The Moon Over Tang Dynasty

Chapter 202: Old and Mila had a bad start

 The whole day, Qu Chongyu felt a little uneasy.

After finishing the chores in the workshop, he sat in the study for a while and was lost in thought. He felt that the lights in the room seemed a little dim. When he looked up, he realized that it had turned to dusk outside the high window without realizing it. He wanted to order someone to serve dinner, but then he changed his mind and said, "Here comes someone!"

The young man guarding the door hurriedly responded, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

 “Send someone to ask, but Quduhu has already returned home.”

More than a quarter of an hour later, Qu Chongyu, who had changed into a green robe, walked into the small courtyard behind the Duhu Mansion. The layout of the courtyard was similar to that of the Prince's Mansion. The study room was also located on the east side of the outer courtyard. Qu Chongyu opened the curtain and went in. He saw Qu Zhizhan wearing a homely fine geranium robe, sitting on a green bamboo mat with his legs spread out. He looked up and saw himself, his face He smiled and said, "Can you have dinner?"

Looking at this gentle and almost blurry smiling face, Qu Chongyu suddenly felt at ease. He smiled and shook his head, "I was about to bother my father!"

Qu Zhizhan chuckled and said in a loud voice, "Tell the kitchen to prepare two food boxes, and remember to make Yu Lang's fish dumplings."

Qu Chongyu sat down on the mat at the bottom and spread his legs like Qu Zhizhan. Two white stacked socks with silver embroidery were said by Bizhu to be particularly conspicuous.

Qu Zhizhan stretched his feet proudly. He also had a pair of white socks on his feet, but the white bottom was dyed with indigo cloud patterns. "These white socks are really comfortable, not half worse than those in the palace back then! I I know you have this ability.”

Is this something... Qu Chongyu felt a slight tightness in his chest. He really didn't want to talk about this topic anymore. He smiled and said, "It's fine if my father is happy. My son went to the Great Buddha Temple today. After thinking about it after coming back, I always felt that something was wrong."

Qu Zhizhan smiled slightly and said, "I have heard someone's report. After you left, Pei Changshi and his wife stayed in the west hall for more than two cups of tea. In the afternoon, the news spread, and I am afraid that only a small number of people in Xizhou Everyone flocked to the Great Buddha Temple, and there was quite a bit of chaos for a while. Fortunately, Pei Changshi had already sent three teams of officers to stand by nearby. He rushed over immediately and stabilized the situation. Now half of the officers in Xizhou are at the Great Buddha Temple. During the inspection inside and outside the Buddhist temple, everyone in Xizhou knew that Pei Changshi also respected Buddhism. "

Qu Chongyu's face turned cold. This Pei Changshi really knows how to choose Zong'er in everything!

Qu Zhizhan glanced at him and shook his head with a smile, "Don't you be convinced? Although this Pei Shouyue is not much older than you, he is so mature that even his father admires him. Now I am quite suspicious of his pretentiousness. , I’m afraid he just wants to repay the favor!”

Qu Chongyu nodded. This was one of the things he was worried about. "Father, in your opinion, could the first two cases be his fault? The reason is to let the Great Buddha Temple know how powerful it is, and today What he did was to show his kindness to the Great Buddha Temple?”

Qu Zhizhan pondered for a long time, frowned and said, "The first case is indeed a bit strange now that I think about it. Pei Shouyue is very thoughtful and never does anything useless. Regardless of whether it is a bureau or not, the two recent cases have already made the Great Buddha Temple fearful. Today's actions , it will make him grateful. If he uses both soft and hard methods, it is not impossible to force the Great Buddha Temple to pay for military rations! "

Qu Chongyu's heart sank even more, and he was silent for a moment before whispering, "It was Chongyu's lack of consideration that led to today's situation."

Qu Zhizhan sighed, "This matter has nothing to do with you. I think Pei Changshi had already thought of all the backup plans when he asked the woman to buy the coffin. Do you think who could do it under such excitement? Can you still save the man and woman? Even if you don't let them be buried in the same coffin, how can Pei Changshi honestly return the body to the Great Buddha Temple? If he doesn't lend it to you, he can still borrow it from the people! He thinks too much, is it possible that he can really calculate everything about you...your aunt back then? "

Qu Chongyu's expression suddenly changed, "That woman has nothing to do with me! Does she have anything to do with me?"

Qu Zhizhan looked at him and his tone became extremely solemn, "Yulang, no matter you admit it or not, she is the one who gave you this skin. Destiny in the world has its own causes. Resentment in the heart will make it more beautiful." Damn fate! You have been familiar with Buddhist scriptures since you were a child. Now that she has received her retribution, why should you persist in your anger and prevent yourself from being freed?"

