Oh, help!
I have killed someone!
The fire broke out!
All along the way, Chen Yun kept calling for help, almost shouting "kill a pig"!
However, it was all in vain. Those vendors, travelers, and shopkeepers seemed to be possessed, and no one paid any attention to Chen Yun's cries. It seemed like even several strong men holding up Chen Yun were unseen.
Jin Qiaqiao, walking ahead, didn't even turn her head. Instead, she sneered and laughed: "Shout as much as you want. Your voice will be hoarse, but no one will come to save you. The Jin family is so powerful in Qin State; I doubt anyone in Xigou City would dare to get involved in this!
F*ck!
So what? Do you have the right?
Chen Yun was almost going to swear.
But then he thought again, in the secular world, having power is indeed remarkable.
Perhaps knowing that shouting was pointless, Chen Yun no longer wasted his energy on loudly calling for help over there.
This is what happened when he had some spare time to ponder today's events.
Initially, due to his extreme anxiety, he merely found it strange and didn't delve into the details.
However, as he got closer to Jin's mansion and the population became sparse, he knew that shouting was pointless, so his head gradually calmed down.
He felt that something really strange happened today.
Usually, when the materials in the Taoist temple ran out, it was Ning elder brother who would go down the mountain to purchase them.
Today, when Cai Rujin came to the Zhi Fu Pavilion, he knew without even checking that the Zhu Mo and Huang paper had run out. Then he dispatched him to go down the mountain to buy them?
What was even more peculiar was that as soon as he went down the mountain, he ran into a dispute between a burly man and a beggar.
He hid himself across the street, yet the beggar still managed to approach him?
Remembering these events, Chen Yun felt that something was off, but he couldn't determine the subtle hints yet.
However, the appearance of Jin Qiaqiao was a point of great suspicion indeed.
Chen Yun had noticed something was amiss with Jin Qiaqiao long ago.
He even associated that with what the two night guards had said, and for a moment, he suspected that Jin Qiaqiao was a demon.
But upon calm reflection, it seemed that Jin Qiaqiao's first appearance was about ten to twenty days earlier than the rumors of monsters in Xigou City.
Is it possible that Jin Qiaqiao isn't a demon?
My previous guesses were all wrong?
Why is Jin Qiaqiao acting so strangely, repeatedly seeking opportunities to get close to me?
Suddenly, a story from an old Taoist scripture came to Chen Yun's mind: The Ten Tests of Lu Dongbin.
Could it be that Jin Qiaqiao is incarnated as Zhong Lifi?
He thought it was highly possible.
Because Zhong Lifi seemingly had a taste for role-playing, otherwise why would he have ten tests for Lu Dongbin?
He recalled how he had almost hugged Jin Qiaqiao and bit her in the heat of the moment.
Chen Yun shivered involuntarily.
However, upon further reflection, it was incorrect.
After all, Jin Qiaqiao had appeared several times before, and Zhong Lifi was still in the realm of immortals.
Then, what is actually happening?
Chen Yun couldn't make sense of his thoughts for a moment.
However, there were two things that could be confirmed.
If Jin Qiaqiao is not a demon, she should not be harmful to him.
Moreover, this matter is related to the Taoist temple.
……
The group arrived at the Jin mansion.
Throughout this time, Chen Yun was being held high up, and he could only see the sky, completely unaware of the situation at the Jin mansion.
After several turns, they passed through three or four garden corridors.
Finally, they arrived at the main hall.
Jin Qiaqiao ordered two bodyguards to bind Chen Yun to a chair and said, "You two can go first. Please bring my father over."
"Yes, Miss Qiaqiao."
"We will leave first."
Four or five bodyguards turned and left.
At this moment, Chen Yun finally had a chance to see his surroundings clearly.
The entrance faced a wall covered in blue porcelain.
There was a long table in front of the board wall. In front of the long table, there was an eight Immortals square table, with armchairs on both sides with handrails. There were rows of chairs on both the east and west sides.
In the center of the wall, there was a hanging scroll with calligraphy and paintings.
On either side of the painting, there was a pair of couplets.
Heavy rains fall, but they do not moisten rootless grass.
The Tao is vast, and it only crosses over those who are destined.
Chen Yun remembered that this couplets came from the 41st chapter of "Lao Tzu."
The general meaning is: Although the rain is heavy, it cannot moisten rootless grass; although the Tao is vast, it cannot guide those who are not destined.
