Chapter 238 The beautiful girl behind the rockery
“For another world?” Zhu Quan and Qi Chuan did not understand, “What is that?” He Danggui was shocked. Qi Xuanyu was a pretty smart mystical conman. She couldn’t believe that he divulged her biggest secret. What should she do? Would they burn her with a fire, just like the medieval witch that Qing’er said?
Qi Xuanyu explained, “It was because the hexagram-records in the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching were very vague. My Lord, since you used to study the Book of Changes, you know that there are many possible explanations for those concise classical Chinese. So, even I can’t give an exact answer. However, I am absolutely sure that the blue thorn star is not a natural star, and it should be condensed by a Taoist priest. Since he could use the ‘Forbidden magic of binding the soul for 3 lives’, he must have supernatural power.”
Qi Chuan’s voice was full of confusion, “Who can summon the star? How can there be such a person in the world? Brother, are you talking about the immortal in the heaven?”
“It is still unknown whether the immortal is in the heaven,” Qi Xuanyu said, “However, if I join hands with my father, grandfather and great-grandfather, we can also start the ‘Forbidden magic of binding the soul for 3 lives’ from Taoists. But it will take a lot of sacrifice. Each of us will live 7 years less.”
Qi Chuan said naively, “Brother, our grandfather and great-grandfather have been dead for many years. How can they help you?”
Qi Xuanyu reproached unhappily, “I’m just making an analogy. You can’t be so rude to your elders. That is why I said that the person who sent the thorn star must be very powerful. He is probably much stronger than my father. As you know, My Lord, the reason why the forbidden magic is the name is that only immortal can do those things, but the mortal can’t. If mortal do it out of the ordinary way, they will have to pay the corresponding price. I guess the soul fragments in the thorn star are probably the price for them to send that thing.”
Zhu Quan pondered and said, “Although there are many people in the world who are addicted to Taoism, there are few people who really get it. Your father is one, and Mr. Bai is one. In addition, at most, there is Meng Xi, the Lord of Qi Yang. Is there a man who is much better than them in another world that you called and can make such a change? It is really desirable that there is such a master in that world.”
Qi Xuanyu seemed to smile and said, “You don’t have to look elsewhere. I think if Taoist Sage is willing to pay the price of death, he can do such a thing. Then Taoist Sage must be the most brilliant person around My Lord.”
Zhu Quan shook his head and rejected, “Mr. Bai has nothing to worry about. He will never summon any forbidden magic. When he mentioned the forbidden magic to me, he once said that the most important rule of Daguomen Sect is to prohibit the use of forbidden magic forever. Once someone uses the forbidden magic, he will be expelled from the sect and fall into reincarnation forever.”
Qi Xuanyu laughed and said, “I’m just making an analogy. After all, the master is a person of another time and space, which has nothing to do with us. It is just the layout of the cave in the Bitter Bamboo Grove… Is it the same structure as the wing-room in Ting Zhu Yard?”
Zhu Quan said, “Yes. I noticed this 3 years ago. At first, I thought a skillful craftsman with a complete stone chiseled this cave out. But when I looked at it again, I thought it was impossible. Not to mention Luo’s Mansion, even if the emperor summoned all the masons in the world, they can’t make that kind of exquisite and lifelike cave in 10 years. Maybe it’s just a coincidence. According to you, Xuanyu, a meteorite fell in the Bitter Bamboo Grove in Luo’s Mansion and turned into a pile of caves, and the structure was the same as that of the house in Ting Zhu Yard. What does that mean?”
He Danggui listened to Qi Xuanyu’s answer nervously. It was the first time that she was deeply afraid of this person. How could he know so much? Did he mean that the meteorite brought her soul into this world?
Qi Chuan suddenly said, “Hey, I smell a kind of Datura stramonium. It is the exclusive smell of Sister Qingyi!”
Qi Chuan’s words surprised the people inside and outside the Qi Lu Yard. He Danggui felt very scared, and her heart beat very fast.
Zhu Quan asked sharply, “Where is it? Where does that smell come from?”
He Danggui felt very flustered, but she heard Qi Chuan say happily, “It is on this plate of ice skin jujube paste cake. I guess Sister Qingyi’s delicate hands must have grasped this plate.”
He Danggui’s eyes widened. She did take a plate of jujube paste cake from the window yesterday. She saw that it was fried food, and she was avoiding eating grains. So, she handed it back to Chan Yi and told her to give herself a bowl of millet congee. Qi Chuan’s nose was so sensitive. In fact, she was not enthusiastic about incense. She didn’t add it for a long time after she ran out of the Carefree Fragrance in the incense box with a golden lock. She couldn’t smell it on her own. Besides, she just grabbed the plate. Qi Chuan’s nose was as sensible as a dog’s nose.
Qi Xuanyu went over the conversation and continued to recall, “2 days later, after conducting a religious ritual in the Bitter Bamboo Grove, I passed by the rockery of Luo’s Mansion. I heard a girl’s weeping in a low voice behind the rockery. It was pitiful, so I went up to check the situation. I saw a girl in a pink and white dress squatting in a clump of grass with head on her knees and crying very sadly. After I looked at her carefully, I found that her clothes were not only wet, but also covered with mud. I guess she was bullied, so she was crying. Then I went up and asked what I could do for her.”
