Shen Zhonglei's two wives, Liu Yaxuan is considered a lady. She received a good family education since she was a child. She is generous and generous, but she can't help but be a little naive and romantic.
Mrs. Xu can be said to be a little girl. She needs to be managed and supervised by others in order to do her job well. Once she is left to face the situation on her own, she will sometimes make mistakes due to short-sightedness and narrow-mindedness.
Mrs. Shen is completely different from these two daughters-in-law.
She comes from a well-known family, and her natal family is a farming and studying family with more than 200 years of wealth.
Joining the Shen family back then could be regarded as a story of a strong marriage between the two families and a story of talented people and beautiful women.
Who would have ever thought about getting married, but first her eldest son was not good at what he did, which dealt her a heavy blow and made her unable to hold her head high in the Shen family for a while.
Later, her husband's untimely death once brought her the notoriety of being a widower.
But Mrs. Shen did not succumb to fate. Not only did she raise her three sons well, but she also relied on her own ability to secure her position as the leader of the Shen Mansion.
To this day, after sitting in the position of winner for so many years, she does not want to think about the hardships and ups and downs and the countless dangers faced by the army.
Mrs. Shen began to believe in Buddhism after discovering that her eldest son had health problems.
Not only is there a Buddhist niche in the room all year round, but he also donates oil money to surrounding Buddhist temples from time to time, and even gives up rice and porridge during festivals and disasters.
Whenever she encounters indecision, she also likes to close the door and worship Buddha quietly to sort out her thoughts.
Facts over the years have proven that every time she came out of seclusion, she would make a very wise decision, which allowed her to get to where she is today smoothly step by step.
So this time Shen Tianshu proposed to accompany her to the temple to escape the summer heat, which could be said to be exactly what she wanted.
Summer vacation was the next best thing. Now she really needed to find a place to concentrate on worshiping Buddha, so she could sort out her thoughts and think about what to do next.
The grandfather and grandson, together with their maids and servants, set out from Yongzhou Mansion early in the morning and arrived at the foot of the mountain where Dongquan Temple is located before noon.
After stopping for a while to rest, we started going up the mountain.
Dongshan Temple covers an area larger than Yong'an Temple, which Mrs. Shen often visited in her hometown.
The air in the mountains is fresher than in the city, and indeed cooler.
Mrs. Shen also lifted up the gauze curtain with great interest, and looked out through the car window at the endless courtyard wall that stretched along the mountain. She nodded and said, "This temple looks very simple and grand. Look, The incense must be very prosperous."
There is no prosperous incense, but it cannot afford to build such a large area and such a good courtyard wall.
Shen Tianshu was sitting in a big car with Mrs. Shen. Hearing what she said, he immediately introduced her: "Dongquan Temple is the largest temple in Huguang. People from many surrounding cities come to burn incense and worship Buddha.
“In the past few years since we came to Yongzhou Prefecture, my mother has brought us here every year to burn incense and worship Buddha, praying that our family members will be healthy and that my father’s work will go smoothly.
"A few days ago, my mother had a nightmare and was restless. She also came here to offer incense and ask for fortune-telling."
As he was talking, the carriage slowly stopped and arrived at the gate of the back mountain of Dongquan Temple.
With the help of the maid, Shen Tianshu got out of the car on the footstool and quickly turned around to help Old Mrs. Shen.
"Grandma, this is the back mountain of Dongquan Temple. According to the mountain, there are more than a dozen small Zen temples with independent doors and courtyards. They are the most secluded.
"Every time we come, we stay in the Yunzhu Courtyard halfway up the mountain. There is a cliff to the east. Under the cliff is a blue pool. On a sunny day, you can enjoy the scenery by the pool. If it is cloudy and rainy, there will be clouds and mist on the pool, just like a fairyland.
"To the west is a bamboo forest, which is not only cool and elegant, but also separates it from other monasteries. As long as we have people watching at the intersection, no outsiders will come and disturb us."
After Shen Tianshu left the city, he became visibly more lively and talked more than when he was at home.
Fortunately, Mrs. Shen wasn't bored with what she said, so she kept listening to her without interruption. She even aroused a little interest in her, and she was quite yearning for the monastery she was talking about.
When Shen's carriage arrived at the foot of the mountain, someone had already sent a message up the mountain.
So when the grandfather and grandson arrived at the back mountain, the monk Zhike, who was responsible for receiving distinguished guests from the Shen residence, was already waiting at the gate of the back mountain, wiping his sweat.
Although he didn't know Mrs. Shen, he knew Shen Tianshu. When he saw her supporting her, he thought she was an old woman and kept calling her grandmother, so he hurriedly greeted her with a smile.
The monk who knew the guest put his hands together and saluted and said, "The young monk has met Mrs. Shen and met Miss Shen."
"Master, you are polite."
Mrs. Shen and Shen Tianshu both put their hands together and returned the gesture.
Shen Tianshu said very politely: "My grandmother is old and has been tired from traveling all the way. Could you please take us to the Zen room to settle down and have a rest first? Can we burn incense and worship the Buddha in the afternoon?"
When the monk Zhike heard this, the sweat that had just subsided started to break out again. While inviting the people into the temple and accompanying them to the direction of Yunzhuyuan, he said sincerely: "I'm really sorry. Some monks in the temple have been out recently. I haven’t returned from my travels, but there are so many pilgrims that I don’t have enough manpower, and I don’t know that Mrs. Shen and Miss Shen are coming, so the Yunzhu courtyard is still being cleaned. It’s better for the young monk and the two distinguished guests to enjoy the scenery in the back mountain of the temple. Then we can send you two to Yunzhuyuan, okay?"
Zhike Monk said this very politely, but what he actually meant was that the Shen family didn't say hello in advance before they came, and the Yunzhu Courtyard hadn't been cleaned up yet. You guys should take a stroll in the back hill and wait until we finish the urgent cleaning before going there!
"The temple is so quiet, and the mountains behind are full of vegetation. There must not be much dust. It won't be a problem if we don't clean it for half a month." Shen Tianshu said with a smile, "Besides, we also brought the maid, so let's clean up a room and come out first Grandma, please rest first, I’ll be fine.”
The monk Zhike felt puzzled after hearing this, but he tried to say as tactfully as possible: "Miss Shen is joking, because Master Shen and Mrs. Shen love Yunzhuyuan the most, so Yunzhuyuan has always been set aside in the temple. Specialized in receiving visitors from your mansion, the last time I came was during the Lantern Festival this year!"
Shen Tianshu was surprised when he heard this. He seemed to want to say something, but he immediately held it back. He even tried to smooth things over by saying, "This year during the Lantern Festival, I went out to attend a banquet at Prince Rui's Mansion and could not come to the temple with my family." Burning incense inside, you don’t even know!”
Mrs. Shen also narrowed her eyes when she heard this, and made a plan in her mind.
Mrs. Xu had clearly been to Dongquan Temple a few days ago, and she was determined to come alone. How come this Zhike Monk didn't understand the meaning of his words, but said that the last time Shen Mansion came to the temple was on the Lantern Festival at the beginning of the year? ?
