Chapter 276: Those Who Know the Times
The Dharma Ritual was very lively.
A circle of masters surrounded the area, beating wooden fish and chanting sutras. It was for delivering the souls of the dead.
As they walked in a circle, she could hear Mother whispering quietly below: “Eight taels… eight taels… eight taels.”
Mianmian counted carefully. One Dharma Ritual involved walking ten circles. That was eighty taels of silver. For nine days.
Eight times nine is seventy-two, so seven hundred and twenty taels of silver.
Spending money really was like water flowing away.
Converting seven hundred-plus taels of silver into Father’s salary, Father would have to work for over three years without eating or drinking. Such filial piety was commendable.
Life in the capital is not easy. Things with such a sense of ritual were much more expensive than in Jingzhou.
Over there, holding a Dharma Ritual for one hundred taels would be very grand, and many monks would be chanting. The monks in the capital also had higher wages.
Add on the annual eternal lamps and various trivial expenses, and it came to almost one thousand taels of silver.
This was just a commemoration for the deceased; for the living, it had absolutely no practical use, though it provided some spiritual comfort.
Of course, if the person organizing it was doing so with a pained heart, then there was basically no comfort at all, as the comfort could not cover the pain of losing money.
However, pain aside, Qin Luoxia still acted very magnanimously on the surface.
She was very decisive and did not haggle. She worried that if she haggled, she might regret it.
Zi Congheng watched the monks chanting in circles, and he actually felt like laughing.
Father did not like others chattering in his ear. He wondered if Father would be so angry that he would crawl out of the underworld with so many monks chattering away together.
He could also empathize with Aunt Qin’s pain over the money.
Aunt Qin was actually a very frugal person in her daily life. Rarely did one see scenes of waste in the residence.
Aunt Qin worked hard to manage the residence, and it seemed a large part of the reason was to prevent waste, rather than truly holding the overall situation in her hands with a high-level perspective.
He only discovered this after staying for a few days. Clearly, it was not as Mr. Gang had said; Mr. Gang claimed Lady Qin possessed great wisdom, but sometimes great wisdom was just a misunderstanding caused by small life skills.
But Zi Congheng liked Aunt Qin this way. No great wisdom, no born nobility, just alive, vivid, and interesting, and by Aunt Qin’s side, there was a full sense of security.
After finishing the first day of the Dharma Ritual, one could stay overnight or return the next day. Since the distance was not far, they chose to return.
The master who had earned a net profit of eighty taels from one Dharma Ritual was called in for questioning.
Taia Temple was famous for its beautiful scenery. In fact, most people could only see half of Taia Temple’s landscape.
Therefore, people always came with high expectations and returned disappointed, feeling that its reputation was exaggerated. In reality, that was not the case.
The most beautiful location of Taia Temple had been enclosed by a mysterious noble. Moreover, even though it was clearly within the temple, they could not walk inside. It was like a ghost wall, just going in circles.
However, the people inside would occasionally come out. Just like at this moment, Jinghui was called in for questioning.
“One lady and two children, one boy and one girl. The lady has a strange face, has never been here before. The Dharma Ritual is for a man, and the birth date and death anniversary were left.” The slip with the birth date and death anniversary was passed inside.
Princess Huiyun looked at the birth date, her pupils slightly constricted. It was the same day as the Crown Prince’s birthday. On the day her Imperial Brother, the Crown Prince, was born, he was extremely happy and held a great banquet for three days, and at the same time, he gifted her a Star-Gazing Pavilion.
That woman did not look like a lady from an aristocratic family, but the child looked somewhat like her. Could it be the Crown Prince’s illegitimate son? The death anniversary was also the day the Crown Prince died. There were too many coincidences.
Princess Huiyun played with the piece of wood in her hand. At first glance, it was just a piece of wood, light and airy. After rubbing it a few times in her hand, there was actually a faint fragrance; the scent was very light but quite pleasant.
Princess Huiyun had been detached from worldly affairs for a long time. She lived according to her own preferences and was not the person others thought, spending her remaining life with blue lamps and ancient Buddhas. She had many hobbies, ranging from rock climbing and bungee jumping (the ancestor of courting death) to stringing beads…
If it was her nephew’s child, then the string of beads being taken away was fine; otherwise, she quite liked it. Since a nine-day Dharma Ritual had been booked, they should meet again.
Princess Huiyun waved her hand, letting Jinghui leave. Just like he did not know how he had come in, he did not know how he ended up outside.
Jinghui stood in front of the main hall and rubbed his bald head. Forget it, he would go add sesame oil to the eternal lamps. The noble’s business was the noble’s business, and his business was his business.
