Little Cardamom

I don't know that the Buddhist temple that the so-called young lady of the Ming family is going to pray for this time is Lingmiao Temple, which is located in Yunxiu Mountain three miles north of the city.

This Lingmiao Temple is far less prosperous than Daxiangguo Temple, and it does not have the reputation of being particularly effective in seeking marriage and children. It is only warm mountains and soft waters, and the scenery is particularly beautiful. It is also known as "delicious vegetarian food" among the people.

Ming Tan just liked the remoteness and cleanliness of it, so that she would not have to pray for blessings to avoid the limelight, and from time to time run into noble ladies from Beijing who came to offer incense.

Now that the scandal in the Duke's Mansion has been spread, Mingchu and Shen Hua definitely have no reason to be ignorant, and Aunt Liu is still her father's bedside person, so maybe Mingchu even knew about the fact that she was designed to fall into the water.

Originally, Mrs. Pei arranged for her to see her off early the next morning, but Ming Tan expected that when she left the house to see her off, Ming Chu would definitely not miss this golden opportunity to ridicule and ridicule her.

Therefore, she didn't intend to give Mingchu this chance—she informed Mrs. Pei at night, and before five o'clock dawned, she took Su Xin Lue on the road ahead of schedule.

When we arrived at Lingmiao Temple, the monks started the morning classes. After all, it is a place of pure Buddhist practice, with morning bells and evening drums, and Sanskrit sounds are ethereal. Being in this mountain, I can't help but feel a lot of peace in my heart.

Because of Pei's pre-arrangement, a monk who knew guests was waiting for Mingtan and his party outside the temple gate.

Seeing Mingtan, Zhike monk put his hands together and said: "Amitabha, female benefactor, please come with me."

"Thank you, Master." Ming Tan politely returned the salute.

The temple is quiet and quiet. I followed the Zhike monk all the way, and saw the old trees scattered along the way, and the koi swimming in the release pond, which has a different kind of simplicity and tranquility.

As for the wing room where the female guests stayed, although it was not as refined and luxurious as Zhaoshui Courtyard, it was spacious and clean, and Ming Tan could barely accept it. It's just that before she had time to look at it carefully, a young novice sent a coarse blue shirt.

Ming Tan paused, and asked with some hesitation: "Master, this is..."

The Zhike monk replied gently: "All the short-term pilgrims in the temple need to wear this shirt. Donors don't need to worry, the clothes are clean and brand new."

Ming Tan: "..."

Is this a question of whether it is clean or brand new?

Under Su Xin's reminder earlier, she made a difficult choice and lost a lot of clothes and utensils, but no one knew her that she was caught off guard by a thunderbolt in this short-lived Lingmiao Temple!

While she was in a daze, the Zhike monk explained many rules and regulations that short-term pilgrims also need to abide by, and finally said empathetically: "The almsgiver is tired from the journey, you can rest for a while, and the monk will not disturb you, Amitabha. "

Ming Tan still couldn't get back to his senses, he touched the clothes he had sent him belatedly, and was speechless for a while.

Everything else is easy to say, but this dress has wide shoulders and long sleeves, no waist at all, and the color and materials are useless, not to mention plain heart and green calyx. ?

Ming Tan sat there staring blankly, but when she entered the temple, she had no choice but to stay in the wing room and not go out.

As for the meal, everyone has to go to the dining hall to share the food, and no one is waiting for it, and it is not allowed to take it out.

When it was lunch time, the little lady's stubbornness was finally defeated by Wu Zang Fu, which had no food left, and she reluctantly let Lue wait for her to change into this dress.

Ever since he was born, Ming Tan has never dressed so plainly. On weekdays, she even chooses soft fabrics for her sleeping clothes, embroidered with intricate patterns, and tailors them to fit her figure. Sitting in the room wearing this dress, she felt that nothing was right.

"If you're so clean, how can you meet people?" She looked at the person in the mirror dissatisfied, and frowned.

Lue: "Miss, don't worry, there is no one around to see. When I came here today, the slaves and maidservants paid attention, there are not many pilgrims in this temple in a day."

Ming Tan: "..."

Su Xin coughed lightly, and glanced at Lue.

Lue came to her senses, slapped her mouth annoyed, and hurriedly added: "Besides, let me see, the coarse cloth green shirt shows the young lady's figure and graceful figure even more. As the saying goes, 'Clear water comes out of hibiscus, natural to carve ’, isn’t it you, miss?”

Ok.

Hibiscus comes out of clear water, and it is naturally carved.

These words penetrated into Ming Tan's heart.

Forget it, she has always been exquisite and appropriate, and occasionally she is plain, but it also shows her beauty and purity.

Thinking of this, her originally unhappy mood suddenly brightened.

