"Catch him?" Master Chu snorted, "What can we use to catch him? The thief is far away..."
Qiao Jijiu couldn't help but ask in surprise: "According to this, he is a thief in the family?"
It is far away in the sky and close at hand.
"Isn't it?" Master Chu glanced at Qiao Yang.
Qiao Yang was stunned for a moment, then joked, "The way you look at me... I'm starting to wonder if I look like that 'thief'!"
Master Chu looked at him twice, and said nothing on the surface, but he had already said "Pooh" in his heart.
What do you mean by looking similar? The thief is obviously him, Qiao Yang!
Thief! Thief!
A thief who steals other people’s students!
Master Chu cursed "the thief Qiao" in his heart, but "the thief Qiao" was unaware of the situation and tried to comfort the old master half-heartedly: "It is always difficult to guard against thieves in the family. Now that we know who did it, just leave it to your children and grandchildren to deal with. You are already very busy with official duties, so there is no need to get angry over such a small matter."
Anyway, the thing that the old Taifu's family has the most is children and grandchildren. Although the Taifu has only two sons, these two sons are good at having children and have given the Taifu more than twenty grandchildren... The extent to which these two have children can be said to be diligent, as if they treat having children as a career and are managing it carefully, and it gives people a feeling that they have a lack of entertainment activities in the evening and can't find a second thing to do.
Moreover, the older grandchildren of the Taifu family have already married and had children, and the Taifu has a large number of great-grandchildren.
It is normal for one or two disobedient and naughty children to appear among so many of them.
Qiao Jijiu analyzed seriously while straying from the truth.
Facing those irrelevant words of consolation, Master Chu ignored them and seemed to change the subject: "Wang Borun wrote to me and asked me to send his regards to you, the Lord of the Imperial Court."
"Wang Borun..." Qiao Yang thought for a moment and was sure that he did not recognize this person. When he was about to ask, he heard the Grand Tutor say indifferently, "The one who is now the Chief Secretary of the Jiangdu Governor's Mansion."
Qiao Yang suddenly understood, but still puzzled: "But I have never met this Mr. Wang before..."
"There was none before, but there is one now." The Grand Tutor said, "Isn't he the assistant officer under your good student now?"
Qiao Yang: ...Yes, but why is the Master speaking in such an unfriendly tone? The Master continued, "He is full of praise for your student, so naturally he admires you as a teacher even more, and he admires you to the extreme."
Qiao Yang felt like sweat was about to break out, and subconsciously said modestly: "Others may not know, but Master, don't you know that as a teacher, I have never taught you anything..."
"Sui Ning's achievements today are like a spring thunder in the eyes of outsiders, and even I, as both her teacher and father, could not have expected it."
Qiao Jijiu sighed and said, "This is her ability, not mine."
Master Chu slightly raised his graying eyebrows - these words were barely pleasing to the ear.
"Speaking of this fate, it is indeed too mysterious..." Qiao Jijiu said, and couldn't help but be a little immersed: "These days, I often think about Sui Ning... If I really talk about it in detail, her fate that can be said to have rewritten her destiny seems to have first appeared when she became famous in Dengtai Tower..."
"That day, it just happened to be the day this kid held a banquet for me to become my apprentice." Qiao Jijiu said with emotion, "It seems like everything is destined."
Master Chu's beard twitched - well, after all the twists and turns, he still has to flatter himself! "Why did the clues start to show on the day we climbed the Tai Tower?" Master Chu mercilessly dismantled the situation with his bare hands: "Did you eat up her playing at the Imperial College? Did you also eat up her playing at the Dayun Temple?"
Qiao Yang coughed lightly: "Compared with the impact brought about by the day I climbed the Tai Tower, what you said is ultimately slightly inferior..."
Qiao Yang wanted to continue speaking, but seeing the look on Taifu's face, he quickly stopped talking.
It was also at this moment that he suddenly realized where the Taifu's emotions came from... Could it be that he was jealous that he had such an outstanding student?
He had been in contact with the old master for many years. According to his understanding, this old man with a strange temper was dissatisfied with everything and looked down on everything. However, people would never be jealous of things they looked down on.
If you are jealous, it means you look down on others.
The last person who was "looked upon" by the Grand Tutor was His Highness.
If the Grand Tutor has a hundred reverse scales on his body, about ninety-nine of them are caused by Your Highness.
And the reason why the Grand Master "looks up to" Sui Ning at this moment is also because...
Qiao Yang thought with mixed feelings and asked in a low voice: "Does the Master also think that Sui Ning has many similarities with His Highness when he was alive?"
While Master Chu was silent, Qiao Yang said, "To tell you the truth, ever since Sui Ning joined the battlefield, I have often had this trance-like feeling."
——Oh, he is still in a trance.
