"But... Prince, the Daoist outside seems quite extraordinary, and claims he’s from so place called Shanqing Temple, nad Yan Daoxin, and insists on seeing you..." The steward relayed the exact words the gatekeeper had told him to Zhu Cheng.
Zhu Cheng initially had no intention of dealing with such matters; he had been consud with forging a batch of new Black Iron weapons day and night, with little room for anything else. However, upon hearing the Prince Mansion Steward ntion "Shanqing Temple" and "Yan Daoxin," he halted the words on the tip of his tongue.
"Who did you say wants to see ?" He wasn’t sure if he had misheard, so he asked again.
"A Daoist from Shanqing Temple, nad Yan Daoxin," the steward quickly replied.
This ti, Zhu Cheng confird he had not misheard; it was indeed the person he had thought of.
While the Zhu Family traditionally disliked anything ghostly or mystical, and disliked monks and Daoists, making sure not a single monastery or Daoist Temple existed throughout Shuo Country, as they had been driven out since his father’s generation, Zhu Cheng had still heard of Shanqing Temple’s reputation.
Everyone knew that Shanqing Temple’s Qi Yun Mountain People were reclusive sages, having only taken a few disciples, each an exceptional talent rarely seen in the world.
And the Yan Daoxin ntioned by the steward was an esteed disciple of Qi Yun Mountain People, renowned for his exceptional dical skills, known as the Divine Doctor.
Rumor had it that Yan Daoxin possessed brilliant dical skills capable of snatching people from King Yan’s clutches; however, his actions were erratic and unpredictable, and whether he would be persuaded had nothing to do with the severity of the patient’s condition, but entirely depended on his mood.
Now suddenly, this elusive Divine Doctor had appeared at the gates of his Prince Mansion, and Zhu Cheng was bewildered.
Coincidentally, Princess Shuo, Pang Yuzhen, had lost her appetite and couldn’t sleep due to the anxiety and stress over her only daughter, Zhu Ning’s marriage prospect with Prince Shuo. He had called many dical Officers and doctors to prescribe herbal treatnts, but all to no avail, seeing Pang Yuzhen’s daily weary look concerning him.
He was just contemplating where to find a better doctor to examine his wife’s health when Yan Daoxin appeared outside.
Could this be a sign of fate?
Thinking this way, Zhu Cheng no longer cared about Daoists or not and hastily instructed the steward to bring him in and prepare tea to welco the guest.
Since Zhu Cheng had spoken, the Prince Mansion Steward didn’t hesitate, quickly calling upon two maids from the Prince Shuo Mansion to brew tea and prepare refreshnts for the guest hall. He himself took two servants to the front to welco the esteed guest.
Zhu Cheng hadn’t anticipated that a matter haunting him for days would be abruptly resolved, lifting his spirits a bit. After tidying his robes, he leisurely paced in the backyard, contemplating how to persuade Divine Doctor Yan Daoxin to willingly examine and prescribe for Princess Shuo.
No matter what, he was a Vassal King, and despite Yan Daoxin’s fa as a world-renowned Divine Doctor, he, Zhu Cheng, couldn’t be overly approachable to avoid losing his dignity and decorum.
So it’s best to wait until they entered the Prince Mansion and settled in the guest hall with so tea before making an appearance.
After pacing briefly, a governnt soldier rushed in urgently from outside: "Prince! Prince! Weapon Supervision sent word that although the furnace temperature is high enough, during quenching the blade’s cooling speed remains insufficient, failing to et your requirents..."
As Zhu Cheng heard this, his brow furrowed: "A bunch of worthless fools, can’t get anything right!
This sword has consud so much of my effort, if they’ve ruined it at this stage, I’ll surely toss them into the forge to cast swords with their lives!
What are you staring at, hurry and follow to take a look!"
The governnt soldier hurriedly obeyed, following Zhu Cheng in strides straight to Weapon Supervision.
Elsewhere, Yan Daoxin had no doubts about Zhu Yu’s words, yet the gatekeeper’s attitude left him uncertain if their move was ineffective, fearing Zhu Cheng might send them away.
He paced outside, calculating in case Zhu Cheng didn’t give face at the ntion of Daoists, how they could discreetly enter the Prince Mansion.
Just as he was pondering this, the gate squeaked open, and the previously stern-faced gatekeeper now bead like a blossoming cotton flower, whether beautiful or not, certainly radiant.
"Honored Taoists, please do co in!" The gatekeeper signaled for them to enter, bending with a face full of smiles.
The kind of people the Prince detested the most were suddenly ordered by the steward to receive good tea service today; these visitors must indeed be distinguished.
He stood by the door, sneaking a glance at the veiled figure among the five, guessing that after Divine Doctor Yan Daoxin reported his na, the prince valued it so highly...wondering who this mysterious veiled high figure might be.
The five were lead by several servants to the guest hall, where the finest hot tea was prepared. As they sat down, several maids hurriedly served tea snacks.
Things in Shuo Country, like Zhu Cheng’s disposition, were plain and simple. Thus, the tea snacks weren’t overly elaborate but emitted an enticing aroma, appearing very appetizing.
The five had barely avoided hunger along the journey, and now the enticing aroma of tea snacks stirred their hunger.
Unconcerned with formalities, Yan Daoxin, eating and drinking without restraint, poured himself a cup of tea, and popped a snack into his mouth without hesitation, finding it dry, followed by hot tea, letting an aromatic sweet warmth flow through him, satisfying sowhat.
"You should try them, the snacks might lack appearance, but the taste is really good!" He casually invited the other four.
Zhu Yu, behind the veil, watched the servants in the guest hall gaping as Yan Daoxin, who appeared to have perfected Daoist arts yet had not a trace of an Immortal deanor, casually consud on his own, struggled not to laugh.
If one day, they were reduced to relying on Yan Daoxin to roam and scam for sustenance, Lu Qing might need to seal his good junior brother’s acupoints first, maybe including the mute acupoint, being unable to speak or move might be the only way.
As she stifled a chuckle, contemplating this, a hand reached in under the veil holding a circular snack.
"My junior brother already ate five pieces of snacks, three of which were these." Lu Qing’s voice ca from outside the veil, "This seems to be the tastiest.
Eat quickly or it’ll all be in his stomach soon."
User Comments
0 comments from readers