After hesitating for a moment, Magistrate Xu finally nodded and admitted that he had taken the incense money, because he dared not let Jing Zhe investigate.
Over the years, he has collected a considerable amount of "management fees".
In the past, the various poetry gatherings in Jiangling were held in different restaurants or brothels. The restaurants and brothels did not charge an admission fee, but the scholars and talented men who entered the restaurants would inevitably spend money there, and the cost of various drinks and tea would be much higher than usual. The owners of the restaurants and brothels would naturally give Prefect Xu some trouble fee, and this became a customary rule.
Later, Master Kongjing became the abbot of Peach Blossom Temple. In order to seek development, he approached Prefect Xu and promised that as long as Prefect Xu entrusted Peach Blossom Temple with organizing various poetry gatherings, he would give Prefect Xu a considerable fee for each gathering.
Prefect Xu hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed.
Because… he gave so much, so much that even Magistrate Xu didn’t have the courage to refuse.
It is said that the money comes from the sheep, and Peach Blossom Temple, as a place of Buddhist meditation, naturally does not have that much money. Where did it get so much money to give to Prefect Xu?
Therefore, incense money came into being.
It should be noted that although there was a donation for visiting Peach Blossom Temple in the past, it was voluntary. People who wanted to pray to the gods and Buddhas for blessings would naturally offer donations willingly.
But now, paying incense money has become a necessary condition for anyone who wants to enter the temple to participate in the poetry gathering. At first, some people were dissatisfied, after all, many scholars' families were not wealthy.
However, even if someone complained, the matter was suppressed by Magistrate Xu and eventually faded away. As a result, Peach Blossom Temple became even more arrogant, raising the price of incense and prohibiting people from bringing their own long or short incense sticks, acting extremely domineeringly.
The power and money transactions between Prefect Xu and Master Kongjing were illicit. Since Jing Zhe did not blame him, Prefect Xu chose to admit it. If Jing Zhe were to find out, he would lose his position as prefect.
Jing Zhe was satisfied with the answer and did not dwell on the issue of incense money, which relieved Magistrate Xu. He thought to himself that Jing Zhe did not seem to want to make a big deal out of the incense money, and that he had just been too nervous.
Jing Zhe nodded and said, "That's right. So, if Prefect Xu can accept donations from Peach Blossom Temple, then is it a problem for me, whose official rank is so much higher than Prefect Xu's, to pick peaches and sell them for wine money?"
"No...no problem..."
Master Kongjing stammered in agreement. He had come to reprimand Jing Zhe, but Jing Zhe's sudden display of power made him lose his composure, and he felt a strange unease about him.
"By the way, the old monk was just talking about the problem with Peach Blossom Temple, wasn't he?"
"..."
Master Kongjing nodded, thinking to himself that there was no way to argue about picking peach blossoms to sell for money, but there was no way to justify calling Peach Blossom Temple a Peach Blossom Hermitage.
To everyone's surprise, Jing Zhe sneered after hearing this: "Because, from today—no, from this moment on, there will be no more Peach Blossom Temple in Jiangling City, only Peach Blossom Nunnery!"
"..."
Because he was still immersed in the discussion about the ownership of Peach Blossom Temple, Master Kongjing was stunned for a moment and did not speak. When he came to his senses, he suddenly woke up.
"President Jing, what do you mean by this? Peach Blossom Temple is clearly right here, why are you saying it's gone?"
"Because from now on, Peach Blossom Temple will be renamed Peach Blossom Nunnery."
"Why...why?"
Jing Zhe took a few steps forward and stood less than a meter away from Master Kongjing. He said coldly, "Just because I am a second-rank official of the imperial court, do you think I need to report to you or get your approval to do my job? Are you His Majesty?"
"No...that's not what I meant!"
Master Kongjing cursed Jing Zhe countless times in his heart. This guy was really too bad. Even though it was a normal chat, he always managed to lead him astray. Luckily, he was quick-witted, otherwise, he would have been accused of deceiving the emperor if he was not careful!
"What I mean is, why change the name of Peach Blossom Temple when it was perfectly fine?"
Actually, whether this temple is called Peach Blossom Temple or Peach Blossom Nunnery is not the issue that Master Kongjing cares about the most. However, he is the abbot of Peach Blossom Temple, which is known to everyone in Jiangling. If Peach Blossom Temple becomes Peach Blossom Nunnery, what will happen to the issue of ownership?
After listening, Jing Zhe sneered: "Good? If I hadn't come here incognito, I would have thought Peach Blossom Temple was good too! But the result is exactly the opposite! Offering incense to temples is entirely based on the sincerity and self-discipline of the people, but Peach Blossom Temple forces everyone to buy your incense, and the price is many times higher than down the mountain!"
Just now, outside the gate, you forced me to buy incense sticks, which was bad enough, but you dared to charge two taels of silver for a single stick of incense! Are you a high monk? You're clearly just a bunch of bandits!
"Over the years, you have used the name of Peach Blossom Temple to swindle and deceive countless people, disgracing the reputation of Buddhism. Therefore, I hereby change the name of Peach Blossom Temple to Peach Blossom Nunnery. Do you have any objections?"
"..."
Jing Zhe was telling the truth. Originally, because Prefect Xu was protecting them, even if someone complained, it was all suppressed. But now that Jing Zhe had investigated it himself, Master Kongjing didn't even have the slightest intention to make excuses.
After thinking for a moment, he quickly said, "I agree, I agree... But President Jing, I'm innocent! I've been burning incense and praying to Buddha in the temple, reciting scriptures. As for asking for incense money, those were done by these disciples on their own!"
At this moment, Master Kongjing, with the idea of "better to die than to die myself," began to explain, and gave his disciples a wink, signaling them to hold out for now and watch what happens next!
The fat and thin monks understood and immediately begged for forgiveness, saying, "President Jing, our master is right. It is true that we accepted incense money without permission. However, considering that this is our first offense, we hope that President Jing will forgive us!"
Perhaps in their eyes, this is not a big deal. After all, they have been collecting them for a long time, and they have Prefect Xu protecting them. Jing Zhe is a newcomer. What else can he do besides scare them?
Young people are all concerned about their image, especially in front of so many people and Lin Wan'er. As long as you give him face, everything is negotiable. Would he really arrest them?
The fact that they have such thoughts shows that they don't understand Jing Zhe at all. By the time they understand Jing Zhe, it will be too late.
"First offense?"
Upon hearing this, Jing Zhe laughed in anger. These guys really wouldn't admit their mistakes until they saw the coffin. So he looked at the thin monk and asked, "Is this really the first time you've collected incense money? But judging from the way you asked me for money today, you're quite skilled!"
"President Jing, this is truly my first time!"
The thin monk naturally wouldn't admit it, and fearing Jing Zhe wouldn't believe him, he pointed at the crowd and said, "If President Jing doesn't believe me, he can ask him!"
"..."
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