Chapter 517: 389. Magistrate Ouyang Rong: I Have a Confusion, Please Teach Me, Master

389. Magistrate Ouyang Rong: I Have a Confusion, Please Teach Me, Master

The carriage was quiet for a while.

Just as Zhao Zhao Qingxiu was about to write, Pei Pei Shisan Niang smiled beautifully:

"The Young Master is busy and said he will go to your place for dinner tonight and bring some friends over. He wants to eat Dongpo meat, so you go to the East Market to buy some. Here, this is the pork money given by the Young Master."

After speaking, she took out a small money bag that had been warmed from her arms and stuffed it into Zhao Zhao Qingxiu's palm.

Pei Pei Shisan Niang held her small hand that was clutching the money bag with both hands and whispered in her ear:

"Miss Sister Xiuniang should remember how to make Dongpo meat, right? The Young Master said he taught you."

Zhao Zhao Qingxiu nodded: "Hmm."

She squeezed the somewhat familiar small money bag, opened the bag mouth, poured out a string of copper coins, touched them, and the coarse hemp rope tying the copper coins was tied into a special butterfly knot, which was the salary money of Tan Lang.

Zhao Zhao Qingxiu put the small money bag into her arms.

Pei Pei Shisan Niang smiled:

"However, this Dongpo meat seems to need to be stewed on a small fire for most of the day. The stove in your courtyard can't do it. Why not go to my humble abode first, stew it well, and then take it back.

"After we finish buying the pork, let's have lunch at my place."

Zhao Zhao Qingxiu wrote:

【Where is the Big Lady's home】

"Prince Xunyang Square, the East Market is also in Prince Xunyang Square, it's on the way."

Zhao Zhao Qingxiu lowered her head and wrote with her index finger:

【Okay】

Pei Pei Shisan Niang smiled.

The carriage drove for a period of time, entered Prince Xunyang Square, and approached the East Market. Suddenly, there was rain hitting the window, the sound fine and rustling.

Zhao Zhao Qingxiu lifted the carriage curtain and reached out to catch the rain.

She turned her head as if "looking" toward the direction of the quiet courtyard behind, her expression worried.

"Miss Zhao Qingxiu, what's wrong?"

【Forgot to collect the clothes, can I go home first later】

Pei Pei Shisan Niang smiled lightly:

"It's okay, it's a small matter, someone will help Sister Xiuniang collect the clothes."

Zhao Zhao Qingxiu thought of the Fang sisters and nodded lightly.

"Hmm."

Several miles away from the luxurious carriage driving toward the East Market, in the West Market of Xiushui Square.

There was a commercial firm with the plaque "Taoshou Studio" open for business.

It was just that today, the guests it received at the door were somewhat special.

They were not guests who came to buy things.

A team of one hundred black-armored knights surrounded this Taoshou Studio so tightly that not even water could trickle through.

There was also a team of about twenty blue-clothed constables acting with these black-armored knights, but they didn't guard outside, all rushed into Taoshou Studio, and carried out a carpet-like search...

The guests who were buying things not long ago, as well as the shopkeepers and maids of Taoshou Studio, all stood in rows against the wall in the courtyard, being searched by the blue-clothed constables. Several shopkeepers were trembling with fear, and some even peed their pants.

In the panic, everyone's gaze couldn't help but cast toward a black-armored small general riding a tall horse in the center of the courtyard.

The small general seemed to be the leader, his expression cold, standing on his horse in the center of the courtyard, staring at the main entrance of Taoshou Studio, almost motionless.

On the street outside, passers-by didn't dare to stop at the entrance, and even later, no one dared to pass by, only able to gather into crowds at the street corner, looking at Taoshou Studio from afar.

However, there were also female officials of the Supervisory Court who were patrolling the city as usual, their expressions puzzled, showing their Supervisory Court tokens, and approaching to inquire.

The black-armored small general in the center of the courtyard took out two orders from his arms, unfolded them to show, one by one, his voice like cold iron:

"This subordinate is acting under the orders of Jiangzhou Magistrate Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan and Qin Yi, the supervisor of the transport of the Southwest Rebellion Suppression Army, to search for merchants in the city suspected of colluding with the water bandits of Hukou County. Idlers, please do not approach, otherwise, they will be dealt with on the spot for the crime of obstructing military affairs."

The female official of the Supervisory Court was stunned, confirmed that the official seals on the orders were correct, and retreated. Before leaving, she couldn't help but look a few more times at these black-armored soldiers belonging to the front-line Central Army Camp...

At this moment, a blue-clothed constable ran out quickly from the backyard of Taoshou Studio. He held a secret letter in his hand, only had time to hurriedly cup his hands to the black-armored small general, turned and went out the door, and under the escort of ten black-armored knights, flew toward Star Lake.

Above everyone's heads, black clouds drifted over, pressing on the city.

At some point, a snow-white lightning lit up the world.

A few breaths later, the late spring thunder rolled.

Facts proved that bad weather could also affect the passenger flow of temples.

Even a temple like Chengtian Temple located in the city's marketplace.

