Chapter 217 Make a Wish

When we arrived at Baohua Temple, it was already noon.

The abbot had already arranged food and lodging.

The emperor lived in a large courtyard. Originally, Defei and Shufei could live in the east and west wing rooms, but the emperor refused to live with the two concubines on the grounds that he should not act rashly in front of the Buddha.

Concubine Shu rolled her eyes in her heart and said speechlessly: "Obviously she doesn't want to live with us..."

How hypocritical.

Defei bit her lip. In just a short while, the emperor inadvertently glanced at Xiaojiu several times.

"Sister Defei, I'll live in this room." Shufei picked a large room that she liked and walked away with a twist of her waist.

Concubine De let out a breath and her eyes darkened.

An Jiu, Xiao Qiu and Xiao Xia were busy cleaning the room for the emperor.

The bedding, pillows, teapots and tea sets were all what the emperor was used to.

As soon as the cleaning was done, the abbot invited the emperor to dinner.

The emperor originally wanted to take An Jiu with him, but after thinking about it, he decided not to.

An Jiu had dinner with everyone before going there.

The emperor was in a good mood and was talking to the abbot.

The person they were talking about was the Eighth Prince.

An Jiu remembered that the Eighth Prince was practicing in the mountains.

The abbot praised him highly, and the emperor listened quietly, occasionally commenting a word or two.

They seemed to be having a good conversation.

"Is Master Jikong not here?" the emperor suddenly asked.

The abbot smiled and said, "My junior brother is traveling outside and his return date is uncertain."

The emperor felt a little regretful.

[I heard that this monk is very good at predicting marriages.]

[I am not a child anymore, I should let him know that starting a family and building a career is the right thing to do. ]

An Jiu "..."

Do you want to hear what you're talking about?

Can you still count how many women there are in your palace?

And you are already the emperor and still want to establish a career?

Stop it, leave some room for others to survive.

The emperor and the abbot said they wanted to go out for a walk.

[I can’t do it anymore. I fall asleep as soon as I hear the monks talking.]

An Jiu felt like laughing when he heard this.

Baohua Temple was considered a royal temple and was never short of incense. It covered a very large area. The abbot took him around the temple, and after a quarter of an hour, they arrived at an open space.

The emperor looked at the endless plain below and asked, "What are these lands..."

The abbot smiled and said with a proud tone: "These are all the temple's fields."

The emperor narrowed his eyes.

"How much is this?"

The abbot suddenly realized that he might have said something wrong, but monks do not tell lies, and he did not dare to deceive the emperor.

"Your Majesty, thousands of acres."

An Jiu took a breath of cold air.

How many monks are there in a temple?

They have nobles in the capital city donating money for incense every day, and they also give money for the tablets in the temple. These alone are considerable, and they actually have thousands of acres of fertile land.

This is just one of the temples...

An Jiu felt sad in his heart, all the land was in the hands of these people, no wonder the people were living in dire straits.

The emperor sighed: "The war in the northwest is intense. The soldiers may not be able to eat a full meal even though they are fighting bloody battles."

He shook his head: "It's not bad to be a monk."

The abbot broke out in a cold sweat.

I really regret it. Why couldn't I do something else today? Why did I have to bring the emperor to see the land?

The abbot said, "We poor monks are just trying to make a living."

"Thousands of acres of land are barely enough to make a living. The Buddha's appetite is a bit too big."

Abbot "..."

An Jiu glanced at the emperor. He had his hands behind his back, looking into the distance with no expression on his face. But it was precisely because of this that he looked intimidating and overwhelming.

Sure enough, the late emperor’s teachings were effective.

The abbot of the temple, no matter how sophisticated and tactful he was, was still just a monk. He felt uneasy and conflicted when the emperor said that. Moreover, the emperor stopped talking after he finished speaking, which made him a little nervous. He couldn't help but guess the emperor's intention.

What does the emperor mean by this?

He glanced at the endless farmland. It seemed that the temple really didn't need so much farmland, but it was also the temple's property...

Just give it away like that?

No, no, no, it's not being given away. The emperor is not an outsider. This temple originally belongs to the royal family, that is, to the emperor.

"What does your majesty mean?" the abbot asked uncertainly.

However, the emperor just chuckled, and that look made the abbot feel cold in his heart. He began to wonder if the purpose of the emperor's visit was to target him?

