Chapter 73: Trivia
The Li family's mansion was no more lively today than before. The maids and servants all put on new clothes. They wore red and green, and tied paper flowers on their hair, showing off their looks and splendor.

The drivers were feeding the horses, some brushing and washing the horses, some feeding them grass. They looked at the maids coming in and out, poured a basin of warm water on the horses, brushed their bodies and said with a smile: "This one has become a young lady, and she is dressed so beautifully. What, did you get paid today?"

"Maybe the young master is selecting a concubine and is preparing to pick a pretty one. If she dresses up nicely and becomes a concubine, who knows, she might become rich."

When one person finished speaking, the others all laughed. This caused dissatisfaction among the maids who were passing by, and a hot-tempered woman nearby stood up and cursed: "A few old bastards, just know how to talk nonsense here. If you don't do your job properly, you'll tear your mouths apart."

The woman was very fierce, and the drivers did not dare to provoke her. They apologized and smiled, and after the woman left, they whispered: "She is very fierce, and her husband will abandon her sooner or later."

But I can only say this behind people’s backs; no one dares to say it in front of them.

The woman scolded the drivers and walked into the courtyard carrying the things. Seeing a few maids coming down from upstairs, she smiled and asked, "Is the third young master awake?"

"I'm awake and reading upstairs."

"Okay, go ahead and do your work. I'll go deliver something to the young master." The woman twisted her waist and slowly went upstairs. She walked to the front of the room and knocked on the door gently: "Third Young Master."

"Come in." A young boy's childish voice came from inside the room. The woman pushed open the door of the room with a smile, and when she walked in, she saw a young boy in white clothes drawing something at the table.

He looked focused, his hand writing steadily, writing on the paper smoothly and elegantly.

The woman didn't understand the handwriting, but she thought it was beautiful. She smiled at the young man as if presenting a treasure, and said, "The Third Young Master's handwriting is really inherited from the old master. Even I think it's beautiful, just like a painting."

"Mrs. Li, you're joking. I wonder what you want from me?" Li Daoxuan felt helpless when he heard what the woman said.

Women like Li's mother, who are in their forties or fifties, usually like to brag. He can even say that a talisman he draws is a landscape painting, comparable to the eight great masters of the Tang and Song dynasties. He is called the top martial artist even when he practices martial arts, which is really unbearable.

"Didn't the master ask us to collect cow's tears for the young master a few days ago? So the housekeeper gave this job to our family. We will send it to the young master after we have collected it, thinking that he will need it urgently." Mother Li smiled and looked around the room, her gaze sometimes on the silverware, and sometimes on the valuables on the counter.

He walked quietly around the room, naturally reaching out to touch the furnishings in the room, and made a sound of "tsk tsk" from his mouth, constantly praising the wealth of the Li family: "Young Master is so blessed, unlike our family. Not to mention all this gold and silver, there are not even many wooden cabinets. The empty ones can even let mice jump in them."

Seeing the woman's actions, Li Daoxuan couldn't help but frown. He never liked others touching his things. But he also knew that village women like Li's mother usually liked to take advantage of others. When visiting, they would always look at the family situation. If there were many people, they would be honest, but if there were few people, they would have some evil intentions.

Although these people don't have bad intentions, they just like to take advantage of others. If you ask them for help, they will most likely come, and they hate people who do bad things. But they can't change their bad habit of stealing, so they are not very popular.

Mother Li is a distant relative of the Li family. Her father and Mr. Li's grandfather are brothers. However, they separated many years ago, and now it has been nearly a hundred years.

He just saw the Li family getting rich, so he came to ask for work in the name of a relative. It was difficult for the villagers to refuse such people, and if they went too far, they would be scolded by the elders in the village.

Mr. Li wanted to gain a reputation, so he spent a small amount of money to get rid of these relatives. He usually lived in Jinling and rarely came back to live permanently.

As Mother Li spoke, she placed the blue and white porcelain vase on the table, looked at Li Daoxuan and said with a smile, "Third Young Master, I will leave the cow's tears here. You can take a look at it when you are free later."

