I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 518 Xu Family Father and Son
In Wu County, Suzhou, the hometown of Song Yaoshi, there is a mountain called Xidongting Mountain, also known as Xishan, on the edge of Taihu Lake.

Piaomiao Peak of Xishan is the first of the 72 peaks of Taihu Lake, with an altitude of 336 meters.

Shuiyue Zen Temple is located at the foot of Piaomiao Peak.

Legend has it that during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, hundreds of huge trees floated from the vast Taihu Lake and rushed to the foot of Piaomiao Peak. The boatman took them up for inspection and saw two words engraved on each of the huge trees: "Water Moon".

The boatmen thought it was a sacred tree, so they sent all of it to the temple to build a main hall. This was so miraculous that the abbot, Yongzhao, changed the name of the temple to "Shuiyue Zen Temple".

According to Fan Chengda's "Wujunzhi" in the Song Dynasty, Shuiyue Zen Temple was built in the fourth year of Datong (538 AD) during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasties, many temples were built on the West Mountain, including three nunneries and eighteen temples. Among them was Shuiyue Temple, which was as famous as Fahua Temple and Baoshan Temple at that time and was a famous temple in Jiangnan.
According to legend, this is the birthplace of the statue of "Water Moon Guanyin", one of the 31 forms of Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Later it was named "Mingyue Zen Temple". During the Xiangfu period of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty ordered the name to be changed to "Shuiyue Zen Temple" and granted a golden plaque with imperial calligraphy. It was destroyed in war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

In the eighth year of the Xuande reign of the Ming Dynasty (1433 AD), the abbot Miaotan rebuilt the temple and it became a famous temple in Wuzhong again.

There is a separate courtyard in the backyard of Shuiyue Zen Temple, which is surrounded by mountains and water and has beautiful scenery. One of the attics has a distant view of the Taihu Lake, with waves and mist, and the water and sky are one color.

There were more than a dozen people sitting in the attic, drinking and having fun.

Cups and plates were scattered all around, and wine, fruits, and dishes were scattered all over the table.

Next door, there were musicians playing stringed instruments, and courtesans singing popular ditties from the Three Wu regions, their voices lingering and enchanting.

The most conspicuous person among the dozen people was a monk, who was wearing a silk robe and had a shiny bald head. He was holding a wine glass, swaying from side to side, and looked unruly.

He was Xu Fan, the eldest son of Xu Jie, whose Buddhist name was Deshen. He had previously been a monk at Hanshan Monastery, and now moved to Shuiyue Monastery.

"Brother Lu Qing, now that my Jiangnan scholars have suffered a severe blow, are you going to sit back and do nothing?"

A scholar nearby, under the influence of alcohol, pulled Xu Fan's sleeve and asked angrily.

Xu Fan laughed, "Please call me Master Deshen! There is no Xu Fan or Xu Luqing in this world, only Master Deshen who chants sutras and praises Buddha!"

Another scholar said bluntly: "Brother Yunyan, you come from a famous family, you are extremely talented, and you are highly regarded by the scholars in the southeast. Why do you give up on yourself?"

Xu Fan laughed, and then he lay down in the arms of someone beside him, and shouted, "Feed me some wine, feed me some wine!"

At this time, a man rushed in. It was Xu Kun, Xu Fan's second brother.

He walked in, took a quick look, and saw his brother Xu Fan, the eminent monk De Shen, lying in the arms of a man beside him, who was feeding wine into his mouth from a wine cup.

After just one glance, Xu Kun's eyes widened.

The person beside Xu Fan was also a monk, but he was only about twenty years old, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, skin as white as snow, and he was actually three times more beautiful than Xu Kun's concubine.

Seeing how intimate Xu Fan was with this man, Xu Kun became jealous.

My good brother, you, as a senior monk, are living a very comfortable life.

"Brother, I have something to discuss with you." Xu Kun walked up to Xu Fan and said.

Hearing the voice, Xu Fan turned around and saw Xu Kun, his expression changed slightly.

"Is there something important?"

"Well, it's family matters."

Xu Fan knew what was going on. He staggered to his feet and bowed, "Everyone, I will be back soon. Please don't bully my Miao Guang."

After saying that, he bent down, stretched out his hand, and wiped the face of the monk next to him.

Monk Miaoguan's face turned red, as beautiful as a peach or plum, and even more charming, which made Xu Kun's Adam's apple tremble up and down.

Xu Fan took Xu Kun around and around until they came to a remote room.

"Brother, you are so happy these days of practicing Buddhism. What kind of Buddha are you practicing? Happy Buddha?"

Xu Fan glared at Xu Kun, sat down, spread his legs, and said impatiently: "If you have something to say, just say it. What's the matter with this old man?"

