Chapter Eight: Cloud Buddha

  Yunfo Temple, the year of construction is no longer verifiable, it is said to have a history of over 500 years, standing in the southern suburbs of Jinling since the previous dynasty. With the current emperor's reverence for Buddhism, Yunfo Temple immediately became prosperous and flourishing, even a few years ago the emperor personally came to worship and make wishes, at that time Yunfo Temple quietly became the number one temple in Daqi.

  Frankincense wafts, Buddhist incense surges, the sound of chanting fills the entire temple. The walls of the Buddhist temple are ancient and simple, with marks of years everywhere. In front of the main gate, a large four-cornered cauldron stands there, white frankincense rises and surrounds the temple, lingering for a long time without dispersing.

  Yunfo Temple, the origin of its name is already unknown, and the three big characters are said to have been written by a high-ranking monk who achieved enlightenment hundreds of years ago. The strokes are round and empty, strong and powerful, as if there is some kind of Zen intention hidden inside.

  Wei Zhao raised his head and took a glance, but inside, he saw the carefree and elegant landscape of mountains and rivers flowing, slightly stunned, couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, having developed a young master's disease after a month of pampering, now inexplicably also had an otherworldly air about him.

  Xianglian, after a bout of exercise, finally digested her little belly. Now she had her hands clasped together, her small face extremely pious as she faced the giant tripod, her eyes closed and her mouth murmuring, as if saying something.

  Wei Zhao looked around and found that there were not many people coming and going, and very few people entered the main hall. With a sense of doubt, he walked past the giant tripod and into the main hall.

  Xianglian naturally followed Wei Zhao's side, only without the happy and cheerful appearance of laughing all the way, with a serious expression.

  Wei Zhao chuckled and pinched her small face, but Xiang Qiang unexpectedly exerted great force to slap away Wei Zhao's large hand, and even glared at him with an extremely rare expression, pursing her lips without saying a word.

  Wei Zhao was somewhat astonished, never expecting that Da Qi's reverence for Buddhism would actually affect the maids in his own house, and it seemed to be quite deep.

  Wei Zhuo's lips moved slightly, and he immediately laughed and walked towards the main hall.

  Only the two of them didn't notice that their actions just now made the two women who came in later look at each other in a somewhat strange way.

  The maid glared at Young Master? Although Daqi's customs are open-minded, it is still a serious crime to offend one's superior.

  The slightly older woman merely raised an eyebrow, then lifted her head to gaze at the tall Buddha statue in the great hall, while the other, somewhat younger and more delicate maid servant looked at Wei Zhao with a hint of disdain.

  Wei Zhao stood in front of the main hall's great Buddha, looking at a Buddha he didn't recognize and who didn't recognize him. He put his palms together and slightly bowed his head.

  "Master." Xiangqiang, who was standing beside him, suddenly pulled his sleeve and pointed to the mat below, indicating that he should kneel down and kowtow. At this moment, Xiao Yatou's small mind was filled with fear, not daring to show any resentment, lest the Buddha find out and punish Master.

  Wei Zhao touched Xiangqian's head and smiled, saying "The Buddha has already seen me kneel."

  Xianglian's big eyes blinked repeatedly, full of confusion. She tightly pursed her small mouth, but in this solemn place she didn't dare to speak, afraid of saying the wrong thing.

  Wei Zhuo turned his head to look at the huge Buddha statue in front of him, and suddenly remembered a dialectical joke from before. He chuckled and said, "Whether or not you kneel is just a formality, what the Buddha wants is sincerity. As long as your heart is there, the Buddha will naturally know."

  Xianglian was startled, and hastily clasped her hands together, kneeling down on the cushion and kowtowing repeatedly. She muttered to herself: "Buddha forgive us, Young Master didn't mean it... Buddha forgive us..."

  The surprise in Wei Zuo's eyes flashed again, he didn't expect the influence of 'Buddha' to have penetrated so deeply into people's hearts in this dynasty, a joke would scare Xiangxiang into such a state. Just as he was about to speak and pull her up, a cold, sarcastic hum suddenly came from beside him, "Evasive, definitely no Buddha in your heart."

  There is no Buddha in one's heart; here, it has already become a serious matter.

  Wei Zhao was taken aback, but when he turned his head, he saw a woman with a simple and elegant long dress, her hair draped over her shoulders, kneeling on a cushion with her hands clasped together in prayer. Beside her stood a green-clad maid, who was the one speaking. The little maid was about the same size as Xiangqiang, staring with a pair of small eyes that were full of resentment.

  Wei Zhuo looked at her calmly, but didn't know how he had offended her.

  "My sister is ignorant, please don't blame her, sir." The woman on the couch hastily stood up and apologized with a slightly red face before Wei Zhao could speak.

  Wei Zhao saw that she was a stunning beauty, on the same level as Li Xianyun.

  Wei Xiao smiled faintly and nodded, saying: "Actually, this young lady is right. I was indeed making excuses. The Buddha wants people to kneel down to show sincerity, not only kowtowing but also giving incense money, and even then it's not guaranteed that things will be done. I'm speaking on his behalf, and my face is red with shame."

  As soon as Wei Zao finished speaking, both the mistress and the maid were stunned.

  The green-clad maid's small eyes were wide open, staring at Wei Qiao with an incredulous expression, her mouth slightly ajar, and finally gazing foolishly at the woman in white beside her.

  The woman in white didn't seem stunned, only momentarily surprised, and quickly regained her composure. Her warm and gentle eyes sparkled with repeated flashes of thought, clearly pondering Wei Zhao's words. After a long while, she smiled lightly and bowed slightly to Wei Zhao, saying in a valley-like whisper: "Sir, you have a high perspective."

  Wei Zhao also smiled and nodded, finally meeting someone who hadn't been poisoned. He glanced again at the pale-faced, evasive-eyed green-clad maid, pulled up Xiangqian who was constantly kowtowing, walked through the left gate, and headed towards the abbot's quarters.

  Watching Wei Zhao walk away without looking back, the woman in white clothes was slightly stunned. Although she didn't think that Wei Zhao's astonishing words were intentionally meant to pique her interest, she also hadn't expected him to leave so abruptly.

  "Miss, he, he..." The green-clad maid's small eyes were brimming with tears, clearly frightened by Wei Xiao's previous words.

  The woman in the plain dress was shocked in her heart, but unlike the green-clad maid, she wasn't frightened. She smiled softly and said, "Now you know to be afraid, you should have listened earlier when I told you to restrain your temper! Not all men in the world are bad, but you wouldn't listen!"

  Looking at the young lady's relaxed smile, the green-clad maid nodded her small head like a chick pecking at rice. This time she was really scared, looking up at the big Buddha smiling above her head, thinking of Wei Xiao's words, her small body couldn't help but tremble again.

  A woman in a simple dress was softly comforting a maid. Before long, the two of them also came from the left side door and walked into the inner courtyard.

  "Young master, those words can't be said here." Xiangqiang's small face was knotted for a long time before she whispered extremely softly into Wei Zhao's ear. However, her kowtowing was so devout that she hadn't heard Wei Zhao's earth-shattering words at all; if she had, she would have cried out loud.

  Wei Xiao unconsciously nodded, looked up at the three people in the distance who were dressed in finery and smiling slyly, his gaze was calm, he had a feeling that those three were deliberately waiting for him.

  As expected, as soon as Wei Xiao stepped down from the rock stairs, the three of them surrounded him. A slightly chubby young man in a Chinese tunic on the right burst out laughing and strode over, his smile full of playful teasing like a cat playing with an old mouse.

  …………

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