Between the vast sea of ​​clouds

The last ray of light faded into the dark blue night, and only a few pieces of sunset glow floated in the sky, like broken brocade and silk that will not disperse.

At this moment, lamps have been lit in the Palace of Qinzheng.Chen Qi, the daughter of King Chenliu, was sitting at the table, holding a scroll of ancient scriptures, pointing to one of them, and said to Chu Jun: "Your Majesty, please take a look, this scroll is probably the scripture used by the Golden Tent to preach. According to the volume, the scriptures are used to save the world, and all the words and common sayings have their magical effects, and in the mystery, it is the direction of the great way, and the sincerity will lead to it, escape from the cycle of purgatory in the world, and obtain the supreme method."

Chu Jun took off the imperial robes and dressed normally, and said: "There is a crooked saying that people die like fallen leaves and return to their roots, so what is left of them?"

Chen Qi smiled and said: "Your Majesty's unbelief is natural, it's just that ordinary people can't think like this, and they can still fool many people."

She drew the picture on the scroll with her fingers, two swimming fishes, one in front and one behind, forming a ring: "This religion believes in the theory of reincarnation, and everything in the world has reincarnation."

Chu Jun said lightly: "How does the world think about this theory of reincarnation?"

Chen Qi reached out to take the lamp on the table, removed the cover, and said: "When I was practicing in a temple in Kyoto, I heard the master lectured on the scriptures, and the scriptures said that 'the way of all things is not in reincarnation, but in endless life'. I am ignorant and bold. Explain to Your Majesty that in this life, a person is like a flower blooming for a season, or is defeated by wind and rain, or ends up being sheltered. The world is complicated, but in the end, they cannot escape death. From this point of view, it is fair. Everything in the world , go round and round, the world moves, the sea changes, the so-called reincarnation is the reincarnation of the growth of all things, not the reincarnation of individuals."

Chu Jun said: "If there is really someone in this world who has experienced past and present lives, how should she deal with herself?"

Chen Qi thought for a moment, then put his hand beside the candle and said, "Where there is light, there is darkness, and they live together. Whether it is in the past life or the present life, they are all born in this world, so what's the difference? Everything in the world has its own way. Destiny, one life, one autumn of grass and trees, the one with permanence, only the mortal heart can pursue, life is immortal. The so-called tens of thousands of beings are just a speck of dust in the heart."

Chu Jun smiled suddenly, and said: "It would be disrespectful for others to say these words. What you say is shocking to the world. It is commendable for the bravery of a woman in the world."

Chen Qi got up and saluted, and said with a smile: "Relying on Your Majesty's grace, bestowing on your ministers a strong heart and courage is just a mere foolish opinion, not enough to be compared to the words of a sage. The six prefectures and eighteen counties are all in His Majesty's heart. Your Majesty only needs to... look further Some."

Chu Jun raised his eyebrows and said, "Tonight, the imperial physician has diagnosed that the harem servant is pregnant. I don't know what the world thinks?"

Chen Qi bowed and smiled again: "Your Majesty has a queen, it is the best for the court and the country."

"Excuse me, give way, the fish are here—"

Li Yan hurriedly avoided the fish cart, and looked at the fish scales and water stains on the ground. The smell of the water made her almost think that she had turned into a fish too. She couldn't help but ask, "What is your lord doing here?"

Qingping spent money to buy a bunch of paper-folded ingots, and said, "Go to the temple to burn incense and pray for blessings."

Li Yan asked suspiciously, "Then why not buy it in the temple?"

Qingping glanced at her and said, "Because the ones in the temple are expensive."

Li Yan had nothing to say for a moment.

Qingping leisurely bought some offerings in the crowded market. Seeing the scorching sun, he found a tea shop to rest and ordered a pot of herbal tea to quench his thirst.

A group of people were chatting at the next table, and one of them said: "Everyone knows that the Wanghai banquet is ahead of schedule, but it is very famous! Although Chenzhou has many waterways, it has never been like this year. It has been raining for two months. Even the embankment has been washed away! Now everyone is saying that the Dragon God is angry, so the Wanghai Banquet is brought up to this month."

"I heard that the flood seems to have washed away the Taimiao at the foot of Jiufeng Mountain! I don't know if this is true..."

"The Taimiao can be destroyed? This is really..."

