Aoyama

Chapter 206 Sincerity leads to spiritual success
In Mingquan Garden, dark clouds lay quietly on the window lattice, their eyes following Xiaoman's figure as it came and went.

Xiaoman was wiping the table while humming a ballad from the streets of Ning Dynasty: "Being angry at his family's wealth, being happy at others' misfortunes, some of it is beyond one's control, it's a pity that one's heart is broken. People's words may not be true, so only listen to half of what they say. Don't make enemies with villains, villains have their own enemies..."

There was no end to the long song, Xiaoman was like a little bee, flying around the house, wiping even the corners clean.

Seeing that he could no longer see anything new, Wuyun slowly closed his eyes and went to sleep. A day is twelve hours long, and a cat has to sleep for eight hours. A day passes by in a blink of an eye.

Xiaoman turned around and saw Wuyun with his eyes closed, so she approached stealthily, wanting to take him down from the window frame. But before she could get close, Wuyun opened his eyes and looked at her coldly, and Xiaoman put her hands behind her back, humming a song, and walked away as if nothing had happened.

"Master, this raccoon is so weird. Why does he keep staring at me, as if he's guarding against a thief..."

Just as he was muttering, a voice came from outside the door: "Xiaoman Xiaoman, open the door!"

Xiaoman's eyes lit up: "Sister Liqiu."

She trotted over to open the door, and Li Qiu outside the door pulled her into the house mysteriously.

When they entered the house, Xiaoman hesitated: "Sister Liqiu, why are you so mysterious?"

Li Qiu whispered, "There is a good thing that has fallen from the sky. It depends on whether you want to take it or not."

Xiaoman curled her lips: "How can a pie in the sky hit me? I don't have such a good life."

After that, she turned around to wipe the table, but Li Qiu grabbed her arm and pulled her back: "Why don't you listen to what the good news is first?"

Xiaoman said lazily: "What's the matter?"

Li Qiu lowered his voice and said, "Someone will pay you two taels of silver every month. You just need to tell me when your son goes out and when he comes home. If I can find out what your son likes and who he associates with, I can give you another three taels."

Xiaoman's eyes widened: "Five taels of silver per month!?"

Li Qiu's eyes were filled with joy: "How about this? I can get money for doing such a small thing. When I get enough money for two years, I can get married and never worry about anything in my life."

Xiaoman's fingers clenched the rag tightly: "No, no, Sister Liqiu, you know that although my son is a coward, he treats me very well. I can't treat him like this."

Li Qiu was anxious: "What's good about that? Have you forgotten how hard you've worked in the past two years emptying chamber pots and cleaning toilets? None of those bosses really treat us as human beings, and you're still loyal to them? How cheap of you!"

Xiaoman looked hesitant.

Li Qiu saw that there was a chance, so he said quickly, "Didn't you want to go to the East Market to buy some rouge cream before, but you couldn't bear to spend it? Now you can use the money to buy not only rouge cream, but also the best stone ink to draw eyebrows, and the best bath beans to wash your face. You will smell delicious after washing."

Xiaoman whispered, "That won't work either. I can't harm my son."

Li Qiu was so disappointed: "Little hoof, why are you pretending to be nice to me? How can I not know who you are? Tell me, how much do you want?"

Xiaoman threw the coins to the ground and said, "Ten taels."

Li Qiu grabbed her wrist and high-fived her: "It's a deal!"

After saying that, she took out her purse and pulled out ten silver peanuts.

Xiaoman held her hands, her eyes illuminated by the silver peanuts: "So much... Sister Liqiu, the employer gave more than ten taels, how much did you originally plan to take from this?"

Li Qiu was a little embarrassed: "I can't make this trip for nothing, right? I've taken care of you for two years, so at least I can rely on you to earn some dowry for my old age. Besides, with this, I can go back to the capital with the Chen family. Luocheng is so dull, it's not as interesting as the capital."

Xiaoman rolled her eyes and asked, "Who is the employer?"

Li Qiu was alert: "Do you know the rules? Can I tell you? Just do your job well."

Xiaoman nodded, "Okay, Sister Liqiu. From now on, I will tell you in secret when the young master goes out, when he comes home, what he likes, and who he associates with."

"My love for you was not in vain. Now I'm leaving!" Li Qiu smiled happily and left with a gust of fragrant wind.

Xiaoman poked her head out to make sure she had gone far away, then hurriedly lowered her head to count the silver peanuts in her palm over and over again, fearing that she had counted wrong.

She glanced at the dark clouds on the window frame, smiled with two little fangs showing, and carefully put all the silver peanuts into her arms.

……

……

"As a son, you should be warm in winter and cool in summer, be at peace at dusk and examine yourself in the morning."

The so-called morning and evening visits require children to greet their parents in the morning, help them go to bed at night, bring them water for washing their parents' feet and make their beds.

Outside the Buddhist temple, Chen Ji and Chen Wenzong stood respectfully and bowed: "Chen Ji greets Madam."

"Wen Zong pays respects to his mother."

Liang sat cross-legged in the Buddhist hall and said in a gentle voice without turning her head: "Chen Ji has really grown up in the past two years in the clinic. You used to be so slow to come and ask about my well-being, but now that you just returned home, you came here on your own initiative."

Chen Ji smiled slightly: "It's been two years, I must be more sensible than before."

Liang stood up from the mat and said apologetically, "It was because I neglected to discipline the servants that Wang Gui made such a fool of himself. I am sorry for wronging you, child."

Chen Ji calmly bowed his hands and said, "Madam, don't blame yourself. There are villains and gentlemen everywhere. You worry about so many things every day, so it's understandable that some people take advantage of you."

