She is devoted to cultivating immortality

Chapter 75: All is well, does righteousness really exist? (First order requested)
"Mr. Zhuang, Mr. Zhuang?"

An urgent cry came to my ears.

Zhuang Mochen woke up as if from a dream, and found that the county magistrate was on his left and the county chancellor was on his right, both of them were looking at him with strange eyes.

"What's wrong with you? Are you cold?"

Zhuang Mochen shook his head, trying to calm his fluctuating emotions.

“Don’t worry, Magistrate Lou, Zhuang is fine, he’s just a little distracted.

But he didn't expect that these words were heard by Luo Laoqi.

"Oh my God, it's the county magistrate coming to our village!"

It was as if a firecracker was lit in the crowd, and all the villagers rushed out.

There was awe and excitement in his eyes.

"The county magistrate is still thinking about us!?"

"You braved the snow to come and see us."

"What a rare good official!"

The values ​​of ordinary people are simple. It is rare to see a good official like Magistrate Lou, who took the risk to come to Xiaoluo Village.

“No, no…”

But Magistrate Lou's face turned red and he waved his hands in embarrassment.

He didn't want to take risks, he was just coerced by Zhuang Mochen.
Although this person has resigned from his official position, he is still a Jinshi and has a high reputation in Xiaoning County, so this face has to be given to him.

"Luo Laoqi, right? You just said that there are other people in the village who are safe, right? Take us adults to see them."

The county magistrate spoke up at this time to resolve the situation.

"okay."

Luo Laoqi immediately agreed, went back to the house, put on a bamboo hat, and led everyone out.

Just as Luo Laoqi said, there are indeed more than a dozen households in Xiaoluo Village that were not affected by the snow disaster.

The same house collapsed in other people’s houses, but theirs was fine, and even the livestock in the shed were fine.

"How strange! How strange! How could such a strange thing happen in the world?"

Magistrate Lou thought about it over and over again, but couldn't figure it out.

"Could it be that it is the blessing of the City God? Didn't he appear in your dream before?"

The county magistrate came up with a guess.

This was too bizarre and seemed beyond human power, so the first suspicion was cast on the old city god.

"It's unlikely. The City God rarely interferes in human affairs. According to his duties, he only takes care of people after they die. He made an exception when he gave me money in my dream. As for this matter, it probably has nothing to do with him. And if the City God took action, why would he only help these dozen families? Aren't the rest of the villagers under his rule? So this possibility can basically be ruled out. Mr. Zhuang, you are knowledgeable. What do you think about this matter?"

Magistrate Lou thought for a moment and shook his head, directly denying this possibility. He couldn't figure it out anyway, so he had to look at Zhuang Mochen.

But he found that Zhuang Mochen had become absent-minded again, staring blankly in a certain direction.

Following his gaze, County Magistrate Lou discovered the couplet nailed on the door.

First couplet: Good fortune comes, along with gold and silver.

Second line: The illness goes away, the suffering goes away, the disaster goes away.

Horizontal banner: May everything go well.

"What is this?"

A flash of inspiration seemed to come to his mind.

"Did all the houses we visited have this thing posted on their doors?"

When he said this, everyone in the county government reacted immediately.

Many people said thoughtfully.

"It looks like a peach charm, but the words written on it are quite neat and parallel."

“It seems that there is no literary talent.”

"Foolish man! What's the point of talking about literary talent at this time? The point is why the families who put up these new peach charms are all safe and sound!"

The people in the county government noticed this strange commonality, and in order to prevent any mistakes, they sent people to circle the entire village.

Finally, it was concluded that the families who posted the new peach charms were all fine.
There was a house that had been in such a state of disrepair that it looked like it would be blown down by a strong wind, but the snow was so deep that nothing happened.

This discovery shocked everyone.

"This new peach charm, could it be some kind of treasure?"

Luo Laoqi witnessed everyone's actions with his own eyes, hesitated for a long time, and finally spoke carefully.

"My Lords, this is not some new-style peach charm, but a Spring Festival couplet."

"What are Spring Festival couplets?"

"Thank you, that's what I call you anyway."

"Sister Lian?"

"What does it have to do with Miss Xie?"

The image of Xie Lian automatically emerged in everyone's mind.