However, it didn't take long for it to become clear, and Lue comforted her inappropriately: "Your servant sees that this Buddhist temple is still quiet, so you can stay here for a while, and you don't need to be sad.

"Shi... Liang Shizi Duan is usually a good person, but he doesn't want to be so unlucky. He is really blind. He missed a beauty like Miss for nothing. Don't worry, Miss. After returning to Beijing, Lord Hou and Madam will be able to choose another one for Miss. A good son-in-law!"

Ming Tan: "..."

She wasn't sad either.

Liang Zixuan was not worthy of her sorrow.

It's just that Liang Zixuan and Mrs. Ling Guo's scandalous deeds made her, an innocent person, have to bear some consequences, and she was quite upset.

If she is not cheerful, then no one should think about it.

Although she came here to pray for blessings, she was in a hurry, but before she left, she did not forget to arrange a good show for Duke Ling's mansion.

In Changguo Mansion, in Bai Minmin's courtyard, Zhou Jingwan was standing in front of the book case, writing a pen.

The Zhou family is a well-known scholarly family. For hundreds of years, there have been countless famous writers in the direct branch and collateral lineage. Zhou Jingwan's father was born in the second place, and now he is a third-rank Hanlin bachelor, and his future is boundless.

With family background, Zhou Jingwan is also a well-recognized talented woman among the official ladies who have not left the cabinet. She is dignified and calm in lower script with hairpin flowers in her hand. She just reads the content carefully——

"This sentence is too polite, Wanwan, please write more bluntly. When I went to the teahouse to listen to the book, those storytellers were not so reserved." Bai Minmin stood aside and pointed.

Zhou Jingwan stopped writing, looked at it for a while, and felt that it was very indecent to mention such an insulting thing in such a vague way. She was a little embarrassed, and asked softly, "Then how can I be straightforward?"

Bai Minmin: "This is not easy. You can just write that the Duke of Ling committed adultery with the aunt of the second-bedroom master Xinna! It can also be connected with Liang Zixuan's matter. adultery!"

Zhou Jingwan: "..."

Before Ming Tan left the city to pray for blessings, he sent a letter to Duke Chang's mansion. The letter asked Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan to polish a script together, so that he could tell the storyteller about the scandals in Duke Ling's mansion.

Ming Tan asked Bai Jingyuan to inquire about these scandals earlier, and they were all related to Duke Ling and his wife. They were originally intended to be used to clean up Duke Ling's mansion after retiring smoothly.

Now that Ping Shun can't retreat, and the scandal spreads, she adds fuel to the fire. Firstly, exporting the evil spirit of being calculated, betrayed and implicated. Secondly, it can be regarded as the fact that he has made the whole family of the Duke's Mansion unscrupulous. Thirdly, it would allow her to defend her reputation as a boudoir.

"Forget it, it's really embarrassing for you to polish these nasty things." Bai Minmin thought for a while, "Let's leave it to Mr. Storyteller. You can write A Tan's praise."

Zhou Jingwan breathed a sigh of relief, and nodded in response.

A Tan was already very kind in her heart, so she would naturally know it.

"By the way, A Tannah also told me that she can be put aside, the most important thing is to praise her beauty." Bai Minmin paused, and muttered speechlessly, "I'm really not ashamed."

Zhou Jingwan couldn't help pursing her lips and smiling slightly when she heard the words.

But from her point of view, A Tan was born beautiful, and it's not against her will to boast. She picked up the pen and immediately wrote a praise.

While Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan were busy helping Ming Tan with errands, Ming Tan went to the Zhaitang in the temple in plain clothes without wearing hairpins.

There is no distinction between master and servant in the fasting hall, they all eat at the same table. Ming Tan has always treated his close maid generously, so he didn't think there was anything wrong with that. But Suxin Lue dared not eat with her own lady, she insisted on staying outside the dining hall until the Mingtan was used up before entering.

Ming Tan didn't force it either.

She went out early today, and she didn't even have time to have breakfast, so she was really hungry at the moment. Hearing that the fast food in Lingmiao Temple was delicious, when she sat down, she was still curious and anticipating.

But after she reservedly took a small sip, she didn't spit it up or swallow it. She really didn't understand the relationship between the roughness of the rice and the taste of the vegetables!

She was about to leave the banquet, but a young novice came forward to stop her, and warned in a warm voice: "Amitabha, benefactor, don't miss food after fasting."

"..."

I forgot about this rule for a while.

The little novice looked at her gently, and kept on watching, seeing her reluctantly take a seat, holding the chopsticks slowly.

When she bit the bullet and swallowed a small mouthful of the fast meal, she secretly looked at the little novice—she was still looking at her!

"..."

Miss Ben knows that she is beautiful, so she doesn't have to!

