Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 569 Apology

"It's you." Taoist Yuanrong straightened up and noticed that she didn't come alone.

Yuan Qing handed over a box of tea leaves with both hands, "I am Yuan Qing, thank you for your help today, Taoist priest."

"Yuan Qing?" Taoist Master Yuanrong looked him up and down. "Are you the second-place finisher in the imperial examination who accepted the responsibility? I've read your essay; it's quite good. If nothing went wrong, it's hard to say who would have won the first place in the final exam."

Song Ying was a little surprised. This was the first time she heard this statement.

Lu Xu has always been better than Yuan Qing in the academy. She thinks that in terms of knowledge, Yuan Qing is indeed not as good as Lu Xu for the time being.

Moreover, Taoist Master Yuanrong was also well-versed in contemporary literature? Was he also a scholar?

As her thoughts drifted away, Yuan Qing bowed once more, his voice clear and gentle, "I'm deeply humbled by your praise, Taoist Priest. I've come specially to thank you for your righteous words and for resolving my sister's predicament."

After Yuan Qing finished speaking humbly, he once again sincerely thanked Taoist Master Yuanrong.

Taoist Priest Yuanrong waved his hand and said teasingly, "Don't talk about thanking me or not. If I really want to talk about it, I have to thank Mr. Song. Otherwise, how could my Qingfeng Temple be so prosperous?"

Song Ying scratched his head embarrassedly, "But I think the incense seems to disturb your vegetable planting."

Taoist Yuanrong sighed, "I'm sorry to bother you. I have so many vegetable gardens, but this is the only one left."

Although he said it in a joking tone, Song Ying could clearly hear some genuine regret in his voice.

It seems that he really likes growing vegetables!

The three of them talked all the way from the vegetable garden to the Sanqing Temple, and they got along very well. Taoist Yuanrong was an eloquent talker. He could discuss the key to solving the eight-legged essay with Yuan Qing, and also talk about herbal medicine with Song Ying in detail.

When he was excited, the old Taoist took out a yellowed elm wood chessboard from under the shrine.

"Let's play a game?" He knocked on the chessboard, making a dull sound.

Song Ying doesn't know how to play chess. Yuan Qing has learned from his teachers, but due to his busy schoolwork, he doesn't have much time to practice chess, so his chess skills are naturally not very good.

Taoist Master Yuanrong didn't care. He just did what he felt like doing. The result was not important.

Song Ying noticed that Taoist Yuanrong's method of holding the black piece was particularly peculiar. He picked up the piece with his fingers and dropped it with his wrist suspended, which looked very much like the posture of drawing a talisman.

Yuan Qingze sat upright like a pine tree the whole time, only his sleeves moved slightly when he made a move.

"You're quite intelligent!" Taoist Master Yuanrong suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, causing the ashes in the incense burner to fall. "That's a brilliant move!"

He narrowed his cloudy old eyes and tapped the chessboard with his fingers. "It reminds me of the time I played chess with Taoist Chongxu thirty years ago on Wudang Mountain."

Song Ying, who had been bored, suddenly became alert and asked in surprise, "Have you been to Wudang Mountain?"

"Of course not. When I was young, I traveled all over the country and encountered many strange things. Some of these things may seem like bad luck caused by ghosts at first glance, but in fact they are the blessings of gods..." Taoist Yuanrong made moves quickly while talking about his unrestrained deeds of wandering around the world when he was young.

As dusk deepened outside the hall, the shadow of the statue of the Lord of Dao and Morality became very long, stretching across the chessboard and dividing the yin-yang fish pattern into two.

"What a shame," the Taoist priest suddenly sighed and folded his whisk under his arm. "If you weren't in a hurry to return to the village, I would like to see how far you can play this game of chess."

Yuan Qing smiled and stood up, "I'll ask for your guidance later."

He went home to convince his grandmother and the others, and rushed back to the city early the next day. After thinking it over, he decided to go and pay a visit to County Magistrate Chen.

