Watching Manager Liu leave with a complex expression, Miss Jun did not pay much attention.
Of course, she knew what he was thinking.
But there was nothing more to say to him, because indeed the woman was ill.
"A mental illness."
That man stood behind the corner of the wall, peering out.
"This woman is mentally ill."
She also looked out, still holding a skewer of candied hawthorns. She had just glanced out when a large hand pressed down on her head and shoved her back in.
"When you spy on someone, you must do so without making a sound or stirring the air; your head is practically poking into someone's eyes."
Was it really that exaggerated?
Her master had stuck his head out too.
She bit fiercely into her candied hawthorns.
Because a tiger had eaten their horses in the mountains, he said they would come to the city to make money. They had been there half a day and had yet to do any real work.
"What do you mean we haven't done any real work? Don't always think that rolling up your sleeves means getting work done. Sharpening your axe will not delay the job of cutting wood," he said.
Standing in the shadows, she looked at the tall, thin man whose face was blurred in the sunlight.
"You heard these people discussing this woman while you were buying the candied hawthorns, didn't you?"
She didn't even want to eat the candied hawthorns, okay? She was too old for that!
It was he who insisted she play the child, dragging her around the market until she screamed when he stepped on her foot, and then he slandered her as being a noisy child and bought her the candied hawthorns.
With a belly full of sullenness, she was in no mood to listen to the gossip of these women.
"Do not underestimate these gossips; they have sharp ears and see everything."
Really?
She bit the candied hawthorns while watching the man take out a flag and a bell.
"This woman has been taking medicine every day, her condition never improving. People in the market say she's been like this ever since her mother-in-law died."
"They also mentioned that her mother-in-law was mean to her."
"Logically speaking, she should be overjoyed by her mother-in-law's death."
What kind of logic was that? That was his twisted logic.
The master snatched the candied hawthorns from her hand and stuffed the flag into it.
"What's twisted logic? When you're hurt, you cry; when you're beaten, you hate; when you're happy, you laugh—that's the correct logic."
"If someone slaps you, you feel hatred, even if you smile and act nonchalant; it's all just an act."
"It's said that only a Buddha can tolerate the world's affairs, and he can tolerate them because they are none of his concern."
The crisp sound of the bell echoed through the street, and she reluctantly followed her master, holding the flag.
She looked up at the words on the flag.
'Specialist in intractable diseases, miraculous healer that brings the dying back to life.'
She couldn't understand, with the fame of Divine Doctor Zhang shining so brightly, why he would always carry this flag and act as a bell healer, enduring skepticism and disdain to treat people and earn money.
"Because that's money earned through fame. It's easy alright, but it's tiring too."
"This way is simpler, you gain both money and the reputation without having to bother with all kinds of messy things."
She didn't really understand any of these principles.
Anyway, he always had his reasons.
She watched the man shaking the bell in the evening glow, standing before a woman.
"Big sister, I can see that you have ominous signs," he said gravely.
Ominous signs?
Since when could illnesses reveal ominous signs?
"Big sister, don't disbelieve me. You have been haunted by an Evil Spirit for many years, which is why you have been ill for so long."
What?
She looked on in astonishment at the man who was blurry before her.
Was this being a bell healer? Wasn't this just deception?
"Some illnesses must be cured with deceit," he turned his head and said to her solemnly, "Remember that."
Why should she remember that?
She didn't want to deceive people; she just wanted to cure her father's illness.
At this thought, Miss Jun let out a soft sigh.
Little did she expect that this would indeed be what she ended up doing.
Speaking of which, although her father was no longer alive, this could be considered treating his illness, right?
It was just that the illness wasn't physical, but one of injustice and grievance.
So, she would continue to treat the illness.
"Miss, what happened afterward?"
Liu'er's voice interrupted her reverie.
"Was that woman really haunted by a ghost?"
Since the night was long and there was nothing to do, Miss Jun was happy to share with Liu'er the reasons and background of what she had done that day, turning it into a story from a book. She explained that the reason she dealt with that woman so today was due to an old case mentioned in the book.
"Of course not," Miss Jun said, leaning against the bed and gently waving her fan. "She indeed suffered from a mental affliction. Ever since her mother-in-law passed away, she would dream every night that her mother-in-law was walking in from outside the door."
