Chapter 75 Chapter 75 It's Buddha's Bathing Festival again. What are you talking about...
This was a truly tragic accident.
Li Heng, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, had his arm severely dislocated, so he asked an official doctor to splint his arm. His screams echoed throughout the Dali Temple. He gritted his teeth and decided to go to the saint to complain to the He and Wang families.
Wang Lang was lucky. He lost both eyes and had all his limbs broken. No one treated him and he was thrown into the Dali Temple prison by several yamen runners while wailing. His father, Wang Zhongcheng, was thrown to death on the same day and was thrown by the gate with a straw mat covering him.
It seemed that everyone knew that things were going to change in the palace. The nobles who had come to congratulate Wang Lang on his marriage yesterday, ignored Mrs. Wang's pleas and tears, and fled far away.
The next day, the Dali Temple sent a whole team of people to the He Mansion to arrest He Zhuohua, but they found a circle of white banners hanging at the entrance of the He Mansion and a coffin parked in the main hall.
He Zhuohua is actually dead.
The He family only had these two children, and especially since the son who carried on the family line was gone, the head of the He family was so angry that he had a stroke that night and lay on the bed unable to move.
The Dali Temple sent a coroner to investigate, and they only found out that He Zhuohua seemed to have been extremely frightened while sleeping and he died of fright.
This conclusion sounded incredible. After being sent back by the Dali Temple Minister for re-examination several times, Li Heng also went to He's mansion to check it repeatedly several times, but no other conclusion could be reached. Li Heng was completely confused for a moment.
This incident caused a sensation throughout Chang'an City, and Wang Qian took the opportunity to write a play, telling the story of a lovebirds and a woman who were unable to stay together due to oppression and finally committed suicide and turned into a pair of butterflies.
After combining it with real time, the play immediately became very popular. The theater was packed with people, and everyone who saw it was moved to tears.
Some people with bad intentions would deliberately pass by the He and Wang residences and make a spit or throw a few rotten vegetable leaves at them.
Not only the people, but also the emperor was furious. Cheating in the spring examination was a great treason. The emperor felt like a monkey being fooled, so he directly put Wang Lang's entire family in prison.
On the other hand, although only He Zhuohua from the He family committed a crime and should not be implicated according to the law, the people were so angry that the Ministry of Personnel found a reason to dismiss the head of the He family, the Minister of History, from his post.
Anyway, he has suffered a stroke and is lying in bed, so he can't hold the position anymore.
Yuan Shenji stood up bravely on the wedding day and performed outstandingly, winning praise from both the government and the public.
As the Buddha's Bathing Festival was approaching, the palace cooked green beans called "Chiyuan Beans" and gave them as a reward to the Minister of the Interior.
In addition to green beans, Yuan Shenji also gave others an extra dose of medicinal drinks. Many officials secretly regretted that this outstanding and young Jinwu Guard got married so early, and his bride was just a businessman.
When Duan Zhiwei heard the rumors, she said shamelessly: "If I hadn't met He Qiongzhu by chance in Jiawei, he wouldn't even have received the invitation from the Wang family. It's obviously because of me that he benefited from it."
In response to this, Yuan Shenji said that what his wife said was true.
His right arm was scratched by a bird and the wound was quite deep. He had to wrap it with towels several times, making it difficult for him to move. The general of the Jinwu Guard specially gave him a few days of rest and allowed him to recuperate at home.
Duan Zhiwei felt that it would be a waste to not use this able-bodied man, so he was brought to the restaurant to serve as a guard.
It is the eighth day of the fourth lunar month again, and the Buddha's Birthday is coming soon. The Buddha's Birthday is also known as the Buddha's Birthday. As the name suggests, it is the day when Sakyamuni Buddha was born.
According to legend, when the Buddha was just born, nine dragons appeared in the sky and sprayed fragrant rain to wash the Buddha's body. Therefore, all major Buddhist temples use sugar water to wash the Buddha's body on this day.
Buddhism was prevalent in this dynasty and the occasion was grand, so Buddha Bathing Festival was considered a major festival. According to traditional customs, Duan Zhiwei set up a pot outside the restaurant to cook green beans and licorice soup, and also made osmanthus cakes and black rice to offer to the Buddha.
The restaurant is doing booming business now, its reputation has spread and many foreigners come here to eat. It's hard to say whether there will be any foolish people who get drunk and cause trouble.
For example, an Indian sitting in the middle of the restaurant asked for the "Thousand Gold Fragrant Cake" sprinkled with spices as soon as he entered the door, but was ruthlessly rejected.
