Amidst the exciting sound of bells, Hua Jincheng followed the little nun into the temple.
Along the way, the little nun looked at Hua Jincheng curiously.
The nobles in the temple devoted themselves to Buddhism and lived in seclusion. Even the nuns were rare. After her introduction, they were willing to meet this strange man.
When you walk into the palace gate, behind the curtains, there is a statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva who saves people from suffering.
A thin figure knelt just where the Bodhisattva's lowered eyebrows could be seen.
The sound of calm chanting came from inside the curtain, and the sound of hitting wooden fish was slow and regular.
The little nun wanted to remind him that the guests were coming, but Hua Jincheng raised his hand to stop him.
Hua Jincheng lowered his head and listened quietly to the end of this passage.
The people inside seemed to be still immersed in the world of Buddhism.
After a few breaths of silence, the man finally said: "Kong Jing, you go out first."
The little nun chanted the Dharma name Kongjing, lowered her head after hearing this and walked out.
The palace door opened and closed, and there were only two people left in the empty palace.
Hua Jincheng performed the courtesy of a palace eunuch and said, "Slave Hua Jincheng, I would like to pay my respects to the Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother calmly said: "In front of the Bodhisattva, there is no Queen Mother, only Master Wuyuan."
When the fifth prince was born and Queen Xiaomin passed away, the Holy Emperor was deeply saddened and "invited" the Queen Mother to go to Mount Wutai to practice meditation and gave her the title of "Wu Yuan".
Hua Jincheng said: "In the eyes of this slave, there is no Master Wu Yuan, only the Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother said: "You must not be rude in front of the Bodhisattva."
Hua Jincheng opened the curtains one by one, walked to the Queen Mother, and said in an unclear tone: "I haven't seen you in sixteen years, and the Queen Mother is still as charming as she was then."
To say that his style remains the same as before would be an absolute lie.
Time is the cruelest thing. It can turn a little girl who is looking forward to the blooming magnolia flowers into an old woman with a withered heart.
But there are no Jiazi in the mountains, and it’s so cold that I don’t know the year.
The ancient Buddha with green lanterns and the simple life made her look more charming than the ordinary old woman.
At this time, she was dressed in plain clothes, and her black and white hair was held up by a patternless ebony hairpin.
It seems that he has completely become a calm monk.
The Queen Mother, who was kneeling on the futon, raised her head and glanced at Hua Jincheng.
Hua Jincheng took off the fake beard on his face and threw it into the incense burner, causing a puff of ashes to rise.
Hua Jincheng said: "Thinking about having a man's addiction is just deceiving yourself after all."
The Queen Mother looked away and said: "You haven't changed much, you still look hateful."
Hua Jincheng touched his face and said, "Sometimes, I don't blame the Queen Mother for being disgusted. Sometimes, when I see my face in the mirror, I also find it disgusting."
The Queen Mother said: "What is hateful is not the face, but the heart."
Hua Jincheng smiled, knelt on the ground, raised his arms, and said: "It is not convenient to speak in front of the Bodhisattva, so I will take you out."
The Queen Mother looked at his servant appearance and felt even more disgusted in her heart. She said, "Others treat you as a slave. Do you think you are a slave too?"
The smile on Hua Jincheng's face did not change, and he said: "The most valuable thing about a person is that he has self-awareness. A slave is a slave, but he is not a slave of the palace, but a slave of you alone."
"The Queen Mother, this servant is here to take you back to the palace."
The Queen Mother looked at his deeply curved back and said, "In the past sixteen years, I have long forgotten all the rules in the palace."
Hua Jincheng said: "I will help you remember it slowly."
The Queen Mother then put her hand on Hua Jincheng's arm, and as Hua Jincheng stood up, she walked out of the palace.
Probably because the Queen Mother had given instructions in advance, all the nuns in the temple went to the back mountain today, and everything was deserted.
Only a little nun was left to watch the gate.
Kongjing was an abandoned baby in front of the Buddhist gate. He grew up in the temple and never left the mountain until he was fourteen years old.
She was full of curiosity about everything under the mountain.
Kongjing saw Hua Jincheng half-hunched over, supporting the noble man from the temple as he walked out, and quickly put down the broom and went to greet him.
Her eyes were full of innocence that was not stained by the world, and she said to Hua Jincheng: "Amitabha, donor, where did your beard go?"
Hua Jincheng said: "The beard is gone."
Kongjing was obviously more familiar with the Queen Mother and said, "Master Wuyuan, who is he?"
Hua Jincheng said: "Little Master, you should call her the Queen Mother."
Kongjing said: "We are all called Master Wuyuan."
Hua Jincheng said: "From now on, you shouldn't call me that."
The Queen Mother seemed a little dissatisfied with Hua Jincheng speaking to such a pure little nun, and said: "Kongjing, you go to the back mountain to find your senior sisters."
Kong Jing walked away with three turns.
Hua Jincheng looked back at Kongjing and said, "This little nun is quite interesting. Won't the empress take her away?"
The Queen Mother said: "She is a Buddhist, so let her stay in Buddhism."
Hua Jincheng helped her go out and saw the magnolia flower in the temple: "Do you still like magnolia flowers?"
The Queen Mother could only see the road under her feet, without looking at the magnolia flowers, and said: "You came too late, thank you."
Hua Jincheng said: "It will bloom again next year."
The Queen Mother hasn't said anything yet.
Hua Jincheng thought to himself: "But next year you don't have to look at this ghost place. There are all kinds of flowers in the palace, and the magnolias are more gorgeous than those here."
Along the way, Hua Jincheng talked a lot and the Queen Mother answered little.
After walking out of the temple gate, Hua Jincheng wiped the stone pillars beside the door with his sleeves and said, "Wait a moment."
The Queen Mother did not sit down, but stood in the middle of the temple door like a statue.
Soon, the glorious temple was ablaze.
Golden yellow and fiery red are intertwined, backed by lush mountain forests.
It adds a touch of color to the boring days in the mountains.
Gradually, all the bright colors disappeared.
Only thick smoke billowed into the sky.
The nuns in the back mountain screamed when they saw this scene.
Kongjing shouted: "Master Wuyuan is still inside!"
The nuns put down their work one after another, took the buckets and ran to the temple.
The farmers at the foot of the mountain gathered together after seeing it.
"Why did everything get so good that it caught fire?"
"The Queen Mother once gave us porridge during the famine years, so why not go up and help us?"
"Walk!"
When the guards at the foot of the mountain discovered it, they quickly ran up to put out the fire.
Monks and nuns from other mountains also came to help.
The temple was in chaos for a while.
The fire grew bigger and bigger, and more and more people came.
Amidst the noise, the Queen Mother let out a sigh.
"Amitabha, sin, sin, sin."
The moment the fire burned the temple to ashes, Master Wuyuan became the Queen Mother again.
Not long after Mrs. Jiang passed away, news came from Mount Wutai.
Mount Wutai, where the Empress Dowager was repairing, encountered a mountain fire, and the Empress Dowager almost died.
When people in Kyoto heard the news, they suddenly realized that there was a queen mother in the royal family.
Sixteen years after leaving Beijing, the fifth prince is about to get married, so it's time to come back.
The local magistrate was frightened and afraid to submit a letter.
The temple built by the Queen Mother was burned to ashes by a mountain fire. I asked the Holy One to give instructions on the Queen Mother's whereabouts.
Should I choose another temple or take me back to Kyoto?