Chapter 12

Ci'en Temple is located outside the Anding Gate in the north of the city. It is a thousand-year-old temple. It was built at the beginning of the founding of the dynasty and renamed Baoguo Ci'en Temple. In addition to the Daxiong Hall, the Dafa Hall and many other halls that are common to ordinary monasteries, there is a Buddhist scriptures hall in the southwest, called "Rotation Tibetan", that is, a wooden scripture pavilion. , If the cycle is rotated for a week, it means that you have read all the Buddhist treasures inside, and you also take the meaning of reincarnation.

Because of the existence of this revolving scripture pavilion, countless literati and poets' inscriptions and calligraphy have been left on the gables of Ci'en Temple in all dynasties and dynasties. There are even monks who come to practice here from thousands of miles away, but it is said that for hundreds of years, countless monks have devoted themselves to cultivation Read, in whole life, have never heard of anyone who can complete this cycle of Tibet.

When Jiafu arrived at the Ci'en Temple, it was noon, and there were few pilgrims in the temple, but when she arrived at the foot of the mountain just now, she saw that the carriage of the Guogong Mansion was indeed parked there. She knew that the person she wanted to see was indeed in the temple at the moment, so she entered. After entering the mountain gate, he went straight to the Daxiong Hall to worship Buddha with incense and donated sesame oil. When he was finished, he came out and inquired about the whereabouts of the pilgrims in the Guogong's mansion.

More than 20 years ago, Tianxi and Yuan Dynasty were infected with the epidemic. Because of the raging epidemic at that time, in order to avoid spreading in the harem, they were sent to the Ci'en Temple for isolation and recuperation. After the Yuan Dynasty, the body lingered for more than a year, but it did not improve, and the situation worsened. Finally, unfortunately, he passed away in the Hou Temple. Because Mrs. Pei often went in and out of the mountain gate at that time, the monks in the temple were very familiar.

The acquaintance monk didn't want to pay attention, but seeing Jiafu rejoiced and generous, he said, "The lady of the old country has gone to rest in the meditation room, and the female benefactor should not be approached."

...

After Mrs. Pei finished burning the incense, she ate some fast food. After all, she was old and looked tired, so Pei Youan sent her to the meditation room for a short rest.

When Pei Yuanhou died that year, Emperor Tianxi sealed the temple where she recuperated and lived, and only allowed Mrs. Pei, the mother of Yuanhou, to enter and leave. Although more than 20 years have passed, the emperor who has successfully ascended the throne as King Shun'an is not happy with the Pei family, but he is not openly disobedient to the decrees of the former emperor and eldest brother. The quiet Sihe Temple is still exclusively used by the government of the country, and the door is locked on weekdays. If the old lady is coming, the temple will be unlocked and cleaned, ready to welcome.

Pei You'an knew that her grandmother always missed her aunt who died unfortunately more than 20 years ago. Seeing her standing on the threshold now, she stopped and looked around.

Although the news was sent in advance yesterday, the place has been cleaned and tidy up, but the season has entered the early winter, the yellow leaves in the Zen courtyard are stunned, and the lily is wilted. I am afraid that she will be touched by the scene, so she stretched out her hand and said: "Grandma, go in, the wind is strong. "

Mrs. Pei entered, Yuzhu and the two girls who were with her were about to serve. Seeing that the uncle had stepped forward, he removed the coat for the old lady, squatted down, took off her shoes, and placed them neatly on the ground.

The girl was a little surprised to see it, Yuzhu gave her a wink when she saw this, and withdrew with her.

Mrs. Pei sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at her grandson.

Pei You'an put the old lady's stocking feet into the palm of his hand and massaged it slowly. After a while, she felt a little warm to the touch. Fang helped her to lie down slowly, lifted her feet, and put them under the quilt, saying, "Grandma, rest. "

Mrs. Pei closed her eyes, and Pei Youan sat beside her, quietly accompanying her. When she fell asleep, she gently tucked her into the corner, got up and walked to the window, stood for a moment, and walked out.

...

"The old lady of the country is also in the temple?"

Zhen Yaoting's mind immediately came to the girl he saw yesterday. Although it's not the best beauty I've ever seen, I don't know why, I just glanced at it, and I can't help thinking about it. I can't help but feel joy in my heart. It would be rude not to go and pay homage when you meet them.”

Jiafu knew that the old lady had the habit of taking naps, so how could she listen to her brother, not to mention that the person she wanted to meet was not Madam Pei at all.

She stood there, thought for a moment, turned her head and said to Zhen Yaoting, "Then I'll go over and take a look, brother, wait here in the front hall, don't run around."

Zhen Yaoting agreed, and added with a smile: "If you see it, don't forget to mention me, so that I can also go and pay homage to her old man!"

