Chapter 252: Visiting the Temple at Night, the Bodhisattva Smiles
The wind moved and the clouds shifted, and the moonlight poured down like water, shining on the empress in her carriage, making her look exceptionally otherworldly.
"Yes." Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, then responded, picked up the hem of his robe and got in.
As the curtain fell, a round night pearl on an exquisite small square table in the center of the carriage turned from dark to bright.
The jade pot and cups on the table were illuminated, and the air was filled with a slight smell of wine.
"Your Majesty, have you been drinking?" Zhao Duan sat down on one side, frowning slightly.
What he was referring to, of course, was not the drinking at the celebration banquet.
Xu Zhenguan picked up an empty cup with her delicate hands, raised her neck and drank it all in one gulp.
Because she had her hair tied up, her fair neck looked "empty" today.
From this angle, Zhao Duan could see the delicate jaw and the bulge in the tight, white neck as the wine slid into the esophagus after being swallowed.
"Pour the wine." The empress put down the exquisite cup and said softly.
Zhao Duan didn't say anything, but tacitly held up the jade pot with both hands and poured wine for her.
The carriage began to move, but the two remained silent. The empress drank three cups in a row. Zhao Duan raised his hand to cover the wine pot and sighed:
"Your Majesty, heavy drinking is harmful to your health."
In the dim light of the night pearl, the female emperor, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and a golden crown of the same color, stared at him expressionlessly and tried to grab the wine jug.
But Zhao Duan escaped and advised earnestly:
"Your Majesty, I remember you said that you used to drink by yourself whenever you were in high spirits.
I think this brew made from fine grains should bring joy. If it doesn't bring joy, and it's just for the sake of forgetting worries, then it's just drinking to drown your sorrows."
Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes still stared at him without emotion.
In the past, when she behaved like this, the palace maids and eunuchs would be terrified and would ask for whatever she wanted.
But Zhao Duan held the wine jug tightly, and bravely looked at her with a calm gaze.
When their eyes met, he could not see the joy of eliminating the traitor in the empress's eyes, but only deep loneliness.
Xu Zhenguan raised the corner of his mouth and sneered:
"If I were the late emperor, a minister like you who dares to disobey the emperor would be banished to the 'cold palace' no matter how great your achievements are."
Zhao Duan looked at him without averting his gaze and said seriously:
"That is why Your Majesty is not the late emperor, and I dare to speak frankly."
He has extensive experience in understanding the thoughts of female leaders and knows how to show consideration at the right time.
Sure enough, Xu Zhenguan's eyes turned soft, and the jade hand that was hanging in the air to grab the wine pot slowly fell down.
A breath of fragrant wine emanated from her plump lips. She leaned back slightly, leaning against the car wall, her eyes becoming more moist and warm.
"It would be great if there were more ministers like you in the court."
Zhao Duan put down the jade pot and smiled:
"Shouldn't this mean that I have fallen out of favor?"
A joke that was not very funny, but it just diluted the dull atmosphere in the carriage.
He knew that the Empress was acting this way because she was provoked by Wang Heng's confession... If Wang Heng denied everything, even if he kowtowed and cried, shouting that he was wronged...
The empress would not have many emotional fluctuations, she would just be angry.
Although he holds a high position and has great power, he is no exception and is one of the many important officials in the court who have been brought down.
But...
"Tell me, how many people like Wang Heng are there in the court?" Xu Zhenguan suddenly asked softly.
The tone... wasn't really asking for an answer, but more like an exclamation, or a question to herself.
Zhao Duan was silent for a moment, instinctively feeling that this question was difficult to answer.
On the surface, this question is about who else is being corrupted, but in reality, the empress is hesitating about how to deal with these traitors who are both hateful and not so hateful.
Of course, Zhao Duan could give a self-protective, but meaningless, answer.
Historically, the eunuchs, who lived like tigers to the emperor, had rich experience in responding to such questions from the emperor anytime and anywhere.
Yet he finally said:
"When water is too clear, there are no fish; when a man is too strict, there are no followers. Your Majesty should be pleased. People like Wang Heng have already felt remorse. This shows that the time when everyone's hearts are with Your Majesty is not far away."
Xu Zhenguan glanced at him in surprise, chewed over his words, and then said with a half-smile:
"That's not something a sly guy like you would say."
...I'm not a sly person, at least not now... Zhao Duan said righteously:
"Your Majesty, I will say whatever you want me to say."
Tsk... Xu Zhenguan snorted, a look of disgust on his face, but his mood was relieved or relieved by his jokes.
"Let's not talk about this," Xu Zhenguan looked at the shaking curtain and said softly:
"Do you know where I'm going?"
"I am a fool," Zhao Duan said with a silly look on his face. "I have accomplished such a great feat. Your Majesty, do you intend to reward me?"
Xu Zhenguan said unhappily:
"You're really good at taking credit for it. You've done your job, and that's what you're supposed to do. And you're asking me for a reward?"
Zhao Duan just smiled when he was scolded. Xu Zhen felt helpless when she saw him like this.
He gently held his forehead with his fingers, and then said softly:
"This is the direction to Jizhao Temple."
Jizhao Temple... the nunnery near Shenlong Temple... the place where Princess Yunyang was confined... Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, then reacted:
"Your Majesty, are you going to visit the eldest princess?"
Speaking of which, it has been quite a while since he slapped Princess Yunyang and sent her to a nunnery to chant Buddhist scriptures.
I almost forgot about this dissolute princess...
