Chapter 2010 Worshiping Buddha
So, upon returning to the county government office, he summoned the head of the shop and ordered them to "drag the men to the torture chamber, separate them, and pry their mouths open. Find out who else they have in the capital, or who they know of who is in the same business as them."
He added: "First find out where their families are."
The shop owner was a little surprised. County Magistrate Tang seldom used torture, and there was no precedent of using the prisoners' families to threaten the prisoners. How could these people make County Magistrate Tang break his rules?
County Magistrate Tang glanced at him and said, "Why don't you go quickly?"
Kidnapping and trafficking a princess is a crime that involves three clans, and the person will be caught later, so it is better to make full use of him before then.
The subordinates took the order and left. Then County Magistrate Tang walked towards the main hall while thinking about how to report to the emperor when he entered the palace the day after tomorrow so that his mistake would seem less serious.
County Magistrate Tang worked overtime for most of the night and only lay down on the chair in his office when it was almost dawn. However, not long after he fell asleep, Bai Shan and others came to find him.
County Magistrate Tang stood up and sat in a chair in a daze for a long time before he stood up, wiping his face and said, "Fetch a basin of well water."
He felt refreshed after washing in the cool well water, but his official uniform was wrinkled, just like dried vegetables.
Since everyone in the county government office was his own people, he didn't care and went out after washing his face. As a result, he ran into Mingli, who was ordered to see him with a lunch box.
Mingli was no longer surprised by his master's slovenliness, but he still grumbled, "Master, if the lady knew you didn't even wash your clothes, she would be furious."
County Magistrate Tang sat on a stone bench in the yard, asked him to put down the food box, and then said to the yamen runner, "Please invite them in."
Then he said to Mingli, "If you don't tell her and I don't tell her, how will she know?"
Bai Shanmanbao and Bai Erlang were invited in. Seeing County Magistrate Tang sitting and having breakfast, they swallowed their saliva at the same time.
County Magistrate Tang paused and stared at them, "You didn't have breakfast?"
The three of them shook their heads together.
County Magistrate Tang was embarrassed for a moment, but he still asked tentatively: "How about we eat some together?" But the quantity might not be enough.
Unexpectedly, the three of them shook their heads and said, "No need."
Manbao said, "We're going to eat on the street."
Bai Shan said: "We deliberately skipped breakfast to save some space."
Tang He lowered his head and continued to drink his meat porridge. He asked directly, "What are you doing here? Tell me."
The three of them sat down, and Bai Shan relayed what the Crown Prince had said last night, then said, "The two princesses won't go into detail."
County Magistrate Tang expressed doubt about the two princesses' ability to evade the main issue. "They have no experience, how can they hide it?"
Bai Shan said, "Just keep your memorial brief. With the Crown Prince and the two princesses present, His Majesty won't ask for details."
County Magistrate Tang nodded, "Okay."
The fact that the two princesses “disappeared” for a while can be concealed, but the incident of human traffickers and people being trampled in the crowd last night cannot be concealed.
County Magistrate Tang sighed, "One of the two seriously injured people last night died. He died just moments after being carried to the infirmary. He was trampled on so badly that he couldn't be saved."
Manbao's mood also fell for a moment, and he asked, "Is this a man-made disaster?"
Magistrate Tang rubbed his forehead and said, "I have many cases to handle soon, so I won't keep you here any longer. But please tell Madam Liu that I will come to visit her once this matter is settled."
Bai Shan: "Visiting my grandmother?"
"That's right," Magistrate Tang said solemnly, "This year, I will visit every household and shop that has set up lantern sheds near the inner city gate."
Bai Shan and Man Bao Bai Er looked at each other, nodded softly, then stood up and bowed to say goodbye.
County Magistrate Tang nodded and said, "By the way, Manbao, you have done a great job in catching the human traffickers. I will recommend you for a reward later."
Manbao immediately said, "Don't forget to add Princess Changyu."
County Magistrate Tang waved his hand to indicate that he understood. He glanced at Bai Shan and said, "And it's your contribution."
In his eyes, Bai Shan's contribution last night was even greater than Zhou Man's. After all, if the blockage had been cleared later, who knows how many people would have died, because there were quite a few injured people carried out last night.
After leaving the county government office, the three of them silently went to Daji to lead the horses and mount them. Bai Erlang asked, "Should we burn some incense when we go to Huguo Temple today?"
Manbao: "Pray for those people?"
Bai Erlang said, "Just do your best."
Bai Shan: "It's just that we don't often worship Buddha, so I don't know if Buddha can fulfill our vows."
Man Bao said: "I just want peace of mind. Even if you believe in Buddhism, you may not be blessed by the Buddha. Let's go."
The three of them had breakfast at the foot of Huguo Temple before going up the mountain.
It wasn't their first time to the Huguo Temple, but they always stayed in the bustling market below the mountain gate, not only because there were a lot of delicious food there, but also because there were many small carvings, Buddhist-related items collected from all over the place, and various books.
So after their vacation, they like to come here to eat and buy some books and fun things.
But this time they just took a quick look at the Buddhist ornaments on the stalls and followed the crowd straight up the mountain.
After crossing the high threshold, they entered the main hall. The three of them looked up at the Buddha statue that was almost as tall as the roof. After paying homage to it for a while, they stepped forward to line up to worship.
There are a lot of people coming to burn incense today, so you have to wait for a while.
When it was their turn, they stepped forward together, knelt down together, then looked up at the Buddha and considered in their minds how to make a wish for the people who were injured last night.
The three of them solemnly made a wish, then kowtowed and bowed. After standing up, they asked, "Do we have to come back to fulfill our wish in the future?"
"If the donor gets what he wants, he will come back to fulfill his wish."
The three of them turned around and saw an old monk in a red cassock standing behind them. He was looking at them with a smile. "Of course, fulfilling our vows is not about the Buddha, but about giving our donors peace of mind."
The three men didn't know who he was, but they saw that he looked quite old, with a kind face. Most importantly, the cassock he wore was very fine, and the Buddhist beads on his hand were particularly long and round. It was obvious that he played with them often and they were not cheap. So they concluded that he must be of high status, so they bowed to him together.
Seeing that they were performing Confucian rituals, the old monk's smile deepened. He stepped back and leaned over to ask, "Would you three be willing to go to the backyard for a Zen discussion?"
Bai Shan and the other two were in a dilemma and politely declined, saying, "We shouldn't refuse the Master's invitation, but we are young and don't know much about Buddhist principles, so we don't dare to talk about Zen."
The old monk laughed and said, "Donor Bai, you are joking. The three donors' understanding of Buddhism is not inferior to that of me and others."
Bai Shan was surprised that he actually knew them. He couldn't help but glanced at Man Bao, then smiled and said, "I'm sorry to bother you, Master. I hope you don't think we are stupid."
Although the three of them didn't know who he was, since he called out their names and stood behind them waiting, it was obvious that he came prepared.
They didn't want to hide and were very curious about what the monk wanted them to do.
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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