her little hands and whispered, "Master, should we take them back to raise them?"
"No, their mother will come back." Lin Dan jumped onto a nearby big tree and placed the bird's nest on a sturdy triangular branch. After landing on the ground, he asked Prince Jin for a small bag of rice.
Prince Jin did not ask any further questions and immediately asked the servant to give her the bag of rice.
After getting the things, she did not leave. Instead, she sat cross-legged on the side of the road and began to meditate. Xu Miaomiao squatted beside her, reciting the soup song while shaking her head, looking very cute. Seeing that she refused to leave, Prince Jin quietly invited her into the house for tea, but she refused with a wave of her hand. The little emperor secretly observed her through the crack in the door and asked in a low voice: "Uncle, what do you think she is doing sitting on the side of the road?"
"Maybe he's practicing." Prince Jin's eyes were as sharp as torches, and he could see through anyone except Lin Dan. She is like a huge mystery. When you uncover the surface, there is still an inner layer. When you uncover the inner layer, what is there?
Time passed slowly, the sky was filled with red clouds, and the sun was setting. Lin Dan was still sitting on the side of the road without moving. Xu Miaomiao was sleeping soundly on her lap. The chubby little hand was tightly holding her belt, and his dependence on her was beyond words. Prince Jin and the little emperor seemed to be reading books, but they were actually looking at Lin Dan through the window again and again, wondering why she was sitting at the door.
Suddenly, a kingfisher circled twice in the sky and landed in the chimney of a farmhouse. After a while, it flew out again, flapping its wings and wailing continuously. The two people in the room could not hear the panic hidden in the cry, but Lin Dan opened his eyes at this moment, slowly untied the cloth bag, and sprinkled the rice to the kingfisher.
The kingfisher cried for a while, and finally, driven by the instinct to eat, it landed on the open ground and pecked at the grains. Watching it gradually walk to the big tree where the bird's nest was located, Lin Dan sprinkled a handful of rice to scare it away. It flew into the air and finally saw the familiar bird's nest and the chirping baby birds with their mouths open waiting to be fed. It immediately rushed over with joy.
Lin Dan hung the tied rice bag on the bamboo fence of the farmhouse, picked up the sleeping Xu Miaomiao, and walked away slowly.
It was not until this time that Prince Jin and the little emperor finally understood why she sat on the side of the road for an entire afternoon.
The little emperor looked at Lin Dan's receding back with an extremely complicated expression.
Prince Jin put down the book, walked to the big tree, looked up at the bird's nest, and smiled for the first time in a long time. He did not believe in Taoism and even had some aversion to it, so he always sneered at the so-called "Tao". However, just now, he suddenly understood what "all things have spirits and all beings are equal" meant. She stood there alone, her breath was cold and her face was dull, but wherever she looked, even every blade of grass, every grain of sand and every stone seemed to have feelings.
This is the Madam Lin recorded in the documents who saved hundreds of thousands of people in Tanzhou by her own efforts. The real her was much better than he imagined.
Prince Jin looked up at the bird's nest and laughed softly.
…………
Lin Dan made a lot of money by curing the father and daughter of Marquis Yongxin. The Marquis Yongxin's Mansion alone gave him 30,000 taels of silver notes, and the Marquis Zhongyong's Mansion also added 5,000 taels of incense money, and even hired craftsmen to repair the Taoist temple. Yao Bishui, who originally thought that she would have to work hard with Sister Lin, turned around and lived a life even richer than the Xu family. Looking back on the past, she actually felt a little ridiculous.
"Sister Lin, do you know? If you hadn't come, I would have been thinking of dying together with that bastard Xu Zuguang." Yao Bishui sighed while drinking soup.
Lin Dan smiled and said nothing. Of course she knew, and this had already happened in her previous life. But it doesn’t matter, everything will be different in this life. Those who think they have won everything will eventually fall to pieces.
While he was thinking, Monk Huiming from Hanguang Temple swaggered into the Taoist temple and said loudly: "Master Lin, I have something to discuss with you."