Because in this era, medical means were low, and catching a cold or getting sick was a matter that could easily drag down the whole family. Getting caught in the rain was not worth the loss, so the weather affected the travel of ordinary people.

Fang Fang Shengnan, who came to Chengtian Temple to deliver a letter in a low-key manner, felt that this weather was just right.

Dark clouds covered the sky, and the heavy rain was about to fall. The fish in Star Lake frequently floated to the surface to breathe.

The pilgrims in the temple had all gone back early to collect their clothes, and the pedestrians on the road were also walking hurriedly home to avoid the rain.

Fang Fang Shengnan was dressed in low-key gray men's clothing, wearing a low-key bamboo hat, the brim of which was deliberately pulled low, covering her face.

She walked all the way to a Chan courtyard of Chengtian Temple, and almost no one paid attention.

Fang Fang Shengnan pulled down the brim of her hat, breathed a slight sigh of relief, and cast a glance at the open courtyard door of the Chan courtyard.

Someone.

More than one.

A burst of a woman's crying came from inside.

Fang Fang Shengnan came to the door and saw clearly.

Inside the Chan courtyard, in addition to a middle-aged Chan master with a shaved head and no beard, there was also a heavy-makeup woman with a bitter face.

The former sat upright in the semi-open Chan room, wearing the ordinary black monk's robe uniformly issued by Chengtian Temple, holding a string of Buddhist beads, in a lotus sitting posture.

His expression was peaceful, facing the west side without a door.

The latter seemed to be a pilgrim from afar. Looking at the accent and height, she was a Northerner.

There were two maids following, waiting at the door of the Chan room.

Aside from them, under the eaves not far away, there was a chubby little novice monk who had just returned from breakfast, burying his head in eating, eating with relish, almost stealing his master's share.

Seeing this, Fang Fang Shengnan waited in line at the door.

Not long after, in the Chan room, the bitter-faced woman cried and said a lot of things. At the end of her words, as if she asked something, she looked at the middle-aged Chan master with expectation.

The middle-aged Chan master looked at her, then looked at the overcast sky outside the door.

He held up an index finger.

The heavy-makeup woman beckoned to the maids, took out a tael of gold from her purse, and handed it over respectfully.

The middle-aged Chan master still didn't speak, only holding up an index finger.

The heavy-makeup woman was stunned, took another tael of gold, and placed it on top of the first tael of gold.

The middle-aged Chan master's expression was withered, he pushed the gold over, and still held up a finger.

The heavy-makeup woman was stunned, staring at the Chan master's index finger, and slowly looked up, looking upward.

At some point, she, who was looking up, suddenly stood up, took off the jewelry and treasures on her body, and threw them beside the gold that had fallen to the ground.

The heavy-makeup woman had disheveled hair and went out the door.

In the courtyard, she walked while looking up, looking at the dark clouds brewing the thunderstorm.

The heavy-makeup woman rubbed her face with both hands, trying hard to wipe it, and her whole face was smeared. She kept walking forward, looking up at the sky as if waiting for a heavy rain to wash it away.

The two maids followed in a daze.

Fang Fang Shengnan's expression was curious, watching the heavy-makeup woman and her party leave.

She, who was in line, walked into the Chan courtyard, entered the room, and sat down in front of the middle-aged Chan master, with her sword across her knees.

"Senior..."

Fang Fang Shengnan was just about to open her mouth, but the middle-aged Chan master held up a finger.

She closed her mouth, looked up at the top that the master's finger seemed to be pointing to, looked up, and only saw a gray roof that was leaking rain, seeing nothing else.

The middle-aged Chan master didn't speak, still holding up a finger.

Fang Fang Shengnan knitted her brows and thought for a while, and soon suddenly realized, took a secret letter from her arms, and placed it on the floor between the two.

She didn't talk nonsense, stood up with her sword, cupped her hands heavily to this senior, and turned to leave.

After Fang Fang Shengnan left.

Under the eaves, the chubby little novice monk named Juti also finished his meal and ran back to the Chan room, sending a bowl of vegetarian food to his master.

The middle-aged Chan master was pure-hearted and had few desires, lowered his head to eat.

The chubby little monk Juti carried a merit box back to the room, bent down to pick up the gold and jewelry on the ground, put them into the merit box, and kept chanting "Amitabha, the donors are generous," "external objects, external objects"...

However, when he picked up the letter left by Fang Fang Juxiu, he couldn't help but look at his master.

"Master, the letter brought by Fang girl..."

The middle-aged Chan master still held up a finger.

The chubby little monk Juti suddenly realized:

"Oh, everything is as usual, right? Good, good, according to the old rules, I will let the senior brother who went out to purchase send it to Taoshou Studio..."

The chubby little monk put away the letter and ran out of the door.

In the Chan courtyard, only the middle-aged Chan master was left, sitting on the corridor, quiet and peaceful, picking up green vegetables, chewing the vegetarian food slowly.

"Ding lang lang—"

The wind chime hanging on the corridor of the Chan room swayed in the increasingly strong lake wind, making a crisp sound, and other voices of monks calling to collect clothes came from outside.

The middle-aged Chan master looked up at the wind chime.

Without a word, he seemed to fall into some kind of state of silence.

