Datang beauty walk

Ten days later, on the day when the queen came to lower the incense, the inside and outside of the Qingdu Temple had been completely redecorated, and the entire Taoist temple was cleaned and tidy.

The outer perimeter of the Taoist temple has been guarded by palace guards, and the entrances of the Taoist temple have been restricted, and idlers are prohibited from entering and leaving.

The male and female Taoist priests in the Taoist temple obeyed the rules and did not dare to move around without authorization.

When the eunuch in the palace came for the second time on horseback to report that the empress's husband was about to approach the mountain gate, Daoneng, the three apprentices appointed by Wang Guanzhu to be in charge of the "reception" this time, had already brought the grand master of Guannei with him. Most Taoist priests have been waiting outside for a long time.

When You Daotong ran to the main hall again and reported to the temple master that the queen was indeed approaching the mountain gate, Wang Guanzhu walked out of the Sanqing Hall and went to the mountain gate to meet Empress Wu in person.

An incense table was set up outside the main entrance of the Taoist temple, and all the Taoist priests stood neatly on one side. The three disciples, Dao Neng, accompanied his master and stood in front of the Taoist priests.

The guards in the palace guarded the car at the front and back, the eunuchs accompanied the driver on the left and right, and surrounded by more than a dozen court ladies holding palace flowers, screen fans, color boxes and other guards of honor. When the emperor came down from the Luanyu, all the Taoist priests kowtowed and kowtowed, and no one dared to look up at the queen.

After kneeling and worshiping, the master Wang Daochang came forward to answer the queen, and the three disciples Dao Neng followed the master for consultation.

Wang Daochang and the others welcomed the queen to the Sanqing Palace.When the queen offered incense, all the Taoist priests caught a glimpse of the queen as a noble woman who was in full bloom and grace.

After burning incense and worshiping the statues in the hall, the queen asked the abbot about everything in view. When asked how many disciples there were, Wang Yuanzhi replied:

"The old Taoist has five apprentices in total. The eldest disciple, Pan Shizheng, is the master of the Tiantai Mountain Lingwei Temple, and the other four disciples are all by the old Taoist side."

"Oh, Master Pan? I have heard about it, so why didn't the master introduce the other four disciples to me?"

After hearing this, Wang Daochang turned around and said to the three apprentices:

"Dao Neng, go and call your senior brothers and sisters in, and we will meet your empress together."

"Yes!"

Dao Neng exited the hall and called Bi'er and the others who were waiting outside the hall into the main hall.Daoneng, the queen has just met, and the other three entered the hall to worship the queen, and they all stood quietly.

After chatting with the host for a while, the empress asked the host Wang Yuanzhi to give her a lecture on Laojun's "Tao De" Bible.Wang Daochang stood on the main hall facing the queen, and gave a vivid speech on the meaning of the Tao Te Ching. All the eunuchs, maids and guards in the main hall, as well as the Taoist priests outside the hall, all pricked up their ears to listen. .

The queen who was sitting on the high chair had a smile on her face and praised again and again, while the court ladies who listened to the Taoist priest interpreting the Bible listened too much to the Taoist priest's words. They felt as if their eyes and ears had suddenly opened up. He also let out a long breath.

Looking at the Taoist priests in Qingdu audience outside the temple, they listened to their abbot's explanation, and they also listened to three points.

It was almost noon, and the queen moved to the atrium that had been cleaned of dust and incense in advance to have a meal and take a lunch break.The Taoist priests of Qingdu Temple left the hall after the queen left the main hall, and then went to the dining hall to get food.

After noon, Wang Yuanzhi took four apprentices and accompanied the queen to visit the halls, pavilions and courtyards of Qingdu Temple.After visiting the temples, Wang Daochang led the queen to the Sutra Library.

The scripture building is located directly north behind the main hall of the Qingdu Temple. The scripture pavilion on the second floor contains all the classics of Taoism, as well as some magical instruments of the Taoist temple.

The queen stepped into the spacious and bright pavilion, and looked up at the statue of the god hanging on the high wall of the room.I saw that the gods painted on the large rectangular pictures in front of me were Yuanshi Tianzun, Taishang Laojun, Queen Mother, Wufang Emperor, and Bixia Yuanjun.

The queen carefully looked at the statues of the gods hanging on the wall, and saw that these images had lifelike faces, elegant postures, fresh and appropriate colors, and the lines drawn on the hair, beard, and folds of the gods were extremely smooth and even. , there is no flaw in the long, slender and powerful strokes.

