This courtyard is hidden in the alley of the city. It is separated from the outside and can't hear the noisy people. It feels like a retreat.
Ju Yunwei felt that if it hadn't been for the Lu family, Kudi might not have been able to spend the rest of his life peacefully here. He raised his eyes and glanced at Kudi, who was pouring tea in front of him, expressionlessly. His guess was good.
This Cudi has a beautiful face and bright eyebrows. She is indeed a rare beauty. It is said that heroes have a hard time with beauty. No wonder Xue Yan takes it to heart. Although this Cudi has a smile on her face, she can't hide her sad expression.
, and the bluffing attitude that forced herself to be calm but was actually panicking. Although he had never seen her before, it made Ju Yunwei feel inexplicably familiar... They all had a rough life experience. Thinking of this, he had just rejected him because of her.
The anger and embarrassment also subsided a little.
He withdrew his gaze, took a sip of tea, and after calming down, asked: "Do you really want to stay here and don't want to go to Dunhuang?"
In fact, Cudisu Niang was also afraid of offending the prince, but she really did not want to leave with this person she had never met before and leave her life and death in the hands of another person. If Xue Yan felt guilty about herself,
, what about Crown Prince Ju? He is just taking care of each other because of Xue Yan, but his relationship with Xue Yan is not as close as that of the Lu couple. Speaking of which, Crown Prince Ju is even more unreliable. She wants to live
, you can't put yourself in a predicament like this. Besides, now that the Lu family knows about her affairs, if Xue Yan continues to take care of her, there will be hidden dangers in the future. It's better to let go and won't do it again.
Someone knows.
Whether she was living under someone else's roof or relying on someone else, the days she spent hiding in a small courtyard made her think a lot. Whether it was resentment or hatred, Bai Li was right. She was no longer the Li Yuanmin she used to be. No.
You can act according to your will, but if you don't plan carefully and be alert at all times, how can you survive as Cudisu? Now that you clearly see the situation you are in, how can you still be ignorant of current affairs?
She only knows that she must cherish her life and live well.
Cudisu Niang didn't want to offend him, so she bowed to Ju Yunwei and said sincerely: "I have thought about it clearly. Thank you for your kindness, but I am already familiar with this place and don't want to leave. It's good to be here."
Now, I won’t bother you anymore, Your Majesty.”
Ju Yunwei suddenly reacted for some reason and asked, "Have you met Mr. Lu?"
He did not explain who Lu was, but both of them knew who Ju Yunwei was referring to.
Cudisuniang didn't expect that he would ask this. She was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "I've seen it before."
Ju Yunwei was a little surprised. He had seen her before? Then she still refused to leave? He knew that Mrs. Lu was Xue Yan's cousin, could it be that Ms. Kudi was so selfish towards Xue Yan? So she would rather suffer here.
Will Lu's Shumo stay here? At first, I thought she was smart and could endure her anger for so long, but I didn't expect that she is still hopelessly stupid!
He thought like this, and then looked at Cu Di's eyes with a much more complicated look. He was a little irritated. Since Cu Di was so ignorant of current affairs, he didn't need to say more! He was also a prince, so he didn't go all the way in vain.
He said, do you still need to persuade me earnestly? So, he waved his hand and said impatiently: "Forget it! Since you have decided, I won't waste any more words, you can take care of yourself."
It's not that he doesn't do his job with all his heart, but that Cudi is stubborn.
…
To be honest, Ju Yunwei was a little frustrated, but he did not return to Qiuci immediately, but stayed in Xizhou temporarily.
But after all, Ju Yunwei is also a conspicuous figure in Xizhou, and some people know that he is here for the Kudi family. So, word spread became: Ju Shizi has never forgotten the Kudi family and came to find him personally.
However, Kudis felt ashamed of himself and believed that he was not worthy of the crown prince's love, so he declined the crown prince's affection... In the end, Crown Prince Ju's romantic affair was enriched.
When Qingrong heard about it, he couldn't help but laugh. Apart from the fact that Cudi didn't leave with him in the end, he didn't know how many sentences were true and how many were false?
But she didn't have time to pay attention to such gossip, because she didn't expect that the abbot of Thousand Buddha Temple would actually find her personally.
