At the foot of Wofo Mountain.
There are crowds of tourists and vendors shouting, it is very lively.
The steps leading up the mountain were bustling with people and noisy.
Some are alone, some are with their families; some are in pairs; and some are in groups of three or five with their friends.
Many vendors were selling colorful windmills, sugar figures, kites, etc. in their hands, attracting many children and girls to stop and pester their parents to buy them.
The carriage stopped at the intersection outside.
Nangong Meijiao led the Qin family and came to the steps up the mountain with ease.
The lively atmosphere eased the depressed and uneasy mood of everyone in the Qin family.
When the tourists saw this group of people dressed in luxurious clothes and with guards, they all made way for them. The hawkers who were stopping tourists on the roadside to sell their wares also stepped back.
Nangong Meijiao had a grim look on his face as he walked in front, looking very imposing.
The tourists only took one look and then looked away timidly.
Everyone has their own aura.
Some are weak, some are strong.
People living at the bottom of society have the weakest aura and are the most inferior and timid in their bones; while those who hold high positions or are born into aristocracy, as well as those who are powerful in themselves, naturally have a strong aura, which makes people afraid and unconsciously feel guilty and timid.
Only after they had passed did the tourists behind them dare to talk in low voices.
"I wonder which wealthy family in Kyoto is going on a trip. Even the maids are dressed brightly and beautifully, and each one is as beautiful as a flower..."
"I'm afraid they are not just a wealthy family, they look like nobles from the inner city..."
Listening to the discussion behind her, Song Ruyue was worried instead of happy. She couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Master, when can we move into the inner city?"
Qin Wenzheng glanced at her and didn't want to answer at first, but after thinking for a while, he said, "You have to ask Chuan'er and Qingzhou, or Lang'er. I have no hope, so I can only count on them."
Song Ruyue pouted and said nothing more.
I originally wanted to blame him for resigning his title, but after thinking about it, if he didn't resign, his whole family wouldn't be able to come to Kyoto.
A meritorious family with a title cannot move away with their entire family at will.
"Tanghulu, Tanghulu! Sweet and crispy Tanghulu..."
By the roadside, a dark-skinned girl with long braids and a floral dress was holding a pole filled with bright red, tempting candied haws, and was shouting in a crisp voice.
Sitting behind him was an old man with gray hair, who would occasionally join in the shouting.
Luo Qingzhou turned his head and took a look, then asked, "Who wants to eat candied haws?"
Bai Ling was the first to raise her hand and said, "I'll eat, I'll eat! Uncle, I'll eat!"
Luo Qingzhou said: "Then go buy some, and buy a bunch for everyone at the same time."
Bai Ling: “…”
"Humph! My son-in-law is so stingy!"
She pouted, looking resentful.
Luo Qingzhou walked over, took out the silver, bought eight strings, then took them back and distributed them to Xiaodie, Qiuer, Zhuer, Meier, the second young lady, and then handed them to Xia Chan.
There are still two strings left in my hand.
He handed one of the bunches to Bai Ling and asked, "Sir, are you still stingy?"
Bai Ling immediately snatched it away, smiling, "Don't be stingy, sir. You know your mistakes and can correct them. I forgive you."
As he said that, he bit off one with a "crunch". He squinted his eyes because of the sweetness and a sweet dimple appeared on his face. He looked cute and silly.
Luo Qingzhou glanced at Miss Qin next to her, hesitated for a moment, handed the last string to her, and said, "Miss, do you want to eat?"
Qin Jianjia shook her head slightly, her expression cold.
Luo Qingzhou didn't say anything more. Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, a cough suddenly came from the front.
Song Ruyue: "Cough cough cough."
Luo Qingzhou took a look ahead and then realized what was happening. He quickly took the last string and handed it to Princess Nangong, saying, "Princess, this is for you."
Nangong Meijiao said coldly: "I don't want to eat."
Luo Qingzhou took it back and was about to put it into his mouth again when he suddenly heard a cough next to him.