"What's the matter?" Lin Dan did not stand up to greet him.
Huiming walked straight into the side hall and saw several delicious dishes on the table. He couldn't help but salivate. Sometimes, he really envied these Taoist priests who could drink and eat meat at will, get married and have children, unlike these big monks who had to strictly abide by the rules and regulations.
Feeling a little unhappy, Huiming's tone became even worse, and he ordered, "I will buy your temple for 100 taels, and you must move out within three days. Here, I have brought the silver, please count it."
"Not for sale." Lin Dan said calmly.
"What did you say?" Huiming frowned and glared.
"I said I won't sell it." Lin Dan put down his bowl and chopsticks and repeated it word for word.
"You, you don't want to accept my toast, right? Do you know that the prince wants to settle here and needs to expand the temple? You are not blocking the way to Hanguang Temple, but the way to the prince. Just wait for the steward of the prince's mansion to come and talk to you in person!" Huiming said bluffingly.
"Okay, I'll wait." Lin Dan knew that Prince Jin lived in a farmhouse at the foot of the mountain and not in Hanguang Temple, so how could he be frightened by Huiming's words? Besides, she could see that Prince Jin was definitely not the kind of person who would bully others by taking advantage of his power.
Huiming seemed to have never been treated so harshly before. He pointed at Lin Dan's nose and cursed, his fat body trembling. However, Lin Dan ignored him and picked up the bowl and chopsticks to continue eating. Yao Bishui was so frightened that her heart was trembling. She wondered whether she should bow her head and apologize, but she saw that Xu Miaomiao was also imitating Lin Dan's behavior and just ate without frowning, so she calmed down.
Huiming was so angry that he almost fainted. At this moment, the wife of Marquis Yongxin came in with her daughter and sneered, "I thought someone was cursing here, but it turned out to be a monk! Aren't monks the most fond of showing off their kindness? How could they be so rude and unreasonable to a few weak women? Hanguang Temple is a state-run temple, and this is how they behave?"
When Monk Huiming saw that the person coming was the wife of Marquis Yongxin, he was so frightened that his face turned pale. He quickly clasped his hands together to defend himself, recited some confusing scriptures, and then slipped away as fast as he could.
Looking at his fat back, the wife of Marquis Yongxin said disdainfully, "The behavior of Hanguang Temple has become more and more outrageous recently. I'm afraid that the higher-ups will have to crack down on it soon. They occupy tens of thousands of acres of land at the foot of the mountain, and eat the offerings of the people in the city, but do not work. They also recruit monks on a large scale, snatching labor from the court. They are courting death!"
Lin Dan did not say anything, but asked Yao Bishui to clear the table and put two cushions on it.
The wife of Marquis Yongxin and Liu Yujie knelt on the futon and recounted their recent situation.
"The Marquis is now in great shape. He can eat three meals a day and is getting stronger and stronger. My daughter Yujie is no longer possessed by evil spirits. You see, her complexion is much rosier than before, right? By the way, the words on the talisman you gave her suddenly disappeared today. Please take a look." The wife of Marquis Yongxin respectfully presented a blank talisman.
Lin Dan threw the talisman paper into the brazier and burned it, then said slowly, "It's all right now. The evil spirit has been eliminated."
The nervous Liu Yujie immediately leaned forward and kowtowed.
"You must never stop chanting the scriptures." Lin Dan warned again.
"I will definitely follow the immortal's instructions and recite the scriptures every day." Liu Yujie said devoutly. After reciting scriptures for half a month, her mood became calmer than ever before. She no longer heard about her husband's romantic affairs, and her heart was no longer troubled by him. Compared with the madness she had experienced some time ago, these days were like the difference between heaven and hell. She would be crazy to let herself get stuck in the mire again!
Lin Dan nodded with satisfaction. Just as she was about to get another volume of Taoist scriptures for Liu Yujie, she heard the wife of the Marquis of Yongxin whisper, "Master, are you free tomorrow?"