Yes, it must be. Otherwise, why would the emperor have to come out for a walk and come here?

"Your Majesty, the temple really does not need so much land. Since the war in the northwest is tense and the people are starving, I, Buddha, am merciful and willing to... willing to give half of the land to the national treasury so that I can do my best for Daxia."

【half】

【How greedy.】

The emperor stared at the abbot. In fact, the abbot's guess was correct. He had indeed been planning to take over these lands for a long time.

The land in the suburbs of Beijing belongs either to the rich and powerful or to ministers. The emperor cannot touch these people for the time being, but what about the temples? The monks there are well fed and well fed, but last winter many people froze to death outside the city alone.

Where is their mercy?

This is not just a temple, it is no less beautiful than any other place.

These people...

He must clean it up.

Don't be in a hurry, take your time.

Let’s start with Baohua Temple.

If the abbot is sensible, he will hand over all of it. Otherwise, the emperor has a way to make him pay.

The emperor turned to look at the abbot and said, "Baohua Temple is a national temple and should set an example. Isn't half of the land too little?"

The emperor's words were already very clear.

The abbot's flesh was aching with pain. He looked up at the emperor, who was looking at him with a half-smile.

The abbot swallowed his saliva, knowing that if he didn't bleed today, nothing would happen.

But now that it really happened, I really don’t want to accept it.

After hesitating for a while, he didn't give in. "Your Majesty, there are hundreds of mouths waiting for food in the temple. I have no other choice."

"I see. I understand the abbot's difficulties." The emperor smiled and said nothing more.

But the abbot felt more and more uneasy.

The emperor asked the abbot to go back first, and he and An Jiu wandered around the temple.

When they arrived in front of a large hall, the emperor said he wanted to go in and burn some incense.

Having just embarrassed the abbot, he now began to make a wish devoutly.

[Buddha, I am not a greedy person. I only have three wishes. ]

Anjiu listened with amusement.

So this is what the emperor thought when he burned incense.

[I wish that my Great Xia soldiers could repel the Western Rong.]

【Second wish for peace and prosperity for the people of Daxia. 】

【Three wishes...】

An Jiu pricked up his ears, but heard nothing. After the emperor finished offering incense, he asked An Jiu, "Do you want to worship?"

An Jiu nodded. She had only one wish.

go home!

As long as she goes home, everything here will have nothing to do with her.

She took the incense, lit it, and knelt on the mat devoutly. Just as she was about to make a wish, she heard the emperor's voice. It was like the sound of his wish was played with a delay and it clearly reached An Jiu's ears.

【I wish Xiaojiu will be safe and sound forever. 】

An Jiu turned her head to look at the emperor. He seemed to be looking at her, but also seemed to be looking somewhere else.

An Jiu held the incense and finally made a wish.

[May the Buddha bless Emperor Xiao Ce of Daxia, so that he can live a life free from illness and disaster, and live a safe and smooth life. ]

An Jiu kowtowed and burned incense.

Then she returned to the emperor, who felt that she was in a bad mood.

【What happened again? 】

He couldn't understand, how could you cry while making a wish?

An Jiu glared at him. Who told him to be sentimental first? Now, he had wasted her wish. She clearly wanted to go home...

She was just an ordinary person, and she couldn't be as shameless as the emperor and make three wishes. What if the Buddha thought she was greedy and didn't help her realize any of her wishes?

The emperor had no idea that she would be angry about this, and he was in a good mood.

"Do you want to go shopping again?" asked the emperor.

An Jiu: "Shopping."

After the Bodhisattva made this wish, she would look for the next one and make another one.

There are so many Bodhisattvas in the temple, there must be one who can help her realize her wish.

But the probability of success is much higher than that of the emperor, a big fool, trying to grab a sheep.

She is such a clever little girl.

The emperor looked at her and smiled helplessly: "Okay."

Next, An Jiu really bowed to every Bodhisattva he saw.

Eunuch Li looked at An Jiu's pious look and couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, Xiao Jiu is worshipping the Goddess of Childbirth, right?"

The emperor stood with his hands behind his back, a smile on his face, and said in a light tone: "Maybe... she really wants a child."

Eunuch Li: "..."

It's obvious that Xiaojiu is inexperienced and doesn't know the rules to bow randomly. Your Majesty didn't even remind him and is still laughing...

What are you laughing at? Xiaojiu will be angry again. Let’s see if he can still laugh.