Mu Zixu was ordered to be transferred to Jiangning weaving, the second day he set off south, but not fast, after leaving Beijing, he went east to Tai'an, climbed Mount Tai to watch the sunrise, and then went to Jinan, in the old Yu Jackie Chan for a few days. Mingzhu and Suo Etu originally suspected that he had a secret order, and when they saw him traveling all the way, they no longer doubted. After entering Jiangsu, Mu Zixu was unusual, only eating at the post station, not following people, changing horses without changing people, traveling day and night, and only two days to Jiangning. After the delivery was completed on the same day, and a secretary was appointed to temporarily take charge of the affairs, he took four people to see Wei Dongting, and it was dark at this time.

"Zixu!" Wei Dongting and Mu Zixu were originally friends for eight worships, and they were also in-laws of their children, and they always spoke straight to the point, seeing that Mu Zixu was acting secretively and had a different expression, he smiled and said, "Which one are you doing?" I saw the Di newspaper yesterday, you are still in Zichuan, and you will arrive today? I didn't even come with a letter - now that I have become such a big official, I am still so reckless! Mu Zixu smiled and said, "Big brother has wronged me this time, I-" He looked at the people left and right, then sipped tea, and said after a long time, "The brothers have been separated for so many days, and I am thinking about Mrs. Fengsheng and Sister-in-law Jianmei, do you think I can not be in a hurry?" Wei Dongting has always been shrewd and steady, and he knew that the stakes were very high, so he instructed his family: "Don't stay here and wait, Master Mu rarely comes, you ask someone to set up a table in the Neem Pavilion, make it a little more exquisite, I want to have a few drinks with my in-laws!" ”

Seeing that the entourage had all withdrawn, Mu Zixu lowered his voice and said: "The emperor is scheduled to tour the south in April next year, knowing that the situation here is complicated, he ordered his brother to come to clear the road." There is a secret decree here, it is you who are sitting in the house, and I will help handle it! ”

"Oh!" Wei Dongting's eyes flashed, he took Kangxi's secret book, read it carefully, and then put it on the lamp and candle to burn it. Somehow, his face was a little pale, and he said after a while: "The emperor is indeed naturally wise and intelligent!" I made a big splash in Nanjing, and the officials here didn't know you, so I gave you the most suitable No. 1 lawsuit! Mu Zixu said with a smile: "It's all up to my brother to preside, and Zixu is still at your disposal." If Ge Li really conspired with the third prince of Zhu to rebel, I am afraid that Suo Sanye will not be able to escape this catastrophe - I can't imagine that we are going to make meritorious contributions in Nanjing again! Wei Dongting was noncommittal, and the topic changed and talked about the situation of his several investigations: "Nanjing built the emperor's palace, one in Baishadu, one in Linggu Temple, and one in Mochou Lake. Strangely enough, they are all very close to the monastery. Linggu Temple is not enough, the emperor wants to go to Xiaoling to worship Zhu Yuanzhang as a place to stay, and it is still reasonable. Baishadu is so remote, how to protect it? Mochou Lake, separated from the city by the Qinhuai River in the north, surrounded by rivers on both sides in the southwest, the terrain is so low, in case of an accident or a flood, where does the master go? That's weird......"

Mu Zixu listened to Wei Dongting's introduction quietly, admired Wei Dongting's meticulousness and resourcefulness very much, and felt more and more that Ge Li was unpredictable, and after a long time, Fang said: "I will live here with you." It seems that the most suspicious point is Mochou Lake, which is next to the Pilu Temple, with good scenery and many tourists, and it looks very peaceful, if I really want to rebel, I will also choose this place - I will go to see it tomorrow. ”

"I've been there a few times." Wei Dongting pondered and said, "I also suspected that he was bombarding the top of the Zen Mountain, and I also went to the Jiangnan Artillery Bureau to check whether there were fewer red-clothed cannons on the existing forts, but I have no military position, so I can't use the excuse to go to the fort to verify, and it is the same as not checking - this Pilu Courtyard Zen Mountain has been closed for many years, if you really set up a cannon on it......" Wei Dongting shuddered, "So you have to try to go into the Chan Mountain to have a look-I heard that Master Xingming will die again in three days, even this is a total of five, tomorrow there will be many pilgrims in the Pilu Courtyard, maybe some opportunities are unknown." ”