Song Ruyue glared at him with a cold face and said, "Ahem!"
Luo Qingzhou: “…”
He froze for a moment before he really reacted. He quickly handed over the last string in his hand and said, "Mother-in-law, do you want to eat it?"
"snort!"
Song Ruyue snatched it away and walked quickly in front, muttering, "You have no sense at all."
Qin Wenzheng couldn't help but mutter, "You're already so old, and you're still eating this kind of thing."
When Song Ruyue heard this, she immediately turned around and said, "Master, what do you mean? Do you dislike my age? I'm only 29 this year!"
Qin Wenzheng was stunned and asked in confusion: "Twenty-nine? Why do I remember that you were twenty-nine two years ago?"
Song Ruyue stared at him, her face full of resentment.
Miss Qin Er quickly suppressed her laughter and said, "Dad, you remembered it wrongly. Mom is only 29 this year."
Qin Wenzheng glanced at her suspiciously and muttered, "Not really."
Luo Qingzhou also hurriedly said: "I don't think so either. My mother-in-law doesn't look like she is 29 years old."
Song Ruyue glared at him with flaming eyes.
Luo Qingzhou continued, "Just now, my mother-in-law and the second young lady were walking together, and I heard a tourist nearby say, 'Look, the sisters are so beautiful.' My mother-in-law looks so young, like twenty, at most twenty-five."
"Puff..."
Miss Qin covered her mouth and laughed.
Song Ruyue was stunned for a moment, then immediately turned serious, glanced at him reproachfully and said, "Humph, your flattery skills are becoming more and more sophisticated."
After saying that, he turned his head and looked forward, his mouth suddenly opened and he laughed.
The group continued to go up the stairs.
Qin Chuan walked at the back, looking around vigilantly. He looked aggressive, as if he wanted to fight someone.
Many tourists couldn't help wanting to take a few more glances at the fair-skinned and beautiful women, but when they were glared at by him, they were immediately frightened and walked away quickly.
When we reached halfway up the mountain, two roads suddenly appeared in front of us.
One path goes straight up to the temple on the top of the mountain; the other path extends to the right and leads to the temple on the mountainside.
Nangong Meijiao explained in a low voice: "Although these two temples are both Jinchan Temple, the buildings and people inside are very different. The Jinchan Temple on the top of the mountain is where the monks really practice. It is quiet and secluded, with a strong Buddhist atmosphere. The one on the mountainside is specially used for tourists and pilgrims to burn incense and make wishes. There are many people, but generally there are no monks there."
Qin Wenzheng asked: "That Master Wukong should be up there, right?"
Nangong Meijiao hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't know either. My father came to ask last time, but he didn't get anything."
As the two were walking up the stairs while talking in low voices, two monks in gray robes suddenly came down from above.
One of the monks, who was of burly stature, bowed his head and said, "Amitabha, if you want to burn incense, please go through the road on the right."
Qin Wenzheng quickly bowed and said, "Excuse me, young master. We are not here to burn incense. My daughter is ill and has been treated by countless doctors but none of them can cure her. So I want to go up and ask to see Master Wukong of your temple. I hope he can help me."
"Master Wukong?"
Upon hearing this, the two monks looked at each other with a look of confusion on their faces.
The burly monk put his palms together and said, "Donors, our temple does not have the Master Wukong you are looking for. If you want to pray for blessings, please go to the temple on the right. There you can burn incense and make a wish to pray for blessings and cure for your daughter's illness."
Qin Wen Zheng frowned and glanced at the princess next to him.
Nangong Meijiao said, "My father and I came here a few days ago, and we went to the temple up there. Today we also want to go up there and take a look, and I hope the two young masters can make some arrangements. Even if there is no Master Wukong up there, we would like to find other elders to ask."
The two monks bowed their heads and clasped their hands together, saying, "Amitabha, the elders of our temple will never see outsiders."
The burly monk still raised his hand to guide, and said politely but in a formal way: "Dear donors, please go to the temple on the right."