When Lu Kaiyan sealed the Thousand Buddhas Temple, Master Jueming was not in the temple because he was invited as a distinguished guest. Unexpectedly, when he came back, he heard that there was such trouble in the temple. After some inquiries, he found Lu Qingrong. This was also Qingrong.
Unexpectedly, she guessed that Master Jueming had either run into a wall with Lu Changshi, or he wanted to come to her to find out more about her. After all, she still knew what the outside world thought of her.
In another courtyard.
Qingrong took a leisurely sip of tea, and calmly looked at this house, which looked unremarkable from the outside, but it was something special inside. There were actually flowers, trees, rocks, etc. in the yard. Qingrong thought to herself, this is not the case.
Could it be the private residence of Master Jueming? I wonder which high-ranking family it was entrusted to?
The servants all quietly stepped aside. Master Jueming could still keep his composure at first, but Qingrong didn't want to see others showing off. Thinking of her reputation outside, she went straight to the point and asked Master Jueming why he was invited.
Why.
Seeing this, Master Jueming didn't hold back any longer and explained his purpose to Qingrong.
…
After Qingrong listened, she also fell into silence. She was shaken, but she did not respond to Jueming in one breath. She just smiled and said, "I see, I understand what Master Jueming meant. Master Jueming
It makes sense, but I am a housewife and this matter is beyond my control. I am afraid that I will have to wait until I go back and ask my general before I can reply to the master."
Seeing that she didn't refuse, Jueming was relieved in his heart and said with a smile: "Then I will wait for news from Madam. Thank you Madam for making this trip."
Qingrong smiled and waved her hands: "You're welcome."
The two of them understood what they were talking about, and after a brief exchange of greetings, Qingrong left the place.
At this time, a handsome young man walked out from the corridor at the back, and he naturally sat in front of Master Jueming.
When Jueming saw him coming, he smiled lightly, clasped his hands together and said, "Your Majesty."
Ju Yunwei smiled casually and waved his hands, but his tone was very polite, "Master Jueming, there is no need to be polite."
Jueming thanked him with a smile. He followed Prince Ju's wishes and found Mrs. Lu. However, thinking back to Mrs. Lu's reaction just now, he was still a little worried. He sighed softly and said, "I don't know if Mrs. Lu will be willing to help me."
This is busy."
Ju Yunwei looked at the direction in which Mr. Lu was leaving, with some unclear meaning. He just smiled and said, "I also want to know. Master Jueming doesn't have to worry. There will be news after a while."
He wanted to see what these people were planning to do? What were their plans in mind? Now that it was so easy to get into this situation, he had to guard against it.
…
In the courtyard.
After Qingrong finished speaking, Xue Shao fell silent. Qingrong looked at him and was a little unsure of what he meant. If he got into trouble at this time, there would be nothing she could do.
At this time, he looked up at Qingrong and said in a deep voice: "Then I'll trouble you."
He...did he agree? Qingrong was a little surprised. Although she thought this was a turning point for them, she didn't expect Xue Shao to connect so quickly. She originally thought he would be entangled.
Qingrong knew that Xue Shao was worried about military expenses recently. The imperial court meant that military expenses were tight. Not only the Western Regions were fighting, but also the Northern Xinjiang and Goguryeo were using troops. They could not allocate much money and food at once.
, even the consolation has been owed a lot and has not been paid. The war in the Western Region has been temporarily calmed down, but if it is always on guard, the court hopes that some money and food can be provided here... It is just the situation in Xizhou, Qingrong also heard what Xue Shao said,
The tax account books were brought back and looked over several times. After a while, I couldn't come up with so much money and food. This is second to none. The most important thing is that seeing winter coming, it's comforting to say that the military supplies and military rations are indispensable.
of.
Most of the soldiers guarding the border had gone to war with the elders of the Xue family, and many of them had been with Xue Shao several times. Seeing that the situation was not good, Xue Shao was even more anxious. He and Qing Rong had some savings, but
Before he and Qing Rong came back, neither he nor Qing Rong had thought of the current situation. They did not bring much money and silk to Xizhou, and they could not use their money to finance the army.
Besides, among the high gates in Xizhou, after many years of fighting, few have suffered no losses. It is unrealistic for them to spend so much money at once. In the future, they will have to rely on the strength of the high gates to defend the enemy and defend the border, let alone
You may force people to pay and make enemies with them.