Xu Zhenguan said softly, "Yes," and said:
"She is my aunt after all. I should visit her once or twice after such a long time."
Zhao Duan rolled his eyes and said:
"Why don't you send the princess home?"
With his current power structure, frankly speaking, he no longer cares about what happened back then.
Xu Zhenguan didn't look at him and said:
"Given my aunt's temperament, it's only been a few months, it's far from enough to change her temper. It would be good for her to chant Buddha's name over there."
It feels like sending an elder to an internet addiction treatment center... Zhao Duan complained.
I realized that the reason why the empress went to visit was probably because of her uncle, Prince Jing...
He did not continue the topic, but asked curiously:
"I heard that there is a Buddhist Bodhisattva in Jizhao Temple?"
Xu Zhenguan said "yes" and explained casually:
“In today’s Buddhism…let’s not even talk about the Tantric Buddhism in the Western Regions, let’s just talk about the lineage of the Dayu Shenlong Temple. The most powerful Buddhist master is the abbot Xuanyin, and below him are three Bodhisattvas who have reached the Great Perfection of the Worldly Realm.
The one in Jizhao Temple is Prajna Bodhisattva, whose main practice is the Three Unleaked Abilities of Buddhism... The other two are Nagarjuna Bodhisattva and Master Dajing... Prajna is actually the youngest of the three.
"How young?" Zhao Duan asked curiously.
"Fifty-two."
...The fifty-two-year-old nun... Zhao Duan lost interest and imagined the image of Master Miejue.
…
…
Jizhao Temple was not far from the banquet hall, and they had arrived while they were talking.
The carriage stopped at the door of the nunnery, and Zhao Duan followed the empress out of the carriage.
The nunnery in front of me is not very big.
Especially compared with the Shenlong Temple in the distance, which covers a large area and is brightly lit even in the night, it seems particularly inconspicuous.
There were only two lanterns hanging above the unassuming main entrance.
The eunuch knocked on the door and identified himself.
The nun who came to open the door was shocked. She clasped her hands together towards the empress and was about to report.
"There's no need to mobilize so many troops. I'm just here to visit Yunyang and will leave later." The empress said gently.
The young nun who opened the door was too terrified to refuse.
He immediately made a gesture of invitation.
The empress left the others waiting outside the door and took Zhao Duan into Jizhao Temple.
Under the cover of night, the nunnery is quite quiet, but the scenery is extremely elegant, with a sense of beauty of tranquility in the midst of bustle.
"Your Majesty, Donor Yunyang lives in the guesthouse ahead. I will lead you there."
The nun walked on the stone path, surrounded by well-tended flowers and plants.
Pointing to a lighted Zen room in front.
Xu Zhenguan looked over and asked softly, "How has she been these days?"
The plain-looking nun looked embarrassed:
"Donor Yunyang was the noisiest at first, throwing things all the time. Prajna Bodhisattva couldn't stand it, so he talked to him and things got better.
But I also feel that the vegetarian food in the nunnery is not to my taste. I eat too little of the food that was sent to me. As for the scriptures, the one that was sent in a few months ago has not been replaced yet.”
Good man...how did you "talk" about it?
Is it a physical method? Zhao Duan was amazed, not surprised.
Xu Zhenguan sighed softly and said to Zhao Duan:
"I'll go take a look, so you don't have to go over there."
"I know."
Zhao Duan lowered his head and looked submissive, a little worried that Yunyang was making up a dirty rumor about him... but thinking that the empress probably wouldn't believe it, he felt relieved.
Watching the empress and the nun go away together, Zhao Duan stood alone in the elegant and quiet courtyard.
I was bored and didn't dare to go far, but the courtyard was quite large, like a small garden.
He took a leisurely walk in the garden just to relieve his boredom.
After walking for a while, I suddenly felt my ears move and heard a faint singing voice.
The melody of the song was quite strange. It was not the "elegant music" advocated by Dayu music theory, but rather inclined towards "vulgar music" and had a hint of Sanskrit.
"A pure Buddhist place, who is singing so late at night..."
Zhao Duan became curious and turned to look back.
Guessing that Zhenbao would not be back for a while, he thought for a while and followed the sound through a hanging flower door and a winding corridor, and entered a small courtyard.
After passing a clump of loquat trees, Zhao Duan stopped and was stunned.
I saw a small pond in front of me.
There are withered lotus flowers in the pond, and the bright moon is reflected in the water, broken by the ripples.
Beside the pond, there sat a plump and graceful figure.
She was soaking wet, wearing a loose white dress, and her pair of round, slender and tight legs were exposed in the early autumn night. Her calves were soaked in the pool water, and her bare feet were like lotus flowers.
Beside her was a fruit plate, and in the plate was a pure white jade bottle.
While singing to the moon, she held a dark blue comb and gently combed her wet long hair.
Perhaps sensing someone was watching, the singing stopped abruptly.
The mysterious woman turned her head to look at him, revealing her beautiful face that seemed to be shrouded by thousands of snow-capped mountains, and a pair of almost transparent eyes.
Between the woman's eyebrows, the lotus mark, the symbol of Buddhism, emits an eerie light in the moonlight.
"Oh……"
The woman, who looked to be in her twenties or thirties, with a plump figure, and whose white, fleshy monk's robes could barely conceal her, smiled sweetly:
"You are Zhao Duan."
Not far away, Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, and a name almost subconsciously popped up in his mind:
Prajna Bodhisattva!
Thanks to the book friend: Shining Skull for the 5000 points of support! !
(End of this chapter)
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