On the carriage back, Mianmian thought about writing a letter to Elder Brother, asking him to help send her Song and Dance Troupe to the capital. The business in the capital was more extensive; the capital was so big, there must be more dead people, and many clients who needed deliverance. This market could not be lost.
While thinking, she played with the newly acquired bracelet. The color combination was really good; the more she looked, the better it looked.
This old woman looked like she had a bad temper, but she was actually quite enthusiastic. She felt like a Capricorn, a bit introverted and reserved. (The author is a Capricorn.)
Zi Congheng looked at the string of beads in her hand, especially the vivid appearance of the coiled dragons on the gold beads; that must be extremely rare.
For a craftsman to carve two dragons onto gold, and on such small beads, it could be said to be a work of exquisite workmanship. Mianmian seemed to have no concept of such delicate work. But these beads were definitely not ordinary. His Father probably rarely had anything like this.
“Where did you get that?”
“There was an old woman in the back courtyard of the temple stringing beads. I praised her for stringing them well, and she gave it to me.”
“What old woman?” Zi Congheng suddenly remembered something his Father had instructed before: do not go to Taia Temple, it was very strange there.
After his death, Father’s words became wind in his ears; he had forgotten. He had even arranged Father’s Dharma Ritual at Taia Temple. Very good, very good, Father must be very excited.
He also thought of a rumor in the capital, saying that Princess Huiyun might live at Taia Temple, but Princess Huiyun had a bad temper, and those who provoked Princess Huiyun did not end well; they either died or were injured.
Watching Mianmian holding the bracelet, saying “old woman” this and “old woman” that, Zi Congheng only felt that her ancestors probably knocked their heads black and blue in the underworld to chase her back. Others say those who know the times are heroes, but Mianmian was already a great hero.
“What did that person look like?”
“I couldn’t see her face, it was covered with cloth, but she should be a very good-looking old woman, her temperament was very good, right, Mother?” Mianmian cued her Mother.
Mother did not know what she was thinking, she was dazed. Qin Luoxia was still thinking about how someone had locked onto her back when she turned around just now, it seemed to have some killing intent.
Tomorrow, the day after, and for the next eight days, they had to go to Taia Temple for the Dharma Ritual; should she make some preparations?
“Ah, that auntie? She should be quite good-looking.”
Zi Congheng:… Forget it, he didn’t know if his Father was among those knocking their heads in the underworld.
When the carriage was heading back, the sunset came out. Bathing in the sunset, it had a different kind of scenery. It was very brilliant. The whole city was vivid and lively. There was a restaurant by the road.
Meng Qingshe was treated to a meal by the 9th Prince. The 9th Prince asked him what was going on. Meng Qingshe explained quite sincerely to his friend with whom he caught birds, saying this was what his old in-law had marked out, it might not be true, don’t buy it, didn’t you already have the answers?
The 9th Prince glanced at Meng Qingshe, not knowing if he was truly stupid or pretending to be stupid. His own answers were to fool Meng Qingshe.
But wasn’t Meng Qingshe’s in-law the new favorite in front of Prime Minister Lu, the Attendant of the Yellow Gate, Vice Minister Jiang?
It was said that Prime Minister Lu valued him exceptionally, giving him guidance day and night. On the first day Vice Minister Jiang finished his shift, Prime Minister Lu waited for him for half the night.
This position of Attendant of the Yellow Gate, which was so important, was also personally designated by Prime Minister Lu.
This time, saying that Vice Minister Jiang organized everyone to study the rules and regulations was probably Prime Minister Lu’s intention, just hung on the newcomer’s head. This collection of money was probably also related to Prime Minister Lu.
Prime Minister Lu had fallen out with the Ministry of Revenue last month.
Although one person could spend two hundred taels to buy the key answers and then everyone could pass them around, they were all insiders; no one could be so blind and stingy. If you bought it, Prime Minister Lu would not remember you, but if you didn’t buy it, Prime Minister Lu would definitely remember you.
Prime Minister Lu was the most narrow-minded and petty person.
Therefore, at the banquet, with the 9th Prince taking the lead, a group of people scrambled to buy the answers from Meng Qingshe.
And they asked Meng Qingshe to record it; everyone just gave the money, not even wanting Meng Qingshe to prepare the answers, they would pass them around themselves.
Meng Qingshe was dumbfounded by collecting the money; they were truly civil officials, this style was excellent. Spending their own money, copying the answers themselves, and registering themselves. Without anyone urging them, they started working as soon as they went upstairs!!!
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