"What chance?" The laughter of Mrs. Wei Dongting's wife Shi Jianmei came from the study, and then she came in with a curtain, pursed her lips and smiled: "I heard that the eldest brother left Beijing and came to Jinling, and the old lady was so happy, as soon as she came, she just cared about getting down to business-the banquet was already prepared, and the old lady wanted to come over, but I persuaded it, they are all my own relatives, what to do with that ceremony-Mei Xiang, why don't you go and clean up the west study, Master Mu will live there!" ”

Mu Zixu and Wei Dongting both stood up, looked at each other and smiled, and followed Jianmei to the neem pavilion.

Wei Dongting's private residence is in the Northeast Tiger Pass of Confucius Temple, not far from Mochou Lake. Early in the morning of the second day, Mu Zixu got up and felt that the weather was cold, so he changed into a Ning silk jacket and walked to Mochou Lake with shaking steps.

At that time, the day is nearly October, the wind is cold and the water is murmuring, the clear water in the Qinhuai River area is clear and clear, the tea shops of the Mochou Lakeside Hotel are lined up one after another, the tourists on the shore are like ants, the boats are staggered, the painting boat is like weaving, the flute and the piano are endless, it is really a place of gold powder of the six dynasties, and the scenery is very good. Mu Zixu paced step by step to take a closer look, the other bank was full of smoke, a large number of houses were dark, and the yellow glazed tiles could be faintly seen flickering in the cold sun, and he knew that it was the newly repaired Forbidden Garden Palace - along the willow embankment to the Shengqi Building, Mu Zixu saw a few Huazi were drinking under the stone fence, and suddenly remembered the scene of killing Wei Dongting's dog with Wu Dan and several other brothers twenty years ago.

"Poor Dao is a fool!" Suddenly, a voice came from behind him. When Mu Zixu looked back, he was an unkempt Taoist priest, who was bowing and saluting all over his body, Mu Zixu knew that he was fateful, nodded and smiled, took out half a tael of silver horns from his arms and handed it over, and said: "Take it to drink and eat - where the Taoist priest lives, it doesn't sound like a person here!" The Taoist priest said with a smile: "The poor Taoist is crooked, wandering around, and has become a person from the south to the north." It is a blessing that the layman and Lao Tzu have a fate - Amitayus Buddha! So saying, he took the money and went away.

Mu Zixu couldn't help but smile, and slowly turned to the Shengqi Building, only to see a group of people making noise. The fat shopkeeper of an oil shop held the scale rod in one hand and twisted the ear of a middle-aged man with the other hand and scolded: "Your mother's wild mongrel, dare to grab things in the blue sky and daylight!" The middle-aged man was not angry, and said with a hippie smile: "You are not a beast, how can I be a mongrel?" What have you lost to find my bad luck? The shopkeeper of the oil shop pointed with his hand and said, "So many people are witnesses!" The pound of oil cakes that have just been fried are put into the pancakes, and they are gone in the blink of an eye, but your mother's copper mouth and iron belly are scorched and hot to swallow, and you are not afraid of frying your ribs! The idlers around listened to the shopkeeper's funny scolding, and couldn't help laughing.

"What are you laughing at!" The middle-aged man's bright eyes rolled around, and he stood up straight and said, "Do you want to relieve your boredom?" Weigh me all over my body, and I have to weigh half a catty, even if I eat your oil cake! The shopkeeper glared at him and scolded: "Fuck a stinky cunt, full of seeds!" "Saying a leaky slap is about to go. Who knew that the man didn't dodge his face, only listened to the sound of "pop", and the shopkeeper only made an "ouch" sound, his wrist was dislocated, and he shook his head and raised his eyebrows and just kneaded. The man made a grimace, grabbed the scale, handed it to a person who was watching the excitement, and said, "Brother, this shopkeeper is not helpful, you come to the scale, see how heavy I am!" ”

This time there are more onlookers, the front is salivating and staring, the people behind are stretching their necks and tiptoeing and hugging, adults are shouting, children are shouting, it is lively. Mu Zixu saw that this person was carrying a stunt, and he was about to leave, but he stopped again.

