Chapter 2628 - 2561: Listening to Storytelling

Manbao looked carefully.

In Lady Mei’s eyes, it seemed that Zhou Man was closing her eyes in contemplation. She became a bit nervous and couldn’t help but swallow.

Manbao opened her eyes and met her anxious gaze, smiled slightly, and said, "Congratulations, the two pathways are already open, but you still have some issues with a cold womb. I will help adjust it for you, and also help condition your body. In the future, if you get married and want to have children, it should be easier than now."

Lady Mei breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes sparkling, eager to immediately see if she could indeed have children.

However, Mr. Mei was not in a hurry to find a son-in-law again. He said to Lady Mei: "Since it’s not easy to come to the capital city and your health has improved, you might as well walk around and broaden your horizons."

He added, "As your father, I will properly find you a husband. When you remarry, you must marry someone good, definitely not someone like Fang Sanlang again."

Lady Mei lowered her head, her face blushing, and responded softly with an "okay."

Mr. Mei said, "It was because of being too hasty back then that led to the decision on Fang Sanlang. Otherwise, if I had known he was such a person, I wouldn’t have let you marry him at any cost."

Lady Mei lowered her head.

Mr. Mei knocked on the table and said, "The capital has a lot of people, not only scholars, but also warriors, merchants, and countrymen. I’ve realized that it’s not necessary to choose a scholar. As long as he can read a few words, understands principles, is healthy, and has good character, that’s enough."

Lady Mei wasn’t very hopeful, "How good can someone willing to be a live-in son-in-law be?"

After all, wasn’t Fang Sanlang someone who studied but had no future, couldn’t even pass the county school, and was too poor to be supported by his family, so he thought of becoming a live-in son-in-law?

Mr. Mei said, "If it’s just due to poor family background, we don’t demand family status. As long as he has good character, is healthy, and understands principles, it’s not a big deal if he can’t read. I can teach him now."

Unknowingly, Mr. Mei’s conditions lowered again.

He said: "If it’s still impossible to find someone like this, then your father would rather you not invite a son-in-law. If you want a child in the future, I’ll adopt one for you from the family."

Mr. Mei thought of something and stroked his beard, "It might not be impossible, like Lord Zhou. Do you know who her father is?"

Lady Mei was stunned and shook her head, saying in a low voice, "She is so powerful, her father should also be a very skilled doctor, right?"

Mr. Mei laughed and said, "He is an extraordinary person, but not a doctor. He is a person of chivalry."

"Her father was also a live-in son-in-law with noble character, which proves that such people exist in this world; we just haven’t met them yet."

Lady Mei was not usually concerned with outside matters and, after hearing this, froze for a moment before saying, "So, Imperial Doctor Zhou took her mother’s surname?"

Mr. Mei: "...No."

He was a bit frustrated, feeling that it was not the time to find a son-in-law but rather to let his daughter understand the outside world.

So, Mr. Mei took his daughter out, and after a stroll, they sat down in a teahouse, found a quiet spot on the second floor opposite the storyteller, and took out dozens of copper coins for the waiter. He pointed at the storyteller who was speaking and said, "We want to hear the story of the young divine doctor, Zhou Taiyi, in the capital city."

The waiter’s eyes lit up, and after accepting the copper coins, he bowed and asked, "Where would the master like to start listening from?"

Mr. Mei said, "Let’s start from the generation of her parents."

The waiter immediately understood and became even happier, knowing that starting from the beginning meant the story would need several days to complete, making it a big business.

So the waiter happily went down to find the storyteller, kept two copper coins, gave the rest to him, and briefly whispered, pointing upstairs.

The storyteller’s eyes also lit up. They loved customers who requested specific stories. Besides the money from the teahouse and the tips from guests, it also ensured a significant fixed income.

After all, the teahouse wouldn’t pay much, and guests’ tips were uncertain. Without a good story, it was hard for them to make money.

They knew Manbao’s story by heart; fortunately, her story was full of twists and was famous in the capital. So, even if some guests had heard it many times, it was still well-received.

The most crucial part was that Zhou Man was still in the capital; telling new anecdotes about her, like which illnesses she recently examined, was also very appealing.

So the storyteller took a sip of tea, slapped the table, and stood up to bow in all directions: "Ladies and gentlemen, let’s set aside the story we were telling and focus on the story of the young divine doctor, Zhou Taiyi, today."

"To talk about the young divine doctor, we must mention her parents. Speaking of which, her parents were also exceptional people. Her mother came from a squire’s family in Shangzhou, and her father was a scholar, a man of literary lineage..."

Mr. Mei took a sip of tea, turned to Lady Mei, and said, "Although the stories told by storytellers may have embellishments, the core of the story doesn’t change. Listen carefully, there are many life principles in there."

Lady Mei was confused, "What life principles?"

Mr. Mei smiled slightly and said, "Loyalty, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith, all are included."

At that time, on the other side of the second floor, Mr. Zhuang, who was having tea, glanced at the storyteller below and shook his head with a smile.

Mr. Jiang saw this and asked with a smile, "What, not happy with the story of your disciple? This is a great way to become famous. Many people want the storyteller to talk about their stories, but they refuse to do so."

Mr. Zhuang smiled, "Stories popular with storytellers are always full of twists and turns, and a story with ups and downs naturally means a life with waves."

"But I see your three disciples, although they’ve gone through hardships, have good temperament and don’t become misanthropic."

Mr. Zhuang nodded, "That’s because their family taught them well, but in reality, the hardships faced by predecessors don’t disappear. The experiences of the Zhou and Bai families only affirm the impermanence of life."

Mr. Jiang paused for a moment and asked, "Why are you suddenly talking about Buddhism?"

Mr. Zhuang laughed, "Not really discussing Buddhism, but the children often bring back Buddhist scriptures from the Guardian of the Nation Temple recently. I’ve been reading some, so I accidentally got influenced."

Mr. Jiang chuckled and shook his head.

Mr. Zhuang said, "But in ’Zhuangzi. All Under Heaven,’ it also states, ’formless and indistinct, change and variability prevail,’ which shows the common ground between Buddhism and Taoism in the world-view."

Mr. Jiang was a Confucianist and disliked discussing metaphysics, so he said, "You either go out and turn right to the Xuandu Temple to discuss with the old Taoist, or turn left to the Guardian of the Nation Temple to debate scriptures with Zhi Ren. If you continue with this ambiguous talk, I’m leaving."

Mr. Zhuang quickly said, "Rarely do we have a break and I don’t want to offend. Let’s drink tea."

Mr. Jiang was satisfied with this.

Only then was Mr. Jiang satisfied, and after taking a sip of tea, he turned his head to look at the lobby outside.

Mr. Zhuang found it amusing, "You’ve heard this story so many times; how are you still so engrossed?"

Mr. Jiang stroked his beard and said, "Your three disciples, especially Zhou Man and Bai Shan, are really enticing; one never tires of listening. Unfortunately..."

Unfortunately, they were already someone else’s disciples, and he couldn’t snatch them away.

Mr. Zhuang smiled and also turned to look downstairs, coincidentally just seeing a few people entering through the teahouse’s main door. They sat directly in front of the storyteller’s platform, allowing Mr. Zhuang on the second floor to see them clearly.

Mr. Zhuang recognized them, and his expression turned somewhat cold and distant, with a hint of daze.