Chapter 89
Words:1786Update:22/06/21 08:01:53
Lou Xiaoyi knew that his mother was being courteous. Back when she was still a young mistress in the General's residence, she was also a talented woman. It was impossible for her to not be able to write a couplet. Besides, it was not a written exam. It was just a small temple in a small city. Whether it was good or bad did not matter. Who would really nitpick?
"What theme? Which aspect? Do you have any requests? "
Lou Xiaoyi did not stand on ceremony. It was not a big deal anyway. He would just do as his mother said.
Lou Yaoshi thought for a moment. "Hmm, Master Kongfang came to the residence this time mainly to talk about accumulating good deeds and not caring about gains and losses. Why don't we do as he said and write a couplet with the theme 'Loss is Fortune'?"
Lou Xiaoyi nodded. It did not matter to him. He glanced at his mother and suddenly noticed a string of Buddhist beads on her wrist. It was black and translucent, faintly glowing. It was very unusual. Ordinary people would not be able to see it, but in the eyes of a true cultivator like him, it was like a bright light in a dark room. It was very eye-catching.
"Mother, where did you get this pair of beads? It looks very unusual. I have never seen you wear it before! "
Lou Yaoshi smiled. "This was given to me by Master Kongfang. He said that it has the Light of Buddha. If I wear it often, it can lead to good fortune and ward off evil spirits. If Little Yi likes it, you can have it … "
As she said that, she took off the Buddhist beads and handed it to her son. She knew her son's character. He was not interested in such things and would never ask for his mother's belongings. However, as a mother, she would always think of her son when she had something good. Even if her son had rejected her countless times, she would still give him the good stuff.
What surprised her was that for the first time, her son actually took it.
"This string of beads is quite interesting. I will play with it for a few days. When I am done playing with it, I will return it to you!
By the way, I heard that there was a drought in Pu City last year. The harvest in the fields was only fifty to sixty percent of what it was in the past. Many farmers faced the predicament of not being able to plant enough seeds at the beginning of spring. Is that true? "
Lou Yao shi sighed, "Isn't that so? These past two years, the heavens have not been kind. If it wasn't a great drought, it would be a great flood. That's why many of the large families in Pu City would often burn incense and pray for good fortune. The government also provides aid, but it's just a drop in the bucket.
The harvests of our family's farmsteads are not good either. I've already ordered people to reduce their rent for that year. I think it shouldn't be a problem to maintain it. Little Yi, what do you mean …? "
Lou Xiaoyi laughed. "Mother, you are compassionate and kind. The tenants will definitely be grateful to you. That goes without saying!
But from Little Yi's point of view, it was better to be happy with everyone than to be happy alone. Most of the tenants or farmers might not have such luck. It was very difficult to have both the seeds and the grain storage during spring sowing.
Since the Jokhang Temple was holding a Spring Dharma Assembly to save all living beings, why not use this opportunity to convert the money from the various families in Pu City into seeds? Wouldn't it be perfect if the government took the lead and distributed it on the spot?
This way, not only would it fulfill the original intention of the kind people to worship Buddha, but it would also fulfill the benevolent heart of the Jokhang Temple. It would be the best of both worlds and everyone would be happy … "
Lou Yao shi's eyes lit up. Her son's idea was really good. She had always felt that she was powerless when it came to the disaster victims. Other than contributing some money, there was nothing she could do. In the Kingdom of Zhao Ye, it was the responsibility of the government to open the granaries to provide relief. If others opened the granaries privately, they would be suspected of gathering people. It was not easy to do so!
But if she followed her son's idea, with the Buddhist temple at the front and the government at the back, there would be no problem.
Although she was very devout to Buddha, she was not stupid. She knew that her money would go into the pockets of the monks. The amount that could be taken out to help the people was less than one-tenth. It was better to do it this way!
So she praised, "My son is smart and kind. You have a good plan! You're right. I'll go and contact the various madams and mistresses. We must do this. This is a great merit. Buddha will definitely be touched. It's much more meaningful than chanting Buddha ten thousand times or donating ten thousand coins! "
Would the government help? This was not a problem at all! These madams and mistresses included officials of all levels of government offices in Pu City. In a sense, their nod was more effective than His Lordship's order!
When he returned to his study, Lou Xiaoyi's face was a little gloomy. He had never participated in his mother's Buddhist affairs, but today he made an exception. He had his own intentions for harming the wealth of the Jokhang Temple and benefiting the common people!
It was not because of the money, but because of the string of Buddhist beads!
There was something strange about this string of Buddhist beads!
It was not that wearing it would attract evil spirits and shorten one's lifespan. It was that there was a power that had been blessed by Buddhist cultivators!
If this kind of power was in contact with ordinary believers for a long time, it would be very inappropriate. To put it simply, over time, the ordinary believers would become deep believers of Buddha and even fanatics!
The final result would be a shave and become a monk. In the worst case, they would use up all their wealth to worship Buddha. Was this what a real Buddhist temple should do?
There was a limit to everything. Going too far was as bad as not going far enough! If it was just the followers themselves who studied Buddhism deeply and sincerely believed in Buddhism, then no one would blame them. But if the followers didn't have this intention, then you used external forces to influence them, destroy their families, and seize their property. What was the difference between this and a cult?
That was what the Kongfang monk had given to his mother! Could you say that this was unintentional?
This was the reason why Lou Xiaoyi was angry!
However, he was very clear that it was not the time to shed all pretense of cordiality. He also could not judge that this was the overall action of the Jokhang Temple. It could also be the intention of a certain individual or a certain faction.
Once something involved cultivation, it had to be done with caution. This was because one did not know the depth of the pool of water and who was behind it. What was the cultivation level?
With Lou Xiaoyi's current ability, he was far from being able to do whatever he wanted.
Therefore, the Jokhang Temple could not say anything when he used the image of all the noble ladies in Pu City to provide relief. However, the secret of the temple could only be solved by Lou Xiaoyi himself. This kind of thing could not be relied on the government.
Fiddling with the Buddhist beads in his hand, he carefully sensed the spiritual vigor that had been transformed by Buddhism. He found that the spiritual power in the Buddhist beads was actually very crude in its application of Buddhism. It was so crude that a new cultivator like him could easily discover and eliminate it. This at least meant one thing: the level of the person who made the Buddhist beads was about the same as his.
This discovery would help him decide what kind of revenge to take next!
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