In the final analysis, all this was because of him. The Chen family chose his sister because of his potential; his parents agreed to the Chen family's marriage because of his future;

If the Chen family wanted to take revenge, they should have targeted him. How could they let Song Ying and Taoist Yuanrong be implicated?

He stood outside the Chen family's gate for two full hours. The officers coming in and out were no longer as polite as usual. Some of them ignored him directly, while others smiled mockingly.

Song Tian looked at the door several times, but there was no response from above, so he didn't dare show any kindness towards Yuan Qing.

At the same time, he was also anxious.

When he heard what his wife said to Taoist Master Yuanrong at Qingfeng Temple, he finally understood what his cousin and Taoist Master Yuanrong were planning. He felt very nervous just by listening to it.

In the past two days, he has been extremely careful and low-key, for fear that his wife would remember him and take her anger out on him.

It wasn't until dusk fell that someone finally came out and said, "Mr. Yuan, our parents want to see you."

"Thank you." Yuan Qing looked calm, without any resentment between his brows. He just bowed with his hands clasped.

He wanted to follow the servant in, but his legs were blocked from standing for so long that he stumbled as soon as he took a step and almost fell on the stone steps.

Seeing this, the servant who came to deliver the message pulled up a sarcastic arc at the corner of his mouth and said in a sarcastic tone: "Mr. Yuan, I am just a servant, and I cannot deserve such a gift from a scholar like you."

As he spoke, he deliberately quickened his pace, forcing Yuan Qing to limp behind him.

In the study, County Magistrate Chen sat on a grand chair, fiddling with a jade paperweight. The candlelight cast flickering shadows on his face. Without even raising his eyelids, he simply said, "What do you want from me?"

Yuan Qing bowed deeply, his forehead almost touching the ground. "I have come here to apologize to my parents."

"Apology?" County Magistrate Chen said calmly, "My wife and I forced your sister to marry my foolish son. I should be the one apologizing to you."

This was obviously a sarcastic remark, and although the tone was light, every word was stinging.

Yuan Qing lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on the corner of the magistrate's robe - there was a little ink stain on it, as if he had just approved an official document and had not changed his clothes before coming to see him.

"I dare not." He bowed deeply again, his back bent like a rice ear receiving dew. "I knew my sister didn't want this marriage, but because I was concerned about my grandmother's old age and worries, I didn't dare to refuse her directly. This is a crime of unfilial piety and unbrotherly love.

"Moreover, you should not have used personal connections to pressure Taoist Master Yuanrong into helping you, causing the lady's kindness to be misinterpreted and your son's reputation to be tarnished, becoming the subject of public gossip—this student deserves death."

The study fell into silence, and the sounds outside became clearer, with faint cheerful laughter coming from outside.

A trace of helplessness flashed across County Magistrate Chen's face. He placed the jade paperweight back on the table and said, "Considering that you still have some sense of responsibility, this matter will be dropped. As for the Taoist priest at Qingfeng Temple and your unmarried daughter-in-law..."

Yuan Qing's breathing stagnated, and the fingers hanging by his side curled up unconsciously.

"I'm not going to bother with a quack or a petty doctor."

Yuan Qing's heart finally settled down, and he bowed again, "Thank you, old parents, for your generosity."

He bowed and left the study, following the servant who led the way through the vermilion-painted corridor. Dusk had already fallen, and the wind chimes on the eaves tinkled in the evening breeze. Suddenly, from behind the rockery, he heard a series of tapping footsteps, accompanied by a muffled cry: "Where's Dad? I want to play with him!"

It was clearly the voice of a young man, yet it carried a childlike innocence. Yuan Qing paused slightly, and out of the corner of his eye he saw a young man in brocade clothes trying to rush past several servants towards the study.

Thinking of County Magistrate Chen's sudden relaxation just now, Yuan Qing couldn't help but sigh.