They would never forget that day when the evil spirits were causing chaos. When the fog cleared, everyone thought they were going to collect Xie Lian’s body, but unexpectedly, they saw him waking up on the old locust tree, looking like he had slept soundly.
At that time, everyone thought that Xie Lian must be a lucky man, as he was able to save his life.

But as Luo Laoqi spoke, their thoughts changed.

"This so-called Spring Festival couplet was written by Miss Xie herself?"

"It's okay for people to put up the Spring Festival couplets she wrote herself?"

"Mr. Zhuang is also involved in this matter?"

Everyone in the county government office felt as if they had discovered some big secret and showed expressions of shock.

"Yes, Miss Xie couldn't write enough, so Mr. Zhuang helped write a lot of Spring Festival couplets. But those written by Mr. Zhuang seemed to be of no use, and the house still collapsed."

Luo Laoqi said truthfully.

Zhuang Mochen moved his lips, not knowing what to say, so he could only nod.

"It's true."

When everyone heard this, their expressions turned strange.

"grown ups.."

The county magistrate opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

But he was stopped by County Magistrate Lou.

"Everyone, let's go to Xiaohe Village not far away."

This time, he wanted to go and see it on his own without any urging.

After leaving some supplies behind, the group led their horses and left.

The road was still difficult to walk on, but everyone was very motivated. They were eager to verify something, so they worked hard to clear the snow.

However, they did not expect that the road to Xiaohe Village would be more difficult than they had imagined. Halfway through the journey, everyone seemed to want to back out.

"The snow is getting heavier and the road is hard to walk on. By the time we get there, it will probably be night. What if we encounter wolves, insects, tigers, leopards, mountain spirits, wild monsters, etc.? Why don't we go back first?"

Zhuang Mochen, who had been relatively silent all the way, spoke firmly.

"We have come this far. If we turn back, won't all our efforts be wasted? Just go ahead. There are no wolves, insects, tigers or leopards in this weather. As for mountain spirits and wild monsters, they may not dare to provoke so many of us. Zhuang and Magistrate Lou are both disciples of the saints. We have great spirits. Why should we be afraid?"

These words left County Magistrate Lou speechless.

It's awe-inspiring again.
Zhuang Mochen had mentioned it before when he had to go into the fog created by the evil spirits, and now he mentioned it again.
It is true that he is a disciple of a saint, but this noble spirit is fake to the extreme.

The so-called righteousness actually refers to the righteousness. This concept comes from the record in ancient books. A disciple once asked the saint: "What is the teacher's strength?"

The sage replied: "My strength is that I am good at cultivating a righteous spirit."

The disciple then asked what righteous energy was. The sage explained that righteous energy was a kind of energy between heaven and earth, vast and strong. This energy was formed over time by the accumulation of justice and morality. On the contrary, if there is no justice and morality stored in it, it will fade away and become powerless.

Many people know this story, but most people do not take it seriously, thinking that the saint is just a metaphor, and that the "Haoran Qi" refers to the spirit, not something substantial. Throughout history, many scholars have never cultivated the so-called "Zaoran Qi".
But Zhuang Mochen didn't seem to think so.

There are always some people in this world who become stubborn and believe in certain things due to reading. County Magistrate Lou has no intention of correcting them. Once this issue is brought up, people will talk about it endlessly.

"Let's go, it's not far."

He made a judgment.

Facts have proved that Zhuang Mochen is right. After everyone persisted for a while, the road ahead suddenly became clear.
Not long after, we arrived at Xiaohe Village.

The situation in Xiaohe Village is not much different from that in Xiaoluo Village. Those families who bought Spring Festival couplets can be said to be unscathed.

In the face of disaster, most villagers are relatively kind and are willing to take in their neighbors in distress.

So even though some property was lost, at least the people were safe.

"My Lord, this is a great achievement!"

The county magistrate said eagerly.

In such a big disaster, no one died. For County Magistrate Lou, it was like pie in the sky.

But Magistrate Lou was not as excited as imagined. He looked at the Spring Festival couplets posted on the gate and said with a smile.

"My dear father-in-law, I am willing to pay 100 taels of silver to buy this pair of used Spring Festival couplets. I wonder if you are willing to part with them?"

One hundred taels of silver is already an astronomical figure.
The goateed owner of the yard immediately fell into hesitation, but when he glanced at his grandson who was still a little kid, his expression immediately changed.

