"The moon is falling and the sky is full of frost, and Jiang Feng is sleeping. Hanshan Temple outside the city of Gusu, the bell rings in the middle of the night to the passenger ship. ”

The Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ji's poem "Fengqiao Night Park" can be said to be famous through the ages, known to countless people in later generations, and it has also made the Hanshan Temple outside Suzhou famous, becoming the premier Buddhist holy place in Suzhou and even the entire Jiangnan region.

Over the years, Hanshan Temple has always had a large number of believers, and the incense is flourishing, even in this somewhat chaotic world, the temple has not been greatly affected. Even though there had been several fierce battles in Suzhou before, Hanshan Temple was not affected by anything, and it truly became a pure land outside the world.

The reason is that in addition to the fame of Hanshan Temple itself, but also because there are too many famous people in Suzhou who are protecting this thousand-year-old temple, Wu Jun will never dare to attack Hanshan Temple unless he wants to offend all the local wealthy families in Suzhou. Therefore, even if the two armies are still at war now, the temple is still quiet and quiet in the morning and evening.

On the fifth day of the second lunar month, just after dawn, the gate of Suzhou City was opened early, and then a team of more than 100 people slowly came to Hanshan Temple to make incense. They are not a special pious faith, but a group of men and women from the Su family in Suzhou, in order to pay tribute to their ancestors, because today is the birth of the previous generation of the Su family, as the son of man, the head of the current generation of Su Mao is naturally going to bring the men and women of the clan to worship - the ancestors of the Su family for several generations are located in the Hanshan Temple to feast on incense.

As a few big Tanyue of Hanshan Temple, one of the big donors, the arrival of the Su family naturally attracted the attention of the whole temple, did not wait for them to go to the mountain gate, the abbot Huikong has brought many monks up and down the temple to greet each other, and read the Buddha in his mouth: "Su Shi is really a person of great filial piety, and he comes on time every year, which is really admirable!" ”

"Haha, the master praised it falsely, I, Su Mao, as a son of man, can no longer honor my parents, so I can only choose this day to pay tribute, but I am a little ashamed." Su Mao is in his prime, and he looks shrewd and capable, but he has a kind and kind smile, which makes it easy for people to intersect with him at first sight. He and Huikong are also old friends, so they talk casually, only a few words of greeting, and then they take a stroll up the mountain into the temple.

This is followed by a series of sacrificial activities that are well versed in ancient rites, which is why the Su family chose to worship their ancestors in Hanshan Temple, because the monks here are more familiar with this way than other monks.

Of course, it is not a small price to make the monks of Hanshan Temple serve the Su family, not to mention today's incense money, on weekdays, the Su family will allocate hundreds of pieces of sesame oil as the temple every month, in addition, in recent years, they have also sent hundreds of acres of fertile land as the property of the Hanshan Temple, this kind of stroke is the key to making the monks in the temple have always respected them, not just because the Su family Suzhou is the richest relationship in Suzhou.

This sacrifice did not stop until after noon. The people of the Su family, who had been kneeling for a while inside and outside the hall where the ancestral tablet was enshrined, were able to get up and move their muscles and bones, and at the same time walk around to enjoy the scenery inside and outside the Hanshan Temple. As for Su Mao and several other people in charge of the Su family, they were invited by Huikong into his abbot's room to drink tea and discuss Zen, which can be regarded as a rare moment of relaxation for those of them who are busy with mundane affairs on weekdays.

Naturally, the tea in the temple could not be as fancy as the outside, but it was the same as the clear tea advocated by Sun Tu in Shandong, with only a few tea leaves floating in the turquoise tea soup, but no other condiments. This made Su Mao and others, who were accustomed to eating heavy sip of tea, couldn't help but praise again and again, and couldn't help but drink a few more bowls.

"Master, this tea is more mellow than last year, but it is still clear in the mouth, it is really a good drink for self-cultivation." Su Mao said with a smile after tasting the tea in the cup.

"Hehe, as long as you don't have any worries, even ordinary tea can taste good." After Huikong Xuanzhi said such a sentence again, he explained: "However, this kind of good tea covers the temple but does not dare to take credit, but there is another donor to guide us, no need to boil, just take boiling water to soak the true color of the tea to soak out, and the taste is more clear and timeless." ”

"Oh......" Su Mao carefully tasted the taste of the tea in the cup again, and then sighed sincerely: "The tea ceremony is like doing things, simplicity is the most skillful, and no work is the great skill." It seems that this person who can offer such an insight must have great wisdom, but it is a pity that I did not have a chance with him, and I was unable to meet him. ”

"Su Tanyue's words are wrong, but you have a close relationship with this benefactor, and he also wants to meet you." Huikong took the opportunity to laugh.

