Li Diudiu wasn’t entirely without resources. He had in his possession a seal that had once belonged to Master Songming, and that seal was priceless—even in Dachu’s present state, anything tied to Master Songming’s name commanded prices that were difficult to meet and impossible to ask.
But the seal couldn’t be brought out. Or rather, it couldn’t be allowed to surface.
If Li Diudiu were ever to produce that seal, he might not live to see the next morning. In Jizhou City, those who couldn’t afford a Songming seal wouldn’t try to buy it, and those who could afford one wouldn’t buy it through legitimate means either.
So the seal was priceless in name, yet practically worthless in reality—and might even cost him his life in the bargain.
Which meant that if Li Diudiu wanted to earn money to buy his teacher a house, his only option was to keep saving, bit by bit. It was slow, but it was steady—no trouble, no risk.
There was one day left before school resumed. Li Diudiu told Yuanzhai Teahouse he wouldn’t be coming today—he needed to prepare for classes. Sun the proprietor pleaded with him for quite a while.
Li Diudiu’s presence had more than doubled the teahouse’s business. And the proprietor’s income was far more than just the half of the tip money Li Diudiu shared with him—that was the small money. With so many customers competing to outshine one another, who wasn’t ordering premium teas? Who wasn’t ordering cakes and dried fruits?
But Xiahou Zuo had said he wanted to take Li Diudiu to meet some people, and Li Diudiu felt that what Xiahou Zuo was planning was a serious matter. Very serious.
In the morning he made a detour to Yuanzhai Teahouse, then deliberately took several roundabout routes before going to the inn to see his teacher. The Changmei Daoist was not idle all day long either—he was also trying to figure out ways to earn money.
He’d set up a fortune-telling stall outside the inn. Since paying guests willing to book by the month were rare, the innkeeper had been quite accommodating toward him, letting him set up his stall out front and occasionally chatting with him to pass the time.
The reason Changmei stayed close rather than venturing farther was Li Diudiu’s repeated insistence. Li Diudiu said he never knew when he might come by the inn, and he’d worry if he couldn’t find his teacher there.
So Changmei thought—since he couldn’t go far, he might as well do a bit of business right outside the inn door. With any luck, he might earn back that day’s room and board.
When Li Diudiu was still a good distance away, he spotted his teacher sitting outside the inn patiently swindling someone… patiently performing a reading.
Wanting to hear what his teacher was up to this time, he quietly circled around to the back.
Seated across from the Changmei Daoist was a woman who looked to be in her forties. By Li Diudiu’s read of her face, she showed no signs of grief or distress—whatever she’d come to ask about wasn’t urgent.
Her eyebrows carried a look of undisguised provocation. A troublemaker, then.
“Madam,” Changmei ventured, “has your sleep been somewhat troubled these past few days?”
The woman replied, “My sleep is perfectly fine. I eat until I’m full and then I sleep—and from the moment I lie down, it’s not long before I’m out. Close my eyes and I’m gone. Sleep straight through until full daylight.”
Changmei: “Well then… your appetite—any irregularities there?”
The woman replied, “Didn’t I just say I eat until I’m full? If I weren’t eating enough, how would I sleep?”
Changmei: “Then, Madam, tell me—what is it you’d like to ask?”
The woman replied, “I simply want you to read me. Read me and tell me what you find.”
A small crowd had gathered around them, all there to watch the spectacle. This formidable woman had clearly come to make things difficult—this kind of person was either bored with nothing to do, or a fellow member of the trade.
Looking at her manner of dress and speech, Li Diudiu thought it quite likely she was in the trade. Perhaps Changmei had set up his stall here and cut into someone else’s business. She might not be working the trade herself, but her husband quite possibly was—and because of that she knew the craft inside and out, so no matter what Changmei tried to probe, she could shut it down immediately.
The fortune-telling trade ran entirely on reading people and maneuvering them with words. This woman had blocked every possible angle, and Changmei was left looking rather awkward.
But once you’d taken someone’s business, you couldn’t let them stand there and tell everyone your reading was worthless. If that got out, who would ever come to you again?
Seeing Changmei’s expression grow troubled, the woman said with smug satisfaction, “I think you’re just a traveling swindler. You’ve been talking this whole time and said nothing of substance—you clearly don’t know what you’re doing. You’ve come out here to cheat and deceive people.”
She stood up and called out loudly, “Listen to me, everyone! I’ve seen plenty of swindlers like this. Let me tell you—when a person comes seeking a reading, it’s usually because they’re in a difficult spot, looking for a way forward. And these traveling swindlers do nothing but deceive. What does that ruin? It ruins people’s futures, their paths through life. It could leave a family destitute and broken.”
The more she said, the more worked up she got. Li Diudiu was genuinely worried on his teacher’s behalf.
Changmei sighed. “Madam, I wasn’t staying silent because I have nothing to see. It’s because what I do see would be somewhat hurtful, and I feared you might… feel distressed.”
The woman scoffed. “That’s the same old trick. You have nothing to say so you pretend at mystery—and if someone pushes you, you say that ‘heavenly secrets cannot be revealed,’ is that right?”
Changmei sighed again. “Then I shall speak plainly—but let us agree beforehand, Madam, that you will not take offense.”
The woman planted her hands on her hips. “I’ve come for a reading, not to be provoked. As long as you’re not talking nonsense, why would I take offense?”
