Chen Dong first went to contact the eminent monk in charge of untying knots in the temple, while Zhao Xingde stayed in a palace to wait. This side hall was relatively quiet. There were several pomegranate trees planted in the courtyard outside, and a few orioles sang happily in the sun. Under the eaves, swallows

Flying around, constantly feeding the chicks in the nest.

Although there are few pilgrims, under the care of monks, incense is constantly burning in front of the Buddha statue all year round. The smoke of the incense candles is mixed with the unique smell of sandalwood in the wooden temple, which makes people feel vaguely like they have come out of the dust. The sunlight shines from the tall wooden doors and windows around it.

Coming down, through the heavy curtains, it shines in front of the big Buddha in the hall, like the light of the Buddha that saves all living beings, making people naturally want to look towards the Buddha.

The walls around the side hall are all exquisitely gilded murals. Some depict Buddhist stories, and some depict groups of worshipers. These murals are all painted by famous painters of the time. When you look closely,

There are also inscriptions from past dynasties on the side, and every part is extremely exquisite and luxurious.

In the center of the side hall is a gilded bronze seated Buddha. It is quite majestic in stature and is two or three people tall with the lotus throne. The Buddha statues and seats in Daxiangguo Temple are all exquisite in form and spirit, and are unlike those of later generations.

The Song Dynasty worshiped Buddhism and believed in Taoism so much that the Buddha statues they built lacked a little sparkle. The opportunity was rare, so Zhao Xingde gathered around the Buddha statue to look at it carefully and admired it.

Just as he turned behind the Buddha statue, a burst of noise from the women's family members suddenly came from outside the hall. Before Zhao Xingde paid attention, the door of the side hall was pushed open, and a woman with a high-pitched voice was heard saying: "This side hall.

The hall is quiet. Cousin, please wait here for a moment. I'll go and relieve myself and I'll be back soon." Another woman agreed with a "hmm" and walked into the side hall with thin steps. Zhao Xingde listened to the woman's voice.

It sounded very familiar to me, so I didn't pay much attention to it. I was afraid that going out now would frighten other women's family members, so I just stayed behind the Buddha statue, held my breath, and stayed the same to cope with all changes.

I heard this woman slowly pacing in front of the Buddha statue. She seemed to stare at the Buddha statue for a while, and then knelt down in front of the Buddha. I only heard her low voice: "Amitabha, I hope that my father and mother are in good health, and that my eldest brother will ward off evil spirits outside."

Everything is safe and sound. My younger brother has grown up in his studies and grown up. Mr. Zhao is knowledgeable and well-versed and all his dreams have come true. From now on, the little girl is willing to burn incense in the morning and evening, recite rites constantly, abstain from eating meat and vegetables, make meals to the Buddha and monks at all times, and do good deeds such as releasing lives and covering bones.

.”

At this time, Zhao Xingde heard the voice of the praying woman being Li Ruoxue, and suddenly heard the sound of the palace door being pushed open. A footsteps came in, and Li Ruoxue happened to kowtow three times. When he turned around, he saw the Prime Minister Zhao Zhifu in a moon-white Confucian robe.

Young Master Zhao Yan stood at the door.

Zhao Yan bowed to the ground and said softly: "Zhao Yan has met Miss Li. After the gathering at Dr. Qin's house, I admired Miss Li's talent and temperament very much. My father has proposed to your house. Although Dr. Li has not agreed yet,

My heart can see the light of day." He had an expression on his face as if he was swearing an oath, but his eyes were looking straight at Li Ruoxue. Li Ruoxue was slightly startled, and she understood in her heart that Mrs. Wang had arranged for her to go to the Daxiangguo Temple to ask for a fortune, so she

This is so that Zhao Yan can see him here.

She secretly scolded this troublesome woman, checking the clothes as a courtesy, and politely replied: "Young master Zhao has a heart." After saying that, she stepped out of the palace, not wanting to talk to Zhao Yan.

However, Zhao Yan stopped himself at the door of the side hall and said in a deep voice: "I asked Mrs. Qin to propose marriage to my superiors. Although my uncle declined politely, I will definitely find another way to marry the girl with grace." His face said.

There was a sincere look on his face, and his eyes did not hide the admiration in his eyes, but he assumed in his heart that Li Ruoxue had already been interested in him, but was forced to have no contact with him due to the power of his strict father.

Li Ruoxue didn't want this person to be entangled endlessly, and said with a cold face: "Marriage is subject to the orders of the parents. Since the family has refused, the little girl is not lucky enough to accept the young master's good wishes. She only hopes that the young master will get married soon." Her face was cold, and these words were in the air.

Zhao Yan sounded a clear rejection, but to the ears of Zhao Xingde, who was behind the Buddha statue, it seemed that Li Ruoxue was not unkind to Zhao Yan, but was just forced to do so by his father. Zhao Xingde couldn't help but sigh slightly in his heart, and suddenly

Then I heard Li Ruoxue say: "Zhao Zisi, please respect yourself!"