"What's the matter?" Lin Dan raised his eyes to look at her.
"The young master of Duke Cai's mansion has been possessed by evil spirits. I don't know the specific circumstances. If you are free, I will tell the eldest lady of the Duke's mansion, and she will come to visit you in person tomorrow."
"Then let her come." Lin Dan hadn't made a name for himself yet, so he naturally wouldn't push away the powerful people who came to his door. Although Duke Cai had passed away long ago, his eldest son supported the young emperor. Because of his merit in following the emperor, he was able to inherit the title without being demoted, and was considered one of the most important figures in the court. The little prince mentioned by the wife of Marquis Yongxin should be the youngest son of the new Duke of Cai.
After receiving the confirmation, the wife of Marquis Yongxin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She prayed for a few more calming talismans before leaving with her daughter.
The next day, the eldest lady arrived as expected, but she just knelt on the mat and cried without saying anything. Lin Dan couldn't get any information out of her, so she felt helpless: "Since Madam is not willing to speak, I will go down the mountain with you."
"Thank you, Taoist priest!" The eldest lady got up with tears of gratitude and helped Lin Dan up. Her humble attitude made it hard to tell that she was the legal wife of Duke Cai.
The group took a carriage to the Duke of Deguo's Mansion. They never expected that Old Lady Cai would come to the side door to greet them in person. Her face was full of anxiety: "Is this Taoist Priest Lin? Oh, he is indeed an immortal, extraordinary! Come in quickly!"
The old lady wanted to take the guests to the main courtyard for a few cups of tea, to show courtesy, and then take them to visit her grandson's small courtyard, but she didn't expect Lin Dan to be so decisive. She immediately waved her hand and said, "Don't be polite, old lady. Take me to see the young master first. Saving people is like putting out a fire. There is no time to waste."
The last sentence really touched the old lady's heart. She quickly led the people to the front yard and said gratefully: "Thank you for your understanding, Taoist priest! My grandson is really possessed by evil spirits. I am scared when I see his appearance! A while ago, the monks from Hanguang Temple came to my house to perform a ritual, but it was useless. Later, I invited several doctors to consult, but it was useless. Now I can only rely on you!"
Lin Dan held the old lady's hand and walked slowly without saying a word. When she arrived at the courtyard where Master Cai was, she saw his appearance clearly and understood why everyone was so frightened. It was because his hands were all peeled off from the fingers to the elbows, and the blue blood vessels pulsated in the bright red flesh, which made people's scalps numb.
Old Lady Cai and the First Lady walked into the room and looked at Young Master Cai's hands and wept, but Young Master Cai acted as if nothing had happened and smiled and told the maid beside him, "I want to drink some water."
The maid quickly gave him a sip of water. He licked his bright red lips and smiled handsomely.
Xu Miaomiao and Yao Bishui were both stunned when they saw Mr. Cai, who was as handsome as Pan An. Only Lin Dan's brows were almost twisted into a knot. She suppressed the restlessness in her heart and walked in slowly. A quick glance revealed that there were a lot of dandruff on the corners of the table and the ground, some of which were still attached with bits of meat and blood.
Young Master Cai's hands had no skin left, so Lin Dan couldn't take his pulse, and she didn't want to do so at all.
Seeing that she was just staring at her grandson with a very gloomy face but did not make any move, Old Lady Cai could not help but urge her, "Master, what do you think is happening to my grandson? You should have a solution, right? If the skin on his hands continues to rot, it may spread to his whole body. How can he survive?"
"Wait a moment." Lin Dan lit a piece of talisman paper.
After a while, everyone in the room became dazed and yawned one after another, wishing they could find a bed and have a good sleep right away. Only Young Master Cai was full of energy. He opened his big, clear eyes and asked, "Are you the living immortal that Madam Wang mentioned? Can you really drive away ghosts? Are there ghosts in the world?"
"Yes." Lin Dan looked at him quietly.
