Chapter 834: The Pope Comes to Visit the Eldest Branch
Luo Bu listened quietly for a while. This kind of story about insolent servants bullying their masters was very common in all families.
A dog barking at its master, its voice growing louder and louder—perhaps because it had gone mad, but more likely because it wanted to defect to a new master. To prove their loyalty to their new master, these dogs absolutely did not mind barking at their former master, or even biting them viciously a few times.
He paid no attention to the few stewards reeking of alcohol at the side gate. He drifted down into that splendid courtyard and arrived at the window of the main house.
Even though it was already late at night, the lamp in the room was still lit. Perhaps it was because the master of the house had already slept for too long and seemed on the verge of a long slumber, so he didn't want to sleep.
The shellfish oil produced in Zhuo Prefecture gave off no smoke, didn't sting the eyes, and its light was beautiful, coating the face of the middle-aged man in a layer of gold.
The middle-aged man was very gaunt, with deeply sunken eyes. Coupled with that golden complexion, he looked less like a living person and more like some kind of sacrificial offering.
Luo Bu stood outside the window, quietly watching the middle-aged man on the bed. His fingers, gripping the sword hilt, tapped silently, faster and faster until they were almost a blur.
If the disciples of Nanxi Zhai saw this scene, they might recall the movements the Saintess made when using the Fate Star Disk for divination.
Yes, he was also performing divination, but instead of a Fate Star Disk, he was using a sword.
In the end, he still couldn't find anything unusual in this courtyard, couldn't deduce any problems. It really didn't seem like poisoning.
If it truly was an illness, and even his junior sister couldn't cure it, then of course he couldn't either.
With some regret and apology, Luo Bu left this estate and returned to the bank of the Wenshui River.
Looking at the estate across the river, he thought silently, since this side was the eldest branch, then the opposite side must be the second branch?
……
……
On the first day His Holiness the Pope arrived at Wenshui, he refined a bottle of Cinnabar Pill.
On the second day, the great figure of the State Religion, White Rock Daoist, who had accompanied him, disappeared. His Holiness the Pope received the Second Master of the Tang family, and that night, he encountered an assassination attempt.
On the third day, he led many people out of the Daoist Hall. The divine carriage traveled upstream along the Wenshui River, and under the uneasy gazes of countless people, it arrived outside an estate.
This estate belonged to the eldest branch of the Tang family. The seriously ill eldest master of the Tang family had been moved back here from the old residence for half a year now.
Half a year ago was also when Tang Thirty-Six was locked in the ancestral hall. No one knew if there was a connection between these two events.
If it had been a few days earlier, the gates of the estate would certainly have been tightly shut, with servants scattered about gossiping about their masters. But today was different. When His Holiness the Pope's divine carriage was still several li away, the estate had already received the news. After an initial flurry of panic, everything returned to calm.
The central gate had long been opened. Stewards and servants knelt on both sides, extremely respectful, silent as crows. Everywhere, one could see the rules of a noble family.
But Chen Changsheng still felt something was off.
It wasn't because someone was vaguely watching from under the willow trees across the river, but because the smell in the air was wrong.
Nan Ke, by his side, sniffed like a little dog and said, "There's dust."
The steward who had just hurried over from the Tang family's old residence hadn't even had a chance to say anything before he heard this, and his expression shifted slightly.
Chen Changsheng looked at the straight path paved with white marble beneath his feet, at the wet marks left on it, and knew it had just been cleaned.
The reason it had just been cleaned was, of course, to welcome his arrival, but it could also be inferred that the usual cleaning wasn't done very diligently.
Chen Changsheng said nothing and walked into the estate.
Entering that splendid courtyard, he saw a woman whose clothes were simple but still exuded an air of nobility. From her features, he could tell she should be Tang Thirty-Six's mother.
Looking at the crowd entering the courtyard, especially the young man in the center, the woman's voice trembled slightly as she said, "Your subject, Lin Suyan, pays respects to His Holiness the Pope."
After saying this, she began to bow to Chen Changsheng.
How could Chen Changsheng accept such a bow? He said, "Lady Tang, please rise."
Lady Tang naturally wouldn't get up just because of that and continued to kneel down.
Fortunately, Chen Changsheng had anticipated this might happen and had already made arrangements.
A gentle breeze suddenly rose in the courtyard. Before anyone could see clearly, the little girl beside His Holiness the Pope had appeared next to Lady Tang.
Nan Ke supported Lady Tang's hand, and Lady Tang could no longer kneel.
Seeing this scene, the steward from the Tang family's old residence kept his expression unchanged, but a sense of unease grew in his heart.
Many people knew that yesterday, when the Second Master of the Tang family visited the Daoist Hall, His Holiness the Pope had accepted his kneeling bow.
That His Holiness the Pope had a different attitude toward the eldest branch and the second branch was something everyone could imagine. But to show it so bluntly—what was the reasoning behind that?
Chen Changsheng did not accept Lady Tang's formal greeting but instead asked after her a few times in the manner of a junior.
Only then did Lady Tang realize that the rumors were true, and the letters sent back from the National Academy back then were also true.
His Holiness the Pope was truly very close to her son, even like brothers.
"I would like to go see Uncle," Chen Changsheng said.
Lady Tang naturally wouldn't refuse and prepared to lead the way.
Suddenly, a cough sounded.
The steward from the Tang family's old residence coughed twice, first glanced at Lady Tang, then looked at Chen Changsheng, and said with a humble demeanor, "The eldest master is gravely ill. Your Holiness's sacred person is of utmost importance. If anything were to go wrong, it would truly be a crime of our Tang family. I beg Your Holiness to..."
He didn't finish his words, but the meaning was clear: the Tang family did not want Chen Changsheng to see the eldest master.
Chen Changsheng had met this steward from the old residence before. Many years ago, that yellow paper umbrella had been handed to him by this very steward.
Meeting again today, the steward's attitude was still respectful, even more so than back then, but there was a hint of guardedness beneath the surface.
Chen Changsheng said nothing, just quietly looked at him.
The steward from the old residence felt the pressure suddenly increase but still forced himself to say, "The instructors from the Qingyao Thirteen Departments have come to see him. Even... the one from Saintess Peak came personally to examine him. None of them could do anything. Why should Your Holiness trouble yourself and invite sorrow?"
Lady Tang glanced at the steward but didn't refute him, though her sleeves trembled slightly.
Chen Changsheng suddenly asked, "Has the Dao Sovereign come to see him?"
The steward from the old residence thought he had misheard. Stunned, he didn't know what to say, thinking, what kind of status does the Dao Sovereign have? Why would he leave the capital to come to Wenshui just to treat the eldest master?
Chen Changsheng asked again, "Has His Majesty the Emperor come?"
The steward was even more confused, thinking, His Majesty the Emperor is busy with a myriad of state affairs—why would he come here?
"In this world, only their medical skills are better than mine. Since neither of them has come, who is more qualified than I am to say whether this illness can be cured or not?"
After saying this, Chen Changsheng followed Lady Tang into the inner residence, paying no further attention to the man.
Linghai Zhiwang stayed behind with dozens of priests, blocking the Tang family members outside.
The steward from the old residence tried to follow, relying on his status, but failed.
Linghai Zhiwang stared at him expressionlessly and said, "You seem to like coughing? Go ahead, keep going."
The steward from the old residence held an extremely high status in Wenshui City, but what could he do against a great figure of the State Religion?
Watching Chen Changsheng's figure disappear around the corner of the inner residence, he was both anxious and furious, and indeed started coughing.