Lu Liangsheng quickly came back to his senses from his previous thoughts. In the story of Mount Li, it was related to the goddess Nuwa, and the old mother in front of him was also an ancient god.
His previous thoughts clearly substituted the master for the mount of the temple keeper, Nuwa. But on second thought, what was lost was only a stone sculpture. Even if the master came from Mount Li, it was just a toad sculpture carved by the ancestors nearby.
It can't be said to be too close to Nuwa and Lishan Mother.
After realizing this, Lu Liangsheng smiled, held the reins and looked back at the wobbly bookshelf behind him.
"Master, in the Old Mother Hall, I heard the temple priest say that there was once a large stone sculpture of a toad in the temple, which was later taken away by the First Emperor. After the fall of Qin, it disappeared. Later, I heard from Grand Secretary Zhou that there was also a golden toad looking at the moon in the Southern Chen Palace. It was accidentally obtained by the founding emperor Chen Baxian when he was young, and was later stolen."
In the slightly opened compartment door, Taoist Toad was looking through clothes in the small wardrobe and spoke without turning his head.
"What does it have to do with being a teacher?"
"… But I found that although Master is a toad, he can't swim. I wonder if Master is the Moon-gazing Golden Toad, who has absorbed the essence of the sun, moon, mountains and rivers for many years."
The Toad Taoist changed into a plaid short-sleeved shirt, rolled his eyes, touched the rope around his waist, and lay down on his side.
"Even my teacher doesn't know, but you know?"
He propped up his chin while lying on his side and flapped his flippers: "How could I possibly know what it was before I became intelligent? Liangsheng, please stop guessing. It makes me feel like I just jumped out of a stone. Let's hurry up and return to Chang'an so that I can have a good meal first."
"What's so strange about a stone popping out?" On the side, Zhu Ganglie, who had transformed into a black-haired man, licked a few candied haws and snorted twice: "I, Old Pig, only know one."
Lu Liangsheng raised his eyebrows and became interested: "Who is it?"
It was understandable that a rock could become a spirit, but it was unheard of that it could jump out directly from a rock. He was inevitably curious. Zhu Ganglie, who was following him, saw that he had already gone down the mountain, so he said, "You will know when you get to Liangjie Mountain. It's a dead monkey."
monkey
Is this the divine monkey at the foot of the mountain that the Old Mother of Mount Li mentioned before she left
"It seems that it would be interesting to accept this mission."
On the official road leading to the east gate of the Great Wall, passers-by and merchants watched a scholar in a white robe pulling an old donkey as he walked into the city with a chuckle. The skylight slanted, shining on the long street with hundreds of government offices. The scholar, who came from the bustling and noisy streets, stopped in front of the gate of the Min Mansion, leading the old donkey and the black man.
Zhu Ganglie picked his nose and looked at the red gate: "High officials in the mortal world are no more than this."
"hehe… "
Lu Liangsheng chuckled as he walked up the stone steps and knocked on the animal-head copper ring on the door. After a moment, there was a slight creaking sound, and the door opened, revealing half of the doorman's old face. Seeing the scholar standing outside, he immediately opened the door and stepped aside.
"Oh, Master Lu is back. Please come in. I will go and inform the young lady."
"No need to trouble you. By the way, is the old man who came with me before still in the mansion?"
Lu Liangsheng persuaded him and asked about Wang Banxia's situation. Last time, he was in a hurry to rush to the north to rescue Yuanfeng, so he didn't take him with him. Now when he asked about it, the old man at the door was a little hesitant.
"That... Mr. Wang, he... um, doesn't live here anymore? Mr. Lu, don't be angry. It's not the master's idea, it's Mr. Wang's own idea. He said that the capital is prosperous and he wants to go see it alone. He also said that he has a junior brother in the city, so he won't disturb him here."
Lu Liangsheng naturally would not be angry about such a thing. After hearing the reason, he smiled and asked, "Is Minister Min at home?"
"The master hasn't come back yet. My young lady told me to report if I come back. I'm going to go now."
Without waiting for the scholar to answer, the doorman ran to the mansion and informed the steward who was scolding a maid. The steward turned around and ran wildly along the corridor in front of the maid's aggrieved gaze. The maids and guards who were coming towards him hurriedly avoided him on both sides. He hit the fence and fell into the pool with a splash.