Then look at the specific postures of the gods. The eyes of the gods with open eyes are sharp and energetic, as if they are looking down at the person in front of them.

After observing each statue carefully, the queen put her palms together and worshiped the statues.After observing and worshiping one by one, the queen asked the Taoist priest:

"Abbot, who made these statues?"

"Hui Niangniang, the images of the gods were drawn by apprentice Dao Jing."

The queen looked at Bier and said:

"Master Daojing, with such painting skills, it can really compare with Yan Liben, the late painter of my dynasty."

Bier bowed and said:

"Your Majesty's reputation is too high, how can Poverty compare to Painter Yan."

"I also want to ask the mage to draw a portrait of me similar to the style of these gods in front of me, is it possible?"

The viewer hurriedly said:

"It's a blessing for me to make a portrait of the empress, so I should do my best to make you satisfied!"

"Then ask the mage to draw a portrait of me tomorrow morning."

"Yes!" Billy replied.

Afterwards, the queen exhibited some books and scriptures in the Sutra Library.After coming down from the attic, the queen went to visit the back mountain again. Wang Yuanzhi's master and apprentice, as well as court ladies and eunuchs, etc., a large group of people respectfully accompanied the queen.

When the queen passed the garden in front of the residence of Guanzhu Nudao in Qingdu, she watched the flowers in full bloom in the garden with great interest.Seeing the Queen standing in front of the chrysanthemum, the abbot asked:

"The Empress likes this chrysanthemum?"

"Although the big yellow and white chrysanthemums bloom brightly and dazzingly, but to tell the truth from my master, I only love peony flowers."

The third brother Dao Neng hurriedly interrupted and said:

"Your Majesty, these chrysanthemums were planted by Junior Sister Daojing. Madam, if you like peonies, there are a large number of peony trees planted on the mountain behind our Taoist temple. Although the flowering season has passed, the peony trees are growing luxuriantly. Madam, can you take a look?"

"Okay, lead the way."

"Yes!"

The crowd hugged the queen again and went to the back mountain.The Empress stayed in the Qingdu for two days to watch Jiangxiang, and the third senior brother Dao Neng took care of everything about the pick-up and driving meticulously, without any omissions. The Empress stayed for two days with great satisfaction before returning to the palace.

One month after the queen came to Jiangxiang and left the Taoist temple, in the teacher's room of the fifth junior sister, the third senior brother Daoneng came over again quietly.The two were together, and the third senior brother complained to the clever fifth senior sister again.

"Junior Sister, the idea you gave last time didn't have much effect. Except for the time when Empress Wu came to offer incense, Master still arranged for Dao Jing to come first and me after her. If this continues, Master will sooner or later." Let Dao Jing take over his position as the Lord of the Watch."

Fifth Junior Sister rolled her eyes and said:

"Let's find something wrong with her again, grab some clues about her, and make it public."

"What are you looking for in her?"

"Is there anything that can make the master drive her out of the Taoist temple, isn't it enough?"

"Finding faults with her? Impossible! Dao Jing is different from us. Although she is talented, she is not like us. She has never chanted poems with famous talents and dignitaries outside. I have never seen her interact with any outsiders." , apart from doing the fasting ceremony and homework in the Taoist temple every day, the rest is writing scriptures and meditating, why can't you find her?"

Fifth Junior Sister smiled and said:

"She doesn't, but we can make her have wow!"

When Daoneng heard it, he hurriedly asked:

"Little sister, what do you think of?"

"Let's... stretch out our ears!"

The third senior brother hastily stretched out one of his ears, and after the fifth junior sister approached his ear and said a few words, he was so happy that he said straight up:

"Okay! This time, she will definitely not be able to become a Taoist."

Bi'er often went to the back mountain to meditate.There is a not-so-high mountain behind the temple in Qingdu. There are many moso bamboos and some flowers growing on the mountain.

Surrounding the back mountain are flat fields, which are all owned by the Qingdu Temple and allocated to the Taoist Temple by the government.Standing on the mountain, you can see the peasant men and women working in the fields far below the mountain.

After noon, Bi'er was sitting quietly in the Breeze Pavilion on the mountain, when suddenly she heard bells ringing successively from the main hall in front.Bi'er knew that ringing the bell at this time must mean something happened in the temple, and the ringing of the bell was a signal to summon all the Taoists in the temple.