The lively looked at the scale in his hand, and there was nothing unusual, so he blushed and smiled: "Since you must have a scale, then come!" Then he lifted the scales. The middle-aged man stepped into the weighing pan with one foot, climbed a tether rope with each hand, and said, "You lift it!" The person in charge of the scale looked at his size, about one hundred and twenty pounds, and lifted it up violently with vigor - who knew that even the coil was fluttering, and the scale rod was raised high, and it took a few swings to stabilize. When everyone looked at it in amazement, it was really less than eight taels! There was a round of surprise, and then a round of applause.

The man got off the weighing pan, threw the scale back to the stunned fat shopkeeper, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, don't take your shop!" But if you recruit a few gods of wealth, you will be scared like this! Saying that, the corners of the robe were lifted and tucked around the waist, the braid was put on the neck, and the front of the building picked up a dismounted stone with a "bang", held it in one hand, and gently placed it under the eaves of the south of the Shengqi Building, stood up, arched his hands, and said: "Under a scholar, when I was a child, I visited the Master in the deep mountains, learned a body of kung fu, and met friends with martial arts without meeting opponents." If you are willing to play, you might as well have a fight! After saying that, he looked forward to it, and his expression was quite arrogant.

Only then did everyone know that this Yu Yishi was an artist, looking at the dismounted stone, it weighed 500 catties, and they were all shocked, and dozens of coppers had already been lost.

"I can't imagine that the huge Nanjing, the place where the dragon and the tiger are located, is so disappointing!" Yu Yishi called for a long time, saw that no one was gone, sighed, took out ten taels of silver from his arms and put them on the stone, picked up the dozens of coppers from the ground, used his thumb and index finger to card, and said: "This is seventy Kangxi children, I just have these two finger cards, who can take it, ten taels of silver right as a gift for wine, how?" ”

There was a commotion in the crowd, and a young man rolled up his sleeves and entered the arena with a red face and said, "Nong, hold it safe!" Allah give it a try! As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed it. Yu Yishi was calm, one hand crossed his waist, and the young man dragged and twisted, even struggling, and the stack of money seemed to be cast, and he couldn't move a bit. Yu Yishi smiled, untied the belt with one hand and put it between his fingers, and said: "If one person can't do it, several people can also do it, this belt can be crossed, depending on your hand, if I move one step, drop a coin is considered a loss!" "Useless Shanghainese! I don't care about you! This money belongs to the poor men of Jinling! As soon as the circle of people moved, the four people who were eating and drinking under the fence called Huazi rushed in, pushed the young man from Shanghai, pulled up the belt, and the two of them pulled one head each, and dragged their backs like a slender one, all of them were so tired that their faces were red and their eyes were violent, and they were helpless. The people around shouted "yes"! Copper coins rained all over the field, Yu Yishi laughed and said: "I thought that the land of gold dust in the Six Dynasties must hide the dragon and crouching tiger, but it turned out to be full of pus!" That's it, where to find these donkeys and cows to show up here! A few Hanako looked at each other and slipped away.

Mu Zixu didn't look at the excitement, and he didn't have the heart to compete, listening to Yu Yishi's arrogant tone, he couldn't help but get angry, his cuffs were pricked, and he was about to play, but he saw that the dirty Taoist priest squeezed in first, holding the dog's leg bone in one hand, and said vaguely in his mouth: "The layman is a rich and noble official, why fight for these taels of silver, and let my Taoist priest exchange some dog meat to eat!" Saying that, he went up crazy, squinted at Yu Yishi, and said with a smile: "Good son, I have honored Master Qingfeng!" "I took a bite of dog meat, and snatched the money with a handful.

