Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Wen Jiao frowned as she was about to go out to meet friends but ended up going on a blind date. She said a few polite words and sat back down, whispering, "Princess, you did this on purpose, didn't you?" She glanced at Princess Han and asked, "You also know about this, don't you?"

Princess Xiangyang tilted her head. She was a woman in her thirties, pretending to be innocent. "The old lady said that you were evasive whenever she mentioned remarriage to you, which made her feel dizzy. She asked me to find a way for you to meet someone several times. Mantangjiao, you also know that I have been soft-hearted since I was a child. How could I have the heart to refuse an old lady?"

Princess Han grabbed a handful of melon seeds and started eating. "I've asked for his name. You think he's the one you like, right? This time, Xiangyang has invited more than one male guest. If you don't like this one, there are others. Do you want to get in touch with a few more?"

The weather was fine, and even the flowers and trees were lazy. Even though there was no wind, they still dropped a few petals from time to time, casually floating in the hair and clothes of the people sitting on the ground under the trees, and they were so fragrant. Wen Jiao brushed off the petals on her shoulders, and wanted to give Princess Xiangyang and Princess Han a big "haha": "A wise man does not fall in love..." She swallowed back the words "building a beautiful China" that she almost blurted out, and said, "What Awan said just now is reasonable. Every failure makes a wise man. I appreciate the kindness of the princess, but I really don't have any thoughts about men and women anymore."

"What about this Mr. Li? You've already asked his name, so is that all? Although Mr. Li is of a lower status, he is really handsome." Princess Han winked at her.

This is the wise and resourceful Li Chunfeng. Could he not talk like a gigolo who can be summoned at any time and dismissed at any time?

Wen Jiao paused. She had just figured out what to do in the future, and she lost her caution in her excitement. Seeing that Li Chunfeng seemed to be a Taoist, she asked his name anxiously. She wanted to see if she could find out the way to cultivate immortality from him, but seeing the shining eyes of Princess Xiangyang and the others, if she dared to have any contact with Li Chunfeng, they would immediately report to Madam Yin that she had fallen in love. By then, she might not even start to seek the Tao, and the horoscopes of her and Li Chunfeng would be taken by the overjoyed Madam Yin for marriage matching.

Before she figured it out, she had no intention of getting married. Now that she has figured it out, why bother encouraging her to get married? No way.

Wen Jiao immediately said seriously: "I saw that he has a lot of knowledge about supernatural things, so I wanted to make some friends with him. To be honest, I have decided to become a nun. When I find a good Taoist temple, I will go to receive the Taoist certificate with my parents."

"Ah!" Mingxin and Suxin exclaimed in surprise.

"Pah-la-la", the melon seeds in Princess Han's hand slipped out from between her fingers.

In the Tang Dynasty, if a woman had no intention of living a secular life, becoming a Taoist nun was an option. But how lonely is a life of reading books by the green lamp every day? How can it compare to the colorful and glamorous life of the world?

"You are so confused." Princess Han was heartbroken. "There are so many good men in the world. You can't judge them all just because of a bad bamboo. Besides, your son became a monk, which has already made Prime Minister Yin and the old lady sad. Now you say you want to become a female Taoist priest. Aren't you afraid that you will make the old lady so angry that she can't stand up?"

Wen Jiao said: "I will tell them slowly and not make them worry."

Princess Xiangyang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "My precious daughter is going to be a Taoist priest. No matter how slowly I tell her about this, she will definitely be angry."

Wen Jiao said: "At least it's much better than my kid. He has a bald head, and I have hair."

"Is this a hair problem?" Princess Han slammed the table.

The three of them were arguing with each other, and they had no extra energy to pay attention to others. Mingxin and Suxin listened to the conversation of the three people with their ears perked up, very nervous. As Wen Jiao's personal maids, they were the dowry when Wen Jiao got married, and they had to follow Wen Jiao to serve her when she became a nun. A beautiful girl in her prime years, at the age when she has infinite beautiful yearnings for life, and living in a beautiful environment, who would be willing to give up all this and become a Taoist nun? She listened to the three people's bickering with a heavy heart, hoping that the eldest princess and the princess consort would have the iron tongue to persuade their young lady to give up this absurd idea.

The Hu man who performed magic was first exposed by Li Chunfeng for his intention to steal the treasure. Then, seeing that they were chatting and lost in thought, and no one paid any attention to him, he felt embarrassed and had to bow and leave.

No one noticed Li Chunfeng's glances from afar from time to time. There was an imperceptible confusion in his eyes. The fingers on his knees moved slightly, as if he was calculating something.

Li Ah Man hired a car to take her to the prime minister's residence. She straightened her dress and hair before getting off the car. When she looked up, she saw the gate that was so high that it hurt her neck. The beast head on the door knocker had its eyes wide open, which made her panic.

On both sides of the door stood about twenty well-dressed servants, all of them with strong backs and sharp eyes, obviously from the military. Li Ah Man approached one of them who looked kind and just said, "I want to see..." when the others impatiently waved their sleeves and drove him away, "Go away, don't bother me here!"

Li A'man was so frightened that she stepped back repeatedly and almost fell. Fortunately, she was pulled back in time by the kind-looking man. She subconsciously covered her stomach, feeling extremely scared.

The man asked, "Who did the young lady say she wanted to see?"

Li Ah Man finally caught her breath and said timidly, "I want to see the eldest lady in the mansion. I have something important to tell her."

The man looked at her and smiled, with an expression that showed he didn't know how to reason with her. Everyone else laughed out loud, "Listen to what you said. Our eldest daughter is also a common woman who can be seen whenever she wants?"

Li Aman was so embarrassed that she almost cried. She mustered up the courage to argue, "I really have something important to tell her. It's very important."

"That's enough, don't scare the young lady." The man waved his hand to quiet down. "This is the main gate of the prime minister's mansion. Only the prince and the emperor's grandson are welcome to open the door. No outsiders are allowed to disturb the peace here. Young lady, if you are really anxious, just walk west along this street. Do you see the west corner gate there? That's where the women go in and out every day. Don't expect to see her even if you go there. The eldest lady went out for a banquet today, and I don't know when she will be back. Even if she didn't go out, she wouldn't meet people casually. Ask the gatekeeper to pass on a message for you and see if you can see the sisters who serve her."

Li Ah Man only now realized the huge difference between himself and Yin Wenjiao, and hurried to the corner gate with his head down. This time he did not dare to ask someone to pass on the message, but smiled and said, "Brothers, I have something very important to tell the eldest lady in your mansion. Please help inform her." Then he stuffed a piece of silver into the mouth, "Brothers, come and have tea when you are free."