Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 349 5.31 The name "Panxiang Temple" is very familiar
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5.31 The name "Panxiang Temple" is very familiar.
If you want to select a few representative places in Jiangnan, no matter the scenery or folk customs, no matter how you choose, there are three cities that you cannot skip, and that is Suzhou, Hangzhou and Yangzhou. The first two are often Also known as "Suzhou and Hangzhou", it has always been accompanied by the reputation of "there is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below".

Although Zhou Yang agreed happily at first, by the time he had settled the affairs of Jinling and arrived in Suzhou by boat, it was already July 25. He was the one who brought a two-wheeled carriage and a sacred horse. Wearing the full set of equipment for the girls' tour, of course, this has to ignore the two small flag plainclothes guards scattered around.

"It is indeed a place that can raise a beautiful girl like Sister Lin. This Suzhou scenery is truly worthy of its reputation." From the "driving seat" of the carriage, Zhao Qiying looked at the scenery in front of him with admiration, "Just like this stone lake, it is even more beautiful than the famous one." The West Lake in Hangzhou, which is famous all over the world, is not bad at all, it has a beautiful water view.”

"If you talk about a good girl, how can my younger sister dare to compare with sister Qiying? My younger sister heard that when Brother Zhou saw her for the first time, he couldn't help being moved; what's more, in ancient times, when complimenting a woman, one sentence is often indispensable. 'Great housemate', brother Zhou has a lot of things to do, and sister Qiying has to work hard." Lin Daiyu came out of the carriage with a shy and curious voice, "Sister, have you ever been to the West Lake?"

"You girl, it's like you have honey on your lips. I just said something and you responded with this stupid comment." Zhao Qiying's cheeks were slightly red, and she shyly glanced at someone riding a sweaty horse next to her. Obviously, he recalled the process of being "pursued" in the first place, "What moved my mind is what our young lady should say!
On the other hand, Hangzhou West Lake, when I followed my father as a escort, I did pass by it a few times, but I never really visited it. This is a business that licks blood from the edge of a knife. When you are exchanging lives for money, who has so much thoughts and cares about what? As for the scenery, I didn’t realize until later that the quality of the scenery actually depends on one’s state of mind. "

"It's only now that my little sister realizes that there are so many scenery around her." Lin Daiyu said softly, "When I was in the capital, although my father often went to the palace, he still had to spend some time sleeping. At that time, my mother... I always like to urge my father to take us to the nearby scenery to see, whether it is for outings or sightseeing, I can always go out to get some fresh air.

Since arriving in Yangzhou, my father has been so busy all day long that no one can be seen. Although the family has another mansion to live in, the yamen is like a prison for his father. He is so busy that he has no time to rest. They say that the scenery of Yangzhou is famous all over the world. , the little sister has been there for a year, but it was not until Brother Zhou took her to Tianning Temple that she went out for the first time. "

"Miss Lin, why are you crying?" Just as he was talking, Qingwen's voice came from the carriage, followed by Xueyan's sobs.

"Sister Lin, you should be more open-minded." Zhou Yang sighed and lowered his voice to persuade, "Although Mrs. Lin has taken revenge now; Mr. Lin has such merit, your Majesty will definitely receive a reward. When we left Yangzhou, he I said that I will be able to return to Beijing for promotion in August or September, won’t you be able to reunite again?”

"Sister, there is no need to worry. Just like this girl Qingwen, she has never seen her parents in her whole life. Isn't she smiling now?" Zhao Qiying said with a smile, "On the contrary, I just mentioned that Mrs. Lin's great revenge will be avenged. I remember I owe it to someone, right? Regardless of my reading of novels or my experience in the world, this kindness cannot be repaid, so what should I do?"

"Sister Qiying is not a good person!" Sister Lin was obviously so embarrassed that she forgot to cry.

"Okay, why don't we find a temple and pray for Mrs. Lin." Zhou Yang said softly, "After praying, Sister Lin will want it."

"Thank you so much, Brother Zhou, but I don't dare to bother you anymore." Lin Daiyu's crying voice came from the carriage, "When the time comes, I'll thank Sister Qiying and let the little sister go to her mother's grave to say goodbye; since father has decided I have to return to Beijing to take up a post, and I don’t know when I will visit my mother’s grave next time!”

Zhou Yang smiled helplessly. There was really no way to solve this problem. The transportation conditions in the feudal era limited long-distance travel. Originally, according to the rules, Mrs. Lin’s mausoleum could be helped by the clan to take care of it. Lin Ruhai only needed to send back the money every year; but the Lin family After three generations of single inheritance, there are no close relatives now, and there are only a few cousins. Lin Ruhai sent a few old servants back, so there are people who can burn incense and paper during the holidays.

Another reason why he did not insist on going to Mrs. Lin's mausoleum with Lin Daiyu to offer incense was because his status was inappropriate - even in modern times, funeral invitations are very serious matters, such as weddings, weddings and other important events, even if they are leaving It doesn't matter if he goes to the wrong door. It doesn't matter if he follows some people and has a meal. There is no such thing as messing around. To put it bluntly, even if Zhou Yang wanted to offer incense to Mrs. Lin, he shouldn't have followed Lin Daiyu. .

"Brother Zhou, although there are many temples in Suzhou, there are few famous ones near us. But I heard that there is a 'Panxiang Temple'. Although it is small, it has a good reputation. Many aristocratic families nearby come here to burn incense. Pay your wish." Seeing that the atmosphere was not good, Zhao Qiying quickly changed the subject, "I also heard that there are many substitutes for everyone here, and there are even ladies from everyone who are monks here."

