In the third year of Taishi, Liu Yu, the current emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty, was seriously ill. Although it was considered a secret in the palace, rumors more or less leaked out. For a time, ministers from various factions in the court had different thoughts.
The Imperial Hospital tried almost every method, but the Holy Emperor still fell into coma from time to time and could not diagnose what the disease was. When everyone was at a loss what to do, King Liu Xiuren of Jian'an proposed to invite Lu Xiujing, the head of the Qing Sect in Maoshan, to come to the court to treat the emperor's illness.
Lu Jingxiu, a Taoist from Sandong, traveled to famous mountains in his early years and collected Taoist books. He divided the collected Taoist books into three parts: Dongzhen, Dongxuan and Dongshen, which is called "Sandong in a nutshell". It is rumored that his cultivation has reached the state of refining gods and returning to the void in Shangqing Gongfa. He usually provides free medical treatment to poor people and is very popular among the people. The Holy Master personally issued an edict to invite Lu Jingxiu, a Taoist from Sandong, to the court. He treated him as an honored guest with great courtesy. That Taoist priest Dao Gu Qingfeng also brought a group of masters and disciples. The leader was Sun Youyue, a Taoist priest from Maoshan who had met Tao Hongjing several times.
After Lu Xiujing checked his pulse, he closed his mind and meditated. After a while, he took out a small jade bottle from his pocket. He poured out a few pills and let the emperor swallow them with water. The elixir melted in your mouth, and you felt a warm current rushing into your heart. At this time, the Taoist Master took out a row of silver needles from his sleeves and recited the magic formula silently, sometimes quickly and sometimes slowly. Everyone looked at Lu Xiujing curiously. Half an hour later, he put the needles into his sleeves and used his palms to perform exercises. A stream of heat spread from his palm to the emperor's body, and the emperor slowly woke up. The servants were overjoyed when they saw it. A few days later, the Holy Father issued an order to build a Chongxu Pavilion for the Shangqing Sect in the northern suburbs of the capital with a large sum of money for the purpose of cultivating Taoism.
This recent imperial celebrity and his rejuvenating medical skills have become new topics of conversation for the dignitaries in the capital.
It was night in the Liu Song Palace. Outside the Zichen Hall where the emperor lived, the candles were brightly lit, and rows of Yulin guards were standing ready to patrol with swords.
In the bedroom, Emperor Liu Yu was wearing dark yellow pajamas and leaning on the head of the bed. The person hanging on the side of the dragon bed for pulse examination was none other than Lu Xiujing, a famous person in front of the emperor, the Taoist priest of Three Cave.
"Master, is this stubborn illness of mine serious? You can tell me in detail. There is no need to hide it." Liu Yu's face was a little pale and his words were weak.
Lu Xiujing used one hand to whisk the dust and the other hand to listen carefully for the pulse. Then she put down the emperor's hand, took a few steps back and gave a blessing, "The illness of the Holy Emperor is actually a heart disease."
The emperor's eyes narrowed slightly and he looked directly at Lu Xiujing, "How could I have a heart disease? But is there any poison in my body?"
Lu Xiujing heard the words and replied, "This disease is not caused by poison, but more like killing too many sinners, causing the yin energy in the palace to be too strong, causing evil spirits to arise and making it impossible to sleep at night. The heart is often frightened and uneasy, which leads to congestion of the Qi vessels. Over time, it gradually It forms a stubborn disease."
Liu Yu seemed to have been told something that was on his mind, and the look in his eyes gradually dimmed. He pondered for a long time before saying, "According to what the real person sees, what should I do?"
Lu Xiujing bowed and said: "Your Majesty, you can build a charcoal house in the palace to pay tribute to the dead souls in the palace to avoid further karma. I, the old Taoist, will work with my disciples to free the wronged souls in the world and help them reach the paradise of paradise as soon as possible. No longer covet the earthly world.”
"Just do as the Taoist Master said." The emperor seemed tired, and fell asleep again with the aroma of herbs.
