In the evening, Ji Hyotani was having dinner at Aunt Cui's place. This was the first time Ji Hyotani had come to her place since she was wrongly accused of having an affair half a month ago and was kicked.
Aunt Cui had bathed in advance and her head and face were covered with a layer of fragrant powder. Her appearance was good to begin with and when she was scrutinized by the candlelight in the night, not even a single wrinkle could be found on her face. Her skin was soft and tender and beautiful. This caused Ji Hyotani, who had not seen her for a long time, to take a few more glances. Aunt Cui was secretly delighted and pretended to be bashful, blushing as she poured wine for him.
It was just that this posture of hers was too vulgar and not as clean as before. Ji Hyotani withdrew his gaze and touched the wine cup, saying: "The Liu family's Young Master can be safe and sound thanks to that girl Yu Shu's cleverness. Oh yes, is she over ten this year?"
Aunt Cui counted in her heart and answered after a while: "Replying to Laoye's question, she is over fifteen."
Ji Hyotani nodded, "Then she is of marriageable age and is not young anymore. She should consider marrying into a family. Do you have any plans in mind?" Aunt Cui bit her lip, "With her background, her temperament is not pleasing to the eye and she is stupid. Who would find a matchmaker? She is just taking advantage of the Ji family. This concubine only hopes that she can find a well-off family so that she does not have to worry about food and drink in the future. What else can she ask for? Even if she becomes a concubine of a rich family, it would be better than her living a poor life."
Ji Hyotani pondered over what she said about 'temperament is not pleasing to the eye and she is stupid' and then recalled his impression of the stepdaughter. He laughed and looked at the woman in front of him who was not at all smart and said: "Since you have no idea, I will ask Second Sister-in-law to pay attention to see if there is any suitable family in Yiyang City. Tomorrow, you can give me her horoscope."
The third branch had no legal wife and the backyard was full of concubines. Ji Hyotani did not care about trivial matters. After all, the supervisor was a servant and could not do anything. The three brothers of the Ji family had a good relationship. First Grandmother had been in poor health these years, so Old Lady Ji gave the second branch the power.
Second Grandmother was in charge, so Ji Hyotani entrusted the marriage of his children to the second wife of the Ji family. Of course, he now handed over Yu Shu's marriage right to Yu Shu, an outsider, in a disguised way, giving the identity of the young miss of the Ji family. This was completely different from living in the Ji family. Aunt Cui was not too stupid. She knew that in this way, Yu Shu would definitely be betrothed to a rich family in Yiyang City. She immediately stood up and bowed to express her gratitude: "Master, this concubine thanks Master."
In a few words, he handed over her daughter's marriage right. In addition to being happy, Aunt Cui was also a little relieved.
After all, she did not have to bear the burden.
She was worried that her daughter would not marry into a good family and would become a burden in the future.
***
In the dark, Yu Shu sat on the steps of the door of Jing Shang Tang. She supported her head with one hand and yawned.
During the day, Daoist Qing Zheng asked her to come to Jing Shang Tang after dark. She came after eating, but she did not see him. The door of the hall was locked and she could not enter. She waited at the door for at least an hour. If she did not see him, she would go back to sleep.
In the afternoon, she went to Mian Zhai. On the way, she prepared a whole set of words on how to explain to Cao Zixin that she was absent from work yesterday. Unexpectedly, when she arrived, Mian Zhai was closed. Shopkeeper Wu, who was sitting across from her, told her that the ink shop was not open yesterday. Including the day before yesterday, when she asked for leave to travel, the shop was closed for three days. She didn't see Cao Zixin at all. Shopkeeper Wu took the opportunity to poach Cao Zixin and asked her if she was willing to help him in his shop.
Yu Shu politely refused this profiteer and went home with doubts. She planned to go and see him tomorrow. When she asked for leave that day, Shopkeeper Cao said he was visiting a friend. Could he be out of town?
Looking up at the half moon in the sky, Yu Shu stood up and patted her butt, ready to leave. If the old man wanted to test her and make her wait in this cold night, she would not accompany him. Didn't he know how precious her time was? If she had time, she would read a few more words.
As soon as she took a step, the old Daoist came. He was right on time and carried things in his hands. In a few steps, he came to her. He stuffed the things in his hands into her arms and went past her to take out the key to open the door. He went in and lit the wall lamp. Seeing that Yu Shu was still standing outside the door, he asked her to hurry in as if he was in his own house.
"Come in quickly. Don't let anyone see you."
"Oh." Yu Shu went in with a pile of things. Qing Zheng closed the door behind her. She turned her head in alarm.
Qing Zheng looked back and saw her guarded face. He snorted and took the things in her arms. He handed her the fire. "What are you afraid of? I don't eat people. Go and light the lamps."
Yu Shu thought that he wanted to avoid being seen. It was understandable, so she went in and lit the lamps. She cleaned this place for a few days and knew it very well. Even if she was blind, she could find the candlesticks on the wall. She lit them one by one. From time to time, she turned her head to look at Qing Zheng. She saw him holding a pile of things in the open space in the hall. She didn't know what he was arranging.
When she came here, she thought about what the old Taoist would teach her. However, she didn't know much about Yi Xue. She thought about it, but she couldn't even guess.
After lighting up all the candles, the hall brightened up. Yu Shu climbed down the ladder and walked to the old Taoist priest's side. She watched as he held a large weasel bristle brush and mixed it with an unknown liquid in a bowl. He was lying on the ground and drawing some strange shapes.
