Chapter 333: Left hand holds the maiden, right hand holds the sutra; failing neither the Buddha nor the beloved

Zhu Yi's eye corners lifted slightly, the playfulness in his eyes almost overflowing, like a lake hiding churning reefs.

Clearly looking like a faint smile, yet underneath hid a deep meaning that made people unable to guess.

"Old Zhu, what do you mean by this?"

Lu Cangfeng frowned, clearly not expecting Zhu Yi to say this, and asked in confusion: "Could it be that Huineng still has a side unknown to others?"

That remark was too pointed; it was hard not to make people suspicious!

"Exactly."

Zhu Yi nodded slightly and gave a light sneer, the tail of his voice drawn out long, carrying a bit of mockery: "Old Lu, do you know the five precepts of Buddhism?"

As he spoke, he held up five fingers.

Immediately, he shook his fingers slowly, each fingertip looking like it was stained with words left unsaid.

No killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, no drinking... Lu Cangfeng was already feeling tight in his heart from being led around by him. Seeing him playing riddles again, his brow furrowed even tighter, and his tone carried a bit of impatience: "Stop playing the mystery, hurry up and tell me what kind of person he really is!"

"You really have no patience!"

Zhu Yi looked at his impatient appearance, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepened a bit more. He slowly curled four fingers, leaving only one index finger to tap lightly in mid-air, complaining.

After a pause, he continued: "The reason my Young Master chose Huineng's mouth to have the Buddha entrust a dream and pass down a prophecy was not only because he valued his reputation and influence, but also because this bald donkey is full of the five poisons!"

"Oh?"

Lu Cangfeng's previously locked brow slowly relaxed, replaced by a sense of inquiry that was completely hooked.

He subconsciously moved his body forward. The eyes that had previously carried impatience now brightened a bit, like sparks being ignited, falling burningly on Zhu Yi's face.

The cold light flickered in the charcoal fire of the heater, reflecting the playfulness in Zhu Yi's eyes even more vividly.

He suddenly leaned over, his elbows propped on the desk, leaning closer. His voice was pressed low and slow, as if telling some unspeakable interesting news: "Guess how many children this so-called high monk master has?"

His tone carried undisguised sarcasm.

"Hmm???"

Lu Cangfeng was stunned. The brow that had just carried inquiry suddenly lifted, the shock in his eyes instantly exploded, turning into full-blown disbelief. "He, a person who has left the secular world, can still have descendants?!"

Even his voice was trembling, the tail of his voice rising involuntarily, carrying a bit of bewilderment from having his cognition overturned.

Weren't those who left the secular world supposed to be empty of all desires and not close to women?

"Of course!"

Zhu Yi's brow lifted slightly, and he nodded in response.

"Five?"

Lu Cangfeng began to guess, reporting as high a number as possible.

"Not even a fraction of it..."

Zhu Yi showed an expression of "you are still too naive," his fingertips tapping lightly on the desk, each tap like counting something: "It's thirty-six!"

"So many?!"

Lu Cangfeng's pupils shrank suddenly, as if scalded by this number, and he stood up fiercely, the jade pendant at his waist hitting the corner of the table with a light sound: "To have thirty-six children, how many women must he have?"

"No, where did he get so many women? Tan Hua Temple has flourishing incense, but it couldn't hide them..."

At that moment, Lu Cangfeng's brain was buzzing, countless doubts lingering.

Even if one woman only gave birth to two children, that would still be eighteen!

With such a quantity, and Tan Hua Temple having people coming and going, how could it be hidden?

"Does it need to be hidden?"

Zhu Yi smiled, his voice pressed extremely close, carrying a bit of cool malice: "Those female pilgrims who worship him as a god!"

"No wonder Old Zhu you said he is full of the five poisons..."

Lu Cangfeng suddenly realized, thoughtful, and asked: "Just this one item alone has already broken several precepts, right?"

In an instant, Huineng's glorious and great image suddenly collapsed...

In Lu Cangfeng's eyes, only the four words "hypocritical and pretentious" remained.

Truly, left hand holds the maiden, right hand holds the sutra; failing neither the Buddha nor the beloved!

"Yes!"

Zhu Yi nodded and laughed: "Among these women, some are unmarried young ladies who, in order to 'get some Buddha aura,' are willing to submit themselves; some are wives in deep mansions who treat him as a hope to escape their lonely lives. They respect him, fear him, and even feel that being able to bear children for him is a great blessing. Where is there any need to hide? On the contrary, they would seal their own mouths tightly, fearing to tarnish the 'Master's' reputation."

"Outside rooms also account for more than half!"

"Some were bought, some were snatched, and some were tricked..."

The playfulness in his words was almost overflowing.

However, it would be a lie to say he wasn't envious!

This bald donkey really has the ability to coax so many women to be willing, and to put green hats on so many men...

Of course, not all of them were so easy to get; those who were unwilling were forced...

Afterwards, for the sake of reputation and because of Huineng's influence, they didn't dare to speak out!

Lu Cangfeng's throat felt tight, and he took a cold breath, unable to help but sigh: "I didn't expect that the dignified Tan Hua Temple would be such a place of hiding filth!"

