Chapter 175: Buddhist Invitation
Chapter 175: Buddhist Invitation
Inside the tightly closed pavilion, a ray of sunlight shone in through the crack in the door and hit the empress's fair face.
Xu Zhenguan sat cross-legged on a cushion, a ray of divine light flashing across his beautiful eyes.
Then, the invisible and intangible divine consciousness spread out in all directions with her as the center.
Enveloping the palace, trying to capture the location of the "Dragon Soul".
But the next second, the breath that suddenly appeared suddenly disappeared.
"Huh?" The empress was disappointed and when she withdrew her spiritual thoughts, the aura appeared again.
She swept her mind over again, only to find that the aura had disappeared again.
This time, Xu Zhenguan learned his lesson and always maintained divine consciousness coverage.
However, he only sensed that the breath of the dragon soul had a regular pattern. It appeared for a moment, then disappeared for a few breaths, and repeated this process over and over again.
No matter how she searched, she couldn't locate it.
Finally, it disappeared for the last time and did not appear again for a long time.
"What happened?" Xu Zhenguan withdrew his mind, frowned, and looked confused.
This was something she had never experienced before.
"Could it be related to the upcoming Ghost Festival?" Xu Zhenguan thought about it and could only barely make this connection.
The reason why we worship gods on the Ghost Festival is that the spiritual energy between heaven and earth is the most abundant on that day.
"Forget it," Xu Zhenguan sighed lightly. Since her spiritual thoughts yielded nothing, there was no need for her to come out of seclusion.
Counting on my fingers, I realized I had been in seclusion for several days.
“I wonder how far the new policy has been advanced in Xiuwenguan, and whether it has a direction.”
Xu Zhenguan couldn't help thinking that in her opinion, the planning of the new policy would inevitably be slow.
She was afraid that there would be no progress after a few days of leaving the border, so she just hoped that there would be a plan to fill the national treasury, and then she would be content.
As an emperor, she was not good at these things and could only hope that scholars like Han Zhou would work together to share her worries.
Clearing away all distracting thoughts, the empress closed her beautiful eyes and entered into meditation again.
From the beginning to the end, the new policy was never linked to a small imperial guard.
……
……
"Wow!"
Under the bridge, Zhao Duan emerged from the water, his wet hair sticking to his scalp.
He took deep breaths, using fresh oxygen to relieve the dizziness in his eyes from holding his breath for too long.
Climbing ashore, Zhao Duan hurriedly took out his clothes, put on a dry coat, and left quickly.
After they walked away, he let out a deep breath and frowned.
“I can’t open it…”
At the bottom of the lake, he tried again and again, but failed to activate the sealed formation.
"Is it because my cultivation is too low? Not enough to open it? Or is it because the way I open it is wrong?"
Zhao Duan was basically certain that the formation at the bottom of the lake was the entrance or exit of the "secret passage".
"Since it's a door, it should have a unique key."
Zhao Duan thought about it and decided to start with Old Xu.
There is no reason not to enter a treasure mountain. He always felt that since it existed in such a secretive way, it must be extraordinary.
"I can only leave temporarily and think of a solution."
Zhao Duan made a decision and left immediately, and decided not to come back until he found a way to open the door.
……
……
In the next few days, Zhao Duan's life became regular.
Practice visualization regularly every day, using all kinds of dirty talk and indirect hints.
Trying to get more information about the "secret passage" from Lao Xu.
Whether there are jujubes or not, let’s take a shot and let’s talk about it.
Old Xu ignored him and led him firmly towards the East China Sea, leaving the Mubei Forest further and further away.
During the day, he would punch in at the Zhaoya regularly, occasionally go to the Baima Prison, and from time to time sneak into the Xiuwenguan to give advice.
Inside the museum, the new policy is being implemented at a terrifying speed.
Under normal circumstances, they should have argued with each other and discussed continuously for at least half a month, or even a month, before they could come up with a rough outline.
However, the "three strategies" proposed by Zhao Duan were too superior and perfect, so what a group of scholars had to do was to refine the existing mature plans.
Naturally, progress will be rapid.
at the same time.
For some unknown reason, some opinions began to gain momentum among scholars in the capital.
At first, many literati were envious, jealous and resentful of the first batch of scholars in Xiuwenguan, and the status of scholars headed by Han Zhou rose rapidly.
There were even quite a few scholars who took the initiative to seek refuge with him, and the threshold of Han Banshan's house was almost broken down.
Everyone understands that a group of young upstarts is about to emerge.
As the saying goes, praise one and trample on another, as the reputation of Han Zhou and others began to grow rapidly.
During this period, Zhao Duan, who also rose to fame, was naturally compared to him.
As an object of criticism.
The scholars already hated and despised Zhao Duan, and the voices of cursing him never stopped.
After the Zhou Cheng case, Zhao Duan focused his energy on Xiuwenguan. Because of the confidentiality, he seemed particularly quiet in the eyes of outsiders.
His reputation was gradually surpassed by Han Zhou and others.
I don't even know who lit the fire.
It is claimed that Your Majesty ultimately knows who is more important and who is less important, compared to Han Banshan, who may become the "Prime Minister" and the tailor of the Dayu Dynasty in the future.
Zhao Duan, the pretty boy under the empress's skirt and a vindictive villain, was made to look even more despicable. "Zhao Duan? Oh, he's just a vicious dog raised by your majesty. He can only be thrown in places like the imperial court and let out to bite people from time to time... How can he be compared with Han Banshan?"
"That's right. Haha. During this period of time when His Majesty was not attending court, Zhao Duan really tucked his tail between his legs. He didn't make any noise, and he didn't bite anyone anymore. He really is a dog relying on the power of his master..."
