Chapter 320 - Chapter 320: Chapter 316: Autumn Outing_1

Chapter 320: Chapter 316: Autumn Outing_1

After spending two days in the prefecture city, master and apprentice hurried back to Jujube Tree Village.

Accompanying them were Lady Zhang and her three daughters, as well as the family members of Feng Sima and Qian Sihu from the prefecture city.

It happened to be September and although Chrysanthemum Day had passed, people were still out and about seeking chrysanthemums and climbing heights.

Upon hearing that there was a cave several tens of miles away in the countryside that housed two peony trees in full bloom, several official families in the prefecture city were immediately keen on visiting.

Feng Sima’s wife and Qian Sihu’s wife, upon discussion, proposed the idea of visiting this miracle to Lady Zhang.

Naturally, Lady Zhang agreed. She was worried that it might be unsafe for her family to go out of the city by themselves. She couldn’t be happier to have the families of Sima and Sihu accompany them.

As they set off, they were a grand cavalcade of people, with more than two hundred servants and guards. Each family also enlisted several horse-drawn carriages. Their march was as imposing as a military expedition.

Yingbao and his three sisters, Xuehua, rode in a carriage together, and along the way, Yingbao told them a story about Stone Spring Cave.

She added fuel to the fire, fabricating more to the story, making the three young ladies fixated on her words.

Chun Hua blinked and asked, “Is it indeed magical? Is the spring water really the result of tears shed by the goddess herself?”

Yingbao ambiguously replied, “I heard it from the elders in the village. Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know.”

“Are there really peonies in the cave?” Xia Shi was also quite curious.

Yingbao nodded, “Yes, when you get there, you can go in and see for yourself.”

Xia Shi clenched her fist, unable to hide her excitement.

It was her first time leaving the city for a jaunt and even if there were no caves and peonies, she was still thrilled.

Oh, if only auntie could come too.

Xia Shi covertly glanced at her full sister.

This time she and Chun Hua were able to go out, thanks to her full sister’s recommendation to their mother.

The caravan travelled at a steady and brisk pace. They set off early in the morning, reaching Wuchang Taoist Temple on Stone Spring Mountain by noon.

The servants began to prepare meals while a few old women entered the temple’s kitchen to cook for their masters.

They had brought rice, vegetables, meat, and even supplies like soy sauce, salt, vinegar, sugar. Even tableware like bowls, chopsticks, and plates had all been brought along.

The maidservants who had come with the ladies started cleaning the rooms in the temple, dusting, wiping, and setting out bedding and boxes on the Kang bed-stove.

Yingbao, at the request of several young ladies from official families, led them to Stone Spring Cave.

A group of people came to the entrance of the cave, where they saw several villagers laying out stones in the spring water, making a path for people to walk into the cave for sightseeing.

The Xuehua sisters, two young ladies from the Sima family, and the sister duo from the Sihu family, including Yingbao, a total of eight young ladies, surrounded the spring water, exclaiming in amazement.

Xia Shi and Chun Hua even squatted down, scooped up some water with their hands for a taste, and giggled, “It really is immortal water, it tastes so sweet.”

Seeing this, the remaining young ladies also bowed down to take a sip.

Xuehua, being the eldest among the girls, acted more prudently and turned to ask Yingbao, “Can we go into the cave and take a look?”

Yingbao shook her head, “Not today. Tomorrow.”

She pointed to the busy villagers, “Wait for them to finish laying the stones, then someone should check the cave first, clean it out of any snakes or rats, then we can go in.”

She too wanted to see what the cave water’s stalagmite looked like. Hopefully, she could create a miracle inside.

Xuehua: “Alright, then let’s go and have a look around.”

They intended to go on an autumn outing, so naturally, they would want to have a stroll.

So, Yingbao led them on a stroll around.

But this place is truly barren, and now it’s the deep autumn season, there isn’t much to see.

On the other side, Zhang Min took a few young masters from official families to go bird hunting.

There aren’t many things on the mountain, but there are plenty of sparrows. Just scatter a little grain on the ground, and a large flock would fly in.

Several young boys with slingshots shoot at the birds, laughing joyously every time they hit one.

Zhou Wuchang isn’t at the Taoist temple, he’s gone to the village to tell the villagers to prepare some local food to sell at the temple.

Village head Wu Yi came back yesterday, having sold over a dozen buckets of water and even traded the two peony flowers for two coins.

For the first time, he tasted the joy of making money, and shared it with the villagers. He suggested that everyone take turns guarding the temple and that those who didn’t participate would not get a share of the earnings.

As village head, his words were influential. Everyone jumped in enthusiastically, not only taking turns guarding the temple but also volunteering to patrol Shiquan Cave, scaring away the wild animals that came to drink.

Before long, people from two other villages found out and quickly sought out Wu Yi, wanting to join the patrol team.

Wu Yi had no choice but to agree since Zhou Wuchang also approved of the idea of the three villages collectively maintaining the cave.

With the advantages of numbers, even if wealthy landlords had nasty tricks up their sleeves, they needed to consider the combined strength of the villagers.

Moreover, this mountain now had an owner, and even the elites dare not contend with the Governor of Jingzhou Prefecture.

With the dawn of a new day, Yingbao was the first to rise. After fetching water for washing up, he went outdoors.

The courtyard of the Taoist temple was filled with various tents. The servants living inside were also starting to get up; some carried water, others cooked, and some grabbed large brooms to sweep the courtyard.

After hearing that the spring in this place was a godly one, the servants developed a special fondness for drinking its water. In twos and threes, they headed to the cave where they filled their water pouches.

The villagers guarding the cave were greatly distressed but didn’t dare to stop them, because these people were brought back by Master Zhou.

Little Douzi murmured to his friend, “I never thought the spring water would be precious before, why can’t we watch others drawing water now?”

His companion scratched his head, not knowing how to answer.

He had once peed into this water, but he dared not mention that now.

After breakfast, a large group of people trooped to the mouth of the cave. Led by two villagers, they stepped on newly paved stones to enter the cave.

Just inside the cave, two peony trees as tall as adults stood before them.

The trees were full of flowers, which looked eerily beautiful in the dim cave.

A group of young girls gave out surprised cries, crowding over to smell the fragrance of the flowers.

The three wives were also amazed and went over to inspect them.

Without a doubt, they were peonies. The large flowers were red and white and the silky petals emitted a subtle fragrance.

One quick-witted young lady promptly plucked one, causing great distress to the villagers.

The villagers were angry but didn’t dare to protest as she was one of the guests brought by Zhou Wuchang. One of them could not hold back and said, “We kindly ask you not to pluck the flowers, these are divine gifts and should not be disturbed.”

At his words, the young lady’s face fell. “So what if I pluck one? I’ll pay you if it comes to that.”

The villager didn’t back down, retorting, “This isn’t about money. If everyone plucks a flower, what will happen if the immortals get angry?”

Without mentioning anything else, they still need to sell water with these two peonies in the cave. If the flowers are gone, what can they sell?

“What’s wrong with my sister plucking a flower? What are you prattling about, you lowly peasant?” The girl’s brother, seeing his sister being embarrassed, pointed at the villager and yelled, “Believe it or not, I can uproot your flower tree.”

Seeing the dispute escalating, Yingbao and his second senior brother rushed over to break it up.

But they could not calm the lady and her brother, and it looked like a fight would break out soon.

The girl’s mother merely watched with a cold smile, having no intention of interfering.