Chapter 134 [VIP]
Both families were somewhat surprised upon meeting, but Madam Gao was the first to react, saying, "You two families are truly destined to meet, even managing to come up the mountain for divination at the same time!"
Qin Furong smiled and nodded repeatedly, and Li Shi also nodded in agreement.
It's quite a coincidence that two families chose the same Taoist temple in the city and went up the mountain on the same day.
The younger generation took the initiative to stand up and greet them. Chen Qingyun noticed that her future mother-in-law's cheeks were slightly flushed, but she remained poised and elegant.
Qin Furong looked pleased. "Please sit down and rest. When did you arrive, Madam?"
Li said, "I just arrived not long ago. I was tired from walking and sat down to rest for a while when I happened to run into you two."
The servant boy from the Liu family prepared a water bag, and the two of them sat down and drank a cup of water.
Qin Furong asked, "Yesterday, my servants went to your shop to buy vegetables, but I heard it was closed. Did something happen?"
Wang Ying said, "It's nothing. It's just that the vegetables in the fields are harvested now, and business at the shop has slowed down a lot. We've decided to close the shop and take a break for a while. We won't be selling vegetables this year."
"If you don't sell vegetables, then what do you sell?"
"We'll sell iced drinks and popsicles when the weather gets warmer in a while."
Qin Furong and Gao were somewhat surprised, not because they had never eaten these things before, but because ice was very expensive in the summer, and ordinary people couldn't afford to buy it.
Relying solely on the wealthy households in the city won't yield much. After all, iced drinks aren't like vegetables that you eat every day; they don't keep well. If they're not sold within a day, they'll all melt, and the losses would be huge.
However, neither of them said much. After all, it was someone else's business, and they didn't know much about it. They were afraid of annoying people if they said too much.
After resting for a while, the group continued up the mountain, and after turning two corners, they saw Qingfeng Temple in front of them.
This Taoist temple was built in the previous dynasty and has a history of more than 150 years. It was mostly burned down during a war, but after the establishment of the Wu Dynasty, several wealthy merchants in the prefecture funded its reconstruction.
The incense offerings have been quite good over the years, as the tranquil environment attracts many wives and daughters of officials to come and burn incense.
Qin Furong and Gao were frequent visitors, and the Taoist priests in the temple were all familiar with them. Upon seeing them, they would greet them warmly, saying, "Greetings to all the devotees. It's been a long time. How are you all doing?"
"Thanks to the Taoist priest, everything is fine." The mountain roads became difficult to travel in winter, so they hadn't come here until spring. This was the first time the two of them had come since spring began.
Madam Gao said, "We came here today to ask Master Qingxu to help us match our birth dates and times. We wonder if he is here?"
"Master is inside the hall. Please come in."
Qin Furong called to Li and Fang, "The children can wait outside. It's not easy to come out here. Let them take a look around this Taoist temple."
After the elders went inside, Wang Ying led Lin Sui and Qing Yun to the side hall to pay their respects.
The main hall of the Taoist temple enshrines the Three Pure Ones, while the hall on the right enshrines the Three Officials: the Heavenly Official, the Earthly Official, and the Water Official.
The statues are carved from wood, with their faces and clothes painted on them with oil paint. The level of craftsmanship is clearly very high, and the figures are exquisite and lifelike.
The three knelt on the cushions and bowed. They then got up and went to the side hall on the other side. This hall was dedicated to the God of Wealth and the God of Marriage. It was probably the most popular hall, as the beams were blackened by smoke.
Because there were people praying ahead, the three waited at the door until the people inside left before going inside.
Wang Ying naturally wanted to worship the God of Wealth. She bought a string of coins worth of incense from the young Taoist boy, lit it, and placed it in the incense burner. Then she knelt on the ground with her hands clasped together and prayed.
May the God of Wealth bless our shop with booming business and may we make a fortune this year!
Qingyun knelt before the statue of the Old Man Under the Moon, her cheeks slightly flushed, her hands clasped together, and her eyes closed, praying that her marriage would be harmonious and happy, and that she could be as loving as her brother and sister-in-law…
Lin Sui stood in the middle, unsure of what to pray to. He had wanted to pray to the God of Wealth, but he was currently unable to earn money.
He earned two strings of cash a month helping out with his sister-in-law, which was far more than what others earned. He knew that he couldn't even earn three hundred coins a month on his own.
Seeking a marriage partner is wishful thinking. How could a man who cannot have children possibly find a good match?
A wave of sorrow washed over him, making it hard to breathe. He turned and walked out of the hall, standing on the steps beside it, silently shedding tears.
*
Uncle Chen at the foot of the mountain tied his carriage to the roadside and sat in a tea stall drinking tea and waiting for someone.
The tea stall owner was an elderly man, and since business was slow, he sat down and chatted with Uncle Chen.
As they were talking, they suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves. Startled, the two got up and looked around. They saw a group of people, about six or seven, running towards them in the distance.
The man in the lead was very tall, with a square face and thick eyebrows, and a bluish birthmark on his left cheek. Despite wearing ordinary clothes, he still exuded an imposing aura, and the men behind him were all skilled martial artists.
The group stopped their horses at the tea stall and tossed the owner a piece of silver, saying, "Watch carefully."
"Yes, yes, gentlemen, rest assured, I will take good care of you!"
There were too many horses for him to handle alone, so Uncle Chen stepped forward to help lead a few and tie them to a tree nearby.
"Thank you, brother."
"No need to be so polite. These people must be military officers."