Before, he really underestimated this bald donkey...

He was actually this powerful!

"This is just the beginning?"

Chen Yan smiled indifferently, slowly shaking the teacup in his hand, looking at his own blurred reflection in the tea soup. His voice was lazy and scattered, playful.

Speaking of this, he paused, looked up at Lu Cangfeng, the smile in his eyes deepening, carrying a hook that invited inquiry: "Guess where the grain he used to relieve disaster victims and win a good reputation came from?"

"Yes!"

Lu Cangfeng was stunned by the question, his brain spinning rapidly, suddenly realizing the overlooked key point.

Grain wouldn't fall from the sky.

In a disaster year, where would there be donations from believers?

The commoners couldn't even feed themselves!

Zhu Yi's gaze sharpened, and he said in a deep voice: "These bald donkeys led by Huineng, under various pretexts, occupied a large amount of land as their own, accumulating a large amount of grain and gold and silver!"

In this world, those who own the most land, besides aristocratic families and powerful officials, are temples...

Huineng's so-called opening the granary to relieve disaster victims was just taking out a small portion of the grain that had piled up to the point of molding in the granary, and the porridge boiled didn't even have a few grains of rice, just to win reputation!

Yuwen Ze, who had been listening quietly without speaking, put down the teacup in his hand, exhaled a turbid breath, and sneered: "And, temples have privileges and don't need to pay taxes!"

Yuwen Ze had seen his father have a headache over this matter more than once...

This is not just a simple tax exemption, but that wealthy households, landlords, powerful clans, and aristocratic families in the Great Zhou would collude with temples to wash property that should have been taxed into temple assets that did not need to be taxed.

"So that's it!"

Lu Cangfeng nodded slowly, his gaze carrying a bit of complex admiration.

The raging waves in his heart just now gradually subsided, but a heavy clarity remained: "Only the Mingjing Si could find out these things..."

These things are interlinked, hidden more densely than a spider web, and only the Mingjing Si, which inspects the world, has this ability.

"If he hadn't occupied commoner land, how could there be so many landless refugees?"

Zhu Yi gave a light hum and said: "In the Young Master's words, it is: 'The Buddha's wine and meat stink, while on the road there are frozen bones'..."

"Looking at it this way, that bald donkey Huineng is really guilty of heinous crimes..."

Lu Cangfeng agreed deeply, his eyes full of disgust, and said: "Using his blood to deal with the Duke of Chu can also be considered as this bald donkey atoning for his sins!"

Using a sinner to deal with a villain can also be considered making the best use of everything and utilizing waste...

"Huineng..." Chen Yan rubbed the teacup in his hand, murmuring this name in his heart.

Essentially, they are the same kind of person...

Both are good at putting on shows and bewitching people's hearts.

Yuwen Ze suddenly seemed to be gripped by some thought, his brow lifted fiercely, he looked at Chen Yan and said: "Brother, the younger brother has an immature idea..."

"Let's hear it!" Chen Yan raised his hand.

Yuwen Ze's eyes suddenly brightened, as if two jumping flames were burning in his eyes, and even his voice carried uncontrollable excitement: "Now many commoners, for the purpose of avoiding taxes, corvée, etc., have left the secular world..."

"And temples have hoarded a large amount of land and a population that does not engage in production. If we..."

Speaking of this, Yuwen Ze's voice stopped abruptly.

As he spoke, his gaze swept across the window, as if he had already seen the mountains of wealth piled up in the temple.

That was completely a huge piece of fat meat!

Not just Tan Hua Temple, but temples large and small in Chang'an, and even in the Great Zhou territory, are probably rich enough to flow with oil...

If not now, when?

Pressing these temple bald donkeys on the chopping board and "scraping" them one knife at a time is beneficial to both the country and the people.

Even the charges for making trouble, Yuwen Ze had already thought of, a full seven items:

Not engaging in production, not paying taxes, hoarding land, corruption and gathering wealth, hiding population, helping people avoid taxes, and private promiscuity!

This kid A Ze actually had the idea of destroying Buddhism?... Chen Yan was shocked in his heart when he heard this, but shook his head and said in a deep voice: "Now is not the time!"

"And it cannot be done by raiding homes!"

The timing is not right is one reason.

There is another more important reason...

The original intention of destroying Buddhism is good, but it has huge hidden dangers, and it also damages luck and lifespan.

After all, the short lifespan of Yuwen Yong and his son, and the Northern Zhou being usurped by an extremely accidental probability, it is hard to say whether it is retribution...

Better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't.

Yuwen Ze, who was poured cold water on, was not discouraged, but keenly captured another layer of meaning and asked: "Brother, could it be that you already have an idea?"

"You'll know when the time comes!"

Chen Yan's brow lifted slightly, he raised his hand and pointed at Yuwen Ze, laughing heartily.

Compared with the three martial arts and one sect of destroying Buddhism, the biggest difference is that he stands on the shoulders of giants, has a more perfect plan, and has no future troubles.

After a pause, he stood up and continued: "Let's go, we still have a play to perform..." ===== CHAPTER 334 =====