Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 431 A Necessary Choice

After the monks left, Yan Sui was about to take another careful look around the temple when Zhiyuan grabbed his collar as soon as he took a step.

Taking advantage of the absence of the others in the temple, Master Zhiyuan instructed his young disciple: "You are not allowed to knock on the Buddha statue's belly, you are not allowed to climb onto the roof beams, and you are not allowed to look for cellars..."

Knocking on the belly of a Buddha statue is because some temples hide money inside the statue; climbing roof beams and searching for cellars are based on the same principle.

When they were at Baode Temple, the young apprentice would wander around the temple because he was so hungry that he couldn't sleep at night. He actually found a cellar, but there were only a few big rats in it.

“No,” Yan Sui said. “Master just arrived, the temple isn’t that poor yet.”

After Master takes over, it will take at least a year and a half before the temple runs out of rice and food. And that was before, since Madam Xie helped, everyone has stopped going hungry.

"No digging into rat holes, and no hiding grain."

Yan Sui's eyes darkened, and the area he wanted to explore immediately decreased by half.

"He cannot leave the temple until he is familiar with it." In the past, he would disappear without a trace once he was let go in Daming Prefecture, and could not be found no matter how hard he tried. Now that he has arrived in Bianjing, it is even more so. Therefore... at least for now, he must be confined to the temple.

Yan Sui readily agreed. The temple was so big that he definitely wouldn't leave until he had figured it all out.

Master Zhiyuan waved his hand, and Yan Sui immediately darted away like an arrow.

With no one else around, Master Zhiyuan began to look around. Actually, there was a small hill to the west of the temple, so if one entered or exited from the west, no one would notice.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shudder and quickly banished all those inappropriate thoughts from his mind.

"Amitabha, good, good!" Zhiyuan quickly calmed his mind to avoid being disturbed by strange things.

Let's get down to business.

Master Zhiyuan called over the young novice: "Tell me in detail what happened in the temple."

The young novice monk recounted all that had happened recently. The case had spread so far that, if not everyone in Bianjing knew about it, it had at least spread throughout the temple.

Shen Si Niangzi and Master Huizhen were exonerated. The nuns of Yunqi Temple were punished by the Buddhist Registry, and the ringleaders Mingzhen and Jingxuan, who had caused deaths, would be sentenced to death.

Master Zhiyuan asked detailed questions, and the young novice told him everything he had heard and seen.

"Amitabha."

After a long while, the young novice monk finally explained everything.

Master Zhiyuan finally understood why Yunqi Temple wanted to change its name.

Master Zhiyuan said, "So someone died in the temple. In that case, a water and land ceremony should be performed in the temple."

The young novice monk responded.

Master Zhiyuan said, “Invite all the monks and novices in the temple over. We need to start setting up the inner altar, outer altar, the six sense objects offerings, and selecting scriptures.”

The young novice monk was surprised that the abbot was so busy as soon as he arrived at the temple, immediately making these arrangements. Naturally, he dared not delay and hurriedly went to find the person.

Master Zhiyuan looked into the temple. Since it was a Dharma assembly, he decided to hold a grand Dharma assembly for the universal salvation of all beings, both holy and ordinary, for seven days.

He did this to let more people know what those demonic cults were doing and to see clearly what they were doing.

The so-called "demon cult" is nothing more than using its followers to make profits for them.

The cult secretly sent people to participate in the trafficking of women, while pretending to rescue them, thus earning money and gaining the women's trust.

Those women were not only sold, but also secretly forced to work for the demonic cult. By the time they truly saw the truth, they had already been controlled by the cult.

Women who are sold into slavery are ruined and can never return home. The only hope they have is the Demon Cult. Even though they know it's all a lie, the Demon Cult's promises of salvation have long become their only support in this world. They will only secretly continue to work for the Demon Cult, recruiting more people to join. They were originally victims of the Demon Cult, but in the end, they will willingly deceive others for the Demon Cult.

These are not just Zhiyuan's wild ideas; the clues can be seen from the fact that those women turned their backs on Xu Huaiyi and wronged him.

The yamen can interrogate and distinguish right from wrong, but how much pain and helplessness lies outside the law?
This Dharma assembly is absolutely necessary...

