Xia Shang and Sophia were arranged in an ordinary pilgrim's room in the Thousand Buddha Temple. It was some distance away from the temple's Buddhist hall where incense was offered. There were no monks here. The small corner wooden house with the sign was empty, except for Xia Shang.
and Sophia.
The monk named Shi Xin went to unknown places, but from the time he came in, Qianfo Temple became very lively because of Shi Xin's return.
It happened that the person who sent Xia Shang and Sophia to the Zen room was an old monk from Thousand Buddha Temple, and he knew some of Shi Xin's deeds, so Xia Shang had some understanding of Master Shi Xin.
Shi Xin is a close disciple of Master Wujie who presided over Qianfo Temple, and he is also the only disciple who inherited the stone carving skills of Master Wujie.
Ten years ago, for unknown reasons, Shi Xin chose to leave Thousand Buddhas Temple and wanted to see the outside world.
As a result, after ten years of being there, many monks in Qianfo Temple who knew Shi Xin thought Shi Xin was dead.
Unexpectedly, ten years later, Shi Xin would come back safely.
For this reason, the Thousand Buddhas Temple is naturally very lively.
The affairs of Qianfo Temple have nothing to do with Xia Shang. Xia Shang was also happy to be quiet and planned to live here with peace of mind until the end of the poetry meeting.
But the scene Xia Shang wanted did not last long.
The next day, another monk came and took Xia Shang and Sophia to live in an old Zen room near the monk's room.
This place is much older than the previous place, and the furnishings in the room are also much simpler. Obviously no one lives there, and not far from this Zen room, there is a small courtyard where more than 20 disciples of Qianfo Temple live. They are in the main hall.
I can't hear the chanting during morning prayers, but I do my regular homework every night. There are always the sounds of chanting and wooden fish in the middle of the night, making it difficult to sleep peacefully.
The reason for the change of location was not mentioned, but Xia Shang could probably guess that this was a room reserved for some more important people.
Xia Shang and Sophia were just two people brought back by Monk Shi Xin on the way. Their identities were unknown, and naturally they were not more important than the noble people who were about to come to Qianfo Temple to participate in the poetry meeting.
Xia Shang inquired several times about Shi Xin, but unfortunately the monks who lived not far from them were young monks who didn't know much about Shi Xin, let alone where he was.
Xia Shang originally thought that after coming to Qianfo Temple, he would be able to trick Fu Sheng out of the matter through hard work, but now it seems that he can only go to waste.
But it's good to know that Shi Xin is at Qianfo Temple. Even if he can't tell him about Fu Sheng now, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.
It lasted only two days. Except for the fast food in the temple, which made me uncomfortable, everything else was fine.
At dusk, the sound of wooden fish and chanting came again from the yard next door. Sophia kept complaining: "You monks in Dahua are chattering endlessly all day long. It's really annoying."
Xia Shang had always disliked Sophia's comments on Chinese culture, but this time he was also a little irritated. As a layman, he could not integrate his heart into Buddhism.
Xia Shang looked at the sky and said, "Let's go and go out for a walk while there's no one around."
After hearing this, Sophia's eyes lit up: "I have asked you to go out for a long time. After staying here for two full days, I am almost suffocated to death."
At the end of the day, the two of them avoided the young monks attending evening classes and went to the main hall of Thousand Buddhas Temple.
It was said to be Thousand Buddha Temple, but when Xia and Shang came all the way in, they didn't see any Buddha statues wherever they went.
It is said that more than 90% of the Buddha statues are in the Main Hall, and there are also sporadic Buddha statues in other palaces.
There are no Buddhist sculptures to be seen, and the Thousand Buddhas Temple is no different from other temples. It is just that it is located on the gentle Yushan Mountain, which makes the Thousand Buddhas Temple look more calm and easy-going. With the scenery of the mountain peaks at dusk, it looks quiet and comfortable.
It's just that there are too many temples and halls in Qianfo Temple. Without monks to guide the way, Xia Shang didn't know which way to go to the Main Hall.
In the past two days, Qianfo Temple has been cleaning up and down to prepare for this poetry gathering. It looks very comfortable, and you can see a few monks cleaning from time to time.
When they saw the Xia and Shang people bowing respectfully, they probably thought they were some celebrities in such a temple today.
Walking in the corridor of a side hall, I looked at the setting sun in the distance and was about to dive under the mountain, fearing that it would be dark.
Xia Shang thought about going back, but suddenly a voice came from behind him: "Mr."
When he looked back, he turned out to be the young prince Li Zijin.
Li Zijin was also overjoyed to see Xia Shang. He was accompanied by two shirtless monks with solemn expressions. They seemed to be bodyguards arranged by Qianfo Temple to protect Li Zijin.
Li Zijin was wearing a golden, close-fitting brocade dress, a jade belt, and jade ornaments. He looked clean and energetic, and looked like he had an extraordinary status.
He ran quickly to Xia Shang, with a happy face: "Sir, it's really you! I wasn't sure when I saw the back."
Xia Shang frowned: "Your Highness, there is no gentleman here, just a common man named Xia."
"Well... it'll be a matter of time."
"You must not talk nonsense until you become His Highness's Young Master."
"Then...His Highness, I will call you Xia Shang."
Xia Shang looked at the two monks beside Li Zijin.
Li Zijin smiled: "Don't worry, they are monks from Thousand Buddha Temple. They are only responsible for safety and cannot say anything. They are deaf and mute."
Deaf-mute?
Xia Shang was slightly startled, looked at the two of them, and then cupped his hands.
"Xia Shang, why are you here?"
"How could such a great opportunity to become famous not come? After tomorrow, the name of Xia and Shang will be known in the capital. Your Highness will take advantage of the opportunity and ask the Ming Emperor to grant him the title of Young Master. Everything will fall into place."
"That's the best thing to do. There won't be many people participating in the poetry meeting tomorrow. If it weren't for the Thousand Buddhas Temple, those literati from the capital would have trampled the temples. The road down the mountain is full of tents, at least thousands of them.
The scholars chose to camp at the foot of the mountain. They are just waiting for the poetry meeting to start tomorrow, and all of them will flock in. Although most of these people are not as talented and literary as Mr. Xia Shang, there are also celebrities in the capital. Xia Shang
It’s not easy to stand out from them and become the focus of the capital’s literary world.”
Xia Shang smiled. He was not worried about this. No matter poetry, poetry, music, chess, calligraphy or painting, there was nothing he was not good at.
A collection of literature that combines five thousand years of history in China, is it not as good as the students of one generation?
Just when Li Zijin was about to say something, he suddenly screamed: "No, my sister is here."
elder sister?
Xia Shang was confused when he heard another person coming behind him.
"Li Zijin, where are you running? Why are you walking so fast?"
Looking for the sound, I saw a girl in palace clothes walking towards her, followed by four maids. They held up her plain skirt and chased her with small steps.
"Who...is this person? Where have I seen him before?" Princess Nishang looked at Xia Shang, slightly confused.
"Caomin Xia Shang, people from the south of the Yangtze River." (To be continued)