Chapter 17: Grandfather Meng

Wu Rui’an descended from the dais and helped Grandfather Meng to his feet. “Esteemed elder, your health is frail, and this matter is of great importance. Allow me to report it to His Majesty before we make any decisions. For now... rest within the manor.” After speaking, he turned to Zhong Xu beside him and asked, “Taoist Zhong, what exactly is going on here?”

Zhong Xu no longer concealed the truth and recounted all the events that had transpired in recent days.

When Wu Rui’an heard that Di Jiang could treat ghosts, his heart trembled once more. Recalling the previous incident involving Wu Jingyi, he immediately understood something and finally grasped why Di Jiang sometimes appeared so enigmatic...

Her secrets were truly piling up...

“Your Highness, this humble one will take Grandfather Meng back to his room. He cannot bear sunlight.”

“Very well, hurry along—his health is paramount.” Wu Rui’an waved his hand, ordering a servant to prepare a guest room for the two. He then took two constables and left the Jingzhao Prefecture in search of Di Jiang.

Di Jiang was naturally waiting outside, so he easily found her and brought her back to the Jingzhao Prefecture to meet with Zhong Xu, hoping to uncover the truth.

“Doctor Di, you knew I would come looking for you?” Wu Rui’an remarked as they walked.

Di Jiang smiled and nodded. “Of course. In this world, perhaps only I can heal him.”

After several days, Grandfather Meng’s condition had improved significantly. Though he still spoke with some difficulty, at least his communication was clear. Di Jiang, Wen Yao, Zhong Xu, and Wu Rui’an sat in a side room, gathered around Grandfather Meng’s bedside.

After taking his pulse, Di Jiang spoke calmly. “Your illness stems from a troubled heart. A troubled heart requires a remedy of the heart. Tell me, what is the story behind this?”

“This matter... began over a hundred years ago.”

Di Jiang knew she didn’t need to speak at this moment. She simply needed to listen carefully as he recounted the tale.

Grandfather Meng sighed deeply, his expression growing distant as his thoughts drifted back over a century to Taiping Prefecture. Slowly, he began to unravel the cause of this calamity.

Over a hundred years ago, during the early years of Emperor Xuanwu’s reign when the nation was stabilizing and rebuilding, Meng Zichang had traveled from a neighboring country, seeking a place to settle in this vast empire. After much hardship and nearly exhausting all his funds, he finally arrived at the capital, Taiping Prefecture.

However, on his very first day, a thief stole the last of his money—the foundation of his planned business venture. Losing it meant losing his future.

Meng Zichang collapsed in despair. Passersby in Taiping Prefecture mistook him for a beggar due to his disheveled appearance and tossed him a few copper coins.

Starving, Meng Zichang bought two steamed buns. But just as he took his first bite, he noticed two girls lying weak and near death in a corner by the roadside.

The two girls were twins. The elder sister was named Tao Yuan, and the younger, Tao Yu.

Meng Zichang gave them his buns and continued to starve himself. Strangely enough, the next day, the thief who had stolen his money returned it, kneeling on the ground and repeatedly kowtowing. “Great immortal, forgive me! I should not have stolen from you. I swear I’ll never steal again. Please overlook my offense!”

With his money returned, Meng Zichang began conducting business alongside the two girls. He raised them as if they were his own children, enduring hardships and sacrifices. However, whether due to his luck or fate, every business he tried would start off well but gradually decline, inevitably closing within three months.

Fortune tellers claimed he was born without financial luck and advised him to return to where he came from. But having seen the dazzling world, how could he possibly retreat to the mountains? Meng Zichang refused to accept his fate and vowed to carve out a respectable life in Taiping Prefecture.

Fate, however, proved unkind. Five years later, at the age of thirty, Meng Zichang remained unsuccessful in his ventures and unmarried. When a matchmaker introduced him to a young lady, she humiliated him instead, turning him into a laughingstock among the townsfolk and deepening his sense of inferiority.

It was also during this year that Tao Yuan and Tao Yu grew into renowned beauties, attracting countless suitors. Believing he couldn’t provide them with a good life, Meng Zichang allowed them to choose their own husbands from the list of suitors. To his shock, Tao Yuan adamantly declared that she would marry no one but him.

Meng Zichang felt as though struck by lightning. He never imagined that the twin sisters he had raised for five years harbored such feelings for him. Terrified, he avoided returning home for three months.

During these three months, he lost another tea business entirely. When he finally returned home, Tao Yuan had prepared a pot of chicken soup for him and mended his tattered clothes. In that moment, he realized that perhaps all he had been striving for throughout his life was this simple, peaceful existence. Thus, he married Tao Yuan.

Even after marrying Tao Yuan, his fortunes did not improve. Poverty continued to plague their household. Life became increasingly difficult, and both Tao Yuan and Tao Yu were repeatedly bullied by powerful officials. Despite his attempts to defend them, he often ended up with broken ribs.

Eventually, unable to endure further, Tao Yuan left home with Tao Yu. Before departing, she gave him a large sum of silver, saying, “Take this money, and you’ll never want for food or clothing again.”

