Remembrance of Tianyin's Adventure

At the right time, Renzong was giving a banquet in the palace, and Song Qi, a Hanlin scholar, was also among them.During the banquet, the words played and sung by the servants were exactly the "Partridge Sky" he filled in this year's Shangyuan Festival. In the song, he sang: "The painted hub and the carved saddle are on a narrow road, and the heart is broken in the embroidered curtain. There is no colorful phoenix and two flying wings on the body. There is a heart-to-heart connection. The house is made of gold, the cage is made of jade, and the car is like flowing water, and the horse swims the dragon. Liu Lang already hates Pengshan, and Pengshan is tens of thousands of weights away."

The affectionate words brought Song Qi's memory back to that wonderful night - that night, there were many people enjoying the lanterns in the market, and because the road was too crowded, Song Qi's official sedan accidentally bumped into a palace lady Thanks to the patience and forgiveness of the court lady, a conflict was avoided.Inadvertently, he was amazed by the beauty of the court lady, and was deeply impressed by her gentleness, elegance and purity, and fell in love with her. After returning home, he composed this song "Partridge Sky" impromptu.However, it must be known that even if the court ladies are not favored by the emperor, they are still the emperor's women. As a courtier, it is a crime of disrespect for him to dare to write such words.

At this moment, Song Qi heard the maid playing and singing this song, presumably the emperor already knew about it, his brows were sweating from fright, and he was utterly terrified.

However, there was no anger on Renzong's face, and he looked at Song Qi with some appreciation. He raised the imperial cup, motioned Song Qi to have a drink with him, and said with a smile: "It's good to say that Liu Lang hates Pengshan far away. , and tens of thousands of weights away from Pengshan! Song Aiqing, Pengshan is not far away, Pengshan is not far away!"

Song Qi stared at Renzong in a daze, feeling surprised and joyful, but also terrified, quickly covered his face with his sleeve, and poured a full cup of royal wine down his throat.

In the early morning of the next day, Zhan Zhao went to Xiangguo Temple to live temporarily as he wished, and Bao Zheng also got a good plan from Gongsun Ce as he wished—asking the abbot of Xiangguo Temple for help.So Bao Zheng immediately wrote a letter to Master Abbot, explaining the reason, and hoped that he would give more advice to Zhan Zhao, and he must not let him see through the world.

However, after reading the letter, Master Abbot didn't take it seriously, closed his eyes slightly, and sighed softly: "There is nothing in the world, and mediocrity!" He put his hands together and continued to read the scriptures silently.

Wishes and reality are often far apart. Zhan Zhao wholeheartedly wants to be quiet, but ever since he stepped into Xiangguo Temple, he has not had a day of peace: On the first day, Chuni came to visit; on the second day, Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce came to visit On the third day, Meiniang went to the temple to "pilgrimage".If it weren't for being able to bathe in the Buddha's light every day to the sound of morning bells and evening drums, Zhan Zhao would not have felt the difference between being in "Fangwai" and "Red Earth".

On the fourth day, when Zhan Zhao thought he could finally get some peace, another young novice came to report that two old friends who refused to give their names by name had come to visit.

Zhan Zhao had no choice but to close the music score in his hand and put it next to the guqin "Prime Ancient Music" left by his master, and invited the two to come and meet.

Not long after, the little novice brought the two of them over.Looking around, Zhan Zhao saw that the two were both in their 20s, one was thin and the other was strong. Although they were both dressed like ordinary men, the former walked like a big man, but in his bones there was something Coy state.

With a smile in his starry eyes, Zhan Zhao took a few steps to meet him, cupped his hands and said, "It really is an old friend, long time no see!"

Seeing Zhan Zhao's sun-like radiance, the frail man's eyes froze, and then he raised his neck, put on an arrogant look, and said softly: "Why, seeing that the palace is wearing the clothes of the common people, I put the clothes of the monarch and the ministers on it." Is the gift free?"

Zhan Zhao smiled and said, "The reason why Princess Anle came here in disguise is because she wants to avoid these red tapes?" It turned out that the person in front of him was Princess Anle Zhao Linglong, and the other person was Xiaoqi, the deputy head of the Princess's Mansion.