Nangong Meijiao was immediately furious: "I am the princess of the Southern Kingdom Prince's Mansion. My father and I were here a few days ago. Why are we not allowed to go up today?"
The burly monk still lowered his head and said expressionlessly: "Donor, it is indeed not possible today. Please go back."
Nangong Meijiao's eyes turned cold and she put her hands on her waist.
Qin Wenzheng said quickly: "Meijiao, forget it, let's go to the temple next door first."
This girl seems a little impulsive. If she can't help herself and takes action, it may not be as simple as the disease being incurable.
The Jinchan Temple has such a powerful background that even the Prince Nangong's Mansion doesn't take these two small monks guarding the road seriously. If this girl causes trouble, I'm afraid the Prince Nangong will also be implicated.
By then, the Qin family will be to blame.
Qin Weimo also said softly: "Sister Meijiao, don't embarrass the two young masters, let's go down."
Another younger monk, seeing her pale face and weak and delicate appearance, couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. He said in a gentle voice, "Don't blame us, benefactors. There are indeed rules in the temple. If we let you go up, not only will we be punished, but you still won't be able to enter the door. There are still a few brothers guarding the door."
Qin Wenzheng cupped his hands and said, "May I ask, Master, how can I get there?"
The young monk said, "Unless other senior brothers and uncles know you and personally come to you, or an elder invites you. There is another way. There is a Buddhist chanting wall at the entrance of the temple below. If any of you can leave a good painting or poem on the wall and be noticed by Senior Uncle Huiming, and then he takes it to the temple above for collection, then you will also be invited up."
Qin Wenzheng's heart moved when he heard this. He pondered for a moment, then bowed and said, "Thank you, Master. Let's go down and take a look."
The two monks bowed their heads and clasped their hands together: "Goodbye, benefactor."
The group had no choice but to turn around, walk down a distance, and head towards the road on the right.
After they walked away, the burly monk sneered, "Why waste time talking to them? Not everyone dares to scribble on the Buddha Chant Wall. If you don't do it well and anger Master Huiming, I'm afraid he will scold you again. You know Master Huiming's vision. How can they have that hope? It's better not to tell them and just reject them coldly."
The young monk sighed and said, "It seems that the female donor is dying soon. She is really pitiful. I couldn't help but say a few more words."
The burly monk said, "Fate is determined by heaven, why worry about it?"
The young monk was puzzled and asked, "It seems that there is no Master Wukong in our temple. I have never heard of him. I don't know where they heard it from."
The burly monk said, "I have never heard of it either. I guess he just found a random excuse to go up and take a look. Don't pay any attention to it."
Qin Wen Zheng led his group and walked towards the road on the right.
The road ahead began to widen, and there were crowds of tourists on the road. Those who were leaving were carrying large and small bags in their hands, while those who were returning were left with only a lucky bag in their hands, but their faces were full of peace and hope.
Before reaching the temple gate, I suddenly heard cheers coming from the front.
Everyone in the Qin family looked up and saw a stone Buddha statue over ten meters high sitting on the left side outside the temple gate.
The Buddha statue had its head lowered, and below it stood a two-meter-high bluestone wall.
At this time, the wall was filled with people, all cheering loudly and looking quite excited.
Qin Wen Zheng immediately led everyone over.
As soon as I got closer, I suddenly heard a burst of angry curses: "What a bullshit spring flowers, autumn moon and beautiful face, get out of here!"
In front of the wall, a young man in a Confucian robe was standing there with a wolf hair brush in his hand and a stiff expression on his face.
The crowd that had been cheering just now suddenly fell silent.
A tall middle-aged monk, while cursing angrily, picked up a bucket and poured water on the stone wall. Then he picked up a big brush and started brushing the ink that had just fallen on the wall.
Soon, the walls looked brand new again.
"roll!"
The middle-aged monk had a face full of flesh and glared at the young man in the Confucian robe.