As Meng Zichang recounted this, tears welled up uncontrollably in his eyes. Due to his severely dehydrated body, he couldn’t produce many tears, making his appearance all the more heart-wrenching.

Grandfather Meng coughed twice and sighed deeply. “The most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen was Tao Yuan lowering her eyes as she sewed clothes for me under a solitary lamp. Her gaze was as gentle as water, and every movement exuded tranquility and serenity. That must have been the taste of home, right? I remember the chicken soup on the table steaming with heat, and I was so entranced that I didn’t notice until it had gone cold. That moment felt eternal to me—but she…” His eyes were filled with deep despair, mingled with decades of lingering longing.

“What happened afterward?” Di Jiang asked.

“Afterward, I never saw Tao Yuan again. I searched for her my entire life, but it was as if she had vanished from the face of the earth.” Meng Zichang spoke with a somber tone.

“Did she mention where she was going?”

“At first, I inquired. All I learned was that she married a Hu merchant who frequently traded between Xuanwu and the Western Regions, a wealthy magnate richer than any of the previous suitors.”

“Oh? But you also became fabulously wealthy.”

Meng Zichang shook his head and forced a bitter smile. “That was after Tao Yuan left. I don’t know why, but after she departed, my business flourished. Everything I did went smoothly without fail. Once, a traveling merchant ordered a cartload of southern pearls from me, paid in full, and then disappeared without claiming the goods. I never heard from him again. Such unexpected windfalls occurred more than once over the following decades.”

Di Jiang’s mouth hung open, nodding dumbfounded.

Wen Yao, unable to contain herself any longer, interjected with a “tsk tsk” of astonishment. “Perhaps Tao Yuan was your curse. Once she left, you struck gold!”

“Perhaps… but no matter how successful my business became, without Tao Yuan by my side, my heart always felt empty... cough, cough, cough—” As Meng Zichang spoke, he suddenly began coughing violently.

Watching his frail, trembling body, both Wen Yao and Di Jiang feared he might choke and collapse at any moment.

“Grandfather Meng, please calm down! Our shopkeeper will surely find a way! She can help you locate Tao Yuan—alive or dead!” Wen Yao blurted out.

Di Jiang shot her a sharp glare. “At this age, if she were human, there’s no way she could still be alive. Even her corpse would have turned to dust by now!”

“But isn’t Grandfather Meng human too?” Wen Yao protested. “How is he still alive?”

“Not only am I still alive, but what shocks me even more is that Tao Yu is also still alive,” Meng Zichang added. “I thought she must have died long ago, but why is she still here?”

“Tao Yu?” Wen Yao gasped. “The younger twin sister?”

“Yes...” Meng Zichang lowered his head, shame evident on his face. “She returned a few years later but refused to reveal where her sister had gone!” Clenching his fists, his face twisted with regret, he exclaimed, “Tao Yuan must have been killed by Tao Yu!”

“What!” The group exchanged horrified expressions.

“Is the Elder Madam really Tao Yu?” Di Jiang asked uncertainly.

Meng Zichang nodded, confirming Di Jiang’s suspicion. He continued, “In the past, I was solely focused on my business and oblivious to the hearts of women. Only later did I realize that for the sake of profit, even father and son could turn against each other, let alone sisters. If she took Tao Yuan away, everything makes sense—even the incidents that have occurred in my household over the years may... all be connected to her.”

“If the Elder Madam is indeed Tao Yu, how old would she be?”

Meng Zichang pondered for a moment. “She is twenty years younger than me. By now... she should be around a hundred years old.”

“A hundred years old!” Wen Yao exclaimed, muttering to herself, “No wonder she looks so ancient... Could she really be Tao Yu?” Turning to Di Jiang, she asked, “Could that immortal...”

“She is no longer an immortal.” Di Jiang gave a faint smile, emphasizing with a hint of pity, “The Peach Blossom Fairy is no longer an immortal.”

“Then what is she?”

Di Jiang smiled slightly. “We’ll find out when we see her.”

After adjourning the court, the Yangchun Manor family was escorted back to the dungeon, while the critically ill Elder Madam Tao Yu was moved to Shangyang Pavilion for treatment. Due to his frail health, Grandfather Meng stayed behind at the Jingzhao Prefecture to rest.

Di Jiang, Zhong Xu, and Wu Rui’an immediately headed to Shangyang Medical Hall.

At midday, the clinic was eerily quiet, unusually so. Instinctively, Zhong Xu unsheathed his sword and held it in front of him as he led the way. Wu Rui’an walked in the middle, his arms slightly spread apart in a protective stance toward Di Jiang behind him.

Di Jiang and Wen Yao exchanged glances, amused by his exaggerated protectiveness.

Upon entering the clinic, they found bodies sprawled everywhere. Their hearts tightened, and Wen Yao quickly examined them before exhaling in relief. “They’re just unconscious.”

“Who did this?” Wu Rui’an’s expression grew grave.

“Who else could it be? Naturally, it’s that hundred-year-old monster, Tao Yu.” With that, Wen Yao dashed into the inner room before Di Jiang could stop her. Left with no choice, Di Jiang hurried after her.