The Zen incense was burning quietly, and Abbot Jingyuan, who was nearly forty years old, had a gentle smile on his face, quite like an enlightened monk.
Li Tai laboriously sat cross-legged on the futon and did not speak, just enjoying the comfort of this moment. He knew that what he said later would make the old monk panic and beg for mercy, and he would let him have whatever he wanted.
So this moment of comfort is more like the prelude to a contented cat-and-mouse game.
"The fourth prince is in a Zen-like state at the moment! Why not let Lao Na teach the fourth prince some Buddhist principles, so that you can gain more insights." Jingyuan said with a smile.
Li Tai's eyes made him feel very uncomfortable, so he broke the silence first.[
"I have some insights now, is Abbot Jingyuan interested in hearing it?" Li Tai said to him with a half-smile.
"That's very good. Please come and have a listen, Your Majesty." Jingyuan gave Li Tai a cup of fragrant tea.
"My sentiments! That is... Since you are an outsider, you should escape from the mortal world. You are as beautiful as a knife. How can a person who is outside the mortal world raise a foreigner in the mortal world? It is really a sin, a sin..."
Li Tai sighed in a pretentious manner. He also imitated the monk's example of placing his left hand on his chest in a Buddhist posture.
Jing Yuan froze after hearing this, her eyes widened, and she stared at Li Tai closely. She wanted to know if what he said was the same as what she understood.
Li Tai raised his eyebrows, finally showing a teasing expression, and then stopped sitting cross-legged. That was really abusing his legs. He got off the ground, walked to the center of the Zen room, and looked at the altar table.
Portrait of Buddha.
When Jingyuan saw Li Tai's performance, he knew that something he had hidden for a long time had finally been discovered. Although he had expected this day, he did not expect that he would be discovered by the prince.
His heart was in chaos! Although he had been a foreigner for more than 20 years, he still couldn't let go of his wife and children. Jingyuan closed his eyes and recited the Great Compassion Mantra silently in his heart to calm his emotions.
"Okay, I don't want to beat around the bush with you, so let's just say it straight. Now the imperial court is going to establish an institution called the 'Buddha's Willing Hall', and all the temples in the Tang Dynasty will have to exchange 60% of the incense money with the 'Buddha's Willing Hall'.
This money is not used by the court, it is only used to help the people. In fact, isn't this what you call doing good deeds and cultivating the next life? And you will also have a position in the 'Buddha's Wishes Hall', that is, the supervisor. The court will
Select three monks as supervisors. You can nominate them. Basically, the court will respect your opinions. The whereabouts of all the money in the Buddha's Wishing Hall is under your supervision, but it is just supervision. In fact, this matter...whether you want it or not
If you are willing, the court will carry it out. Now I just want you to take the lead. Isn't it difficult?" Li Tai said, turning around and looking at Jingyuan with his eyes closed.
Jingyuan just frowned slightly. His lips were moving slightly. It seemed that he was still reciting the scriptures and did not say anything to Li Tai.
"Of course, if you don't want to, I won't force you. I just hope that you can practice Buddhism devoutly and truly escape from the secular world. The four great things are all empty!" Li Tai said in a gloomy way. He believed that Jingyuan would definitely understand.
own meaning.
After saying that, Li Tai smiled and was about to go out.
"Your Majesty, please stay." Jingyuan sighed softly, called to Li Tai, then turned around and gave a salute.
Li Tai looked at the ring scar in front of him and felt very proud.
Lower your head! Just keep your head down. Otherwise, I will really go on a killing spree.
Kill the chicken to respect the monkey! He had just thought that if the monk refused to compromise, then he could kill him like the chicken, and it would shock those 'outsiders' who didn't take him seriously.
"What the prince said is a good thing for the country and the people, and Lao Na should support it. Those people in the mortal world are living a miserable life, and their safety is not guaranteed. It is really pitiful." Jingyuan laughed along with him, but
He also secretly signaled to Li Tai to give him reassurance.
"Isn't that right? It's really hard for people in this mortal world, but as long as Abbot Jingyuan lends a helping hand, they can still live a good life. Our Tang Dynasty has the best public security in the capital." Li Tai was in a happy mood.
He wanted to give him a guarantee. Anyway, it would be difficult to kill someone in the capital without alarming his father. It was better not to do such a thing unless absolutely necessary.
"In this case, Lao Na will help the prince contact the abbots of several temples and inform them of the court's good intentions. However... in those big temples, such as the White Horse Temple, Lao Na's influence is too small to help the prince.
Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Jingyuan offered to help because his braid was currently in Li Tai's hands. He understands how these noble people do things. As long as you are obedient and cooperate well, nothing will happen.
.
"Well, I have received your sincerity. Monk Jingyi of White Horse Temple, I will find another way. You can convince as many as you can. Of course, if you can't convince people, provide some 'information' to me.
, I will be very 'grateful'." Although the mention of Jingyi made Li Tai's face twitch, Jingyuan's initiative to help also made him feel happy. [
Even if this is an initial success, it is indeed easier to destroy anything from the inside!
