The Queen Mother hesitated, "Are these scriptures useful?"
It's a little different from what they usually say.
"Which Taoist temple do you usually worship at?"
Man Bao: "I have been to three Taoist temples, one is Baiyun Temple in Yongzhou, one is Xuandu Temple in Beijing, and the other is a Taoist temple on the mountain near our village."
The Queen Mother thought for a while and decided not to miss any of them. She turned around and asked people to make a gift list to give gifts to the three Taoist temples, including the Taoist temple in Dali Village.
Man Bao sat aside and listened to the gift list she drew out. He was a little frightened and couldn't help but look at Ming Da.
The smile on Mingda's face also faded, and his expression became a little heavy.
The two good friends looked at each other, and all they thought about was: What would happen if the Queen Mother's request could not be realized?
Man Bao's mind suddenly flashed with various deeds in history books that destroyed Buddhas and Taoism. She trembled all over and tactfully admonished the Queen Mother, "Have you ever seen the gods and Buddhas?"
The Queen Mother said with a pious face: "Those who can see gods and Buddhas must be great psychics, and must be disciples of Buddha and enlightened immortals."
She glanced at Man Bao and asked, "Have you seen it?"
Man Bao shook his head directly, and then asked: "Does the dream count?"
The Queen Mother said angrily: "It doesn't count!"
In the dream, in the dream she herself became an immortal. Does that count?
Man Bao then nodded and said, "So those who say they have seen gods and Buddhas are just a few people in the world. How can we know that they are not lying?"
The Queen Mother frowned and looked at Zhou Man suspiciously, "You mean there are no gods and Buddhas in the world? Then you still worship!"
She had heard this argument many times. Every time when gods and Buddhas were mentioned, the courtiers would shake their heads and say that words are not enough, but magic power can confuse the gods. But after all, it was just Confucius's idea, so why was it regarded as a standard?
Man Bao said: "I worship him because I believe in him."
The husband has read hundreds of books. Although he has not said it explicitly, Manbao knows that he is more in favor of Lao Zhuang's way of dealing with people. Coupled with her mother's influence, she has been worshiping him since she was a child and has long been accustomed to it.
Man Bao really believed in him.
When the Queen Mother heard this, she smiled and said, "I believe it too."
Man Bao shook his head directly, "The Queen Mother doesn't believe it."
The Queen Mother frowned and glanced at Zhou Man coldly.
Man Bao continued: "The Queen Mother only paid homage to her for a request. You are not trusting her, but you are confusing her. This is a big taboo."
"We must trust and respect gods, Buddhas and ghosts, but we must not be confused by them."
Keke suddenly said: "The emperor is here."
Manbao paused. He didn't know if the emperor's arrival would be dangerous to the host at this time. If it were the previous situation, it would not broadcast such information in such a public place, but it just detected strong emotions in the Queen Mother.
fluctuation.
It still couldn't understand it for humans, so after analyzing the data, it finally reported this piece of information to Zhou Man.
Man Bao waited for a while, wanting to wait for the emperor to come in and pay homage before continuing, but she waited for a while and saw no one singing the newspaper.
Naturally, she did not doubt that Keke had "seen" wrong, so the only reason was that the emperor was hiding outside to eavesdrop.
Man Bao despised the emperor in his heart. Seeing that the Queen Mother's face turned gloomy when she spoke to her, Ming Da looked at her worriedly, and then she said: "Empress, how many people do you think there are in this world? And how many gods and Buddhas are there? They must be
There are still a lot of serious things to do, and the rise and fall of the people, the honor and disgrace, have their own rules. I think, even if there are gods and Buddhas, they can't meddle in the affairs of the people at will, right?"
"Otherwise, why would there be so many natural and man-made disasters in this world? If gods and Buddhas are so powerful and so caring for the world and believers, why are there still irregular winds, bad rains, and bullies and bandits?" Man Bao said:
"Everyone just make a wish to destroy them all."
Queen Mother and Mingda:......
The emperor standing behind the screen:...
Man Bao said: "So don't be confused by gods and Buddhas. You still have to rely on yourself in life. Sometimes making a wish with gods and Buddhas is just for psychological comfort, thinking that gods and Buddhas may hear blessings, but in fact, you have to rely on yourself to do things."
It’s yourself.”
"And the empress clearly prefers the Buddha to the Tao, but she also worships the Buddha and the Tao," Man Bao said: "It's not that the two are incompatible, but the empress clearly doesn't believe in the Buddha or the Tao, so why are she confused by them?
"
"Being deluded without belief is even more taboo."
The Queen Mother was silent for a long time and asked, "How do you know that the Ai family doesn't believe it?"
Man Bao said: "I feel like I believe it. What I believe is Lao Zhuang's understanding of the world, this country, and the relationship between people. What does the empress believe in?"
The Queen Mother opened her mouth. She believed in reincarnation. Does this count?
If she said it, Manbao would definitely say it, and she would naturally count it out, but deep down in her heart, the empress clearly still didn’t believe it, and she had to believe it only because of fear and desire...
Fortunately, the Queen Mother did not say anything, and Man Bao did not have time to offend the Queen Mother to death. The old man and the young man just sat facing each other in a daze.
Mingda looked at Manbao and then at the Queen Mother, feeling that they were confronting each other, so he couldn't help but make some noise to attract them.
But the Queen Mother did not come back to her senses. Man Bao did, but he looked at her with his dark eyes.
Mingda looked at the clear-eyed Man Bao and was speechless for a moment. Forget it, let them go.
Man Bao actually only stayed for a while, and then he couldn't help but talk to Ke Ke in his head, "The emperor is still out there?"
"Here, I'm standing outside the screen, listening with my ears straightened up."
"Do you think if I turn my head to look at the screen now, will he find me looking at him?"
Keke: "...This is a wooden screen. Neither of you can see through each other."
Only then did Man Bao remember, "Yes."
It happened that Mingda made a noise, so she raised her head to look at Mingda openly, looked at her, and then turned to look at the big screen at the entrance.
The screen was very thick, and she couldn't see outside at all. Naturally, people outside couldn't see inside. Then she turned her eyes and saw the palace man standing by the screen who was so nervous that he even held his breath. Only then did she realize that the palace man was holding his breath.
There is a shadow overlaid on the shadow of the person.
Man Bao learned from experience and learned that he could not see people, but he could judge whether there was anyone outside through the shadows.
Just as I was thinking wildly, the sound of footsteps came from outside the screen, and almost immediately Gu Zhong's voice came from outside, "The emperor has arrived——"
Man Bao then looked away and stood up obediently with Ming Da.
Seeing that there was no movement inside for a long time, the emperor, who was afraid that the queen mother would be angry, finally couldn't help but come in.
As soon as he came in, Zhou Man and Mingda saluted together. The emperor waved his hand to excuse them and went to salute the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother came to her senses and asked, "Why is the Emperor here?"
The emperor came forward and sat next to the Queen Mother and said with a smile: "My son, I came to see my mother. My mother seems to be in better spirits today."
The Queen Mother sighed and said: "I felt a little more energetic after talking to the children. I originally wanted to have people burn incense in the Taoist temple, as I wanted to thank the gods for their care. Emperor, do you think we should burn incense?"
The emperor was confused for a moment. How should he answer this?