Amidst the chaos and exclamations, Min Yuerou, who had received the news in the backyard, opened the door, lifted her skirt and followed the breathless steward, trotting to the gate of the mansion. From afar, she saw a familiar silhouette talking to a fat, black man. She quickly slowed down her pace, walked gently and slowly, and quickly fixed her hair.
Lu Liangsheng, who was talking over there, saw someone coming out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to look and saw Min Yuerou, who was wearing a green dress and a white skirt embroidered with flowers, walking slowly towards him with her hands folded on her belly. She stood not far away, smiling with her lips pursed and bowed gently.
"Mr. Lu."
Zhu Ganglie's eyes widened, and he quickly nudged the scholar beside him with his elbow: "What are you doing? How do you react to such a beautiful lady? If you don't say anything, I, the old pig, will say... the little beauty..."
Just as he uttered the last four words, he was hit on the knee. Zhu Ganglie turned around and saw a pipe dropped to the ground. On the bookshelf behind Lao Lu, through the slightly opened door, Toad Taoist was glaring at him.
Here, Lu Liangsheng walked out from under the eaves and supported the woman from a few inches away. He was not blind or heartless, so how could he not feel what the woman meant? However, it was a little hard to accept this kind of favor from a beautiful woman...
Unable to cultivate Buddhism, all he could do was watch her grow old little by little in the future, which would be an unacceptable pain for both of them.
"Let's find a chance and make it clear."
After saying a few words to Min Yuerou, he changed the subject and talked about the fat black man behind him.
"Miss Min, this is a strong man I met on the way. His last name is Zhu, and his name is Ganglie. He is a very cool man. He may need to stay in the other courtyard for one night today."
"It doesn't matter. As long as Master Lu is here, it doesn't matter how long he stays."
The woman smiled and walked beside Lu Liangsheng. She was also quite familiar with the old donkey, and from time to time she would stroke the donkey's bristles. She went to the side yard where they had lived before, and helped take out the bookshelf and some clothes and put them in the closet.
"The young master's disciple has gone to Yuwen Mansion. Do you want me to send someone to bring him here?"
"Well, call him over."
It was reasonable for the master to meet his apprentice. Lu Liangsheng took out a few books, dusted them off and put them on the bedside. He tidied the bedding, turned his head, and called out to the woman who was walking towards the door.
"Why not call Yuwen Tuo here as well?"
Min Yuerou leaned against the door frame, blinked her eyes, and listened quietly, but she had no intention of leaving. After a long while, Lu Liangsheng finally spoke: "I'm done."
Then, the woman said "oh" and left reluctantly, pouting and mumbling as she walked, "I thought you would say something to me, I'm so pissed."
He walked out of the crescent-shaped door, called the servants waiting outside and gave them instructions. Then he watched them leave and hit the hanging branches of a nearby tree with his hand.
"Who made my daughter angry?"
Amid the swaying branches, a dignified and upright voice sounded. Min Yuerou knew who it was without even looking. On the white rock path leading to the front yard, Min Changwen, dressed in an official robe, was walking over with his hands behind his back. It seemed that he had just got off work from the yamen, and when he heard the gatekeeper mention that Lu Liangsheng had returned, he came straight here.
"Who else could it be? Of course..." Min Yuerou raised her finger and wanted to point to the side yard, but when she saw her father, she suddenly retracted her finger. She thought of something, her cheeks flushed, and she took small steps to her father's side.
"Dad, my daughter has something to tell you..."
The voice gradually became smaller at this point. The woman moved closer and leaned over to whisper in Min Changwen's ear. As she spoke further, her fair neck turned red. After she finished speaking, she ran away shyly.
"This child is so shameless that he actually let me, his father, talk about such things!"
Min Changwen looked angry, but luckily his daughter ran fast, otherwise he would have hit her.
"I am a high-ranking official in the imperial court. If people knew that I said such shameless things, how could I speak in the court? Humph!"
He flicked his wide sleeves and walked into the yard. The camphor tree swayed gently in the evening. An old donkey passed by him leisurely, swinging its tail. In a house not far away, opposite the open window, a scholar stood at the desk, flipping through a book. He seemed to have found something interesting and smiled warmly and sunny.
"Good son-in-law... Bah."
Min Changwen called out, then realized that he had been led astray by his daughter, and quickly changed his tone: "My dear nephew!" He walked into the room, smiled and took Lu Liangsheng's hand as he wanted to greet him, and sat down on the chair enthusiastically.
"My dear nephew, are you going to marry or not?"