Changmei nodded, then said, “From the look of your face, Madam, you show classic signs of yin-yang disharmony. This is not actually an illness—it comes from the fact that the master of your household… has likely not shared your bed in quite some time.”
Seeing the woman’s expression shift toward anger, Changmei gave her no chance to launch into abuse—he pressed on immediately.
“He likely comes home every day with some excuse—tired, worn out, exhausted, spent—always some variation of the same story. Even if you take care with your appearance, he won’t spare you a second glance—and he’ll find such efforts on your part foolish and laughable.”
As he spoke those words, the woman’s expression darkened further.
Changmei continued, “Madam, if this goes on for long, your body may develop certain hidden ailments—though nothing too serious. If you find yourself prone to irritability or vexation, I do have some herbal remedies I can prepare for you. But…”
“Such a condition cannot be fully cured with medicine. The root of it depends on how your husband conducts himself. From your face, I can see your husband has something of a shortcoming—he lacks the vigor for such things. Madam, would you say that even on the occasions when he does keep company with you, it tends to be over very quickly?”
The woman’s expression had become extremely unpleasant. The crowd around them, who had originally come to watch Changmei be made a fool of, had shifted to watching the woman being made a fool of instead.
“You—you’re talking nonsense!”
The woman struggled to mount a defense, but there was clearly little force behind it.
Changmei could see he had won, so he pressed his advantage. He put on a puzzled expression and said, “And yet, Madam, you carry the look of one who brings fortune to her husband—whether it’s financial prosperity, family blessings, or the stars that govern your husband’s wellbeing, all of them point to abundance. Right now it’s moderate good fortune, but in another two years it will be exceptional. So this shouldn’t be the case…”
He suddenly changed his expression. “Ah—I had entirely missed this.”
He pointed to a small mole in the corner of the woman’s eye and said, “Madam, this marks a turning point ahead. If I am not mistaken, before your full fortune comes in, your husband will likely develop… certain outside inclinations. If you can bring those inclinations back to you—by whatever means—then your household will thereafter enjoy smooth sailing and rise to prominence. But if you cannot bring them back…”
Changmei sighed. “You have devoted yourself to him completely—which is to say, you have staked your entire fate upon your husband. If your husband strays and you cannot pull him back, your fortune will be carried away with him. Whoever he ends up with hereafter will benefit from your luck—they will live well. While you, Madam, will face nothing but hardship.”
The woman’s expression had become as ugly as it could get. She stepped forward and seized Changmei’s hand. “Daoist master—how do I save myself?”
Changmei said with some reluctance, “This is something you must manage yourself, Madam. However, that mole—I can remove it for you, which will help dispel a measure of the calamity. And besides that, I notice your complexion is somewhat lacking, which is also connected to the disharmony. I have here a facial balm I prepared myself—it would make a great improvement for you.”
About a quarter of an hour later, the woman left bowing and thanking him profusely. Li Diudiu dropped down beside his teacher and laughed. “You’re something else, old man.”
Changmei gave a dismissive sniff. “With her paltry little tricks, she dared to come and show off before a master.”
Li Diudiu looked at his teacher. For the reading itself, his teacher had steadfastly refused any payment—saying it was about making a connection with others and he sought no recompense—which had moved the woman greatly. But for removing the mole, his teacher had charged three taels, and for the facial balm, two more taels.
The ease with which that silver had come in made Li Diudiu feel it was easier than picking it up off the ground.
“Teacher, didn’t you always say that all things should be done in moderation?”
Changmei replied, “Moderation, moderation—I haven’t reached the limit yet. If she hadn’t come here specifically to embarrass me and ruin my livelihood, I wouldn’t have used such a heavy-handed approach.”
Li Diudiu asked curiously, “Teacher, how did you see through her?”
Changmei laughed. “That kind of talk—you tell it to a woman around forty or so, and nine times out of ten you’ll be right.”
“Why?”
“Because by the time men reach their forties, nine times out of ten they go soft.”
“Ah…”
Li Diudiu said, “That really was heavy-handed.”
Changmei said, “I don’t trouble those who don’t trouble me.”
He asked Li Diudiu, “What brings you back today?”
Li Diudiu grinned. “Xiahou Zuo said he wanted to introduce me to some people—the meeting spot isn’t far from here, so I made a detour to come see you.”
Changmei chuckled and reached under the table to pull out an oil paper parcel. “Almost like I knew you were coming. Yesterday I bought some peach shortbread and kept it here waiting for you—figured if you didn’t show up within three days, I’d eat it myself.”
Li Diudiu opened the parcel and, as always, divided it with perfect fairness. “Half for each of us.”
Changmei shook his head. “I don’t want mine.”
Li Diudiu narrowed his eyes. “Say that again?”
Changmei grinned. “You eat yours—you’re still at the age where you need to grow. Eat more, eat more. Teacher gets more happiness from watching you eat than from eating himself.”
“Rubbish.”
Li Diudiu picked up a piece of peach shortbread and pushed it into his teacher’s mouth. “You have to taste it yourself to know whether it’s good.”
The two of them were still talking when suddenly they saw a middle-aged man approaching with several companions, all carrying wooden clubs with aggressive intent.
Li Diudiu sighed. “See? You had to say he was no good—now he’s come after you.”
Changmei murmured, “What a transgression.”
The man was cursing as he walked. “Where is that swindling old Daoist who’s been cheating people?!”
Li Diudiu raised his hand helpfully. “Right here! Right here! Over here!”
Changmei: “Oh, no…”
—