Chapter 2013 Emergency
Jie Chen poured a bowl of water for the master, paid his respects, and sat opposite him to translate the scriptures.
However, Jie Chen was somewhat distracted. He asked, "Didn't Master say that Mr. Bai and the others might want to suggest that Fotian pay taxes? Why didn't Master remind Uncle Shi?"
Zhiren stopped writing and said, "They have this idea, but it may not succeed."
He smiled and said, "This method is actually quite good. Unfortunately, there are so many Buddhist temples in the world, and since ancient times, monks have always been away from the world of mortals. I'm afraid this method won't work."
Jie Chen: "Master agrees with this method?"
Zhiren sighed and said, "I disagree. Your uncle is right in one respect. We need more time to study Buddhist principles, but he is also wrong. Such expansion of Buddhist temples will not benefit the people."
He said, "This method may not succeed, but at least it will make the greedy Buddhist temples restrain themselves a little."
Obviously, he also thought that Huguo Temple was too greedy.
Zhiren removed the Buddhist beads from his wrist and slowly slid them along, silently reciting scriptures in his heart. After a while, he said, "Jiechen, I have been translating the Lotus Sutra recently, and I find that some of the meanings are becoming increasingly difficult to understand. Therefore, I would like to go to the Western Regions to worship Buddha and obtain scriptures. Would you be willing to go with me?"
Jie Chen said, "Disciple is willing, but I'm afraid that Uncle Master won't let me go."
Zhiren said, "The Tao is the only way in the world. To spread Buddhism, we must spread the correct Buddhism. I will convince him."
Monk Zhiren suddenly winked at Jiechen and said with a smile, "Even if we can't convince him, we still have other ways to leave, right?"
Jie Chen: “…Yes!”
Zhinin smiled in satisfaction.
"Master, will they read the scriptures you gave them?"
"You can watch it, or you can not watch it."
"But there are annotations written by you on it. If they don't read it, wouldn't it be like a pearl covered in dust?"
Zhiren said nonchalantly, "That's just my superficial understanding. It's not a pearl, so how could it be covered in dust?"
He added, "They are not the kind of people who waste their time. If they don't read Buddhist scriptures, they will read other books or do other things. That's enough. Spreading the Dharma depends on fate. You shouldn't be as demanding as your uncle."
Avoid anger and respond accordingly.
At this time, Manbao, who had returned home, was waiting for his fellow disciples to set up their writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone, while he casually flipped through the three Buddhist scriptures.
She casually flipped to the Shurangama Sutra and only glanced down ten lines before she couldn't help but continue reading. Then she looked at the small annotations on the side and said, "This Buddhist scripture doesn't look like it was written by Zhishen."
Bai Shan took it and looked at it, but he didn't think it belonged to Zhishen either. He wondered, "Could it be that appearances don't tell the whole story? Did we misunderstand him?"
Bai Erlang: "That's impossible. Don't be fooled by his kind face. He just takes advantage of his looks. In fact, I think he is as irritable as me."
Since Bai Er thinks so, then it must be true.
Man Bao said with a sigh, "They say a person's handwriting reflects his character. If he is not one of those people whose handwriting does not reflect his character, then this Buddhist scripture must have been given to him by someone else."
Bai Shan turned the page and said, "But he's not wrong. This Shurangama Sutra looks quite good. I can take a look at it when I have time."
Bai Erlang leaned forward and asked, "Do you want to convert to Buddhism?"
Bai Shan pushed his head away and said, "You are the one who wants to convert to Buddhism."
He dropped the book in his hand, spread out a piece of white paper in front of him, and asked, "Who will write this memorial?"
Manbao and Bai Erlang immediately grinded the ink and handed over the pen, smiling flatteringly, "You write, you write."
Bai Shan reached out and took the pen, saying, "I'll write it, and Man Bao will help revise it later. Bai Er, you can copy it later."
Bai Er said it was no problem, but asked, "Whose memorial should I use?"
Bai Shan said: "Use our Bai Zhe."
He said, "This kind of thing would incite too much hatred. It's not appropriate for Man Baolai to do it. I estimate that it will most likely fail. However, it can serve as a warning to the imperial court, and it can also make Buddhist temples and Taoist temples, and even the aristocracy, to be more restrained. It will offend people."
"We are still just students at Chongwenguan. We are of low status and power. The memorials we submit will have little impact. Even if someone holds a grudge, it won't last long."
"That may not be the case," Bai Erlang said, "You are also famous. I am a little better. I am not as famous as you, but I am also the son-in-law of the emperor, so I should be more likable than you."
Manbao immediately said, "If you are ever turned away from any Buddhist or Taoist temple in the world, we will go in and burn incense for you."
Bai Shan: ...
This was just a joke. Since it was the three of them's idea, and they all participated in it, they naturally signed it together.
However, Bai Shan believed that Zhezi had made the greatest contribution, so he insisted on being ranked first.
Manbao and Bai Erlang never argued with him about such things that would cause enmity, and just let him do what he wanted out of politeness.
Bai Shan glanced at them and wrote his name behind the copy written by Bai Erlang, then handed the pen to Bai Erlang.
Bai Erlang, who only wanted to be ranked third, was stunned for a moment before he took the pen and wrote his name. He then said, "Actually, I heard that being ranked second is the easiest to be overlooked."
Bai Shan: "Shut up."
If Manbao hadn't insisted on sharing the hardship with them, he actually didn't want her to sign this memorial.
After finishing the memorial, the sky outside was already filled with rosy clouds. Bai Shan blew on it to dry the ink before putting it away and placing it on the table. "We'll be back at the palace early tomorrow morning. Have you thought of a plan for dealing with this?"
It's about what happened last night.
What happened last night was neither big nor small, and the emperor will definitely ask questions.
Manbao and Bai Erlang nodded together, "Don't worry, I dreamed about what I was going to say last night."
Manbao said, "My parents will leave early tomorrow morning. We will go to the palace after we see them off."
That meant they had to get up before dawn. Mr. Bai and his wife would follow him, and Bai Erlang wanted to see them off, so he asked, "Can you see them off to the city gate?"
"What are you thinking about? Just send them to the gate. Once they get on the carriage, we'll ride into the palace."
The discussion went well, but Manbao didn't have the chance to see them off. Just after dinner in the evening, someone from the palace came to urgently summon her.
Manbao and the others were shocked. Their first thought was, Princess Mingda and the others might have let the secret slip, and the emperor would be furious and bring her into the palace to teach her a lesson.
Bai Shan also had this concern, so he stepped forward to bribe the eunuch to inquire about the news. Upon hearing the news, Old Lady Liu came over urgently and glared at him. She asked the eunuch, "Sir, do you think I should bring my medicine box?"
"Of course I have to bring it. Doctor Zhou, please hurry up. The car is waiting outside."
Bai Shan and the others' hearts dropped instantly, and then rose slightly again.
Zhou Lijun quickly turned around and ran, "Aunt, I'll help you carry the medicine box."
So Manbao asked the eunuch, "Who is he treating?"
The eunuch did not hide it, "It's the Empress Dowager."
But there was nothing more to say. No matter how Manbao asked, he didn't dare to say anything more in detail. Manbao saw it and didn't force him.
However, before she left, she nodded to Bai Shan, Mr. Zhuang, and Mrs. Liu, and everything was said without words.
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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