Then she came from the back mountain and walked towards the main hall.Not long after, all the Taoists of Qingdu Temple - except for a few elders - gathered in the Sanqing Hall.Everyone whispered, not knowing what happened.

The abbot Wang Yuan knew that the abbot then entered the hall, and the hall fell silent immediately, and all the Taoists stood neatly in their positions, and then saluted the abbot in unison.

Daoist Wang stood in front of the Taoist priests, looked at everyone in the hall, and said:

"This concept has always been famous all over the world for keeping the precepts, and now I don't want to have any robbery under the eyes of the gods.

Yesterday, a benefactor donated 100 taels of gold to Benguan incense, but it was lost before it could be put back into the warehouse. I called you here because I wanted to know where the 100 taels of gold went. "

The Taoist priests below were very surprised when they heard it, and then, the hall suddenly seemed to explode, and all the Taoists chattered to each other non-stop.Dao Ji, Wang Yuanzhi's second apprentice, took a step forward and said:

"Master, yesterday I put the money for the incense sticks behind the Sutra Pavilion at the back and locked the door before going out. People from outside cannot enter there."

Daoist Yuan Qi, Wang Yuanzhi's younger brother, also came out and said:

"Brother, people who come in from the outside have to go through several courtyard doors to enter the scripture building at the back from the front, and the Taoists in our temple will definitely see the people who come in. Even if the thieves from the outside come in and don't notice it, If they don’t have a key, they can’t enter the scripture building casually. Seeing that the doors, windows and door locks of the Shi Pavilion are intact, it can be sure that it was done by the Taoist Guanzhong.”

The second disciple Daoji said:

"Master, there is not only one key to this Sutra Pavilion, but several master uncles and several of our apprentices have it. In this way, every Taoist priest we see has a chance to get that key."

"Let's take a look at our keys first. Is anyone lost?" Daoist Master Yuan Qi suggested.

The abbot agreed with Junior Brother Yuan Qi's proposal. After a while, several people who were equipped with keys to the Sutra Pavilion asked their apprentices to bring the keys from their master's room. If they had them with them, they handed them directly to the abbot.When everyone checked, everyone's keys were there, and it seemed that no one lost their keys.

"Brother, although everyone's keys are here, it cannot be ruled out that some Taoists in the temple colluded with outsiders to steal incense money." Daoist Yuan Qi said.

The abbot had no choice but to raise his voice and said to the Taoists:

"Who took those things, as long as I hand them over now, I can deal with them lightly."

There was no sound in the hall, after waiting for a while, seeing that no one confessed, the third apprentice Daoneng said:

"Master, since no one admits that they have taken the incense, let the Discipline Academy lead people to search each room one by one."

The abbot adopted Daoneng's suggestion again and said:

"Ji Xuan, take a few people to each room to search."

"Yes!"

Ji Xuan, the mage of the Discipline Academy, left with a few people. After a long time, Ji Xuan led the people back to the main hall with the gold box in his arms.

"Abbot!"

Ji Xuan came to Wang Yuanzhi, opened the lid of the box, and inside was the 100 taels of incense that he received yesterday.The viewer saw it and asked:

"Where did you find it?"

Master Ji Xuan looked to the side:

"It was found in the cabinet in Dao Jing's room!"

There was an uproar in the hall, and the Taoists began to whisper.

Bi'er felt that this matter had nothing to do with her, she was standing quietly aside, when she suddenly heard Master Ji Xuan's words, her expression changed suddenly, she was astonished, she didn't know why, she looked at Master Ji Xuan, then at Master, but saw Master He was staring at her coldly.

Bi'er hurried forward and knelt down in front of the abbot, saying:

"Master, the disciple didn't take these things!"

The master's face was frosty, like the gloomy and cold weather in three winters, and his voice was so cold that one's bones trembled:

"If you didn't take it, why are these things in your room?"

"Master, the disciple was wronged. Someone planted the blame and wanted to set the blame on the disciple. Please learn from the master!"

"Who do you think will blame you?"

"This..." Bi'er couldn't answer.

The abbot turned his head and asked the Master of the Discipline Academy:

"Ji Xuan, when you went to search, was the door of her cupboard locked?"

"It's not locked." Ji Xuan replied bluntly.

Wang Daochang looked at Bi'er on the ground again, and asked:

"You said, you didn't steal this thing?"

