Chapter 212 1/3

When Li Qingzhi came over to support him, Lu Mingshan was terrified to the extreme.

He had already experienced Li Qingzhi’s strength firsthand.

When Li Qingzhi grasped his wrist, he was especially worried that Li Qingzhi might seize the opportunity to throw him, and his body couldn’t help but tremble.

But Li Qingzhi did nothing of the sort, seeming only concerned for him, holding him steady.

Lu Mingshan breathed a sigh of relief, though his body still trembled slightly. Fortunately, those around him didn’t notice anything unusual and assumed he was simply exhausted from his fortune-telling efforts.

This Taoist’s eyebrow had turned white!

And right before their eyes, it suddenly turned white!

Was it not normal for him to look a bit tired now?

Everyone looked at Lu Mingshan with reverence. At this moment, all the onlookers believed that Lu Mingshan must be a truly enlightened master.

One of Master Lu’s eyebrows had turned white—who knew what impact that might have on him?

Moreover, such a skilled Taoist definitely needed to be acquainted with.

They all looked at Lu Mingshan with concern: “Master, are you feeling unwell?”

“Master, there’s a chair over there; please, sit for a while.”

“Master…”

Du Yongning pushed his way through the crowd, saying to Lu Mingshan, “Master Lu, come sit with me. I’ll make you a cup of tea.”

Their eyes were filled with admiration for Lu Mingshan, but with Fan Weiyan, there was only disgust.

They had all heard what Lu Mingshan said and pieced together what might have happened.

Fan Weiyan was Li Zhao’s son-in-law, and Li Zhao’s daughter, who married Fan Weiyan, was now deceased.

Fan Weiyan claimed his former wife died of illness, but now it seemed… her death might be connected to Fan Weiyan.

He might even have killed his own daughter!

A man who harms his own child—Fan Weiyan had stooped even lower than a tiger that wouldn’t eat its cubs!

Such a person—they couldn’t bear to associate with him!

At this moment, Fan Weiyan was petrified.

He stared blankly at Lu Mingshan’s suddenly white eyebrow, muttering, “Impossible, this is impossible, absolutely impossible!”

Previously, Fan Weiyan had always thought that his bad luck was due to someone targeting him.

He had even suspected Prince Jin, just like others did, since the book “The Record of Escape from Famine” had caused great losses to Prince Jin, who surely resented Li Zhao.

But Lu Mingshan not only described his daughter’s attire on the day she died but also had an eyebrow turn completely white right before his eyes!

Was this Taoist telling the truth?

So, his bad luck was because of his daughter?

His daughter’s ghost was sitting on his shoulder?

Fan Weiyan felt a chill run through him, and his shoulders felt inexplicably heavy. He couldn’t help but claw at his shoulder.

His behavior only further convinced those around him of his guilt, making them look at him with even more disdain.

Li Qingzhi knew Fan Weiyan was done for.

Fan Weiyan had gone around proclaiming himself as Li Zhao’s son-in-law, using it to gain benefits, attracting many who liked Li Zhao.

Now that they learned he might have harmed Li Zhao’s daughter, these people would naturally despise him.

Even those who were previously unfamiliar with Fan Weiyan would now disdain him.

“The Record of Escape from Famine” was available in Jiang’an Province, but only scholars read it. In the capital, it was different.

Someone had turned Li Zhao’s story into a play, and in the capital, even the illiterate common folk had heard of Li Zhao.

Speaking of which… if Lu Mingshan was sent by his sister, could the person who turned Li Zhao’s story into a play also be his sister?

His sister, who managed to torment Fan Weiyan to this extent, must have some influence in the capital.

Li Qingzhi’s mind raced with many thoughts. He let go of Lu Mingshan’s hand and said to Fan Weiyan, “Fan Weiyan, you falsely accused me of having poor character, which I can overlook. But now… did your former wife and her daughter truly die of illness, or were they killed by you?”

As soon as Li Qingzhi said this, everyone looked at Fan Weiyan.

No one stood by Fan Weiyan.

Fan Weiyan was a scholar of very ordinary standing, with an average family background and average knowledge. His only noteworthy trait had been that he was Li Zhao’s son-in-law.

But now…

If Li Zhao were still alive, he would likely want to kill him!

“It wasn’t me! It has nothing to do with me! Nothing to do with me!” Fan Weiyan shouted. He felt cold all over, the cries of his daughter ringing in his ears.

He hadn’t killed his daughter, he hadn’t dared to act, but he had watched her die.

Fan Weiyan’s utterly collapsed demeanor only confirmed his guilt in the eyes of those around him. Li Qingzhi then suggested, “Everyone, should we report this to the authorities?”

He wanted to deal with Fan Weiyan right then, but that was obviously impossible.

So… report it to the authorities.

“Yes! Report it!”

“We must report it!”

“I’ll have my servants report it immediately!”

The scholars around immediately agreed, and someone even called over a few servants to take Fan Weiyan to the authorities.

They didn’t want Fan Weiyan to stay there any longer!

Of course, they couldn’t do nothing, so the scholars took out the paper and ink they had intended to use for poetry at the plum appreciation party and wrote petitions and poems accusing Fan Weiyan, to be delivered to the authorities along with the servants.

Even the servants didn’t want to touch Fan Weiyan, fearing his bad luck might rub off on them.

But they couldn’t disobey their masters, so they reluctantly tied Fan Weiyan up, stuffed him into a carriage, and took him to the authorities.

Fan Weiyan was taken away, but the scholars remained, all surrounding the white-eyebrowed Lu Mingshan.

This Taoist could see ghosts!

The scholars were enthusiastically engaged.

Lu Mingshan was baffled.

Others could see his eyebrow had turned white, but he couldn’t. He was puzzled—were today’s scholars so easily fooled?

How did a few random words from him make them all believe?

Didn’t they even suspect that he might be a swindler sent by someone grateful to Li Zhao?

Lu Mingshan had been prepared for skepticism and even had responses ready.

Yet, not one person doubted him!

What was going on?

Thinking it over, Lu Mingshan concluded that the scholars probably admired Li Zhao so much that, seeing Fan Weiyan’s reaction and guessing the truth, they wanted to believe him even if they realized he might be lying…

Yes, that must be it!

Look, even Li Qingzhi, knowing he was a fraud, didn’t expose him!

With this thought, Lu Mingshan started saying more bad things about Fan Weiyan. He also assured that the ghost with the golden light of virtue wouldn’t harm anyone as long as they didn’t get too close to Fan Weiyan, so they could rest assured…

Lu Mingshan gently reassured the scholars.

Seeing his white eyebrow, they were still uneasy. Du Yongning asked, “Master Lu, is there any way to ward off the resentment?”

Lu Mingshan instinctively wanted to sell the copper coins he had prepared, but… he looked at Li Qingzhi.

Li Qingzhi smiled and said, “Master Lu, those of us who haven’t been close to Fan Weiyan don’t need items to ward off the resentment, but some people have been close to him…”

As soon as Li Qingzhi said this, several of Fan Weiyan’s friends immediately began begging Lu Mingshan for help in warding off the resentment.