Xu Kun said, "The master heard that you have been in close contact with some dubious people recently, so he asked me to come and see you."

"A person of questionable character? I am a person of questionable character, and of course the people I associate with are all of questionable character. Look, open your eyes wide and look hard, who is the one of questionable character?"

Xu Kun was speechless for a moment because of Xu Fan's words.

He knew that after his brother was forced by his father to become a monk, his personality changed drastically and he became reckless, eccentric and evil.

Well, the more you act like this, the harder it will be for you to return to the secular world, and my position as the next generation head of the Xu family will become more secure!
Xu Kun was not angry, not at all, and he felt extremely happy and relieved in his heart.

Brother, you can continue to be so dissolute, and I will be in charge of protecting the Xu family.

"Brother, the master is doing this for your own good. Now Cai Guoxi is the right councilor of Jiangsu. He is an old enemy of the Xu family and has the support of Gao Gong in the court. He will definitely take action against our Xu family.

You are alone outside, the master and I are worried about you."

Xu Fan let out a cackling laugh, "Why are you worried about me? Are you worried that I'll get into trouble and implicate you?

Don't worry, I am a monk now, I have let go of all worldly things and cut off all worldly ties. Even if I cause trouble, it will not involve you."

Xu Kun still patiently persuaded his elder brother: "Brother, you can't write a single word of the word Xu. Even if we break our bones, our tendons are still connected. Can you become a monk?

If your family hadn't provided offerings to Shuiyue Zen Temple every month, could you have lived such a happy life?
If you weren't the eldest son of Prime Minister Xu, would so many people flatter you and surround you?

Big brother, you said you wanted to become a monk, give up worldly things, and cut off the worldly affairs, but that's all empty talk. If you really cut off the worldly affairs, big brother, you should be alone with the green lamp and the ancient Buddha, the evening drum and the morning bell, and be alone with your own shadow."

Xu Fan, who was sitting on the ground, raised his head and looked at his second brother viciously. He really wanted to punch this smiling face.

But Xu Fan was right. Although he had become a monk, the Xu Mansion was still the source of his carefree life. As long as word got out that the former Prime Minister Xu Gong had severed his relationship with his eldest son, he would be dressed in coarse cloth monk's clothes tomorrow, and would live on vegetarian porridge and soup, leading a truly austere life of becoming a monk.

Xu Fan hesitated for a while, and finally said: "Go back and tell the master, I know what's going on."

Xu Kun smiled with a triumphant look.

He looked around and asked softly, "Have you dealt with the two writers?"

Xu Fan glanced at him and said, "Don't worry, I've done a lot more of this kind of thing for my family than you have, and it's absolutely clean, there's nothing you can find out about it."

Xu Fan knew that his family had gone to so much trouble to have this handled through him as a monk, just so that if anything went wrong they could throw him out and save the Xu family from wealth and prosperity.

My father and master have always been so ungrateful and disloyal.

Xu Kun nodded with satisfaction. This was also the main reason why he came to see Xu Fan. Now the three banned book cases were making a lot of noise, and the Jinyiwei were like crazy, investigating everywhere.

There is also the secret East Factory and the Commercial Investigation Department, and no one knows what they have found out.

My father also felt a little guilty. If he was caught, the emperor would definitely cut from the capital to Huating without hesitation.

Xu Kun cupped his hands and said, "Brother, good advice may be unpleasant to the ear, but it is beneficial to one's conduct. Please think more carefully in the future and do less disobedient things." "Disobedient things? If the master asks me to kill the king and rebel, should I obey him?"

Xu Kun was speechless after hearing what Xu Fan said. His amiable expression suddenly changed. "Brother, please remember that your last name is Xu. You have enjoyed the wealth and glory of the Xu family for half your life. Don't forget it."

Xu Kun left Shuiyue Zen Temple and came to another Taihu villa, Xingyue Tower.

The scenery here is superb, even better than that of Shuiyue Zen Temple.

Xu Kun hurried over to meet with a group of "like-minded" friends to discuss important matters.

"Zipei, you've come at the right time. We are planning to establish a Renaissance Society, and you should be the leader!"

Today these people reserved a courtyard in Xingyue Tower. As soon as Xu Kun walked in, everyone started talking anxiously.

"Fuxing Society?"

"Yes, to restore the saints of Confucianism and to promote the prosperity of the orthodox teachings. But now heresy is rampant and the orthodox teachings have suffered a great blow, especially the famous scholars and great Confucian scholars in Jiangnan such as Yuan Meigong, who were expelled from the court. This is a naked humiliation to us!

Now the government is full of treacherous officials. We must rise up, win the hearts of the people, boost morale, and revive the Holy Religion!"