Master Zhiyuan took a few steps forward, and then it suddenly occurred to him... Wouldn't the reliquary be offered on the last day of the Dharma assembly? So Benefactor Xie had already figured it out... No matter what, he had to sell porcelain.

Master Zhiyuan regretted it again; he shouldn't have accepted the lotus root charcoal.

……

After leaving the teahouse, Xie Chengrang sent someone to Yunqi Temple to inquire about the situation. He was certain that Abbot Zhiyuan was working for Xie Yuyan, otherwise the monk Zhiyuan would not have been so dedicated to helping with the charcoal and clay stove.

Sure enough, the messenger sent out later returned with news: "Yunqi Temple sent a novice monk to deliver a message to the temples in Bianjing. They will be opening a land and water transport service in two days. Notices have been posted in front of the temples and at the Buddhist Registry."

After this land and water ceremony, Yunqi Temple will be renamed Baode Temple.

The news had already spread, but Xie Chengrang hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

The people of Daming Prefecture are all so capable, with swift and decisive methods.

Xie Chengrang instructed his servant to continue gathering information, and then went to the main house for a meal.

The atmosphere in the Xie family had been somber lately, and with Xie Yizhi busy with court affairs, the family rarely gathered together. Knowing that Madam Zhou's arrangement today meant they would discuss his marriage after dinner, Xie Chengrang understood.

After the meal, the servants tidied up, and the Xie family sat in the small hall of the main house.

Xie Yizhi looked at Xie Chengrang: "These days, try to avoid contact with others and don't cause any more trouble."

Before Xie Chengrang could speak, Xie Chengxin said, "Father, please don't blame my second brother. He was also implicated by the Xia family. It was Xia Wu's idea to do business with Yunqi Temple."

Xie Yizhi frowned: "That day, he went to Xia Wulang's house. If it weren't for that, the two of them wouldn't have been involved."

Not to mention that Minister Xia was also dragged into the mess later.

Now, those in power are using these words to pressure him, forcing him to agree to the marriage.

Xie Chengxin said, "Second brother said that it was Xia Wu who ordered the Zhou family's fleet to deal with Guo Xiong and his men. How can the Xia family pin this on second brother?"

“Brother,” Xie Chengrang stopped Xie Chengxin, “Father is right, I was wrong. If I hadn’t gone to find Xia Ziqiao…none of this would have happened.”

He couldn't refuse the marriage because he had been secretly seeing Xia Erniang and had given her gifts. Those Northern Pearls, and the shop he had secretly opened without the Xie family's knowledge—if Xia Erniang revealed this, not only would the marriage have to continue, but it would also incur his father's anger and suspicion.

Xia Erniang wouldn't use this to blackmail him now, firstly to save face for both sides, and secondly because since she was going to be his wife, her future interests would be intertwined with his, so she naturally couldn't do anything detrimental to him. But if she angered him, it would be a different story. Given the Xia family's current situation, if she were rejected again, she would be completely trapped in a predicament.

"It's good that you know." Xie Yizhi said, then turned her gaze to Xie Chengrang. After Erlang returned home, he did not question the marriage arranged by his family. No matter what he said, he did not argue, but listened obediently. This appearance made Xie Yizhi's heart soften.

“Weng Yi took all the blame. If Xu Huaiyi hadn’t held on so tightly, Xia Mengxian would have gotten away long ago,” Xie Yizhi said. “The Ministry of Justice arrested many officials, and Xia Mengxian is partly responsible for the oversight. However, the situation won’t stay like this forever. Xia Mengxian is, after all, a high-ranking official of the third rank, with students all over the court. He won’t just be defeated by a mere investigating official.”

"No one dares to speak up for him, only because of the reputation of the Shen family and Cining Palace. When the Xia family makes a comeback, you can also take advantage of their strength."

Xie Chengrang nodded.

Xie Yizhi continued, "If you want to marry a woman from the Xia family, you can't be registered under your mother's name as an illegitimate son. Before the marriage, the Xia family will also find you a job, so do your job well."

Xie Chengrang agreed to all of them.

After saying this, Xie Yizhi continued, "The marriage is the marriage, but you must not get involved in the Xia family's businesses outside, at least not for now... The matter of the Demon Sect is no small matter, and our Xie family must not be dragged into it, lest Xu Huaiyi find an excuse to harass us again."