As a last resort, she could only continue to fast. Because the taste was so different from usual, she swallowed it whole without chewing it carefully.

It's just that she eats a small amount of food, and there is still half a bowl left. She raised her head pitifully: "Master, I really can't use up this meal."

The little novice saw that there was not much left, and she really ate hard, clasped her hands together and said: "Amitabha, if that's the case, the benefactor should go to the small Buddha hall to reflect on himself and have a stick of incense."

Ming Tan: "...?"

Still need to kneel down?

Well, she was also a little afraid of the retribution of the Buddha because of her legacy.

So she stepped out the door under the gaze and guidance of the little monk.

However, the door that the little novice pointed out was not the main entrance of the Zhaitang. She walked outside for a while, but was dazed by the detour, and the more she walked, the more confused she became. There are treasure halls enshrining Buddha statues all around, which one is the small Buddha hall that the master said?

No matter, introspection focuses on sincerity.

Thinking of this, she entered the unmanned treasure hall in front of her, kneeling on the futon in a regular manner.

The treasure hall here is extremely wide, with side halls on both sides. Ming Tan didn't know that there was a quiet room next to the Sutra Pavilion on the left side of the hall.

At this moment in the quiet room, the famous young God of War, His Royal Highness King Dingbei, is drinking tea and talking with Master Huiyuan, whose whereabouts are uncertain.

"Buddha, A Tan, a faithful woman from the Ming family, usually eats fine clothes and eats a small amount of food. I am not used to eating fast food in expensive temples occasionally. I have regrets in my heart for leftovers. I hope the Buddha will forgive me and don't suffer retribution."

The quiet room suddenly heard this sound, and the little novice who was about to leave hurriedly said: "It seems that there is a mistake in self-examination with the helper of the altar, so I will lead her to the small Buddhist hall."

This voice is very familiar.

And he called himself A Tan of the Ming family.

Jiang Xu thought of something, but didn't pay much attention to it. He only lowered his eyes to focus on the chess game, and raised his hand to signal that he didn't need it.

And Ming Tan knelt outside, after introspection, he was quiet for a moment, then recalled what Lue said earlier about finding another good son-in-law, and thought: It’s all here, why not pray together.

So she clasped her hands together again, and said brokenly: "Buddha, apart from self-examination, there is another thing for believers to pray for. This time the divorce was originally due to the misbehavior of the fiancé-in-law, and he was unworthy. But because of this incident, others criticized and ridiculed. After this incident, I returned to Beijing, hoping that the Buddha would bless the believer, and I would definitely find a good husband.

"Langjun's family background is all that matters, no matter what the royal relatives, princes' family, scholarly family, believers pay more attention to talent and appearance. Along with talent, it is enough to be able to enter the first rank of Chunwei, and the appearance must be handsome, so this Only ordinary people are suitable for believers. Of course, the family property is richer, and life is more relaxed. It doesn’t matter if there is no family property in the Marquis, as long as believers can use bird’s nest porridge at any time, and Jinxiu Fang can cut a few boxes of fashionable clothes every season. If there is any fresh jewelry that can be bought in time, if there is a headache, the master doctor who can come to the Liangchun Hall in time..."

The female voice that kept pouring into his ears disturbed Jiang Xu for a long time. Master Huiyuan had a slight smile on his face, while the little novice was watching his heart, reciting Amitabha silently.

After half a stick of incense.

"...It would be most appropriate if the stature could be higher than seven feet, and the mother-in-law at home must also have a good temperament. It is absolutely impossible to see that Tian'er sets up rules to groom the bride. It would be great if there is no mother-in-law. It is also best for relatives To put it simply, there must be no cousins ​​who have a close relationship with childhood sweethearts. A believer's daughter is not a jealous person, but it is a little too early to take a concubine within three years of marriage, which is not conducive to the development of a husband and wife relationship between a believer's daughter and her husband. After the year, it is not advisable to have more than two concubines, as the population in the family is complex and troubles may easily arise. You must not be a person who hangs around the fireworks and willow lanes..."

After a stick of incense.

"...The body also needs to be strong, but being strong does not mean that you are overly fleshy. If you encounter an accident, it is good to be able to withstand one or two. The best way to practice martial arts is to practice swords. The posture is chic, and in this way, when dancing with swords, believers can also play the piano to add to the fun. , Husband and wife are happy. Well... that's about it, and I hope the Buddha will bless you. If the believer finds such a good husband, she will reshape the golden body for the Buddha and add more incense."

After finishing speaking, Ming Tan reverently kowtowed three times.

Accompanied by the slight echo of kowtow, the little novice finally breathed a sigh of relief.

——This little lady's requirements for choosing a husband are really too high.