Then he said that Buddha's Birthday was approaching and the Indians needed to fast and eat vegetarian food and could not tolerate any oily food.
Then, the Indian named Rama stared at the grilled lamb skewers on other people's tables while eating the boiled cabbage with a tasteless taste. He then began to boast loudly about the Buddha Bathing Festival in India: "In my country, the Buddha Bathing Festival is held twice a month to show respect for the Buddha. It's nothing like Chang'an, where it's only held once a year."
No one paid any attention to him.
In the first month of summer in April, it rained for several weeks in Chang'an. The roots of the locust tree at the door were covered with green moss. Duan Zhiwei was stewing chicken soup in the small kitchen. Looking at the incessant rain outside, he felt as if he had entered the plum rain season.
It’s a pity that Chang’an is in the north and there is no plum rain season.
She watched Pu Tao and Xiao Lang squatting under the eaves petting the cat. The Jinhua cat had grown a lot fatter since it came to the restaurant. It lay there comfortably to be petted, revealing its soft belly. It purred twice, then stretched out its tail to sweep their hands.
Then, he suddenly turned over with a start, twitched his ears twice, raised his tail, and ran towards the door.
Dugu, the officer of the Monster Catching Division, walked into the restaurant wearing old clothes and carrying a small package wrapped in a lotus leaf hemp rope. The Jinhua cat stood up and tried to grab the small package in his hand.
Dugu pinched the cat's neck and said, "Your nose is quite sensitive."
Then he threw the package on the table and said, "This is the festival gift from the saint. I give it to you."
Duan Zhiwei took it, untied the hemp rope, and couldn't help but gasp.
Two silver shads lay quietly inside.
The seasonal delicacies are fleeting, and the plum rain season in the south of the Yangtze River happens to be the season when shad is the fattest. Except for the south of the Yangtze River, people from other places who want to eat it can only eat pickled shad, and the original deliciousness of the fish is completely destroyed.
It can be seen how much manpower and resources were spent on transporting these fresh goods to Chang'an. It is probably not easier than transporting lychees from Lingnan.
Thinking that Yuan Shenji only got a medicinal drink in addition to the Yuan beans, he was envied by his colleagues. I wonder how wide their eyes would be when others saw Dugu's shad.
Dugu lazily sat down beside the food table: "One serving of chicken and a pot of Xinfeng."
The price of shad is higher than gold. Duan Zhiwei took the fish and generously gave him a pot of "Shidongchun". It is brewed during the coldest time of winter and is ready when spring comes and flowers bloom. It has a sweet and mellow taste and is also very expensive.
When she returned to the small kitchen, the Jinhua cat also slid in with its short legs, squatted on the antique shelf, and acted as an overseer: "You must be very careful with that fish, meow."
This fish does not need to be processed in any way. Just put spring bamboo shoots, ham, and mushrooms on the bottom of the plate, pour salt, cooking wine and other ingredients on it, and then steam it.
She thought for a moment, then took out a jar of pickled crispy bamboo shoots from under the shelf, and cut the chicken breast with skin on into slices as thin as cicada wings.
The broth in the casserole has begun to boil, with white mist coming out. The chicken and shredded sour bamboo shoots are put into the pot and simmered together. Soon, the fresh sour taste of the sour bamboo shoots and the rich fatty aroma of the stewed chicken emerge.
Jinhua Cat was messing around at her feet: "Never mind the chicken, is the fish ready?"
Duan Zhiwei opened the lid of the steamer, and a fresh and delicious aroma came out of the steamer.
The fish was shared among the people in the restaurant, and the sour bamboo shoot and chicken skin soup was served to Dugu.
Pu Tao picked up a piece of fatty meat and gave it to Jinhua Cat. His eyes lit up and he rolled on the ground while eating.
Pu Tao asked, "Madam, don't you want to eat?"
Duan Zhiwei shook his head: "This fish has a lot of bones... I'd better forget it..."
As soon as the words fell, the Jinhua cat covered its throat with its two front paws.
Pu Tao was very panicked and went up to check. Duan Zhiwei thought about it, stood up and went to the kitchen to get vinegar to help him soften the fishbone.
Dugu drank the sour bamboo shoot soup slowly. Jinhua Cat covered his throat and stared at him: "You have a solution, right? Don't pretend."
Dugu ignored him and ate another piece of chicken.
Jinhua Cat stared at him for a long time, and then said, "Please."
