Lady Ji is simply insulting the gods and Buddhas.

The Queen Mother raised her eyelids in dissatisfaction and asked coldly: "Lady Ji, I asked you to recite Buddhist scriptures, what are you doing?"

Wu Qing put down the tools for striking the wooden fish.

She replied respectfully, "Empress Dowager, the Buddhist scripture in your hand is a rare and unique copy in the world. I am unlucky and have never had the opportunity to read it. I am afraid that if I read one or two words wrong, it will disturb the Buddha."

"Therefore, I have the audacity to privately change to another scripture to read. I beg the Queen Mother to forgive me."

After hearing her explanation, the Queen Mother's cold expression eased a little.

"Well, you're thoughtful."

The Queen Mother asked again: "What Buddhist scripture are you reading? Why have I never heard of it? And the scripture sounds extremely crude and unworthy of being read in a refined hall... Is this what you usually read?"

As she spoke later, the Queen Mother could no longer conceal her disgust.

Wu Qing said sternly, "Queen Mother, you have lived in the palace for a long time, you don't know anything."

"The scripture I am reading is called 'Pray to the Buddha'. Although it is not one of the orthodox scriptures, every word of it comes from the heart and reaches the heart. There are at least tens of millions of people in the world who have read this masterpiece."

The Queen Mother's brows furrowed again.

"What nonsense!" the Queen Mother shouted angrily.

If, as Concubine Ji said, this sutra was widely circulated, why had she never heard of it?

Seeing this, Wu Qing calmly replied, "Quiet down, Queen Mother. You just said that the scripture is crude and crude, and I'm afraid that the servants will also find it unworthy of being presented in a high-class hall. How dare we present the Scripture of Praying to the Buddha to you?"

"Besides, the crudeness of the scriptures has its advantages. The breakfast vendors and farmers can understand its meaning after reading it. Even the children in the streets can recite a few sentences. With this calculation, the number of people will naturally increase."

…This is not without reason. The Queen Mother pondered secretly.

But the Queen Mother changed her mind. The path of Buddhism is profound and mysterious. How can it be easily touched by the mortal world?

She had been chanting Buddha's name sincerely for many years, but had never found the way to becoming a Buddha.

The Queen Mother said indifferently: "It's a pity that people in this world have no wisdom, so reading the scriptures is useless."

[You make it sound as if you do...] Wu Qing touched his nose and declined to comment.

After barely getting through the Buddhist scriptures, the Queen Mother refocused her attention on Wu Qing.

After a while, the Queen Mother spoke up, "The Emperor didn't think highly of you back then. It was only because I saw that you were calm and reserved that I allowed you to enter the palace. Now, looking at you, you are really different now, and have changed a lot."

A year ago in Jingyi Pavilion, Wu Qing did not dare to look directly at her superior. She spoke in a very low voice, fearing to disturb others.

And now, one year later——

When Concubine Ji took off her hairpin to apologize, she dared to take off her inner clothes, and she dared to change the text when reading Buddhist scriptures under her nose... No one in the palace could match her behavior except the rebellious Concubine Lin.

Just as Concubine De said, Concubine Ji does not seem like someone who is devoted to worshipping Buddha.

The emperor was not careful enough to let such a pretentious person gain favor and even let her eliminate the sins for the Buddha. The queen mother frowned.

Wu Qing replied crisply: "Thank you for the compliment, Queen Mother. I also know that with my previous personality, it is difficult for the emperor to like me. I will do my best to become more sunny and cheerful so that the emperor will like me more."

The Queen Mother's mouth twitched, and she almost forgot what she was going to do next.

"You have even read 'Praying to Buddha'. Can I assume that you, Lady Ji, are also a Buddhist?" asked the Queen Mother.

Wu Qing nodded.

"So you have the courage to build Nanshan Garden to eliminate the sins that have accumulated in the palace for a long time?"

Wu Qingying is right.

The Queen Mother nodded slightly. "That's great. I have searched all over ancient books, but I haven't found any Buddhist scriptures that specifically describe the secrets of female living Buddhas' practice. Since I know that you have a lot of experience in this field, this important task must be yours."

"...Let me find the Buddhist scriptures?"

Wu Qing raised her head suddenly, somewhat surprised, "My Buddhist practice is still shallow, how can I take on such an important matter?"

The Queen Mother turned a deaf ear and continued to turn the Buddhist beads in her hand.

Even though her thumb movements had become a little sluggish, she did not stop her "devout" silent recitation.

The Queen Mother said slowly: "I am not an unreasonable person. I know what you are worried about. The Buddhist scriptures are hard to find. I will give you time to find them."

She thought for a moment and said to Wu Qing, "My birthday party will be next week."

"Please give me this scroll of Buddhist scriptures as a birthday gift."

...Buddhist scriptures next week?!

Wu Qing’s eyes widened.

[I don't even have time to make up stories, how can she have the nerve to give me time? ]

She looked at the Queen Mother in disbelief.

The silver-haired empress dowager curled up in a soft chair, her face kind and peaceful, and she didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with what she did.

The ghost said quietly: [Not only that, on the birthday, every gift will be opened by the Queen Mother herself and then shown to the Emperor and the harem.]

[If you randomly find a Buddhist scripture to fool the Queen Mother, you will be charged with disrespect and unfilial behavior from now on.]

[The Queen Mother and Concubine De will join forces to vent their anger again, saying that you are disrespectful to the gods and Buddhas, and they will deprive you of the right to build Nanshan Garden.]

[…So this is the Queen Mother’s ultimate move.] Wu Qing was in agony, [The question is, where can I find the scriptures that record the female living Buddha for her?]

The female ghost gave her advice: [You can't do it by yourself, why not ask the imperial concubine and the queen.]

The Queen Mother glanced at Wu Qing, who was kneeling on the futon, and asked, "Do you have any objection?"

"I dare not." Wu Qing replied weakly.

The Queen Mother nodded and said, "Then kneel down and pay your respects. I will continue to worship the Buddha."

Wu Qing kowtowed quickly, trying to escape from the Sanskrit scripture in front of him.

At the Queen Mother's glance, the nanny took her out and did not return her clothes before leaving, letting everyone in the palace know that she had taken off her hairpin to apologize.

…

This week, the incident in which Concubine Ji took off her hairpin to apologize in the Cining Palace became the hottest topic of conversation in the palace.

Outside the palace, another rumor spread like wildfire:

Qin Lixue, the compiler of the Hanlin Academy, has a special hobby that is unknown to the public!

He himself was an image of being noble and upright in the court, but now that this rumor had spread, people looked at him with a hint of subtlety.

And because of Wu Qing's "kindness", Qin Lixue's schedule was packed.

So much so that by the time he realized something was wrong, it was already too late to undo it.

That day, Qin Lixue had just returned home when he was called away by his father's servants.

After meeting Censor Qin, Censor Qin did not directly admonish him as usual, but simply ordered him to kneel down in a deep voice.

Qin Lixue carefully reviewed his recent actions and did not feel that there was anything wrong, so he knelt down for no apparent reason.

Unexpectedly, as soon as his knees touched the ground, a bamboo stick hit him hard on the back.

Qin Lixue was caught off guard and suddenly cried out in pain.

"How did I teach you how to behave in society? How could I have expected that I would raise such a shameless and disgraceful rebellious child like you!"

Censor Qin, with a completely white beard, became angrier and angrier the more he thought about it, and couldn't help but slap Qin Lixue.