The next day, there was a banquet for guests at Wang Zhao's house, and Wang Hao had to go to offer a toast. The servant came and told Tao Hongjing to go to the banquet with him. The two hurried to the hall. After greeting each other, they took their seats at the banquet. Wang Hao whispered in Tao Hongjing's ear, "This is the young master from the family of the Minister of Rites... That is the famous person next to the prince... …”
Tao Hongjing followed Wang Hao's introduction and looked at everyone one by one. While the whole hall was enjoying themselves, someone suggested that the young men play a drinking game. Before the fun could begin, a strong aroma of wine suddenly came from outside the courtyard. Everyone wondered where the aroma of wine came from. The Taoist priest then flew over and before everyone could see his appearance clearly, he landed leisurely on the first seat. This Taoist man had an ethereal body, dressed in a blue Taoist robe and crane bone fairy style, with a wine gourd hanging on his waist and a long sword on his back. The bold attitude of meeting friends with wine.
When everyone saw such a volley in the sky, they all knelt down and saluted, saying that the immortal master had appeared. Only Tao Hongjing couldn't help but smile when he saw it was the Taoist from Maoshan.
"Good disciple, quickly follow me as my master. This Situ Mansion is not going to be easy to deal with, so it's no place to stay for a long time." After saying that, he stood up and walked to Tao Hongjing, pulled up his sleeves and started to fly outwards.
Wang Zhao refused to comply. He shouted angrily when he heard this, "Where does this devil come from, how dare you act so unbridled in Situ's Mansion!" Before Wang Zhao could finish his words, a guard leader strode forward and punched the Taoist man hard. Swing it away. This punch was as fast as lightning and carried the wind of a blade. It was obvious that the leader was quite accomplished in boxing. He was about to knock down the thin Taoist priest, but the Taoist priest deflected his body and easily dodged the blow. There was a hint of joking in his eyes, as if he didn't care about the guard leader at all. He quickly drew his right hand in the air, and an invisible force suddenly burst out, sending the guard leader flying backwards. Before the leader could say a word, he fell to the ground unconscious.
When all the guards saw this situation, they were all shocked. They looked at each other and then at Wang Zhao, and Wang Zhao's expression became more gloomy. He didn't expect that this demon was really capable of this.
"What are you waiting for? Come on!" Wang Zhao gave the order, and all the guards rushed towards the Taoist. I saw the Taoist man taking out a few yellow talismans and swaying them out, and instantly turned into several Taoist boys with golden light all around to fight against them. Those golden Taoist boys were so flexible that no matter how they slashed, the guards were always easily dodged. Then, he punched out, knocking the weapon out of the guard's hand, and the entire hall suddenly fell into a melee.
Sun Youyue didn't want to hurt innocent people. When he saw others hiding away, he turned around and came to Tao Hongjing. Seeing that Tao Hongjing wanted to say something to stop him, his eyes smiled. After all, he was a kind-hearted boy. Sun Youyue was a little bit between his eyebrows, and a golden light disappeared into it. Then he stopped staying and flew out the door. The servants in the hall only saw a figure flashing past, and then the Taoist figure was nowhere to be seen again.
At this time, the Taoist's words rang in Tao Hongjing's ears: "Good disciple, when you are in danger, just say "Master" silently, and I will come to save you. Remember, remember." Tao Hongjing was a little helpless. The last time he met this Taoist, he thought He accepted him as his disciple, he rejected him, and now he came to the Situ Mansion to make a big fuss because of him, how should it end?
Just when Wang Zhao was about to call Tao Hongjing to come forward and ask carefully about the origin of this evil way, other adults left one after another and did not dare to stay any longer. Some were afraid of offending the immortal, while others were kind enough to give some advice. Wang Zhao said: "Do you know, sir?" What major events happened in the capital recently?"
Wang Zhao was puzzled, and the man added, "Now Lu Xiujing, the master of the Shangqing Sect of Taoism, is diagnosing and treating the dragon body in the court. He is full of grace. I think that Taoist just now is Maoshan Taoist?"
