Coincidentally, there was a clinic across the street, and the door was wide open. Occasionally, people came in and out, so it was obvious that the doctor was inside. The man in a Taoist robe was lying on the ground, his life hanging by a thread. Xie Wangzhi couldn't rashly ask the driver to move him, so he simply went to the clinic himself and asked the doctor inside to come out and take a look.
The clinic was not busy at the moment, and she generously paid a deposit, so the doctor was happy to come out for a walk. It was only a few steps anyway, so he could just relax.
However, the doctor had just arrived and had not yet seen clearly who he was going to diagnose, when the dying man lying in the middle of the road suddenly turned over and sat up nimbly. He wiped the dust and sweat off his face, and his eyes were as bright as a weasel's, and he did not look like he was on the verge of life or death at all.
Xie Wangzhi was shocked: "This..."
"My lady is kind-hearted. She was deceived." The doctor happened to know the man and lowered his voice. "He claimed to be a Taoist priest and said he could tell fortunes. He was cheating people in the market. This time he probably told nonsense and angered people. He has no fortune-telling skills, but he is good at pretending to be dead. He pretends to be dead when he is beaten. People in the market can't do anything to him, and the city guards can't do anything either."
No wonder the patrolling city guards didn't save the person lying on the ground. Xie Wangzhi couldn't tell what he felt. He was silent for a moment and smiled at the doctor: "Thank you for telling me. I was reckless. Doctor, please come out for a walk."
"It's not hard, it's not hard." The doctor shook his head quickly. "Since there is no need for diagnosis, why don't I return the deposit to my wife?"
"That's not necessary. The doctor is willing to come out to save people, which shows he is kind-hearted. It just happens that this person doesn't need to be saved, so everyone is happy." Xie Wangzhi couldn't accept this and quickly refused. Without waiting for the doctor's answer, she lifted her skirt slightly and trotted to the driver's position.
The doctor didn't have time to say anything, and it was not appropriate for him to chase the young lady. He held it in for a long time, then sighed and turned back to the clinic.
Xie Wangzhi just came to the driver's side, intending to ask the driver to drive back to Xie's house, but the Taoist priest was still sitting next to the driver, so she simply asked: "Is the Taoist priest still in good health?"
"Nothing is wrong, nothing is wrong." The Taoist priest chuckled and smeared the red paint on his sleeves on the sand. "Thank you for saving me, young lady. Unfortunately, I have nothing. How about telling my fortune for you, young lady, as a way of repaying you?"
Xie Wangzhi still remembered what the doctor said just now. He believed in the Taoist priest, but he didn't dare to believe the dirty Taoist priest in front of him. He thought about it and chose his words carefully: "No need, it's just a small favor. I am relieved that the Taoist priest is fine. I don't ask for anything, and you don't need to repay me."
Her words were meant to be polite, but she also meant it sincerely. Not to mention that the Taoist priest didn't need to be saved at all, even if she really wanted to spend money to buy medicine, she would not accept any thank-you gift from him.
"This is troublesome... It's fate, so I have to let it go." The Taoist priest was very smart, so he could tell that Xie Wangzhi was speaking the truth. He was a little distressed and scratched his face, "But it's true, when it comes to fortune-telling, if I open my mouth and refuse to lie, I will suffer..."
He was mumbling to himself, but Xie Wangzhi heard it clearly and thought the second half of the sentence was interesting: "What does Taoist Master mean?"
"Oh, did you hear that?" The Taoist was startled and slapped himself lightly on the face, leaving a streak of dark red paint on his face, making it look even dirtier. He frowned, and the ends of his gray eyebrows trembled, as if he was quite embarrassed. "Well, that's how it is. I tell fortunes for people and I always tell the truth. If the result is good, everyone is happy; if it's not good... I will be beaten."
He shook his head with a disgusted expression, "The one I hate the most is that guy named Kang. He was the Jiedushi of Fanyang, but he still didn't think it was enough. He asked me to calculate what his fate would be. I calculated it like this. Hey, the fate of a person is not just death. His death was quite strange. He was bitten by a snake. Unfortunately, as soon as I told him, he sent people to beat him half to death, and left one leg disabled."
This is nonsense. Fanyang Jiedushi Kang Lie rarely came to Beijing, and he was famous for believing in Buddhism instead of Taoism. How could he have invited a Taoist priest who cheated people in Chang'an to tell his fortune? But this is normal. It is nothing more than raising their own status, just like restaurants like to say that a certain dignitary has eaten there, and tailors like to brag that they have made clothes for a certain noble.
Xie Wangzhi nodded in agreement: "That's indeed too much. I believe in fate, but I don't believe in the fate predicted by divination. I'm afraid I won't need this divination from the Taoist priest."
She gestured, and the driver immediately got up and drove. Just as Xie Wangzhi was about to turn around and go near the carriage, the Taoist suddenly said, "Young lady, please stay!"
"Master, is there anything else you want to say?" Xie Wangzhi paused.
"I believe in fate, but not the fate predicted by divination... Young lady, what you said is wonderful. Just based on this sentence, you should have the ability to reach the sky." The Taoist priest suddenly became serious, propped himself up on the ground, turned over, rummaged in his arms, and took out three short incense sticks. He handed them to Xie Wangzhi along with the oil paper wrapped around them, "This is the incense that can reach the sky."
"Tongtianxiang?"
