Chapter 1944: Believe but Not Believe
The Queen Mother hesitated, "Are these scriptures useful?"
It's a little different from what they usually recite.
"Which Taoist temple do you usually visit?"
Manbao: "I have only been to three Taoist temples. One is the Baiyun Temple in Yongzhou, one is the Xuandu Temple in the capital, and the other is the Taoist temple on the mountain near our village."
The Queen Mother thought for a moment and decided not to let any of them go. She immediately ordered people to make a list of gifts to be sent to the three Taoist temples, even the one in Dali Village was not spared.
Manbao sat aside listening to her write out the gift list. He felt a little frightened and couldn't help but look at Mingda.
The smile on Mingda's face also disappeared, and his expression became a little heavy.
The two good friends looked at each other and thought: What if the Queen Mother’s wish cannot be fulfilled?
Manbao's mind suddenly flooded with all sorts of stories about the destruction of Buddhism and Taoism from history books. She shuddered and gently admonished the Queen Mother, "Have you ever seen a god or Buddha?"
The Queen Mother said with a pious look on her face, "Anyone who can see gods and Buddhas must be a person with great spiritual connection, and must be a disciple of Buddha or an immortal who has attained the Tao."
She glanced at Manbao and asked, "Have you seen it?"
Manbao shook his head and asked, "Does dreaming count?"
The Queen Mother said angrily: "It doesn't count!"
In her dream, she even became an immortal. Does that count?
Manbao nodded and said, "So, after all, only a few people in this world claim to have seen gods and Buddhas. How do we know they're not lying?"
The Queen Mother frowned and looked at Zhou Man suspiciously, "Are you saying there are no gods or Buddhas in the world? Then why are you worshipping them?"
She had heard this kind of argument many times. Every time the gods and Buddhas were mentioned, the court officials would shake their heads and say that Confucius did not talk about strange things, supernatural powers, or anything else. But that was only Confucius's idea, so how could it be regarded as the gospel?
Manbao said: "I worship him because I believe in him."
The teacher was well-read. Although he never said it explicitly, Manbao knew that he was more in favor of Laozi and Zhuangzi's way of doing things. In addition, under the influence of her mother, she had worshipped Laozi since she was a child and had long been accustomed to it.
Manbao really believed in him.
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "I believe it too."
Manbao simply shook his head, "The Queen Mother doesn't believe it."
The Queen Mother frowned and glanced at Zhou Man coldly.
Manbao continued, "The Queen Mother only came to the shrine because she had something to ask for. You don't believe in him, you are obsessed with him, which is a big taboo."
"As for gods, Buddhas, ghosts and monsters, we should trust and respect them, but we should not be obsessed with them."
Koko suddenly said, "The emperor is here."
Manbao paused. He didn't know whether the emperor's arrival at this time was dangerous to the host. If it were the previous situation, he would not broadcast such information in such a public place, but he just sensed a strong emotional fluctuation in the empress dowager.
It still couldn't quite understand it for humans, so after analyzing the data, it finally reported this information to Zhou Man.
Manbao waited for a while, wanting to wait for the emperor to come in and pay his respects before continuing, but after she waited for a while, no one announced it.
She naturally did not doubt that Koko had "seen" it wrong, so it could only be that the emperor was hiding outside and eavesdropping.
Manbao inwardly despised the emperor. Seeing the empress dowager's face darken at her words and Mingda looking at her worriedly, she said, "Your Majesty, how many people do you think there are in this world? And how many gods and Buddhas are there? They must have many serious things to do, and the rise and fall of the people has its own set of laws. I think, even if gods and Buddhas really existed, they couldn't arbitrarily interfere in the affairs of the people, right?"
"Otherwise, why are there so many natural and man-made disasters in this world? If the gods and Buddhas were so powerful and so benevolent towards the human world and its believers, why are there still irregular winds and rains, and bullies and bandits?" Man Bao said, "Everyone should just make a wish to eliminate them all."
The Queen Mother and Mingda: ...
The emperor standing behind the screen: ...
Man Bao said, "So, we should not be deluded by gods and Buddhas. We still have to rely on ourselves in life. Sometimes, making a wish to gods and Buddhas is just for psychological comfort, thinking that gods and Buddhas might hear and show us some favor. But in fact, we have to rely on ourselves to do things."
"And the Empress clearly leans more towards Buddhism than Taoism, yet she worships both Buddhism and Taoism," Man Bao said, "It's not that they can't be combined, but the Empress clearly doesn't believe in Buddhism or Taoism, so why is she so confused?"
"To be obsessed with something without believing it is a big taboo."
The Queen Mother was silent for a long time before asking, "How do you know I don't believe it?"
Man Bao said, "I feel like I believe in Taoism. I believe in Laozi and Zhuangzi's understanding of the world, this country, and the relationships between people. What do you believe in, Your Majesty?"
The Queen Mother opened her mouth. She believed in reincarnation and retribution. Does this count?
If she told it, Manbao would definitely tell her, and naturally he would have to settle the score, but deep down, the Empress clearly still didn't believe it, and it was only out of fear and desire that she had to believe it...
Fortunately, the Queen Mother did not say it out loud, and Manbao did not have time to offend the Queen Mother to death. The old man and the young man just sat there facing each other in a daze.
Mingda looked at Manbao and then at the Queen Mother. Feeling that they were in a confrontation, he couldn't help but make some noise to attract them.
But the Queen Mother didn't come back to her senses, but Manbao did, and he was looking at her with his dark eyes wide open.
Mingda was speechless when he looked at Manbao with clear eyes. Forget it, let them be.
Manbao actually only stayed there for a moment, and then he couldn't help but talk to Koko in his mind, "Is the emperor still outside?"
"Yes, he's standing outside the screen, listening attentively."
"Do you think he'll notice I'm looking at him if I turn my head to look at the screen now?"
Koko: "...This is a wooden screen. You can't see through each other."
Manbao then remembered, "Oh, that's right."
Mingda happened to make a noise, so she looked up at Mingda openly. After exchanging a glance with her, she turned her head to look at the large screen at the entrance.
The screen was very thick, and she couldn't see outside at all. People outside naturally couldn't see inside. Then she turned her head and saw a palace servant standing by the screen, who was so nervous that she held her breath. Only then did she realize that there was a shadow overlapping with the palace servant's shadow.
Manbao learned from his experience and realized that even if he didn't see the person, he could still judge whether there was someone outside by his shadow.
Just as he was daydreaming, he heard the sound of footsteps outside the screen, and almost immediately Gu Zhong's voice came from outside, "The Emperor has arrived——"
Manbao then withdrew his gaze and stood up obediently with Mingda.
Seeing that there had been no movement for a long time, the emperor, fearing that the empress dowager would be furious, finally couldn't help but come in.
As soon as he came in, Zhou Man and Mingda saluted together. The emperor waved his hand, exempted them from the salute, and then went to salute the empress dowager.
The Queen Mother came back to her senses and asked, "Why is the Emperor here?"
The emperor came forward and sat beside the empress dowager. He smiled and said, "Your son has come to see your mother. You seem to be in better spirits today."
The Empress Dowager sighed and said, "Talking to the children has cheered me up a bit. I was thinking of having someone burn some incense at the Taoist temple to thank the gods for their favor. Your Majesty, do you think we should burn some incense?"
The emperor was confused for a moment. How should he answer?
See you at 11pm
(End of this chapter)
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