The people of Taohua Village said it was not too many, but not too few either. Over the next two or three days, these soldiers went door to door and questioned Pei Yunshu alone. He was questioned twice.
He didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble, so he simply used illusions when he went out, and cast a little spell so that no one would notice him.
Zhu You changes day by day. Fortunately, although he is still growing taller after moving to Taohua Village, he is not as scary as before. Pei Yunshu still remembers that he once said that he would get smaller and smaller. He couldn't help but think that when Zhu You grows up this time, he might just look like a teenager.
The young man is full of vigor and vitality, but he may not be as tall as Pei Yunshu.
When I think about it this way, I feel a little bit gloating.
Two days later, the soldiers from Taohua Village who were sent to look for their savior stopped their search. Pei Yunshu thought they had given up, but the next day a rumor spread like wildfire. It turned out that the general's savior had been found. He was a family surnamed Wang at the head of the village. Their youngest son told the soldiers that it was him who saved the general that day.
Pei Yunshu was walking by and when he heard it, he couldn't help but look in the direction of the speaker.
Three or four farmers were working, and one of them asked curiously, "If he saved the general, why didn't he tell the general on the first day?"
"The youngest son of the Wang family said that he was too scared to speak when he first saw the soldiers. How could he dare to admit that he saved the general?" said another man. "If it were me, I wouldn't dare to say it either. Who would have thought that I could save a general with just a few moves? But this youngest son of the Wang family is usually arrogant and looks down on others. I never thought he had this skill."
"Didn't his family send him to the town's medical clinic to study for a while?" another person said, "He probably has some skills. He is usually lazy and gluttonous. Who would have thought that he would be so lucky and become the general's lifesaver. The general is going to take him to the capital to repay his kindness. Not only will he not have to work in the fields in the future, but he will also be able to eat endless delicacies from the mountains and the sea!"
After hearing these two sentences, Pei Yunshu shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
He walked slowly among the mountains and fields, thinking that this scene was somewhat like the story in "The Countryside Gentleman".
However, if he found his "savior", the general would probably leave quickly.
Pei Yunshu's brows relaxed when he thought of this.
*
Sure enough, the next morning, Pei Yunshu heard that the general had left with his savior, and that the Wang family at the head of the village was rewarded with a lot of gold, silver and treasures. They were all smiling from ear to ear, and they killed a lot of chickens, ducks, fish and meat, and held a banquet at the head of the village, inviting everyone in the village to come and have a meal.
Mr. Xiucai was personally invited by the Wang family, so he brought his students to the banquet, and also specially invited Pei Yunshu, the only one at home, to go with him.
People always admire those who can read. Pei Yunshu's behavior is not like that of ordinary people. The scholar once talked with him and had a very good impression of him.
The adults sat at one table and the children sat at another.
A fat boy at the table said, "Pei Yunjiao, why are you growing taller again? What did your family feed you? Why do you look different every day?"
Zhu You stared at Pei Yunshu with his dark eyes. The color of his eyes became darker and darker, and he did not respond to the questions asked by the people next to him.
The fat boy frowned and went forward to pull his clothes, "Pei Yunjiao!"
Zhu You turned around, and just one glance scared the little fat boy so much that he dodged back and almost fell off the chair.
The young men around looked at each other, and a glance at Zhu You made them feel fear. The fear went deep into their bones. They didn't even dare to cry. They lowered their head to look at their fingers, and their legs trembled.
Zhu You looked back at Pei Yunshu again and suddenly said, "Five times."
His voice was slightly hoarse. Still in his youth, his voice was much deeper than before, and even more frightening.
The person next to him stammered and asked cautiously, "What, what five times?"
Zhu You said: "Dad has smiled at the person next to him five times."
Pei Yunshu was still quite a distance away from Zhu You. He was facing sideways towards Zhu You, and among the shadowy figures, he was completely different from the country folk.
In Zhu You's eyes, everyone around him had become blurry shadows, with only his father left. Therefore, every smile of his father, every strand of hair sliding down the side of his face, and his lips that were as hazy as the spring rain in March, were all clearly visible.
"That man had an ordinary appearance, spoke crudely, and even stuttered," Zhu You said, "Daddy actually smiled at him five times."
The people around didn't understand what was wrong with this. They followed Zhu You's gaze and couldn't help but exclaimed, "Pei Yunjiao, why is your father so handsome?"
Young and fair, they couldn’t describe the feeling, they just felt that Pei Yunjiao’s father was nothing like their father, like a god.
Pei Yunshu seemed to have heard what they said. He turned his head and smiled at Zhu You.
His lips must have been stained by the wine, as the color of his lips looked crystal clear. Zhu You only felt his throat itching again. He smiled obediently at his father, then looked away first, sitting upright, as still as a mountain.