The wolf hair in the young man's hand trembled slightly, his face flushed, and he said angrily: "As a monk, how can you speak foul language? This poem of mine..."
"What kind of bullshit poem is this? It's bullshit to me!"
The middle-aged monk retorted bluntly.
The young scholar was so angry that he trembled all over, his face full of humiliation and anger, pointing at him and saying: "You...you..."
"Bang!"
The middle-aged monk smashed a piece of the edge of the stone wall with his fist, and asked with his eyes wide open: "What about me?"
"… "
The young scholar was immediately frightened and dared not say another word. He turned around trembling and walked away.
There was a burst of mocking laughter from the crowd.
"You can't write a poem, but you still want to make a fool of yourself, causing the master to waste his energy on cleaning. It's embarrassing."
"He has no self-awareness. Is this a place where he can scribble and paint? Even a great talent wouldn't dare to write carelessly for fear of being laughed at. What kind of person is he?"
Everyone was talking and mocking, and seemed to have forgotten the booing and cheering just now.
Anyway, they just came to watch the fun, and they were naturally happy to see scholars make a fool of themselves.
There were several scholars from other places standing nearby. They were just about to step forward to show off their skills and leave their marks on the wall, but when they saw this, they dared not step forward anymore.
The onlookers all turned their heads and looked at them and the other scholars in Confucian robes, as if they were looking for the next target to watch the fun.
Seeing this, the scholars hurried away.
The hot-tempered middle-aged monk glanced at them sideways, walked to the Buddha statue nearby, leaned against it, and closed his eyes to rest.
Seeing that no one dared to come forward, the onlookers waited for a while before dispersing in disappointment.
Qin Wen Zheng looked at the stone wall for a while, then looked at the monk with a face full of flesh, and remained silent.
Song Ruyue glanced at someone and was about to speak, but she didn't dare to say anything.
Soon, the tourists dispersed.
The Qin family members stood alone in front of the stone wall, with sad looks on their faces.
Miss Qin Er said softly, "Daddy, let's go to the temple here and burn some incense."
Qin Wenzheng was silent for a moment, then turned around and said, "Let's go."
Song Ruyue opened her mouth, seemed to be about to say something, but ultimately did not speak.
Luo Qingzhou suddenly said: "I can try it."
After these words were spoken, everyone stopped and looked at him.
Qin Wenzheng frowned and said, "Qingzhou, don't worry, let's go to the temple in front and take a look. You can write it down after you have thought it through. If there is really nothing, it doesn't matter, we can think of other ways."
Luo Qingzhou bowed and said, "Father-in-law, I'd better give it a try first."
The monk who was resting with his eyes closed against the stone statue seemed to have heard his words. He immediately opened his eyes and said sinisterly, "Boy, you can try, but you can clean the wall yourself after you try. If you don't clean it clean, my fist as big as a sandbag will leave a mark on your face."
Song Ruyue said quickly: "Qingzhou, forget it, you should think about it carefully. We will come back later."
Luo Qingzhou looked at the monk and said, "If the master is not satisfied, I will wipe it off myself."
The middle-aged monk sneered, looked at him with a squint and said, "I'm not satisfied now! All day long, there are a bunch of clowns who have no self-awareness and come to embarrass me. You think you're great just because you can write some rubbish poems? You don't even take a piss and look in the mirror to see what you look like. All you write is some bullshit that makes me sick just looking at it..."
Luo Qingzhou ignored his yelling and said, "Qiu'er, grind the ink."
When Qiu'er came out, she brought with her pen, ink, paper and inkstone.
Upon hearing this, Qiu'er glanced at him, and immediately took out a pen and inkstone from the package, and then took out an ink block.
The middle-aged monk's curses became more and more unpleasant, and his voice became louder and louder, as if he was venting the anger that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time.
The tourists who had just dispersed, upon hearing the scolding, immediately gathered around quickly like flies smelling blood.
Luo Qingzhou looked calm, picked up a pen and walked to the wall.