"Really? I think there's a ghost too. That would be fun!" Young Master Cai narrowed his eyes and smiled.
Xu Miaomiao and Yao Bishui were infected by him and smiled on their faces. Only Lin Dan had no expression at all. He slowly walked out the door and checked the flower beds. The grass and trees in two of the flower beds grew particularly lushly and the flowers bloomed beautifully, but the grass and trees in the other flower bed grew averagely and even withered by the end of summer.
Lin Dan picked up some soil from the three flower beds, put it to his nose and smelled it, then washed his hands and walked towards Young Master Cai's study. Old Madam Cai and the First Lady followed her closely without trying to stop her. Since she is here to exorcise evil spirits, she should be allowed to look around everywhere.
Young Master Cai did not follow, but just stood by the bedroom window, looking at him with a smile.
After entering the study, Lin Dan carefully read the article written by Young Master Cai, and then stared at the colorful paintings hanging on the wall for a long time. One of the paintings is titled "Withered Lotus", with large areas of ink and gray occupying the field of vision. Another painting is titled "Setting Sun", with the entire paper being blood red. Although it is gorgeous, it is also dazzling.
Lin Dan picked up the article written by Young Master Cai in his spare time and read it word by word. Old Lady Cai waited patiently, but the eldest lady was a little uneasy. She asked anxiously, "Master, have you figured out anything? Has my family also been invaded by evil spirits like the House of the Loyal and Brave Earl?"
Lin Dan shook her head and said nothing. Her silence touched some fragile nerve of the Madam, causing her to sob and wipe away tears. She begged, "Old Madam, since the Taoist priest can't see the problem, why don't you let your daughter-in-law take Yi'er back to her hometown! Maybe there is something wrong with this house, and it is incompatible with Yi'er. It would be better if she left."
The old lady was very reluctant, but also wavering.
"I won't go back to my hometown! The imperial examination will be held in a few months. Mother, don't you care about my future?" Young Master Cai stood outside the door at some point, and his face, which always had a smile on it, was completely cold.
The old lady wavered again.
"Mother, don't listen to him. You have to think clearly about whether the imperial examination is more important or his life!" The eldest lady pleaded.
Hearing this, the old lady made up her mind and nodded, saying, "Okay, then you guys pack up and leave tomorrow. Otherwise, if it rains every day in autumn, I'm afraid his hands will get wet and make him even sicker."
The eldest lady was overjoyed when she heard this, and hurriedly led a few maids to pack up, completely forgetting about Lin Dan who came to exorcise the evil spirit.
Young Master Cai rolled his eyes and said loudly, "I can't leave! In two months it will be the third anniversary of my grandfather's death, and it will also be the day for our family to end mourning. As a grandson, how can I be absent?"
The old lady was determined not to change her mind. She waved her hands repeatedly and said, "Go, go, go. If your grandfather is still alive, he will definitely forgive you. Your life is more important than anything else!"
Young Master Cai pestered his grandmother for a while, but when he saw that his grandmother did not waver, he suddenly seemed to remember something and ran away with a smile, without any more resistance.
Lin Dan watched coldly, brows furrowed. The old lady didn't quite believe in her magical powers. Seeing that she couldn't see the problem, she gave her fifty taels of silver, sent her to the second gate, and said some polite words. Lin Dan returned the silver and said carefully, "Old Madam, I advise you to send the young master away immediately, otherwise within a few days, one of you and the first lady will die."
"What did you say?" The old lady looked at her in disbelief.
"I say, if you don't send your grandson away, one of you and your wife will die." Lin Dan emphasized his tone.
The old lady raised her walking stick and hit Lin Dan with it. Duke Cai, who happened to be there to pay his respects to his mother, heard what she said and immediately ordered his servants to chase the three people out. His beard was shaking, and it was obvious that he was very angry. What kind of people did Marquis Yongxin recommend? They cursed his mother and wife all the time. He must ask Marquis Yongxin for an explanation!
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