In short, the best opportunities are for those who are prepared and have the ambition to pursue them.
It is quite appropriate for a wealthy family to hang such a saying.
However, Chen Yun still noticed some hints.
Because the banners on both sides of the wall, although all from famous people's calligraphy, contained mostly Taoist sayings about family management and self-cultivation.
For example, from "Chuang Tzu. External Chapter. Heaven and Earth": "Although the heavens and earth are vast, their transformation is uniform; although there are countless things, their governance is unified."
Another example is from "Li Zi. Yue Fu": "From what is visible, we know what is in; from what has gone, we know what is coming."
There are many similar sayings.
Chen Yun carefully looked around.
Besides the numerous Taoist sayings, there were only a few Confucian sayings.
On the other hand, not a single thought from the Legalist philosophy, which was the fundamental basis for the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, was visible at all.
If the Jin family really were nobles of the Qin Dynasty, this would be very contradictory to common sense!
He actually thought that the owner of this house had a certain dislike for Legalist thoughts.
Why would he say that?
That's because Legalism absorbed Daoist theories, so it is normal for Legalism not to reject Daoism.
And how does Daoism feel about Legalism?
As far as Chen Yun knows, Daoism has always had a poor opinion of Legalism.
The main reason for this is that, prior to Hanfei, Legalist ideas proposed that people should be governed by laws and regulations, believing that human nature is inherently evil and could only be controlled through fixed laws and authority.
While Daoist ideas do not advocate for governing people with laws, they advocate for letting things flow naturally and doing what is necessary without interference.
"Why would a noble family in the Qin Dynasty have the walls of their main hall filled with sayings of Daoist thought, but not a single one from Legalism?"
Chen Yun seemed to have made a determination, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. He muttered to himself, "Interesting, interesting."
He was about 70 to 80 percent certain that the owner of this house was a true Daoist thinker.
Otherwise, as a native of the Qin Dynasty, it would be impossible for the house to be filled with banners without any sayings of Legalist thought.
This inherent disdain for Legalist thought cannot be pretending.
Perhaps he noticed Chen Yun's smile.
Noticing Chen Yun's smile, Jin Qiaqiao sitting in the armchair on the right side of the front asked with a blink of an eye, "Chen Taoist, now that you are like fish and meat and I am like the chopping board, how can you still find it in you to smile?"
Chen Yun quickly suppressed his smile and said with a calm expression, "Miss Jin, I am just an ordinary worker in the Taoist temple. There is a huge gap between you and me in the Jin family of the Qin Empire. Why should you be like fallen petals in the wind and I like cold water?"
"Fallen flowers have feelings, but flowing water has none?" Jin Qiaqiao repeated in a mumble.
She suddenly narrowed her eyes and smiled, "You're quite an interesting person. You can come up with such philosophy off the cuff. I suppose you've been reading poetry and books all day?"
The two of them then began to discuss.
Chen Yun showed no awareness of being "kidnapped" and simply engaged in a casual conversation with the other person.
Perhaps it was because he came from the future and had insights beyond the current society, making his words witty and amusing, which made Jin Qiaqiao laugh repeatedly.
About seven or eight minutes later.
Two sets of footsteps were heard outside the room.
Immediately, a middle-aged man walked in, wearing a high mountain hat, a green robe, a large belt around his waist with a sword hanging from it, and black square-toed shoes.
There was also a middle-aged man in official attire following behind him.
As soon as he saw the man, Chen Yun immediately stopped his idle chatter with Jin Qiaqiao and carefully scrutinized the noble-looking middle-aged man.
Unsurprisingly, this man should be Jin Qiaqiao's father.
He knew that this person was likely to be the one he was meant to meet.
Chen Yun was curious to see what Jin Qiaqiao and her family were up to.
Upon seeing the middle-aged man, Jin Qiaqiao immediately stood up and rushed towards him, calling out affectionately, "Father."
"What are you up to again?" The middle-aged man scolded sternly, "And even dared to bring someone back like this? You truly have no respect for authority!"
Jin Qiaqiao seemed not to be afraid at all, still smiling and saying, "Father, this little thief bullied me. Please give me a piece of his mind."
"Hmph! Unruly indeed!"
"Father scolded Jin Qiaqiao a few more times."
Chen Yun sat there watching the two of them perform with great interest.
After a while, the middle-aged man turned his head to the steward and said, "Lin steward, please untie this Taoist for me."
"Yes, master."
The steward approached and untied Chen Yun.
