Chapter 46 Meeting an Old Friend "What nonsense are you talking about? If you can't have children, then don't..."
"What nonsense! If we can't have children, we can't have them. We have Ruoyu, that's enough!" Zhao Linzhang's eyes quickly regained their clarity.
"When I gave birth to Ruoyu, the midwife said that I was in poor health!" Shen Yunrong recalled this, and she had to tell Zhao Linzhang that having offspring was of utmost importance.
"Let's have Imperial Physician Shen examine her pulse properly first. I thought it was something serious." Zhao Linzhang breathed a sigh of relief. He had been coaxing her to have a child, hoping to get her to accept his absurd and willful behavior. He hadn't expected to frighten her instead. It was truly a case of losing more than he gained.
"Didn't you want to have a son?" Shen Yunrong's eyes were red, like a little white rabbit that had been brutally abused.
"I want to experience the process of having a son!" Zhao Linzhang said, his ears turning red in the darkness of the night. She could see that he was saying this, but she should understand!
"What?" Shen Yunrong's mind was in a daze, and she couldn't understand what he meant.
"Actually, it's better not to have children. Look, your health has deteriorated a lot since you had Ruoyu!" He never wanted to have another child and take away Shen Yunrong's love.
"But you must have an heir!"
"You and Ruoyu are my heirs! Besides, there's Siliang, an adopted son is also a son!" Zhao Linzhang never had the idea that offspring were the most important thing.
Shen Yunrong knew she couldn't argue with him, so she pulled him down to lie down: "It's getting late, go to sleep. Didn't you say you'd arrive in Anci Town tomorrow? Anci Temple is famous far and wide for its incense offerings!"
"Hmm, the vegetarian food there is also renowned. Go to sleep, I'll take you and Ruoyu sightseeing tomorrow!" On his journey of exile, Zhao Linzhang was probably the first person to travel with his wife and children to enjoy the scenery.
The next day, the boat stopped at the Anci Town ferry. Zhao Linzhang and Shen Yunrong, carrying the child, and a tired-looking Jiang Xinyan, set off on the mountain path to Cian Temple.
Ci'an Temple is located halfway up Ci'an Mountain, with a series of halls and pavilions, their green tiles and flying eaves appearing and disappearing under the towering ancient trees.
Rumors circulated in the mountains that there were jade mines. In addition to the local people who came to the mountains to offer incense, there were many more who wanted to go up the mountain to try their luck and dig a few stones. If they were lucky enough to find a piece of high-quality jade, they would never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of their lives.
Seeing that Jiang Xinyan didn't look well, Shen Yunrong asked with concern, "Little sister Jiang, did you get too tired from climbing the mountain?"
"No, no, I just didn't sleep well last night!" Jiang Xinyan hadn't slept all night; every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was the erotic image of a man's bare chest and a woman's soft, boneless body nestled against him.
"If you're too tired, why don't you go back and rest first, little sister!" Shen Yunrong blamed herself for not noticing her discomfort earlier and had even invited her to come and burn incense together. She had fallen asleep from exhaustion last night and had no idea that she had run into Jiang Xinyan.
"It's okay, Sister Shen, I can do it!" Jiang Xinyan didn't want to give up any opportunity to be with them.
"Watch your step!" Zhao Linzhang, holding his daughter in one arm, reached out to pull the little woman who kept turning around to talk. Didn't she know they were on a mountain path and wasn't watching where she was going?
Shen Yunrong then walked obediently, even though this carefully leveled mountain path was just like the flat road at the foot of the mountain to her.
The Ci'an Temple was bustling with worshippers, including ordinary people as well as wealthy families like them, with servants attending to their every need.
Ancient trees tower within the temple grounds, and the bluestone slabs are worn down to the point of being dented in the middle.
Inside the temple, a colossal golden Buddha statue stands majestically, its benevolent face gazing down upon all living beings.
A young novice monk offered incense, and Zhao Linzhang handed the child to the wet nurse. He and Shen Yunrong each offered three sticks of incense to the Buddha.
The side hall is the biggest reason why Ci'an Temple is so popular; it is the Buddha hall of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy who grants children.
Zhao Linzhang never expected it to be such a coincidence. Just last night, the woman in his arms was still worrying about not being able to have another child, and today she encountered the Goddess of Mercy who grants children. Since she was there, there was no reason not to worship her. It seemed like an arrangement from the heavens.
He held Shen Yunrong's hand and said, "Even God is helping us, guiding us to come and pay our respects!"
Shen Yunrong knelt on the prayer mat, worshipping devoutly. Zhao Linzhang had already stood up. The little woman beside him had slightly trembling eyelashes and shoulders, as if she were sincerely pleading for something.
Zhao Linzhang's heart stirred slightly. He had always thought that it was fine as long as he didn't care, but his woman clearly cared a lot.
After she opened her eyes and bowed deeply, he gently helped her to her feet.
"The Bodhisattva will grant our wishes!"
"Um!"
Suddenly, screams rang out from outside the hall, and someone shouted, "Thief!"
The child was still outside the hall, but the two rushed out without thinking.
The guards and wet nurse held the child tightly, while Jiang Xinyan stood beside them with a look of fear on her face. Inside the hall was the Guanyin statue that grants children, and it was inconvenient for an unmarried girl like her to go in. Just as she was about to wander around, she heard someone shouting "Catch the thief!"
A disheveled beggar sneaked in at some point and stole the offerings in front of the Buddha Hall.
The young novice monk saw him and shouted, and the beggar, in a panic, rushed into the crowd of worshippers. The women screamed in fear, afraid of being touched by the filthy beggar.
The beggar actually possessed some martial arts skills, and he dodged the attacking monks, heading straight for Zhao Linzhang and his group.
