serious man in the red chamber

Chapter 498 Southern Tour 5

The moon was white, and the lush mountain forest was hazy, and a lantern was rapidly floating halfway up the mountain.

The Suzhou prefect turned sideways and stretched out his arms, holding the lantern on the right side in front of the Jiangsu governor. He was still chanting: "Master Futai, be careful where you step!"

The governor of Jiangsu was wearing casual clothes. Although he was walking at a leisurely pace, his steps were still long and fast.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them were already halfway up the mountain.

The blazing torch light illuminated half of the mountainside and turned half of the sky red!

When he reached the foot of a large archway, the Jiangsu governor stopped. Wherever he looked, he could clearly see the craftsmen who were doing emergency repairs and the people who were directing the emergency repairs.

The Suzhou prefect also stood behind him.

The five characters "Edict to build Yongfu Temple" are engraved on the archway.

The governor of Jiangsu first looked at the craftsmen who were painting and grinding the step stones at the mountain gate, and then quickly turned to the scaffolding on both sides. At this time, the workers were dismantling the scaffolding, and the long logs had to be carried down the mountain one by one. A worker lifted a long piece of wood and walked towards this side.

The prefect of Suzhou smiled and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Futai, Baoen Temple will be cleaned before dawn!"

The governor of Jiangsu nodded with satisfaction.

Suzhou Prefect: "Everything is ready at Baoen Temple and can be moved here at any time."

The governor of Jiangsu still looked into the distance: "Without further delay, let's wait until daybreak. The emperor's chariot has arrived at Changzhou Mansion."

"Yes."

The prefect of Suzhou looked into the distance and said, "The people of Suzhou are blessed."

"Wu Di Ji" of the Tang Dynasty: Xiangshan, the King of Wu sent beauties to pick incense on this mountain as a name for it.

Xiangshan is the southeastern branch of Qionglong Mountain, adjacent to Taihu Lake.

The Lin family's ancestral grave is located in Xiangshan, where Jia Min is buried.

Two years ago, when the empire was carrying out infrastructure construction, Jia Hu sent an imperial edict to Suzhou, transforming the old residence of the Lin family in Suzhou into a royal palace, repairing Jia Min's tomb, building a temple halfway up the mountain, and naming it "Yongfu Temple". It became a royal property.

Jia Min's tomb and Yongfu Temple were built under the personal supervision of the governor of Jiangsu. In order to please Lin Daiyu and please Jia Hu, the governor of Jiangsu ignored the opposition of the Lin family and ordered people to build Jia Min's tomb into the highest-standard tomb among the Lin family's ancestral tombs.

There were many painters applying the last coat of paint at the mountain gate. The workers wiped their sweat, put the wood on their shoulders, and walked down the mountain carrying the wood.

The governor of Jiangsu said: "Let's go and have a look at the ancestral graves." As he said that, without waiting for the Suzhou magistrate's reply, he had already walked up the stone steps.

The prefect of Suzhou hurriedly followed, holding a lantern.

It was daylight.

Suddenly, a bell came from the city of Suzhou, and then another bell. At first it was very far away and very soft, but gradually it got closer and started ringing.

There is an old saying in Suzhou, "Wang Dang Guan Qian Street, Bai Xiang Xuan Miao Guan".

Unlike the capital, the most popular place in Suzhou is not a Buddhist temple, but a Taoist temple.

Xuanmiao Temple is located in the center of the ancient city of Suzhou. It was built in the first year of Dongwu Tiance. It has a long history and a large scale. The temple contains precious inscriptions such as the portrait of Laojun painted by Daozi of Tang and Wu Dynasties, the praise of Xuanzong, and the calligraphy of Yan Zhenqing.

Xuanmiao Temple not only has strong incense, but also has a stronger and stronger "firework atmosphere".

Xuanmiao Temple is both a Taoist temple and a traditional market.

Since the Ming Dynasty, Xuanmiao Temple has had an open-air bookstore. In the past week, more and more stalls have been set up, and it has evolved into a lively market in the center of Suzhou ancient city, selling snacks, daily necessities, stationery, toys, couplets, calligraphy and painting, flowers, birds, insects, and fish. There are all kinds of stalls, medicine, horoscopes, jugglers, etc.

As the Xuanmiaoguan Market becomes more and more prosperous, there are also various types of snacks, such as millet candy, gray soup rice dumplings, tofu puddings, sugar porridge, plum blossom cakes, crab apple cakes, fermented dumplings, etc. There are also teahouses with a history of more than a century, For pastry shops, it can be said that Xuanmiaoguan is the place with the highest concentration of snacks in Suzhou.

The time-honored mooncake shop in Suzhou that Cheng Shiyao paid filial piety to Lin Daiyu was the one he bought from here for [-] taels of silver.