"it is good!"

Everyone cheered loudly!

The atmosphere was so heated that Xu Kun, who always loved to be in the limelight, took the lead and generously agreed to take on the position of leader of the Fuxing Society.

He immediately showed the power of the person in charge of the Xu residence and arranged for this person to be in charge of writing, that person to be in charge of general affairs, this person to be in charge of finance, and that person to be in charge of external relations.

The shop owner was called and four tables were set up for celebration.

While eating and drinking, a good friend came up to Xu Kun and said something mysteriously.

"Zipei, do you know? Something big happened in the capital."

Xu Kun asked nonchalantly, "What else could it be?"

"Gao Gong is dead!"

"Gao Gong is dead?" Xu Kun's right hand trembled, and the wine glass almost fell to the ground. "How did he die?"

"He was banished and sent back to his hometown. Ten days ago, when he arrived at Linqing Post Station, he suddenly died. Some people said that he had done too many bad things and his ghost wanted to kill him. Others said that he had offended the emperor, and it was difficult to deal with him in the capital because of the face of the late emperor. Once he left the capital, the emperor sent heavenly soldiers to kill him."

"Nonsense!"

"What nonsense? On the day when the emperor ascended the throne, all the gods in the sky descended to the earth. The Six Heavenly Emperors and the Three Pure Ones were all present. Millions of soldiers and civilians in the capital witnessed it with their own eyes. How could it be fake?"

Xu Kun still didn't believe it: "Ignorant people, crude and stupid, what can they know?"

"All the civil and military officials who attended the court meeting in front of the Huangji Palace saw it clearly. My uncle was there at the time, and the letter he wrote back was written in black and white, without a single falsehood."

"It's nothing more than a trick played by street artists to deceive people. If I were here, I could expose it on the spot." Xu Kun still didn't believe it, but he was more concerned about Gao Gong's death.

"Gao Gong died unexpectedly ten days ago. How come there is no mention of this in the newspapers?"

"How Gao Gong died has not yet been determined, so who dares to speak out?

I happened to meet a good friend of mine from school when I was passing by Linqing that day. He returned to Suzhou yesterday and quietly told me the news. Now I only dare to tell you, Brother Zipei, and I dare not say a word to anyone else. "

Xu Kun frowned even more, and tried to cheer himself up and smile, and joined everyone in the feast. After leaving Xingyue Tower, he hired a speedboat that night and headed straight to Huating, arriving at Xu's residence at dawn.

Xu Jie had just gotten up, washed up, and was sitting in the hall preparing to have breakfast when Xu Kun hurried in.

"Son, please pay my respects to the master."

"What's going on? You're in a panic!"

"Master, something big has happened in Jingli."

Xu Jie's long eyebrows moved slightly, and he waved his hand, signaling the servants to leave. Only he and Xu Kun were left in the flower hall.

"Master, Gao Gong is dead."

Xu Kun told Xu Jie in detail the news he had received in Suzhou.

Xu Jie stood up suddenly, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the hall.

"How can Gao Suqing die? If he dies, this matter will be troublesome."

Xu Kun followed behind Xu Jie, and upon hearing this, he hurriedly asked, "Master, what about the three forbidden books?"

Xu Jie didn't say anything, but the expression on his face showed assent.

Xu Kun quickly said, "Master, my elder brother has cleaned up the mess."

Xu Jie shook his head and said solemnly, "Gao Gong was banished from the capital because of the three forbidden books. If he returns to Xinzheng safely, this case can be investigated for a year or so, and then it will be left unresolved after the storm has died down.

But Gao Gong is dead, so the emperor must get to the bottom of this case and give an explanation to the people of the world.

Second Brother, there is nothing in this world that our Emperor cannot figure out!"

When Xu Kun saw Xu Jie's eyes flashing with ruthlessness, he felt a chill in his heart.

Dad, you're not going to kill my eldest brother to silence him, are you?

Then my position as successor is secured?
Just as I was thinking about good things, a manager hurried in.

"Master, urgent news from Yangzhou."

Xu Jie hurriedly took it, opened it and read it, his expression became even uglier.

"Master, what's wrong?" Xu Kun asked carefully.

"Cai Guoxi hanged himself in the Yangzhou government office the day before yesterday."

Xu Kun turned pale with fright.

"Hang himself, sir, why did Cai Guoxi hang himself at this time?"

"Why, you still want others to pick an auspicious day?" Xu Jie glanced at him, "Something big is going to happen. Go out first, let me think about it carefully."

"Yes!"

Xu Kun hurriedly left the flower hall. Before leaving, he could not help but look back. He saw his father Xu Jie sitting on a chair. His lonely figure looked particularly old.

(End of this chapter)