Liu'er shuddered in fright, jumping up onto the bed, and apprehensively glanced at the open window. Through it, the lanterns of the capital shone brightly at night.
Miss Jun laughed and playfully tapped her with the fan.
"That's because she had argued with her mother-in-law before she died. She had been suppressing her frustration for many years and finally couldn't help but retort once. She even secretly cursed her mother-in-law, wishing her dead. As it turned out, by coincidence, her mother-in-law drowned after falling into the well while fetching water," she explained.
Liu'er realized it at once.
"Oh, so she thought she had cursed her mother-in-law to death," she said.
"Yes, she had been oppressed by her mother-in-law all her life. Even after her mother-in-law's death, she was still afraid and felt guilty. Therefore, suspicious thoughts gave rise to inner demons, unsettling her spirit. She would have thoughts by day and dreams by night, frightening herself," Miss Jun said.
Liu'er nodded her head.
"What happened later?" she took over the fan and started fanning Miss Jun, asking eagerly, "How do you treat a mental illness?"
Miss Jun smiled, a touch of bitterness in her grin.
Her master, ah, he had recited some scripture and then had her smash the deceased mother-in-law's spirit tablet under the guise of reciting the scripture. The woman took the opportunity to cry bitterly, blaming herself in front of the neighbors for her unfilial behavior. She profoundly regretted not taking good care of her mother-in-law when she was alive and even damaging her mother-in-law's spirit tablet after her death. She seized the moment to express all the grievances she hadn't dared to speak to others.
The old lady had been dead for so long, and besides, everyone knew how poorly she had treated her daughter-in-law. So, even if the woman expressed some disrespectful thoughts, nobody minded. They all tried to console her, and her husband forgave her.
The woman's emotional knots were untied after a good cry. The master then casually gave her some incense ashes water, charged one hundred taels of money, and quickly earned enough to allow them to live a life of pleasure, with everyone admiring him as a lofty and detached sage.
At the time, she had felt it was shameless.
"How is that shameless? Did you steal, or did you rob?" her master had asked reproachfully, dissatisfied.
Neither stolen nor robbed, but deceived.
"What did we deceive? Didn't I cure their illness?" The man had been leisurely riding on his horse. "There are all kinds of people in the world, and thus there are all sorts of illnesses. Naturally, the methods of curing these illnesses vary."
Miss Jun looked at the small lantern by the head of the bed, watching the figure of her master gradually fade in her vision.
If her master were still here, would things have been better, would he have helped her?
At this thought, she smiled again.
Master, ah, who had fled from treating her father's illness to avoid trouble and would surely have fled even faster if he were still alive now, making sure she could not find him.
"Miss, is that woman in a similar situation? Will she come to us tomorrow?" Liu'er curiously asked.
Miss Jun smiled.
"Let's talk about tomorrow's matters tomorrow," she said, lying down, "I'm tired."
Liu'er hurriedly got off the bed, lowering the gauzy mosquito net, watching as Miss Jun lay still, facing away.
Miss really was tired.
Liu'er tiptoed, extinguished the light, and left the room quietly.
The room was pitch black. Through the window, the capital looked like stars that had fallen to earth, twinkling brightly.
Miss Jun lay still, facing inward, her eyes open, tears slowly sliding down.
So what if the master wouldn't help her or pay her any attention, even if it meant breaking the bonds of apprenticeship?
If only he were still alive, how wonderful that would be.
It wasn't until he was gone, until she was no longer here, that she realized how precious everything he had taught her was.
The night grew still and silent.
On the other side of the capital, in a residence, a man woke up as if startled from deep sleep and leaped to his feet. The noise in the room alerted the servant girl on night duty.
When she entered with a lamp, she saw the young man with his upper body bare, already standing in front of the clothes rack.
"Princely Heir?" the servant girl hurriedly spoke, setting down the lamp, "What do you need?"
Zhu Zan casually put on a summer robe, covering his robust chest that bore several scars.
"I need to go out for a while," he said.
So late? He had already gone to bed, why go out again?
The servant girl wanted to ask more, but Zhu Zan had already disappeared like the wind into the night.
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Thank you to Bing from the south for rewarding with a Spirit Beast Egg ＼(￣▽￣)／
Thank you to 96 Jin Deng Wo for the reward with He's Bi
It's Monday today, everyone, work hard at your jobs or studies! But I'm not working today hahaha~~~