Wang Zhao smiled disdainfully and chatted with him, "That man just behaved like a lunatic. How can he behave like an immortal master? He is clearly a demon!"
When the kind-hearted official heard what Wang Zhao said, he quickly waved his hand and stood up to leave. Seeing this, other people also left one after another, and the party broke up unhappy.
Lu Xiujing ordered a pot of fine cedar tea and drank it carefully in a teahouse not far from Situ's residence. When Sun Youyue went upstairs, he asked, "Is that boy the child you mentioned?"
Sun Youyue nodded in silence, and Lu Xiujing smiled slightly, "I see that this boy's pupils are clear, his brows are full of heroism, and he has an unworldly attitude in his gestures. He is destined to be with our Taoist sect. You two are already destined to be masters and disciples, so there is no need. I’m anxious, let’s take another look.”
"But Master, Wang Situ is secretly involved in the rebellion. It will be extremely dangerous for this child to stay here. I'm just afraid..." Before Sun Youyue could finish speaking, Lu Xiujing interrupted him and said, "I'm not sure about the affairs of the court. It is better for the cultivators to interfere less. Since the child is in the situation, it should be treated as an experience and we can protect him secretly. There is no need to worry too much."
After finishing speaking, he poured another cup of tea. In the hazy smoke, he said slowly: "This time King Jian'an urgently summoned my elite disciples from the Shangqing Sect to the capital. I'm afraid it's not just to treat the Holy Emperor. This Jiankang The city is peaceful on the surface, but there are undercurrents surging inside, and experts from various factions are watching in secret, so you and I should be careful!"
Hundreds of flowers bloom, warblers fly and grass grows. In the Imperial Garden of Liu Song Palace.
Emperor Liu Yu was in good spirits today. He was walking in the garden to eat with the support of his chamberlain, and Lu Xiujing was also accompanying him. The two of them were chatting about ways to maintain health, when the eunuch who served in the chamber suddenly came forward to report, and King Jian'an asked to see him.
He frowned, coming at this hour, there must be something urgent. Everyone returned to the Taiji Hall. King Jian'an was waiting for the Holy Master outside. When he heard the emperor summoning him, King Jian'an quickly entered the hall. He handed over the book and hesitated to speak.
Liu Yu knew his brother well, and he waved his hand to signal the eunuch to leave. Lu Xiujing knew it was inconvenient and was ready to leave, but was stopped by the emperor, "Master, it doesn't matter, just stay here to hear about it. "Lu Xiujing stopped and stood up straight.
Seeing that this person was so relieved, King Jian'an's eyes flashed darkly, and he saluted, "Your Majesty, a minister has reported Wang Zhao, the chief official of the palace. This person's wild and rebellious behavior has been recorded in the book, and I ask the Holy One to make a decision."
The emperor picked up the blue booklet presented by the chamberlain just now and stared at it carefully. The booklet actually said that Wang Zhao was ambitious and had long recorded the secrets of the royal family. Emperor Liu Yu and Jian'an King Liu Xiuren plotted to assassinate the former deposed emperor Liu Ziye. The incident was recorded clearly, and there was another incident in which King Jian'an secretly helped Emperor Liu Yu to kill all the descendants of Emperor Xiaowu Liu Jun. It was such a secret that it was unknown who the message recorded by Wang Zhao was going to be conveyed to. The emperor raised his eyes At this time, murderous intent was revealed in his eyes.
Liu Yu Longyan was furious and scolded: "Such an insidious person with evil intentions! How can he be by the side of his virtuous brother? His whole house will be ransacked and he will be punished with death."
King Jian'an was about to accept the order when he suddenly heard Lu Xiujing admonishing him, "No, Your Majesty! There are many causes and effects. We should investigate clearly before making a decision. It is not appropriate to commit murder at this time!"
Although the emperor was already murderous, after listening to Lu Xiujing's words, he felt that it was reasonable, so he issued an edict: "King Jian'an heard the edict, I order you to rush to the traitor's mansion as quickly as possible and take his whole family to the court." Awaiting trial!”
King Jian'an quickly accepted the order and left with a hurried look.