It turned out that Zhao Yan took two steps forward and was about to be next to Li Ruoxue. However, Li Ruoxue took a step back, raised his voice, and turned towards him with a cold face. Although the Daxiangguo Temple was full of incense, Zhao Yan could reach it.

This side hall came to meet and naturally made arrangements. If he really had evil intentions, I was afraid that he would be embarrassed today. Thinking of this, Li Ruoxue gently bit the tip of her tongue, thinking about Dr. Qin's wife and cousin Wang.

Hated to the extreme.

Zhao Xingde was about to go out and drive Zhao Yan away when he heard Zhao Yan sigh and whisper: "Miss Li, don't panic. I just wanted to get close to you and talk, but I lost my sense of proportion and made Miss Li laugh."

He was originally aloof and arrogant, and thought that with his dignity as the prime minister and son of the dynasty, he would have no objection to asking for marriage from the Li family. Who would have thought that not only would Li Gefei reject him, but even Li Ruoxue, who could speak a few words at first, would become a stranger.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but hate Zhao Xingde, who was said to be recruited as a good son-in-law by the Li family. That day, Zhao Xingde defeated the Khitans in archery. Prince Zhao Ke wanted to take advantage of him for his own use.

After being a member of the Yuanyou party, he accepted it rashly. If he publicly provoked Prime Minister Cai Jing, His Majesty was in the prime of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the East Palace still had to endure the humiliation, Zhao Ke gave up and soon forgot about Zhao Xingde. Zhao Yan

He coughed and said in a deep voice: "Although Zhao Xingde, the supervisor, is not well-known, he is not the best choice for his character, talents and knowledge. It is said that he has a very tough temper, is brave and fierce, stubborn and awkward, and is not a good match. I deeply admire Miss Li."

worry."

Zhao Xingde was filled with smoke when he heard this, and thought to himself, Zhao Yan, you are too incompetent. But he heard Li Ruoxue say: "A man, if he is not strong and brave, how can he protect his family and serve his country? If he is not stubborn, how can he be good and righteous? How can he be so?"

You act cowardly and use your weakness to flatter the popular customs. Please get out of the way." Zhao Xingde exclaimed, and her heart was indeed a good wife for her husband. When Zhao Yan saw Li Ruoxue's harsh words, he had no other choice but to

He gave way half a step to the door and saw that Li Ruoxue was still glaring at him, so he had to take another half step to the side. Li Ruoxue just picked up her skirt and quickly walked out of the side hall. When she raised her head, she saw the maid rolling the curtain and Prince Qin's family under the pomegranate tree in the courtyard.

The maid and woman he brought along seemed to be looking at the pearls and green flowers, and he immediately asked her to get up and go back to his house with him.

"Second Miss, they said that Mrs. Qin went to see a senior monk to get her signature signed, and she would be back in a moment." Roller Blind didn't know why, so he reminded himself.

"Don't wait for her!" Li Ruoxue said in a cold voice. The two of them walked out of the Daxiangguo Temple. The oxcart driven by the servant Wang Fu was still waiting outside the temple. When he saw the second lady coming out, he immediately stood up and cracked his whip in the air.

, the bullock cart started moving slowly.

Li Ruoxue was leaning in the carriage, not knowing whether it was fear or anger, her pretty face was red. If something unexpected happened in the situation just now, not only would her reputation be ruined, but her father and brothers would also be humiliated. Cousin Qin Wang wanted to please him

Prime Minister Zhao, he did not hesitate to push his family into such a predicament, which is depressing. She also followed her father to belittle and exile her since she was a child. She is used to seeing the harsh world and sinister people. If not, it would be difficult for her to speak well. Thinking of being almost raped by her own relatives.

Betrayed, thinking of the soon-to-be betrothed Zhao Xingde, who may be generous and heroic, but does not seem to be a compassionate person, a sense of grievance welled up in my heart, and I burst into tears.

Li Ruoxue left, and Prince Qin, who received the news from her mother-in-law, rushed to the side hall, "Mr. Zhao, this cousin from the Nu family has a lax upbringing and has a rather stubborn temperament." Prince Qin said with a smile. She saw Mr. Zhao Yan's face was hesitant.

, her heart sank slightly, knowing that this did not go as expected. According to her plan, if Zhao Yan impressed Li Ruoxue with his words, or even went one step further and the two had an affair, then taking into account the reputation of the family and the Prime Minister's Palace,

Because of the power, the little Taixue doctor Li Ge agreed even if he refused. As for how much trouble and embarrassment this matter would bring to the Li family, she did not consider it at all.

