Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 281 Buddhist Porcelain
Upon seeing the newcomer, Shen Zhongguan instinctively raised the porcelain Buddha in his hand to cover his face, but in that instant, he met the gaze of the person.

Shen Zhongguan froze, his mind racing with thoughts, but he realized that nothing he did would make a difference unless Wang Yan didn't recognize him.

As a lowly eunuch, he had only seen Wang Yan once in the Chuigong Hall. He was certain that no one else would recognize him, but the Wang family father and son were different from ordinary people...

Han Si wanted to pull Shen Zhongguan aside and blend into the crowd.

how...

"Shen Zhongguan".

A calm yet slightly aloof voice called out to the two of them.

Shen Zhongguan's face fell completely, and Han Si beside him couldn't help but gasp. He really wanted to kick the eunuch next to him; no wonder the old man had been dawdling when he arrived—he had hidden a bag of gold in his fur coat.

Gold is not like copper coins, and it is inconvenient to use outside. However, it is something that officials and wealthy merchants collect on a daily basis. One piece of gold is worth a lot of copper coins, and it is convenient to exchange for valuable items.

Moreover, gold is especially important to temples. After all, believers in Buddha all aspire to cast a golden statue of Buddha, so giving gold to a temple is considered a great act of merit. This old man kept saying he came to see the spectacle, but he had actually come to believe in the claim that Baode Temple was exceptionally efficacious.

It's his fault for not being able to see what this damned eunuch was planning; otherwise, he would definitely have stopped him.

Now look what's happened, they've ruined their big plan.

Shen Zhongguan was called upon and had no choice but to step forward and bow to Wang Yan: "Lord Wang."

Wang Yan's gaze fell on the Buddha statue in Shen Zhongguan's hand, and then he said, "Zhongguan, you have acquired something good."

Mentioning this, Shen Zhongguan felt a mix of emotions. After hesitating for a while, he said, "We were just passing through Daming Prefecture when we heard about the reputation of Baode Temple, so we came to participate in this Dharma assembly. We know that Baode Temple has saved many people, so we donated some incense money."

"This is the wealth I've accumulated over half my life."

Shen Zhongguan hurriedly explained that he was afraid Wang Yan would cause him trouble over a hundred taels of gold. Where would a mere eunuch like him get such a sum of gold?
Shen Zhongguan paused for a moment, then continued, "For people like us, keeping money is useless; we might as well do some good deeds."

The believers knew who the "Central Official" was, and seeing Wang Yan in his official robes, they immediately stepped back to both sides, but no one left. Instead, they watched the rare spectacle.

Wang Yan seemed not to have heard Shen Zhongguan's words, and instead asked, "So, Zhongguan, you're not after the Buddhist porcelain in your possession?"

“No,” Shen Zhongguan immediately denied, how could he admit that the Buddhist porcelain was good? “I just…”

“A Buddha statue that has undergone a religious ceremony is no ordinary object,” Wang Yan said. “Since the eunuch is unaware of this, we should put the porcelain statue down and do what we do: exchange the incense money for grain seeds…”

When Shen Zhongguan heard Wang Yan say the word "put down," he immediately panicked and could not hear anything else after that.

How could he possibly put down the Buddha statue that he had finally managed to snatch? Wang Yan was right; a Buddha statue that had undergone a Dharma assembly ceremony was even more useful, let alone a Dharma assembly in which the Buddha manifested his power.

Thinking of this, Shen Zhongguan hugged her even tighter.

“I know that,” Shen Zhongguan said. “When I saw this Buddhist porcelain, I felt that it was different from the ones I usually see. This must be fate. After I bring back the Buddhist porcelain statue, I will definitely worship it well.”

Han Si's heart sank again. Shen Zhongguan was so useless, following Wang Yan's lead and actually bringing up porcelain. If Wang Yan continued to ask questions...

"Does the eunuch know where this Buddhist porcelain comes from?"

The last shred of hope that Han Si had was instantly gone; as expected, one shouldn't think that a smart person would make a mistake.

At this point, Shen Zhongguan could only say, "This is porcelain newly fired in Daming Prefecture."

Wang Yan nodded and completed Shen Zhongguan's words: "It does indeed come from Daming Prefecture, but now many new kilns have been opened in Lanzhou to fire this kind of porcelain. They are not using the old wood-fired kilns but charcoal kilns. The reason why the new kilns are used to fire Buddhist porcelain is because the method of firing kilns with charcoal originated from Baode Temple."

Han Si wanted to interject, but Wang Yan's gaze fell on him, a calm look that seemed to carry a hint of warning. Han Si instinctively shut his mouth. Although Wang Yan was looking at Han Si, he ignored him and continued speaking to Shen Zhongguan: "What brings Shen Zhongguan to Daming Prefecture?"

Finally, they got to the point.

Officials are not allowed to leave the imperial city at will; if they appear here, they must be carrying out official duties.

Shen Zhongguan forced himself to say, "It was the Emperor who ordered us to come and select porcelain."

"Choosing porcelain?"

Wang Yan didn't even need to say anything; the surrounding people had already started discussing it.

"Are you choosing porcelain from our Daming Prefecture?"

Would you like to choose our Buddhist porcelain?

"Of course it's true, the official in the palace is holding a Buddhist porcelain statue."

Shen Zhongguan felt the hairs on his body stand on end. He had messed up the job, but he couldn't deny it in front of others, so he could only continue to smile apologetically.

Wang Yan nodded: "It seems that the new porcelain produced in Daming Prefecture and Lanzhou has already gained a considerable reputation, otherwise the eunuch would not have been sent here."

"Of course, our porcelain is excellent."

"Yes, this is Buddhist porcelain, Buddhist porcelain..."

Buddhist porcelain was originally a ritual implement, but because of the coal kiln, it seems that all of this new porcelain has become Buddhist porcelain.

"Our Buddhist porcelain has been selected by the imperial court."

The discussion grew louder and louder, and soon it spread beyond the Buddhist temple, with people outside starting to shout as well.

"Amitabha, it is all thanks to the Buddha's protection."

If porcelain sells well, more people will be able to work in the kilns, which is naturally a good thing for ordinary people.

Han Si's expression grew increasingly grim.

Master Zhiyuan and several other eminent monks came over upon hearing this. The monks didn't say anything, but simply bowed to Shen Zhongguan and said "Great kindness."

Shen Zhongguan was even less likely to refute, and hurriedly returned the greeting, not forgetting to praise, "This Buddha porcelain... is extraordinary, it should... should be like this." If he dared to say "no" at this moment, he suspected that no matter how much he chanted Buddhist scriptures in the future, it would be useless.

Besides, these people won't give up.

In any case, the person who actually selects the porcelain is not him, but the old master Han Si. Whether it is feasible or not, let Han Si decide.

Thinking of this, Shen Zhongguan looked at Han Si: "With such a reputation for Buddhist porcelain, Elder Han must carefully report this to the court."

A surge of resentment welled up in Han Si. At this crucial moment, the eunuch had put him on the fire in order to escape. Now everyone was watching him.

Especially Wang Yan's gaze made Han Si shiver involuntarily.

Wang Yan asked casually, "Has Elder Han seen the new porcelain?"

Han Si swallowed hard: "I haven't looked at it carefully yet. I'll wait until I get back..."

"There's no time like the present," Wang Yan said. "It just so happens that the owner of the new kiln, Madam Xie, and the porcelain craftsmen are all here. If Han Xinglao has any questions, he can ask them."