205. Sincerity is the key to success

In Mingquan Garden, dark clouds lay quietly on the window lattice, their eyes following Xiaoman's figure as it came and went.

Xiaoman wiped the table while humming a ballad from the streets of Ning Dynasty: "Being angry at his family's wealth, being happy at others' misfortunes, some of it is beyond one's control, it's a pity that one's heart is bad. People's words may not always be true, so only listen to half of what they say. Don't make enemies with villains, villains have their own enemies..."

A long ballad has no end. Xiaoman is like a little bee, flying around the house, wiping even the corners clean.

Seeing that he could see nothing new, the dark cloud slowly closed its eyes and went to sleep. A day is twelve hours long, and a cat sleeps for eight hours. A day passes by in a flash.

Xiaoman turned around and saw Wuyun with his eyes closed. She approached stealthily and tried to take him down from the window frame. But before she could get close, Wuyun opened his eyes and looked at her coldly. Xiaoman put her hands behind her back, humming a song, and walked away as if nothing had happened.

"This raccoon slave of yours is so strange..."

Just as he was muttering, a voice came from outside the door: "Xiaoman Xiaoman, open the door!"

Xiaoman's eyes lit up: "Sister Liqiu."

She trotted over to open the door, and Li Qiu outside the door pulled her into the house mysteriously.

When they entered the house, Xiaoman hesitated: "Sister Liqiu, why are you so mysterious?"

Li Qiu whispered, "There's a good thing that's fallen from the sky. It depends on whether you want to take it or not."

Xiaoman curled her lips: "How can a pie falling from the sky hit me? I don't have such a good life."

After saying that, she turned around to wipe the table, but Li Qiu grabbed her arm and pulled her back: "Why don't you listen to what good news it is first?"

Xiaoman said lazily: "What's the matter?"

Li Qiu lowered his voice and said, "Someone is paying you two taels of silver every month. All you need to do is tell me when your young master goes out and when he comes home. If I can find out what your young master likes and who he associates with, I can give you another three taels."

Xiaoman's eyes widened: "Five taels of silver per month!?"

Li Qiu's eyes were filled with joy: "How about this? I can get money for doing such a small thing. Once I get enough money for two years and get married, I won't have to worry about anything for the rest of my life."

Xiaoman's fingers clenched the rag: "No, no, Sister Liqiu, you know that although my young master is a coward, he treats me very well. I can't treat him like this."

Li Qiu was anxious: "What's so good about that? Have you forgotten how hard you've worked these past two years emptying chamber pots and cleaning toilets? None of those bosses really treat us as human beings, and you're still loyal to us? How shameless!"

Xiaoman looked hesitant.

Seeing a good opportunity, Li Qiu quickly rolled up Xiao Man's sleeves and said, "Look at the chilblains on your hands, and then look at your chapped lips. You were thinking about going to the East Market to buy some rouge before, but you couldn't bear it. Now you have the money, not only can you buy rouge, but also the best stone ink to draw your eyebrows, and the best bath beans to wash your face. You will smell delicious after washing."

Xiaoman whispered, "That won't work either. I can't harm my son."

Li Qiu was so disappointed: "Little hoof, why are you pretending to be nice to me? I don't know who you are. Tell me, how much do you want?"

Xiaoman said loudly: "Ten taels."

Li Qiu grabbed her wrist and high-fived her: "It's a deal!"

After saying that, she took out her purse and pulled out ten silver peanuts.

Xiaoman cupped her hands, her eyes lit by the silver peanuts: "So much... Sister Liqiu, the employer gave more than ten taels, right? How much did you originally plan to take from this?"

Li Qiu was a little embarrassed: "I can't make a trip in vain, right? I have taken care of you for two years, you should at least let me earn some dowry for my retirement. Besides, with this matter, I can also return to the capital with the Chen family.

Los Angeles is so dull, it's not as interesting as Beijing."

Xiaoman rolled her eyes and asked, "Who is the employer?"

Li Qiu was alert: "Do you understand the rules? How can I tell you? Just do your job well."

Xiaoman hummed, "Okay, Sister Liqiu. From now on, I will tell you in secret when the young master goes out, when he comes home, what he likes, and who he associates with."

"It's not in vain that I loved you. Now I'm leaving!" Li Qiu smiled happily and left with a gust of fragrant wind.

Xiaoman poked her head out to make sure she was far away, then hurriedly lowered her head and counted the silver peanuts in her palm over and over again, fearing that she had counted wrong.

She glanced at the dark clouds on the window frame, smiled with two small fangs showing, and carefully put all the silver peanuts into her arms.

…

…

"The etiquette for being a son is to be warm in winter and cool in summer, to be at peace at night and to reflect in the morning."

The so-called morning and evening visits mean that filial piety requires children to greet their parents in the morning, help them go to bed at night, bring them water for washing their parents' feet, and make their beds.

Outside the Buddhist hall, Chen Ji and Chen Wenzong stood respectfully and bowed: "Chen Ji greets the madam."

"Wen Zong pays his respects to his mother."

Liang sat cross-legged in the Buddhist hall and said softly without turning her head, "Chen Ji has really grown up in the past two years at the clinic. You used to be so slow to come and ask how he is, but now that you just returned home, you came here on your own initiative."

Chen Ji smiled slightly: "It's been two years, I must be more sensible than before."

Liang stood up from the futon and said apologetically, "It was my fault for neglecting to discipline the servants earlier, which led to Wang Gui's ridiculous behavior. My child, I'm sorry for putting you through this."

Chen Ji calmly bowed and said, "Madam, don't blame yourself. There are villains and gentlemen everywhere. You worry about so many things every day, so it's understandable that some people take advantage of you."