"A cruel official is just a cruel official after all. I heard that Grand Tutor Dong also had some complaints about him and even wrote to Your Majesty, saying that you should be close to virtuous officials and stay away from villains...
I guess Zhao Gou must have heard the rumors... After Xiuwen Hall was established, Grand Tutor Dong was in power. How could Zhao Gou dare to offend him? Wasn't he afraid of making Grand Tutor unhappy? "
After tea and dinner, similar sounds can be heard wherever scholars gather.
"Sir, I heard that the scholars in the city have been scolding you recently. Aren't you angry?"
On this day, in the Pear Blossom Hall, the round-faced secretary Qian Kerou washed a basin of pears and handed them into the inner hall.
He asked Zhao Duan who was reading leisurely.
"Why are you angry?"
Zhao Duan sat carelessly on the armchair with his legs resting on the table.
He glanced at the pear and signaled the secretary to feed him:
"There are so many people who scold me in the world. If someone scolds me, I will get angry. What else can I do?"
After a pause, he said lazily:
“Besides, you have to understand. They are envious and jealous. They were suppressed by me before and dared not say a word. Now that I have finally established a Xiuwen Academy, it seems to have boosted their morale.
It’s interesting to think about it. Han Zhou’s group of scholars are very powerful, so what does this have to do with them?
Scholars always have this problem: they like to care about others and rarely care about themselves. "
Qian Kerou peeled the pear with a knife and nodded seriously, sharing the same hatred for the enemy:
"Your Excellency is right. Scholars are the most annoying."
After a pause, he said again:
“But that Han Zhou has become really famous recently.
It is said that the Xiuwen Hall is planning a new policy, and the policy is based on something he proposed, called the "Ten Strategies", but outsiders do not know what it is specifically. "
Zhao Duan smiled but said nothing.
As the new policy is implemented, it is inevitable that the outside world will learn something.
It’s not that the scholars leaked the news, but in order to prepare for the new policy, Grand Tutor Dong had to make some arrangements with the six ministries and other government offices, retrieve some information, etc.
These actions cannot be hidden.
Although the new policy will be announced sooner or later, and at this rate, it will be basically completed and available in a few days.
But the Grand Tutor thought that it would always be good to hide for a while longer.
So, after conspiring with Zhao Duan, they worked together to release a smoke bomb outside.
The abandoned "Ten Strategies of Han Zhou" were introduced to mislead court officials.
Let outsiders think that the new policy is implemented in accordance with the Ten Strategies, and Han Zhou was also thrown out to attract the attention of outsiders.
This is to cover up Zhao Duan’s “Three Golden Strategies”.
Therefore, when Zhao Duan heard those scholars comparing Han Zhou with himself, praising one and criticizing the other, he wanted to laugh.
These days, his greatest pleasure is to go to Xiuwenguan every day, find Han Banshan, and tell him in person how people outside praise him.
Han Zhou was so embarrassed every time that he wished he could use his thumb to carve out a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment on the spot.
But Master Dong refused to let him clarify and only said two words:
Hold it in.
Zhao Duan was very happy.
"Well, is that so? It seems that those scholars are indeed quite capable."
Zhao Duan opened his mouth and took a bite of the peeled, white pear that the secretary had attentively handed to him.
Take a sip and it’s full of juice.
Qian Kerou nodded and said:
"Yes, I don't know what's wrong with the brains of those scholars, but you, sir, are no worse than any bachelor..."
"Haha, your flattery skills need to be improved,"
Zhao Duan smiled and changed the subject:
"By the way, the day after tomorrow is the Zhongyuan Festival. When the government office is closed, how are you going to celebrate?"
Qian Kerou blurted out:
"Go to Shenlong Temple. During the Zhongyuan Festival, Shenlong Temple will hold a Yulanpen ceremony, and many people will go there to worship their ancestors and pray for blessings. It is said that this year, Master Xuanyin's disciple, Master Bianji, will personally preside over the ceremony.
However, Master Bianji was in the "Zhaiyuan" opposite the Shenlong Temple.
Those who can enter the Zhai Garden are not ordinary officials like us, but dignitaries and celebrities invited by others...
Speaking of which, when Xiuwenguan convened this year, the group of scholars must have been invited, and the Grand Master must also go, as well as Lord Yuan and the ministers of various ministries...
After all, it is a Buddhist ceremony, so we still have to give them some face.
In previous years, His Majesty would even show up, but His Majesty has not attended court recently, so Mo Zhaorong must have attended on his behalf.
There are also scholars. Buddhism likes to invite scholars. Many students from the Hanlin Academy and even the Imperial Academy will be invited as an exception..."
Zhao Duan looked surprised.
He didn't understand all this. It seemed that this so-called Ullambana Festival was a place where important figures from the capital gathered.
Those people you are familiar with, as well as those who scold you, will all be present.
"My lord, you are so popular this year, maybe you can be invited."
Qian Kerou suddenly said, then hesitated:
"But the monks in Shenlong Temple are very particular about Buddhism and their character... Your reputation is not very good after all..."
The implication is that given Zhao Duan’s bad reputation, Shenlong Temple might not invite him.
"Does Shenlong Temple consider reputation when inviting you?" Zhao Duan was curious.
"Well, anyway, our governor is not invited every year..." Qian Ke said weakly.
Zhao Duan: “…”
Fine.
It seems that monks do have tempers. Having said that, I think I’m in big trouble.
As they were talking, Shen Juan walked in from outside the hall, holding a Buddhist note in his hand:
"Sir, a monk from the Shenlong Temple has come to invite you to attend the Yulanpen Ceremony of the Zhongyuan Festival."
(End of this chapter)