Dugu then picked up the cat and gestured to him twice with one hand.
Everyone was very curious: "Can this remove the thorn?"
Dugu gestured and put the Jinhua cat down. The cat looked at him angrily and ran away quickly.
Duan Zhiwei sat down next to Dugu and asked, "Can he transform into a human form?" He pointed to the golden hair on the eaves.
It's such a good deal to have an employee who only cares about eating fish and doesn't want any salary.
Dugu drank a glass of wine: "The Jinhua family has placed a taboo on him, so he can't transform for the time being."
"Oh." Duan Zhiwei was a little disappointed, and asked tentatively: "Did you know that He's eldest son is dead?"
He Zhuohua's death was extremely tragic. The Dali Temple worked for several days but could not find any clues. Duan Zhiwei met Li Heng once. She came to the restaurant with unsteady steps and ordered two dishes. Duan Zhiwei felt that Li Shaoqing had lost a lot of hair.
But this case attracted everyone's attention, from the emperor to the common people. Various versions of the rumor were circulated in the streets. The most popular one was that a hero who saw injustice heard about such a tragedy in the world, broke the curfew at night, climbed over the wall of the He family, and stabbed He Zhuohua to death.
Now, apart from the Dali Temple, even the Jinwu Guards were in a panic. They had violated the curfew at night and were unaware of it. If the higher-ups blamed them, they would probably be punished.
Dugu looked at her with amusement and said, "Don't worry, the Jinwu Guards will not be punished for this. And Li Heng from the Dali Temple, who is always around like a bee, won't be able to find anything."
Duan Zhiwei's heart moved: "Could it be..." She made the shape of the word "monster" with her mouth.
Dugu showed a hint of appreciation: "You are smarter than that idiot in Dali Temple."
The version told by Dugu is even more bizarre than the folk "hero theory". According to the version investigated by the Monster Catching Division, there was a century-old camellia tree in the He Mansion, which was carefully watered by He Qiongzhu. In order to repay her kindness, the little demon in the flower's heart sneaked into He Zhuohua's ears at night and told him all kinds of horrible stories all night.
He Zhuohua was frightened to death by the nightmare.
He deserves it, Duan Zhiwei thought.
It was soon time for dinner, and people started to arrive at the restaurant. A man in a scarlet robe hurried in. His clothes looked gorgeous and expensive, and his face was full of arrogance.
After coming in, he bowed towards Dugu very respectfully: "Finally I found you..." He whispered to Dugu.
Dugu's face suddenly became serious. He put down the money and left in a hurry.
Duan Zhiwei found it interesting to see Dugu's anxious back, but he was also worried that some monster might appear again.
She leaned against the pillar and regained her consciousness. Just as she was about to enter the restaurant, she was stopped by Su Xun who came running over.
"So it's Su Lushi, why are you running so fast?" She said with a smile, "Today the restaurant has sour bamboo shoots and chicken skin soup, come in and have a bowl."
Su Xun was running fast and panting heavily. When he heard about the soup, his eyes lit up and he stepped over the threshold. Then he thought of something and slapped his forehead and said, "No, no, I have some things to do in the government office. Captain Yuan asked me to come and tell you that he will lead the team to guard Zhao Jinggong Temple today, so you don't have to wait for him."
After saying this, without waiting for Duan Zhiwei to reply, he trotted away again.
Duan Zhiwei was confused. Why did he have to stand guard at the temple again like he did last time on Buddha's Birthday? Did someone fall into the water again?
It was time for dinner, and the restaurant was full of diners. People tended to speak louder when they drank a little. A scholar in white clothes shouted with a red face, "This Zhao Jinggong Temple is also terrible. The famous painting "Hell Transformation" in Chang'an has earned enough incense for them, but they even spread rumors. Isn't it just to make pilgrims go to him to offer incense on the day of Buddha Bathing Festival? It's said that the painting can move, but no one will believe it!"
The diners around him nodded in agreement, and some of them even came up to toast him.
Duan Zhiwei grasped the key point of the four words "Zhao Jinggong Temple" and ran to find Aunt Duan.
Aunt Duan was lazing around in her bed. When she heard this, she looked at Duan Zhiwei curiously and said, "Don't you know?"
Duan Zhiwei: "What's going on?"
Aunt Duan took a sip of the yogurt slowly, whetting Duan Zhiwei's appetite before she smiled mysteriously: "I heard that the painting "Hell Transformation" in Zhao Jinggong Temple..."
Duan Zhiwei: "What's the matter?"
"Alive."
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