Chapter 584: Chapter 584: The Ubiquitous Dongqing Temple Master
The old lady sighed, and as she touched Sanyaâs head, she said, "Our family was doing quite well before, living harmoniously together. We werenât rich, but having enough to eat and wear was never a problem. Unfortunately, we just had bad luck."
"How so?"
"Our second granddaughter," the old lady continued, "was abducted by human traffickers right after she was born. For all these years, our entire Lu family has been searching for her. It has been over a decade and we still havenât found her. Weâve considered that she might no longer be with us, but what if sheâs still alive? What if sheâs out there suffering, waiting for us to rescue her?"
Aunt Zhang was astounded, "Granddaughter?"
It wasnât that she looked down on baby girls, itâs just that in this world nowadays, girls just werenât valued, especially one who was stolen at birth.
Letâs not even talk about girls, even for boys, who carry on the family name, not every family would continue searching for over a decade if they were kidnapped.
The actions of the Lu family really forced one to take a second look with newfound respect.
The old lady went on, "Over the years, to find my granddaughter, my daughter-in-law has spent day after day offering incense and praying to Buddha. Any temple or daoist temple rumored to be efficacious, sheâs been to them all. My son, in his search for his daughter, even broke his leg by accident and now walks with a limp. My other grandchildren are also having a tough time."
Aunt Zhang sighed with empathy, "Thatâs hard on all of you. Your family really is a bunch of honest people."
"Yes," the old lady replied. "Thatâs why I say, âHeaven helps those who help themselves,â and at last, weâve got a lead on where my granddaughter could be. Thereâs a Daoist temple in Dongan Province with a temple master whoâs quite powerful. Seeing our familyâs sincerity, she finally pointed us towards a clear path. She told us to search here in the southwest, in a village in Heichang County where my granddaughter might be found."
"The village is roughly by a river at the entrance, with a big manor. We came over more than ten days ago and have asked around in each village under Heichang Countyâs jurisdiction, and Righteous Dao Village is the most fitting. So, I rented a courtyard here, hoping to eventually encounter my granddaughter."
After hearing this, Aunt Zhang was especially shocked, "You... you all came all the way from Dongan Province to Linzhang Prefecture just based on what the temple master of a Daoist temple told you? Arenât you afraid itâs all for nothing, afraid that the temple master... might get it wrong?"
The old lady sat up straight, speaking earnestly, "You canât say that. The Dongqing Temple master is very famous in our area. She doesnât lightly perform divinations or physiognomy readings for people, and even when high-ranking officials seek her out, she doesnât meet them if the affinity isnât there. And..."
She suddenly lowered her voice, speaking softly, "The Dongqing Temple master has even done readings for nobles in the capitalâs Imperial Palace; she rarely makes mistakes. Besides, she directed us here, but she didnât take a penny from us."
After listening, Aunt Zhang no longer had anything to say. Having done readings for nobles in the palace, that must mean sheâs no ordinary charlatan in the Worldly Society.
The old lady carried on, "Moreover, since weâve come to Righteous Dao Village and seen that itâs exactly as the temple master described, doesnât that prove her exceptional ability?"
Aunt Zhang slowly nodded her head, that indeed indicated a true master.
"However, did your whole family come? To search for someone, wouldnât one person be enough?"
There wasnât even a need for the Lu family to come in person; hiring a couple of people to inquire around would have sufficed.