Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 17 Flower Pot

"Why is Magistrate Zhu looking for me so late?"

Lin Jiang didn't quite understand. He peeked out the door and saw several constables carrying pots on their backs.

They really do look like they're here to eat.

However, the ingredients were brought by the person themselves.

“Let’s talk about the case,” Magistrate Zhu said. “I’ve found some clues about the person who attacked your house, but his identity is a bit special, so it’s not convenient to talk about it in the yamen. That’s why I came here.”

He paused for a moment, then said, "Let's have dinner together."

Lin Jiang could understand the gist of Magistrate Zhu's meaning, so he opened the door and welcomed Magistrate Zhu in.

The constables who entered the gate immediately found the stone table in the middle of the Lin family's courtyard. They quickly put the contents of the bag on the stone table.

Lin Jiang then noticed.

This is a copper pot.

The copper hot pot used for hot pot.

But at that time it wasn't called hot pot yet. This copper pot had an elegant name, "Ba Xia Gong," and its outermost side was painted with blue flowers, making it look as beautiful as a vase.

You don't find this in Baishan County; you have to go to big cities and find it in upscale restaurants.

People from the capital city are the most frequent eaters of this hot pot.

I never expected that Magistrate Zhu would also have this thing.

I guess they spent a lot of money.

After the yamen runners placed the pot on the stone table, they also put food and drinks on the table.

First, they brought out some sliced ​​meat and small fish, then sesame sauce, and some wild vegetables that Lin Jiang didn't recognize.

In the very end, they actually brought out a plate of flower petals.

It was white; Lin Jiang didn't recognize it.

This was also the first time Lin Jiang had ever seen hot pot with flowers painted on it.

He had indeed heard that some hot pot restaurants put medicinal herbs in their food, but this flower didn't look like a medicinal herb.

After the ingredients were placed, Magistrate Zhu began to wave people away:
"You can come and pack your things tomorrow morning."

Several of the yamen guards who were originally assigned to protect the area were reluctant to leave, but Zhu Mingyuan glared at them and made them stay.

"What problems could possibly arise from me having dinner with Young Master Lin? There are absolutely no problems."

The guards had no choice but to leave.

After finishing all that, Magistrate Zhu plopped down in a chair and started hot pot.

They didn't consider themselves outsiders at all.

Lin Jiang didn't even get a chance to be polite or persuade Zhu Mingyuan to leave.

There was nothing he could do, so he sat down in the chair.

Zhu Mingyuan simmered the food for a while.

But it was clearly not hot enough; the meat had only turned slightly white.

He seemed reluctant to throw it away, so he slurped it down with sesame sauce, then poured the whole plate of flower petals into the hot pot, and an intoxicating aroma wafted out of the pot.

Lin Jiang twitched his nose twice.

The fragrant floral scent, upon entering his mouth and throat, transformed directly into a stream of energy that flowed into the inner palace of his body.

His cultivation level has increased somewhat!
Ok?
This is indeed an old medicine.

You came all this way, and brought so many gifts, you're too kind.

"The fire isn't hot enough yet, let's wait a bit."

Zhu Mingyuan said.

Indeed, Lin Jiang likes to cook hot pot for a little longer.

Just as Lin Jiang was about to exchange a few words with Magistrate Zhu, he suddenly had a sudden realization.

Looking to the side, I saw Lin Shengfeng looking out along the porch in the backyard.

He peeked out from the doorway, only his head sticking out.

Lin Shengfeng had been in the inner room for a while when he suddenly woke up.

Zhu Mingyuan also saw Lin Shengfeng.

"Oh, Grandpa Lin, come and eat with us!"

Lin Shengfeng did not move.

Lin Jiang, on the other hand, got up and walked towards his grandfather.

"Grandpa, why are you out here?"

Lin Jiang helped Lin Shengfeng up and shielded him behind the wall.

Lin Shengfeng still has three arms, and most people would be frightened if they saw him.

Magistrate Zhu is probably not an ordinary person. He may not be intimidated, but he will most likely get to the bottom of things.

Lin Jiang couldn't reattach a third arm, so he didn't know how to explain this to Magistrate Zhu.

Lin Shengfeng seemed not to hear Lin Jiang's words; he stared intently at the stone table for a long time.

"Grandpa, if you're hungry, I'll get you some in a bit..."

"Grandson, that flower is poisonous."

Lin Shengfeng said.

flower?
poisonous?

Lin Jiang looked at the stone table.

Half of the flowers brought by the magistrate were placed on a plate, while the other half went into the flower pot.

The intoxicating aroma still wafted outwards, even reaching the backyard.

"It softens the heels, melts the bones, makes one feel light and ethereal, and transforms the soul."

Grandpa Lin muttered it again, probably referring to the medicinal effects of the flowers. Lin Jiang remained silent.

poisonous……

Does this fragrance make one's body go weak?
Why does smelling my body become a path to spiritual cultivation?