Jiafu nodded indiscriminately, carrying sandalwood, passed through the hall, and headed southwest.

At this time, the morning bells and the evening drums were naturally not heard. Only when passing through several low gables, a few chanting Brahma accompanied by wooden fish could be heard faintly from the walls, making the surroundings more peaceful.

The passage underfoot was paved with white pebbles, which were gradually trampled into a gray color over time, with moss growing in the crevices. On both sides of the corridor, there are ginkgo trees, and at the end is a thousand-year-old tree. The trunk is straight to the sky, and the branches spread out over the temple, covering half of the roof of the Xieshan Temple. Half of the roof was paved, and a thick layer of fallen leaves had accumulated on the ground, as if a golden rain had fallen.

A man is standing under the quiet caisson of the Hall of Circulation of Sutras.

There are beams on all sides of the caisson, painted with scenes of the gods, dragons, and eight parts of the gods and the Tathagata Huazangjiehui. The noon sun passed through the top of the ginkgo tree above the caisson, and cast a bright square of golden light and shadow, and he stood on the edge of the golden light and the darkness. It floated down from the caisson, swirled in the air, and slowly landed at his feet.

He kept his head down, turned over the scriptures in his hand, and focused his attention on his figure.

Jiafu stood outside the threshold, watching the back of the man in front of her.

She guessed just now that he might come here. It's a feeling. So came here and wanted to try luck first.

Luck looks good, he's in the rotation.

But at this moment, when she really found him, she suddenly felt uneasy again. He opened his mouth to call him several times, but closed his mouth again. Just as he was hesitating, the man seemed to notice the strangeness coming from behind him, and suddenly turned his face to the side, and his eyes turned to him.

Jiafu's heart skipped a beat, a smile appeared on her face immediately, and she called out "Big Cousin", her voice soft and very nice.

Seeing her there, Pei You'an didn't seem too surprised and still stood there.

"Why did you come here?" he asked only one sentence.

Jiafu raised her eyes and met the two glances he cast.

"Don't tell the truth, I came here this morning to find my eldest cousin. I have something I want to ask my eldest cousin for advice."

Her voice was soft, as if she was out of courage.

Pei You'an paused for a moment on her face, closed the scripture scroll, inserted it back into the scripture shelf, then turned around and walked towards her.

He stopped. One is outside the threshold, the other is inside, and there is a distance of seven or eight steps in the middle.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Yesterday Yuzhu came to my house. Before leaving, she suddenly whispered a word to me, saying that my eldest cousin specially told her to tell me to tell me not to use the current incense in the future. I listened to her, it seemed that I The incense used is harmful to others. If I ask again, she can't tell why, she just passed it on to me according to what your cousin said..."

Gave bit her lip.

"Big cousin, your instructions are of course correct, and I will follow them. I just really don't understand, and I have a name for harm. I feel uneasy. Yuzhu said eldest cousin that you will send the old lady to Ci'en Temple today, so she came over, took the liberty to find here, and disturbed eldest cousin, I..."

Pei You'an waved her hand to stop her unfinished words.

"Do you know what fragrance you smoked on my grandmother's birthday?" he asked, his eyes falling on her face.

"Dragon saliva."

Jaffe responded to him immediately, without blinking.

He didn't say anything, looking at her scrutinizingly.

Jiafu looked blank: "Big cousin, why are you looking at me like this?"

"Where did the dragon saliva you use come from?"

"The warehouse at home."

"Did you know about frozen dragon brain?"

He paused and asked suddenly.

Gave nodded.

"When my father was alive, I remember hearing him mention it occasionally, saying that it is a spice from Nantianzhu, similar to ambergris, but not as good as ambergris."

Jiafu blinked and looked at him: "What's wrong?"

"I can tell you with certainty that the so-called ambergris you use is actually frozen borneol. Brother Quan's illness is caused by the frozen borneol you smoked. Frozen borneol is not only a spice, in the Western Regions, It can also be used as medicine, but very few people are intolerant of this fragrance. When a small amount is touched, it will cause discomfort, such as swallowing by mistake, and even life-threatening. This is the case with Brother Quan. This is why he came into contact with you twice and got sick twice. reason."

Jia Fu's heart skipped a beat.

She only knew that when Brother Quan smoked frozen borneol, he would get sick, and it would get better in a few days, but she didn't know that frozen borneol was originally a medicinal material, which could kill people. This is really surprising.

But now, she has no way out. She had to convince him to believe in herself, and even entice him to help herself, at least, not to spoil her affairs.

She showed panic and shook her head: "I really don't know! In the warehouse of my house, spices are sorted into different categories. I always use dragon saliva. This time, because I have to go to Beijing, I found the original box before leaving. When the fragrant cakes were almost used up, I asked someone to fetch new ones, and I was in a hurry at that time, maybe someone in the warehouse made a mistake, I really don’t know!”