Zhao Yan frowned. He fell in love with Li Ruoxue, and the beauty in his eyes was as bright as a pearl in the night. Then Dr. Qin's wife came in. Although she was also from a famous family, she was as disgusting as the yellow and black fish eyes. She casually said:

"The right beauty is on the other side of the water. You have to find it by twists and turns. How can it be so easy to climb over?" Prince Qin didn't understand what he meant. She was slightly stunned. When she looked up, Zhao Yan had already walked out of the door. She said in a woman's voice.

But I can't chase him anymore.

After the people outside dispersed, Zhao Xingde took a breath and realized that he had unknowingly made such a big love rival. But just as Li Ruoxue said, as a man, if you are not strong, how can you protect your family? Zhao Xingde pondered for a moment, and

Kneeling in front of the Buddha statue with piety, he muttered silently: "I have no regrets in getting my wife like this. May I keep her safe and sound in this life, and make her smile all the time. With the blessing of the Buddha, if my wish comes true, she will be reborn one day."

body."

He made a hasty wish and was wondering if the benefits of rebuilding the golden body were too little and wanted to add something. Chen Dong pushed open the temple door and came closer, holding a large pile of brocade silk knots in his left hand and dividing half of them with his right hand.

He smiled and said: "If you are lucky, one person will have at least ten strings."

Zhao Xingde took the silk knots, his hand sank, and he knew in his heart that these silk knots were filled with small gold and silver ingots. He followed Chen Dong to a Zen room and carefully distinguished the threads. After two hours, Chen

Dong had already untied three silk knots, and Zhao Xingde had just untied one. Inside the silk knot was a piece of plain white silk paper, with a small gold ingot wrapped inside. On the silk paper was written "Blue birds do not send foreign messages from the clouds, and lilacs knot in the air and are sad in the rain."

There were two lines of beautiful handwriting. Xingde put the gold ingot aside casually. Chen Dong admired it: "It's actually gold. I wonder which young lady missed her husband and made such a precious wish." Xingde smiled and said:

"I just wonder if Buddha also disliked poverty and loved wealth."

Chen Dong took the gold ingot and weighed it in the palm of his hand. It weighed about half a tael, which was worth five guan of silver. He smiled and said: "Including the five guan of reward from the temple, you have a full income of 12 guan. You Let me take half of each one." Seeing that it was getting late, he returned the remaining ten or so brocade silk knots to the monks in the temple. These knots were originally difficult to untie by the monks in the temple. Since the two knots were difficult to untie, If it cannot be solved in an hour, then these money inputs have no connection with Chen and Zhao.

Zhao Xingde returned to Taixue as soon as the sky turned dark. During dinner in the studio, Deng Su, Zhu Sen, He Fang and other supervisors had not returned yet. Li Rui smiled and said: "We went to the residence of our respective mentors early in the morning. We just paid homage to them." Master, naturally I have to serve you diligently. I remember when I was learning Taoism in the mountains, I had to rush to do the work of a servant, chopping wood and carrying water." After hearing this, Zhao Xingde felt a little guilty in his heart, and asked himself what Chao Buzhi had done. He taught himself carefully. Compared with Chen Dong, Zhang Bing and other imperial students who served their masters almost like their fathers, he was a rather lazy student. Apart from being taught together with his sister and brother Li Ruoxue in the Li Mansion, , even the etiquette of bringing Shu Xiu to visit the master was not fulfilled.

As the saying goes, if there is a mistake, correct it. At dawn the next day, Xing De rushed to Chao Buzhi's house early to visit. Recently, he got ten strings for writing posts and six strings for untying knots. Including the income from selling papers, he had a total savings of four hundred and fifty. Sixty guan, for the eunuch eunuchs, can only be considered to be short of money. Naturally, they cannot be like Deng Su and others who paid hundreds of jades for calligraphy and painting as their first apprenticeship ceremony. Zhao Xingde bought a pair of ordinary quality but finely polished white jade walls. , two pieces of venison breast, and some seasonal fruits.

The Taishi Bureau Order was an idle official, and Chao Buzhi spent most of his free time in the mansion. When he saw Zhao Xingde coming to visit him in accordance with the formal ceremony of apprenticeship, his face was indifferent, but his heart was happy. After talking for a while, he left Zhao Xingde behind. After having lunch at the house, he ordered his servant to find another disciple, Song An, and let him meet Zhao Xingde as brothers.

Song An is about thirty years old, with a Chinese character face, a yellowish complexion, and a beard on his chin, which makes him look quite mature. It is said that this elder brother is a descendant of Song Jing, the famous Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty, but he is already older than his grandfather. He was not from a distinguished family. Song An studied under Chao Bu and was a Jinshi in the eighth year of Zhenghe. Originally he was only a Jinshi. During the palace examination, the officials liked his name as a good omen for the country and deliberately ranked him from the second to the second. Jinshi birthplace and promotion to first-class Jinshi and rank.
Chapter completed!