Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 249 The autumn water is bright, the autumn grass is thin

"Brother Wang, do you also recognize the mountain people?" The second young master Chen's address brought the two closer together.

Wang Heng nodded and said, "Shan Min and I were classmates at the Southern Prison Justice Hall."

"Mountain folk, are you still as aloof as before, without any servants around you and dressed like a poor scholar?" Young Master Chen seemed to have remembered something and couldn't help laughing.

This was not easy to answer, so Wang Heng just smiled and Mr. Chen II did not ask any further questions.

Guangliang brewed tea and presented it to the guests. As usual, the host and the guest praised the tea for its clear, fragrant and mellow taste.

After sitting for a while, Mr. Chen said he would take his leave first, as he had to hurry back to the city to report to his uncle. His uncle asked him to take some of Guangheng's relics back as a reminder, so he took a few scrolls of Guangheng's calligraphy from the west pavilion of Foguang Pavilion. He invited Wang Heng to visit Chunshui Garden near Jiangjun Temple in the city when he was free. Guangheng's Chunshui Garden now belonged to him. Before Guangheng's seventh day of mourning, his uncle asked him to observe mourning in Chunshui Garden.

"Can I take a look at Master Guangheng's calligraphy?" Wang Heng remembered that he had gone to the Foguang Pavilion a few days ago. The walls of the west pavilion were like a snow cave, and he did not find any traces of Guangheng's calligraphy, so he said, "Perhaps it will help to reveal the truth."

The second son of Chen waved his hand to signal the servant to open the package, then turned his head and said, "Brother Wang, if you need anything, just send me. Regardless of the blood relationship between my father and me, I have inherited his huge fortune, and I cannot let my father die in the hands of a madman for no apparent reason."

The attitude of the second son of the Chen family was very sincere, and Wang Heng's impression of the Chen family improved a bit. As expected, Monk Guangheng was a good person, and the Chen family seemed to be reasonable and humane.

The servant opened the package, which was carefully wrapped in brocade. It was said to be the calligraphy of Monk Guangzhi, but it was obvious that they were just some scraps.

The second son of Chen explained, "The young monk who served my father said that he had recently borrowed the Wuyue Qian family's edition of the Treasure Box Seal Dharani Sutra from the Guli Qu family book collector, and copied a volume of it for the temple's Sutra Library. These are the pages he copied to pieces. I saw that my father's room was very plain, without a single scrap of waste, so I had to take these scraps of paper back with me."

Wang Heng flipped through it casually. Monk Guangzhi's handwriting was clear and vigorous, and it was obvious that he had received instruction from a famous calligrapher. For some reason, this pen that had once depicted beautiful chapters was used to copy yellow scrolls day after day.

Seeing Guangheng's handwriting was so good, Wang Heng flipped through the sheets one by one with great interest. When he drew the last sheet, he was surprised to find that it contained two lines of poetry.

"The autumn water is bright and the autumn grass is thin."

These two sentences are really nonsensical, neither suitable for the scene nor the time.

Wang Heng thought of Monk Guangzhi's words of enlightenment, and he abandoned all his worldly possessions and devoted himself to Buddhism. There was no writing or painting on the wall of the west pavilion, which showed how strictly Guangzhi observed the precepts. These two lines of poetry could not have appeared for no reason.

"Brother Chen, do you remember where you found this piece of paper?" Wang Heng asked.

Mr. Chen said hurriedly, "I remember that this piece of paper was sandwiched between the copied Treasure Box Seal Dharani Sutra. This was the first page I found, so I put it at the bottom."

Monk Guangheng is studying the Dharani Sutra recently, so this one sandwiched between the already copied Dharani Sutra is most likely the last one Guangheng wrote or read. The autumn water is bright, the autumn grass is thin, what kind of secret thoughts does it express?

"Brother Chen, have you ever seen Monk Guangheng write these two lines of poetry before?"

Mr. Chen shook his head: "Never seen it before."

Wang Heng started to learn late in his childhood, and later he was eager to study for the imperial examination, so he did not have much attainment in poetry and songs. In terms of reading leisure books, he was far less than Wang Cai.

Wang Heng said, "Let's study these two lines of poetry. If we have any ideas, we can keep each other informed. Brother Chen is going down the mountain and back to the city, so I'll see him off."

Just as they stood up, they saw Wang Cai pushing the door open. It turned out that Jinyang Jun Li Yan had been received by Monk Guangwen, the head of the library, and had asked for the "Golden Light Sutra", burning incense and copying it on the third floor. Xiao Cai had nothing to do, so he came out to look for Wang Heng. He heard that Chen's nephew and Wang Heng went to the teahouse, so he chased after them to inquire about the situation.

Wang Heng then introduced Xiaocai to Mr. Chen Er and they greeted each other and exchanged a few polite words.

Wang Heng recalled that he had seen Xiaocai reading the Tang Poetry Pictorial for a long time before he went up the mountain. He took out the paper with the words "Autumn water is bright, autumn grass is thin" and showed it to Xiaocai, asking, "Xiaocai, do you know where these two lines of poetry came from and who wrote them?"

Xiaocai took the poem, thought about it again and again, and shook his head. Wang Heng and Mr. Chen thought they would be disappointed again, but suddenly Xiaocai patted his chest, his eyes shining, "So that's how it is."

Xiaocai pointed to the words "Autumn Water is Clear" and knocked twice, then knocked twice before "Autumn Grass is Thin", and said, "No wonder I didn't remember it for a moment. These two lines of poetry are missing two words at the beginning. "Autumn Water is Clear at the Root of the Stone, Autumn Grass is Thin by the Stone" is from Li Changji's "Ganfeng" in the Tang Dynasty."

Li Changji of the Tang Dynasty was unable to take the imperial examination to avoid his father's taboo. Most of his feelings were about his talent not being recognized and the difficult times. Monk Guangheng went from being a rich and noble son to becoming a scholarly monk. I really can't imagine how they could have any resonance with each other.
So, is the key in those few missing words?

At the root of the stone, beside the stone.

Wang Heng whispered softly: "The roots of the stones, the banks of the stones, could it be that Guangheng placed something at the roots of the stones or the banks of the stones?"

Xiaocai waved his hands and said, "It's impossible. This Jubao Mountain is full of rocks. Even the Foguang Pavilion is made of stones. If you are talking about something buried under the rocks, the area is too wide. You won't be able to find it even if you search for a year or two."

"What about the West Pavilion of Foguang Pavilion? Do you still remember the layout of the West Pavilion? Are there Taihu stones like rockery in the West Pavilion?" Wang Heng asked.

The young man shook his head like a rattle and said, "I remember it clearly. The west pavilion was very simple, with four walls made of snow. There was nothing else except tables, chairs and cabinets for the scriptures."

Mr. Chen also echoed, "I just went to the West Pavilion, and it was just as Brother Xiaocai said. The pavilion was completely empty, without any decorations."

After he said this, he suddenly remembered something. His eyes flickered and he paced back and forth in the teahouse. After a long while, he hesitated and said, "In the study of Chunshui Garden, there is a jade rockery. I remember it was a gift from my uncle for my father's eighteenth birthday. It was my father's favorite thing."