After finding out the answer he wanted, Master Chu suddenly felt more cheerful. He even raised his hand and patted Qiao Yang on the shoulder to comfort her.
He was no longer angry. Why would he bother with someone who was still kept in the dark?
When they reached the river, they sat down on a small bamboo stool. The Master took the food box from the servant and handed it to Qiao Yang. After opening the food box himself, he raised his hand and said, "Eat some first."
Qiao Yang took a look and saw that the three-layer food box contained three or four different kinds of pastries, as well as a slice of roast duck and a small dish of fresh vinegar celery.
For anglers, they can sit for a whole day with just a dry steamed bun in their arms, so the combination of meat and vegetables in front of them can be considered extremely rich.
Qiao Yang was a little surprised and said with a smile: "Master, you are paying more attention to health preservation now."
Moreover, it was obvious that the Grand Tutor was in a bad mood when he came. Even when he was angry, he did not forget to ask people to prepare healthy food and drinks... This shows how particular he was.
"That's right." The Master arranged the fishing line and said, "I want to live a long life."
Qiao Yang was even more surprised. The Grand Tutor never held birthday banquets, and the biggest reason was that he hated to hear people congratulating him on living a hundred years.
Qiao Yang laughed: "Now you finally understand the truth of cherishing your life!"
The tutor threw the fishing hook away with a pleased look on his face. His annoying student had to start over now, and the road ahead was bound to be difficult. He had to keep his life well in case of "emergency needs" for this poor student.
Qiao Yang also put bait on the hook and cast it. After making a good nest, he and Taifu picked up chopsticks and tasted the crispy vinegar celery. Qiao Yang praised it highly.
Suddenly, the fishing line shook, and Qiao Yang quickly dropped his chopsticks, waiting for an opportunity to reel in the fishing rod.
When he saw what he had caught, he was stunned: "...How come I encountered such bad luck on my first try so early in the morning?"
There was a dead fish hanging on the hook.
There is a saying in the market that "If you see a dead fish biting your bait, just collect your fishing rod and leave." This means that a dead fish will not take the bait on its own. If you see one, it must have been hooked by a water ghost or a water monkey. In other words, there is something dirty in the water.
"In broad daylight, are you afraid of a mere water ghost?" The old tutor took the dead fish off Qiao Yang's shoulders and threw it away, saying with disdain, "If there really is a water ghost that catches fish, I really won't leave. I won't put away my fishing rod. I'll stay here today. You can call those students to come over, fence off this river, and cast a hundred fishing rods. I want to see if it can catch the fish and whether my hands will be sore from it! Will you dare to do it again next time?"
"Since it dared to show up today, I will keep it from working for three days and three nights... I will make it look for teeth on the ground, foam at the mouth, and float to the surface to beg for mercy from me." As the tutor said this, he put the bait on Qiao Yang's fishing rod again and threw it out again.
"..."Qiao Yang deeply felt that this kind of resentment called "I am busy with official duties, and you water ghosts can't have a rest" was really extraordinary.
But Qiao Yang still had a bad feeling in his heart. Looking at the shaking water surface, his heart was up and down for no reason.
Soon, before the "dirty stuff" under the water could catch the fish again, Qiao Yang heard hurried footsteps approaching from behind.
The person who came was Qiao Yubai.
“…Father!”
Qiao Yubai was in a hurry and only had time to pay a hasty tribute to Master Chu. He then looked at his father with a pair of red eyes and said, "Father, someone from Dayun Temple came to report that..."
He came in a hurry, but the words seemed to be blocked at the tip of his tongue. Under his father's questioning and urging, he was able to say: "Master Wu Jue... passed away!"
Qiao Yang stood up suddenly, his movements were so quick and chaotic that he knocked over most of the food boxes and dishes in front of him.
"...Master, Yubai and I will be leaving first!"
Qiao Jijiu took Qiao Yubai and left the place quickly.
Master Chu sat there, lost in thought for a moment, still unable to react.
He had seldom been to Dayun Temple these days, and had never seen Wu Jue, but in his memory, the monk, who still looked very young, was clearly plump and had a blessed look on his face...
A fat monk...how come he suddenly walked in front of this old man?
…
Qiao Yang and his son quickly arrived at Dayun Temple.
The friendship between Qiao Yang and Wu Jue is obvious to everyone. They once worked together under the late Crown Prince, and Wu Jue no longer has any other relatives, which is why the monks from Dayun Temple went to the Imperial College to report the death.
The same news of death soon spread to the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery in Xingningfang.
Meng Lie's situation was a little different. On the surface, he and Wu Jue were just a merchant who donated money to build Dayun Temple and the abbot of Dayun Temple.
This shallow relationship prevented him from showing up at Dayun Temple right away, otherwise he might have attracted the suspicion of the countless saints in the temple...