Qiu'er also carried the inkstone, walked over, and stood beside him, slowly grinding the ink in her hands. Seeing more and more people gathered around, she suddenly felt uneasy.
Qin Wenzhen and others also showed uneasy looks on their faces.
Luo Qingzhou picked up the brush and dipped it in ink. After a moment of hesitation, he put the ink on the stone wall and began to write.
Qin Weimo stood there weakly, her eyes fixed on those beautiful and powerful handwritings.
Among the crowd of onlookers, there were several scholars who couldn't help but recite it aloud when they saw this.
“When you look at a mountain from the side, it looks like a mountain; when you look at it from the front, it looks like a peak
"The distance, height and depth are different..."
“I don’t know the true face of Foshan…”
"Just because I am in this mountain..."
Luo Qingzhou finished the poem in one go.
After several scholars finished reading, they all frowned and chewed.
The onlookers heard this and started talking about it.
"What do you mean by horizontal and vertical viewing? What do you mean by far and near, high and low, in the clouds and fog? What is this writing about?"
“Although I heard it clearly, I didn’t understand it…”
Everyone was pointing and talking.
One of the scholars looked at him and praised: "What a wonderful poem! This is a..."
"Look, he's still writing the second one!"
Everyone was shocked, then immediately quieted down, staring intently at the young scholar as he wrote.
“Jinchan Temple on the Reclining Buddha Mountain…”
"I heard that the sun rises when the cock crows..."
“Don’t be afraid of the clouds blocking your view…”
"Since I am at the highest level..."
After one of the scholars finished reading, the middle-aged monk, who was still leaning against the Buddha statue with his eyes closed and sneering, frowned and opened his eyes.
Then he walked over, stood in front of the stone wall, and looked intently.
"Look! There's a third song!"
"This young man is so brave that he wants to write three poems in a row!"
Everyone's face was filled with surprise.
Qin Wen Zheng and others also held their breath, with looks of surprise on their faces.
A scholar stared at the third poem and his heart suddenly began to pound rapidly.
He vaguely felt that he seemed to be witnessing the birth of an extraordinary miracle today.
“The moon seems smaller when the mountain is near…”
"It is said that this mountain is bigger than the moon..."
"If someone had eyes as big as the sky..."
"When you see the mountains are high and the moon is wider..."
Luo Qingzhou finished writing in one breath and was about to mention his name at the end when the middle-aged monk suddenly raised his eyebrows and shouted angrily: "What a crap poem! Get rid of it!"
“Bang!”
A crisp sound!
Just as the middle-aged monk finished his words, a palm suddenly slapped him hard on the back of his shiny head, causing him to somersault and fall to the ground with a "bang"!
"Fuck you... Master... Uncle..."
The middle-aged monk looked back, the anger on his face suddenly froze, he hurriedly got up, and said in a flattering manner: "Uncle Master, why did you come out in person?"
An old monk wearing a gray robe, with a tall and thin figure and gray eyebrows, suddenly appeared silently, his eyes fixed on the wall in front of him, with a solemn look between his brows.
The solemnity soon turned into shock, and then into contemplation.
"Uncle Master, you..."
“Bang!”
As the middle-aged monk approached, the kind-looking old monk suddenly slapped him hard and sent him flying. He then shouted angrily, "Foolish thing! If I don't come out, you will destroy the rare treasures of my temple that will be passed down through the ages! Come here, lift up this wall, and quickly send it to the mountain!"
The middle-aged monk was beaten so hard that he saw stars, but he didn't dare to show any disrespect. He jumped up from the ground in a hurry, and then walked to the stone wall in front of everyone's stunned expressions. Suddenly, he let out a low roar, pulled the wall up from the ground, and carried it on his shoulders!
The old monk reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the three poems on the wall, then walked up to the young man, clasped his hands together, lowered his eyebrows and said respectfully: "Sir, if it is convenient, please follow me up the mountain. I have some questions that I would like to ask you."
After saying this, he lowered his head again and bowed deeply to beg.