Mysterious Tang Dynasty

Chapter 421 New Temple
People in the comprehension market don't have much nostalgia for the Houtu Temple at the entrance and exit.

They didn't even care much about the demolition of the old temple, at most they just complained. Now that there is no shelter from the backyard wall of the back temple, they have a lot of trouble getting in and out of the market, and they always have to beware of being bumped into by mortals.

But they hardly paid attention to the statues enshrined in the front hall of the old temple.

There are many reasons for this situation. The most important point is that since the day when the cultivation market existed, there have been no miracles in the statues in the old temple. The devil doesn't care about it-there is also a saying that he cares but can't do anything about it.The True Immortal Temple took the lead in despising the gods, and the monks attached to the market under the jurisdiction of the True Immortal Temple, how much respect can they have for the gods enshrined in the Houtu Temple?
All the records in the old temple about the deeds of Tu Niangniang disappeared, and the steles handed down from ancient times were also destroyed. The original stele at the entrance of the temple was re-engraved later.Immortal cultivators coming and going from the temple regarded Houtu Niangniang as an inconspicuous wild god.

The nearby villagers would also burn incense to the god statue in the front hall to pray for their families because they went to the well in the backyard to get water. , I think it is just a cover.

Li Lijun had cleaned up the statues before and offered incense. Some practitioners passing by clearly saw the changes in the front hall, but they still didn't take it to heart.They thought it was done by the villagers nearby, and they laughed in their hearts that mortals didn't know the true God!

Under such circumstances, Li Lijun dragged his elder brother Li Jianrang to clean up the ruins, relocate the site for reconstruction, and even build a tea pavilion on the original land, using the excuse of making up for the sins of the clan elders and the enemy Xiao Yang. Come anyone's doubts.

People coming and going in the comprehension market brought up this matter, at most they complained that the tea pavilion was not as convenient as the temple to cover people's entry and exit, and ran to tell the old people in Lingguang Valley to persuade Zhenren Guan to buy this land and build a Whether it's a private house or a Taoist temple, at least it should provide some convenience for the big guys, and don't let everyone go in and out at the risk of being bumped into by ordinary people.

How could Guan Zhenren buy the land?If he has money, he will only use it to support his old classmates, so he won't be thinking about spending money for the real fairy!

Anyway, a rich man built a tea pavilion, which is enough.If you feel that mortals will stop here during the day and it is inconvenient for monks to come in and out, then wait until night.The comprehension market doesn't know how to run, let alone worry about no one patronizing, Guan Zhen just ignores those gossips!
Li Lijun is very satisfied with Guan Zhenren's attitude.Since no one cares that she moved the statue away, she can rest assured to proceed with the next plan.

Qiuxiang asked her curiously: "Little lady, you want to rebuild this temple, where do you plan to build it? Is it in Taiping Valley or Saga Mountain?"

Neither Taiping Valley nor Saga Mountain is on Li Lijun's list of choices.She had told Li Jianrang earlier that the Houtu Temple would be rebuilt within Hu County, so that the people in this county could still offer incense to the Houtu Empress.

The location she finally chose was on the side of the road only two or three miles north of the county seat of Hu County. All the people have to pass this road in front of the temple.There is a ferry not far from here by the river.If someone can't enter the county seat of Hu County before the sunset gate closes, they can only go to a nearby village to stay overnight, and they also have to pass the road of the new temple site.

It is conservatively estimated that there are at least 10 people and horses passing by on the road in front of the new temple every year.As long as 10% of the [-] people are willing to enter the temple to offer incense, the incense in the temple will be several times stronger than that in the old temple.

This place is not considered densely populated, nor is it fertile land, so the land price is quite cheap.Li Lijun simply asked Nanny Lu to come forward and bought hundreds of acres of surrounding land.The craftsmen who built the temple were also familiar with the Chen family. The technique was reliable and tight-lipped, and the speed was quite fast.It took only three months for the new temple to be built.

Today's new temple is no longer a small courtyard with two entrances, but a large courtyard with two entrances and three entrances.The middle road still inherits the original pattern of the Houtu Temple. Even the beams, columns and decorations inside are as much as possible to follow the design of the old temple, and the materials are also chosen to be the same. Painted clay, put on new clothes, and put it back in the front hall with great solemnity.

Altars, incense burners, etc., are all old things cleaned up and refurbished, and continue to be used.

A well was also drilled in the backyard of the middle road, a tree was planted beside the well, and a large stone was placed under the tree.It looks like the pattern of the old temple.It's just that this big stone is not an entrance to some market space, it's just a waste stone pulled out of the mountain and not used for construction.

There are two small courtyards on the East Road. There is a semi-open tea pavilion in the front yard and a residence in the backyard.Li Lijun asked Li Jian to come forward, greeted the nearby villages, and invited a poor old couple with no children and no daughters to live here. The old man made temple blessings and was in charge of worship at four seasons, and the old lady was in charge of cleaning and cooking.Brothers and sisters Li Jianrang and Li Lijun will send people to send money and food every quarter to provide for the daily needs of the two elders, and they can also use the tea booth to earn some pocket money to subsidize their lives.

In this way, someone will be responsible for the cleaning of the new temple, and there will be people who worry about the offerings of incense, flowers and fruits to Empress Houtu on weekdays, and there will be no messy people running over to build some kind of commercial market by borrowing other people's land up.

Xinmiao West Road is also a courtyard with two entrances. Two vegetable fields have been opened up in the front yard. There is an earthen stove under the eaves and some firewood is placed.If someone can't enter the city and can't find an inn to stay, this place can be used as a temporary cheap travel for people to spend the night.The overnight fee is only three to five yuan. If you are really shy, you can help with some work and chop a few bundles of firewood to offset the deduction.If there is some income, it is also a subsidy for Miaozhu and his wife.

When the old couple passed away, the nearby village would send off another old man to take over the post of Miaozhu, and the daily maintenance of the temple was regarded as the pension benefits for the lonely elderly in the village.However, the head of another nearby village has already begun to consider sending the orphans from his own village to the temple, and ask the old Miao Zhu and his wife to raise them on their behalf.Such a large temple can't just support the elderly, but can also support the younger ones.

The new temple has a lot of empty rooms, plenty of firewood, food and vegetables, and the surrounding fields can be rented out to villagers. Let alone an old couple, a few more children are enough.

Li Lijun didn't bother to pay attention to the small thoughts of the nearby villages, she just concentrated on arranging the main hall of the new Houtu temple.The new plaque asked Li Jianrang to find a way to inscribe it, and the newly added stone tablet in the temple was engraved with an article written by her herself, introducing the origin, name of God, priesthood and related legends of Empress Dowager Houtu, so as not to come and go to the villagers After entering the door, I didn't know what god I was going to worship.

She personally wrote an article with four parallels and eight lis. The literary talent is not very good, but it is stable and clear. It clearly explained the original location of the temple, the reason for the demolition of the old temple, and the identity of the sponsor of the reconstruction of the new temple. .The two old princes of the clan lost their temper and demolished the temple when they couldn't find Xiao Yang. She simply summed it up as "the nobles couldn't find beauty, so they demolished the temple in anger", and directly disgraced the two princes' houses.

It's just that they can't care about it now.Because the two old princes died in the Taiji Palace inexplicably, their children and grandchildren are clamoring for an explanation from the saint!

　I found that a section of this chapter was repeated, so I quickly deleted it and added a few new sentences.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)