Mr. Xiucai said to Pei Yunshu at the side: "Yunjiao is very talented and smart, but I think he doesn't care much about secular ethics. It seems that he is born without understanding human nature."
Pei Yunshu sighed, "Thank you for your hard work, sir."
Mr. Xiucai said: "If Mr. Pei is willing, I will let him do more things so that he can understand what propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame are all about."
Pei Yunshu nodded and drank tea instead of wine, "Sir, just go ahead and teach."
Halfway through the banquet, someone from the Wang family stood in the front with a rosy face and said a few words. From the meaning of their words, it seemed that they would move to the town tomorrow.
Many people came to congratulate him. Pei Yunshu tasted a few bites of the food but put it down because it was too greasy. He looked at the expressions of the people and after seeing so much, he felt that there was nothing good to say.
He was about to leave when his ears moved and he heard the sound of horse hooves coming from afar.
The sound of horse hooves was loud and approaching, and in the blink of an eye, everyone present could see a sky full of yellow sand rising in the distance at the entrance of the village.
The ground seemed to be shaking slightly, and the wine on the table was shaking out of the cup. The sound of horses' hooves approached this place in a blink of an eye, surrounding the people who were having a feast at the entrance of the village.
Someone shouted, "General!"
It turned out to be the general who had left and returned.
The leader was on his horse, his face was as cold as a mountain, his eyebrows were flying into his temples, and he was particularly sharp. Someone beside him got off his horse, pulled a man out from behind, and shouted: "This man is really bold, he dared to pretend to be my master's savior. Such a greedy person who took over the magpie's nest, what do you think we should do!"
The person in his hand was pushed heavily to the ground and completely collapsed at the Wang family's feet. These farmers had never seen such a scene before. Their faces were pale and sweat was pouring down.
There was an uproar among the people present.
The youngest son of the Wang family could no longer stand up. His originally fair and handsome face was now covered with dust and dirt. He huddled and crawled behind his parents, begging for mercy. His legs were trembling, and he looked extremely embarrassed.
"How can this person be so shameless!" someone at the table said angrily, "He took credit for other people's work and was so smug about it. How despicable!"
The scholar's face was already filled with anger, his fingers trembling, "Shameless!"
The general's men were still interrogating the Wang family. A woman in the Wang family became anxious and said, "General, please open your eyes. This is the person our boy saved! In the entire Taohua Village, only our boy has studied medicine!"
The general sitting high on the horse made a gesture, and these people were covered by their mouths and noses by their subordinates and dragged behind the horses. Seeing the frightened looks of the Wang family, the crowd, which was still indignant, couldn't help but quiet down.
The general scanned the crowd with his eyes, and Pei Yunshu cast a little spell to see what the general wanted to do.
The people surrounded by this group of soldiers were almost all from Taohua Village. These uneasy and anxious faces and pairs of rough and dark hands did not look like the people who rescued him that day.
After the general looked at them one by one, he was not in a hurry. Instead, he whispered a few words to the person beside him. Then his expression became serious, he dismounted and respectfully took out something from behind him.
The general leaned over to take it and put it on his hand. Pei Yunshu took a look and found that it was a string of Buddhist beads with dragon spirit.
It is not the dragon energy of a divine dragon like Zhu You, but the dragon energy of an earthly emperor.
The next moment, Pei Yunshu felt a gaze looking directly at him.
After putting on the Buddhist beads, the general was finally able to see Pei Yunshu. He rode his horse closer, and the horse walked between the narrow tables, and could almost trample a person to death with one hoof.
The villagers on both sides were terrified and watched the tall horse passing by trembling with fear.
The man rode his horse to Pei Yunshu's side. He looked at Pei Yunshu's hands, then at Pei Yunshu's face, and said calmly, "Is it you?"
Pei Yunshu asked: "Who is me?"
The general got off his horse swiftly. He sat beside Pei Yunshu and said, "I haven't been able to find you these days. As expected, you will only show up when I leave."
Pei Yunshu remained silent.
"You are my lifesaver," the general seemed unfathomable, but his words always carried a strong and commanding tone, "This place is poor and remote, it's better for you to go to Beijing with me."
The soldiers also looked at Pei Yunshu with curiosity in their eyes, wondering how this man had managed to evade their searches these days.
Pei Yunshu shook his head and said politely: "General, there is no need to do this. I saved you without asking for your gratitude."
The general nodded and said, "I know."
"Since you know, why do you need me to go with you?" Pei Yunshu laughed.
The general looked at him and suddenly sighed.
He stood up, and his tall figure cast a shadow on Pei Yunshu. The general looked at Pei Yunshu deeply, clasped his hands together, and saluted to Pei Yunshu.
"The emperor is seriously ill," the general said in a deep voice, "Please come with me to the capital and save the emperor's life."