"No, no, this thing is a treasure. I want to keep it for my grandson to pass on to the family!"

The common people are not fools. The outsiders in the county government can see the problem clearly, but they don't understand it. In fact, when everyone got together and discussed it, they already knew that Spring Festival couplets were a good treasure.

Instantly, I felt like I had found a treasure.
Many people say that having Spring Festival couplets as protection can bring peace to their homes and keep them free from illness and disaster.

No amount of money can buy this.

A hundred taels of silver?

What does it matter?

But Magistrate Lou was still unwilling to give up. He was very envious of these treasures, so he went door to door asking. But even after he raised the price to five hundred taels, only one person was willing to give up.

The man was a poor man, his family was extremely poor, and five hundred taels were enough to change his fate, so he could not resist the temptation and agreed.

Seeing that Magistrate Lou was successful, other county officials were also tempted.

They all started to tempt each other with money. Even if they had no money on them, they were willing to write a note and go back to raise money for the transaction.

There was no one selling Spring Festival couplets, but there were three houses with only the word "Fu" pasted on their doors. They could not resist the temptation and agreed to the deal.

Then the county magistrate, the county magistrate, the legal advisor, and the squad leader each got something they liked and smiled happily.

Zhuang Mochen witnessed the whole process from beginning to end and said nothing. It was a matter of mutual consent, so he had no right to speak up.

But I feel a little emotional in my heart.

"Money can move people's hearts, but money is just an external thing. These people think they have gained an advantage, but in fact they don't know what they have really lost. How can such things be measured with money?"

On the way back, Magistrate Lou deliberately let others go first, and only after they had some distance did he communicate with Zhuang Mochen alone.

"Mr. Zhuang, how much do you know about Miss Xie?"

"To be honest, I thought I knew a little bit about it, but now I realize I don't know much."

"In your opinion, is Miss Xie..."

A gleam of light flashed in Magistrate Lou's eyes, as if he had an idea.

Zhuang Mochen looked at the fire and sneered immediately.

"Could it be that the county magistrate wants to report this to the emperor? It seems that the emperor's butcher knife is not sharp enough. How many corrupt officials thought that by sending so-called immortals, they could please the emperor and rise to prominence from then on, but what was the result? Was there any good ending?"

Magistrate Lou was still a little hesitant.

"But compared to those charlatans, Miss Xie is very likely to be the real one..."

Zhuang Mochen shook his head.

"Then have you ever thought about Mr. Xie's opinion? To tell you the truth, the Thousand Characters was written by Mr. Xie, and she didn't even want to sign her name on it. She didn't want to have anything to do with the court. Have you ever thought about one thing? If you report this matter, and Mr. Xie doesn't admit it, or it's not what you thought, what will happen to you? Will your head still stay on your neck? Think twice, Lord Lou. No one died in your administration during this snowstorm. You have made great contributions. It's only a matter of time before you get promoted."

"I respectfully address Miss Xie Lian as sir, not only because of her literary talent, or even these seemingly incredible divine means, but also because of her virtue. Facing such a wonderful person, Lord Lou should not have any other thoughts in his mind. As a person, it is important to be content."

These words made County Magistrate Lou break out in a cold sweat.

He certainly understood that ten birds in the bush are worth one bird in the hand.

How many people has the emperor killed over the years?

There is almost an unspoken rule in the court that one must never have anything to do with matters concerning immortals. Otherwise, one would most likely be the next soul to be killed.

Thinking of this, County Magistrate Lou no longer dared to have any other thoughts and asked humbly.

"But how can you hide from your majesty that no one has died in Xiaoning County? Anyone who sees this will be suspicious, right?"

Zhuang Mochen thought about it and said.

"That's easy. Lord Lou just needs to report the truth. You can say it's the blessing of the emperor or a good omen. Anyway, don't mention Mr. Xie at all."

Magistrate Lou pondered for a while.

"That's all we have to do."

The two ended their conversation and immediately caught up with the main force.
County Magistrate Lou's mind became more and more active, especially when he touched the Spring Festival couplets in his arms, he showed joy.