Could the eating and drinking methods of the Gongxuan Sect really have such a use?

And most importantly...

Why did Magistrate Zhu drug me?

Lin Jiang thought about the previous relationship between the Lin family and Magistrate Zhu.

The two families didn't actually have much contact; there was no favor between them, nor any hatred.

There's no reason to use medicine because of a grudge.

That's all for profit.

This morning, the county magistrate caught him and asked about the object. However, at that time, he already knew that the Lin family had a "treasure" that could bring people back to life. It was not impossible that he was testing his waters.

of course……

There is also a most likely scenario.

Lin Shengfeng's hysteria worsened; he mistook the valuable items brought by Magistrate Zhu for something else, thus wrongly accusing an innocent person.

Given Lin Shengfeng's current state, you can only take half of what he says at face value.

We still need to be more vigilant.

"Grandpa, don't worry," Lin Jiang reassured Lin Shengfeng, but the latter still didn't want to move. After thinking for a moment, he changed his words: "Your grandson has become an immortal, how could he be drugged by this mortal stuff?"

Lin Shengfeng then smiled with satisfaction:

"My grandson is a god, my grandson is a god."

Lin Jiang coaxed and tricked Lin Shengfeng into going back to that room.

He then returned to his seat.

The pot is now boiling, the water is bubbling away, and a rich aroma is spreading all around.

Magistrate Zhu continued to enjoy hot pot there.

"Isn't Grandpa Lin coming?"

"I'm not coming. The old man's thoughts are still a bit complicated, and he doesn't really want to see outsiders."

"What a pity," Zhu Mingyuan said with a sigh, as if he really regretted it. "This pot is called Flower Pot. A beautiful girl taught me how to make it. It's a rare delicacy. Young Master Lin, would you like to try some?"

Lin Jiang didn't even touch his chopsticks:
"Magistrate Zhu, did you really come to see me tonight just to have some hot pot?"

"Isn't it enough to just have some hot pot?" Zhu Mingyuan asked.

Lin Jiang didn't say anything.

Zhu Mingyuan ate the meat piece by piece, and it took him quite a while before he put down his chopsticks.

"Young Master Lin, do you really have no clues?"

"I already said during the day that I know nothing," Lin Jiang shook his head. "Magistrate, shouldn't the investigation into this case involve me?"

“Even victims need to give statements; otherwise, the cases in this county cannot proceed.”

Zhu Mingyuan didn't look at Lin Jiang; instead, he focused his attention on the plate of flowers on the table.
"Young Master Lin, I'll ask you one last time, you know nothing?"

Lin Jiang remained silent.

Zhu Mingyuan sighed helplessly:

"It seems you really don't know anything."

"Then, magistrate, do you know anything?"

"I do know some things, but it's a bit complicated to explain."

"please say."

Zhu Mingyuan started talking to himself:
"I have had a cold poison since I was a child, and I have a birthmark the size of a palm on my face. I have been looked down upon since I was a child. Moreover, if this mark on my face is exposed to the sun, it will cause a burning pain as if it were being scorched by the sun, which makes me sad every day and unable to sleep at night."

"Only my childhood friend told me that this was a sign of wealth and nobility, and that I would definitely become very rich and powerful when I grew up, so I persisted."

"I had some money at home, so I studied diligently and finally passed the imperial examination and entered the capital."

"But when I got to the capital, I realized that if I wanted to become an official, I had to pass the test of appearance. With such a big mark on my face, I could never become a high-ranking official in my life."

"But I still took the exam, under the scorching sun, with my face burning, and I got a good score. That day, the Emperor personally received me. He was in a good mood and saw my hard work, so he appointed me to Baishan County as its magistrate."

"How wonderful!"

"After I came back, I immediately promoted my childhood friend to be my right-hand man, and the two of us worked together in Baishan County."

Lin Jiang thought for a while, but couldn't recall any typical elderly people accompanying Zhu Mingyuan.

Even his head constables had only been in office for five or six years, so they probably weren't childhood friends.

"Where is this childhood friend now?"

"he died."

“…My condolences.”

Zhu Mingyuan showed no expression; he simply continued cooking the meat in the hot pot, saying:

"Recently died."

Lin Jiang remained silent.

"I recently got a job. A pretty girl needs to find a treasure. She said that once she gets her hands on it, she can remove the cold poison from my body. She also gave me a folk remedy, saying that it can temporarily suppress the cold poison."

"I tried this folk remedy, and it really worked. My face didn't hurt even when I was in the sun during the day."

"So I had an idea to get things done, but I didn't want to openly ask for that treasure, so I sent my brother to ask for it. But I never expected that he would be beaten to death."

A breeze rose in the courtyard, and the flowers in the plate above Zhu Mingyuan's table fluttered up in the wind, soaring into the air and gently swirling around Zhu Mingyuan's body.

He looked up and stared intently at Lin Jiang:

"Young Master Lin, are you sleepy?"

(End of this chapter)