Red Mansion Kua Kua Group

He coughed, concealing his panic and embarrassment, and almost fled: "I... I'll go find them."

Daiyu pursed her lips and smiled, and walked into the mountain temple. Halfway there, she met Chen Nian. Chen Nian saw her and greeted her with a smile: "It can be said that this mountain is huge, and everyone has their own ideas. They come and go. I got separated from you."

Speaking of taking Daiyu's arm, the two of them walked inside affectionately. Chen Nian had a peaceful personality. He pointed to the birds in the forest next to the Zen temple and whispered to Daiyu. It was comfortable for the two to go in together.

Walking to the mountainside, Daiyu said: "When I came here, the family steward said that there is a three-story pavilion with five-layer eaves on this mountain, called the Great Compassion Pavilion, and there is a big bronze Bodhisattva enshrined in it, which is the most effective."

Chen Nian was also quite moved: "I think it's still on the mountain, but we didn't meet all the way."

The two found the Great Compassion Pavilion, walked through the Zhuanlun Tibetan Pavilion on the east side, and went around the Cishi Pavilion on the west side, but found Xichun in the bamboo forest outside.

Next to Xichun, there was an old lady with white hair like snow. The old lady turned her back to them, so she couldn't see her face clearly.

Xichun obviously had a good conversation with the old lady just now, and when she saw Daiyu, she also introduced Daiyu to the old lady politely: "My companion is here."

The old lady turned around, and Chen Nian saw her face clearly, and panicked for a while.

Chen Nian has always been upright and self-reliant, Daiyu had never seen her like this before, and she panicked for a moment, but Chen Nian immediately reacted and made a big gift: "Chen Nian, Duke of Qi, pay homage to the Queen Mother."

It turned out that this unattractive old lady was actually the queen mother, so Daiyu hurriedly saluted: "Lin Daiyu, a scholar of Lin from the Imperial Academy, pays homage to the queen mother."

Xichun stared in confusion, and hurriedly followed her sisters to salute: "Jia Xichun of Ningguo Mansion, pay my respects to the Queen Mother."

The queen mother said frankly: "Forget it."

Daiyu was a little worried about whether Xichun had offended the Queen Mother, Xichun was young and rarely socialized outside, how could she know the rules of speech, what should she do if she accidentally said something outrageous.

She also thought that Xichun was invited by herself, and if Xichun was convicted, she herself would be the culprit. Biting her lips, Daiyu knelt down and begged for mercy: "My little sister is young and ignorant. If there is something wrong with your mother, please forgive me." .”

The queen mother smiled and said: "It's okay, you girl and I are very close, chatting about Buddhist scriptures, and quite enlightened to Zen. If you didn't come over, we could chat for a long time."

She seemed to be quite familiar with Chen Nian, took Chen Nian's hand, and asked her some trivial matters about people in Beijing.Chen Nian also responded obediently.

As long as there is nothing to do, Daiyu felt relieved, and then she remembered the life of the queen mother that Nanny Ming had said before.

This empress dowager was originally a folk woman (the royal family in the Ming Dynasty had a custom of selecting civilian women as empresses). If the emperor likes it too much, he will get the throne.

Speaking of this, I feel that this empress dowager is blessed with great fortune and destiny.It's a pity that the heavens failed to fulfill people's wishes, and the empress dowager was still not favored by the emperor. The emperor's favorite concubine was someone else. In order not to cause trouble for the emperor, the empress dowager asked herself to live in the imperial mausoleum and guard the mausoleum for her parents-in-law.

The royal family also has Yizhuang, which enshrines the emperors, queens, and princes of the dynasty, but the life there is poor, and the conditions are not as luxurious as in the palace.

Therefore, it is the place where the unfilial sons of the clan and concubines (mainly queens) who violated the rules are exiled all the year round.No queen mother would invite her to go when her own son was the emperor.

Daiyu thought, this empress dowager is a smart person, she is ruthless to herself, and she is also a person who judges the situation, knowing that the power is still in the hands of the Supreme Emperor, so she should not be head-on.

He is also a person who loves his son, and for the sake of a smoother position as the emperor, he sacrificed himself to spend the rest of his life in the imperial mausoleum.

Where is the emperor?What did he think? On the surface, he must be submissive to the Supreme Emperor. Will he hate the Supreme Emperor even more because of this?The more days the empress dowager lives in loneliness in the imperial mausoleum, the more determined the emperor will be to bring down the emperor.

Thinking about this clearly, Daiyu was a little more cautious, but she just wanted to make no mistakes. Unexpectedly, the Queen Mother was quite interested in them.

After asking who Daiyu's father was, the empress dowager's love became more and more intense. Daiyu thought, it seems that the empress dowager is quite familiar with the situation in the court.

At the moment, he also chatted with the Queen Mother obediently, about the nearby Marco Polo Bridge.

"It is said that there are countless stone lions on the bridge, which is listed as one of the "Eight Views of Yanjing" by the people of Beijing, but I have never seen it, so I must be curious about what it looks like."

The queen mother smiled and said to her: "I went to see it last month. The wheat ridges on both sides are green and the willows are turning yellow, and there are geese screaming in the nearby Sha Ting. The stone bridge is lined with water and light, and the mountain smoke is a little white. .”

Chen Nian boasted from the side: "You are still an old man, you can say a few words so that we are all on the bridge."

The queen mother smiled: "You are a clever little man, you have always been the most honest, but now you are also glib."

It can be seen that they are the nephews of acquaintances, Daiyu wanted to know what the relationship between the two was, but it was a pity that Nanny Ming was not by her side, and it happened that she was going outside today, otherwise if she was there, she would always be able to answer Daiyu's various questions .