Everyone immediately made an uproar, and when Yishi was in a daze, Qingfeng Daoist had already picked up ten taels of silver, smiled and turned around and left. Yu Yishi hurriedly said: "You take advantage of my defense, it's not a skill!" ”

"Little family gas!" Qingfeng looked back and smiled, "Pay back your string of small money!" Saying that, he threw the stack of copper coins on the ground, when Mu Zixu looked at it, he had been pinched into a ball, and the first five fingerprints on it were impressive. How about a little talk about it for a while? Qingfeng turned his face to Mu Zixu and smiled, and said: "This is a good luck, I have met the broad donor again and again, and I have been a year and a half, isn't it just gone?" He said and left. At this moment, Mu Zixu felt very familiar, but when he thought about it, he didn't know where he had met.

Yu Yishi couldn't help but be furious, caught up with Qingfeng in a few steps, and said: "Yu Yishi sent the dog Taoist priest ......" and flew up and kicked Qingfeng's buttocks. Qingfeng didn't look back at his steps, and said: "If you don't work to give each other, how can you accept your gifts?" Ouch, don't dare to be ......" ass caught Yu Yishi's kick. Yu Yishi seemed to be kicking on the stone pillar, and his bones were in pain, he snorted, and staggered to stand firm. Lao Yuan also listened to the breeze pulling the gourd in the east and the scoop in the west, and there were words in his mouth: "The Tao is the way, the very way; It's famous, it's not famous...... He who loves me will always love what I love, and he who hates me will always hate what I hate...... Misfortune and blessing are relied on, blessing and misfortune are lurking, who knows the extreme? It is not positive, it is strange, it is good to be a demon, and the mystery of people is long-lasting...... Hahahaha......"

Mu Zixu listened, the more familiar he felt, but he only couldn't think about it, because the Taoist priest read the words "Zhengfu is strange, good is revenge for the demon", and suddenly remembered that he had to go to Pilu Courtyard, and he didn't want to miss it for a long time in Shengqilou, so he hurriedly called a boat to cross to the west of Mochou Lake. Looking at the turtle-like hill in the distance, it is connected to the Yangtze River, backed by the stone city, the shadows of the trees, the red wall is covered, and the bells in the temple are melodious and melodious, which is quite thought-provoking - the Pilu Courtyard has arrived.

This is a very large Zen temple, covering an area of more than 2,000 acres, a large stage is built in front of the steps, and the wide mountain gate is hidden in dozens of old ginkgo trees. The first layer of the mountain gate enters the palace of the heavenly king, just a court and the building is overturned, the second layer of the third Buddha hall is well repaired, the Shakyamuni of the six high zhang is sitting in the middle, the flower Puxian, the net bottle Guanyin stands on both sides, the lower head of the protector King Kong are all with the fetal bone Dharma body, the colorful face, the water gold and the powder are painted, and the clothes are lifelike. The wall paintings seem to have been whitewashed for a short time, but they are the story of saving their mothers. But see the treasure flags, tassels, square flags, cloud heads, orbs, canopies, Jianfeng Sharp Wheels, Hot Wheels, Fancao, Dapeng, Peacocks, Pipa, Demon Pestle, Liuyun Tuo, Duobao Vase, and what other Qinglong, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Xuanwu, Bodhisattva, Divine General, Immortal, Tribute Boy, Four Values Gongcao, and Liujia Jiedi...... The walls are filled with gold and green, giving people a strange and mysterious sense of oppression. Mu Zixu was not interested, and suddenly felt that someone was patted on the shoulder, and when he looked back, it was Shi Jianmei standing behind him with a smile, a green cloth skirt, and a peasant woman's outfit, where did she look like a first-class lady? Mu Zixu couldn't help laughing and said, "It's my sister-in-law, it scared me!" ”

"Your brother was afraid that he would get lost because you first arrived in Jinling, and he couldn't pull away, so he asked me to come and have a look." Jianmei smiled, "I've been here for almost half an hour, and I haven't seen your shadow yet, thinking that I really told him to be right, and I was in a hurry, but I saw you wandering around here!" Mu Zixu looked left and right carelessly, because he saw that people were coming and going very noisy, he nodded knowingly and said: "I came all the way from outside the gate to pay homage to the living Buddha's passing ceremony, a piece of piety, where did I get lost?" I told my brother and sister-in-law to worry about it! As he spoke, he let go of his hand and said, "Since my sister-in-law is here, let's rejoice together." ”

