Fa Ru didn't understand why His Royal Highness would ask these questions that had nothing to do with the growth of the Buddha statue. After thinking for a while, he replied, "Your Highness, there have been no pilgrims staying here recently."
Li Hong didn't know whether he had heard it or not. He nodded thoughtfully, then let go of Wu Mei's hand and slowly walked around the Buddha statue, looking at the spiral bun on the Buddha's head that was still covered with mud.
The half-unearthed Buddha statue looked solemn and dignified, while the little part of the statue that had just grown out of the soil was still wet.
But Li Hong did not find any traces of watering around the Buddha statue. He thought to himself, "Could it be that this Buddha statue is made of soybeans? Soybeans can only germinate and grow quickly when exposed to water, so they can achieve such an effect in a short period of time. But why can't I see any traces of watering on the ground?"
Li Hong walked around the Buddha statue thoughtfully, expanding the scope of his circle. He believed that there must be something strange going on. Apparently someone was using a more covert method to water the soybeans under the Buddha statue.
It was like everyone looking at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, circling around the Buddha statue diligently and willingly, like a donkey pulling a millstone. They wondered if he saw the problem or if the Buddha statue had gone mad.
Li Hong looked up to the sky and sighed, rubbing his hands together unconsciously, and sighed: "Master, master."
"Your Highness, this Buddha statue did start to grow a few days ago. Buddhists never tell lies. Moreover, Your Majesty and the Queen are here. How dare I do anything about this matter?" said Fa Ru Ji Shou.
Li Hong paced and shook his head, not knowing whether he was responding to Faru's words or talking to himself: "Not necessarily, not necessarily. Everything is about cause and effect. If there is a cause, there must be an effect. If there is no cause, there will be no effect. The cycle of cause and effect is natural. Although the existence of anything is reasonable, only reasonable existence can be called an anomaly. An existence without any basis must be...!"
...
...
Li Hong suddenly stopped under a small tree not far from the Buddha statue. Looking at everyone including Li Zhi and Wu Mei, Li Hong said word by word: "This is a baseless existence, it must be a lie to confuse the people!"
"Master Faru, please tell me, which monk was the first to discover this Buddha statue?" Li Hong asked Faru while waving Xia Zhi over.
Xia Zhi looked at the emperor and the queen and saw that they did not stop him, so he hurriedly walked up to Li Hong and said, "Your Highness, here you go, this is what you asked me to find."
Li Hong silently took the thing from Xia Zhi's hand, which turned out to be a bean sprout from today's lunch. Li Hong held the bean sprout in his hand and pushed it back and forth.
The emperor and the empress personally went to inspect the Buddha statue, and the monk who first discovered the sprouts was naturally called over by Faru early. At this time, a monk who came out from behind Faru saw the bean sprouts in Li Hong's hand, and his face turned pale in an instant.
Fa Ru smiled and said to Li Hong: "The first person to discover the Buddha statue was a new disciple that Monk Ping accepted some time ago."
Li Hong waved to the monk standing next to Fa Ru to come over. He looked at the monk with a smile, holding the bean sprouts in his hand, and asked, "May I ask what is the monk's secular name?"
"Your Highness, I have long used my secular name, which was Lu and Bingshu. Now the master has given you the name: Lunzhai." The monk said respectfully to Li Hong.
"Master Lunzhai?" Li Hong's tone became increasingly cold, even revealing a hint of murderous intent as he asked, "Do you recognize this thing?"
"Your Highness, I recognize this. This is bean. There are a lot of them in Ci'en Temple every day..."
"Then go and dig out what's underneath the Buddha statue. Don't tell me you don't know." Li Hong interrupted him and suddenly threw the bean sprouts in his hand onto Lun Zhai's bald head, then walked towards Wu Mei.
Everyone was confused as to why the gentle prince suddenly got angry at a monk. Fa-ru beside him was also shocked. Huineng and Shen-xiu were mysterious and it was hard to tell what was going on in their hearts.
Li Zhi looked at Li Hong who was walking over. He was about to scold the monk for his naughty and disrespectful attitude towards the Buddha statue, but Wu Mei, who was standing beside him, grabbed his hand and held it down.
"Your Majesty, Hong'er will not do anything reckless. Let's see what happens." Wu Mei said in a low voice.
Li Hong walked up to Wu Mei, bowed to Li Zhi and Wu Mei, and said with a smile: "Father, mother, this Buddha statue coming out of the soil is just a trick, it can't be said that the Buddha appeared. To put it bluntly, it's actually the bean I threw just now that's causing trouble. You will know why in a moment."
Li Zhi looked at him with dissatisfaction and was too lazy to talk to him. However, Wu Mei held her husband's hand to prevent him from getting angry.
He asked Li Hong, "Are you saying that this bean can push a very heavy Buddha statue out of the soil?" Wu Mei also looked unconvinced.
Li Hong smiled and said, "Mother, you and father should stop being suspicious. Think about whether the kapok cassock given to you by Master Huineng should be kept in the palace or in some temple."
"Haha... Your Highness, the truth of this matter has not yet been revealed, so please don't be too sure." Shenxiu suddenly said.
