The Prince of Jin and the Prince of De came out of their palaces at about the same time, and naturally went to the city gate together.
They were all sitting in the carriage, and even though the curtains had been replaced with thin ones, it was still impossible to see the faces of the people sitting in the carriage.
"I don't even know what he looks like?" Jiang Changning looked away with regret.
Yan Yinyao smiled and said, "A man's appearance is not important, as long as he is well-proportioned."
“Who said it’s not important? Beauty is a feast for the eyes, and it doesn’t just apply to women.” Jiang Changning said seriously.
"Will my cousin's wife eat an extra bowl of rice if she sees my cousin?" Yan Yinyao asked jokingly.
"More than that." Jiang Changning held up three fingers and said seriously, "I can eat three more bowls of rice."
Yan Yinyao held her face in her hands and sighed, "It seems that my appearance does not please my cousin's wife. When she and I dine together, she only eats half a bowl of rice."
"It's not a matter of appearance, but like repels like and opposites attract. Your beauty needs a man to appreciate it." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
The aunt and sister-in-law chatted and laughed all the way out of the city and arrived at the foot of the mountain of Xiangguo Temple. Now everyone had to go down the mountain and walk up the mountain.
Jiang Changning was greatly disappointed when he saw Su Quanfu, the man who was going to meet Yan Yinyao. It wasn't that he was ugly, he had regular features, but that meant he was not handsome.
After getting used to seeing the handsome face of Prince Jin, Jiang Changning's aesthetic taste has improved a lot.
Su Quanfu's height is estimated to be 1.66 meters, but no, it should be about five feet tall.
Even though women nowadays don't wear high heels, Yan Yinyao would surpass him if she wore thick-soled shoes.
It would be fine if he was not tall enough, but his body shape was not very good. He was not too fat, but he had a big belly, and he looked like a pregnant woman who was four or five months pregnant.
His ordinary appearance was not his biggest problem. The biggest problem was that Su Quanfu had swollen eyelids, cloudy eyeballs, and an abnormal blush on his cheeks, making him look like an alcoholic.
Jiang Changning muttered quietly, "This man is no good."
Yan Yinyao lowered her head and chuckled. She was a little disappointed to see Su Quanfu's character. Although she was remarrying, she didn't want to put herself too hard.
There are a total of 756 steps from the mountain gate of Xiangguo Temple to Tianshan Hall.
Climbing up is really time-consuming and laborious. They are not really here to worship Buddha, so they just hire a sedan chair and let porters carry them up.
When you enter the temple, you will see the bell and drum towers. The morning bells and evening drums are the rules used by Buddhist temples to tell time. On New Year's Eve, the Xiangguo Temple will ring the bells. The sound is loud and beautiful, echoing throughout the city.
The first hall of Xiangguo Temple is the Heavenly King Hall, where Maitreya Buddha is enshrined. On both sides of the Buddha statue are couplets: A big belly can accommodate things that are difficult to accommodate in the world; a kind face always smiles, laughing at the ridiculous people in the world.
The monk in charge of reception handed over sandalwood, Jiang Changning took it and knelt on the cushion, "Buddha, be merciful. I pray to you devoutly. I pray that Buddha will bless my family with health, peace, happiness, good fortune, and everything will go smoothly!"
Yan Yinyao prayed: "I pray that the Buddha will bless me and the people I care about with peace and health, eliminate diseases and disasters, and make all our wishes come true and auspicious!"
On the east and west sides of Maitreya Buddha are the Four Heavenly Kings, each guarding one side, and the instruments they hold are a sword, a pipa, a green umbrella and a silver snake respectively.
These four instruments represent respectively: wind, harmony, rain, and smoothness.
Burning incense to the Four Heavenly Kings, one prays for "peace in the world and a good harvest."
Jiang Changning saw Su Quanfu was always looking at Yan Yinyao out of the corner of his eye, and he tried to get close to Yan Yinyao several times.
Yan Yinyao looked straight ahead, pursed his lips slightly, and had a serious expression.
Knowing that she didn't like Su Quanfu, Jiang Changning would never let Su Quanfu get close to her. She was about to walk over to talk to Yan Yinyao.
The concubine asked at this time: "Yin Yao, do you know why Wei Tuo is called the guardian deity in Buddhism?"