Li Yan took a sip of the herbal tea in the cup and choked on the strange smell, but saw Qingping staring at a place, so he looked along, but seeing people coming and going, there was nothing unusual.

"grown ups?"

Qingping lowered his head and took a sip of tea: "It's nothing."

In the crowd, the wide sleeves swayed lightly, with sea ripples embroidered on the side, and disappeared in the corner of the street in the blink of an eye.

People in Chenzhou call the temple a temple, and there is one guard in the courtyard, who is the head of the courtyard. Depending on the size, there are five to ten elders, and there are some cleaning people, most of whom are believers.

Since Zhaoye is a state city, it has many temples, the largest of which is in the city, which is also the purpose of Qingping's trip. There is a huge banyan tree in the temple, with luxuriant branches and thousands of branches, sheltering passers-by.The temple is surrounded by ordinary streets and alleys, living next to the people in the market, morning bells and evening drums accompanied by the cries of peddlers, the secular and pure places are strangely blended together.

You can bring your own offerings in the temple, or buy them in the shop in the temple.The incense ingots in the temple are much more expensive than outside, but there are still people waiting in line here.It also sells talisman brocade bags and some statues carved from small stones.One of the shops occupies the largest area, called Fuyuan Pavilion. The furnishings in the shop are elegant and comfortable, and the sandalwood fragrance is faint, making people feel peaceful.And the objects are all available, except that there are many more stone and wood carvings, the workmanship is fine, and it is different from the rough and made statues sold in other stores, and the price is naturally very considerable.

Although there were many people in the store, a waiter came over after a while and said attentively: "The guests came from other places to see Haiyan, right? Our statues in Fuyuan Pavilion are famous. Have you heard of Mr. Zheng Hehui?"

Qing Ping said honestly: "No."

The waiter choked, and said again: "This is the stone carving master invited by Fuyuan Pavilion. The statues she made will be exhibited at the Wanghai Banquet every year. If you are interested, the statues in Zhaoye Temple You can take a closer look, many of them are made by her hands!"

The clerk talked for a long time, Qingping finally bought a small lotus incense burner and went back. The clerk filled the burner with rough paper, took out a brocade bag and packed it, and sent them outside the shop door until they were far away Some, then went back to continue talking with other guests.

Li Yan was holding a brocade bag in his hand, and said a little strangely: "My lord, this small shop is very well-behaved."

Qing Ping said: "Can we open a store in this temple, and also make the surrounding stores run out, can we not do that?"

She looked up at the dense banyan leaves above her head, and said, "Go, take a look inside."

In the main hall, the prayer flags hang down, and many small characters are engraved on the pillars, which are the names and surnames of the believers who participated in the donation when the main hall was first built.In the middle is a huge statue of the dragon god, with its feet on the sea waves, surrounded by flowing clouds, holding a glazed orb in one hand, and holding a flower in the other, overlooking all living beings.

The Dragon God is also known as the Dragon Girl. It is said that if you worship the Dragon Girl before going out to sea, you will be able to return safely. If you put his small statue on the boat to worship, you will be able to avoid the wind and waves and gain something.Therefore, people in Minzhou also believe in the dragon god, and they often pay homage to pray for safety.

Qingping walked to the side of the statue, and saw a small wooden sign hanging under the stage, the sign was very old, it looked like it had been around for a while, and wrote: "Wei Yuanling respects the good girl".She went to the side to look at the Yaksha statues, and there were small plaques in inconspicuous places by the side of the stage, old and new.There are a total of eight statues, four of which are carved by Wei Yuanling, two of which are brightly colored are of Zheng Hehui, and the other two are old wooden plaques whose handwriting is difficult to discern.

There are only a few main halls in the shrine for people to worship. Qingping turned to the small door at the end of the lower corridor. The door was half-closed. She stepped in and saw that the inside was very narrow, like an alley where only one person could pass through. However, there were many statues of gods of the same height. The sunlight fell by the door, but the room was a little dark. The window panes divided the light into several beams.

The entourage said: "Master, please allow the younger one to scout the way for the elder."

Qingping complied, and the entourage cautiously walked forward, and she walked slowly past these statues with various descriptions, compared with the solemn and solemn statues in other temples, these seemed a bit too lively.

She suddenly remembered the Sea-Watching Banquet many years ago. Most of the girls selected by the theater troupe to play the dragon girl were under fifteen, and they still had young faces, which seemed to be similar to these statues.

