Prince Li You of the Great Tang Dynasty begs the noble families to their deaths!

Yunju Temple, Ksitigarbha Hall.

Taking advantage of the darkness, Jing Song sneaked in.

The moonlight tonight is exceptionally bright.

He received news from the mountain stronghold that a hidden fortune was buried under the pine tree behind the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Temple.

The lord ordered Jing Song to fetch it when he had some free time.

This kind of task is best suited for a loyal follower like Jing Song.

Jing Song was agile and quickly sneaked to the vicinity of the Ksitigarbha Hall. Suddenly, he heard footsteps and quickly fled into the hall to hide for the time being.

Through the crack in the door of the main hall, Jing Song saw a man and a woman.

The man was dressed in brocade robes; he was clearly a wealthy fellow.

The man was embracing the woman beside him, flirting with her, and behaving intimately.

By the moonlight, Jing Song discovered that the woman was actually a nun from Yunju Temple.

Although she was covered by a monk's robe, this woman had exquisite features and a graceful figure, making her a rare beauty.

The man and woman embraced and headed straight for the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Temple.

Jing Song sensed something was wrong and immediately slipped past the door, hiding behind Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

"Squeak~"

The door opened, and the man and woman entered. They closed the door and began to pour out their hearts to each other.

"Liu Lang, why haven't you come to see me these past few days?"

"The exams are approaching, so I have to cram... Huilian, you've become even more beautiful these past few days. While your brother was away, did any other men steal your thunder?"

"Heh, I'm not yours alone..."

Jing Song, who was hiding behind the Bodhisattva, heard the increasingly heated sounds ahead and inwardly cried out in his heart, "What a sin!"

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, quickly capture them and take them to hell to be tortured!

Unfortunately, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was a clay figure and had no ability to move, so Jing Song could only wait.

After the man and the nun finished their business and left, Jing Song escaped from the hall and went to the back of the main hall.

There were indeed several pine trees behind the Ksitigarbha Hall. Jing Song found the smallest one, then drew his weapon and pierced the soil next to the tree roots to begin his investigation.

Zhao Hongliang wasn't lying, and the wealth he buried there wasn't very deep. Jing Song's weapon quickly pinpointed the location, and then they began digging. It didn't take long to unearth the buried wealth.

It turned out to be a large urn, two feet deep, filled with gold and jade, all of which were fine items.

After taking the money, Jing Song buried the large urn back in its place.

Big Jar: Am I worthless?

As Jing Song walked back, he encountered another pair of beautiful nuns and men in brocade robes.

But this couple is clearly not the same as the previous one.

Jing Song thought to himself: These nuns at Yunju Temple are truly extraordinary.

If the nuns in the temple are like this, then the monks chanting scriptures in the temple must be even more extraordinary.

The lord has issued an order for me to thoroughly investigate Yunju Temple.

Before I could even investigate, the demons and monsters suddenly appeared on their own.

……

In the blink of an eye, Huang's Wood Market has been open for more than three months.

As the weather gets warmer, more business people are going out for walks and strolls.

Zhou Chuji would stay in the shop during the day, and sneak into Yunju Temple at night to cooperate with Jing Song's actions.

As the number of explorations increased, Zhou Jing and his companion gained a deeper understanding of the temple before them.

The work done by those beautiful nuns is just one part of the many dirty things at Yunju Temple.

Even compared to other things, matters between men and women are still the cleanest.

The abbot of Yunju Temple, whose Dharma name is Monk Yuanjue, is in charge of all affairs of the temple.

During the day, Abbot Yuanjue was a highly accomplished monk who performed various consecration ceremonies and transmitted Buddhist teachings to the people of Xiangzhou. His followers called him a living Buddha or Bodhisattva.

Even in the evening, some special people from Xiangzhou would still come to see him.

However, these guys are not decent people at all; they are "capable people" like Zhao Hongliang.

Those who run gambling dens, run brothels, engage in shady businesses, and run illegal gambling operations all come to pay homage to Monk Yuanjue, acting as if they were his disciples and grand-disciples.

The term "jufang" was the ancient Chinese term for usury.

According to Zhao Hongliang, he was instructed by the monk Yuanjue to throw many people who opposed the temple into a kiln and burn them to ashes, which were then buried under the temple grounds. Some who could not be buried in time were scattered in the latrine west of the Guanyin Hall.

Therefore, what this guy said to Zhou Chuji before was definitely not unfounded.

Of course, despite the investigation, Huang's Wood Shop's business did not suffer and continued to operate as usual.

After three months of business growth, shipments have now stabilized and the market is somewhat saturated.

After all, there are only so many rich people, and the poor still make up the vast majority of people in Xiangyang City.

The poor struggled to even eat, let alone afford high-quality charcoal that cost six coins per pound.

However, in recent months, the poorest people in Xiangzhou City have had a stroke of good luck.

Some people approached them and told them that there was a way to make a living in Laojun Mountain. They said that as long as they were willing to bring their families up the mountain, they could get a job.

At first, the destitute didn't believe it. Only a few bold and solitary individuals thought that rather than suffer like this, not knowing whether they would die tomorrow or the day after, they might as well go and see for themselves. To their surprise, they found that they could indeed survive and avoid being humiliated. As word spread, the number of beggars in Xiangzhou City decreased significantly.

Regarding the issue of saturation in charcoal sales, Li You instructed Gao Shun, Zhou Chuji, and Jing Song to launch a new, more expensive upgraded product—fragrant bamboo charcoal—at the appropriate time.

This product is directly targeting the high-end market, so it is priced at 200 wen per jin.

Thanks to their previous business experience, Gao Shun and his two companions had already figured out the wealthiest people in Xiangyang City. Therefore, when expanding their bamboo charcoal business, they would bring samples and visit them directly.

Unsurprisingly, wealthy people of all eras always flock to the best products.

The price of 200 coins per catty was not expensive at all in their eyes.

Some people beg on the streets for a bite to eat, while others continuously improve their quality of life. This is the gap between the rich and the poor in ancient times.

……

Yunju Temple, Mahavira Hall.

The monk Yuanjue sat on a futon, holding prayer beads in his hand, his eyes closed, his appearance solemn and dignified.

The disciples sat around Yuanjue, chanting Buddhist scriptures in hushed tones.

If believers saw Yuanjue at this moment, they would surely think that our Living Buddha Bodhisattva was once again contemplating the supreme mysteries of Buddhism, both ancient and modern.

Little did they know, the monk Yuanjue was resting.

Ah, you can't say they're resting; they're practicing meditation.

Last night, he engaged in a battle of wits with "heroes from all walks of life," assigning them tasks and collecting their dues. Afterward, he played around with the beautiful concubines he kept in his private residence until the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), and is now feeling sleepy.

Yuanjue is fifty-eight years old this year, older than Li Shimin, but this fellow is well-maintained. Although he was up all night, he was only tired and needed to catch up on sleep, and was not exhausted.

Yuanjue's "cultivation" did not end until the afternoon. He stood up, secretly stretched, and went to the back hall.

There, a man named Fan A-liu was waiting for the monk Yuanjue.

Upon seeing the old man enter, Fan Ali quickly went to greet him with great respect.

"Elder, I've searched everywhere, Brother Zhao is really gone, and so are my brothers..."