The Whole Village Thrives After Adopting a Lucky Girl - Chapter 354:
Chapter 354: Chapter 350: Who is the Blessed One_1
The cavalryman arrived quickly, a man perched high atop his horse, calling out to the figure hidden behind the tree: “Hiding won’t do you any good, come out now!”
Yingbao poked her head out, glanced at Xiao Mo who was clad in armor, and asked: “What do you want?”
Xiao Mo gave the young girl a look-over and replied, “I have come to buy some medicine, the same grade as the previous time.”
Yingbao: “I don’t have any medicinal herbs.” Even if she did, she didn’t want to mix them.
“You don’t need to worry about that, I have brought enough herbs for you.”
Yingbao was forced to emerge from behind the tree. She moved closer to Dahuang and said, “Alright, you go into the village first. I’ll be there shortly afterward.”
Xiao Mo stayed put, indifferently announcing, “I need it right now. If there are any tasks you need to perform, I can have the soldiers help you.”
Thrilled at hearing this, Erni giggled, “That’s great! We need to gather two baskets of Scholar Tree flowers…”
“Alright,” Xiao Mo cut Erni off, gesturing to the soldiers behind him. Several of them urged their horses forward and began to cut off several branches from the Scholar Tree.
The branches hung heavy with the flowers, more than enough to fill two small baskets.
“I’ll leave two soldiers here to help you. In the meantime, let’s return to the village,” Xiao Mo stated emotionlessly.
Feelings of annoyance welling up within her, Yingbao could only lead Dahuang and Sister Erni towards the village. She reminded the soldiers, “You must be careful not to mix the leaves in with the flowers. I don’t want to have to sort it all out later.”
Nobody paid her any heed, but the two soldiers gathering Scholar Tree flowers subconsciously began removing the leaves and stems from their baskets.
Upon their return to the village, villagers curiously eyed the group of cavalrymen and the carriage they had brought, which was laden with several bags of medicinal herbs.
Xiao Mo commanded his soldiers to carry the medicinal herbs into Jiang Sanlang’s house, before asking Yingbao, “Do you need help preparing the herbs?”
Yingbao nodded in affirmation.
Each type of herb required thorough cleaning and cooking, some even needed to be crushed into powder, it was impossible for her to complete the vast quantity of work in a short span.
As for her father and mother, she would not use their time to make medications for Xiao Mo.
Thus, several of the soldiers doubled as apprentice pharmacists. One of them crushed the herbs, another cut herbs, and one more built a simple stove in the courtyard to cook the herbs.
Yingbao was only overseeing the process of mixing the medicine, she didn’t partake in the other tasks.
Xiao Mo stood behind her with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, he spoke, “Pei Shixian and his adopted daughter are thriving in Beijing. If it were not for Chen Tiantian’s disfigured face, the Empress would have already sent her to the side of Prince Dai.”
Yingbao remained silent.
Xiao Mo continued, “Moreover, a divine emissary who can summon gods has appeared in Qinchuan County. All citizens respect him as Grand Master Zhou. Supposedly, he has several magic gourds bestowed by the gods above. Currently, two of them are placed in the Qinglong Temple, two in the Medical Bureau, and one has been sent to Beijing.”
Yingbao nodded, “My master truly is a divine envoy of the heavenly gods. Last year, when Qinchuan County was hit by a plague, my master summoned holy water to save everyone.”
Xiao Mo chuckled. “It’s a pity that our two heavenly masters in Daqian can’t get along. If they could cooperate, wouldn’t it be a blessing for our country?”
He then continued, “However, Pei Shixian is alleging that a demon has emerged in Dongchen Village in Chuanhe Town, and pins the blame for the flood in Qinchuan County on you.”
“A demon?” Yingbao widened her eyes, “Aren’t those who drink children’s blood demons? That Pei Shixian used evil magic to kidnap a child, he cut open her wrist and let Chen Tiantian drink her blood. What would you call that?”
