Everything was fine, the only flaw was that there was a guy named Zhu Ping'an in the crowd!
When Yuan Wei was on his way to Xiyuan, whenever he thought of Zhu Pingan going to Xiyuan with him, it was like he accidentally swallowed a fly while eating delicacies!
But, it's good, it's time to show him off! Let him understand his position, so that he won't think he's self-righteous just because he wrote a few food-themed poems!
Yuan Wei has made up his mind that he must write another Qingci that will shock the whole audience during this fast and prayer ceremony!
Zhu Ping'an didn't have so many worries. He was just curious about what the Jiajing Emperor's fasting woodcutting ceremony looked like, how big it was, and how it was held. On the way to the West Garden, Zhu Ping'an exchanged views with Zhang Siwei in a low voice, and before they knew it, they arrived at the West Garden.
At this moment, the West Garden was filled with smoke. I wonder how many incense sticks were burned in the West Garden that day. I guess it would take a lot of truckloads to count. Fortunately, the air quality in Daming was good, otherwise burning incense like this would increase the PM2.5 index.
The guards on duty in the Western Garden all wrapped an apricot-yellow cloth strip around their weapons to show their determination to do good and not kill. The layout of the Western Garden was a bit like a Taoist temple, with statues of Taoist gods, incense burners, various talismans, etc. If you come here for the first time, you will definitely mistake it for a Taoist temple.
Li Mo led Zhu Ping'an and the others to the West Garden and handed them over to a middle-aged man dressed as a Taoist priest, then went to Pinglu, who was on duty in the cabinet. Li Mo looked down on Zhai Qiao's ways from the bottom of his heart.
Now the strict party is in power, the law and discipline are lax, the emperor has been cultivating immortality and refining elixirs for more than ten years and has not attended court. There are thousands of national affairs, how can cultivation solve them? ! If cultivation can really lead to immortality, then how could the previous Heavenly Master Shao Yuanjie, who was treated as a teacher by the emperor, die? Shao Yuanjie was bound to die, so why did the emperor bother? I really don't understand, the emperor is so smart, he can hold the government in his hands even if he doesn't attend court. But why can't he see through such a shallow truth!
Li Mo sighed several times in his heart, shook his head and returned to his Pinglu where he was on duty, closed the windows, and thought about the firewood burning outside. Out of sight, out of mind.
"My Lords, please wait for a moment. Our Master is discussing the matter of fasting and burning wood with His Majesty." The middle-aged Taoist waved his Buddhist whisk and said to Zhu Ping'an and the others, indicating that they should wait for a moment.
Zhu Pingan noticed that the eight trigrams and other lines on the middle-aged Taoist's robe were all outlined with gold threads, which was really luxurious. Such a Taoist robe must have been made with at least several taels of gold!
While the middle-aged Taoist priest was speaking, Emperor Jiajing and Tao Zhongwen in the Sanqing Hall had already decided on all the details of this fast and woodcutting ceremony. Tao Zhongwen had already stood up from the Bagua mat and saluted Emperor Jiajing.
"In this case, I'll have to trouble Master Tao." Emperor Jiajing also stood up from the Bagua mat.
Emperor Jiajing treated Tao Zhongwen with great courtesy. If Yan Song saw this, he would definitely be jealous. Emperor Jiajing actually called Tao Zhongwen "Master". Emperor Jiajing only called Yan Song by his courtesy name.
In addition, if Yan Song wanted to see Emperor Jiajing, he had to ask for permission. But Tao Zhongwen could go directly to Emperor Jiajing without even having to report. Moreover, Emperor Jiajing would allow him to sit every time he came in.
There is hardly anyone else in this dynasty who has received this level of courtesy.
While waiting outside, Zhu Ping'an also observed the layout of the altar. Oh, to be precise, it should be the "dojo". There were many Taoists wearing Taoist robes with gold thread outlines around the Taoist temple. They held various magical instruments in their hands, apricot yellow banners, court tablets, ruyi, jade books, jade seals, swords, command flags, command arrows, tokens, etc. These magical instruments were all shining with gold, and all the places where metal was used were made of gold!
Looking at this scene, Zhu Ping'an almost couldn't help but want to knock them out with a club!
With so much gold, how much would this fasting and woodcutting ceremony cost? The blood and sweat of the people of the Ming Dynasty were all used for this?! It would be better to spend it on the people!
And that’s not all!
The temple is very spacious, with nine altars in total, one of which is the main altar. The other eight altars are smaller. The altars are high platforms made of earth and wood, used to communicate with the heavens. The main altar is about seven or eight meters high, and is filled with incense burners, candlesticks, vases, incense sticks and other offerings, as well as banners, talismans, chapters, dharma water, hand warmers and other items. There are nearly a hundred kinds of scattered items!
In addition to the altar, there are 9981 incense burners in the Taoist temple. Each of these incense burners is half a person's height, and is filled with Taoist incense sticks more than one meter long, as thick as a baby's arm. The air is filled with smoke, and the smell contains the scent of several kinds of medicinal herbs and spices. It can be seen that the price of the incense is definitely very high.
What a waste!
It would be great if the money spent on the firewood can be used to do something practical for the common people! The silver is just burned like this! It's a waste!
The grander the scale of the woodcutter's retreat, the more distressed Zhu Ping'an felt.
When Zhu Ping'an was heartbroken, he heard the voice of Wuliang Tianzun, and then he saw an old Taoist priest with flowing white beard, white hair and a youthful face, wearing an apricot yellow Taoist robe, slowly approaching from afar. All the Taoist priests in the Taoist temple saluted the old Taoist priest from afar, and several middle-aged Taoist priests of higher status came forward to greet him, waiting for the old Taoist priest's instructions.
Although the distance was far, Zhu Ping'an could almost see the old Taoist's appearance. He had a kind of immortal-like appearance, almost like the old immortals often described in books, with fluttering white beard and vigorous spirit.
This kind of charlatan's style is comparable to the old charlatan who Zhu Ping'an met on the banks of the Qinhuai River and gave him two books.
However, it can be confirmed that this Taoist priest Tao is not the old Taoist priest that Zhu Pingan met on the bank of Qinhuai River last time! This Taoist priest Tao looks older and has a stronger aura.
Hey, just practice your Taoism and recite your sutras in the mountains! My Ming Dynasty can't stand your torment! Speaking of which, the Ming Dynasty collapsed after more than a hundred years. To some extent, these Taoists in the palace also "contributed" to it!
Zhu Ping'an looked at Master Tao from afar and secretly curled his lips!
After giving his instructions, Master Tao in the distance went to another palace, probably to share a bath and prepare for fasting.
After coming back, several Taoists who had listened to Master Tao's instructions led Zhu Ping'an and others to the altar. One Taoist was paired with one Hanlin, and the two were responsible for one altar, writing poems, plaques, couplets, etc. on the altar.
Yuan Wei should be a frequent visitor to Zhaiqiao, and these Taoists all know him. A Taoist who looked like the eldest senior brother led Yuan Wei to the largest main altar.
So, Yuan Wei, who was on the highest and most powerful altar, looked at Zhu Ping'an, who was on the small altar not far away, and revealed a proud look! (To be continued.)