This guy looks like an iron tower, big and strong, with a typical dark and hard image, but his voice is very thin, not as rough as his appearance suggests.
"Lun... What's Lun? Lunzhai, hurry up and start digging. Do you want to start digging from the small hole where the tree is, or directly from under the Buddha statue? Do it quickly after you've made up your mind, otherwise don't blame me for handing you over to the Zongzheng Temple." Li Hong turned his head to look at the trembling monk Lunzhai and said sternly.
"Your Highness, your threats are inappropriate. If this statue is really the manifestation of the Buddha, wouldn't it be a desecration if we touched it..." Dai Zhide stepped forward and said.
"Minister Dai, everything requires evidence. If you don't believe it, you can go digging with Lunzhai. But after seeing the result, don't come back to apologize to me." Li Hong interrupted Dai Zhide and said tit for tat.
"Our Tang Dynasty educates the people with virtue and courtesy, and has always emphasized gentleness and humility. In front of His Majesty, the Queen, and several eminent monks, you are so disrespectful to the Buddha statue..."
"Stop, stop, stop. Don't talk to me about respecting or not respecting the Buddha statue. The Buddha said, 'Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.' Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but the Buddha remains in the heart. As long as you respect the Buddha in your heart, it is enough. What's more, this Buddha statue is a crooked and evil one that deceives people. Naturally, it can be disrespected." Li Hong said interjected.
Humph, you are just talking nonsense. When have you ever beaten me in this period of time? And today you come to argue with me again. Instead of watching the show carefully from behind, you only know about etiquette, morality and education.
“Your Highness…”
"Enough." Li Zhi suddenly shouted in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, father, whether you are happy or angry, I, your son, know my crime." When Li Hong and Dai Zhide heard Li Zhi's shout, they immediately bowed and apologized like mice seeing a cat.
"I will be pissed off to death by you two sooner or later! I am here today to listen to the great monks chanting Buddhist scriptures, not to listen to you two bickering. Yang Wu, each of you will be punished with fifty lashes of the cane, and your salary will be confiscated for half a year." Li Zhi shook off Wu Mei's hand that was grabbing him hastily, and said angrily with his hands behind his back.
Li Zhi suddenly felt a little regretful about appointing Li Hong as the Minister of Revenue. If this were to happen, would he have peace in the court from now on? Dai Zhide, this farm slave, I will kill him sooner or later... And Li Hong, wait and see how I deal with you!
It is almost becoming a routine now. Whenever Li Hong and Dai Zhide quarrel, as long as Li Zhi is present, the situation will definitely be the same as before.
The two quarreled, Li Zhi stopped them, the two apologized, Li Zhi punished them. This cycle repeated itself, and each time they were given fifty lashes and fined half a year's salary. But when they turned around, the matter seemed to be gone, and Li Zhi did not pursue it, and the censor did not ask about it.
But things are different now. In the past, Li Hong had no salary to be punished. Every time he heard that his father punished Dai Zhide's salary, Li Hong was happy to smile. But now he also has a salary to receive. He can't pay the court half a year's salary before receiving any salary.
Just when he wanted to argue with Li Zhi, Wu Mei glared back at him. Dai Zhide was not afraid at all, and looked like he was ready to sacrifice himself. Li Hong looked like Wei Zheng! I just don't know how much his salary has been these days...
Thinking of this, Li Hong suddenly laughed. He was now the Minister of Revenue, and his father had even said that he would confiscate half a year's salary.
Thinking of this, Li Hong glanced at the monks digging around the Buddha statue. While Li Zhi was not paying attention, he quietly stepped back two steps and said to Dai Zhide, "Minister Dai, I am now the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. My father just said that you will be fined half a year's salary. I have made a note of it. By the way, I heard that your second young master is going to get married. If you are short of money, let me know. I can lend you some first. Oh, of course, in my own name. You know, the money in the Ministry of Revenue is limited and cannot be borrowed casually."
"Hmph, it's as if no one has borrowed money from you. For Dai Yi to get married, even if I had to sell everything I have, including my house and land, I would not borrow a penny from you." Dai Zhide's face darkened and he looked calm, as if he didn't care about that half-year salary at all.
Wu Mei felt her palms itching after hearing this. She really wanted to grab Li Hong's ears and give him a good beating!
Li Zhi was so angry that he was out of breath. His wheezing eyes seemed to be breathing. He stared at the bottom of the Buddha statue to divert his attention. He was too lazy to pay attention to this... evil beast... No, this evil son... That's not right either. Never mind, he would go back and deal with him later.
When Li Hong stood next to Dai Zhide, grinning like two Cao Caos, the crowd suddenly burst into exclamations. Several monks were seen, each holding a bunch of bean sprouts in their hands, looking at Lun Zhai in disbelief.
Lunzhai was so frightened that he prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowed and begged for mercy with tears in his eyes.
Li Zhi's face flushed red, and he was obviously quite angry at the scene before him. "The Zongzheng Temple will investigate this matter. Li Hong will assist you and give me and the Queen an explanation as soon as possible. You will be detained in the Zongzheng Temple and await your punishment. From now on, the Ci'en Temple will not be allowed to receive pilgrims without my permission! Return to the palace!"
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