As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeve, showing her wrist to Xiao Mo, “Look at this, this is the wound Pei Shixian made. Are the people in Qin Tianjian all idiots? Do they truly believe that someone who drinks children’s blood is a heavenly master and holy maiden? ”
Xiao Mo noticed the red scar on Yingbao’s wrist and couldn’t help but frown. “Did Pei Shixian really do this?”
Yingbao nodded, “Why else do you think my master severed his hand? Why do you think the words were engraved on Chen Tiantian mother and daughter’s faces?”
Xiao Mo knew what had happened in the Prefecture City, but his second brother had told him that Zhou Wuchang was unruly, indiscriminately cutting off Pei Shixian’s wrist, and bullying the Han Family mother and daughter by having words engraved on their faces.
He had been busy exterminating bandits in various places over the past few years and hadn’t paid much attention to these matters. He never expected, however, that Pei Shixian would really dare to kidnap Yingbao and take her blood. Such audacity!
He was curious as to why Pei Shixian wanted to give Chen Tiantian Yingbao’s blood to drink. What was the secret behind it?
It was truly a pity that Pei Shixian was far in Beijing, and his grandfather was strictly controlling him. Otherwise, he would have brought him here for questioning.
Xiao Mo looked at Yingbao, “Why did he want to give Chen Tiantian your blood?”
Yingbao blinked, “Perhaps he wanted to transfer my luck to Chen Tiantian.”
She didn’t want to say too much about it before, but she couldn’t just let Pei Shixian tarnish her and her master’s reputation in Beijing.
“Luck?” Xiao Mo laughed, he looked around and nodded, “You truly do seem to be a lucky person.”
The Jiang Family’s prosperity increased every year, this he knew better than anyone else.
If an expert were to judge, they would say the prosperity was due to the advantageous Feng Shui of the Jiang Family ancestral tomb, not because of a girl’s luck.
But then again, if it were just about Feng Shui, who could compare to the royal family?
Despite possessing the best Feng Shui, were the Murong Family not in a precarious situation now?
Xiao Mo roamed around the village, his hands behind his back.
This was his first time really observing a village, and it was truly something.
The village was more vibrant and lively than any other he had seen. The residents were full of life and, in just a few short years, the village had successfully established a sizable market and properly functioning school.
Outside the village, there was a village extension where many refugees lived. Seemingly they had escaped from some calamity and settled here.
In this free country, these refugees were diligent. Not only did they cultivate vegetable gardens in the limited space they had in front of their homes, some had even set up small stalls in the marketplace.
Of course, these stalls were run by women and children. The adult men went to help the people of Dongchen Village with farming or assisting the villagers with tasks such as planting and harvesting fungus, rice milling, and flour grinding.
In general, everyone here was self-reliant and there were no idle hands to be seen.
A follower whispered to him, “Sir, this village is truly strange. Look at those fruit trees and the black locust trees. It’s only been a few years, but they have already grown to resemble seven or eight year old trees.”
Xiao Mo gave his follower a sidelong glance but said nothing.
Feeling the chill in Xiao Mo’s gaze, the follower took a step back and bowed his head.
Walking around with his hands clasped behind his back, Xiao Mo asked his follower, “What else have Pei Shixian and Chen Tiantian been up to in Beijing?”
The follower respectfully responded, “Pei Shixian has already taken up a position in Qin Tianjian. Chen Tiantian and her mother are confined to a nunnery for cultivation, and are not allowed to leave on regular days.”
Xiao Mo smirked, “That’s good then.”
His grandfather must be really senile to believe the absurd claims of a hick charlatan.
He scoffed at the notion of the reincarnation of the Nine Heavenly Goddess or the Holy Maiden of the Yaochi. Who did that incompetent woman think she was fooling with her charade?
Moreover, Chen Tiantian’s face was scarred. If the Imperial Teacher is still insistent on sending her to Prince Dai’s mansion, the Prince will probably hold a grudge against the grandfather.
The present Prince Dai was physically robust, no longer the frail little prince he once was.
He is not only reviewing petitions and handling state affairs on behalf of the Emperor, but he has also dismissed several officers promoted by the Imperial Teacher.
With such drastic measures, once he ascends the throne, the first thing he would probably do is to retaliate against the Xiao Family.