Liang sighed, "I'm glad you understand. Last night, I was overwhelmed with guilt and couldn't sleep. I read the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra several times before I felt a sense of peace. Buddhism is truly a great wisdom that can help us return to our original bright and peaceful hearts."

Chen Ji was a little confused. If you feel guilty, just apologize to me. Why are you suddenly talking about Buddhism?

Liang then said, "Come, Wen Zong and Chen Ji, you don't need to study today. Come read Buddhist scriptures with me. It will be beneficial for you."

Chen Wenzong responded respectfully, "Yes, I'll follow mother's arrangements."

Chen Ji's heart trembled. Liang Shi was being punished to repent in the Buddhist temple, and she felt very unhappy about it. You know, for the mistress of the house to be punished to repent in the Buddhist temple was already a loss of face. If she couldn't regain her dignity in the future, her dignity in front of the servants would also be lost.

Now the other party has found an impeccable reason to keep himself in the Buddhist temple.

But Chen Wenzong had already agreed, and there was no way he could refuse.

Chen Ji agreed and sat cross-legged on the cushion with Chen Wenzong.

Chen Wenzong asked, "Mother, what book are you reading today?"

Liang said softly, "Just read the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra that I read last night. Recite it aloud in a low voice. If you are sincere, it will be effective."

Chen Wenzong nodded: "Okay."

Chen Ji thought to himself that something was wrong.

To read through the Sutra of the Past Vows of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, a person who is familiar with it will take half an hour, while a person who is not familiar with it may take an hour.

It seemed that he was doomed to suffer this loss.

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Early in the morning, the three of them sat side by side on the futon and began to read. Chen Wenzong was the first to finish reading. After finishing reading, he sat there calmly to rest and wait for Chen Ji.

This was the first time Chen Ji read this scripture. He stumbled over it for an entire hour and his mouth was dry.

Just as he was about to get up and say goodbye to Liang,

But Liang stood up and poured a cup of tea for the two of them: "Come and have some tea to quench your thirst. We will read the Great Prajna Sutra later."

Chen Ji's eyes flickered slightly. Although he had never read the Great Prajna Sutra, he knew it was one of the longest sutras in the world. The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Original Vow Sutra only had 17,000 words, but the Great Prajna Sutra had 600 volumes, totaling 4.8 million words.

Liang was determined to keep him in the Buddhist temple to vent her anger.

Chen Wenzong picked up the teacup and took a few sips: "Thank you, mother, for the tea."

After saying this, he returned to the cushion and took out a volume of the Great Prajna Sutra.

Seeing this, Chen Ji drank the tea in one gulp and sat down and picked up a scroll.

This time, the three of them read from morning till noon. Chen Ji read so much that his mouth was dry and he felt dizzy.

Liang pursed her lips lightly with her sleeve and said, "Alright, today you two have shown your filial piety. Go back and come back tomorrow."

Chen Wenzong was about to stand up, but Chen Ji held him back: "Wait a minute, brother."

Chen Wenzong asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Chen Ji sat cross-legged on the futon and said sincerely, "Brother, perhaps I didn't understand the great wisdom in the scriptures in the past, so I found them boring. Today, I read through two volumes of Buddhist scriptures and felt as if I had understood something. I felt a sense of complete enlightenment. Why don't we stay here today and read a few more volumes with my wife?"

Chen Wenzong's eyes sparkled: "Are you serious?"

Chen Ji said seriously: "Seriously."

Liang smiled and stopped them, saying, "No, no, you two have read a lot today. You should know that when it comes to dealing with people, haste makes waste. You must not rush into anything."

Chen Wenzong shook his head. "Mother, this isn't about being too greedy or reckless. My third brother used to have trouble understanding the classics, saying he felt like he was reading a book from a foreign language, which worried father so much. Now that he's finding joy in reading, how can we not help him? We should strike while the iron is hot!"

After saying that, Chen Wenzong sat down again and picked up a volume of the Great Prajna Sutra to read. Chen Ji also picked up a volume and read it seriously, muttering to himself.

After a while, Chen Ji saw that Liang had not moved, so he stopped reciting the sutra and asked curiously, "Madam, are you not going to read anymore?"

Chen Wenzong also stopped and said, "Mother, how about I pick one for you?"

Liang took the scripture from Chen Wenzong with a smile and said, "Okay, then I will accompany you to read it for a while."

Chen Ji suddenly said, "Sincerity is the key to success."

Liang's mouth opened slightly, and after a long moment of silence, she lowered her head and began to read the Great Prajna Sutra. She usually took a nap, but today she couldn't.

The three of them read from noon to dusk. Chen Ji finished one volume and then changed to the next, but Chen Wenzong remained calm. In the time it took Chen Ji to read three volumes, he had already read the next six.

Whenever Chen Ji had questions, he could answer them one by one.

Chen Ji thought to himself that this brother's knowledge was indeed worthy of being the top scholar in Yuzhou and the title of Jieyuanlang.

By the evening, Liang's voice was no longer gentle. She said calmly, "How about we stop reading here for today?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "Madam, now is the time to strike while the iron is hot. I am thirsty for knowledge and want to read a few more volumes."

Liang was silent for a moment: "Okay."

In the Buddhist hall, maids and nannies lit more than ten candles, illuminating the gilded Buddha statue with golden splendor.

Beneath the solemnity of the Buddha statue, Chen Ji and Liang were clearly reading Buddhist scriptures, but their expressions grew more and more ferocious as they read. Only Chen Wenzong was enjoying it and was tireless.

At midnight, Chen Ji slowly closed the Great Prajna Sutra in his hands. Liang immediately asked, "Are you tired of reading, Chen Ji?"

Chen Ji took a deep breath and changed another scroll, holding it in his hand: "Madam, sincerity is the key to success."