Liang said with emotion: "I hope you can understand. I felt guilty last night and couldn't sleep all night. I read the Sutra of the Original Vow of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva several times before I felt relieved. Buddhism is really a great wisdom that can help us return to our original bright and peaceful mind."

Chen Ji was a little confused. If you feel guilty, just apologize to me. Why are you suddenly talking about Buddhism?

Liang said, "Come, Wen Zong, Chen Ji, you don't have to study today. Read Buddhist scriptures with me. It will be good for you." Chen Wen Zong replied respectfully, "Yes, I will follow my mother's arrangement."

Chen Ji's heart was moved. Liang Shi was punished to repent in the Buddhist temple, and she was unwilling to do so. You know, the mistress of the house was punished to repent in the Buddhist temple, which was a complete loss of face. If she could not regain her face in the future, her dignity in front of the servants would also be lost.

Now the other party has found an impeccable reason to keep himself in the Buddhist temple.

But Chen Wenzong had already agreed, and there was no way he could refuse.

Chen Ji agreed and sat cross-legged on the cushion with Chen Wenzong.

Chen Wenzong asked, "Mother, what book are you reading today?"

Liang said softly, "Just read the Sutra of the Original Vow of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva that I read last night. Recite it in a low voice. If you are sincere, it will work."

Chen Wenzong nodded: "Okay."

Chen Ji thought to himself that something was wrong.

To read through the Sutra of the Past Vows of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, a person who is familiar with it may need half an hour, while a person who is not familiar with it may need an hour.

It seemed that he was bound to suffer this loss.

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Early in the morning, the three of them sat side by side on the futons and began to read. Chen Wenzong finished first. After finishing reading, he sat there calmly to rest and wait for Chen Ji.

It was the first time for Chen Ji to read this scripture. He spent a full hour stumbling over it and his mouth was dry.

Just as he was about to get up and say goodbye to Liang, he saw Liang get up and pour a cup of tea for the two of them: "Come and have some tea to quench your thirst. We will read the Great Prajna Sutra later."

Chen Ji's eyes flickered slightly. Although he had never read the Great Prajna Sutra, he knew that it was one of the longest sutras in the world. The Sutra of the Original Vow of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva only had 17,000 words, but the Great Prajna Sutra had 600 volumes, totaling 4.8 million words.

Liang was determined to keep him in the Buddhist temple to vent her anger.

Chen Wenzong picked up the teacup and took a few sips: "Thank you, mother, for the tea."

After saying this, he returned to the cushion and took out a volume of the Great Prajna Sutra.

Seeing this, Chen Ji drank the tea in one gulp, then sat down and picked up a scroll.

This time, the three of them read from morning till noon. Chen Ji read so hard that his mouth was dry and he felt dizzy.

Liang pursed her lips with her sleeves and said, "Well, today you two have shown your filial piety. Go back and come back tomorrow."

Chen Wenzong was about to stand up, but Chen Ji held him back: "Wait a minute, brother."

Chen Wenzong asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Chen Ji sat cross-legged on the futon and said sincerely: "Brother, I may have felt bored because I did not understand the great wisdom in the scriptures in the past. Today, I read through two volumes of Buddhist scriptures, and I always feel as if I have understood something. I feel very refreshed. Why don't we stay today and accompany Madam to read a few more volumes."

Chen Wenzong's eyes sparkled: "Are you serious?"

Chen Ji said seriously: "Really."

Liang smiled and stopped them, "No, no, you two have read a lot today. You should know that when it comes to dealing with people, haste makes waste. You must not be greedy and rush into things."

Chen Wenzong shook his head and said, "Mother, this is not a case of being too greedy or reckless. My third brother couldn't understand the scriptures in the past and said that he felt like he was reading a book from heaven, which worried father. Now that he can find pleasure in reading, how can we not help him? We should strike while the iron is hot!"

After saying that, Chen Wenzong sat down again and picked up a volume of the Great Prajna Sutra to read. Chen Ji also picked up a volume and read it seriously, muttering to himself.

After a while, Chen Ji saw that Liang had not moved, so he stopped reciting the sutra and asked curiously, "Madam, are you not going to read anymore?"

Chen Wenzong also stopped and said, "Mother, how about I pick one for you?"

Liang took the scripture handed to her by Chen Wenzong with a smile and said, "Okay, then mother will accompany you to read it for a while."

Chen Ji suddenly said: "Sincerity is the key to success."

Liang opened her mouth slightly, and after a long while she remained silent, lowering her head to read the Great Prajna Sutra. She was used to taking a nap, but today she couldn't sleep.

The three of them read from noon to evening. Chen Ji finished reading one volume and then switched to the next. Chen Wenzong remained calm and steady. In the time it took Chen Ji to read three volumes, he had already read six volumes.

Whenever Chen Ji didn't understand something, he could answer them one by one.

Chen Ji thought to himself that this brother's knowledge was indeed worthy of being the top scholar in Yuzhou and the title of Jie Yuan Lang.

By the evening, Liang's voice was no longer gentle. She said calmly, "How about we stop reading here today?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "Madam, now is the time to strike while the iron is hot. I am thirsty for knowledge and want to read a few more volumes."

Liang was silent for a moment: "Okay."

In the Buddhist hall, maids and nannies lit more than ten candles, illuminating the gilded Buddha statue with golden splendor.

Under the solemnity of the Buddha statue, Chen Ji and Liang were clearly reading Buddhist scriptures, but their expressions became more and more ferocious as they read. Only Chen Wenzong was enjoying it and was tireless.

At midnight, Chen Ji slowly closed the Great Prajna Sutra in his hand. Liang immediately asked, "Are you tired of reading, Chen Ji?"

Chen Ji took a deep breath and changed another scroll in his hand: "Madam, sincerity will bring you success."

(End of this chapter)