At this time, Master Jueming said that he was willing to give 30,000 yuan to Xizhou for military expenses in the name of Thousand Buddha Temple! Not only that, he was also willing to lobby other temples to generously donate military funds.
Thirty thousand yuan is by no means a small amount. And Qingrong believes that Jueming will be able to get the money.
Although the place of Buddhism does not talk about money and sex, this Buddhist temple is not just a place for people to visit and worship Buddha. The temple has long been worshiped by common people, nobles, and high-ranking families. It is also exempt from taxes. Rich households are also willing to spend their money.
Entrusting it to a temple for safekeeping is considered a pawn, and there is also a business of lending money, and these loans must be repaid twice. Forget it in Xizhou, if it is in the capital, there is always a court like Lingbao Temple
Where rewards are given, I'm afraid hundreds of thousands of coins can be obtained.
Then again, although Jueming is a monk, he is not willing to pay because he has great kindness. He also has requirements.
The incident of monks stealing money from Qianfo Temple has been spread. In addition, Lu Changshi led people to seal off Qianfo Temple. No one is allowed to worship Buddha, and monks are not allowed to come out. As the presiding master, Jueming is worried that things will get worse if this continues.
, Qianfo Temple has a bad reputation. He may know something, but he only said that no matter whether it was later found to be committed by monks of the temple, because it happened in Qianfo Temple, it caused rumors, so he hoped that Lu Changshi could be unblocked and get together with Qianfo Temple.
The Buddhist temple claimed that the matter was just a misunderstanding and that the monks had not embezzled money, so there was no need to investigate the case further.
Xue Shao glanced at Qingrong and said, "I know you are worried. I thought if this can be done, it will be a turning point and can solve the current difficulty."
Qingrong felt relieved when he saw that his expression was the same, and he couldn't help but said: "Yes, if we have these 30,000 yuan, let alone the current predicament, it will be barely enough even for next spring. This tax will be enough
There is no need to rush things, and if you have more time, you can find other ways."
Qingrong shook his head and smiled, "I was originally worried that you wouldn't be able to figure it out for a while, so I wanted to give you a few words of advice. Now it seems that I was overly worried."
Xue Shao just looked out the window, listening to the whistling wind outside, shook his head and said: "It's getting cold, and it's not as good as the capital here. I don't want those brothers to have enough food and clothing, but I have to wait until the spring of next year.
Wait until the situation improves."
Qingrong was speechless for a moment. She walked to him silently, held his hand, and said comfortingly: "You are determined. It will come naturally. Isn't there a turning point now?"
Xue Shao held her hand tightly, hugged her in his arms, and hummed. He said, "It's just that we don't know the truth now, and we don't know whether the Master has been wronged. It's really helpless."
Although this matter is beneficial to the overall situation, it will inevitably sacrifice the reputation of a possibly innocent person. Qingrong does not want to see this, but it is not good at both ends...
Qingrong said: "We don't know what the truth is. But if the Master is wronged, he may not care much about this false reputation when he has the opportunity to learn the whole story. Besides, since Master Jueming values the reputation of the temple, he will also care about it in the future.
It's not a bad thing to correct the atmosphere. Besides, it's just this time. Think about it, if a person does good things in his life but accidentally does something wrong, then forgiving him once will make the future come true.
So what if the merit is worth the demerit? But if this person refuses to change despite repeated admonitions and commits many evil deeds, how can he remain undisguised and have no flaws to find? Everything does not have to be entangled with one thing at a time. This may not only lead to nothing, but
You will lose a lot for a small amount of money.”
Xue Shao hugged Qingrong tightly and sighed softly, "You know my thoughts best."
Qingrong shook his head and smiled, with a soft expression: "I just know what you are most worried about. By the way, what about Lu Changshi?"
"I'll go tell you."
Qingrong nodded and said: "We have just come here, and thanks to the care of Chang Shi and Mrs. Cui, why not invite them and his wife to have a meal at home tomorrow to express our gratitude." There should be nothing wrong with this...
Xue Shao thought this was a good idea and it would be more appropriate to invite Lu Kaiyan to his home for a talk, so he nodded in agreement.