The setting sun melts gold, the twilight clouds merge, I am on my way back.
When returning from his benefactor’s house, it was almost time for the sun to set, and the haloed sunset veered towards the western mountains, colouring most of the sky red. In the midst of a golden red, Zhu Pingan slowly walked back to Xihe Village.
Walking to the lower river village, when he was almost home, Zhu Pingan found a lot of people gathered in front of his family’s mansion, as if there was some kind of bustle.
As he got closer, Zhu Pingan found that his mother Chen, father Zhu, and the old mansion’s old man Zhu, old lady Zhu, eldest aunt, youngest four aunts, and third aunts were all there, and there were also several neighbours who were also there. People did not notice Zhu Pingan’s arrival, but focused their attention on a middle-aged Taoist man surrounded by the crowd with a dark purple robe, a wooden hairpin, a bag of bagua cloth, and a geomancy disc in his hand.
From the geomancy disc in his hand, Zhu Pingan could roughly guess his identity as a fraudulent feng shui master.
Even in modern times, Feng Shui masters were very marketable, not to mention the feudal Ming.
Mother Chen was in the crowd with an indignant look on her face, gritting her teeth and glaring angrily at her great-uncle mother with a look of hatred that was itching to bite her twice.
Great Aunt avoided her mother Chen’s gaze in the crowd and stood beside Old Madam Zhu, reaching out and pointing at Zhu Pingan’s family’s mansion, meaning to speak to that Feng Shui Master, ”Master, help us look at this mansion, but there’s something unclean about it. You also looked at the old mansion just now, you also look at this mansion and the old mansion to see if there’s something that clashes with it.”
“Sister-in-law, what do you mean by that? What do you mean there’s something unclean about my family’s mansion?!”Mother Chen raised her eyebrows and sneered back.
Auntie avoided her mother Chen’s gaze, and said back with some lack of confidence, “Ahem, sister-in-law, we are not all Zhu family members, I invited Tianshi Zhang to come all the way here, and after seeing our old house, I will also give you a look by the way. Zhang Tianshi can be a spirit, how many people want to invite can not be invited, let Zhang Tianshi look at your mansion, if there is any unclean place, let Zhang Tianshi help you to change the feng shui.”
When the onlookers heard the name of Zhang Tianshi, some of them let out a few sighs, and then popularised Zhang Tianshi with the people around them. It is said that Zhang Tianshi is the descendant of Taoist Zhang Tianshi, since childhood in Woliu Mountain on a Taoist temple training, proficient in geomancy and feng shui, in the Woliu Mountain area is very famous, from the top to the dignitaries down to the commoners, all to be able to ask him to geomancy and feng shui as a matter of pride.
It is said that the former governor of Huaining County heard of Zhang Tianshi’s fame and sent someone to summon Zhang Tianshi to test his talent. Zhang Tianshi was at the county office and pointed to the corner of the courtyards of the courtyards with his hand, saying that there was a stone tiger five feet deep under the corner of the wall. The former governor of Huaining County sent his men to dig, and sure enough, a stone that looked like a tiger was dug out at a depth of about five feet. Since then, Zhang Tianshi’s reputation became louder and bigger.
Listening to the biting tongues of the countryside neighbours, Zhu Pingan took a look at that Heavenly Master in the crowd and slightly hooked his lips, interesting, this is still a charlatan who knows how to propagate and guide public opinion.
“Thank you sister-in-law for your kind words, my family’s feng shui is good, don’t bother.”Mother Chen sneered.
“You don’t have to be polite, sister-in-law, Tianshi Zhang has been invited, so let’s just give you guys a look as well.”Great Aunt said resentfully.
“Don’t bother sister-in-law, just keep an eye on the old mansion. My house is fine, no need for this.”Mother Chen glared hard at her great-uncle mother, not eating what she said at all, despising her.
“Ahem, it’s better to take a look, your elder brother he did his studies much earlier than the swine’s son he did, for so many years he always failed in the imperial examinations, I found many people to look at it, and they all said that it was the feng shui in the house that was bad, and it washed out your elder brother’s luck in the examinations.”Eldest Auntie’s business of speaking was getting less and less courageous, but despite this, she was still very firm in insisting that Tianshi Zhang should take a look at the feng shui of Zhu Pingan’s family’s mansion.
“What do you mean? You’re saying that my family’s feng shui is restraining big brother?”Mother Chen looked as if she had heard a great joke, and looked at her eldest aunt with even more contempt.
“Just now your big brother has already departed, this time we let Zhang Tianshi take a look at the feng shui, also let your big brother pass the imperial examination smoothly. Your elder brother’s examination for the imperial examination is the business of our old Zhu family, and it’s good for our whole family if he passes the examination.”When my great-aunt mentioned my eldest brother’s imperial examinations, her eyes brightened and her back straightened.
