I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 122 After the Killing of the Monk
"It was just a notebook I made once, and over time it developed a spiritual quality."

Jiang She smiled.

"It's not some kind of Taoist magic."

The old man looked at the note and examined the words written on it.

"Prince Jin of Qi was a romantic and easily angered man. His father fell ill at a banquet. A monk said that he could cure the illness, but when no effect was seen, Jin killed him."

read it.

Zhang Guolao turned his head away again.

In the courtyard, the monk walked unsteadily, leaning against a locust tree, adjusting to his body.

Zhang Guolao couldn't help but keep stroking his white beard.

"That's brilliant."

After marveling at the sight and having a drink, Zhang Guolao took his leave with the monk, saying he would return to complete the monk's body after the monk's burial.

Get on the donkey.

They disappeared into the snow.

Jiang She was also sleepy, so he got up and went back to his room to go to sleep.

He lay on his pillow, his eyes closed, recounting the events he had witnessed at the banquet that day. He had never expected to see Lady Gongsun dancing with her sword in Yanzhou; she was spirited, elegant, and in the prime of her life.

That's really lucky.

The cat jumped down from the cabinet, crawled into the quilt, and crawled out.

Her round eyes were looking at him.

Jiang She closed his eyes for a while, then opened them again, met the cat's clear and lively gaze, and sighed.

In the evening, he ate and drank at the banquet, watching the singing and dancing. The cats slept at home.

I've had a good night's sleep.

Midnight is when cats are awake.

Jiang She thought for a moment and said, "I'm going to sleep."

The cat followed suit.

"Shattered, sleep..."

Jiang She shook his head and backed down.

"Don't run around in the bedroom."

It's fine to just run around in the yard; after all, spirits don't sleep as much as humans.

This time the cat understood.

They would run to the locust tree to sharpen their claws, then silently scramble up the wall, sneaking around listening to the sounds, and go to other people's houses to see if there were any mice.

It now knows that the mice in its house are its friends and that it shouldn't catch them or scare them.

A few more days.

When Jiang She woke up, there were more than a dozen small cat paw prints on the snow outside the courtyard.

I'm afraid the cat has been quite busy these past few nights.

Jiang She sighed.

After washing up, he looked at the cat curled up asleep, picked it up, and took it with him when he went out.

The cat was so sleepy that it was swaying and couldn't stand up straight.

In the morning, I splurge a little, counting out twenty or thirty coins to have a meal at a tavern outside the alley.

As he passed by the two steamed bun stalls he often ate at, the stall owners kept turning their heads to look at him and greeting him:
"Young Master Jiang has come out..."

The stall owner only looked away when Jiang She actually walked into the tavern.

Jiang She also breathed a sigh of relief.

His mealtime wasn't particularly early, an hour or two later than the city dwellers' breakfast time. It wasn't particularly late either, much earlier than others' lunch time.

When breakfast stall owners see Jiang She, they often know it's almost time to close up shop.

Although I only stayed in Yanzhou for a few days, I've already gotten to know some of the people there.

Now let's go eat at another restaurant.

The stall owner looked at him as if he were a faithless man.

The aromas of noodles, wine, meat, and sauces wafted through the tavern.

He ordered a bowl of "tangzhong laowan," which is basically meat-filled wontons. Inside each wonton was a chicken, served with a side of pickles, and a steaming hot steamed bun—enough to satisfy both him and his cat for a hearty meal.

At this time, the waiters and the cooks in charge of cooking are also free.

It was served shortly afterward.

The waiter glanced at the cat a few more times and, seeing it crouching on the ground with its head tilted, couldn't resist teasing it.

After a while, the waiter handed over a dried lotus leaf and said to Jiang She with a smile, "If this cat is eating, you can use this to line your bowl and chopsticks so as not to get them dirty."

Jiang She thanked him.

He used chopsticks to pick two meatballs for the cat, carefully placed them on a lotus leaf, and let it eat them on the ground.

The person and the cat were both enjoying their meal.