"Yeah." Li Daoxuan nodded in response, not noticing at all that the woman had skillfully used her hands to take away a few white talismans from the table.

"Third Master, I'll be back then. Come to my house when you have time. Your uncle Dashan went to the mountains to hunt a wild boar yesterday. It's really big."

After the woman left, Li Daoxuan looked at the missing white talismans, rubbed his ears, chuckled and shook his head. He just felt that it was troublesome to interact with relatives in this village, there were always different people. Looking at what he wrote again, he showed a satisfied look. It was not for anything else, but mainly because his handwriting had improved a lot. It was hard to imagine that he was a kid who couldn't even hold a brush a few months ago.

After all, people in later generations no longer needed to write with brushes, so writing calligraphy became a way to cultivate one's sentiments.

After returning yesterday, he lay in bed and slept all day. He was tired and thirsty, and felt uncomfortable both physically and mentally.

He fell asleep immediately, which frightened Mr. Li, who specially asked a doctor to see him. In the end, the doctor concluded that the son was in good health and his pulse was strong, but he was just mentally tired, so he needed to rest more.

After hearing this, Mr. Li felt much more relieved.

Li Daoxuan slept until the evening. He felt hungry after waking up and ate some porridge before he felt better.

After talking to Master Li, he learned that Master Li and the remaining two old rich men were sent to the entrance of Lijia Village. It was two o'clock in the morning, and the old man and the eldest son came back in a mess, which scared many people.

When the old man told the story, Mrs. Li was very anxious. After all, her youngest son was still there and she didn't know whether he was safe or not.

So the family sat there restlessly all night, and only felt relieved when Li Daoxuan knocked on the door and came back.

"Your mother is in a state of anxiety and she even scolded me for abandoning you." Mr. Li complained bitterly to Li Daoxuan, saying how wronged he felt after coming back. Mrs. Li felt that he was a father who actually abandoned his own child and ran back without permission, which was really inhumane.

Mr. Li opened his mouth, not knowing how to refute. After all, this matter was too magical, and no one could explain it in a few words. In the end, it was the eldest brother Li Mingda who comforted her, and Mrs. Li's mood was relieved a lot.

Li Daoxuan briefly asked about the Wang family. After a moment of silence, Master Li said, "The Wang family's affairs are unclear. The officials said that forty-nine people were taken away by the Taiping bandits. Only five people from our family and two other families escaped. Forty-four people died. Most of them were merchants from Jiangning or the surrounding areas. They were all wealthy families."

"None of those gentlemen moved and just slept in the Wang family's courtyard. When they woke up, they knew something was wrong. This matter was known to all the high-ranking officials in Nanjing. The Governor-General of Liangjiang was alarmed and ordered a thorough investigation of the Wang family's affairs."

"Think about how many people went to the Wang family, how could it just end like this. Moreover, it involved the Taiping thieves. I heard that there was a jar in the backyard of the Wang family, and there was a human pig in the jar. No one could recognize his appearance, and no one knew who he was. In the end, it was poured out, and it was full of feces and urine."

"The master and eldest son of the Wang family are also missing. They are probably afraid to stay at home because of the thieves. Now they are being searched for on the streets."

"The old man of the Wang family has become demented because of this incident, and now he can't even speak clearly. Alas, what kind of disaster is this? It's really hard to understand. The good Wang family has become a collusion with thieves."

After Master Li finished speaking, Li Daoxuan told him the fact that the human pig was Master Wang. After hearing the truth of the matter, Master Li was silent for a long time.

When Li Daoxuan finished his meal and was about to practice, Master Li came up to him and said, "When you go back to the temple, I will go with you."

　Today is the first day of the first lunar month, it’s Chinese New Year!

　　I would like to wish you all a happy New Year. It is a Chinese New Year and a time for celebration. I wish you and your family good luck in the Year of the Dragon, and a bright future!

　　I will update two chapters today, and two chapters tomorrow. I promised to update continuously during the Spring Festival, and I will keep my word.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)