Su Mao was stunned for a moment, then guessed something, and said with a smile: "This person is very careful, and he actually knew that I would go up the mountain today, so he waited here early?" Since he has this kind of thought, it is not easy for me to refuse people, so please ask the master to call people out. "For a person of his status, it is natural that there are few people who ask for help on weekdays, but no one will really come to Hanshan Temple to ask for a meeting, which makes him interested.

"But the donor had said that he wanted to be alone with Tan Yue for a while, so ......" Huikong said, his eyes only turned on those Su family members, and the meaning was already very clear.

"That's not possible, how noble is my father's identity, how can I meet with a person of unknown origin alone!" Immediately, a young man objected, it was Su Mao's second son, Su Wei. Although the others did not speak as eagerly as he did, they did not seem to want to leave.

Su Mao immediately turned his face slightly gloomy: "Don't be rude, this is Hanshan Temple, could it be that Master Huikong has any evil intentions?" Although he said that, he didn't mean to hold the others back.

Huikong smiled again: "Tan Yue doesn't know, this donor's identity is a bit special, so in order to prevent extraneous branches, he just wants to meet you alone." However, he also knew that Tan Yue was worried, so he asked the poor monk to take this token with you. As he spoke, he took out a half-old wood carving that had been pulped out and showed it to Su Mao for inspection.

Su Mao only glanced at it, and his expression changed slightly. After a while, he turned back to the others and waved his hand at the others and said, "In that case, you can go outside for the time being, and I will meet with someone in private." ”

"Father ......" Seeing that he really wanted to meet alone with someone who didn't know his origin, even the eldest son Su Jing couldn't understand it anymore, and opened his mouth to say something. But after meeting Su Mao's resolute eyes, he didn't dare to say anything, got up and nodded at the others, and went out first.

When the other Su family disciples saw that Su Jing had left, they didn't dare to insist anymore, and they all said goodbye and left. When they left, Huikong also slowly stood up: "In this case, the poor monk will also retire for the time being, and ask Tan Yue to wait here." ”

At this time, Su Mao's mind was a little confused, he just nodded at the other party casually, and continued to frown and wait there. After a tea time, the door of the hidden abbot's room opened again, and a slightly bloated body appeared in front of Su Mao's eyes.

Even if he had already guessed, when he saw the person who came in, Su Mao was still so excited that his body shook and quickly got up: "Thank you...... Gongzi Xie, is it really you? Are you safe and sound? That's great. ”

This one who appeared in front of Su Mao was none other than Xie Mo, a famous son in Jiangnan!

Xie Mo's fame is not only limited to Jinling, but also to Suzhou and Hangzhou, which are also respected by everyone. And he has always been known for his kindness without expecting anything in return, and he has helped many people over the years, even Su Mao, who received his favor a few years ago and formed a friendship with him.

When the news came that Xie Mo was burned to death on Qixia Mountain a few months ago, Su Mao was really sad for a while. Even when he was sacrificing his ancestors just now, he still paid tribute to his friend in front of the Buddha, but he didn't want to appear in front of him alive now!

Xie Mo entered the house and closed the door, and then looked at Su Mao with a surprised face, and laughed: "Why, Lao Su, you saw me like a ghost, and you didn't owe me money, why bother?" ”

"You ......" Su Mao only felt crying and laughing for a while, but at the same time, he was convinced that it was indeed Xie Mo, because he Xie Mo was the only one who would talk to him like this in this world.

It wasn't until Xie Mo stepped forward and sat on the futon in front of him that Su Mao let out a breath of turbid air and said happily: "In this way, the previous rumors are false, and your Gongzi Xie has not been harmed by the Great Song Dynasty Mansion?" I was so sad when I learned the news that day, I even ......"

Seeing that he suddenly stopped talking, Xie Mo smiled: "He even gave money and goods to help Fang La's gang quickly control Suzhou...... Wow, your old Su is getting more and more bold, and he dares to collude with the thieves! ”

"Keep it quiet, it's better not to say anything like that." Su Mao hurriedly stopped, and then said with a wry smile: "Isn't this trying to avenge you?" Also, they even hurt you, thinking about what Zhu Mian did when he was in Suzhou, I'm really afraid that I will follow in your footsteps. ”

"Hehe, your concerns are not unreasonable, if you really let Zhu Mian go back to Suzhou, you wealthy families will suffer a big loss. At the beginning, he was not easy to attack you because of some concerns, but this time you all voted on Fang La's side, once you come back, under the liquidation, hehe, the consequences are really hard to say. ”

Su Mao sighed: "At that time, Suzhou fell, and we had no choice but to do this for self-preservation. By the way, what's the matter with you? Why is it rumored that you have been killed by that Sun Tu on Qixia Mountain in Jinling, but now you are alive in front of me? ”

This thing is indeed too strange, Rao is a calm person like Su Mao, and he is also eager to know the answer.