The storyteller in the long gown strolled in leisurely. Seeing that the hall was empty, he calmly asked the waiter to bring him a pot of hot water, borrowed the stove fire, added some salt, and then took out a tea cake he had prepared himself, crushed it into tea powder, and boiled it.

Half an hour later, the tea was ready, and the storyteller himself brought over the teapot and ladled it into the bowl.

He even smiled when he saw Jiang She, the guest.

The storyteller, holding a teacup, asked, "Young master, are you a new resident?"

Jiang She nodded.

The storyteller's gaze fell on the cat, which was meowing and eating meat with its head down, and he smiled again: "It's quite amusing for a young man to bring his cat along."

"What story would you like to hear, my lord?"

Jiang She: "Shall we talk about some strange and unusual things that have happened recently?"

He put down his chopsticks, poured out a handful of coins from his purse, and was about to hand them to the storyteller. There were about thirty coins, which cost much more than the meal itself.

The storyteller declined.

"That's not enough."

Jiang She looked towards the entrance of the tavern.

At the entrance of the alley not far away, a few neighbors sat chatting. The breakfast stalls were already closing up shop, with only the drink stall and the roasted mutton stall remaining.

Jiang She pointed to the area where they were about to pack up and said:
“I used to eat at that stall and often heard the teacher narrating stories, which I did several times. Today I’m adding it all together, please don’t mind.”

After he insisted twice more, the storyteller finally accepted it.

Finally, moisten your throat with tea.

The storyteller began to speak earnestly.

"Speaking of the strange events in the city recently, it's nothing more than the Emperor's Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai. The city has been much more lively these past few days, and I imagine you're interested, young master."

He glanced at Jiang She's expression out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing that Jiang She was listening attentively, he continued:

"The Sage led his officials to our Yanzhou, just as Qi was seriously ill. The Sage, being a brother, issued an edict to summon physicians and sorcerers from all over the land. Many people came."

"Some were monks, some were Taoist priests, and there were also women who were said to have followed the immortals of the Jin Dynasty to learn Taoism, and mountain hermits who lived in seclusion on the mountain and drank the morning dew..."

This is about the Stone Goddess Temple.

The temple is widely known, and Jiang She has heard many people talk about it.

The storyteller read the backstory for a while.

The conversation suddenly shifted.

"But little did they know, that monk was already dead, killed by the people of the Prince of Qi's mansion!"

Jiang She put down his chopsticks.

"People from the Prince Qi's residence?"

The storyteller nodded, "I heard that he was a guard from the Prince of Qi's residence. When he saw that the monk was swindling people and the Prince of Qi's illness was not improving, he killed the monk."

Jiang She listened.

Question: "What happened to the guard?"

The storyteller was taken aback, wondering why this young man would care about a personal guard.

He thought for a moment, then, deciding not to lie, frankly replied:

"That guard was also extremely loyal. Prince Qi, out of consideration for the guard's many years of protection, asked the Emperor to pardon his sins. As for what will happen next, I am not sure."

Jiang She then asked:

"What about King Naqi's son?"

The storyteller knows this.

"The Prince of Qi had only one child, whom he cherished dearly and bestowed a title upon him early on. The young prince was loyal and devoted, and stayed by the Prince of Qi's sickbed without ever leaving his side."

Jiang She listened and repeated it.

"Never left even for a moment?"

The storyteller heard it this way:

"When the sage ascends Mount Tai, the young prince will accompany him to the Eastern Peak to pray for his father's well-being."

Jiang She chuckled and nodded.

"So that's it."

He spoke calmly, and the storyteller glanced at the young man with a puzzled look, wondering why he was asking about the guards and the young prince.

I can't possibly know all these people...

The storyteller held his teacup and took a sip to moisten his throat.

Then she continued:

"Following the Sage to our Yanzhou was a great painter. He was so skilled in painting that the Sage would surely summon him to paint for the Eastern Expedition of Mount Tai."

"This person has been observing and seeking inspiration along the way... who knows, he might even be able to paint us in his portrait."

"Does the young master know who this great man is?"

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)