"Oh?" He always felt that the name "Panxiang Temple" was very familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard of it for a while, so he didn't think about it any more, "In that case, let's stop here, it happens to be around noon, everyone Eating a vegetarian meal is a small fast."

"Pfft - how can there be such a thing as Brother Zhou?" Lin Daiyu was finally teased to tears by someone, "I ate eight meat buns in the morning, and at noon, I had the nerve to talk about 'fasting'; my little sister just listened It has been said to 'fast for three days, seven days' or even 'fast for one month', but the idea of ​​'fasting for one meal' is probably unprecedented."

"Really?" Someone thought shamelessly, and then said confidently, "Why don't you start it from me?"

The girls immediately burst into laughter.

The group of people chatted and laughed and went straight to their goal. Anyway, the two places were not far away. Probably the scenery was considered when the Panxiang Temple was first built. However, within a dozen miles, they saw a temple standing on a hill from a distance; however, suddenly, As the crowd approached, the noisy sounds in front slowly reached their ears. "Open the door, aren't you a temple? Why are you closed now to thank guests? We can't even burn incense?"

"Don't worry, your reward is indispensable - no, it should be called sesame oil money at this time!"

"Young master has killed a little too much these days, the masters and wives will help you with the ceremony!"

"Yes, to do a ritual, why not hold an 'uncovered meeting'!"

"Shut up!" Finally, after a lot of noise, someone finally came out to speak, "Master, I don't force you. These people are just outside the door. I will bring two people in; as long as you Invite Master Miaoyu to come out and tell us. Well, any scripture, I will immediately offer you a hundred taels of incense and oil money. Every time you come here from now on, it will not be less than this amount. Is that interesting enough?"

"Amitabha, Mr. Cheng is joking. Junior Sister Miaoyu never sees guests. If Mr. Cheng really wants to listen to Buddhist teachings, the abbot of this temple can explain it himself; the abbot is a virtuous eminent monk well-known in Suzhou, so he will definitely be able to do so."

"Who the hell wants to make a fuss about an old thing?" Mr. Cheng made it clear that he was here to stir up trouble. "I'll just leave my words here today. If Miaoyu can't be seen, Panxiang Temple won't have to think about opening the door again in the future!"

Despite the commotion in advance, Zhou Yang's face became worse and worse when he heard this. He finally realized that Miaoyu had become a monk at Panxiang Temple before entering the capital. Later, she was forced to go north because she couldn't offend a local big shot; The situation in front of us should be that the "big shots" that were not clearly stated in the original work are causing trouble.

"Brother Zhou, the identity of Master Miaoyu" was just thinking about something, Zhao Qiying's voice rang in his ears, "I only know that it should be one of the 'Eight Major Salt Merchants in Yangzhou' that has been purged. It seems to be I had heard about what happened ten years ago when I was a prostitute. Even the Panxiang Temple was able to expand to its current size thanks to the donation from this family.

The identity of Mr. Cheng is not complicated. He is a concubine of the Cheng family of Cheng Zhiying, one of the eight major salt merchants. He is a famous playboy in Yangzhou. He came to Suzhou for some reason. The Cheng family ranks fifth among the eight salt merchants, so he should be the original one. Miaoyu Shitai's family was brought up after being raided, so the two sides probably had a grudge. "

"So, this is that bullshit 'big shot'?" Zhou Yang pointed depressedly at Mr. Cheng, who was still jumping up and down, and his dozen or so gangsters, "Go and throw them out with a few people - no, that Cheng Young Master, pull me here, I really want to ask, if the salt merchants do have some respect in Yangzhou, when did they also have some reputation in Suzhou?"

The so-called "eight major salt merchants" only have "influence that radiates to the south of the Yangtze River." In fact, they basically rely on money to get out of Yangzhou. Even in Yangzhou, they spend money to feed the government, and you can get how much money you get at any level. If we really want to talk about absolute strength, if we give them enough time, they can open a way directly to the imperial court in the capital. If we don't give them time, they will have to look at the last three salt merchants who reunited with their families a few days ago.

As soon as he gave the order, a small flag pulled out the one-handed Yan Ling knife from under his clothes and rushed forward. He swung the knife wildly and left people screaming. Mr. Cheng, who was so arrogant just now, was really beaten. "Pulled" to Zhou Yang - two guards each pulled a leg and pulled him face down.

"Boy, do you know who I am?" Even though his clothes on his chest were completely torn and there were bloody marks along the way, this "Mr. Cheng" was still very imposing. "Do you know who my father is? If you have enough talent, leave it alone." Give me your name, I won’t treat you."

"Former Qianhu Officer of Daye Qianhu Office, Zhou Yang." The cold voice made the young master in front of him suddenly shut up, with a look of horror on his face and he was speechless, "If you have any questions, ask Cheng Zhiying to come to me, you can get out now." Stay away, if someone else comes to make trouble in this temple, I don’t care who it is, just ask your father to pray, and don’t give the next salt inspector a chance, do you understand?”

This time, "Mr. Cheng" didn't even dare to fart. He struggled to get up and stumbled down the mountain. His dozen or so men were all screaming and rolling just now, but now they all seemed to have been beaten to death. , running faster than a rabbit - although Zhou Yang is not timid, he has not yet reached the point of openly killing people.

"Brother Zhou, shall we go up now?" Zhao Qiying looked at the nun who came up and asked.

"go!"

(End of this chapter)