Above and below the eaves, one person and one wind chime, "stared" at each other silently. I don't know how long it had been since the chubby little monk Juti took the letter to send it.

Just at this moment.

"Dong dong dong, dong dong dong."

Someone knocked on the courtyard door politely.

Inside the door, the middle-aged Chan master put away the breakfast bowl, sat down again, tidied his black monk's robe, restored his appearance, and waited for the new pilgrim to enter the door.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong walked into the Chan room with a zither box in his arms and sat down leisurely in front of the middle-aged Chan master.

"One-Finger Chan Master, secular name unknown, from the Hanging Temple of the Chan lineage, monk name still recorded in the Hanging Temple, left without saying goodbye for some reason early on, traveled south to Prince Xunyang, Jiangzhou, Jiang Nan Circuit, and has been lecturing on Chan in Chengtian Temple for twenty years."

While putting down the zither box, he reported like a family treasure:

"There is a disciple named Juti, the master and disciple depend on each other, and they are not conspicuous among the many Chan masters in Chengtian Temple. The only thing they are famous for is often holding up a finger, which is said to be able to make people realize the Dao."

The middle-aged Chan master's movements paused, looked at the Confucian scholar who had seen him once, and then turned to look at the door.

Outside the door, there was a noisy commotion of monks being driven out of the surrounding Chan courtyards and main halls, very chaotic.

At this time, the figure of a blue-clothed constable appeared at the door, stopped and stood.

He seemed to be the follower of this Confucian scholar, his expression cold, holding a wooden zither in his hand, waiting quietly.

The Confucian scholar seemed to want to meet friends with the zither, but he only brought a zither box into the room, combined with the smile on his face, it had a bit of the Chan flavor of buying pearls and returning beads. The middle-aged Chan master's eyes fell on this zither box.

At this time, a dusty blue-clothed constable rushed from afar, came to the gate of the Chan courtyard, found Yan Yan Liulang, and respectfully handed over a secret letter. The middle-aged Chan master felt that this secret letter was quite familiar.

After Yan Yan Liulang took the secret letter, he had no expression, walked into the Chan courtyard, came to Magistrate Ouyang Rong, held it up with both hands, and reported seriously:

"Magistrate, this letter was sent out by that little monk just now, seized at Taoshou Studio, now the person and the evidence are obtained, and the net has been closed at Taoshou Studio."

"Oh."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's reaction was light.

He took the envelope, didn't look at it first, threw it casually on the floor in front of the middle-aged Chan master, and smiled without saying a word.

The middle-aged Chan master stared at him, then looked at the letter sent by Fang Fang Shengnan on the ground.

The middle-aged Chan master held his palms together and closed his eyes, his mouth squirming, as if chanting scriptures.

At this moment, the figure of the Transport Supervisor Qin Yi appeared at the courtyard entrance. Behind him, a large group of cold, black-armored soldiers were escorting the monks, including the Abbot of Chengtian Temple, one by one to the open ground at the entrance of the meditation courtyard.

Among them, there was also a chubby little novice monk, who was crying with snot and tears, pouring out all the money in the merit box:

"Officer, don't arrest the little monk and master, we are not liars, really not liars, is it the things in the merit box? These are all things the donors didn't want themselves, the little monk, the little monk just picked them up... helped them collect them, woo woo woo, can't just leave them on the ground... the little monk really didn't steal or rob..."

Yan Yan Liulang walked up and said something to the chubby little monk who was crying, and the latter was stunned, then looked at his master with some fear.

The middle-aged Chan master remained motionless, closing his eyes and chanting scriptures.

Juti saw this, had to be obedient, acted as a guide, and took Yan Yan Liulang to the backyard. Not long after, the two returned, and Yan Yan Liulang held a somewhat special bronze short sword in his hand, which was vaguely different from the ordinary Lady Yunmeng Order seized before.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong took this special bronze short sword, didn't look at the bloodstain on it, and threw it casually in front of One-Finger Chan Master.

He also held up an index finger, and said sincerely to One-Finger Chan Master:

"I came here today, not for anything big, just one confusion, please teach me, Master. 【517-

"The so-called 'One' is non-duality. The Buddha speaks of the Dharma gate of non-duality, which refers to a monk whose golden sea is exhausted and whose worldly ties are severed."

Speaking of this, he pointed to the short sword made of blood-bronze on the ground and asked with a curious expression:

"Master, if you are non-dual, why did you accept the Lady Yunmeng Decree of the Yue Maiden and hide this item that warrants a beheading? Are you unaware of the imperial edict I have recently promulgated?"

"Please instruct me, Master."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's voice was gentle.

Yet, as his voice fell, the wails and pleas for mercy from the Abbot of Chengtian Temple, the chubby little novice monk, and the others suddenly rang out all around.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's expression was calm, while the middle-aged Zen master opened his eyes, his gaze full of compassion.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong smiled and said:

"By the way, I forgot to introduce myself when we last met. My surname is Magistrate Ouyang, given name Rong. Hmm, as for my courtesy name, Master might be a bit more familiar with it..."

"My courtesy name is Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan. I am the Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Cishi, Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan."

……

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