Yes, if Wu Jue died, His Highness would never come back, and it would be meaningless for him to keep the secret of Dengtai Tower... But he didn't believe it! He didn't believe that Wu Jue would really die like this!
Meng Lie still retained the last bit of his rationality. He sat in the carriage for a long time, forcing himself to remain calm. He estimated that the time was almost up and thought that the news of Wu Jue's death had already spread, so he asked the coachman to continue driving to Dayun Temple.
When he arrived, there were already many carriages and sedan chairs parked outside the temple, including some from the palace. I guess the saint also knew about this...
Meng Lie maintained his usual expression. After entering the temple and learning from a monk in charge of reception that the abbot had passed away, he dared to show his shock and sorrow: "...Can I go and see Master Wu Jue for the last time?"
The monk knew that he was a distinguished person in Dayun Temple and often discussed Buddhism with the abbot. At this moment, he put his hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer: "Donor Meng, please follow me."
Along the way, the bodhi trees swayed gently in the wind, the pine needles fell quietly, and the scorching golden light from the scorching sun above was almost blinding. Meng Lie stepped on the bluestone bricks, but it seemed like he was walking in the dark night. There was only a little faint candlelight in front of him, barely guiding him to move forward.
He soon arrived at the Buddhist temple where Wu Jue was housed. There were voices, the sound of wooden fish beating, the sound of chanting, and some intermittent crying.
The older monks had already realized how to transcend life and death. Even though they were sad at the moment, they just closed their eyes and chanted scriptures. The crying mostly came from the young monks.
Wu Jue did not have many ties in the worldly world. Apart from some pilgrims who happened to come to burn incense and learned about this, the only worldly people in the hall at this moment were the Qiao father and son, and four or five people who looked like eunuchs, either sent by the saint or Yu Zeng's men. They were either talking in low voices or sighing and regretting with expressions on their faces.
In the chaos, Meng Lie's sight and Qiao Yang's gaze converged for a moment.
What Meng Lie saw was a pair of heavy and sad eyes. Through these eyes, Meng Lie clearly saw that the faint candlelight in front of him became dim again.
Meng Lie almost stretched out his hand to push away the woman in front of him. Fortunately, the situation was special and the official's wife did not find it strange, and no one paid any attention to him.
Meng Lie came to Wu Jue.
Meng Lie's eyes scanned the person lying there, from the tightly closed eyes, to the pale and gray face, the thin and sunken cheeks, the lifeless face, to the body that was covered by the prayer flags but was still thin and shriveled...
It had clearly been less than ten days since we last met...
stand up!
Get up! Get up! Meng Lie shouted in his heart, almost shouting until he was exhausted.
He controlled himself and didn't make a sound, but he couldn't help but grab Wu Jue's hand. That hand was icy cold in this summer, and even had a stiffness that didn't belong to a living person.
“Amitabha…” Seeing that his behavior was inappropriate, the medical monk beside him reminded him, “The abbot has passed away. Although his body has been dissolved in the world, his merits and virtues have been fulfilled. He no longer needs to be trapped in the six realms. This is transcendence, so please do not grieve over this.”
Meng Lie trembled and lowered his eyes, feeling the cold winter wind suddenly blowing from the depths of his heart, eventually swallowing up the dim candlelight.
Two young monks came out of the hall, and one of them muttered in a low voice: "...The abbot has been ill for many days, but he was just holding on. I boiled and delivered medicine every day, and I was tired of serving him... Today he finally passed away, and I can finally rest in peace."
The monks around him were shocked and angry. They pulled him aside, away from the monks and pilgrims passing by, and scolded him sternly: "Hui Kong...what nonsense are you talking about!"
The monk named Huikong was stunned for a moment: "Third Brother, I..."
"The abbot has always treated you well, which is why he allowed you to serve him closely. Yet, you said this on the day of his death... Is this how you have been practicing Zen all these years?"
"Third Senior Brother..." Hui Kong's eyes suddenly turned red, and he was at a loss for a moment: "I was wrong for a moment..."
"You have not only spoken out of turn, I think you have lost your Zen mind!" The older monk chanted Buddha's name repeatedly: "You don't need to take care of the abbot's affairs. Go to the Buddha now to reflect on yourself and repent!"
Hui Kong agreed and left the place in a daze.
How could he say those words just now...
In fact, thinking back, it wasn't just today. Ever since the abbot fell ill, he often complained in private, as if... as if he just couldn't stand the abbot, and he no longer had the respect he once had...
He didn't know what was wrong with him... It was as if he was possessed by an evil spirit! Hui Kong blamed himself so much that when he was alone, he slapped himself hard with tears in his eyes, and then went to the back hall and knelt in front of the Buddha to repent.
…
In the towering palace city, Imperial Master Tianjing was looking up at the sky as he was being summoned to Ganlu Palace, with a thoughtful look in his clear eyes.
4400 words update, see you tomorrow.
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