Could it be that this is...

Seeing that she was watching carefully, Li Yan couldn't help but also took a serious look at her. One of the entourage suddenly let out a sigh, and found that Qingping turned his head to look at her, only to realize that he was rude in front of the Shangguan, and hurriedly apologized and said: "Xiao Looking at this statue, it seems...it seems to have some similarities with adults."

Qingping turned his head to look at the statue, because the light happened to shine on his face, he couldn't see the statue's face clearly for a while, Li Yan closed a window, making the surrounding darker, Qingping could see clearly the statue's face Face.

The statue is of a young girl's body, with a crown on her head, long hair hanging down her shoulders, flowers on her sleeves, and no decorations on her clothes.The other statues have innocent smiles, bright and moving faces, and plump bodies.Only this one is very thin, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, looking at people with a half-smile.In terms of facial features and appearance alone, the statue's face is a bit eccentric, and it is somewhat indescribably similar to Qingping.

If it is said that other statues are stone carvings carved out of a mold, they are empty of beauty and lack of reality.Then this one feels like a real person.

Outside the window, the shadows of the trees rustled, the sky turned dark, and the air of wind and thunder suddenly rose.The followers were all a little uneasy, after all, this matter was indeed a bit weird.Qing Ping's expression was normal, and he bent down to pick up a wooden sign calmly, and saw the letter: Wei Yuanling, respect.

The police quickly tore up a few missing person notices on the bulletin board and hurriedly stepped into the office of the criminal justice department in Chenzhou. Just as he was about to tell Mr. criminal justice the latest progress of the case, someone in the hall stopped her and said, "Stop, governor Your Excellency is negotiating with Shan Ti Xing."

The policeman heard the sound of arguing inside, so he had to say: "Then I will wait outside for a while, and you will call me immediately when you are free."

In the room, Liao Shiying, governor of Zhaoye Mansion, said: "Hey, my lord Tijuan, don't be confused again! Now is the time of the crisis, this Zhaoye City must be peaceful, how can there be a murder case! "

Shan Le said solemnly: "This murder case is in front of the lower officials, thirteen lives, how can we ignore it?"

"The imperial court sent two servants from the Ministry of Rites and Industry to Chenzhou together. The servant of the Ministry of Industry, Mr. Jin, has already arrived in Yunzhong County, and the guard of honor of Master Li, the servant of the Ministry of Rites, is about to arrive in Qiannan County! As we all know, the flood It's just a matter of a moment, but rebuilding the Taimiao is the work of a lifetime. The Ministry of Rites is in charge of this matter. This Mr. Li is a person who lifts weights lightly. Could it be that you can't tell the current situation? Let's put these things aside for a while. Hurry up, after she decides on the location of the Taimiao, we come to solve the case again, wouldn't everyone be happy?"

Seeing that she was silent, Liao Shiying stomped her feet and said, "You should tell me something!"

Shan Le rolled up his sleeves, and said: "Your Excellency wants to welcome you, and the case has to be investigated. I don't think it will delay the matter."

Liao Shiying said incredulously: "Master Zhou moved the Wanghai Banquet to this month, why have you forgotten? The two adults said that they were on business, but they didn't mean to investigate the officialdom of Chenzhou for His Majesty. This, this... among them You still don't understand the truth!"

Shan Le didn't speak anymore, but just ordered the yamen servant to cut a pot of tea.

Liao Shiying said angrily: "Rumors are spreading outside, saying that the Dragon God's crimes caused floods in Chenzhou and destroyed the Taimiao. I don’t think it’s useless! Fortunately, the state shepherd is wise and organized the Wanghai Banquet ahead of time to silence everyone! If the Wanghai Banquet is safe and sound, the rumors will naturally dissipate; The two lords know that you and I will be dismissed from office at the slightest, and accused at the worst! Tell me what you want!"

Shan Le took a deep look at her and said, "This case must be investigated."

Liao Shiying was furious, and said: "If you are so stubborn, then you should investigate the case! When Master Zhou comes back, I will report this matter to her!"

After she left, the policeman came in cautiously, and said, "My lord, this case...some new things have been found."

Shan Le said lightly: "Leave this first, I'll watch it later."

When there was no one in the hall, she took out a piece of paper from her sleeve, opened it to read, and there was a line written on it: "I have arrived in Zhaoye, everything is as usual, don't go back."