At these words, the mother Chen’s chin lifted upwards, glanced at the eldest aunt, disdainfully rolled her eyes, my son Zhu Pingan has already passed the Scholarship Examination, and he still cares about your man, a Xiu Cai! Just the boss that virtue, borrowing a debt to falsely accuse a brother, not to bring harm to us is thank God, but also want what benefits?
During the time when mother Chen and great aunt were exchanging words, grandfather Zhu Laozi had been smoking a tobacco pouch on the side, silent, not saying a word, just silently watching.
Grandmother Zhu old lady is as usual, the heart remembers the eldest uncle, on the side of the eldest aunt, words on the surface fair, but anyone who listens to it will know that it is biased in favour of the eldest aunt, “line the oldest, the oldest two family, are less say a few words, so many people watching it, not afraid of people laugh. The sun is about to set, don’t delay Zhang Tianshi’s work, quickly let Zhang Tianshi take a look at the mansion.”
Mother Chen sniffed and wanted to say something more, but was pulled by Father Zhu’s hand, although she was very unhappy in her heart, but looking at Father Zhu’s face, Mother Chen didn’t say anything more.
Seeing her mother Chen’s acquiescence, the eldest aunt was like eating honey.
In her heart, she had always felt that it was the feng shui of Zhu Pingan’s family that had washed away their family, and that it was their family’s undoing. In the past, Auntie had her fortune told in town, and many times, the fortune teller said that she was the life of an official wife, saying that her man, that is, Auntie, would be able to pass the imperial examinations, and that her son, Zhu Pingjun, was the star of the universe, and that he would be a scholar in the future.
As a result, the eldest uncle did not take the imperial examination to become an official, Zhu Pingan took the imperial examination, when the official was upgraded to a few days into the sixth grade official, I heard than the county magistrate is still higher than the two levels; Zhu Pingjun not to mention the Scholar, and even the child has not been examined, on the contrary, Zhu Pingan all the way to the smooth flow of the examination of the child, the Cultivation, lifts, Gongshi has been to the Scholar.
In the heart of the great-uncle mother, the scholar ah to be an official ah, these should be her family, was Zhu Pingan grams to go ……
That’s why the eldest aunt went to great lengths to find Master Zhang Tianshi, with the idea of changing the feng shui.
After listening to the ins and outs, Zhu Pingan walked into the crowd and greeted his mother Chen, father Zhu and grandparents in turn.
When his mother Chen saw Zhu Pingan, a rare smile appeared on her face.
Seeing Zhu Pingan came back, great aunt face some embarrassment, but also some worry, after all, Zhu Pingan is now an official, if Zhu Pingan does not allow to see the feng shui, she can not help ……
Grandfather in Zhu Pingan greetings, put down the tobacco bag, said two good; grandmother nodded over, and then gave Zhu Pingan said again just set to let Zhang Tianshi quickly look at the mansion thing.
Let’s see, I still want to see how this Feng Shui master in this era fools people, so Zhu Ping An nodded and agreed to the request to see the Feng Shui.
Seeing this, the eldest aunt breathed a sigh of relief.
A group of people flanked Zhu Pingan and Zhang Tianshi into the mansion of Zhu Pingan’s family, Zhang Tianshi, who was holding the geomancy disc, had his set of theories, saying that they should look at the feng shui in the order of successive, then previous, first left, then right.
So, the group was going straight to the backyard of Zhu Ping An’s house.
Almost to the backyard, Zhu Pingan found that there were birds flying up in the backyard, and heard the humming of pigs and the sound of chickens flying and squealing, and could also hear the sound of tree trunks shaking vigorously, and vaguely came the sound of children’s voices.
Thus, Zhu Pingan stood still and also signalled the crowd to stop as well.
“What’s wrong, swine? Did you back out?”Eldest Auntie was a little agitated, thinking that Zhu Pingan had backtracked.
“No, father planted some fruit trees in the backyard, now it’s all about fruiting time, just now I saw a bird flying up, and heard a chicken flying and a pig squealing, this should be a child stealing fruit, if we go in like this, it’s not good if we scare the child and they fall off the fruit tree.”Zhu Pingan slightly shook his head, his hearing was a little better than the average person, he could hear the children’s voices.
Upon hearing this, the eldest aunt could not help but frown, what child is not a child, quickly looking at the feng shui is the right thing to do.
“This mansion, I don’t need to look at it anymore, wherever you are, it’s an auspicious mansion!”
Tianshi Zhang put away the geomancy disc, and with an admiring face, he bent down to bow to Pingan Zhu, and then asked for his resignation from the elder aunt and the girls.
Eldest Auntie’s entire body was baffled …..
