stonecrandall Chapter 121 People from the Palace
Chapter 121 People from the Palace
"Please rest assured, sir."
As he spoke, Zhao Yu took out a purification talisman from his sleeve and muttered incantations that even he couldn't understand.
This ceremony is necessary; otherwise, how can the people be convinced?
After reciting the incantation, Zhao Yu stuck the talisman on the old man's forehead.
A cool sensation entered the old man's body from the talisman.
The old man unconsciously closed his eyes, and felt his head lighten. The drowsiness and fatigue of the past few days vanished without a trace.
My mind calmed down, and I no longer felt that panicked feeling.
After a moment, Zhao Yu took off the talisman, which had turned grayish-white.
The old man shook his head, and a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face.
"Okay, I'm all better now."
The old man bowed deeply in gratitude, saying, "Thank you so much, Daoist Master! You are truly a living deity!"
As he spoke, he was about to kneel down before Zhao Yu.
"No need for such formalities, sir."
Zhao Yu raised his hand to stop him from kneeling: "After you go back, don't go out for the next few days, lest you come into contact with evil spirits again. Avoid places with heavy yin energy, and your illness will naturally get better."
In fact, Zhao Yu's original intention was to let him rest for a few more days.
"Yes, yes, I understand, thank you, Daoist Master." The old man nodded repeatedly.
He took out a cloth bag from his pocket, carefully opened it, and inside was a pile of copper coins.
The old man placed all the copper coins on Zhao Yu's table and said piously, "Daoist Master, my family is poor, and this is all I have. Please don't think it's too little."
Zhao Yu bowed respectfully: "It's alright, whether it's more or less doesn't matter, sincerity is what matters."
The old man left, expressing his gratitude profusely.
Watching the old man leave, Zhao Yu smiled and looked at the next person, but glanced to the side out of the corner of his eye.
On the outskirts of the crowd, two pale-faced, beardless men were pointing and gesturing at him.
The fish he wanted to catch finally arrived.
In the shadows on the outskirts of the crowd, two eunuchs dressed in brocade robes were standing on tiptoe, peering in Zhao Yu's direction.
Both men had fair complexions and no beards; their individual characteristics were quite distinctive.
"Brother Wang, this Taoist priest is so young, what real skills could he possibly have?"
The young eunuch, Xiao Liu, curled his lip and muttered under his breath, "I think he's probably just another charlatan."
Eunuch Wang had a gloomy face and did not reply immediately.
He squinted, carefully observing Zhao Yu's every move as he treated the patient.
After a long pause, he slowly spoke, his voice extremely low: "Whether someone has real skill or not is not something you or I can discern. But regarding this skill of using talismans to heal, have you ever seen any immortal master in the palace use it?"
Xiao Liu was taken aback for a moment, then scratched his head: "That's true. Those immortal masters in the palace only know how to revolve around the alchemy furnace all day long, refining those golden pills. I've never seen anyone draw talismans to cure diseases."
"Hmph, alchemy pills are much better."
Eunuch Wang scoffed, "Anyway, consuming the Golden Elixir won't kill you anytime soon. Even if it doesn't work, you can say it's because you weren't sincere enough, or your affinity for immortality hasn't arrived yet. But drawing a talisman is different; its effectiveness is immediately apparent. If you don't have real skill, the talisman you draw is just a piece of waste paper, which is a grave crime of deceiving the emperor. Tell me, how do those immortal masters choose?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Eunuch Wang suddenly realized that he had misspoke.
He whirled around, staring intently at Xiao Liu, his eyes filled with malice: "What we said today is between the two of us. If even a single word gets out..."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Little Liu quickly bowed and smiled obsequiously. "Brother Wang, don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut. I'm so grateful for your guidance, how could I possibly be ungrateful?"
"Besides, I'm just a nobody, and even if I said it, no one would believe me."
"You're quite clever, kid." The eunuch's expression softened a bit, and he patted the boy's shoulder. "Work hard for me, and you'll get your share of the rewards."
"Thank you so much for your guidance, Brother Wang!" Little Liu bowed and scraped.
As the two were talking, they suddenly noticed a commotion in the crowd.
Zhao Yu was seen removing a talisman from a little girl's forehead. The child, who had just been pale and could only be held in her parents' arms, was now able to get down on her own.
Seeing the family of three kneeling down to express their gratitude, the two had no more doubts.
"Brother Wang, this...this is too amazing!" Little Liu muttered to himself.
Eunuch Wang also dropped his disdain and his expression became serious.
He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "It seems that this Taoist priest Zhao is indeed quite skilled."
"His Majesty is anxiously waiting in the palace. He has already had quite a few people beaten to death these past few days, and those sorcerers are still at a loss. That's why Huang Daban sent us out. Regardless of whether this Zhao sorcerer is a fraud or not, we can't see anything wrong with him for now. Let's just take him into the palace and report back."
"Brother Wang is wise," Little Liu quickly flattered.
It turns out that since Zhu Houcong's coup, the entire imperial palace has been in chaos.
Zhu Houcong was not a benevolent ruler; otherwise, he would not have been nearly strangled to death by palace maids in history.
Now afflicted with a Gu poison, he is restless and unable to sit or lie still every day. The imperial physicians and Taoist priests he cares for are at a loss, which only adds to his resentment.
Therefore, the eunuchs and palace maids serving her would subject her to severe punishment if she did not meet their expectations. After venting her anger, she would still need to be treated for her illness.
As the saying goes, when you're desperate, you'll try anything. Since the people in the palace couldn't find the problem, they had no choice but to look to the common people.
Fortunately, Zhao Yu had made quite a splash these past few days, and his reputation reached the palace. People around Zhu Houcong didn't care whether it was true or not; they just wanted to get it into the palace first.
Even if it doesn't work, someone will still stand up for Zhu Houcong, so they won't have to suffer.
Therefore, the two men were ordered to summon Zhao Yu to the palace.
Zhao Yu thought he would have to act for a few more days, but he didn't expect the person to arrive so quickly. This was also because he had overlooked Zhu Houcong's health problems.
Having taken elixirs for years, Zhu Houcong's health had deteriorated significantly, and his immunity was naturally weakened, which explained why the illness struck so quickly.
Without further hesitation, Eunuch Wang waved his hand behind him.
Several eunuchs from the Eastern Depot, each with a long sword at their waist, immediately stepped forward, surrounding him and Xiao Liuzi, and walked towards Zhao Yu's stall.
"Make way, make way, all of you make way!"
The guards shouted sternly, brandishing their waist knives, and forcibly parted the crowd.
The local people could tell from the sight that someone from the palace had arrived.
The crowd fell silent, retreating to both sides, not daring to utter another word.
Eunuch Wang walked up to Zhao Yu with his head held high and chest out.
At this moment, Zhao Yu was taking the pulse of a peasant woman.
When the peasant woman's husband saw the palace officials arrive, he quickly tugged at his wife's sleeve, wanting to stand up and offer them his seat.
Zhao Yu didn't even raise his head, but secretly channeled a wisp of internal energy and gently pressed it on the peasant woman's shoulder.
The peasant woman felt a gentle force coming from her, and her body involuntarily sat back down.
Zhao Yu said calmly, "No need to give way. Here, everyone, no matter who they are, has to wait in line."