The two of them followed the bustling flow of people and went to the back of the Great Compassion Hall to visit the Buddha, and then stepped into the back of the Pilu Courtyard from the Baohua Gate on the east side of the hall. Here is located in the high gang, the wind is cold, there are few tourists, but see a big river from the gang bend to the east. Lanruo Courtyard is full of weeds, and the wild artemisia that sprang out of the brick cracks is more than one person deep, withered and withered, and the scenery is very desolate. Looking back at the Zen Mountain, I saw a lot of halls in ruins, and the gray and tall corner towers sizzled in the cold wind.

"Your eldest brother and I have only been here, and there is a notice prohibiting travel in the Governor's Palace, saying that it is a place for monks to cultivate, and it is a dangerous building, and tourists are not allowed to enter." Shi Jianmei said in a low voice, "The Yu Yishi you have seen lives in this courtyard, saying that he is staying overnight, I am afraid that he is guarding this threshold...... Amitabha! With such a prosperous incense and such a large temple, why are there mass graves behind it? Mu Zixu was surprised, she suddenly raised her voice and changed the subject. I saw a tall leper monk come out early, and I couldn't help but admire Jianmei's finesse. He replied casually, "yes, it's a strange thing." ”

"Two Tan Yue," the monk came over, bowed down with one palm on his chest and said, "Please two step back, behind is the place where the Zen master of this temple sits on the wall, although it is dilapidated, it is a holy place." The abbot decreed that no one should approach him, begging for forgiveness. Mu Zixu hurriedly smiled and said: "My mother ordered me to come south to repay my vows, and I traveled 4,000 miles from outside the gate to pay homage to the living Buddha - please be merciful and convenient for the monks, and the believers will leave when they see only one side, how about it?" "Tan Yue forgives sins." The leper monk closed his eyes and clasped his palms together and said, "This is the decree of the law, and the little monk does not dare to disobey - Amitabha!" ”

Mu Zixu pondered for a moment, and saw Yu Yishida come in front of the temple, pushed open a broken monk's room in Lanruo Courtyard and entered, pretended to ignore it, took out a silver ticket from his arms, and said: "The hall is very pious in making a vow, this is the silver ticket of the Jinling money stack exchanged for two thousand taels of silver, and my family has worked hard all their lives to dedicate it." Don't talk about the Ming monk, even if I am a Buddha, I should meet it! ”

With such a large amount of almsgiving, the monk hesitated for a moment and said: "The little monk can't be the master of this matter - since the donor has a great wish to give kindness, please go to the front and serve tea ...... in Miaoxiang Huayuzhai first" said and let his hand go, and led the way to the east. Entered the "Xianglin Gate", inside is a row of fine houses, a two-storey attic in the middle, mud gold black plaque, written "wonderful fragrance flower rain" four regular script characters, downstairs three halls, the windows are bright and clean, clean up very neat, if it is not in the middle of a picture of Dharma and a reed crossing the river, and the official hall is not bad at signing the house. The leper monk poured tea for the two of them and said, "This is the abbot of this temple, please wait, the poor monk goes to invite the head monk." So saying, he stepped back, walked to the front of the stairs, looked back as if hesitantly, moved his lips, but said nothing, and walked quickly.

The two of them were left in the room, and they looked at each other, but neither of them spoke. Shi Jianmei looked up and down, left and right at the furnishings in the room, and after a while, she suddenly got up, went to the god table and lifted the picture of Bodhidharma crossing the river with a reed, and said: "Zixu, look! Mu Zixu turned his face to look, but there was a shrine behind him, and it was not surprising, only the gods offered in it were not Buddhas or immortals, but he was a beautiful young man, and the folding fan was inserted into the chest and back of the jade flute, which was weird. Looking inside, there is a faint crack in the back wall of the gild, which is obviously a secret door. Mu Zixu was startled at first, and then his eyes lit up: Isn't this the "Zhong Saburo Great Immortal" enshrined by the third prince of Zhu in the twelfth year of Kangxi when he gathered people to rebel in Beijing?