Bi'er raised her head and replied with firm eyes:

"Master, I dare to swear to the sky, I have never seen these things, let alone touched my hands."

"That's good," Wang Yuanzhi said to the crowd, "Let me take a divination and see who got the incense money. You all know that the old man's divinations are all effective, so bring the lottery!" His voice was instant Loud and majestic, it could shake the roof of the hall.

Daoji took the stick from the incense table and handed it to the master.Wang Yuanzhi held the stick in his hand, looked at the crowd and said:

"I'll give you another chance. It's not too late to say it now. If I wait for my hexagram to come out..."

Daoist Wang paused for a while when he said this, and everyone below held their breaths in silence; Bi'er bowed her head and knelt on the ground motionless.

Wang Yuanzhi looked ahead with piercing eyes and said:

"Okay, if you still don't admit it, then I will take it..."

As he spoke, he shook the lottery cylinder, and the lottery cylinder made a "squeaky" sound. Hearing this loud sound, the hearts of all the people present seemed to beat violently with this sound.

Wang Daozhang muttered something, and gently shook the cylinder containing the bamboo stick twice, and then bumped it a few times, a bamboo stick fell from the bamboo tube to the ground.

Dao Ji, who was standing beside him, hurriedly bent over to pick up the bamboo stick on the ground, and handed it to the abbot.

Holding a bamboo stick, Wang Yuanzhi glanced at it, his brows relaxed, and with a slight smile on his face, he put the bamboo stick in his hand and carried it behind his back.He took two steps left and right and said:

"I already know who stole the gold. This lottery tells me that the person who stole the gold is among you!"

The speed of his speech was slower than before, and his voice was not as severe as before. When he finished speaking, he stretched out two fingers and pointed to the Taoist priests standing in front of him.

After Wang Yuanzhi finished speaking, he walked slowly to the line of Taoist priests below. These Taoist priests stood holding their breath, not daring to breathe.

Wang Yuanzhi walked up to the third-to-last person in the second row from the left of the group of Taoists.I saw this Taoist priest, who was 25 or [-] years old, with his head bowed and beads of sweat hanging on his forehead.

When Wang Yuanzhi stood in front of this person and stopped moving, the Taoist priest's hand holding the skirt of his Taoist robe couldn't stop shaking.

"You stole the gold, are you still pretending to be okay here?" the temple master asked coldly.

The Taoist was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground and stammered:

"I... I... didn't steal the gold."

Wang Yuanzhi sneered:

"You still dare to quibble, the lottery has already told me that you took the gold, tell me! Who are you instigated by - don't tell me, do you want to suffer flesh and blood?"

The Taoist knelt down on the ground hastily:

"Yes... Master Daohui asked me to steal the gold, and she put it in Master Daojing's room!"

"Dao Hui!"

"Master, Master forgive..." Fifth Junior Sister Dao Hui knelt down on the ground in fear.

Wang Daochang turned to the front and looked down at his five apprentices:

"Daohui, why did you frame your senior sister? Tell me."

Daohui didn't dare to look up, she shrank on the ground: "The disciple was confused for a while. The disciple was jealous of the senior sister for learning, and saw that she was valued by the master, so he was fascinated by ghosts for a while and framed the senior sister. The disciple knew it was wrong. I will not dare to do it again." Alright, master, please spare me this moment." She spoke hastily, so nervous that she couldn't even breathe freely.

"As a disciple of my view, you don't abide by the precepts, and you don't care for your fellow seniors, but you have evil thoughts and intentionally frame you. You have violated the ten commandments of my view: stealing, bullying, and killing. The three crimes are one. , you should be expelled from the school, and the Daoist books should be deleted. Remember that you used to serve the first emperor in the palace, please forgive me, and punish you to work in the vegetable garden, and you are not allowed to leave there for half a step!"

"Yes"

Dao Hui stood up and left the hall, and the male Taoist priest who stole the gold was also driven out of the Taoist temple.

Billy breathed a sigh of relief.

The turmoil in Qingduguan subsided, but no one knew what was written on the sign that Abbot Wang Yuanzhi occupied.When Wang Daochang left, he put the stick back into the stick.

In fact, when the bamboo stick fell to the ground, Wang Yuan knew that he had already made up his mind against the person who stole the gold.

Although it has been a long time since the gold theft incident, people have become more and more miraculous about Wang Daochang's divination skills.

☆, wake up