Various acrobatics are often performed in the open space inside the temple, including juggling, puppet shows, monkey shows, fist selling, open-air book reading, etc. Where the gongs and drums were sounding, there was a crowd of people, bustling and lively.

Sanqing Hall is a traditional New Year picture market, selling various paintings, such as divine scrolls, kitchen gods, door gods, hundred-year-old pictures, pictures of sending children, etc. There are also candidates who have failed, and even famous academies are here to express their gratitude to the people.

Medical divination and horoscopes are a major feature of Xuanmiao Temple, which is famous far and near.

For thousands of years, the people of Suzhou have prayed here to ward off disasters, have fun and relax, and the incense continues to this day.

But now Xuanmiao Temple has encountered a crisis, that is the newly built Yongfu Temple.

When the imperial edict reached Suzhou, Xuanmiao Temple did not pay much attention to it. After all, the royal family had a tradition of building temples in imperial mausoleums.

But the common people don't think so. In their view, this is the best proof that the royal family believes in Buddhism. Every word and deed of the royal family affects the common people.

With the construction of Yongfu Temple, there are more and more rumors in Suzhou City. The most terrible thing is that the monk of Baoen Temple does not respect martial ethics and directly wrote a petition saying that he is willing to move the temple to Yongfu Temple to replace Jia Min. Chanting sutras and praying.

Jia Hu already had some kind of romantic relationship with the old abbot of Bao'en Temple, and this petition also made Lin Daiyu happy, so he was naturally happy to do this smooth favor.

In this way, Xuanmiao Temple encountered the biggest crisis in thousands of years.

In order to prevent the incense of Xuanmiao Temple from being cut off, and for the inheritance of Taoism in the south of the Yangtze River, Taoist Zhang, the chief seal of the Daolu Division, traveled thousands of miles to come here.

In the quiet room, Taoist Zhang was sitting cross-legged on the couch, his eyes slightly closed, and he was reciting scriptures silently.

Taoist Zhang is getting older. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes are deep and dense, and the white hair on his temples is like frost and snow.

At this time, the door of the quiet room opened gently.

The host of Xuanmiao Temple came in and said softly: "Uncle Master, Luan Jia has arrived at Changzhou Mansion, should we make preparations?"

Taoist Zhang was still reciting scriptures.

Host of Xuanmiaoguan: "Uncle Master?"

Taoist Zhang slowly opened his eyes, collapsed, and then walked out.

The host of Xuanmiao Temple was startled for a moment, then walked out immediately.

At this time, the sun has completely risen, and the streets are already crowded with people and very lively.

Taoist Zhang stood on the stone steps outside the mountain gate with a smile and sighed: "What a fireworks display in the world!"

The host of Xuanmiaoguan couldn't help but straighten his waist after hearing this.

Taoist Zhang looked at the bustling market: "It's difficult for you to persevere for so many years. This market has immeasurable merit."

"Don't dare!" the host of Xuanmiao Temple shouted.

Taoist Zhang smiled and said, "Didn't you ask me what to prepare just now? This is the best gift."

"."

The host of Xuanmiao Temple looked at Taoist Zhang closely.

Taoist Zhang stroked his beard and said, "You will understand when the time comes. Of course, you can't prepare nothing. The Queen is from Suzhou and loves to eat all kinds of Suzhou delicacies. The fourth princess also likes to eat them, such as red bean dumplings and plum blossoms." Prepare more snacks such as cakes and sweet-scented osmanthus cakes, the ones from this market are good."

After a pause, "These two are the emperor's sweethearts. If they are happy, the emperor will be happy, and the rest will be much easier."

After hearing his words, the host of Xuanmiao Guan's eyes lit up.

The river wind blew the flags on the royal boat.

Jia Hu stood on the bow of the boat and silently looked at the farmland on both sides of the canal.

Lin Daiyu came over holding a cloak, put it on Jia Hu, and said softly: "It's windy, come into the cabin."

Jia Hu: "How is the old lady?"

Lin Daiyu was silent for a moment and replied: "I just took the medicine, and Feng girl is here to talk with me."

Jia Mu is sick, maybe because she is tired from traveling or traveling, or maybe because she is getting closer and closer to Suzhou. Last night, Jia Mu suddenly fell ill.

Lin Daiyu looked at the river in the distance: "How long does it take to get to Suzhou?"

Jia Hu thought for a while and replied: "The wind direction is not very good. It will probably take midnight to reach Suzhou Pier."

Because the sound of the steam engine was too loud, Jia Hu's royal boat was not equipped with a steam engine.

Lin Daiyu lowered her head after hearing this.

Jia Hu squeezed Lin Daiyu's hand, pulled her to his chest, held her in his arms, and looked down at her: "I'm here, don't be afraid."

Lin Daiyu closed her eyes and buried her head tightly in Jia Hu's arms.

(End of this chapter)