The middle-aged man bowed and said, "Taoist, my daughter has been capricious and caused you trouble. I am deeply sorry."
Chen Yun acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary, rising to return a polite bow and said, "Mr. Jin, there is no need for such formalities. Miss Jin and I were just having a little fun. Since there is no problem, I will bid you farewell first."
After speaking, he turned to leave.
Chen Yun believed that if the middle-aged man were truly a common noble of the Qin Dynasty, he would allow himself to leave.
However, if the other party had ulterior motives, they would definitely call after him.
"Taoist, wait a moment!" The middle-aged man called out to stop him.
Indeed, Chen Yun could now roughly confirm that his guess was about nine-tenths correct.
He pretended not to show any emotion and turned to look at Jin Qiaqiao's father, saying, "What else do you have to ask, Mr. Jin?"
Jin Qiaqiao's father calmly inspected him and said slowly, "Although I have not educated my daughter well, causing her to be capricious, she is not someone who would arbitrarily tie people up. Today she brought you to my house, and there must be some reason behind it. Since the Jin family has been officials in the Qin court since its establishment, no one can dare to insult us. Please Taoist sit down for a moment and wait until I understand the reason behind this."
It was better not to hear those words from Jin Qiaqiao's father.
As soon as Jin Qiaqiao's father said that, Chen Yun was even more certain that the other party was acting.
According to what he knew, there were mainly fifteen branches of the Jin family.
Apart from the Jin family that originated from the Jin Tian of the Xiaohao, the other fourteen branches appeared only after the Qin Dynasty.
Chen Yun also knew that there were no Jin family members serving as officials during the Qin Dynasty.
Naturally, Jin Qiaqiao's father was lying.
After leaving the Dabaishan Mountains, Chen Yun quickly gained an understanding of this world. Although there were slight differences from the ancient history of Earth's China, the general development direction was similar.
Therefore, he felt that the probability of guessing wrong was almost negligible.
That is to say, today's Jin Qiaqiao and her father had tied him up, it must be to achieve some purpose.
When combined with the knowledge that Jin Qiaqiao's father was very likely to be a Daoist thinker who strongly disliked Legalist ideas, it became even more clear.
Chen Yun had about 90% of a hunch that the other party was testing something on himself.
Like Zhong Lifeng's ten trials of Lu Dongbin, it was a kind of test.
Of course, even with 90% certainty, he couldn't be completely certain yet.
Since he had confirmed the other party's attitude, Chen Yun no longer worried and sat back comfortably, extending his hand and saying, "Mr. Jin, please feel free to ask Miss Jin."
Jin Qiaqiao's father nodded slightly and said, "Alright, let me ask my daughter first."
As he spoke, he habitually moved to sit in the armchair on the left side.
Lin steward stood respectfully behind him.
Jin Qiaqiao sat back in the armchair on the right side again.
Seeing this, Chen Yun's eyes flashed with a glint of light.
He could finally confirm completely that the other party was indeed not a noble of the Qin Dynasty!
During the Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties, the right side was considered to be of higher status. Therefore, relatives of the imperial family were referred to as "right-affected" and noble families were called "right clans."
From the current historical trajectory of the times, although the Qin Dynasty is no longer the dominant nation, many ancient customs still remain in practice within its borders.
It would be unnormal for a father to sit on the left and his daughter on the right.
On the contrary, in Daoism, the left is considered more honored.
Chen Yun had previously confirmed that there were something strange about Jin Qiaqiao's father and daughter.
He also judged that Jin Qiaqiao's father was very likely to be a Daoist thinker.
It was also possible that it had something to do with the Taoist temple.
Seeing this situation, combined with today's and Jin Qiaqiao's previous actions.
He was almost 99% certain that the other party was indeed probing him!
Before this, Jin Qiaqiao's probing might have had many flaws that were easy to detect.
Today, Chen Yun has experienced all this, to be honest, if it wasn't for his sharp observation and understanding of some Daoist thoughts and historical culture, it would be hard for an ordinary person to notice the abnormality.
Although he doesn't know which Daoist master is testing him, Chen Yun believes that the other party is connected to the Taoist temple, even though he previously judged that it was not likely to be Zhong Lique.
Since it is a test by oneself, all is well said. It's just a matter of acting to exaggerate.
Alright!
Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and try.
Let me see how well I can act like it.
Chen Yun completely relaxed and waited for Jin Qiaqiao's father to make the first move.