Qu Chongyu lowered his head and remained silent. Qu Zhizhan sighed inwardly. Although he had raised his nephew for more than ten years, there were some things that he could not solve after all, so he had to change the topic, "Now How are you going to deal with this?"

Qu Chongyu relaxed a little, thought for a moment and said, "Now that the Buddha statue has appeared, believers from all over the world have come to worship, and the amount of merit donated is amazing. Tomorrow I will ask two teams of government soldiers to replace the officers and patrol around the Great Buddha Temple day and night. No one will be allowed to People disturb the purity of Buddhism; moreover, I will send extra personnel to keep an eye on Pei Shouyue and his close friends. If there is any abnormality, I will report it immediately. Tomorrow I will go to the Great Buddha Temple to have an in-depth talk with Master Xuanjue and explain the situation. The second thing is that I hate that monk for insulting the reputation of the Great Buddha Temple. The Great Buddha Temple is the leader of all the temples in Xizhou. As long as the Qu family is in Xizhou, they will never allow anyone to have an idea against the Great Buddha Temple! "

A look of relief appeared on Qu Zhizhan's round face, "You'd better go with your father tomorrow. It's time for me to go burn a stick of incense in front of the bronze Buddha."

Qu Chongyu raised his eyebrows and smiled, his jade-like face almost glowing under the light, "So my father doesn't want Pei Xingjian to control the Great Buddha Temple?"

Qu Zhizhan sighed secretly. The face in front of him was so similar to the other one. How could hatred and resentment erase the traces of blood? But, if it weren't for this face, Yulang wouldn't have encountered so many twists and turns in the past few years, right? The so-called evil fate is nothing more than this... He said calmly, "It's just thirty thousand yuan. The Qu family can help him solve this urgent need, but they can't let him get it from the Great Buddha Temple so easily!"

Qu Chongyu remained silent. Although he did not want the Qu family to bear this debt, he had to admit that Qu Zhizhan's words made sense.

Someone outside the door smiled and said, "Dinner is here!" The door curtain was raised, and the Zhi family came in with four maids. After entering, they smiled at Qu Chongyu and said, "Yu Lang didn't tell you early when he came to have dinner. The cook I haven’t prepared the fresh fish you like today, only a jar of dried fish, which has not yet been opened.”

Qu Chongyu stood up with a smile and thanked him. The two maids set up the dishes in the food box one by one in front of Qu Chongyu. The snow-white and transparent dried squid was placed in the celadon dish. It looked particularly refreshing. Qu Zhi heard that Zhan complained, "Why is it like this again!"

Qu Zhizhan had a bowl of dark soup in front of him, and his face was a little dark.

Zhi smiled and said, "Didn't you eat yesterday? The doctor told you to eat some every day." After saying that, he stood still in front of Qu Zhizhan's desk. Qu Zhizhan frowned and picked up the bowl. After drinking it all in one gulp, he waved his hand and said, "Take it quickly!"

The Zhi family turned to Qu Chongyu and said with a smile, "Yu Lang, please be patient", and retreated with the maids.

Qu Zhizhan took two mouthfuls of the meat soup with a grimace and then breathed a sigh of relief. "This woman likes to take a mallet and mistake it for a needle. Do you believe the words of those doctors?" Qian Ao raised his head and said with a smile, "My concubine is a thoughtful person."

Qu Zhizhan laughed, looked at him and said, "It's time for you to add a wife to your house. Now that you are far away in Xizhou, adding a few concubines to your house will probably make people in Chang'an happy." scruples?”

Qu Chongyu shook his head resolutely, "It's hard to raise a woman, and now everything is still undecided. I really don't want to go back to the house and have to deal with them!" Seeing that Qu Zhizhan wanted to talk, he hurriedly smiled and said, "I still have some people with me. A few trouble-free maids, if everything goes well in the future, it will not be too late to take concubines."

 A trouble-free maid? Qu Zhizhan couldn't help but feel dumb. He sighed after a long while and pointed to the gilded phoenix head pot in front of him. "This is the green plum wine I got a few days ago. Do you want to try some?"

　　…………

"What kind of wine is this?" Liuli took a sip and looked up at Pei Xingjian. The wine tasted like rice wine, but it had an extra sweetness.

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "It's the green plum wine that Liuzhong County Magistrate brought when he came to the Duhu Mansion. He gave some to Qu Duhu as a gift last time, so he gave it to me this time. The taste is quite unique."