"Then, I will send you off to the prince." Jingyuan sent Li Tai to the door of the temple before watching him get on the carriage and leave.
"Alas! It's time to pay the price." Jingyuan said softly, in a voice that only he could hear.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, it's almost a success." Wu Liu congratulated Li Tai.
"Hahaha... of course, I will take action, who dares to dissent!" Li Tai was so happy that he couldn't even find his eyes with laughter, the fat on his face trembled, and the pride spread out of the carriage.
The closer Lin Yi's team got to the capital, the more depressing the atmosphere became.
One was Su Yan'er and the other was Li Zhi. These two had dark faces all day long, which made the soldiers dare not speak loudly for fear of being scolded.
Xiao Wu became chatty. Even if she went to hang out with these two people, they would always talk about what to do after returning to Beijing. Xiao Wu's ears were scratched, so she bothered Lin every day.
as well as.
As a result, Lin Yi couldn't stand it anymore, so he issued an order to speed up and try to get back to the capital within two days.
Li Zhi is so sad!
When the carriage arrived at the gate of the capital, he was directly taken back to the palace by the people sent by the emperor.
Of course, Lin Yi couldn't run away and was taken into the palace along with Li Zhi.
In the Manlu Palace, Li Shimin and Empress Changsun sat majestically at the top. Li Zhi knelt below, preparing to face the trial of his father and mother. Next to them stood two older brothers who were watching the fun... Li Tai and Li Ke.
Li Ke just shook his head in his heart. He felt that his younger brother was too bold and a little crazy to run out privately. The most important thing is that he is only five years old! How can he do this when he grows up?
Li Tai, on the other hand, just watched the fun. Li Zhi was too young and posed no threat to him, but he didn't like this younger brother either. He rarely interacted with him, so his father taught him a lesson. In fact, Li Tai had no feelings for him.
Lin Yi was not next to them. He was leaning against a pillar, looking at Li Zhi's expression which was very similar to that of Li Chengqian when he was a child. Every time Li Chengqian got into trouble, he always had a scared but pitiful expression.
.
Li Zhi knelt on the ground, terrified to death. Looking at his father's face, his punishment this time would definitely not be light.
Queen Changsun was very confused in her heart. Let’s not punish him. This child has really gone too far. If he didn’t get a lesson this time, he might do something in the future. But should he be punished? That poor little kid
His appearance was really distressing, especially the look of help coming from him, which Queen Changsun couldn't ignore even if she wanted to.
"Humph! You may not be a big man, but you are quite courageous! When you left, didn't you think about how much your father and mother were worried about you? Do you still have me as your father in your eyes?" Li Shimin was really angry this time.
, this kid has touched the bottom line in his heart.
Li Zhi quietly raised his eyes to glance at his father's expression, then lowered his head and remained silent.
'Snapped……'
Seeing Li Zhi's cowardly look, Li Shimin became even more angry. He would rather his son talk back to him than see this expression.[
Empress Changsun's hand held Li Shimin's in time, suppressing his anger.
Li Zhi was about to cry. When had his father slapped the table with him? He must have been angry this time. It looked like his butt was going to suffer.
But if he was beaten directly, he really wasn't afraid and would just endure it. What he was most afraid of was the atmosphere. His father's angry look was scarier than anything else.
Seeing this situation, Lin Yi shrank his body behind the pillar and stood where Li Shimin couldn't see him, so as not to be called out for no reason and suffer the same fate. This kind of thing has happened too many times, Lin
I have also learned well.
Now Lin also maintains a strategy of not participating, not speaking, or even raising his head, hoping to weaken his sense of existence.
"Pheasant slave, do you know that you are wrong?" Empress Changsun asked with a stern face, but her tone was much stronger than that of Li Shimin, which at least made Li Zhi dare to reply to her.
"Mother, I know you are wrong. You should not let your father and mother worry." Li Zhi's little golden bean finally fell. Then it sputtered and became a thread.
Li Zhi didn't know whether he would run away if he had this chance next time, but he really regretted it now.
"Father, the emperor, mother, the pheasant slave is still young. He just did something wrong for fun for a while. Please ask the father, the emperor and the empress to give him a light punishment." Li Ke took a step forward to intercede for Li Zhi. Although he also thought that Li Zhi deserved to be punished, but
After all, he is still young, so a little punishment is enough, and he can be taught slowly in the future.
Li Ke stepped forward to remind Li Tai, and he also stepped forward to show the friendship between brothers: "Father, Emperor, Mother, Pheasant Slave already knows his mistake, I believe he will never dare to do it again next time, Father, Queen, Mother
Just spare him."
Li Zhi raised his tear-stained face and looked at Li Tai gratefully. In his heart, it was his fourth brother who was better and would not let his father and mother punish him.
Li Shimin's anger subsided a little. After all, he was very relieved to see the children's emotions so good, but he still had to be punished. However, it seemed that something was missing?
Lin Yi looked at the scene of brotherly love and respect, and suddenly had a bad premonition. He quietly shrank back.
The results showed that his hunch was correct.
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