She suddenly opened her eyes wide, showing a look of astonishment: "Could it be... Big cousin, do you think I'm trying to harm Brother Quan'er?"

She looked at Pei You'an who seemed to be noncommittal, tears slowly flashed in her eyes, and her voice gradually brought out a cry of grievance.

"When I was a child, I visited the government several times, but at that time, Brother Quan was not born. In the following years, I have been filial to my father in Quanzhou. Even if I know that frozen dragon brain is not good, how can I know Quanzhou? Brother can't touch?"

She lowered her head and stopped talking. She bit her lip tightly, and the poor lips she bit turned pale, as if she was trying to hold back the tears that were about to burst from her eyes. , "pop" fell to the ground in front of her feet.

She turned her face hurriedly, raised her hand and wiped the corner of her eyes.

When she was talking just now, Pei You'an had been watching her with a cold expression, as if considering the truth of her words. Gradually turning his eyes away, he didn't look at her sobbing appearance, and only said, "I think you must have done it unintentionally. Stop crying."

The sound is flat. But it sounds like it should be believed, comforting her.

It's not difficult for Jiafu to cry when she says she wants to cry. When think of father who has passed away, and the last moment of previous life, eyes are sore.

Originally just to cry to show him. But after listening to him comforting himself, for some reason, his emotions went out of control for a while, and he felt extremely aggrieved, silently bowed his head, and tears kept falling down.

Pei You'an's originally expressionless face began to look uneasy. He looked at her several times, squeezed his palm, released it again, hesitated for a moment, and finally came over, stopped in front of the threshold, and lowered his head slightly towards her, In a low voice: "Don't cry. I believe you. Otherwise, why would you just ask Yuzhu to send a message on my behalf to remind you."

"Think about it."

After speaking, he added another sentence, as if to coax her.

He leaned over slightly and leaned a little closer, and Jiafu seemed to feel the temperature from his body, like the golden warmth of the winter sun in the caisson.

She hurriedly turned her back, lowered her head and wiped away the tears on her face, and when her emotions stabilized, she turned back and said in a low voice, "Thank you eldest cousin for believing in me."

Pei You'an has stepped back a few steps, and her expression has returned to her previous calm. She glanced at her tear-stained face, pondered, and said, "I have also heard rumors about this in the past two days. I have a conflict with brother Quan, I am afraid that it will not be good for you to discuss marriage. Since this matter has nothing to do with you, I can help you explain the reason for brother Quan's illness. If you do not want people to know that it is caused by your misuse of spices, I don't have to mention you. My mother's concerns are allayed, and you and my second brother can discuss marriage smoothly."

Gave shook her head slowly.

Pei You'an was startled: "What's the matter? You don't want to clarify the misunderstanding?"

Jiafu clenched her fists secretly and said, "Big cousin, it's my blessing that your family is willing to accept someone from my background, but I'll tell you the truth, this trip to Beijing to discuss marriage is not for me. My original intention. My grandmother is in charge of the house, and it is really hard for me to go against it, so I had no choice but to obey the arrangement. I originally thought that it would be like this for a lifetime, and after this lifetime, it would be over, but I didn’t expect that it was a coincidence. Brother Quan's illness has caused Madam Song and Madam to be dissatisfied with me, and the marriage proposal has to be put on hold..."

She paused, raised her eyes, and met his two gazes.

"Can I take the risk and beg your cousin to raise your hand and pretend you don't know about this?"

Pei You'an frowned slightly: "Do you really think so? Would you rather bear a grammatical name than marry into the Duke's Mansion?"

"Yes." Jiafu nodded, "The palace is noble, and it is not my ability to climb high. Brother Quan became sick because of my misuse of incense, which caused Madam Song and Madam to be dissatisfied with me, just like destiny, also Opportunity. I beg the big cousin to fulfill me too. Marrying or not marrying in the end is fate, I think it is."

Pei You'an looked at her, and suddenly felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't catch it. Suppressing the weird feeling in my heart, I finally nodded: "Since you think so, I can do anything. It's just—"

His tone was suddenly severe.

"You didn't know it before, it was an unintentional fault, so I don't blame you. Since you already know that the frozen dragon brain is harmful to Brother Quan, even if you think of the Duke's Mansion as a beast of a flood, as long as Brother Quan is there, I will not allow you to do it again. Use this incense to harm him."

Jiafu quietly raised her eyes and saw him staring at her, her brows slightly wrinkled, her expression stern, she dared not respond, she lowered her eyes and said in a low voice, "I don't need to tell my cousin, I know it myself."

Pei You'an lifted the hem of her clothes, stepped out of the hall threshold, and walked past her.

Jiafu stood for a moment, turned her head, and saw the figure go further and further away, gradually disappearing at the end of the ginkgo path.