Zhao Ran went to Honglai Inn in Xunyang Town and apologized to Zhang Lue, saying that he would stay in Lushan for a few days and let Zhang Lue go first. Zhang Lue said: "It doesn't matter, I will just wait here for the abbot. It only takes a few days."
That’s all, it won’t delay anything important.”
Zhao Ran stayed in the Yunshui Hall where Jian Ji was watching for three days, and finally received the flying talisman from the layman Jingxing.
The first letter he opened was a reply from Zhao Zhixing to him. The general idea was to thank Zhao Ranyuan for caring about him in Lushan, and to show that his home was indeed in Jiujiang Prefecture. It happened that May 26th was his mother's birthday, so he asked Zhao Ran to take the trouble to go.
I went to Jiujiang Mansion to purchase some birthday gifts for myself and send them to my house, which was a show of my filial piety. I asked Zhao Ran to advance the money first and return it after meeting.
The letter listed several of Zhao Zhixing's mother's favorite foods, which didn't cost a few bucks. The only thing that looked a little more expensive was a few wild ginsengs.
The other letter was a letter from Zhao Zhixing. Zhao Ran couldn't open it and read it. Of course, he didn't care about the content of the letter.
After getting the letter, Zhao Ran immediately went down the mountain. Lushan Mountain is very close to Jiujiang Prefecture. With his foot strength, he arrived in more than half an hour.
Jiujiang is the largest city in the Ming Dynasty, standing side by side with the northern and southern capitals, and even above Beijing. Compared with the northern and southern capitals, there are fewer majestic palaces here, but there are more wealthy mansions, and the high priests on Lushan Mountain
, both monks and laymen built large houses in Jiujiang and settled their families in the city.
The high-ranking officials in Lushan did not necessarily have their own homes in the capital, but the high-ranking officials in the capital must have purchased residences in Jiujiang. Therefore, the city of Jiujiang was crowded with wealthy people, making it the most prosperous place in the Ming Dynasty and even in the world.
After passing through the bustling city, Zhao Ran went to the quiet Gantang Lake, found an inn and settled down, then went to look for Zhao Zhixing's home.
The large courtyards next to Gantang Lake are adjacent to the lake and nestled among green forests.
Everything seemed ordinary, but when Zhao Ran opened his eyes, he could feel that the movement of the heaven and earth energy here was extremely complicated, and there should be a powerful magic circle deployed there.
Zhao Ran came to a large house. There was a gold plaque hanging on the seven-step high door. On the plaque were written two large characters "Zhao Mansion".
After handing the door sticker to express his intention, Zhao Ran sat in the concierge and waited. Not long after, a housekeeper came out to greet him and led him through several floors of courtyards to sit down in the flower hall.
After drinking a few cups of tea, he heard the sound of footsteps. Several maids helped a dignified-faced and richly dressed woman come in. Zhao Ran quickly stood up to greet her.
After the woman sat down, she smiled and asked, "Is the Taoist the abbot of Wujiyuan in Guyang County? The Taoist priest of Huayun Hall?"
Zhao Ran hurriedly replied: "Poor Zhao Zhiran, I have met Madam."
Mrs. Zhao said: "Taoist Priest, you don't have to be polite. I once saw Taoist Priest mentioned in my son's family book, saying that you two are good friends."
Zhao Ran said: "That's right. Xiaodao came to Lushan for some business, and took the opportunity to deliver a letter from home to Junior Brother Zhao. By the way, I heard that my wife will celebrate her birthday in a few days, so I first conveyed Junior Brother Zhao's birthday gift, and secondly, I also took the opportunity to express my feelings briefly.
.”
As he spoke, he took out two baskets from his finger, one was the gift entrusted by Zhao Zhixing, and the other was his own. At the same time, he handed over Zhao Zhixing's letter.
Mrs. Zhao read the letter and said with a smile: "This kid is very thoughtful." Then she looked at the things in Zhao Ran's basket, shook her head and said: "Since he is a close friend of my son, why should he give such a heavy gift?"
Zhao Ran said hurriedly: "Madam's birthday is too shabby to be beautiful. It's just a little thought. It's my first visit. I hope Madam won't refuse."
Mrs. Zhao asked: "When will the Taoist Master return to Lushan? If you are not in a hurry, can you rest at home for two days? I will send someone to take you around Jiujiang City?"
I was just being polite, Zhao Ran definitely couldn't climb the pole, so he said: "I found an inn in the city, which is quite clean. I still have some things to do in the city these days, so I thanked Madam for her kindness.
If anything happens to Madam, you can go to the inn to find me." After saying that, he informed Madam Zhao of the location of the inn.
Mrs. Zhao nodded: "That's fine, you go do some work first." Then she served tea to see the guests off.
The simple visit ended, and Zhao Ran went back to the inn to wait for news. Zhao Ran didn't know what was written in Zhao Zhixing's family letter, so he didn't know if he could get the exact news. He planned to wait in Jiujiang City.
If there is no news in the past three days, it means that the road is blocked. Either the general Zhao has no intention of summoning him, or Mrs. Zhao does not want to pass on the message at all. If this is the case, there is no better way, but to ask Dongfang again.
Li Li, let Dongfang Li make inquiries for him.
As a result, on the evening of the next day, Zhao Ran waited for someone from the Zhao family to arrive at the inn.
The person who came was Mrs. Zhao's personal maid, whom Zhao Ran had met at Mrs. Zhao's side that day. She said to Zhao Ran: "Madam feels a little unwell. I heard that Abbot Zhao is a monk in the pavilion. I wonder if I can go and diagnose Madam's pulse?"
"
Once you enter the spiritual path, you are not only a doctor, but also a doctor. There is no problem with ordinary headaches and brain fever, and you can basically get rid of the disease at your fingertips.
Zhao Ran asked: "What's wrong with Madam? Is it serious?"
The maid said: "It's nothing serious, maybe I caught a cold and didn't eat enough."
Zhao Ran understood that this was an excuse for him to visit again, and immediately followed the maid to the Zhao Mansion.
After taking Mrs. Zhao's pulse and symbolically prescribing a prescription for health, Mrs. Zhao expressed her gratitude to Zhao Ran and asked him to stay for a meal. This time Zhao Ran was not polite and agreed.
Zhao Ran was eating dinner alone in the hall, with no one to accompany him. There was only an old servant waiting in the corner. He ate slowly and waited patiently. He was a monk who had entered the Huangguan realm and had excellent hearing.
, I heard a commotion in the courtyard outside, and someone was saying "I'm back."
Zhao Ran kept calm and continued to wait. After more than half an hour, Mrs. Zhao's personal maid came in and said to Zhao Ran: "Has Abbot Zhao finished eating?"
Zhao Ran nodded: "I'm very full."
The maid smiled and said, "Abbott, please come with me."
Zhao Ran got up and followed the maid, passed through several corridors, made countless turns, and entered a study room. The candlelight in the study room was bright, as bright as day, and there were countless books on the bookshelves next to the wall.
.
A Taoist man in his fifties, wearing blue uniform, was sitting behind the desk. His appearance was vaguely similar to that of Zhao Zhixing.
After the maid went out and closed the door, Zhao Ran stepped forward and said, "I have seen Dadu Guan."
This person is Zhao Zhixing's father, Zhao Yunyi, the governor of Jian Ji Guan Xia Guan.
Zhao Ran didn't know much about this Governor Zhao. He only knew that he was from Sichuan Province and was currently the highest-level Taoist priest from Sichuan Province in the Shifang Jungle.