"Yes, this incense is made with special craftsmanship, and it can reach the sky when it is lit." The Taoist said, "In the future, if my wife wants to ask her ancestors, the gods and Buddhas to do something for her, just light this incense and recite the request silently, and they will be able to hear it. But there is one thing..."
Xie Wangzhi certainly didn't believe it, but he didn't want to go against the Taoist's wishes, so he took the incense stick and asked, "What's the matter?"
"A little bit of this Tongtian incense will take you to the sky. You only have one chance. Madam, you must think clearly about what you are asking for and what you can exchange for it." The Taoist priest looked serious and raised his hand to point to the sky, "They don't do things in vain."
"I understand." Xie Wangzhi thought this was nonsense, but seeing the Taoist's solemn face, he nodded seriously, "Thank you very much, Taoist priest."
Seeing that she had accepted the incense and the karma had been resolved, the Taoist heaved a sigh of relief. He stared at Xie Wangzhi for a while and suddenly said, "Since that's the case, I won't say much and will leave now."
He was even more anxious than Xie Wangzhi. After he finished speaking, he immediately turned around and walked towards the alley next to him. He was talking nonsense when he mentioned the hexagram, but the lame leg was real. When he walked, his whole body was tilted and he limped. He was like a shaky bamboo shoot, swaying into the alley.
Xie Wangzhi stared at the back for a while, then turned to the driver and said, "Let's go."
The driver responded, thought for a moment, and glanced at the incense stick in her hand: "Madam, do you want to take this with you?"
Xie Wangzhi didn't want to take it with her, but it would be wrong to just throw it away. She thought for a moment and said, "... Forget it. I can just put it away when I get home. There's no need to miss a box."
Since that was the case, the driver didn't object. He nodded and climbed onto the carriage. Xie Wangzhi followed suit. When the curtain fell, the carriage rumbled toward Anxingfang.
**
After returning to Chang'an, Xie Wangzhi's life was no different from before. He studied poetry and books as usual, and occasionally played the guzheng to relieve his mood. Perhaps because the weather was getting colder, there were fewer social interactions among the noble ladies, and Xie Wangzhi was happy to be free and in a much better mood.
Especially the leader, Zheng Hanyuan, who was usually the most active in socializing and the most popular among the noble ladies, but lately, for some reason, she didn't like to show up in front of the noble ladies, but liked to hang out with young men. What else could young men and women of the right age talk about? All they talked about was romantic matters, and there was even a hint of getting engaged.
It was Wen Qiniang who told Xie Wangzhi the news. She had visited him several times. She smiled when she talked about it, but her tone was a little disdainful: "… Alas, back then you said you wouldn't marry casually, and if you wanted to marry, you'd marry a hero of the time. But now you're being casual. It looks like good things are coming. It probably doesn't matter who it is, as long as it's from one of the five surnames."
Xie Wangzhi certainly didn't respond to this. First, she didn't like to gossip about others behind their backs. Second, she wasn't familiar with Zheng Hanyuan and had nothing to say. She just responded and perfunctorily said a few words to Wen Qiniang. Then she pretended to be nice and went along with what Wen Qiniang said. She considered her mission accomplished if she could make her happy and leave the house. She didn't plan to open up to Wen Qiniang, and Wen Qiniang certainly didn't either. She just saw that she was tight-lipped, so she was testing her and looking for a way to say things she didn't dare to say normally.
Xie Wangzhi didn't care who Zheng Hanyuan was going to marry, but she was also cautious and tried to find out what her family members were thinking indirectly. Logically, they were eager to let her meet Cui Yunqi before, and they probably wanted to arrange a marriage for her, but by November, no one mentioned it again. Her father and brother were very busy, coming and going in a hurry, and they didn't smile when they met occasionally. Even Wang, who was always upright and smiling, looked sad.
Since her father and brother rarely met, and she was not familiar with Wang, Xie Wangzhi thought about it and decided to ask Li Qishen. But Li Qishen did not say anything. He always cleverly pushed her topic away, diverted her thoughts with a few words, and let her spend the afternoon happily. When she returned, she would remember that there was something she wanted to ask.
More than a month later, Xie Wangzhi finally knew what the shadow hanging over his head was and the hidden truth, which was revealed as blood.
On November 21, the 15th year of the Xianyuan period, Kang Lie, the Jiedushi of Fanyang, rebelled under the banner of "clearing the court". He said that there was a severe drought in the south of the Yangtze River this year, causing countless deaths and injuries in both the east and west routes, and the officials who went to provide disaster relief colluded with local bureaucrats to exploit them. For the sake of the country and the people, he had to clear up the government.
The rebels' route was from Fanyang to Chang'an. The local military governors naturally sent garrison troops to resist them, but for some reason, the garrison troops were defeated and some even lost their lives. Reports of the battle were sent to Chang'an one after another, but once they entered the capital, they were like paper entering a furnace, with no response. At the same time, Chang'an was preparing for the New Year's Eve and New Year's Day ceremonies as in previous years, with lanterns and decorations, as if it had no idea what was going on.
On December 25, the false peace was finally broken. The rebels arrived in Xingyang, the prefecture city fell, and the governor died. The last battle report sent to Chang'an was written in blood, questioning why the emperor did not reply to the battle report and why he was still preparing for the New Year.
Faced with the blood letter, Li Chengjing finally responded, although the response was weird and worse than no response at all.
He ordered the Tiance Army in Luoyang to be transferred back to Chang'an.
The author has something to say: The plot has started to run, hiccups. Come on, Changsheng appointed BGMI Die Young (.)