Zhao Si just finished eating the third plate of cakes and burped happily. Liu Duanyou, the warden of Qingshou Palace, walked into the left side hall, bowed to the clan members, and then shouted loudly.
Everyone stood up, one by one according to seniority and age.
I saw only a room full of purple robes and red robes, and hard-winged futou heads.
After a while, Queen Mother Xiang walked in wearing a phoenix crown and a long-sleeved dress, her hands clasped in front of her body.
"I have met the Empress Dowager and wish her a long life!"
Everyone congratulated in unison.
Xiang Queen Mother looked happy, stretched out her right hand, and raised it slightly.
"You can sit down without any courtesy."
With Shang Gong's support, she sat down at the top and glanced at the people in the hall.
There are young and old, and you can see the similarities in their facial features. They are all descendants of the clan, and they are all uncles and brothers.
The clan's descendants are prosperous, but unfortunately none of them are born to me.
A cloud of gloom flashed through the Queen Mother's heart.
She said with a smile: "Today, I have disturbed so many brothers for my sake. Just now in the right hall, I have received birthday congratulations from the princesses, princesses and ladies. Seeing that you are in good health and prosperous, I am also happy
I’m very pleased.”
After saying a few polite words, it was time for the younger generation to offer birthday gifts.
As the eldest brother of the official family, Zhao Bai, supported by his chamberlain, came to the middle of the side hall and said respectfully: "I heard that the empress paid homage to Buddhism, so I specially found a piece of mutton-fat white jade and asked a famous Shandong craftsman to make it.
I carved a statue of Guanyin as a tribute to the empress."
Two chamberlains came forward carrying a jade statue.
This statue is as tall as a one-year-old child. Avalokitesvara in white, with a compassionate face, holds a green willow vase in his left hand, and pinches a flower in his right hand to preach.
The clothes and belts are fluttering and lifelike.
Everyone let out low exclamations.
Just such a large piece of pure and flawless mutton-fat white jade is already worth a lot of money. It also hired world-famous skilled craftsmen to carve such a vivid statue of Guanyin, which is simply priceless.
He smiled at the Queen Mother and nodded with his chin in his mouth.
"Brother Ninth is very filial, and I appreciate it."
Zhao Bai bowed his head and slowly stepped back. There was happiness on his face, but also a little bit of disappointment.
Zhao Ji held his head high and waved his two big sleeves, as if riding the breeze, and stepped forward to bow.
"I originally wanted to make a Buddhist painting for my empress as a birthday gift. But I regretted that my cultivation level was too low and my wisdom was too shallow, so I didn't dare to write. So I found Wu Daozi's "Four Bodhisattvas" as a birthday gift."
His voice is very pleasant, and his words have a certain charm.
Like the playing of the harp in the morning and the ringing of the bell at night.
As soon as Zhao Ji finished speaking, the waiter slowly opened the scroll, revealing four Bodhisattvas with profound magical powers: Manjusri, Guanyin, Samantabhadra, and Ksitigarbha.
Everyone couldn't help but let out bursts of exclamation, like the sound of a flock of birds being frightened away.
The handwriting is upright and the paintings are dense and detailed. It is true that the six methods are complete, all phenomena must be completed, and the gods and men have fake hands to create the best.
What a priceless treasure.
Queen Mother Xiang's face lit up, and she waved her hand and said, "Send it up."
She came close to the scroll, looked at it carefully for a while, clasped her hands together, recited the names of the four Bodhisattvas devoutly, and then ordered: "Please go to the back hall."
He said to Zhao Ji with a face full of joy: "Brother Eleven, you are determined."
"My Majesty, I am so grateful. Being able to show your filial piety to your Majesty is something I can only wish for."
After saying that, Zhao Ji looked around triumphantly, like a peacock with its wings spread, and walked back to his seat.
Everyone turned their attention to Zhao Yu and Zhao Si.
Zhao Yu walked forward with a slight stoop and said loudly: "I am at Kongxiang Temple in Shaanzhou, and I sincerely beg for a pair of rosary beads."
A chamberlain came forward with a brocade plate on which was placed a circle of rosary beads, each one the size of a thumb, irregularly round, and dark and shiny.
"It is said that this was the possession of Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism. Before he traveled eastward to China, he picked nine Rudraksha Bodhi seeds from the Bodhi tree where the Buddha sat for enlightenment and strung them into rosary beads. Not only did they contain the wisdom of the Buddha, but they also carried
The spirituality of Patriarch Bodhidharma.”
The whole hall was filled with exclamations of surprise, and Empress Xiang couldn't help but be moved, and quickly called Shanggong to take her over.
Carefully, he stretched out his hand to touch it and chanted the Buddha's name repeatedly.