"Master, what are you doing?" Daoist Qing Zheng didn't seem to hear what she said. He continued drawing on the ground with full concentration. Yu Shu had no choice but to shut her mouth and wait to the side. Fortunately, his technique was experienced, so it didn't take long for him to finish drawing. He stood up with the bowl in his hand and examined it. After confirming that there were no mistakes, he raised his head and revealed a slightly tired face. He pointed at one of the circles and said to Yu Shu, "Come here and sit down."
Yu Shu tiptoed over and lifted her skirt. She was afraid that the ground was not dry and she would step on it. When she sat down, she realized that the silver paint had already solidified on the ground. She couldn't even touch it with her hands.
Qing Zheng also sat cross-legged in front of her. He breathed a few times and said, "From today onwards, I will teach you the Yi Xue. Because it's not recorded, you don't have to follow the rules of the school. There is only one thing that you must follow."
Yu Shu said, "Master, please say it."
Qing Zheng's eyes lit up and his eyes were like torches, "When you finish your apprenticeship, you must help me do something."
"…" Vulgar, too vulgar. Next, was this old man going to tell her a story of a blood feud that made her cry? Something about killing his wife and snatching his son, or how his brothers turned against each other, and then ask her to avenge him. "Master, can you first tell me what it is?"
What a joke. He hadn't even taught her anything and he was already giving her conditions. What if she learned something trivial and this cheap master asked her to kill someone or set fire to something? She would do it, right?
"Don't worry. I only want you to find something for me. I won't ask you to kill someone or set fire to something. There's no danger to your life."
Daoist Qing Zheng seemed to be able to see through her thoughts. As Yu Shu looked at him awkwardly, he reached behind him and grabbed two chess bowls. He placed them between the two of them. There were ordinary Go pieces in the bowls. One was black and the other was white. He closed his eyes and said, "If I don't show you some real skills, you won't be satisfied. Come, grab a handful."
Yu Shu didn't know what he was going to do. She obediently grabbed a handful of chess pieces from the white bowl.
"White Seven."
"What?"
"I said that you have seven white pieces in your hands." Qing Zheng closed his eyes and said calmly.
Yu Shu slowly opened her palm and glanced at it. There were exactly seven white pieces. Before she could be surprised, she heard Qing Zheng say, "Grab again."
Yu Shu grabbed another black piece.
"Black Nine."
Yu Shu was silent. It was nine.
"Grab again."
Yu Shu reached her hand in and took it out.
"Black Three."
Yu Shu stared at the three black pieces in her hand. Her eyes were bright as if she wanted to see a hole in them. If it was once or twice, it could be said that she was lucky. But she guessed it correctly three times. This probability …
"Grab one in each hand." Yu Shu licked her lips. Her heart was beating faster. She reached into the bowls with both hands and stared at Qing Zheng's closed eyes. She was more careful. She fiddled with the bowls with her fingers, making noises before taking them out.
"A white piece in the left hand, and no pieces in the right hand."
"Pa —" Yu Shu's hand trembled, and the white piece in her left hand fell to the ground. She didn't know how silly her expression was at the moment.
Qing Zheng opened his eyes and looked at the admiration on Yu Shu's face with satisfaction. When he was about to speak, he heard her say in surprise, "Master, your hearing is too good!"
With this skill, if this old man lived in the place where she lived in her previous life, he would be a gambler!
Qing Zheng's beard trembled, and he said angrily, "Bullshit! Did I hear it? "
Yu Shu wiped the saliva off her face. Her attitude was much more respectful than before. She smiled to hide the surprise in her heart, "Then how did you guess it?"
Qing Zheng snorted, "Tell me, what is Yi Li?"
Yu Shu said, "It's the study of Yi Li."
If Mister Liu in the Sanjue Study House heard her answer, he would definitely spit blood on her face. After learning for half a year, she couldn't even explain the basic meaning of Yi Li. How could she be so stupid?
Daoist Qing Zheng glared at her fiercely, stroked his beard to calm down, and then said, "Simply put, Yi Li is the study of prediction and divination. Remember, Yi is calculation and divination. You can't escape from these two. "
Yu Shu nodded, indicating that she would remember it.
Just based on Yu Shu's answer, Qing Zheng also knew the level of this new disciple. It was too late to regret, so he patiently enlightened her, "You won't understand if I explain it to you in a difficult way. Let me explain it to you in a simple way. Calculation is arithmetic and is a skill. Divination requires the use of external objects, such as divinatory plates and Liuyao coins. These are methods. Using techniques and methods to predict the future, this is the Yi Li of my generation, and also the most common Yi Li."
Yu Shu suddenly understood. She had read so many books, but for the first time, she understood what Yi Li of the Da 'an Dynasty was.
Then she was confused, "Just now, you guessed that the chess piece in my hand was also Yi Li? Why didn't I see you using any external objects?"
Old man Qing Zheng smiled proudly, "What I used was the superior Yi Li. I can take one's heart and one's eyes, so I don't need any external objects. With my ability, I can judge fortune and misfortune, and determine life and death. It just takes a little more effort."
Yu Shu's throat was a little dry, and her heart was itching. Previously, she was just playing house with this old man with a wait-and-see attitude, but now she really wanted to learn something.
"Master … you are so powerful."
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