The three of them chatted for a while, and the Queen Mother held Xichun's hand and said, "Go! Go and have a look inside the mountain!"

A few people accompanied the queen mother all the way around the temple, Xichun was usually taciturn, perhaps because she came to the Buddhist temple, she talked a lot today, explaining the story behind each mural in detail, interspersed with some Buddhist verses.

Everyone listened with gusto, and Daiyu noticed that Xichun's pale face was extraordinarily bright, and her eyes were shining brightly, which showed that she really liked it.

Strange to say, they met other people along the way, Daiyu realized later that the guards serving the queen mother did not confine her on the back mountain, maybe it was to keep a low profile, maybe there was no danger in the mountain , They scattered in a panic and ran into the Queen Mother.

Not long after, I met other companions, and greeted the Queen Mother one by one. Seeing Chen Sicong, the Queen Mother smiled and said, "Are you skinless today?"

Chen Sicong was embarrassed, but still smiled and said, "No."

Seeing that the queen mother didn't believe it, he quickly used Fu Yunfei as a shield; "If you don't believe me, ask Yunfei."

Fu Yunfei nodded solemnly: "Back to the Empress Dowager, it is true that there has been no trouble, except that I wanted to hunt wild deer and hares and was stopped by my minister."

All of a sudden everyone laughed, and helped the queen mother down the mountain all the way.

The Empress Dowager was with so many young people, and her face turned rosy when she heard them chattering. When she reached the foot of the mountain, the Empress Dowager held Xichun's hand and said, "You have been talking all the way today. It's rare to have such a calm little girl like you." Girl, someday I call you to accompany my old lady, you are not allowed not to come." Xichun hurriedly agreed, and everyone will see you off, don't pass the queen mother.

In the evening, when the two nuns came back, Daiyu asked them about the situation in their hometown, and told the story of meeting the Queen Mother by chance on the mountain today.

Nanny Ming pondered for a moment: "The Empress Dowager always likes to talk about Buddhism and Taoism, maybe that's why she wandered around these temples in the suburbs of Beijing."

Daiyu said: "It was a surprise today that Xichun was favored by the Empress Dowager. This is also a good thing. Otherwise, the Jia family would be full of smog. She can accompany the Empress Dowager, which is also a way to protect herself."

Nanny Ming said: "I don't know if Jia's family is willing or not, but his family is betting on both sides. Not only did they give their daughter to the emperor, but they don't know each other well from the emperor. After all, they are considered slaves of two surnames."

Daiyu pursed her lips and smiled: "Where did the two surnames come from? The Supreme Emperor and the Emperor have the same surname."

Nanny Ming talked about the relationship between the Duke of Qi's mansion and the Queen Mother: "The queen mother's natal nephew married an aunt of the Duke of Qi's mansion, so the two are considered relatives by marriage."

Daiyu suddenly realized, no wonder Chen Nian, Chen Sicong and the Empress Dowager didn't see each other at all.

When I got back to Beijing, my father-in-law came to summon Xichun from time to time, but the empress dowager wanted her to accompany her to worship Buddha.

Who else in the Jia family would not dare to follow?

Although the empress dowager was not too fond of the emperor, she was also an upright empress dowager, and the Jia family was overjoyed.

A few days later, the emperor issued an imperial decree: Dao Jiazheng is a dignified character with a dignified reputation. meaning.Jia Zheng had no choice but to follow the order and choose to get up on August [-].It was a day to say goodbye to the ancestral hall and Jia Mu, then got up and left.

When the news reached the Lin family, Daiyu chuckled, and before Qingwen could ask her, she said, "Baoyu is usually afraid of his uncle like a cat and mouse, so why not take the opportunity to rebel against heaven?"

Seeing her frank expression, Qingwen knew in her heart that Daiyu had completely let go of Baoyu.

Sure enough, Daiyu received a post from Tanchun the next day, saying that she wanted to set up a CI forum or open a chanting club. Naturally, Daiyu was very interested and went to Jia's mansion.

Sure enough, the sisters were all there, so Daiyu chatted with Xichun about some old things first, and Xichun first helped Daiyu draw the painting: "I'm busy these days, and I can't see An Meier, if you have time, help me give it to her."

Daiyu unfolded the picture scroll, and sure enough, under the black splashed ink background, a lonely epiphyllum bloomed under the moon, and the moon was shining everywhere.

Daiyu couldn't help admiring: "The fourth younger sister is indeed a master in painting."

Xichun was praised by her, and took out another painting: "How about showing this one for me?"

But it turned out to be the scene of going to Longxing Temple that day, the green bamboos swaying in the mountains, the Great Compassion Pavilion hidden among the bamboo leaves, a pious praying figure outside the pavilion, isn't it the Queen Mother?

Daiyu praised: "Extremely Zen."

Xichun said embarrassingly, "I'm not good at drawing Buddha statues. I always feel that the brushwork is clumsy, and it's as if it's tarnished the Buddha, so I just draw the silhouette of the temple outside the mountain."

Daiyu asked again because of this: "Did the Empress Dowager look for you later?"

Xichun said: "I asked someone to look for me once, and I went to Hongluo Temple in the suburbs of Beijing to accompany my mother to worship Buddha."

Daiyu nodded, "You must be careful in front of the Empress Dowager."

Xichun said: "Yes, but..." She said awkwardly for a long time, "The family asked me to spend more time with her old man."

There was a hint of disdain as he spoke: "Those villains who are overbearing, see that I have won the favor of the empress dowager, and even the cost of food and clothing is very good."