Linglong was very happy that he had guessed her mind, but she refused to admit it, and deliberately said with a straight face: "Forget it, that's all! I have something urgent to see you today, so I don't have time to talk to you about it." Seeing the stone table The guqin lying on top of the bed suddenly became angry, shook the hem of his clothes, stepped on the stone bench, raised his hand and slapped his leg, pointed at Zhan Zhao and said, "Oh! I can't wait to see you, but you are in the mood Playing the piano here! Do you really want to become a monk and forget about worldly affairs?"

Zhan Zhao admired her "elegant" movements, and couldn't help smiling when he remembered how he first met her a year ago.

Linglong immediately became annoyed, and said angrily, "What are you laughing at?" She looked down at herself, quickly put her feet down, put on a slightly rigid stance, pouted her mouth and said, "What's so funny?" Don't you think I'm not gentle enough, not like a girl?"

Xiao Qi still had the straight-faced character of the past. Seeing that Linglong had suffered a disadvantage, she hurried forward to defend her, and shouted to Zhan Zhao: "Zhan Zhao! Back then she was just a commoner, so it was fine if you bullied her, but now she is the leader of the court. Princess, how dare you bully her?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head and smiled softly, "When did I bully her?" He said to Linglong, "Who says women must be dignified and gentle?" With his hands behind his back, he walked slowly towards the grass beside the lotus pond, looking at the few people in the bushes. Pointing the white wild flower, she said: "Women are like the flowers in this world. They are in different poses and different styles, and each spits out its fragrance. How can there be a distinction between high and low? Although the peony is rich and elegant, it is too arrogant. It is not as bright and natural as the wild flowers in this bush. Fresh beauty."

With his back to Linglong, he casually expressed his thoughts, but he didn't notice that Linglong's cheeks were blushing again and again, as if she had applied several layers of rouge in succession.

When Zhan Zhao turned around, Linglong turned her back in panic, wishing she could find a corner to hide in!

Xiao Qi became even angrier now, rushed to Zhan Zhao, put his hands on his hips and said, "Zhan Zhao! Don't go too far! If you dare to tease her again, I... I will sue the emperor!"

But Linglong suddenly went uncharacteristically, stopped Xiaoqi and said, "What are you talking about, who is molesting me?" Not daring to look up into Zhan Zhao's eyes, she quickly changed the subject, "I'm here today, I really have something urgent to tell you!" The tone of his speech has softened a lot.

Zhan Zhao remembered that she had just mentioned "burning eyebrows", and felt uneasy, and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Do you know Song Qi?" Linglong's expression returned to normal, and she looked up at Zhan Zhao.

"Song Qi?" Zhan Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Could it be Song Qi, Song Zijing, Minister of Industry and Imperial Bachelor?"

Linglong said: "Yes! It's him!"

Zhan Zhao sighed: "In the second year of Tiansheng, he and his elder brother Song Jiao became Jinshi and ranked first. At that time, the Empress Dowager Liu made his elder brother Song Jiao the first on the grounds that "brothers should not be older brothers". One, putting Song Qi in the tenth position really buried him."

"I don't know about that!" Linglong said anxiously, "But I know, Brother Huang is going to marry Sister Chunni to him soon!"

"What did you say?" Zhan Zhao didn't believe Linglong's words, and asked, "Where did you hear that?"

Linglong snorted and said, "What do you mean by 'where did you hear that'? It seems that I'm an 'inquirer' on the street! This is what I was told by Master Hong, the Minister of Rites who taught me etiquette! He said, a few days A while ago, at the royal banquet, the emperor deliberately arranged for the servants to play and sing a song written by Song Qi. It seems to be called Tian, ​​yes! It is called "Partridge Sky"! There is a sentence about Pengshan, and I don’t know how to recite it. In short, it was said that he fell in love with a beautiful court lady on the Lantern Festival, and wished to marry her home. But after the emperor found out, not only did he not punish him, but he also said that "Pengshan is not far away", Master Hong said, Brother Huang clearly intends to marry that court lady to him!"

What she narrated was not very clear, but Zhan Zhao could roughly understand it.Moreover, Song Qi's "Partridge Sky" has been sung for a long time, and he was fortunate enough to hear it, and he was quite impressed with the sentence "Liu Lang already hates Pengshan Mountain, and it is tens of thousands of miles away from Pengshan Mountain".It's just that Zhan Zhao didn't understand what this had to do with Chunni, and was about to ask Linglong, but she heard her say, "Do you know who that maid is? It's Chunni!"

Zhan Zhao wondered, "How is this possible?"