"I was really out of my mind just now. I even wanted to get involved in the matter of the emperor's search for immortals. This matter cannot be touched at all. In fact, I have made a lot of money. Promotion this time is not a problem. Moreover, I got this treasure. This is a priceless treasure!"

I was secretly proud of myself.

A bunch of ignorant villagers are willing to sell even such things?
But at this moment, I heard the master exclaiming.

"What happened? Why did the blessing character I bought disappear?"

This aroused the vigilance of County Magistrate Lou, and he quickly took out the couplet from his arms.

But I saw that the solid words on it were slowly becoming illusory and dissipating into wisps of smoke.
"this."

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Especially the county magistrate, county magistrate, legal advisor and squad leader, their eyes were dull and empty, as if they had lost their souls.

"How can you force something that is not yours?"

Seeing this, Zhuang Mochen laughed three times, and all the thoughts that had accumulated in his mind were washed away by this refreshing feeling.

drive!
He rode his horse at full speed, galloping along the road.

"Mr. Xie, you have made Zhuang miserable by hiding this from me!"
-
It was still early morning when Zhuang Mochen came out, but now when he returned on horseback, it was already evening.

Galloping in the snow, the sound of horse hooves stepping on the snow was not crisp. The old horse under the crotch may have felt the owner's emotions and became passionate as well.

Only Magistrate Lou and his entourage were shouting loudly in the back.

"Mr. Zhuang, slow down, wait for us"

Along the way, Zhuang Mochen was full of passion.

In other words, it was not just pure passion, but countless emotions piled up together and suddenly exploded.
All the past events involving Xie Lian flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

"Mr. Xie, I should have known that you are not a mortal..."

Zhuang Mochen only had a vague feeling in the past, but now he can almost say it is certain.

He did not feel any negative emotions such as anger or sadness due to being deceived.

After carefully recalling how the two of them knew each other, Xie Lian did not seem to deny anything. Instead, he seemed a little too slow.

Now, he just wanted to walk up to Xie Lian with a big laugh and loudly ask his good friend.

"Mr. Xie, I, Zhuang Mochen, have seen through you today!"

Then he could happily appreciate Xie Lian’s expression. It must be exciting, right?
This is what Zhuang Mochen was thinking.

There are not too many impurities, and there is no feeling of loss.

Finally, he returned to the city.

Not only was the old horse under his crotch extremely tired, but he himself also felt a little tired.

The previous high spirits have now subsided a lot.

When I arrived at the door, Youfu came out to greet me.

"master."

Zhuang Mochen patted Lao Ma and said.

"Take it back and feed it some good concentrated food. It's exhausted today."

Youfu nodded, took the reins, and couldn't help but speak.

"You look really good after this trip, sir."

Zhuang Mochen touched his face.

"is it?"

I am indeed in a much better mood.

It was not only because the people’s losses were far lower than expected, but also because he accidentally discovered Xie Lian’s secret.

This is what makes him happier.

After sending Youfu away, he walked into Xie Lian's yard with his hands behind his back.
Xie Lian is painting.

When he heard the noise, he stopped painting and knew who it was without even turning around.

"Is Mr. Zhuang back?"

Zhuang Mochen originally planned to ask loudly when he saw Xie Lian, but after all the traveling, coupled with Xie Lian's calm tone, he changed his mind temporarily.

“Yes, Zhuang is back, and the people’s losses are much smaller than expected.”

Xie Lian chuckled.

"No wonder Mr. Zhuang's steps were brisk and his words were full of joy. So this is the case."

I'm not happy because of this.
Zhuang Mochen also smiled and swept his eyes across the empty scroll.

"Mr. Xie seems to be a little out of shape when painting today."

"how do I say this?"

"Yan'er said before that when Mr. Zhuang was painting, he forgot about himself and the outside world and paid no attention to the outside world. But today, as soon as Zhuang came in, Mr. Zhuang reacted, which shows that his mind was not on the painting."

"Mr. Zhuang has amazing insight. Xie admires him."

Xie Lian turned around and looked at Zhuang Mochen.

Then he showed a slight look of surprise.

"Mr. Zhuang looks much more energetic today than usual."

Just like Youfu, anyone familiar with him could tell at a glance that Zhuang Mochen was in a good mood.

"It's just a long-standing puzzle that has been solved."

Zhuang Mochen glanced at him meaningfully and asked.
(End of this chapter)