Liu Li is not very interested in wine, but the taste of this green plum wine is sweet and slightly sour. It has a unique flavor when you drink it on a summer night. After drinking two cups, she felt her face was a little hot, but she saw Pei Xingjian drinking the whole pot in front of him like water.

It is now June, and the sun is really scorching like fire during the day in Xizhou. But when the sun goes down, the night breeze will immediately become cooler. In the summer night, I sit in the cool breeze of the courtyard and eat all kinds of sweet things. If you eat fruits, drink a glass of sake, and watch the stars for a while, your days will be as clear and leisurely as a landscape painting.

The sound of a wooden clapper came from far away from the street at midnight. Liuli stood up and put away the fruit plate, cups, pots and other items. When she turned around, she saw Pei Xingjian still sitting there. She couldn't help but wonder, "Aren't you still asleep?"

Pei Xingjian shook his head and said, "You go and rest first, I have to wait for a while."

wait? Liuli looked at him puzzled. Ayan, who heard the noise, walked out quickly from the side room, took the things in Liuli's hand and went to the kitchen. Liuli turned around and walked to Pei Xingjian, "What are you waiting for?"

Pei Xingjian laughed, put Liuli on his lap, and whispered, "I'm waiting for Agu."

Waiting for Agu? Liuli was even more surprised.

Pei Xingjian's voice was understated, "I asked Agu to go to the Great Buddha Temple after dark today to see if he can find out what's weird about the West Buddha Hall."

Liuli suddenly realized that what he wanted to explore should be the bronze Buddha that had been sweating profusely for half a month and made the people of Xizhou go crazy, right? She couldn't help but blurt out and asked, "You don't believe that it was a miracle?"

Pei Xingjian’s smile was a bit sarcastic, “That Bronze Buddha is too considerate!”

Liuli nodded. Naturally, she also thought that it was really strange that the bronze Buddha would sweat at the best time every time. She just felt that the matter had nothing to do with her, so she didn't think much about it. At this time, recalling the strange situation of the bronze Buddha changing from smooth and dry to full of tears and covered with sweat, she couldn't help but frown. She was very close that day, and she could be sure that there was nothing strange on the surface of the Buddha statue. The so-called tears , in fact, the curvature of the Buddha's brows is just right enough to gather all the nearby water droplets into the eye sockets, but how come the Buddha statue, which is in good condition, suddenly breaks out sweat beads, and does it happen in full view of everyone from morning to night?

Pei Xingjian was also thoughtful, "I have seen it that day, and there is nothing strange around the bronze statue or inside the Buddhist temple. However, according to Bai San's report, when he led his officers to inspect the Great Buddha Temple, the backyard was extremely well guarded. Tighten, don’t allow anyone to come in. I guess the weird thing is related to the backyard. But in the past half month, we have been watched very closely. Today, Agu found an opportunity to hide out. I don’t know if he can find out. What happened?”

Liuli asked curiously, "So what if I find it out?"

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "Of course all the problems will be solved."

Liuli thought for a moment and couldn't help but feel worried, "Are you saying that if you can't find it out, you won't be able to solve the problem?"

Pei Xingjian raised his eyebrows slightly, "Since there are ways to set up troubles in this world, there is naturally a way to break them. If this way doesn't work, there is another way. Is it possible that there is really a way to hide it from the world forever?"

Same, there is no trick in this world that can always deceive people! Liuli felt relieved immediately. She sat with Pei Xingjian for a while, but her sleepiness surged up uncontrollably.

Pei Xingjian saw her yawning slightly and stood up with a smile. "What are you waiting for? When there is news, I will tell you first!" With that, he pulled Liuli into the room and held her down. Lying on the bed, she was covered with a thin silk quilt. He also sat down against the head of the bed.

Liuli looked at the calm figure on the bedside. Although she was thinking about this matter in her heart, her eyelids became heavier and heavier, and she fell asleep at some point. When I opened my eyes, the sky was already bright. She jumped up in excitement and saw that Pei Xingjian was nowhere to be seen inside and outside the house.

  A little late. Feel sorry. Because I was finally interviewed by my tutor this afternoon. The bad news that came like a bolt from the blue was that my tutor completely killed the thesis topic I had been preparing for since I was in school. All my preparations were in vain...Then, the good news is that I started again. The selected topic is actually related to the art history of the Tang Dynasty. Heaven, earth, can students imagine my complicated emotions of joy and sorrow like riding a roller coaster today? Liuli-san is right, there really is such a thing as destiny! I'm going to cry for a while...Tomorrow's update will be a little later, before noon. Everyone, have a good sleep. hehe. I wish everyone a better 2012 than this year!

 (End of this chapter)