(10)
The yellow mud road in the suburbs, the gentle breeze, and the clear springs and stone pools are all things that Mrs. Xiang, who has lived in Shenyuan for a long time, has never seen or heard of. She was sitting on a carriage, looking out the window at the willows on the shore, the huts in the small village, the women and children wearing gauze, the strong men farming, the elegant people boating, the fishermen wearing raincoats and hats...
All of this is reflected on the clear spring stone pool, and with the clear ripples raised every time the wood pulp is stirred, it slowly penetrates into the hearts of passers-by.
In order not to show shyness in front of so many dream-like beautiful scenery, Mrs. Xiang specially dressed up carefully. She put a thick layer of powder on her face to cover up all her fatigue and sadness, and wore a looser tulle floral skirt, which was different from the narrow-skimmed and close-fitting clothes that are popular nowadays.
Because Mrs. Xiang's body was thin, wearing close-fitting clothes would only make her look poorer. In order not to be ashamed in front of the world and the Buddha, she had to choose clothes with fat sleeves and wide trains to make her appearance look more energetic.
Four officers and soldiers walked in front of the carriage to lead the way, and four officers and soldiers walked behind to lead the way. Mrs. Xiang and her little maid Zichai were sitting in the carriage, accompanied by Bai Feng and Murong Yan's horses on the left and right sides of the carriage.
There were ten people accompanying them in person. Such a grand motorcade naturally attracted a lot of attention in the small rural village.
Especially the mysterious couple, their makeup and dress are as usual: the woman is quite dignified and elegant, riding sideways, facing the countryside, playing the pipa in her hand from time to time, although she has not thought about playing any music, just playing casually She wears a silk string, but as long as others take a look at her dress and temperament, they will inadvertently feel a sense of admiration in their hearts.
The young swordsman was walking on the edge of the stone pool on the other side, carrying a sword on his waist - a sword with a scabbard covered in bandages. There was a rag hat covering his head, and he was wearing a layer of dark blue coarse cloth clothes. His coat was a leather waistcoat, which was vulgar and bulky. His horse was piled with luggage, and he looked as if he would be away for several days.
The motorcade was advancing leisurely across the main road, and ordinary people passing by it had to give way. Staying next to such a majestic convoy, and with his always bright eyes, the young swordsman became more like a follower and a loyal dog.
Less than two-quarters of an hour after passing Xiaoshitan, they finally arrived at their destination, the ancient temple outside Cangzhou City.
This temple seems to have a history of more than a hundred years and has been standing here since the Northern Wei Dynasty. Bai Feng and Murong Yan originally agreed to come to the temple together to pray for Su Qing and Mrs. Xiang, and including Mei Lin, Mei Xinghe and others, they also felt that this was a matter of course, so they happily selected a few from their subordinates. The person followed her all the way, nominally to protect Mrs. Xiang, but in fact she was just carrying out the responsibility of surveillance.
From entering the door until reaching the front hall, the eight officers and soldiers divided the work in an orderly manner. Every time they passed a door beam, two people were assigned to guard the only entrance, and then another person was assigned to visit and inspect.
The great monks and young monks who were giving Zen lectures and the pilgrims who were worshiping and worshiping the Buddha, who were originally very interested, all started talking and whispering about it. The lecturer monk who was sitting high up in the main hall at the front door came up to him and asked one of the officers and soldiers: "Excuse me, donor, why do you want to go to war in such a big way?"
"Old abbot, this matter has nothing to do with you. We are just performing official duties. You have a lot, so don't blame me." After that, the man bypassed the old monk and began to lead people to the main hall to search.
After several big men scolded Fang Qiu, the soldier leader respectfully led Mrs. Xiang, Bai Feng, and Murong Yan to the Buddha to pray for blessings and offer incense. At the same time, he did not forget to assign his subordinates to find people to arrange the side rooms and Zen rooms, as if he really wanted to The fasting trip in the next few days seems to be a lot of work.
They personally visited every corner of every room to ensure that there were no secret passages or secret doors that could allow Mrs. Xiang to escape unknowingly. If they see someone acting suspiciously, they will arrest him without hesitation and torture him, no matter he is a monk or an ordinary citizen. Of course, if the other party is a respectable person, they will definitely not take the initiative to provoke him.
After Mrs. Xiang finished worshiping the Buddha, the officers and soldiers assigned people to follow her closely. Whether she went to the wing to rest or meditated in the Zen room, there were always two energetic guards standing outside the door.
As for Bai Feng and Murong Yan, Mei Lin's subordinates didn't bother to allocate manpower to protect and monitor these two people. After all, in their eyes, Niu Li was an out-and-out coward, and Yao Gu was a disfigured person. prostitute. Such contempt gave the couple a God-given opportunity.
They spent the first night in a peaceful and peaceful atmosphere.
Murong Yan was waiting in Mrs. Xiang's room. Three women played music at midnight, singing Buddhist scriptures. The layman fell asleep after listening to it. They didn't come out until the guard officers and soldiers were about to hand over their posts. .
Yaogu bowed politely to the two hard-working eldest brothers, but even if she tried her best to flatter her, others would only think of the rumors about her disfigurement and respond with indifference.
Not long after Murong Yan returned to the room, Bai Feng also popped up in the night, turned over from the window and entered the wing.
It turned out that they had agreed long ago that one person would be responsible for exploring various conditions in the temple, and the other would act as an internal agent between the officers and soldiers and Mrs. Xiang.
However, when they were young, the two held candlelight conversations at night before the case, exchanging information, and soon planned a perfect place and time to meet Mrs. Xiang alone.
"Brother Feng, let's wait for work and wait for them to be tired for a few days before taking action. In this temple, they can only eat vegetarian food and chant sutras. These battle-hardened officials must not be able to stand such a way of life!" Murong Yan thought with a smirk.
Bai Feng unfolded his hand-drawn topographic map and explained: "Next, we only need to design a way to guide Mrs. Xiang to the lotus platform in the temple. The best time is at night when they hand over the guard post!"
"We are practicing witchcraft on the Buddha's territory. What should we do if people from the temple discover it?" Murong Yan looked at the topographic map thoughtfully and said, "The Lotus Terrace is located behind the Qianmen Hall, behind the Lotus Pond. No matter it is during the day or the first half of the night, there will be monks and believers there giving lectures and understanding the Dharma; if we move in the second half of the night, the patrolling guards will easily find that we are the only ones there on the lotus platform!"
Bai Feng pondered for a moment and then said: "Based on the current situation, we can only act according to the situation that Yan'er mentioned..."
"I don't think so!" Murong Yan snickered: "As the saying goes, 'Buddha saves the destined person', why don't we ask Bodhisattva for help?"
Bai Feng thought that the other party's implication was to beg the abbot of the temple, but Murong Yan laughed at Bai Feng for being too naive, and finally left only one sentence: "The mountain people have their own clever ideas." Then she threw herself on the bed and fell asleep.