Xiao Zheng and Liu Hu were already poised to protect their master, ready to strike as soon as the beggar got close.
The beggar ran straight up to them, but when he saw Zhao Linzhang and Shen Yunrong, he suddenly stopped, as if he had seen something unbelievable. He wiped his eyes with his dirty sleeve.
Then he started crying and laughing, and tried to rush over. In an instant, Xiao Zheng kicked him away. Just then, the monks arrived and subdued him. The leading monk kept bowing and apologizing, saying that they had almost disturbed the important person!
They were about to drag the beggar out and throw him away when the beggar suddenly cried out, "Sister Yunrong, I am Tie Niu!"
This sound made Shen Yunrong, who was originally nestled in Zhao Linzhang's arms in fear, suddenly lean forward, and even the man holding her looked at her in confusion.
How did that hunter, who fought with him over a woman, end up like this?
"Wait a minute!" Zhao Linzhang said, signaling the woman in his arms not to rush, in case of a trap!
"I really am Tie Niu, Sister Yun Rong, please save me!" the beggar cried out. He was finally saved!
"You, you really are Brother Tie Niu, Brother Tie Niu, how could you become like this!" Shen Yunrong could vaguely recognize a familiar face on that dark and dirty face.
"Save me! Don't hit me!" Shen Tieniu could only cry out to them.
"Please trouble you, Master, to clean him up and find him a room!" Zhao Linzhang gestured to Liu Hu to take out a silver ingot and give it to the leading monk who was holding the iron ox.
“Since he is your companion, he is also a follower of Buddhism. This humble monk will help him wash up immediately!” The monk was holding the unaware Shen Tieniu, who was genuinely terrified.
"Wait a minute, Brother Tie Niu, they won't hurt you. They're taking you to wash up. You can only eat steamed buns after you've washed your hands clean!" Shen Yunrong looked at him, who was being held down but still hadn't let go of the half-eaten steamed bun in his hand. She wondered how long he had been starving before daring to come in and steal something to eat.
Shen Tieniu seemed to understand. He looked at his hands, whose skin color was no longer discernible, nodded, and muttered to himself, "Wash them clean, and eat steamed buns!"
"Yes, we'll be waiting for you here!"
As Shen Yunrong watched them leave, she couldn't understand how Shen Tieniu from the countryside could have come here. Even if he came to find relatives or for sightseeing, how could he have fallen to the level of a beggar?
Zhao Linzhang patted her hand: "Go to the side room and wait for him!"
After a short while, Shen Tieniu, who had been washed clean, entered the room timidly behind the monk, dressed in a loose monk's robe.
As soon as he came in, his eyes were glued to the steamed buns and rice porridge on the table, and he kept swallowing his saliva.
"Brother Tie Niu, we've already eaten, you eat now!" As soon as Shen Yunrong finished speaking, Shen Tie Niu jumped to the table, holding a steamed bun in each hand and taking a bite from each side, until he choked and his eyes rolled back.
"Brother Tie Niu, slow down, sit down and eat slowly!" Shen Yunrong was alarmed, afraid that he would choke to death.
After finishing two steamed buns and a bowl of porridge, Shen Tieniu finally sat down and devoured the eight steamed buns and the large pot of porridge on the table in a whirlwind, still looking at the empty pot with lingering satisfaction.
Fearing he might overeat and die, Shen Yunrong had someone quickly remove the empty bowls.
"Brother Tie Niu, what are you doing here?"
After eating his fill, Shen Tieniu became much more lucid. Upon hearing Shen Yunrong's voice, his eyes reddened.
“I was scammed. They said they would take me to get rich, that there were treasures everywhere. I went with them on a boat for more than ten days, and then they locked me up. Every day I had to go out into the mountains to dig for jade. If I didn’t find any, they wouldn’t give me food or water. Every time I tried to escape, they beat me. They even crippled my leg!”
As soon as Shen Tieniu started talking about his leg, tears streamed down his face.
"Lie to you? Do you know who tricked you into coming here?" Shen Yunrong was both angry and heartbroken. A perfectly good young man had actually been tricked into coming here to be humiliated!
"He's the village's lucky charm. He came back and made a fortune, and even married a beautiful wife!" Shen Tieniu stared blankly at his crippled leg, thinking that if he made a fortune, Yunrong might come back to his side.
"What about him?" Shen Yunrong didn't understand why he would be so foolish. He and Fu Tou were not related, so why would he want to make money with him?
He disappeared after seeing me onto the ship!
"Do you know who is holding you here? And where are you?" Zhao Linzhang frowned. No wonder family members of lost young adults often went to the government to report them missing. So that's how it is!
"I don't know, I don't know! Don't hit me! I'll never run away again!" Shen Tieniu suddenly covered his head, squatted on the ground, and trembled all over.
"How could he do this?" Shen Yunrong was shocked and distressed. How could a perfectly healthy person turn out like this?
"Xiao Zheng, send a messenger out. Ci'an Temple has taken in a man who escaped from the mine!" Zhao Linzhang stroked the jade ring on his hand, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. Some people have no idea what the law is, and their audacity is outrageous.
"Your Highness, yes, I obey!" Xiao Zheng immediately bowed and left.
"Liu Hu, take a few more men and guard him. Remember, keep them hidden!" Zhao Linzhang said, then led Shen Yunrong out of the room.
"He's been beaten too many times and he's scared. He'll recover slowly in the future. The most important thing now is to catch those people. Who knows how many more Shen Tieniu are trapped in this hell on earth!"
"Will they really kill him?"
"You can rest assured about Liu Hu's abilities, but I'm afraid this magistrate of Cixi County is also corrupt!" Zhao Linzhang felt a dull ache in his heart after two magistrates had acted in this way.
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