Jiang Sheng's eyes wandered, feeling somewhat guilty. He whispered, "Master Zhang, he was the one who made the immortality elixir for His Majesty. I don't know why he left the palace, but I brought it back with me."
Jiang Ling stared blankly, gritting her teeth. "By the way, this is just a matter of convenience. It's a big problem. Killing him or not is a problem."
"...I locked him up, and he was able to recognize me even after I changed my appearance. This shows that he still has some skills. Maybe he can be useful in the future if I keep him."
"Forget it, forget it. I've brought him back. This person really needs to be kept under close watch. I'll arrange for him to stay at the farm. He can't live in the manor to avoid being discovered."
"Okay, then I'll leave it to you, brother."
Jiang Sheng touched his nose and said casually, "Brother, I'll have someone send it to you. If you have nothing else to do, I'll go see my grandmother first. That's all for now."
He opened the door and left quickly, afraid that someone would call him from behind.
Jiang Ling sighed, resigned himself to his fate and went to pack up his stall, first making arrangements for Taoist Zhang.
＊
As soon as Taoist Zhang entered Beihuang City, he looked at the greatly changed Beihuang City outside with shining eyes. Sure enough, the divination would not deceive him. This would be the place where a new kingdom would be opened.
Yang Er followed behind him, staring at him intently.
Like a child entering the city, he looked around curiously, grabbing Yang Er's sleeve and asking, "Brother, what kind of surface is this? How is it different from bluestone?"
"Hey, what's the vegetable market written on the sign? I want to go in and take a look. Give me some money to buy things."
Taoist Zhang saw that he didn't move, so he urged him, "Brother Yang, please say something. I won't take your money for nothing. How about I tell you your fortune later?"
Yang Er pursed his lips into a line and said coldly, "No need. I only believe that success depends on human effort, and I don't believe in the words of some charlatan."
"Hey, Brother Yang, I don't like what you said. What do you mean by a charlatan? I've never been bad at fortune-telling. I even missed the earthquake in the capital before."
"Oh, then why would I be a beggar and be hunted by others?"
Taoist Zhang was speechless for a moment, his expression changing from one moment to the next. "Why else? People just want to hear nice things, not really want to have their fortunes told. I'm just telling the truth, what's wrong with that?"
"A couple came to me for fortune-telling, asking when they would have children. I told them that the master already had children, and there were several outside. The wife couldn't stand the pressure and wanted a divorce."
"That master was resentful of me for telling the truth and not letting him eat the orphan girl's family. That's why he asked his servants to kill me. I pretended to be a beggar to protect myself."
Yang Er looked at him silently, with suspicion in his eyes.
Taoist Zhang was like being stabbed, and almost jumped up and down: "Why are you looking at me like that? Everything I said is true. I became a beggar and my money was robbed. Otherwise, how could I be in such a miserable state?"
"...If that's the case, why did you help that person make the elixir of immortality? Why did you want to harm others when you knew it was impossible to make it?"
"Well, that's unavoidable. I just want to survive. I have to bow my head under someone else's eaves. You won't understand this kind of suffering."
Yang Er narrowed his eyes and continued to probe, "Why did you change again now? Did something happen that made you willing to abandon your wealth and glory and run to the Northern Wilderness?"
Taoist Zhang kept his mouth shut and kept silent, muttering, "This has nothing to do with you. I am just following God's will. You don't understand."
"Alright, give me the silver. Let me have a good stroll around, okay? Didn't your master tell you to treat me with courtesy?"
"No, I'll give you two taels of silver. Remember to return it to me later. It's not easy for me to earn some silver."
"……mean!"
The two of them went shopping in the vegetable market.
Taoist Priest Zhang looked up at the shed, then at the stalls that had been divided up, his eyes filled with wonder. "How amazing! Who ordered all this?"
Yang Er said nothing after hearing this, as if he hadn't heard it.
"Forget it, forget it. I can't get anything out of you by asking you."
He sniffed a foul odor, sniffed, and walked over, saying with a smile, "Mother-in-law, give me a portion of stinky tofu, with lots of chili and make it crispy."
The old woman looked up and nodded, "Okay, young man, you are a fortune teller, how much is a fortune teller? Can you help me find out where my son is?"
Taoist Zhang sniffed and agreed readily: "Ten copper coins, I'll count it for you once, just consider it a good deed."
"Haha, okay, I'll give you ten copper coins."
"Well, I'll do it now."
While frying stinky tofu, the old woman looked at him eagerly, praying for some good news. Her son had been away for business for ten years and had never returned.
Taoist Zhang took the birth date and eight characters, squatted on the ground and calculated them. The smile on his face gradually disappeared, and his expression became a little solemn. He stood up and looked at the old woman, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
I don’t know whether to tell the truth or not. If I don’t tell the truth, he will be a charlatan, but if I tell the truth, the old woman will have no hope at all.
Seeing him like this, the old woman trembled slightly and said, "Master, tell me, I can bear it."
"... Mother-in-law, you are the one who insisted on asking. You can't hit me just because I tell the truth."
"Well, just say it."
Taoist Priest Zhang lowered his voice and said, "Old woman, your son went out of town to do business ten years ago. He died ten years ago. His body is in the yard of a house in the city."
Yang Er raised his eyebrows and looked at him, with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
The old woman's voice trembled: "Master, what are you talking about? My son died in business ten years ago. How could his body be in the city?"
"This is what I calculated. It's at a house on the west outskirts of the city. If you don't believe me, you can go and see it with me. My divinations are never wrong."
"It's on the west side of the city, that's where my son's good brother lives. They went out to do business together. Some time later, the lawyer came back and said that my son... is gone."
When Yang Er heard this, he looked at Taoist Zhang deeply. If he really figured it out, then this charlatan really has some skills.
Taoist Zhang watched her packing up, licked his lips and said greedily: "Mother-in-law, my stinky tofu is not ready yet, why don't you fry it and give it to me."
"Let's go together, I'm really hungry."
"...Okay, I'll fry it for you."
After a cup of tea, Taoist Zhang was eating with relish while holding a bamboo bowl. Yang Er helped the old woman to get things. The old woman walked in a daze, as if she had lost her soul.
After a long while, he spoke: "Master, you may be able to figure out why the judge wanted to harm my son. He and I grew up together, and it was my son who helped his family when they were in trouble."
"Well, the human heart is hard to predict. I am good at fortune-telling, but I can't predict the human heart."
“The human heart is extremely fickle; who can predict it clearly?”
“…”
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