The tea stall owner nodded and lowered his voice, saying, "Did you see that guy who's the leader with a blue birthmark on his left eye? If I'm not mistaken, that person should be Marquis Wuping, Li Mu."
Uncle Chen didn't know any Marquis, but he had nothing better to do than listen to the stall owner gossip.
The tea stall serves many customers every day, including many noble ladies from the city. Regardless of their status, these women love to gossip when they get together, and the stall owner hears a lot of secrets from them.
He began to speak mysteriously, “This Marquis is quite famous in the prefectural city. He was originally just an illegitimate son of the Li family. Because of his ugly appearance, he was disliked by his father and sent to the army for training at the age of thirteen.”
"This man is quite remarkable. He earned military merits and was promoted to centurion in less than two years after joining the army. Later, he won several more battles and was promoted to chiliarch. A few years ago, when the Northern Qiang invaded, he led three thousand soldiers and utterly defeated the enemy!"
Coincidentally, that year marked the ascension of a new emperor, and the victory in this battle greatly pleased the emperor, who directly bestowed upon Li Mu the title of marquis.
Although it was only the lowest rank of Marquis, it was still a great honor, and Li Mu's reputation soared in Jizhou Prefecture in no time.
Uncle Chen took a sip of his tea and listened as he continued.
"Unfortunately, such a heroic figure had a troubled marriage. His own mother was just a concubine in the Li family and had no power to arrange a marriage for him, so the marriage fell to the mistress. Unfortunately, the mistress of the Li family was not a kind person, and she disliked Li Mu, so she casually arranged a marriage for him, marrying the daughter of a wealthy family in the city."
"After the marriage, the woman gave birth to a daughter for Li Mu, but the following year she cheated on him. This woman had been having an affair before the marriage, and it was unknown whether the child she had was Li Mu's. In a fit of rage, Li Mu beat the man half to death, divorced his wife, and severed all ties with his family."
This incident caused quite a stir in the city at the time, becoming a topic of conversation and a source of amusement for everyone.
Li Mu, the protagonist of this story, was hurrying up the mountain. He had come to Qingfeng Temple not to pray to the gods or Buddhas, but to ask the abbot for help in saving his daughter.
The day before yesterday, my daughter suddenly contracted a serious illness. A string of blisters appeared on her waist, and she cried for days in unbearable pain.
They called a doctor to take a look, and the doctor said that this was called "snake coiled around the waist," which was a very serious illness. If the snake coiled around the waist completely, the child would die.
Li Mu hurriedly asked the doctor if there was any way to treat it.
The doctor shook his head and said, "There's no cure, but I've heard that the abbot of Qingfeng Temple cured someone of this illness before, so perhaps he can help."
Li Mu immediately led his men to Qingfeng Temple to seek medical treatment.
The group hurried up the mountain, only to be stopped at the entrance by a young Taoist priest. "Please wait, believer. There are women inside. The abbot is currently performing divination to determine a marriage match. They will be out in a while."
"I have an urgent matter to ask the abbot for help. I hope the Taoist priest can pass on a message for me!"
The young Taoist priest was somewhat troubled, as it was considered extremely taboo to be interrupted during divination, especially when it involved such an important matter as marriage compatibility. "Please wait a moment, believer."
The servants behind him reassured him, "My lord, don't worry. It's just a little while longer. Miss will be fine."
Li Mu paced back and forth outside the palace in agitation, just in time to see Lin Sui standing on the high steps. His face was covered in tears and ashen, with a steep slope dozens of feet high beside him. He thought he was about to commit suicide.
He ran over, grabbed Lin Sui's clothes, and flung her back.
"Ouch!" Lin Sui was startled and fell to the ground, unable to recover for a long time.
Upon hearing the commotion, Wang Ying and Chen Qingyun rushed out of the house and helped their cousin up from the ground, asking, "What happened?"
Lin Sui's clothes were dirty from the fall, and his palms were scraped raw. He cried out in pain, "I was just sitting here peacefully when this person suddenly jumped out from behind and threw me to the ground!"
Li Mu was at a loss, "I... I thought you were going to jump..."
"Who would jump down?" Lin Sui was already feeling upset, and the fall made her feel pain all over her body. She couldn't help but cover her face and burst into tears.
"I apologize, it was my oversight. Please accept this money as an apology, and I hope you gentlemen will not take offense." Li Mu took out a money pouch from his pocket and placed it next to Lin Sui.
Just then, the door next to the main hall opened, and Qin Furong and the others walked out with smiles on their faces. Li Mu had urgent business to attend to, so he cupped his hands in greeting and turned to go inside.
"What's wrong with Sui'er?" Li Shi and Fang Ling hurriedly came over.
Wang Ying helped the man up and said, "Just now, when Sui Di was standing by the steps, that person probably thought he was having a mental breakdown, so he pulled him over. He used a bit too much force, and Sui Di tripped and fell."
Li pulled him aside to examine him closely, asking, "Is it broken?"
Lin Sui wiped away her tears and shook her head. "It's nothing, just a little scratch on my palm."
"This guy is really something, coming over here to pull our boy out of nowhere. Is he some kind of lecher?" It's no wonder that Madam Li was suspicious. Li Mu was tall and strong, with a blue birthmark on his face, and he looked fierce and menacing.
Madam Gao recognized him and quickly lowered her voice, saying, "You mustn't say such things. This is Marquis Wuping; he would never do such a thing."
This startled Li, who quickly covered her mouth.
Lin Sui was also quite frightened, never expecting that this person was actually the Marquis, and the silver bag in her hand suddenly felt hot to the touch.
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