"Why is that impossible?" Linglong said, "On the Lantern Festival, Uncle Eight Emperor invited me, Chunni, and Meiniang to watch the flowers and lanterns at the palace. After staying with the queen mother for a while, she left the palace a bit late, so Chunni left the palace alone in a sedan chair. I blamed me for being troubled, and I came up with a bad idea, let them both pretend to be maids to see the emperor's uncle, and wanted to surprise him, but did not expect……"

Zhan Zhao said: "Unexpectedly, Song Xueshi Lu met Chunni and mistook her for a court lady?"

"That's right, that's right!" Linglong became more and more impatient, and took a step forward: "Brother Huang may not know that the maid is Chunni, but even if he knew, maybe he would marry Chunni to Song Qi as well. Master Hong Said, Brother Huang cherishes Song Qi's talent very much! You should stop staying in the temple and think of a way, and it will be too late when Brother Huang issues the imperial decree!"

Although Zhan Zhao had always hoped that Chunni would get married early, but for some reason, he felt a little bit reluctant when things came to an end, and he couldn't help sighing in his heart: "Maybe all brothers in the world are like this!" He said to Linglong: "Actually, you also Don't worry, this is not a bad thing. Bachelor Song is talented and handsome, and it is a rare blessing for Chunni to marry him."

"Fufen?" Linglong said angrily, "Qi Chunni keeps saying that you love her, but I don't think you care about her at all! Let me ask you, who does she really want to marry, do you really or falsely don't know?" ?” He said with an attitude of fighting against injustice: “And Mei Niang, for whom she never married, don’t you know? Let me tell you, Zhan Zhao, they are all my good sisters, if you If you dare to leave them behind and become a monk here, I, Zhao Linglong, will never end with you!"

"The two of them want to marry Zhan Zhao, what about you?" Suddenly a playful voice came from behind her: "Are you determined not to marry Zhan Zhao?"

Zhan Zhao had already noticed that Bai Yutang was here, and when he saw him appear, he wanted to smile in greeting, but when he heard him make fun of Linglong, he hurriedly gave him a wink to tell him to shut up.

Asked by Bai Yutang, Linglong blushed with embarrassment, pointed at Bai Yutang with her feet and said, "Who are you, how dare you talk to me like this! It's just... so presumptuous!" Zhao hastily said, "You can do whatever you like, I don't care about your business!" Then he tugged on Xiaoqi's sleeve and left without looking back.

Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang to sit down in the courtyard, poured him a cup of tea, and smiled with a low eyebrow: "What? You also came to persuade me not to become a monk?"

Bai Yutang smiled contemptuously and said, "Advise you? Is it necessary? Only ghosts will believe you if you become a monk!"

Although the words were not pleasant to the ear, they showed a rare trust, which made Zhan Zhao sincerely grateful.Looking back, he didn't know how long ago he had such a tacit understanding with Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang is also a person who likes qin music. When he saw the "immemorial legacy" on the stone table, he couldn't help feeling a little itchy, so he put down the sword in his hand, moved the qin to the front, fiddled with it a few times, and savored the whirling sound of the qin. He exclaimed in admiration: "Good piano! It really is a rare treasure!" He picked up the sheet music next to it and unfolded it, his expression changed drastically, and he quickly closed it and said, "Zhan Zhao, you are dying! How dare you play "Reminiscence" ?”

Zhan Zhao was afraid that he would tear up the music score in a fit of anger, so he hurriedly took it back, carefully folded it, put it in his sleeve and said, "This is a monastery, with wooden fish bells and chime as companions, I will not be hurt by "Reminiscence"." Sighed: "I just want to find a way for "Remembrance" to stop hurting people without being accompanied by the Buddha's voice. I have burned the half of the guqin engraved with bloodthirsty magic skills, but I can't "Remembrance" also Burn it to the torch, this is the painstaking effort of Master's life!"

"You're being unwise!" Bai Yutang said, "It's not like you don't know the power of "Reminiscence" to hurt people! You can't just ignore everything for the sake of your master. Once this sheet music falls into the wrong hands, Or if it is spread across the rivers and lakes, the consequences will be disastrous!"

A trace of loneliness flashed in Zhan Zhao's eyes and he said: "I know, so before leaving the temple, if I still can't think of a perfect method, I can only destroy it." His expression was full of longing and guilt for Situ Tingyin.