Seeing the arrogant Zhao Yu who boasted of winning the jackpot, Zhao Si could not help but sneer in his heart.
Do you want the rosary beads used by Bodhidharma? I have a dozen bamboo chips used by the Buddha. Do you want them?
Even if it is the treasure treasured in Kongxiang Temple, you did not ask for it, you must have obtained it by clever means.
If you don't pay for every restaurant, how can you pay for something so valuable?
Zhao Si calmed down, walked forward, and said with great energy: "The birthday gift I presented to the empress was obtained by accident. It is considered a chance."
A chamberlain came forward, holding a thin book on a brocade plate held in his hands.
The light yellow thin paper looks like ordinary bamboo paper at first glance. There is a line of black characters written on it. The font is neither elegant nor round.
This book contains one word, inside and out, from top to bottom: ordinary.
"Brother Thirteen, where did you find this opportunity?" Zhao Si asked with a smile.
"Xianglan." Zhao Si replied lightly.
Zhao Si was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but burst out laughing. It was like throwing a torch into a haystack, and the laughter of the others rang out.
The entire left hall of Qingshou was filled with cheerful laughter.
Xianglan, which is in front of Xiangguo Temple, is the largest and most famous market in Kaifeng City. You can find everything there.
There are everything from children's toys to Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface". However, the former is handmade by people outside the city, while the latter is copied by a bookstore in the city.
Empress Xiang had a solemn expression on her face and waved to the chamberlain to present it to her. She flipped through a few pages and her expression became more solemn. She held up the thin book slightly with trembling hands, as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
Seeing Xiang Niang's strange behavior, everyone's laughter became faint and fluttering, and quietly disappeared in unison.
"Brother Thirteen, did you find this from Xianglan?"
"Returning to the empress, I was bored that day and went shopping for goods in Xianglanzhiku. I happened to meet a scribe who took this book to pledge. I heard it and said that it was Master Liaoyin, a famous monk in Hedong.
Refers to the "Breaking Vajra Prajnaparamita Sutra" written in blood as ink."
Until this point, Zhao seemed to still have a very casual tone, as if it was really a small thing that happened accidentally.
"Sixty-five guan is not expensive. But I have also heard of the fame of the Diamond Sutra. Because of the master's fame, I have also heard of it, so I paid for it. Please read it after you go home.
I have read it several times. It’s just that I really don’t have much wisdom in Buddhism, so I can’t come up with any sudden enlightenment.”
"It happened that my queen's birthday was approaching, and I was going around making birthday gifts. My wife suggested that such a Buddha treasure should be presented to me by someone who is destined to do so. Since I am not a predestined person, why not offer it to my queen. So I borrowed flowers to offer to the Buddha."
Zhao's voice was like the sound of a chime bell, echoing in the palace.
Empress Xiang listened quietly, and everyone also listened quietly.
"Brother Thirteen, you have read through this Diamond Sutra and found some sentences with profound insights."
Empress Xiang stroked the Diamond Sutra and asked slowly.
"Replying to the Queen, I have read the 5,000-word Diamond Sutra over and over again five times. I only remember that 'all conditioned phenomena are like bubbles in dreams, like dew or lightning, and should be viewed in this way.' and 'should have no abode.'
These two sentences give birth to his heart."
As soon as Zhao Si finished his words, Zhao Si burst out laughing next to him. There were also slight laughters all around, and the cheerful laughter just now seemed to be reappearing.
But Xiang Niang's words brought the laughter to an abrupt end.
"If you remember these two sentences, you will not have read the Diamond Sutra in vain. From this point of view, Thirteenth Brother is as wise as a fool and has a lot of understanding. He has done his job as a meritorious envoy."
Xiang Empress's words made the left hall of Qingshou feel so quiet that it seemed like there was no one there. The voices of the women's family members in the right hall were clear and elegant, coming faintly, as if they were coming from another world.
After the birthday banquet, Empress Xiang returned to the harem of Qingshou Palace. Four objects were placed on the table in the main hall.
The mutton-fat jade statue of Guanyin, Wu Daozi's "Four Bodhisattvas", Bodhidharma's rosary beads, and Master Liaoyin's "Diamond Sutra" are the four most precious birthday gifts sent by everyone.
Xiang Empress pointed to the mutton-fat jade statue of Guanyin, and said to the palace minister beside her, "This object is too luxurious and does not conform to the purity of Buddhist practice. I will send it to the palace treasury tomorrow."
"yes!"
"This rosary will be sent back to Kongxiang Temple tomorrow, and five hundred guan of sesame oil will be added to it." Xiang empress explained again.
There were only two birthday gifts left on the table, the "Four Bodhisattva Statues" and the "Diamond Sutra". Empress Xiang stood in front of them, her eyes turning over them, hesitating. This chapter has been completed!