"It is said that after Sakyamuni's Nirvana, evil spirits stole the Buddha's remains. Weituo chased them and finally got them back. After that, Weituo became a bodhisattva and a guardian deity."
"Miss Yan is really knowledgeable." Su Quanfu praised.
Su Quanfu's expression was a little stiff. It was obvious that he tried to flatter the wrong person but failed to please Yan Yinyao.
Jiang Changning stepped forward and took Yan Yinyao's hand, "Come on, cousin, let's go to the main hall."
Behind the Hall of Heavenly Kings is the Main Hall, which is the main hall of Xiangguo Temple. It is magnificent, with exquisitely carved lions on the white stone railings.
The three Buddhas of the past, present and future are enshrined in the hall: Sakyamuni Buddha in the center, Amitabha Buddha to the west, and Medicine Buddha to the east.
"It is said that Sakyamuni Buddha can fulfill all the wishes of his believers." Su Quanfu followed him into the main hall.
Yan Yinyao didn't hear him and ignored him, "Cousin, you said the Thousand-Eyed Thousand-Armed Buddha, does it really have a thousand eyes and a thousand arms?"
"According to Buddhist scriptures, the Thousand-Eyed Thousand-Armed Buddha is one of the thirty-three transformations of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. He has one thousand and forty-eight hands, and an eye is carved on each palm."
As they were talking, they turned to the back of the Three Buddhas. The murals on both sides showed scenes of Guanyin of the South China Sea saving all living beings.
After leaving the Main Hall, go to the release pond on the left.
It is now June, and the lotus flowers in the release pond are already growing tall and graceful.
Su Quanfu shook his head and chanted: "The lotus leaves are endless and green, and the lotus flowers are red in the sun."
The second son of the Prince of De's Mansion was twelve or thirteen years old, just the age when he liked to show off. "When appreciating the lotus, one should write poems and couplets to live up to this elegant mood."
Without waiting for everyone's agreement, he chanted: "The moon is bright and the boat flutes sound in unison; the wind stops and the lotus in the pond smells fragrant."
Su Quanfu thought the second young master wanted him to show off, so he immediately chanted happily: "Looking around, the mountain scenery meets the water scenery, leaning on the railing, the fragrance of lotus flowers can be smelled for ten miles."
As soon as he finished speaking, the second young master continued chanting: "The water lily leaves are entwined in the water, the lotus swaying in the wind, a small boat can pass through the deep lotus pond."
"Cousin, look, there is a turtle under the lotus leaf." Yan Yinyao didn't even listen to the two people reciting poetry.
The monk who led the way put his hands together and said, "Amitabha, female donor, that is a golden toad."
"I must have seen it wrongly." Yan Yinyao smiled embarrassedly.
"Miss Yan, in this Buddhist temple, there are lotus leaves covering a golden toad, which can ward off evil and bring wealth and prosperity," said Su Quanfu.
"Thank you, Mr. Su, for clearing up my doubts." Yan Yinyao bowed and walked away.
Jiang Changning, who was standing next to Yan Yinyao, keenly smelled a faint smell of alcohol on Su Quanfu's breath.
Whether Su Quanfu drank the alcohol leftover from last night or from this morning, it shows one thing: he is a greedy drinker.
Jiang Changning frowned and looked at the expressionless Princess De. How could she introduce such a greasy man to Yan Yinyao
The group left only after having a vegetarian meal at Xiangguo Temple.
When they returned to the Prince of Jin's Mansion, the Concubine Dowager said, "Yin Yao, take me back to the courtyard. Brother Yu's daughter-in-law, please go back and see Xiao Ming. I haven't seen you for a long time. I don't know if he is crying or not."
Jiang Changning had asked Yan Yinyao on the way and knew that she didn't like Su Quanfu, so he smiled and said, "Cousin, you stay with mother. I will go back to Rujingyuan first."
"Cousin, don't worry and go accompany Ming'er. I'll be here with your aunt." Yan Yinyao said with a smile.
Note: When writing about this blind date, I remembered an incident in the past. Someone was pursuing my colleague and gave him a box of instant noodles.
My colleague asked me, what does he mean by that? Is he saying that I am easy to pick up
Then she firmly disagreed with this man. The man blamed me, saying that I was the one who advised her and that he wanted to take revenge on me.
I.
(End of this chapter)