Bai Yutang didn't want to be sad with him, so he raised his voice and said, "I'm here to pay back your skills today! The witch case is over, and I should give you back old Meng's skills."

"No!" Zhan Zhao waved his hand and said, "In the secret room of the Tianyin School, my skill has recovered, and it is even better than before. You don't have to pay me back!"

"How can I do that?" Bai Yutang said seriously, "Whether or not you recover your skills is your own business. If I don't repay the skills I borrowed from you, you won't be ridiculed by my colleagues in the world!"

Zhan Zhao said: "Brother Bai, just listen to me. In fact, it was a coincidence that I was able to recover my skills this time, and I didn't expect it. Perhaps somewhere, it was Master and the old man who deliberately arranged to combine his skills with Chun's." I will deliver it to you together." Before learning about Song Qi, he had already decided to entrust Chuni to Bai Yutang again.Although Song Qi appeared again now, Zhan Zhao knew that Chunni would definitely not want to marry a stranger.In Zhan Zhao's mind, Bai Yutang is still the best choice for Chunni's husband-in-law.

But Bai Yutang didn't agree, and immediately stood up and said, "What kind of arrangement is there in the dark? This is not the meaning of old man Meng, it is your own meaning at all!" Seeing that Zhan Zhao was determined not to withdraw his skills, he said : "Even if it was what Senior Meng meant, he only wanted to use this skill to repay my so-called kindness to Chunni at the beginning. From then on, Chunni no longer felt that she owed me anything, and no longer had to promise her with her body." Now, she can calmly marry the person she really likes! Don't forget, it is you who promised old man Meng to take care of Chunni for the rest of her life, not me! This is a promise, but also a responsibility, you can't shirk it!"

At this time, Cheng Yin came to the courtyard and said to Zhan Zhao: "Brother, the abbot invites you to the meditation room for tea!"

When Zhan Zhao heard the word "drink tea", he thought to himself: "Could it be that the abbot intends to imitate the koan of Zen master Zhaozhou Congchen's "washing the bowl and eating tea" and teach me the Buddhist principle of "the ordinary mind is the way"?" So he invited Bai Yutang went together.But Bai Yutang didn't appreciate it, he leaped up to the eaves with his sword in hand, and disappeared in an instant.

When he came to the meditation room, Zhan Zhao performed the Buddhist ritual to the abbot, sat cross-legged on the futon opposite him, and saw two teacups on the low table in front of him, but a wine jug in the middle, he was suddenly puzzled .

The abbot didn't say a word, he picked up the jug and filled a cup for Zhan Zhao first, then filled it for himself, then raised the teacup and said, "Benefactor Zhan, please have some tea!" His expression was very peaceful.

After Zhan Zhao thanked him, he respectfully picked up the teacup with both hands, and was about to drink the tea, but found that the contents of the cup had neither the color of brown nor the aroma of wine, and when it was put into his mouth, it had no taste at all, it just felt cold and refreshing. It's a glass of water!

The abbot looked at the teacup in his hand, and asked Zhan Zhao, "Benefactor, how is the tea?"

Zhan Zhao said: "The fragrance of tea is peculiar, and it has a deep sense of Zen. Forgive me for my dull aptitude, so it's difficult to understand it for a while."

The abbot waved his hand and said: "No hurry, no hurry! The almsgiver lives in this temple, which means he has a predestined relationship with the Buddha. Since you want to practice Zen, why don't you go a step further?"

Zhan Zhao was puzzled and said, "Master means..."

The abbot smiled and said, "Why don't you have the right to join my Buddhist sect, as a lay disciple of this temple, and lead the cultivation in the temple?"

"What?" Zhan Zhao asked in surprise, "Master wants the disciple to become a monk?" He thought, it seems that the Buddhist temple is not a place to live casually, could it be that I really can't go back to Kaifeng Mansion?

Abbot Heshi said: "To enter my Buddhist gate is to enter the supreme wonderland. You can enjoy 'great joy' and 'great freedom'. The world is boundless and the sea of ​​suffering is boundless. Why should the benefactor be attached? Of course, whether you become a monk or not, but with Voluntary. The benefactor might as well take the hair to practice for a few days, while studying Zen, while considering the proposal of the old monk. If he decides to become a monk, the old monk will shave the benefactor immediately; if the benefactor wishes to return to the world, he can leave the temple at any time." Zhan Zhao had no choice but to According to the abbot, he temporarily became a lay disciple of Xiangguo Temple.