Chapter 7
Taoist Doctor
Gu Yanfei closed her eyes completely and her senses magnified several times.
The evening breeze was chilly, and the flowers and trees in the courtyard danced in the breeze.
She could clearly hear the wind rustling the leaves, the fall of flower petals, the rush of water, the flutter of birds… and the barely audible chirp of insects.
A moment later, she finally opened her eyes, certain of one thing—
The spiritual energy in this small world was thin, almost nonexistent. Even a genius with a heaven spiritual root would not be able to absorb spiritual energy into the body.
If she couldn’t cultivate, she could only be a weak mortal.
A cool breeze from outside blew in through the window. A stack of white paper under the paperweight fluttered and rustled.
Gu Yanfei took a piece of paper and laid it flat on the table. Then, she slowly ground the ink. The ink stick circled around the inkstone, and the fragrance of the ink gradually became stronger…
The candlelight on the table illuminated Gu Yanfei’s black eyes, making them look exceptionally bright, like the night sky filled with vast stars.
Confucius said, “Don’t worry about not having a position. Don’t worry about not knowing. Seek knowledge.”
After experiencing two lifetimes, Gu Yanfei could deeply understand the meaning of this sentence. In life, if one wanted to gain a foothold, they had to have a skill.
Gu Yanfei picked up a calligraphy pen, dipped the tip of it in some ink, and wrote the words “Taoist Doctor” on the paper.
These two words were written as smoothly as flowing water. They were powerful and neat, giving people the feeling that it was written free and easy.
Gu Yanfei stared at these two words quietly.
The Tao of medicine was not the Tao of Taoism.
Taoist doctors were born with the benefit of Tao and used medicine to help the world. Not only were they good at using herbal soup and prescription acupuncture to treat illnesses, they also included the use of guidance, regulating breathing, inner core, fasting, and other ways to nourish one’s health. In addition, there were also various methods such as Taoism, Virtue, Talisman, Zhan, curse, vegetarian, sacrificial, and prayer. They paid attention to the combination of body and spirit and formed a system.
When she was in the Bright Spirit Realm, she was a medical cultivator and joined the sect at the age of five.
Her master had taught her that all things led to the same destination. Everything had its own ‘Tao’.
This small world naturally had its “Tao” as well.
Gu Yanfei smiled. Her smile was as bright as a peony blooming under the moon.
“My Lady.”
Juan Bi’s voice sounded outside the door.
After Gu Yanfei responded, Juan Bi pushed the door open and entered the room with a food box in one hand. Her delicate and round face could not hide her worry.
“Miss, the old woman in the kitchen told me that Granny Xu is returning to the capital.” As she put down the food box, she reported, “Granny Xu said that you didn’t follow the rules and that returning to the capital would be an embarrassment to the Marquis Mansion, so she won’t bring you back.”
Juan Bi frowned tightly, worried.
With Granny Xu’s calculative personality, she would definitely complain to Madam when she returned to the capital. Madam’s likes and dislikes would determine if the Second Lady could return to the capital…
Gu Yanfei didn’t even flinch as she spat out three words, “Let her be.”
“But…” Juan Bi wanted to say something, but Gu Yanfei interrupted her.
“Send someone to Xijiao Mountain to collect the corpses.” As she spoke, Gu Yanfei stood up and walked to the dressing table. She took out a pair of pure gold earrings with pearls embedded in them from the dressing box. “Take these earrings. Find someone to sell it at the pawnshop.”
Juan Bi took the earring. Her heart warmed, and then she felt a strong sourness.
Granny Xu wanted to put the young lady in her place. The people in the residence would definitely not listen to her, so they could only hire someone to collect the corpses outside.
Thinking of the tragic deaths of Old Wang and Old Madam Zhang, Juan Bi felt a weight on her shoulders.
“My Lady, don’t worry. I’ll do it now.” Juan Bi nodded and left in a hurry. For a moment, she forgot that Granny Xu said she was leaving.
The news of Juan Bi going out immediately reached Granny Xu’s ears.
An old woman in her early 50s with a face full of brown spots smiled apologetically at Granny Xu and said ingratiatingly, “I deliberately leaked the news to Juan Bi, scaring her so much that she almost dropped the food box. Just now, after she went to the Second Lady’s place, she rushed out.”
“I think the Second Lady knows her mistake and asked Juan Bi to go out and buy some good things for you!”
Granny Xu picked up the teacup and smiled calmly. She sighed. “The Second Lady grew up outside and has a strange personality… As servants, we can only be more tolerant.”
Granny Xu had just lost a front tooth. When she opened her mouth now, there was a black hole between her lips. It was inevitable that her words sounded slurred.
The old woman bobbed her head in agreement and offered more flattering compliments.
At the side, two little maidservants were packing their luggage and came over from time to time to ask for instructions from Granny Xu.
“Granny Feng, go and keep an eye on the Second Lady.”
Granny Xu casually dismissed Granny Feng. A hint of ruthlessness flashed across her eyes. The Second Lady had made her lose face in front of the servants. She would definitely not let this matter rest.
And yet—
An hour passed. Two hours passed. Four hours passed… When the candlelight burned out and the moon rose, Gu Yanfei still hadn’t appeared.
“Granny Xu, the luggage has been packed. Old Li is here to ask when we will set off…”
After breakfast, the maidservant braced herself and came to ask for instructions from Granny Xu. She did not dare to look at her gloomy face.
After a sleepless night, the calmness on Granny Xu’s face had long disappeared, replaced by embarrassment and anger.
She slammed the teacup down on the coffee table beside her. The impact made the little maid’s heart flutter and her head drop even lower.
Granny Xu rubbed her temples in frustration.
Now, she only had two options. She could either embarrass herself and not leave, or she could leave the Second Lady behind and return to the capital immediately.
Of course, she could not wait to choose the second option. However, the problem was that it would be difficult for her to report back if she did not bring the Second Lady back to the capital.
She still remembered that in June, before she set off from the capital, Madam had specially instructed her to teach the Second Lady the rules. This concerned the reputation of the Gu and Fang families.
Madam attached great importance to the marriage between the Marquis Mansion and the British Monarchy and was waiting for the Second Lady to return to fulfill the engagement.
She could not afford to make any mistakes… To put it bluntly, if she did not do it well, there were still many people waiting to take over in the Marquis Mansion!
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As she thought about it, Granny Xu felt waves of pain from her missing tooth. This pain seemed to have seeped into her bones.
“Granny Xu, oh no!” cried Old Madam Feng in alarm as she hurried into the house. Her round chin and bloated body shook as she ran.
Granny Xu despised Granny Feng for being indecent, but she still asked, “What’s wrong?”
Granny Feng replied, “This morning, when Granny Qian passed by the Dou Family’s Pawnshop, she was stopped by the shop assistant there. The shop assistant said that someone went to the pawnshop yesterday evening to pawn a pair of earrings. The earrings have the mark of our Marquis Mansion on them.”
“Now, there are rumors outside that our Marquis Mansion is going to be demoted.”
The last few words were spoken in a low whisper.