A girl in a pink and white dress was bullied? He Danggui listened to the past event and felt a little familiar. In her previous life, when she just came to Luo’s Mansion, almost all her clothes made by embroidered women in West Lateral court were pink and white. Luo Baishao and others always bullied her. As long as she was wronged, she hid behind the rockery and cried. But the difference was that in her previous life, when she was crying, no one ever approached and asked, “What can I do for you?”
“The girl heard my question, but she refused to look up. Instead, she hid herself in the denser grass,” Qi Xuanyu said with a smile, “I guess she thought she was embarrassed and ugly, so she didn’t want to see strangers. Then, I comforted her and said that I didn’t laugh at her. I was just attracted by her cry and tried to get her out of pain. I asked her what happened, and she replied that she accidentally sprained her foot, so she cried. I told her that I was a doctor, and I was good at treating foot injuries. I asked to see her foot injuries.”
He Danggui’s hand unconsciously stroked her right ankle. When she climbed out of the coffin of Taoist temple, the most painful part of her body was her ankle. She treated it with acupuncture for half a month.
Qi Xuanyu’s voice was calm, like the music played by a Guqin. He said slowly, recalling those unknown past events, “When the girl saw me approaching, she immediately curled up in a panic and stopped me from approaching. She said that she fell into the water and lost her shoes. She told me to go away and leave her alone. I thought she was as cute as a chick, so I couldn’t help bantering with her. I said that as a noble guest of Luo’s Mansion, I was a rich childe with a lot of assets. If she wanted, I could take her as a personal maid. She didn’t have shoes, so it was convenient for me to treat her foot injury.”
“Chick?” Qi Chuan yelled, “How dare you say that Sister Qingyi is like a chick? I’m going to hit you!”
Qi Xuanyu asked, “Did I say the girl is He Danggui? No.”
“Who is the girl?” Zhu Quan asked.
“Yes, she is He Danggui,” Qi Xuanyu admitted, “At that time, after listening to my words, she not only did not raise her head to thank me, but also shrunk more tightly. She stammered that she was the Third Miss of Luo’s Mansion, not a maid, and could not leave with others. I heard that she was a young Miss, so I lost interest in bantering with her. I asked her if she really didn’t need my help. She didn’t reply, so I turned and left. When I walked a long way away from the rockery, the desperately sad cry appeared again. I couldn’t help but go back and ask her how big her feet were. She told me that her feet were about 2.9 inches, so I flew out of Luo’s Mansion to find a tailor shop. I bought a pair of embroidered shoes, a set of dresses and hairpins. Then I went back to the rockery, put these things not far away from her and walked away. After walking far away, I heard the low voice of thanks coming from behind the rockery and the voice of changing clothes. Then I left there.”
Qi Chuan was surprised and said, “Is the girl you are talking about really Sister Qingyi? How could she cry like that when she was a child? I don’t believe it!”
Qi Xuanyu said, “Later, I passed the rockery twice. I went around to the back, but there was no one. Another day, I saw some maids of Luo’s Mansion with white paper flowers in their hair. When I asked them what had happened, they replied that the Third Miss had died of a sudden illness, and a funeral was held in Luo’s Mansion. At that time, I learned a little about her life. She was a neglected Miss in Luo’s Mansion. She just lived in Luo’s Mansion for half a year and then died. I couldn’t help sighing. Although she had a pretty face, her fate was bad.”
“What? Is Sister Qingyi dead?” Qi Chuan asked in surprise, “Who is the Sister Qingyi in Luo’s Mansion now?”
There was a sound of pouring tea in the yard. After a while, Qi Xuanyu said again, “Then I didn’t care about it. I went out of Luo’s Mansion to do some errands delivered by My Lord. 10 days later, I went back to Luo’s Mansion to have a rest. Suddenly, a maid came to me and said that Madam Luo wanted to see me. Since I lived and ate free at Luo’s Mansion, I should be on call at all times. I didn’t know until I met Madam Luo that she wanted me to analyze a person’s eight characters of a horoscope. I took the paper and read it. Then I found that it was a good eight characters. The explanation of the meaning of different diagrams in the I Ching showed, ‘When adversity reaches its peak, it will transform into prosperity and never stop’. It means that good things will happen later, and the later the better. I was a little surprised that although the status of Luo’s Mansion was not low, no one should have such a good eight characters. So, I asked Madam Luo what she wanted to know about the eight characters. She told me that one of her granddaughters died unexpectedly 10 days ago, but it was not convenient for Luo’s Family to handle the funeral for her. So, her granddaughter was sent to Shui Shang Temple outside the city. But a biddy suddenly reported that her granddaughter was alive again. Besides, her granddaughter still vaguely remembered that she woke up after taking the medicine given by an old immortal.”
Zhu Quan pondered and said, “Xuanyu, I’m perfect match for her date of birth and eight characters of a horoscope. It is a good marriage comes by destiny, isn’t it?”
Qi Xuanyu was noncommittal and continued, “Madam Luo said that after her granddaughter being alive again, another child in the family had a serious illness. She thought there was something strange, so she let me see if He Danggui’s eight characters are evil.”
“Evil?” Qi Chuan blurted out, “Is that old woman crazy? Sister Qingyi is like a fairy. Is she envious of Sister Qingyi? How could she say that?”
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